Shoveling to Success: UW-Madison lands 'Shark Tank' deal

 

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- A recent UW-Madison grad is shoveling his way to success after launching a snow removal business that's seeing a flurry of activity.

Jake Piekarski is the CEO and Founder of Snow Scholars. The company offers flexible hours and high-paying jobs to college students that provide snow removal services to homeowners and businesses.

Paddy Lavin, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is one of nearly 300 college students employed at Snow Scholars. He says it's a great fit for students juggling classes, exams, and extracurricular activities.

"I don't mind being an early riser, especially on this college schedule," said Lavin. "It's not bad to make a couple bucks before you have to go to class in the morning."

Snow Scholars operates across six college campuses primarily in the Midwest including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Students can earn around $35 an hour shoveling.

"We’re all rugby players which means we're fit, and we can move a bit of snow too," Lavin said. "I think it's great that they're flexible and it's one of the higher paying jobs."

Piekarski started the business in 2022 while studying business and entrepreneurship at UW-Madison. Their website allows customers to book or subscribe for the season to have their space shoveled, salted or sanded by college students.

"I initially posted on the Nextdoor app to find my first 34 customers and 33/34 customers stuck after that first season, so I knew I was onto something," Piekarski said.

After a few more snowfalls, Piekarski realized he turned a simple idea into a thriving business.

Last year, he appeared on the ABC show Shark Tank to make his pitch to investors. He ultimately made a deal with Mark Cuban after turning down offers from other sharks.

"The experience was phenomenal," he said. "It's something I would do again, and it's really taught me there is a need for this business not just in Madison or even Wisconsin, but Minnesota, Michigan the east coast."

Since the show, Snow Scholars has continued to snowball. It's expanded to 25 campuses and now serves more than 600 customers.

Cuban and his team helped Piekarski improve his software which allowed him to grow the business while shoveling up profits along the way.

"The show really opened me up to new opportunities and new markets to look into," he said. "I've never been more prepared for anything in my entire life."