Smith School Alumni Successfully Navigates “Shark Tank” TV Show For $100K Investment

Evan Lutz, a 2014 alum of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, recently appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank, according to an article by the school’s Office of Marketing Communications. The television show challenges contestants to pitch a business idea to a panel of potential benefactors (including Mark Cuban) in order to receive investment capital. Lutz appeared on the January 8th episode and ultimately received a $100,000 investment from Robert Herjavec for a 10 percent stake in Hungry Harvest.

Lutz’s company, Hungry Harvest, ships surplus produce that would otherwise be thrown away to local families and businesses. Since its inception the company has saved 300,000 pounds of produce from going to waste and delivered 100,000 pounds to those in need. Lutz told the Smith School that he estimates six billion pounds of fresh produce is wasted every year.

It’s no surprise that Lutz and his company have had so much success. The company, which he co-founded while studying at the Smith School, was a finalist in the university’s 2014 Do Good Challenge. Additionally, Lutz received the “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award from the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the inaugural Rudy Awards in 2015.

“Having the opportunity to appear on Shark Tank is a dream come true,” Lutz said in the article. “I believe that Shark Tank is the vehicle to help propel our local, mission-driven business to scale across the country.”

Hungry Harvest is currently available to subscribers in Maryland and Washington, D.C., but Lutz hopes that this new infusion of cash will help expand his company to other parts of the country.

regions: Baltimore / Washington, DC

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