Did The Validated App Survive After Shark Tank? Here's What Happened After Season 8

As the number of people shopping online increases each year, it's been difficult for brick-and-mortar retailers, especially small, local businesses, to stay afloat. That's what the Validated app, which appeared on "Shark Tank" Season 8, Episode 21, was created to address. It allows users to earn credits by spending money at shops, bars, and restaurants that can be redeemed to pay for transportation, including parking, rideshares, or public transit.

Validated creators Ian Lyman, Tov Arneson, and Alex Wilhelm went in front of the Sharks asking for $250,000 in exchange for 8% of the company. At the time, they were working with 50 merchants in Seattle and Portland and planned to partner with other apps that make it easy to pay for parking. However, the panel very quickly started pointing out issues with Validated's business model, mainly its complexity.

Guest Shark Chris Sacca, an early investor in Uber, found Validated's concept convoluted, requiring too many steps for users and involving various other entities like third-party apps and public transportation systems, which other Sharks echoed. Additionally, Mark Cuban pointed out the challenge of being both the currency holder and the one convincing users that their currency has value. Ultimately, Validated walked away with no offers and no deal, just as NoPhone had the season before. Even without this app, though, some travelers have found a clever way to save money on Uber to and from airports.

Though the Validated app did not get a deal on "Shark Tank," it did see some success after the episode aired in April 2017. Soon after, Validated expanded from two to ten cities, adding New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and more. Users could shop at local businesses and national chains like Tanner Goods and PANDORA for credits, which they could redeem for Uber, Lyft, and other rides.

The service wouldn't be around for much longer after that expansion, though. In May 2019, Validated was acquired by ReachNow (previously called moovel and operated by BMW), a rideshare and car-sharing app. Arneson said in a press release that the move was a natural progression for Validated, which brought needed technology to a company (ReachNow) already positioned to work with local governments to subsidize public transportation (Google Maps also makes that easier now). According to their LinkedIn pages, all three of the company's founders moved on around the time of the acquisition, or soon after. ReachNow ceased all operations in July 2019, just two months after the deal was struck.

That seemed to be the end of the road for Validated, as its final Facebook post was the one announcing the acquisition. Since then, the company's website has been taken down, and the app has been delisted in app directories. As for its trio of founders, each has had various jobs since leaving Validated, but all are still working in technology in some capacity. The app may have gone under for reasons out of its control, but it was never exactly a household name to begin with. Still, for a time, Validated was mutually beneficial to both retailers and customers, even if it was too complicated for the Sharks' tastes.