Steven Gray introduces The Peep Show, his “smart” birdhouse in Shark Tank episode 1512. Gray, a lifelong birdwatcher who inherited his love for all things avian from his dad, designed and conceptualized his birdhouse during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was his father’s first “prototype” that gave him the idea. When Steven was younger, dad built a birdhouse with a sewer inspection camera in it and they watched baby birds hatching every spring.
This birdhouse is a bit more high tech. It uses a wireless camera that streams the images of the birds to your phone, allowing you to see into the secret life of birds. You can watch them building a nest, hatching babies and feeding the baby birds. It’s not only functional, it’s stylish. Gray, a designer by profession, wanted the birdhouse to look like an Apple product. The product won the prestigious Red Dot Award for excellence in product design in 2023.
It’s designed with birds in mind. The shape is like an egg and it has an evelated nesting platform, a climbing wall and ventilation. The Peep Show will set you back $199 or $299 for the model with a camera. Steve is looking for investors to help him get production out of his house.
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Posts about The Peep Show on Shark Tank Blog
The Peep Show Shark Tank Recap
Steven enters the Shark Tank seeking $250,000 for 20% equity in his company. He says the bird house as we know it hasn’t changed in centuries and we still have the same problem: you can’t see inside. Are there chicks in there? Are there eggs? Is there even a bird in there? That all changes with The Peep Show.
The Peep Show sends signals from your bird house to your smart phone. Thanks to a hidden camera inside the bird house, you get a literal bird’s eye view of all the nesting activity from building the nest to laying eggs, viewing the baby birds and their feeding. The Sharks are are saying “that’s cool!” You can even see baby birds’ first flights. To assure the health of the babies, it has an integrated climbing wall that helps them climb out of the nest. There’s an elevated nesting platform too that allows air to circulate around the nest from vents keeping it drier, cooler and healthier. It uses the same cameras in use in over 26 million households. He asks the Sharks to “open their hearts, and their wallets by making an offer that’s not too ‘cheep cheep.'”
Samples and Questions
Each Shark has their own Peep Show as a gift. The Sharks like the design and think it’s a clever idea. He gives credit for the idea to his dad. Steve grew up in Fairbanks where they have short summers, so the arrival of birds is a big deal; they arrive by the millions. His family always had bird houses and about 30 years ago, his dad wanted to be able to see inside them. He ran a sewer inpsection camera with 150 feet of coaxil cable to a bird house and the Peep Show was born.
The cameras he uses are off the shelf security cameras with a multi year battery life. The Peep Show doesn’t include the camers, but for an extra $100, he’ll send one with it. Each bird house costs $199 without the camera, $299 with the camera. Each bird house is $7 landed. Steve’s background is in technology companies and advertising. After 20 years of doing that, he had enough and, since he’s a methodical saver, he was able to retire.
Let’s Talk Numbers
Steve’s been in business three and a half months and has $28,000 in sales. Kevin says Steve is a start-up and he’s the only Shark that’s an ornithologist (someone who studies birds). He jokingly asks if Steve is worried about getting sued for violating the bird’s privacy. Kevin tells a story about a monkey who stole a camera and took a bunch of pictures; someone sued on behalf of the monkey so it could retain the rights to the pictures. Kevin says if Steve could provide a document the birds could sign waiving their rights, he could get behind it. Steve can’t and Kevin is out.
Lori says she can tell Steve loves birds. She thinks it’s very sweet and thoughtful but it’s not an investment for her; she’s out. Robert says it’s beautifully made, he’s not a bird guy though; he’s out. Mark says it’s great what he’s accomplished, but he’s not “one with the birds;” he’s out. Barbara loves the product but it’s very early; she’s out.
The Peep Show Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. The first re-run of this episode was in June, 2024 – about 4 months after the original air date. In a psot in Steve’s website, he says he’s committed to building the company in public, using small, grassroots investors who pre-order his product. He has this to say in the article: “Since the show aired, orders at ThePeepShow.com have been pouring in. Granted, it might mean waiting a few months for your hand-assembled Peep Show to arrive. But isn’t that part of the magic? Supporting a start-up is not a flippant move, but a deliberate choice; quality takes time.” The website has two ordering options. You can pre-order and pay up front or get on the waitlist.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on The Peep Show & Steven Gray as more details become available.
