Syracuse College Grads Score Major Deal on TV’s ‘Shark Tank’
A Syracuse University alumnus and an Onondaga Community College grad have scored on TV’s Shark Tank with their very own million-dollar idea.
According to a report in the Buffalo News, Joshua Aviv, who graduated from Syracuse University's Maxwell School before launching his company, SparkCharge, successfully sought a deal with the show's celebrity investors on the season premiere of the ABC show on Friday, October 16. Aviv brought along the company's co-founder and tech expert, Christopher Ellis, an Onondaga Community College alum.
The folks at SparkCharge crank out a product called the Roadie, a portable charging unit for electric cars. The “ultrafast” charging units are leased and sold to a customer base consisting of original equipment manufacturers and road service companies who rescue stranded cars and get them running again in a hurry. The owners are also developing a smaller, cheaper version for everday consumers with electric cars.
Two of the show's “sharks,” Lori Greiner, the "Queen of QVC," and Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, were impressed enough to strike a deal to help the company in its next stage of growth.
Greiner and Cuban agreed to fork over $1 million for a 50-50 split of a 10% stake in the company, and will serve on the company's board of directors.
“With the power of Lori and Mark, SparkCharge is now fully charged to take over the world,” Aviv told the Buffalo News.
SparkCharge is based in Somerville, Massachusetts, and has a manufacturing wing in Buffalo.