Autio is a Santa Barbara, California-based storytelling app that tells the story of various places in the United States to the traveler. 10,399 stories from coast-to-coast of the United States are available in this app.
The user will be able to explore the stories of their nearby location through this app. All the stories in this app have been told by master storytellers such as Kevin Costner, Phil Jackson, and John Lithgow.
All the stories in this app are based on the culture, history, local insights, music, natural wonders, and sports of that specific place.
After installing this app, you get to listen to 5 stories for free, after that 30 days, 1 year, and 3 years plan will have to be taken. In this, stories can also be downloaded and heard offline. This app is available for iPhone and has been downloaded over 500,000 times.
| Company Name | Autio |
| Founder | Woody Sears, Bill Werlin, and Kevin Costner |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Product | Audio for Travel |
| Asked For | $1M for 5% equity |
| Final Deal | No Deal’s |
| Shark | No Sharks |
| Episode (Shark Tank USA) | S14 E17 |
| Air Date | Mar 17, 2023 |
| Business Status | In Business |
| Website | Visit Website |
| Headquarters | Santa Barbara, California, United States |
| Lifetime Worth (Sales) | TBD |
| Go To Amazon | $3M *estimated |
| Watch On | Amazon Prime |
Another Shark Tank Pitch
Who Is The Founder Of Autio?
This startup was founded in 2020 under the name “HearHere” by Woody Sears, Bill Werlin and Kevin Costner. Rebranded in June 2022 to Autio name.
Woody Sears
Sears is the co-founder and CEO of this company. He has studied MBA from Pepperdine University. He has received many awards like Innovation Awards, iKids Awards, etc.
Bill Werlin
Werlin is the co-founder and content creator of this company. He was born in the Colorado Mountain Territory and grew up working in the ski area with his family.
Kevin Costner
Costner is another co-founder of this company, apart from this he is also a producer and actor. He has received Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards twice for his work.
Autio Before Shark Tank
In August 2020, this entertainment company was launched under the name HearHere with 1500 stories in the West Coast area. At present, this app is available only for iOS users and will soon be available for Android.
Before this company, Sears had founded Zuuka, a iStoryTime library app, although it was later sold. In 2021, this subscription-based audio road-trip app raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding.
Kevin Costner is a neighbor of Sears and he liked this business idea very much, so he decided to invest in this business. In 2021, 5,500 stories from 22 states of America were made available on this app.
In February 2022, the company raised $3.2 million in a seed round led by RV and outdoor retailer Camping World, according to TechCrunch.
This app has received the 2022 Webby Award Winner for Best Travel App. This is a very good app for the traveler to know about the history of the place.
How Was The Shark Tank Pitch Of Autio?
Woody Sears enters Shark Tank and asks the sharks for $1 million for 5% equity. The sharks were astonished after hearing this demand. Woody told how Autio helps the traveler in telling the history of the specific location and the stories related to it.
The average length of a story is 3 minutes and it can go up to 20 minutes. Their sales so far in 2022 were $700,000 and in 2021 their sales were $210,000. They are currently at a $2 million annual run rate.
So far they have raised $3.5 million. Currently, this app has 15,000 paid members, 210,000 registered users, and 0.5 million downloads. 70% of users renew in paid subscribers. Initially, the customer acquisition was $38 but now it is $10.
All the sharks refused to invest in this business except Kevin. Kevin O’Leary offered $1 million for 15% equity. Woody counters Kevin for $1 million for 6.5% equity. Kevin countered 12% equity. Woody countered 7% equity.
Kevin countered another 10% equity but Woody would not go over 7% equity. The deal on Shark Tank did not happen because Woody was not going to go above 7% equity.
Finalize: Autio couldn’t find a deal on Shark Tank.
Autio Shark Tank Update
The co-founder of this company, Woody Sears, after entering the shark tank, explained his business to the sharks. He also gave information about the funding so far and the total subscription user of this app. There was a lot of discussion on this business idea between the co-founder and the shark.
We’re following Woody Sears, Bill Werlin, and Kevin Costner along with their company for further updates.
What Is The Net Worth of Autio?
The current estimated worth of Autio is $20 million. This startup was started in 2020 and so far this startup has raised a total estimated $4.8 million funding. This is the second startup of Woody Sears, his first startup was Zuuka and this startup raised $2 million in funding.
Millions of people are using this app at present. Many media publications like Forbes, The New York Times, Outside, and TechCrunch have featured this startup.
