• Before they appeared on "Shark Tank," the founders of Cousins Maine Lobster rehearsed their pitch over and over again.
• To make sure they had it down, they tried to distract each other, by blowing a hair dryer in each other's faces, reciting their lines while running, or even punching each other in the face.
• Ultimately, cofounder Jim Tselikis said, their actual pitch was easier than the rehearsals — and they landed a $55,000 deal with Barbara Corcoran.

In the months leading up to their appearance on "Shark Tank," in 2012, Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac watched every episode of the show.

The founders of Cousins Maine Lobster made index cards with commonly asked questions and answers, and jotted down which types of comments from contestants seemed to make the Sharks angry.

"We always say, if you're prepared, you've got nothing to worry about," Tselikis told Business Insider.

But Tselikis and Lomac also devised other, somewhat unusual techniques to make sure their pitch went perfectly.

"We would practice our pitch while we were running," Tselikis said. In an effort to simulate their anxiety on the day of the show, they'd get their heart rate up, rehearsing their lines while they were exercising and breathing heavily.

They'd also try to distract each other during rehearsals. "We'd literally be in our rooms turning on a blow dryer while somebody else was doing his pitch," Tselikis said.

Some rehearsals got a bit... violent. "Punches, strangling [each other], and as many inappropriate gestures as possible," Lomac said in an email.

The goal was that "when we're in the spotlight, we wouldn't lose a beat," Tselikis added.

When they finally walked through those double doors to the "Shark Tank" stage, Tselikis said, they were still nervous. But their offbeat preparation strategies paid off. Cousins Maine Lobster landed a $55,000 deal with Barbara Corcoran, in exchange for 15% of their company. The company is now one of Corcoran's most successful investments.

"It wasn't any harder than having Sabin punch me in the face for distraction purposes while I was giving my pitch," Tselikis said. "That was harder than sitting there and talking to the people right in front of us."

SEE ALSO: Startup founders who convinced 'Shark Tank' sharks like Mark Cuban to invest say too many entrepreneurs overlook a crucial element of a winning pitch

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NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' star Barbara Corcoran: How I went from a 10-kid household and more than 20 jobs to become a real estate mogul

• The founders of sock company Bombas appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2014.
• They landed a deal with Daymond John and, in 2017, Bombas brought in nearly $50 million in revenue.
• To prepare, the founders rehearsed their answers to all potential questions — and follow-up questions — that the Sharks might ask.

"If you over-prepare, you're going to do fine."

So said Randy Goldberg, cofounder of sock company Bombas.

In 2014, Goldberg and his cofounder, David Heath, appeared on "Shark Tank," ultimately landing a deal with Daymond John: $200,000 in exchange for 17.5% of their company, plus the financing of the inventory.

Goldberg and Heath told Business Insider that they prepared for their appearance by compiling a spreadsheet with close to 300 questions that the Sharks had asked entrepreneurs on previous episodes. Over and over again, Goldberg and Heath rehearsed their answers to these questions.

But they didn't stop there — they also figured out which follow-up questions the Sharks might ask, and simulated how those conversations would play out.

"We would say, 'Well, OK. This response leaves this question open,'" Heath said. "So you want to then be on the defensive if they come back and ask it this way."

Heath added that "a big part of our strategy was trying to control the narrative, and control which line and direction the questioning would take based on our responses."

To ensure that their time in the tank went smoothly, the founders also broke down exactly which types of questions each person would answer.

All that preparation helped them stay calm when Kevin O'Leary (a.k.a. "Mr. