Naperville Teen Makes Double Deal on 'Shark Tank'

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Naperville teen’s anti-bullying app was purchased by two investors on ABC’s “Shark Tank” Friday night.

16-year-old Trisha Prabhu’s ReThink sends users an alert when they write a message that could be considered harmful. The user can then either delete, edit or continue to post it.

So, why would a cyber bully install an anti-bullying app on their phone? Well, that’s not the point and not really the target audience.

“That’s why we target two main groups: educators and parents,” Prabhu said on the show. “Those are the people that are looking for solutions to cyberbullying.”

But does it work? How often is ReThink stopping destructive comments?

According to Prabhu, a 1,500-person trial study showed teens changed their messages more than 93 percent of the time.

Despite the best intentions behind the app, not all the sharks were swayed. The point is to make money and some weren’t certain Prabhu’s app would do that.

But that changed when Prabhu revealed she had interest from T-Mobile Europe in implementing it in their phones, an offer she actually turned down.

Prabhu was asking for $100,000 with a 20 percent equity stake in the company. Shark Daymond John offered $100,000 with a 30 percent stake.

In the spirit of partnership, shark Lori Greiner offered to split the investment with fellow shark Mark Cuban for Prabhu’s desired $100,000 and 20 percent stake. Cuban also suggested looking more into getting it on mobile phones.

“They can put it on a phone with a default option,” Cuban said. “They can offer it as a kid-friendly option.”

Prabhu went with the obvious choice of Lori and Mark.

photo via "Shark Tank"