There is no one on the entire planet who uses the telephone and has not been scammed. It is a common practice these days and it has robbed almost $9.4B from the U.S.A only.
Roger Anderson and Steve Berkson, the owners of Jolly Roger Telephone Company, can easily deal with scammers with their service. Their answering service is a robot that handles scams efficiently and even wastes a lot of their time leaving them with nothing.
The owners came on Shark Tank to request $400K for 10% of their company. They also demonstrated how their service works through a voice demonstration where a scam has been driven crazy by a pirate from Jolly Roger.
The Jolly Roger Telephone Company Net Worth Shark Tank Update
Roger Anderson and Steve Berkson were looking for an investment of $400k in exchange for 10% equity in the company. At the time of the episode, they valued their company at $4 million. They did not secure a deal with any of the Sharks. After the show was aired, the company experienced some exposure but struggled to grow significantly. As per my rough estimate, the current net worth of Jolly Roger Telephone Company in 2024 is around $500k.
Shark(s) name
Offer & Demand
Counteroffer
Accepted?
Kevin O’Leary
$400K for 10% equity
$400K for a 50% equity in the company
No
Mark Cuban
Out
N\A
N\A
Robert Herjavec
Out
N\A
N\A
Lori Greiner
Out
N\A
N\A
Jamie Siminoff
Out
N\A
N\A
The Owner’s Backstory
Roger works in telephone services so he was already in love with telephone systems. Steve has also been in telecommunications for almost 30 years. Roger replied that when his son was 14 years old a telecommunicator swore at him. This got him angry and he started to work on a robot that would keep the scammers on call as long as possible, wasting their time. This resulted in the creation of the Jolly Roger Telephone Company.
The owners came on the show to seek $400K for a 10% equity stake. Their service is a revengeful way to keep a check on scammers who are constantly in search of scam people around the country. Their service has pirate robots that answer every scammer in a funny and shrewd way to keep them busy and waste their time, so they won’t be able to deceive anyone in the future too.
Lori asked the first question about the way to identify a scam on the telephone without mistaking them for an important call. Roger highlighted that they had a reputation score for every caller ID.
Cuban then highlighted that a scammer already has tactics to scam and knows the database as well. The owner replied that when the scammer hits a 1000 number the reputation score goes higher, indicating the identity of the scammer.
Kevin inquired about their sales. Steve answered that they are a pre-revenue company, so their sales are not yet generated.
He also asked about the cost of their service and what it cost them to provide the customer. Roger replied that the subscription fee is $12 per year and it costs them $4 annually.
Cuban inquired about the reason behind the high cost of providing the service. The owner highlighted that they have hosting fees, telecommunications fees, and others to pay as well.
They provide the customers with a whole website to give full control over their scammers. The customers will have the list of numbers with their recordings as well.
Jamie, the guest shark, wanted to know about their planning to use the $400K they are asking for. Steve replied that they want to do online marketing and they want to operate through carriers that will cost them $0 for customer acquisition.
Shark’s Response and Final Decision
Cuban was the first shark out of the deal as he doesn’t connect with their business.
Lori followed Cuban and decided to back out, as she was not able to understand the concept yet.
Jamie after hearing about their investment in carrier decided to drop the deal too as it would be a lot harder than they thought.
Kevin highlighted that even though he liked their revenge game on the scammers their service is not a business yet. He then offered them $400K but for a 50% equity stake.
Daymond dropped the deal for the same reasons as the guest shark, Jamie.
Then Jamie changed his idea of dropping and offered them $400K for 60% in a partnership with Kevin. They counter-offered them $400K for 20%.
Then Jamie changed his offer and reduced the equity to 50% with Kevin. Then Jamie left this offer too because of the delay in their reply.
The service although is still in function has not shown any significant progress. The website remains active with occasional updates, but there haven’t been any significant changes since the company’s Shark Tank appearance. There is no clear indication that this will change in the near future.
Thus, Jolly Roger’s service not only left the Shark Tank empty-handed but also made no success on the wider horizon. Roger and Steve proved to be good telephone operators with their full-time jobs but they failed as businessmen.
Hey there, it’s Andaleb Youns. I am a freelance content writer and am currently pursuing a BS in English Language and Literature. I have expertise in writing Blog Posts, social media content, and copywriting. I know how it feels to be a student and still be dependent on parents to fulfill even basic daily needs. This realization became apparent while watching Shark Tank. Although I started watching this show out of boredom, it proved to be an inspirational show. The show made me realize the importance of hard work, being independent, and of having a business of my own. I still look forward to it for entertaining and inspirational content.
