LeTourneau alumni conquers Shark Tank

LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - A LeTourneau University alumni has hit it big on an ABC show that gives up-and-coming entrepreneurs a shot at success.

J.D. Claridge and his business partner took their innovative drone design on an episode of ABC's  Shark Tank.  Claridge faced off with the sharks in October, pitching his drone design, and admits there were nerves involved.
 
"It was pretty nerve-wracking for sure, and I had to actually fly a drone in through the hallway and land it in front of all the sharks on a tiny table. We were expecting it to go a lot worse than it ended up going," he says.

A 2001 LeTourneau University graduate, Claridge and partner Charles Manning wowed the sharks with their 'X-Plus One', a camera carrying drone and airplane that can reach speeds up to 60 mph.
 
"I was flying a drone and thinking 'this thing is kind of slow.' I thought if you could tip it forward and use those props only for thrust it could
go a lot faster. From inception to product on the street was about 5 years," J.D. says.
 
Claridge hooked the sharks with the units' practical applications.

"It's very fun to fly, but can be used for package delivery or medication delivery, search and rescue applications, or pipeline survey," he says.

In a rare moment, the pair got all 5 sharks to buy in. $1.5 million, for 20 percent of the company.
 
"It was surreal,  and I was numb for about three days afterward. A lot of what I learned here at LeTourneau University definitely contributed to my ability to think through the design. It kind of snowballed where all the sharks decided to come in as well. It's beyond what I had originally thought for sure," Claridge says.

You can currently buy the X-Plus-One on their website, or at Best Buy and Amazon.

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