By the time Christopher Gray walked into the studio to film his segment for “Shark Tank,” his app, Scholly, had already been downloaded by more than 100,000 users. Maybe that’s why he looked so calm under the bright lights — even as his pitch made the investors lose their cool. Here’s what Gray, a LeBow College of Business and Close School of Entrepreneurship student majoring in entrepreneurship, had to say about the show, which aired this past winter on ABC.
What was it like to step into the limelight and pitch to the sharks? The experience was amazing. It was like having a conversation and since I have done a lot of pitches in the past, I was confident and ready. The segment was edited a bit and didn’t show a lot of the compliments they threw at me as well. It was fun.
You looked pretty composed in front of those cameras. What was running through your head? I was excited to get an offer so quickly and that the Sharks were interested. As I said, there are things that were not aired that would have explained my composure. I have dealt with powerful people before so I wasn’t intimidated. When you are on national TV, you are not there to just get a deal, you are there to make sure you look good to the 10 million people watching!
So, you started the biggest fight that ever erupted in the “tank.” What was it like watching what transpired on TV? I had a watch party so my friends, family and I watched it for the first time together. It was great! In my opinion as well as many on the Internet, it really made Scholly look good. We have millions of people on the Internet talking about us and we are No. 1 in the app store. I would have been happy to answer any questions Mark and Robert had, but Daymond and Lori gave me what I wanted in terms of a deal and their belief in what Scholly will become. — Joseph Master