What Happened To Woosh Air Filter From Shark Tank Season 14?
Former Google product manager Winston Mok enthusiastically greeted the Sharks, wasting no time introducing them to his product—Woosh, a smart air filter that alerts users when it needs changing. To get them on his side of a $5 million valuation, Mok turned to the shock value of a disgusting, dust-covered air filter and launched into selling the smart features built into the Woosh innovative filter.
In the wake of the 2019 California wildfires, Mok's partner expressed concern over the air quality in their home. A self-proclaimed frugal person, instead of buying a purifier, Mok made one out of a box fan and a high-quality filter that cost $25 to ship. Mok was put off by the shipping cost and devised a plan to offer cheaper shipping on filters. From that, Woosh was born.
Before approaching the Sharks, Mok ran a successful Kickstarter campaign, securing $62,817 from 336 backers just two months before appearing on "Shark Tank." While the product was pre-revenue, Mok signed a partnership to have Woosh bundled with Emerson's (later rebranded to Copeland) Sensi smart thermostats.
Was all of this enough to garner an investment from one of the five Sharks? It certainly piqued interest, but not everyone was on board.
What Happened to Woosh on Shark Tank?
Mok remained energetic throughout his pitch, confidently breezing through the patent-pending technology that measures the airflow and filter performance. After some gentle questioning from Herjavec and Lori Greiner, Mr. Wonderful (Kevin O'Leary) came in with a question that changed the tone of the pitch. He felt the idea had merit, but what of Woosh's sales? A simple "We are pre-revenue" from Mok elicited pained groans from the Sharks.
Woosh, being pre-revenue was a big hurdle, leaving Mok to dig a little deeper into the $5 million valuation. The Copeland partnership saved face a little, however, as did a product add-on that turns the Woosh filter into a smart air purifier and a brief mention of licensing options with the bigger players in the field.
It was at that point that O'Leary was ready to make an offer of $500,000 with 12.5% equity and, to Mok's chagrin, a $.50 royalty in perpetuity. Unfortunately, the other Sharks dropped off one by one. Herjavec couldn't see the consumer value, Daymond John questioned the value he could bring, Greiner had doubts over the patents, and Mark Cuban feared the marketing costs needed to sell Woosh.
If there's one thing you don't do when Mr. Wonderful puts an offer on the table, it's seek offers from the other Sharks. Mok kept trying to push back on the royalty, but O'Leary wouldn't budge and even upped his equity to 15%. After some back-and-forth, he accepted a counter of $500,000 at 10% with his $.50 royalty.
Woosh After Shark Tank
Based on the timeline offered on the official Woosh website, it seems the O'Leary deal proved beneficial to Mok and his company, though there's no real mention of his involvement.
If you were to gauge Woosh's progress based on its social media, you'd assume the company went out of business. For some reason, the company went radio silent on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) throughout 2022. Mok has remained active on LinkedIn, however, as has the official Sensi page.
The Shark Tank episode aired in October 2022, and by April 2023, the company shared that it had finally moved out of the garage and into a new office in San Francisco. Even more exciting than that, within two months of opening its first office, Woosh announced another partnership, this time with 3M, an "industry titan in filtration technology."
According to a December 18, 2023 release from Copeland announcing Sensi's integration with Woosh filters, the smart air filter "leverages 3M Filtration Technology and sensors to determine filter life." The release explains how the integration will work to turn home HVAC systems into an air purifier by working with Woosh's Air Quality Monitor and Smart Air Filter to run the system fan when the monitor detects poor air quality.
About a year after appearing on Shark Tank, Woosh officially started shipping its product to consumers.
Is Woosh Still in Business?
As of December 2023, Woosh offers three main products: the Smart Air Filter, the Air Quality Monitor, and the Fold Filter. While there aren't many customer reviews for each item, the comments have been glowing.
The Air Filter and Air Quality Monitor bundle has 20 five-star reviews, with customers praising the ease of use and the air quality monitor. One customer even notes that, because of the monitor, they determined that their dryer exhaust hose had come loose and was reducing their home's air quality.
Though not noted by any of the customer reviews, Woosh's biggest barrier could be its pricing. The entry cost is $149 for the Smart Air Filter, with refills selling for $22. To upgrade to benefit from air quality monitoring, it's an additional $99 for the monitor, though Woosh is offering a $50 discount with the Smart Air Filter + Air Quality Monitor Bundle.
Having only started selling in Q4 of 2023, determining the product's long-term success is difficult. However, Mok has positioned Woosh in such a way that it should see a bright future. The Copeland and 3M partnerships should help to put a Woosh filter in more homes across the United States.
What's Next for Woosh's Founders
As Woosh founder Winston Mok stated in his February 2023 interview with Harvest Growth, air filters "generate a lot of recurring revenue." The key is beating out the primary players in the industry. Filtrete offers its own Bluetooth-enabled smart filter, but for only $2 less for replacements, customers still get the old-school cardboard-style filters without the option to pair them with an air quality monitor.
Woosh is still in the honeymoon phase of its initial product launch, though there may be more ideas being worked on behind the scenes — its forward-facing focus is product rollout and integration with Copeland's Sensi smart thermostat. The future of Woosh could include a line of air purifiers if it wishes to go the same route as clean air provider Smart Air.
Woosh will make another appearance at the CES trade show in 2024, where it's sure to showcase its current inventory and possibly even share a few hints about the future of air filtration.