Apperance on Shark Tank propels app to the top of the charts

If you were watching ABC-TV's Shark Tank on Friday, you saw developer Garrett Gee ask the sharks for $1 million for his app, Scan. This is an app that helps people read QR codes on their phone while letting companies create their own codes. While Gee walked out of the Tank without a penny, it didn't really matter since the company had already raised $7 million at a valuation of $21 million. The money came from Google Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and Entree Capital. The investors were a little concerned about the appearance of Gee on the top-rated Friday night show. "Some investors thought that ‘Shark Tank’ was too quirky, and they were worried about our reputation," Gee said.

But Gee was less concerned about getting the Sharks to open up their wallets and more interested in trying to promote his app in front of a national television audience. At $1.99, Scan was the 5th most downloaded utilities app in the App Store before Friday's show, and number 150 on the list of all paid apps. After the television appearance, Scan shot up to number 1 on the utilities list, and number 25 for all paid apps. In the Windows Phone Store, it leads all paid apps.Scan is also available in the Google Play Store.

Scan allows users to use their camera to read a QR code, nothing unique there. Businesses using the app to create a code can use the code to link their websites, social networking sites or phone number to it. This way, a consumer can scan the code and call the company, or follow it on social media, with a single tap. A consumer can use "scan to pay" to make a payment for a product after scanning the code, or even make a donation. Using a QR code from a company called Mission Belt Co., which scored a deal with FUBU's Daymond John on an earlier Shark Tank episode, Gee showed how quickly a consumer could purchase a belt, or follow the company on Twitter, by using the app.

The Shark Tank investors were not as excited about the app even though Gee showed how fast the app was being downloaded, a figure that exceeded 51 million free app downloads. Kevin O' Leary told Gee, "Show me the money, not the downloads," while Mark Cuban and the others said that QR codes are a thing of the past.



source: SharkTank