Return Home Update | Shark Tank Season 15
Return Home co-founders Micah Truman and Katey Houston appeared on Shark Tank 15.
Return Home offers a sustainable alternative to burial or cremation to perform last rites. Their body composting process, known as Terramation, gently transforms human remains into soil in 60 to 90 days.
The Sharks appreciated their unique endeavor of focusing on an eco-friendly option for end-of-life services. However, the majority of them had concerns regarding the company’s valuation, and ultimately, none of them made a deal.
It’s been a few months since that memorable episode aired, and we have an update on what happened to Return Home after Shark Tank.
| Company Name | Return Home |
|---|---|
| Founders | Micah Truman, Katey Houston |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Product | Burial and cremation alternative |
| Ask | $2 million for 5% equity |
| Deal | No deal |
| Sharks | No shark |
If you’re short on time, here’s a brief overview of what happened to Return Home after Shark Tank!
Micah and Katey asked for $2 million in exchange for 5% equity in their business, but no shark had been invested because of such a high valuation demand. Unfortunately, Return Home left the tank without securing a deal.
However, their appearance on such a popular show gave free promotion, and the company was featured on popular news portals. As of March 2024, Return Home is still in business and transforming the dead bodies into soil.
About the Company
Micah Truman is the founder and CEO of the Washington-based funeral services company Return Home.
After completing college, Micah spent 20 years in China, running The Knot, a wedding company. Then, he returned to the USA and wanted to run a business that could contribute to making a better world.
At age 16, Katey became a funeral director in England, and at 18, she moved to the USA. Later, she joined Micah in Return Home.
Micah and Katey were concerned about the negative environmental impact of fuel and caskets used in cremation and burial.
So, after multiple researches, they came up with a sustainable alternative, Return Home in 2021. Micah Truman is the CEO, and Katey Houston is the Funeral Services Manager at Return Home.
Return Home’s funeral service is based on the Terramation process conducted in their 12,000 sq ft Terramation center that has 74 vessels.
At first, the body is lying in a vessel with straw, alfalfa, and sawdust. Families can adorn the vessels of their loved ones with flowers and notes.
The next process is Terramation, where the microbes in the vesseled body bring about composting, and it takes 30 days to convert the body into soil.
The soil is then put to rest for another 30 days. Overall, the Terramation takes around 60 days to transform the body into usable soil, requiring minimal energy.
Return Home then can return the soil to the family, or they can scatter it at The Woodland. Woodland is an 8-acre land intended for restoring local vegetation.
Their unique offerings include permitting families to visit the vessel and stay involved at each step if they wish.
Return Home’s service costs $5500, which is less than traditional funeral services, such as cremation or burial.
The company offers immediate and pre-planned assistance for the Terramation process, and additional resources are available on their website.
Return Home’s human composting service is accessible in 49 states in the USA and throughout Canada.
Return Home Shark Tank Pitch Recap
Micah Truman and Katey Houston pitched their company Return Home and demanded $2 million for a 5% stake at a $40 million valuation.
They explained the post-death services they offer and their unique Terramation process of human body composting.
Micah stated that cremation costs $7000, burial costs $8000 (excluding plot), whereas Terramation costs $5500.
Although two other companies do the same thing, Return Home remains the only one allowing family visits.
Lori Greiner asked, “ What are your sales?”
In terms of sales, in the previous year, they did $350,000. During the year of filming, they had already matched $350,000 by the end of May, and they continued growing.
Kevin O’Leary asked about their profit. To that, Micah replied, “We’re a money-losing company.”
Mark Cuban asked about the money they raised and what the valuation was.
Micah said they raised almost $5 million at a $20.6 million valuation.
Kevin demanded justification for their doubly increased valuation.
Instead of explaining properly, Micha again tried to sell the company to the Sharks.
Mark was displeased, and he was out.
Lori then asked the entrepreneurs to justify their valuation.
Kevin asked about their unit profitability and margins.
Micha said that out of the $5,500 service cost, the process costs $1200, and they earn $3,800.
Additionally, they believe their comparatively low service cost would make it a more accessible option.
Kevin appreciated the sustainability of the process to put to rest. However, he’s disappointed that the company gave off 30% of its margin and wouldn’t charge more.
According to him, the company is offering a “discount death” as all other services are around $8000, and people are willing to pay that.
Because of this and the extremely high company valuation, Kevin goes out.
Guest shark Daniel Lubetzky also found their valuation to be absurd, so he went out next.
Daymond John isn’t passionate about this kind of business, so he’s out.
Lastly, Lori had issues regarding the valuation, too, and she felt the entrepreneurs really required a ‘valuation evaluation.’ She then goes out.
Eventually, Return Home had to leave the tank without closing any deal.
Company Update
Even though Return Home didn’t obtain a deal, they have gained much attention due to their appearance in Shark Tank.
Return Home has been featured on popular online portals like Forbes, CNBC, BuzzFeed, The Seattle Times, Newsweek, India Times, etc.
As per a Return Home update, it’s too early to interpret the company’s sales since Shark Tank. However, it can be noticed on their website that they dropped the price a little after the episode aired.
As of March 2024, Return Home is still in business and gently transforming human remains into soil. Our team is following up on the founders, and we come up with fresh Return Home updates very soon.
Meanwhile, you can check other company updates that appeared in Shark Tank 15 Episode 02:
Conclusion
Return Home offers an ethical, respectful, transparent, and inclusive deathcare service. Their Terramation process resonates with sustainable practices, unlike the traditional funeral services.
The Sharks applauded Micah’s noble and sensitive venture, but he couldn’t onboard any of them. However, we can expect that the valuable feedback Micah received from the Sharks will definitely help him in improving his business.
