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43North winner SparkCharge to appear on ABC's 'Shark Tank' on Friday

JOSH AVIV, CHRIS ELLIS
Posted at 10:06 PM, Oct 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-15 23:28:29-04

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Local fans of ABC's 'Shark Tank' have even more reason to watch this week.

The team from SparkCharge, a former winner of the 43North business plan competition, will appear in the season premiere of 'Shark Tank' on Friday night at 8 p.m. on WKBW.

SparkCharge makes portable charging stations that allow electric vehicle owners to have their car charged anytime and anywhere they want. A new app called BOOSTEV that will allow EV owners to request SparkCharge charging stations to be delivered at the touch of a button.

SparkCharge was co-founded by Joshua Aviv, Christopher Ellis and Richard Whitney. The team won the $1 million top prize at the 2018 43North competition in Buffalo. Aviv and Ellis appear on 'Shark Tank' to pitch the idea to the "sharks".

"It was definitely a thrill", Aviv tells 7 Eyewitness News. "It was a great learning experience. It was a great moment to get a lot of feedback from some extremely talented entrepreneurs and investors"

"We actually prepared by watching every episode of 'Shark Tank' ", says Ellis. "From the moment we decided it was the right time to apply for the show we started watching 'Shark Tank' to understand what we needed to do to secure a deal on the show because it's really what it is all about"

JOSH AVIV, CHRIS ELLIS2
SHARK TANK - "1201" - A father and his 15-year-old son from Cincinnati, Ohio, help the Sharks get creative while sharing their solution for storing paint efficiently. Two tech-savvy entrepreneurs from Somerville, Massachusetts, put the pedal to the metal when they show off their portable electric vehicle charger. A husband and wife from Milltown, New Jersey, think they can smell success as they pitch their product designed to keep garments safe from bacteria and odor, while an entrepreneur from Portland, Oregon, tries to convince the Sharks he's brought blankets into the 21st century on "Shark Tank," FRIDAY, OCT. 16 (8:00-9:01 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC) JOSH AVIV, CHRIS ELLIS

The SparkCharge team couldn't reveal how their pitch went on 'Shark Tank' before the show airs on Friday.

"The hope for SparkCharge is to be able to learn and grown as a business", says Aviv. "We are also hoping with this episode airing that we are able to bring electric vehicles, and how you charge electric vehicles in a way that is now different, into the homes of people that watch the show."

SparkCharge portable chargers are manufactured in Buffalo.