Pretty Padded Room is an online therapy service that helps connect people with a therapist or a psychiatrist easily. Its main selling point is that it’s far more convenient to instantly get access to help that’s affordable and confidential.
The company was founded by Bea Arthur. She wished to provide counseling to individuals in their homes while also gaining experience for future therapists. Bea created an online club for young mothers in 2008, her first foray into the online business sector.
Pretty Padded Room promised consumers a place where they could safely be vulnerable. Bea hired a few carefully selected psychiatrists to assist its subscription-based clientele in resolving their subconscious issues. The chosen clients would enjoy all of the service benefits without having to step out of the house.
Are They Still an Active Company?
The company is currently not active and out of business.
How Did the Shark Tank Pitch Go?
Bea Arthur came to Shark Tank with an initial ask for $100,000 for a 30% stake in the company. She shared that she’d given free consultations while working as a domestic abuse counselor.
In that year, she’d only managed to get $21,000 through sales. In the year before that, Pretty Padded Room had generated $7,500 in revenue. These were some pretty low numbers. However, they did manage $200,000 through selling merchandise.
The Sharks weren’t all that enthusiastic about the service offered by Bea. Mark was interested in learning about lifetime benefits for customers who subscribe as well as how much a single client brought in. Unfortunately, Bea didn’t have an answer to this because she hadn’t crunched the numbers.
Mark and Robert stepped out first because they thought too many users would drop out of the subscription-based service over time and because they felt Bea didn’t really understand how to run a business.
Barbara had the same issue; she felt Bea could do a better job with bringing in someone who’d better handle the finances because this aspect of the business was extremely important. All the Sharks called quits on investment for the same reason.
Overall, the Pretty Padded Room Shark Tank review was negative and Bea left without a deal. Still, Bea managed to get a lot of exposure and attention for Pretty Padded Room through appearing on Shark Tank.
Bea later changed the name of the business but it was still unsuccessful. The website now directs people to another platform where customers can talk about their problems with other people.
Our Review of Pretty Padded Room
We decided to try Pretty Padded Room for ourselves to see how it would fare in real life.
The good news is that the design of the app is attractive, and the service is affordable and confidential. It also connects customers to therapists in their area, which makes it easier to visit them in real life later.
The best part about the app is the Digital Diary option, which allows customers to share their feelings in an online journal. It also allows therapists to access their client’s thoughts and feelings in real time.
The bad news is that some customers might not feel comfortable with sharing their feelings over an online counseling service. The service has lagging issues due to not being updated and being in the primary stage of development. It’s also not up to date with the latest list of psychiatrists in the area. On top of this, there’s no long-term client contract system that will keep clients coming back.
Pros of Pretty Padded Room
- Affordable
- Well-designed
Cons of Pretty Padded Room
- Some legality issues with cross-state therapists
- No long-term contract
- Discomfort with online counseling
Who Is Pretty Padded Room for?
Pretty Padded Room was intended for people who can’t afford expensive therapy or need urgent help. It is also a good option for people with busy schedules who can’t travel long distances.
Are There Any Alternatives?
While Pretty Padded Room may have been somewhat innovative for Bea Arthur, there are now numerous online therapy apps that people use when they can’t connect to a local therapist.
PsicoSociall is one good alternative to Pretty Padded Room. It provides a variety of services from mental health professionals in your area to meditation techniques to calm down patients who are currently in crisis. It’s an alternative health service for people who can’t afford to wait for a doctor’s response or afford the exorbitant fees of most psychiatrists.
The simple design and software will function perfectly on smartphones, removing the need for a computer or a tablet. Plus, the low consultation charges mean that more people will be able to get the help that they need when experiencing a mental health emergency.
Our Final Thoughts
Although Bea’s company is no longer in business. Pretty Padded Room is still a good option for people who want a cheap option for therapy or just want to connect to a licensed psychiatrist in their area that they can later visit in real life.
Online access makes it simpler to transcend the stigma associated with mental health disorders in the past. It may be an effective method for teaching people about mental health if they aren’t familiar with it yet. Even if you believe your mental health is robust, internet counseling can assist you in becoming mentally stronger.
However, some states actually don’t allow people to receive therapy from out-of-state therapists and it might be harder to receive a response during a crisis situation due to unreliable connections. It’s also not a good option for serious psychiatric illnesses.