As a student, finding a place to store your stuff can be a hassle, and storage companies aren’t meant for young people. Storage Scholars is different because it gives students an easy way to ship their stuff to school and store it over the summer. Founders Sam Chason and Matt Gronberg appeared on Shark Tank and have a deal with Mark Cuban. As of 2024, Storage Scholars has a market cap of $2.5 million.
Founder
Matt Grunberg, from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Sam Chasen, from Austin, Texas, met while attending Wake Forest University. Matt studied biochemistry and molecular biology, while his partner studied business and entrepreneurial management.
In addition to starting a business, they did several things together during college. Both became members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, where they also organized social and charity events. Sam and Matt are members of the Class of 2020.
Founding Storage Scholar
To help finance his studies, Chasen wanted to start a side job to make money. He noticed that most international students only brought two large suitcases. The rest of their belongings were bought near campus, but they had no place to store them during the summer.
In 2017, he started Storage Scholars to help students move their belongings and provide them with a safe place to store their belongings during the summer, and Sam later hired Matt as COO.
They worked with multiple organizations and schools to expand their business. They expanded to new states but initially decided to stay in the area around North Carolina to maintain the quality of service.
Shark Tank Appearance
Sam and Matt pitched with confidence and explained their services clearly. In 2023, the company worked with 15 schools and added new members to its management team. Crucially, they had full key access to client accommodation and a web app that allowed them to scale their business.
Both men were able to use the profits to pay off their student debt. The company’s year-to-date sales of $1.826 million impressed the Sharks, and a bidding war soon broke out.
Kevin O’Leary offers $250,000 for 10% and Daymond offers the same. Robert ups the ante by offering $500,000 for the same stake. The founders strike a deal with Mark Cuban, who offers $250,000 for 10%.
After Shark Tank
The episode airs in October 2023. The positive PR for the show means a lot to them and the strategy of targeting a specific audience works well. Speed is of the essence for the company and they need to sacrifice profits to work with new universities. Cuban needs to invest more money in the next year to fund growth.
Storage Scholar served 23 campuses in the past school year and is currently in service at universities such as Elon University, Davidson College, University of North Carolina, High Point University, and Duke University. As of March 2024, they are in service at 73 schools and have generated over $2 million in revenue per year. They have served over 10,000 customers and paid $804,000 in student wages. The startup currently supports 140 campuses.
Storage Scholar has grown from two to seven full-time employees and employs 400 part-time students. The student storage service has more than 10,000 reviews on its website, StorageScholar.com, with an average rating of 4.7 stars. Today, the company is valued at $2.5 million.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: dut.edu.vn
