Breathometer#Company history

{{Short description|Discontinued blood alcohol measurement device}}

{{Infobox product

| title = Breathometer

| image = Breathometer.jpg

| caption =

| inventor = Charles Michael Yim

| launch year = 2013

| company = Breathometer

| available = No

| current supplier =

| last production =

| notes =

| url = {{URL|http://www.breathometer.com}}

}}

Breathometer was a device that claimed to measure someone's blood alcohol content (like a Breathalyzer) using their iOS and Android smartphones.{{Cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/05/breathometer/ |title=The Breathometer Will Ensure You Don't Drive (Or Do Video Interviews) While Drunk |last=Lawler |first=Ryan |date=April 5, 2013 |website=TechCrunch}} However, the app proved unreliable, and was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission.{{cite web|url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/01/breathometer-marketers-settle-ftc-charges-misrepresenting-ability|publisher=FTC |title= "Breathometer" Marketers Settle FTC Charges of Misrepresenting Ability to Accurately Measure Users' Blood Alcohol Content |date = January 23, 2017| access-date=April 25, 2017}}

Company history

Breathometer was founded in 2012 by Charles Michael Yim, a serial entrepreneur who had earlier founded three startup companies including Chatterfly, a mobile loyalty platform for businesses that was acquired by Plum District in December 2011.{{cite news |title=Chatterfly Launches Mobile Digital Loyalty App|author=Sarah Perez|website=TechCrunch|date=August 17, 2011|access-date=April 9, 2014|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/08/17/chatterfly-launches-mobile-digital-loyalty-app/}}{{cite news |title=Moms Love Daily Deals: Plum District Raises $20 Million, Acquires Chatterfly & DoodleDeals|author=Sara Perez|website=TechCrunch|date=December 8, 2011|access-date=April 9, 2014|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/12/08/moms-love-daily-deals-plum-district-raises-20-million-acquires-chatterfly-doodledeals/}}{{cite news |title=Fresh From Swimming in 'Shark Tank,' Breathometer Raises $2M for Smartphone Breathalyzer|author=Timothy Hay|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=October 18, 2013|access-date=April 9, 2014|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/10/18/fresh-from-swimming-in-shark-tank-breathometer-raises-2m-for-smartphone-breathalyzer/}}{{cite news |title=Breathometer Helps You Party Responsibly|author=Jameson Ketchum|journal=Substream Magazine|date=March 15, 2013|access-date=April 9, 2014|url=http://substreammagazine.com/tag/charles-michael-yim/}} Yim noted that there were no commercial breathalyzers for the smartphone market, and the only portable breathalyzers commercially available were both expensive and impractical for users to take with them on a night out.{{cite web|url=http://www.substreammusicpress.com/home/?p=10544|title=Breathometer Helps You Party Responsibly|date=March 15, 2013|website=Substream Music Press|access-date=1 June 2013|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006071500/http://www.substreammusicpress.com/home/?p=10544|url-status=dead}}

The company was partly funded through preorders collected via an Indiegogo crowd-sourcing campaign, which ran until April 2013.{{cite web|url=http://singularityhub.com/2013/04/09/breathometer-a-breathlyzer-for-your-smartphone/|title=BREATHOMETER — A BREATHLYZER FOR YOUR SMARTPHONE|author=David J. Hill|date=April 9, 2013 |website=Singularity Hub|access-date= 1 June 2013 }}{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/03/13/breathometer-unveils-the-first-smartphone-breathalyzer/|title=Breathometer unveils the first smartphone breathalyzer|author=Dean Takahashi|date=March 13, 2013 |website=Venture Beat|access-date= 1 June 2013 }} The campaign's original goal was to raise $25,000, but by the time it closed, it had raised over $138,000.{{cite web|url=http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/breathometer-a-smartphone-breathalyzer?c=activity|title=Breathometer - A Smartphone Breathalyzer|author=Charles Michael Yim|website=Indiegogo|access-date= 1 June 2013 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.slashgear.com/breathometer-blows-past-funding-goal-and-adds-new-stretch-goals-27275458/|title=Breathometer blows past funding goal and adds new stretch goals|author=Shane McGlaun|date=March 27, 2013 |website=Slash Gear|access-date= 1 June 2013 }}

In September 2013, Yim appeared on Shark Tank. He originally asked for $250,000 for a 10% stake in Breathometer, but all five "sharks" ended up investing a total of $1 million for a collective 30% stake in the company.{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/10/18/fresh-from-swimming-in-shark-tank-breathometer-raises-2m-for-smartphone-breathalyzer/|title=Fresh From Swimming in 'Shark Tank,' Breathometer Raises $2M for Smartphone Breathalyzer|last=Hay|first=Timothy|newspaper=WSJ|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-24}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.geekazine.com/special/charles-yim-breathometer-talks-indiegogo-lead-shark-tank-sxsw-2014/|title=Charles Yim: Breathometer Talks how Indiegogo Lead to Shark Tank – SXSW 2014|date=2014-03-15|newspaper=Geekazine.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-24}}

