What Happened To The SMARTwheel Steering Wheel Cover From Shark Tank Season 4?
During the fourth season of "Shark Tank," six teen inventioneers approached the Sharks with a clever solution to a common problem – distracted driving. The prototype brought into the tank displayed the ability to read when the driver engages in unsafe driving. Specifically, it flashes red LED lights, emits a high-pitched alarm, and sends data to a third party via a dedicated app when it senses one or both hands are removed from the wheel.
With some impressive names having approved of the product and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reporting that more than 3,500 driver fatalities in 2021 were due to distracted driving, the SMARTwheel (an acronym for Safe Motorist Alert for Restricting Texting) seemed like a shoo-in for a Shark investment. If you're an avid "Shark Tank" viewer, though, you know there are no guarantees once you step inside the tank.
Let's revisit the SMARTwheel and see how the self-proclaimed inventors faired both with the Sharks and after their televised appearance.
What Happened to the SMARTwheel Steering Wheel Cover on Shark Tank?
Londonderry, NH entrepreneurs TJ Evarts, Jaiden Evarts, Bryeton Evarts, Emily Balcom, Kate Balcom, and Paige Balcom stepped into the tank with a fervent pitch about a steering wheel cover designed to save lives. As they typically do with young entrepreneurs, the Sharks welcomed them with smiles that grew as the clever pitch kicked off and Emily, Kate, and Jaiden displayed what not to do while driving.
The sextet impressed the Sharks with an endorsement from then-President Obama and a pilot study performed at MIT, where 90% of participants felt the device would work. But when asking for $100,000 for 15% of a company, you have to expect a little pushback. Kevin O'Leary was the first to get vocal, ultimately calling it a "bad idea" that doesn't stop teens from driving while distracted.
Daymond John was the next to chime in, stating that, while he liked the product, he didn't feel he was the best investor. Next out was Barbara Corcoran, who was harsher with her disbelief that teenagers would allow the device on their cars. Ultimately, it was Robert Herjavec who made an offer: $100,000 for 30%, contingent on a licensing deal with a car manufacturer. Mark Cuban, who remained mostly silent, offered to join Herjavec so long as the contingency was dropped.
And just like that, the inventioneers joined the ranks of successful "Shark Tank" pitches.
The SMARTwheel Steering Wheel Cover After Shark Tank
At some point after the successful pitch on "Shark Tank," the Inventioneers backed out of the deal and lost three members, as evidenced by a 2015 Indiegogo campaign seeking $50,000. In the campaign's pitch, TJ, Jaiden, and Bryeton mention the "Shark Tank" offer they received but state, "We decided to move forward without the Sharks."
The campaign was more fleshed out than the "Shark Tank" pitch, with a new design for the wheel that replaced the wrap-around LEDs with a singular module. It also noted that the device used "patented gesture recognition technology," allowing users to control their "vehicle and smart devices with simple gestures."
Unfortunately, the Indiegogo campaign failed to reach its goal, securing only $2,079 from 39 backers. During the campaign, SMARTwheel made its way to the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a literal "dream come true" for Inventioneer TJ Evarts. In 2016, Evarts and SMARTwheel were also featured as case studies for the nonprofit organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
Despite the added effort and the improvements made to the device's design and functionality, SMARTwheel never really went anywhere, and, based on its social media networks, the idea died in 2019 after being chosen as a finalist for e-Fest 2019, an undergraduate entrepreneurship competition hosted by the University of St. Thomas' Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at Opus College of Business.
What's Next for The SMARTwheel Steering Wheel Cover Founders?
While the Inventioneers are no more, and SMARTwheel appears to be in the rearview mirror, TJ Evarts remains a visionary hoping to spread big ideas. According to his LinkedIn Profile, he's the president of Chill Day Studios, an "international team of 180 people" that focuses on developing stories for virtual reality.
A Reddit post from two years ago announced a Patreon for one of the studios' now-defunct projects, Callous Row. Evarts' last LinkedIn activity was a post stating he had been invited to judge the University of New Hampshire's Flagship Holloway Business Competition.
As for Bryeton and Jaiden, they seem to have left SMARTwheel and entrepreneurship behind. Bryeton doesn't seem to have much of an online presence, save for a bare-bones LinkedIn that shows she attended the ICON Collective music school from 2020 to 2024.
Jaiden has remained a little more public, and her LinkedIn shows that she attended the University of New Hampshire, where she secured a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. She also interned at GPD Optoelectronics Corp., worked at the University of New Hampshire as a research associate, and is currently at DEKA Research & Development as a control systems engineer.