Fox Lane Grad Takes A Dip In Shark Tank Episode Airing On Friday

BEDFORD, NY — The next big thing may have started in our own corner of the Hudson Valley.

The Bedford Central School District announced that Fox Lane High School Class of 2016's Sam Chason will be on ABC's Shark Tank Friday night. He will be presenting his business, Storage Scholars, which he started while attending Wake Forest University.

During his freshman year at Wake Forest University, Chason said he saw a need for a better campus storage solution for international and out-of-state students. That need, combined with his desire to pay off his college loans as quickly as possible, inspired the creation of Storage Scholars.

Chason's company partners with universities to put students’ belongings into storage for the summer and trains students to do the work, creating jobs on campus in the process.

During its inaugural 2017 season, Storage Scholars served 64 customers with great feedback and zero customer complaints. The company has now grown to serve 23 campuses, across 9 states, and has done over 7,400 moves while employing hundreds of students a year.

Despite their track record of success, Chason and his partner still have to impress the notoriously fickle judges to earn funding for the next step in the growth of the fledging company, but Chason won't have to work quite so hard to impress those cheering him on at home.

"We are so proud!" his alma mater said announcing the 2016 graduate's national television debut.

The Bedford Central School District spoke with Chason ahead of his appearance to get his insight into launching a business.

"I printed out flyers and went door to door to every freshman on campus, selling the service and figuring out what my target customers needed and wanted out of a summer storage service," Chason told his former school district."I had customers pay $50 deposits that covered the initial cost of boxes, supplies, truck rentals and the first month of storage. Everything was bootstrapped from there."

Chason told those students who may want to follow in his footsteps that college might be the best time in life to launch a business. He noted that having a meal plan, a dorm to sleep in and a .edu email to shamelessly reach out to any CEO or leader in the world makes it a little easier to take risks and see what works and what doesn't.

Ever the entrepreneur, Chason didn't miss the promotional opportunity speaking with his old school afforded him.

"Storage Scholars is making a major expansion in the Northeast this year," Chason said in his message to the student body of his old school. "If you are a student looking to learn the foundations of business/entrepreneurship and want to get paid to put them into practice, visit our website or if you know someone who works in Residence Life, Housing, or Auxiliary Services that could benefit from learning more about partnering with Storage Scholars, visit our website."