Did Spare Survive After Shark Tank? Here's What Happened After Season 10

Season 10 of "Shark Tank," which aired in 2018, showcased an entrepreneur who sought to change the future of ATMs. The product was known as Spare, a mobile ATM app that allows users to get cash from any associated business, bypassing the ATM altogether. The product was pitched by D'Ontra Hughes. Though the app generated interest from the panel of potential investors on the show, and a deal was agreed to, it seems to have never closed after the show. Spare appears to still be in business with an online presence; however, the app itself is missing from Apple and Android stores.

Spare works by directing users via GPS to a store within its network. Theoretically, any business willing to partner with Spare can be in this network, with the benefits of drawing more people to it and potentially purchasing products. Spare also pays money to these businesses. Once arriving at one such location, the user can then have a cashier give them the cash they took out virtually from their bank account.

The idea certainly sells itself as a product of convenience for the people using it, and it comes across as more logical than the Ionic Ear in Season 1, which disturbed the judges. Even though the deal did not go through the post-show due diligence period, Spare still maintains a business website to help propel it forward.

D'Ontra Hughes came onto "Shark Tank" already with some momentum for Spare. He founded SPARE CS, Inc., the business side of the app, and it launched in 2015 and had already drawn industry attention. It won the Startup Pitch of 2017 from Money 20/20 and had been featured at the Mobile World Congress and on CNET.

Hughes came onto "Shark Tank" seeking money to help Spare continue to grow beyond the $347,000 in funding it already had. Hughes wanted $500,000 for a 3.5% stake in the business. Despite the convenience this has for users of the app, the show's panel of judges had some concerns about the businesses Spare would partner with. It was considered a pain point that these businesses would have to keep enough reserves of cash on hand to function as a proper ATM. This dissuaded all but one from offering a deal, as Mark Cuban was interested in Spare.

The deal, however, did not go through after the episode. Just because a deal is offered but doesn't close doesn't always mean the business falls through. ReThink from Season 8 also had a deal not get finalized, but it continues to grow to this day.

The Spare CS, Inc. website has a lot of information about the business model and the app. It proudly boasts affiliations with Walmart, the American Bankers Association, the American Fintech Council, and more. It has options to contact the company's sales department and to request demos of the product. The company site also discusses its mission to eliminate banking deserts, that is, areas of the United States where residents have no quick or easy access to in-person banks.

Since the product is an app, it should be easily available on Apple or Android app stores. However, as of this time of writing, it seems to be missing. In both stores, there are plenty of apps called Spare, and some are financially focused. However, none of them claim to be owned by Spare CS, Inc., and none share the same logo as Spare. Not to mention, none of them describes themselves as a virtual ATM service, either. Spare's website makes no mention of the missing apps.

Spare CS, Inc., has a very limited social media presence. Its Facebook has not been updated since 2019, and neither has its Instagram. Its X, formerly Twitter, account appears to be deleted. The company LinkedIn, however, is active with posts about the business industry as a whole. When things don't work out on "Shark Tank," some businesses crumble, like Trunkster from Season 7. Spare CS, Inc., appears to still be active, but the missing apps do cast its future into question.