Elon campus co-founders at Storage Scholars sophomore Macey Rodrigues-Cowl and juniors Jack McDonald and Nick Manuel said they were thrilled to hear the two original founders of the college moving company will be featured on an episode of ABC's Shark Tank airing Oct. 14.
Storage Scholars, which has partnered with Elon since 2020, was founded by Wake Forest University class of 2020 graduates Sam Chason and Matt Gronberg.
“I was very very shocked and excited when I saw that they got accepted,” Manuel said. “I was even more surprised that it's already been recorded and it's coming out very soon.”
Elon University is just one of 23 college campuses across the country that the student-founded storage and moving company serves. All campus operations – including marketing — are done by student employees on those campuses with partnerships, according to a press release from Chason.
When Chason and Gronberg were students, they noticed international and out-of-state students didn’t have the means to move their belongings out of their dorms at the end of the semester. Since the company’s founding in 2017, Storage Scholars has moved more than 7,400 students and plans to “continue expanding to new universities,” according to the press release.
“You can be partnered with the school which allows you to really get hands on,” Rodrigues-Cowl said. “I'm in connection with a lot of people who host the events here at Elon and we can do that because we're paired. If we weren't paired we wouldn't be able to host certain events or be able to do tabling.”
McDonald said though they have to provide information like timing, the university has been helpful in the company’s efforts.
Manuel said one of the benefits of partnering with Elon is trust from the university.
“One of the big logistic things is that since we're partnered with the school now, they trust us to have keys to dorms,” Manuel said. “So during move in and outs, we have master keys that we can unlock all the doors instead of having to do appointment style, move in or outs where we need to contact the customer to go and meet them out.”
Chason told Elon News Network due to an agreement with ABC, he cannot speak on the experience, but shared in a press release, “It’s really incredible to see students today continue on the legacy of Storage Scholars.”
Chason and Gronberg also wrote they are excited to share what started as simply a way to make money as college students on a larger platform.
“A few years ago, we were kids hustling to find a way to pay for our college experience,” Gronberg said in the release. “To have the opportunity to go on one of the worlds largest entrepreneurship platforms and share our story is a childhood dream come true.”
McDonald said he found out the duo would be on Shark Tank through his mom. Though it’s Elon’s fall break, the three said they will still watch and support.
Manuel said the age gap between the current Elon co-founders and founders of the company is not that drastic — they have a personal connection, in addition to work. McDonald, Manuel and Rodrigues-Cowl said they hope this opportunity will allow the company to continue to expand.
“One thing is going to lead to another,” Rodrigues-Cowl said. “We're hoping it brings us to the next level.”
The episode premieres at 8 p.m. EST Friday on ABC.