$1Mfor 10%
Protein Candy
Valued at $10M
The pitch
Hamoun Karami from Toronto, ON, pitched Smartbinio in Season 16, Episode 7, asking the Dragons for $200K for 5% of the company.
- Asked for$200K for 5%
- Valuation$4Mimplied by the ask
- OutcomeNo deal
Offers in the Den
| Dragon | Offer | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Vincenzo Guzzo | Out - invested in a competing company and questioned the valuation | Out |
| Manjit Minhas | Out - felt there was no proof of product market fit given low sales versus valuation | Out |
| Arlene Dickinson | Out - doubted the claimed labour cost savings | Out |
| Wes Hall | Out - felt adoption would require too much market education | Out |
| Michele Romanow | Out - concerned about lack of traction with the retrofit model | Out |
Hamoun Karami of Toronto asked for $200,000 for 5% of Smartbin.io, a company making an indoor smart waste and recycling bin system using distance-measuring laser sensors connected to the cloud, which notify staff when bins need emptying. The devices, including a retrofit product called Lidbot, sell for $140 USD covering 24 months of service, after which a $4 per unit monthly fee applies; Hamoun claimed potential customers like airports or stadiums pay $350 to $2,000 per bin and could see 30% reductions in labour cost. The company had about $30,000 in revenue in 2020 and $10,000 so far in 2021, backed by Techstars, and was valued at $4 million.
All five Dragons went out. Vincenzo Guzzo disclosed he was already invested in a competing waste technology company. Manjit Minhas and Arlene Dickinson doubted the validity of the savings claims and market fit given the low sales relative to valuation. Wes Hall and Michele Romanow were concerned about the difficulty of market education and lack of traction with the retrofit model. No deal was made.
Pitch details from CBC’s Dragons’ Den pitch page.
Smartbinio today
- StatusOut of businessLast checked September 2026
Smartbinio appears to have closed. Its products may no longer be available.