'Shark Tank' Season 14: Storage Scholars strikes $250K deal with Mark Cuban after starting bidding war
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Entrepreneurs Matt Gronberg and Sam Chason presented their company, Storage Scholars, in Season 14 Episode 4 of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank.’ They pitched their idea to all the Sharks and managed to intrigue them with their business potential.
The two Wake Forest University graduates who started a Triad company swam with the Sharks in the October 14 episode and came out not only alive but also richer. Storage Scholars was the first startup presented in the episode, seeking $250,000 for a 5% interest in the company. The firm got bids from four of the Sharks - all but Lori Greiner - and ultimately agreed to a deal with Mark Cuban.
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Storage Scholars was launched in October 2016 by Matt Gronberg and Sam Chason. While Sam began his Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Enterprise Management with a minor in Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University in 2016, Matt began his Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2017. Sam desired a prosperous future and was hesitant to incur significant college debt. Sam realized that he needed to work while he studied to make things better. Also, when he lived on campus, he saw people in dorms, especially international students, buy furniture and bedding but have nowhere to put them. Packing up quickly when moving dorms or going home for the semester break took about the same amount of time.
So, he saw a business opportunity and came up with the idea of starting a company that would help students with logistics and storage. Despite the fact that Storage Scholars was founded in October 2016, Sam met Matt in 2017 and the two co-founded the company out of Sam's dorm room. Sam is the company's CEO, while Matt has taken on the job of Chief Operating Officer. As the name suggests, Storage Scholars gives college students a safe place to store everything from small items to beds and furniture. After making an account, the user is asked to list the things they want to store. Storage Scholars then sends free boxes, which must be filled before collection. Also, the organization offers shipping and drop-off services to and from their nearest storage facility at a low cost.
They told the Sharks that they are working in 23 places from New York to Texas right now. The entire service costs an average of $559. The service includes the pick-up, storage for n months, delivery, and an additional $100 fee. Their plan is to work together with colleges to get their full support and get into this pocket-locket storage experiment. The cost is around $199, which covers all raw materials, labor, and warehousing. Storage Scholars asserts that it is the exclusive provider of the key access system.
Kevin O'Leary makes an offer in which he promises to give $250,000 in exchange for 20%. Lori Greiner believes they must provide their valuation and evaluation and opts out. Daymond John repeats the same offer as Kevin. Robert Herjavec, on the other hand, offers $50,000 for a 20% stake in the company. Mark Cuban agrees to a $250,000 offer for 12%. The co-founders chose Mark Cuban's offer after going back and forth with the other Sharks and getting several counter-offers.
'Shark Tank' Season 14 airs every Friday at 8/7c on ABC. Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.