LSA Alumna Secures Big Deal on “Shark Tank”

Mark Cuban knows a good deal when he sees one. He also knows a good dealmaker. He saw both recently when Julia Dixon (A.B. ’18) walked on the stage on the television show Shark Tank. 

Dixon presented her company, ESAI (pronounced ess-ay-eye), and asked for $250,000 for a five percent stake in ESAI. The company is what she describes as an “ethical AI platform” that helps students navigate college admissions. ESAI provides a gamified experience that helps them build their personal brand with the ultimate goal of being admitted to a college or university that is a good match for their skills and interests. 

ESAI helps students “see how truly unique and awesome they are,” Dixon says, founder and CEO of ESAI. 

The Shark Tank “sharks”—the titans of business who decide whether to invest in entrepreneurs’ companies—seemed intrigued by Dixon’s pitch but also expressed skepticism. After some back-and-forth, businessman and media personality Cuban offered Dixon $250,000 for a 10 percent stake in her company. Not a bad deal, but Dixon was ready with her counter-offer: five percent and two percent in advisory shares. The image on screen shifted between them. Tense music played.

“Make it three and you have a deal,” Cuban said. Cut to Dixon: “Two-point-five.” Cuban gave a look of resignation, then smiled, and they hugged to seal the deal.

“You’re my dream shark,” Dixon told him.

ESAI has secured other investors as well and is now looking to expand the company by bringing on new staff members and developing new features. More than 550,000 students have used the platform, and the company’s TikTok presence has reached nearly 40 million viewers. 

The site’s toolkit assists students with school matching, college essay support, and developing a personalized strategy for achieving their goals. “Helping students uncover their dreams, and achieve their goals—that’s my dream,” Dixon says.

Dixon knows the world of college admissions; she is a former college advisor, and she says she built ESAI after witnessing how access to pricey consultants gave wealthy students an advantage. She is aware of some private consultants who charge more than half a million dollars to advise students about how to secure admission at an elite university. 

At LSA, Dixon majored in film, television, and media (then known as screen arts and cultures), as well as communication studies. “I think storytelling is my superpower. At first, I thought i wanted to be a screenwriter, but I’ve been able to shift to coming at the tech world from a creative lens,” Dixon says. “I think that’s why I’ve done well on TikTok and telling the story of ESAI on Shark Tank.”

She was given a push to try out for the show by her longtime roommate and fellow LSA graduate Melanie Blitz (A.B. 2018), a political science and communication studies alumna who now is an investment banking HR business partner at Deutsche Bank. “She’s my best friend, and I’m so grateful that she made me audition for the show,” Dixon says.

ESAI is partnering with individuals and with schools, nonprofits, and college prep organizations. Dixon’s long-term goal is for the company to be the place that “Gen Z builds their personal identity, evolving from college applications to career goals and everything in between.”

She thinks it will be possible to continue to thrive and grow, thanks in no small part to the investments by Cuban and others. Cuban sees a lot of potential in Dixon’s company. “I invested because ESAI is solving a real problem,” he says. “This platform doesn’t spit out essays. It helps students figure out who they are and how to show that to the world. That’s powerful, and personal.”

Images of Julia Dixon (top) and of Dixon with Mark Cuban (bottom) courtesy of ESAI and Shark Tank.