What would a horror movie producer look for on Shark Tank? Jason Blum had already spent years with stories that were supposed to entertain people, scare them and keep them watching. Blumhouse was behind movies such as Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious and Halloween. Then Jason’s two Shark Tank investments ended up being entertainment businesses where the customers became part of the experience themselves.
Thrill Builders was not just about haunted houses. The company also built escape rooms, mini golf courses, laser tag arenas and other places people could actually go and enjoy. The Murder Mystery Company took the experience another way, with customers becoming part of the murder mystery themselves instead of sitting there watching a show. These were the kind of entertainment businesses Jason already understood.
He did not get many chances either. Jason appeared only twice during Shark Tank Season 15, and he made a deal on both appearances. Thrill Builders was a deal with Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary, while The Murder Mystery Company was Jason’s alone. His part of the two accepted investments comes to $450,000.
And the bigger amount came from his solo deal. Jason offered The Murder Mystery Company $350,000 for 10%, leaving only another $100,000 attributed to him from the Thrill Builders investment. Two companies, $450,000, and then there were no more Jason Blum deals to add.
How Much Did Jason Blum Invest on Shark Tank?
There were only two companies to count for Jason Blum. His Shark Tank investments came to $450,000, all from the two deals he made during Season 15. The Murder Mystery Company accounts for $350,000 of it. Thrill Builders gives him the other $100,000.
Thrill Builders is the one that needs some dividing. Jason was not offering the $300,000 alone because Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary were in the deal with him. With three Sharks putting up the money, Jason’s share comes to $100,000. The Murder Mystery Company was different, with Jason putting up the complete $350,000 himself.
And $450,000 is the amount we can get from what happened inside the Tank. It does not necessarily tell us how much Jason eventually put into the businesses after filming. Thrill Builders was still waiting for its Shark Tank deal to close after the episode, and there is not enough public information showing that it eventually did.
The Murder Mystery Company went another way because Jason continued working with the business after Shark Tank. The business later talked about working with him on its ticketed shows around the country. But the deal it described gave Jason 5% of the company. On Shark Tank, Scott had agreed to give him 10% for the same $350,000.
Jason Blum’s Season 15 Investments
Jason Blum’s two investments did not happen in the same episode. He first came into the Tank in Episode 5, where Guy Kitchell pitched Thrill Builders. Jason joined Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary on the deal. The three offered Guy $300,000 for 30% of the company.
Then Jason returned later in Season 15. Episode 18 brought him The Murder Mystery Company, and this time another Shark did not come into the investment with him. Scott Cramton wanted $350,000 for 5% of the business. Jason was willing to give him the $350,000, but he wanted 10%.
Scott had come in asking for $350,000 for 5% of The Murder Mystery Company. Jason was interested in giving him the money, just not for 5%. He wanted 10% instead. Scott decided to give up the extra equity and made the deal.
Jason Blum Invested $100,000 in Thrill Builders
Guy Kitchell was not new to building places where people could have some fun. Thrill Builders worked on escape rooms, haunted houses, laser tag and mini golf. A customer could come to Guy with an idea for an attraction and his company could help build it. He came into Shark Tank asking for $250,000 for 20%.
Jason was not the only Shark who wanted to be part of this one. Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary joined him, and Guy now had three Sharks trying to make a deal with him. The three offered $300,000 for 30% of Thrill Builders. Guy accepted the offer.
That $300,000 does not all belong to Jason when counting his investments. Lori and Kevin were putting up money too, so Jason’s part comes to $100,000. It became the smaller of his two Shark Tank investments.
Thrill Builders kept working after Shark Tank without much being said about the investment. Guy had said the deal with the three Sharks was not closed at the time. Nothing later has made Jason’s $100,000 part certain.
Jason Blum Invested $350,000 in The Murder Mystery Company
Scott Cramton had turned murder mysteries into a business people could actually take part in. The Murder Mystery Company put on live shows, and guests could become characters in the story while trying to figure out who committed the murder. It was entertainment, but the audience was doing some of the entertaining too. Scott came to Shark Tank looking for $350,000 for 5%.
Jason had spent years getting people interested in stories through Blumhouse. Scott was doing it in a room full of guests instead of on a movie screen. And the company was already taking these shows around the country. Jason wanted in.
The problem was the 5%. Jason was willing to give Scott the full $350,000 he wanted, but he asked for 10% of the company instead. Scott thought about giving away another 5% and accepted. No other Shark came into the deal with Jason.
The $350,000 therefore belonged completely to Jason’s side. It was also much more money than the $100,000 attributed to him from Thrill Builders. And unlike that deal, Jason continued working with The Murder Mystery Company after Shark Tank. The business later talked about Jason and Scott working together on more ticketed shows.
What Happened to The Murder Mystery Company After Shark Tank?
The Murder Mystery Company was already putting on shows before Shark Tank, but the ticketed side started moving after the episode. Scott and Jason worked on taking these shows around the country. Within around three months, 25 venues had opened and more than 30 shows sold out. That gave the company a lot more public shows to work with.
Jason stayed around for this. Blumhouse continued listing The Murder Mystery Company with its experiences, while Scott and Jason worked together on the ticketed shows. It was not a case where the two made a deal in the Tank and then we heard nothing about them together again.