Controversy

= FTC complaint and product refunds =

In 2017, an inquiry by the FTC resulted in a settlement with the company. The FTC charged that the company knew the product frequently underreported BAC levels and knowingly made false marketing claims of accuracy.{{Cite web|date=2017-01-23|title=The FTC's sobering truth about Breathometer|url=https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/01/ftcs-sobering-truth-about-breathometer|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Consumer Information|language=en|archive-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602111045/https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/01/ftcs-sobering-truth-about-breathometer|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|date=Jan 27, 2017|title=Feds claim Breathometer made false claims about accuracy.|work=RTTNews|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1862151101|id={{ProQuest|1862151101}}}} The app was shut down and customers were required to be notified and offered full refunds. According to the complaint, sales of Original and Breeze totaled $5.1 million. Following the FTC controversy, Mark Cuban called Breathometer the "worst execution" in the history of Shark Tank, blaming the founder's mismanagement of funds and being perceived to go on expensive vacations rather than working.{{Cite web|last1=Brian|first1=Greg|date=November 3, 2019|title='Shark Tank': Mark Cuban Says This Product Has the Worst Execution in Show History|url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/shark-tank-mark-cuban-says-this-product-has-the-worst-execution-in-show-history.html/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet|language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine|publisher=Condé Nast|title=The Cast of Shark Tank Reviews Their Favorite Pitches|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/video/watch/reviews-shark-tank-review-pitches|access-date=2021-05-28|magazine=Vanity Fair|language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Jr |first=Tom Huddleston |date=2022-07-22 |title=Mark Cuban says this was his worst 'Shark Tank' investment ever: 'Next thing you know, all of the money's gone' |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/mark-cuban-worst-shark-tank-investment-ever-was-breathometer.html |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=CNBC |language=en}}

Products

= The Breathometer =

The Breathometer was a small device that plugged into the audio jack of a smartphone, coupled with a dedicated app that reads the user's blood alcohol content (BAC).{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/smartphone-breathalyzer-tells-when-youre-too-drunk-to-drive/|title=Smartphone breathalyzer tells when you're too drunk to drive|date=March 19, 2013 |work=CBS News|access-date= 1 June 2013 }}{{cite journal|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417229,00.asp|title=Breathometer Turns Smartphones Into Personal Breathalyzers|author=Eric Griffith|date=March 29, 2013 |journal=PC Mag|access-date= 1 June 2013 }} The app utilized the smartphone to provide the processing power, which allowed the device to be small enough to fit on a standard keychain. If the user's BAC level was over the legal limit, the app displayed one-click calls to local taxi services, friends from contact lists living close by, or local hotels.

Sample beta units were handed out at the 2013 SXSW in Austin, Texas. The app was shut down in 2017 as the result of a settlement with the FTC.{{cite web |last1=Paredes |first1=Gemma |title=Breathometer Net Worth - One of Shark Tank's Biggest Flops! |url=https://techiegamers.com/breathometer-net-worth/ |website=Techiegamers.com|date=27 January 2023 }}

= Mint =

The company pivoted transforming its technology into a new product to measure bad breath and oral health, called Mint.{{Cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Marc D.|last2=Jackson|first2=Lonnie|last3=Campbell|first3=Nathan|date=2020-10-01|title=Breathometer: Shut Down by the Federal Trade Commission|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127420916739|journal=Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy|language=en|volume=3|issue=4|pages=364–370|doi=10.1177/2515127420916739|s2cid=216363434|issn=2515-1274|url-access=subscription}} Breathometer released the Mint in September 2016. Sensors in the device measured sulfur compounds associated with bad breath and that scientists associate with periodontitis aka gum disease.{{Cite web|last=Becker|first=Rachel|date=2016-11-19|title=This smart device sniffed my morning breath to check for gum disease|url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/19/13680544/breathometer-mint-breath-tester-cavities-gum-disease-oral-health|access-date=2021-05-28|website=The Verge|language=en}} The company partnered with Philips to bundle the Mint with Sonicare oral health products.{{Cite web|title=Breathometer teams up with Philips to take on bad breath|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/08/breathometer-teams-up-with-phillips-to-take-on-bad-breath/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=TechCrunch|date=8 September 2016|language=en-US}} As of 2021, the Mint is no longer available on its site or Amazon.{{Cite web|title=Breathometer Store|url=https://store.breathometer.com/|url-status=dead|access-date=2021-05-28|archive-date=2017-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606155906/https://store.breathometer.com/}}{{Cite web|title=Amazon.com: Breathometer, Mint: The Smart Oral Health Monitor, White: Health & Personal Care|url=https://www.amazon.com/Breathometer-Mint-Smart-Health-Monitor/dp/B01JGK4RI0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pb_opt?ie=UTF8|access-date=2021-05-28|website=www.amazon.com}}