'Shark Tank' contestant fits cameras inside bird houses — judges weren't convinced by it at all
The nascent nature of the company prevented the sharks from investing in it.
Oct. 20 2025, Published 7:45 a.m. ET
"Shark Tank" entrepreneurs often focus on everyday problems, but they stand out by coming up with innovative solutions. However, not every innovative product is worth investing in, and an entrepreneur learned that lesson on the show. His pitch was impressive, and he had a product that intrigued a lot of the sharks. However, he was not able to walk away with a deal.
The contestant was named Steve Gray, and he sought $250,000 for a 20% stake in his company, The Peep Show. It makes an innovative birdhouse with a camera installed, which allows people to see what is going on inside. This might sound simplistic, but there was no product like it in that space at that point in time. People usually never get to see inside birdhouses, and many would be interested in the concept.
But it wasn't just the camera that was innovative. This birdhouse also had indentations on the inside leading up to the hole, so that baby birds could use them as steps to get to the top for their first flight. It also comes with an elevated platform that fits on the bottom, which serves nicely as a base to build a nest on. The entrepreneur also did a great job making sure the ventilation inside the birdhouse was top quality.
After all that was revealed, it was time to talk about numbers. The Peep Show's product costs $199, but that was without the camera. With the camera, it would be worth $299. At a landed cost of $47, these were great margins. When asked about sales, Gray said that he had started the company three months earlier and had earned revenue of $28,000. That was a decent amount considering that the company was new.
Unfortunately, that was also the company’s disadvantage, since it was way too new. Kevin O’Leary mentioned that someone might file a lawsuit against the entrepreneur over the privacy of the birds, which made everyone else on the show burst out in laughter. That was actually the reason he gave for not offering a deal. Some of the other sharks simply did not believe that they were interested in birds and said no.
Others said that the company was too new to invest in. Barbara Corcoran was probably the most interested, as she said that she would have been the best out of all the sharks for such a product. Unfortunately, the company was in its early stages, and she did not want to commit to that level of risk and hard work.
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