We still don’t know exactly how much Jason profited from the partnership. Sure, selling out shows generated steady revenue for the company itself, but a business making money isn’t the same thing as an investor getting a direct payout. Since it’s a private company, the actual returns on his investment remain under wraps.
Jason Blum’s Shark Tank Investment Style
Two deals do not give us much to work with when trying to figure out what Jason Blum liked as a Shark. But he did put money into both companies he saw enough in to make a deal. Thrill Builders was one, and The Murder Mystery Company was the other. Both were entertainment businesses.
The two deals were not handled the same way though. Jason had Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary with him on Thrill Builders. Three Sharks were putting up the $300,000 and Guy was getting more than Jason’s experience alone. Lori and Kevin had their own things they could bring to the company.
Jason was much more comfortable putting up the whole $350,000 when The Murder Mystery Company came along. Scott Cramton was already working in live entertainment, and Jason had spent years trying to get audiences interested in stories and experiences. There was something here Jason knew himself. This time he made the deal without Lori, Kevin or another Shark beside him.
But Jason only made two deals on Shark Tank. We can see what he liked those two times, but there is not much beyond that to build a pattern from. Maybe another appearance would have taken him somewhere completely different. All we really know is that the two companies he did choose were businesses he already knew something about.
What Jason Blum Brought to Shark Tank
A $15,000 movie is not much of a risk compared with what movies can cost. That was about what Paranormal Activity cost to make, and the movie became a huge success. Jason Blum built a lot of Blumhouse around that kind of thinking, where a movie did not have to start with a massive budget. If one worked, there was plenty of room for it to become much bigger.
Blumhouse kept making relatively inexpensive movies instead of needing a huge budget every time. Jason had seen that a project did not have to start big to become big. It still had to find an audience though. And finding that audience was something he had plenty of experience with.
By the time Jason appeared on Shark Tank, Blumhouse had already been behind Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious and Halloween. His business got even bigger after Shark Tank. Blumhouse completed its merger with James Wan’s Atomic Monster in January 2024, with the two companies connected to nearly $9 billion in worldwide box-office revenue. Jason’s two Shark Tank appearances were a very small piece of the business career he already had.
How Successful Was Jason Blum on Shark Tank?
Two Shark Tank deals are not really enough to give Jason Blum a long record of wins and losses. He appeared twice and made a deal both times, which is pretty good by itself. But that still leaves only Thrill Builders and The Murder Mystery Company to look at. There was never a third or fourth investment to show us what happened over time.
The Murder Mystery Company gives us the most to work with after Shark Tank. Jason stayed involved with Scott Cramton, and the ticketed shows expanded to 25 venues within around three months, with more than 30 shows selling out. Blumhouse also continued listing the company among its experiences. So, there is actual evidence that something continued between Jason and the business after they left the Tank.
Thrill Builders is where things become less clear. The company stayed in business after Shark Tank, but Guy Kitchell said the agreement with the three Sharks had not closed yet. There is still nothing publicly available showing that the deal was ever completed. That means Jason’s $100,000 can be counted as part of the deal he accepted on the show, but not as a confirmed investment.
The Murder Mystery Company gives us more evidence because Jason continued working with Scott Cramton after the show. More venues opened and shows sold out, but those are results for the business, not a record of what went into Jason’s pocket. We don’t know whether he has already made back the $350,000 or how much profit he has received from the company. Jason only had two Shark Tank deals to begin with, and the public numbers simply don’t go far enough to tell us how profitable those investments were for him.
Conclusion
The $350,000 for The Murder Mystery Company was the only time Jason Blum made a Shark Tank deal without anybody else putting money beside him. Scott Cramton had actually come in offering only 5% of the company for that money. Jason wanted twice the ownership and Scott agreed to 10%. For somebody who only ended up with two deals, quite a lot of Jason’s Shark Tank money went into this one company.
Thrill Builders was different from the beginning. Jason had Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary with him, and the three Sharks agreed to $300,000 for 30%. Dividing the money between them leaves $100,000 on Jason’s side. Add that to the $350,000 and his accepted Shark Tank investments come to $450,000.
There was something else Jason did not get on Shark Tank: a long list of companies. Two appearances in Season 15 were all he had, and those two appearances produced his complete portfolio.
Both of Jason’s deals also stayed pretty close to entertainment. That was already Jason’s world through Blumhouse, although Thrill Builders and The Murder Mystery Company entertained people in a different way. Instead of watching something happen on a screen, customers could go there and become part of the experience themselves.
We can easily add up the deals Jason accepted and get $450,000. It gets harder once we ask how much of that money actually went into the companies, because the Thrill Builders deal was never publicly confirmed as closed. We also don’t know how much money either investment eventually returned to Jason. Those details have stayed private.
Hi. I’m Daniyal Durrani. A CA-finalist, CPA-UK, and Master in Economics, with a decade-long business studies experience. I work as an Audit and Business Advisory Manager in a globally recognized accounting firm. I have been watching Shark Tank for a long time and have always admired the innovative business ideas. The revolutionary solutions to unaddressed day-to-day problems presented on the show used to impress me like no other thing on TV. Read more About me.
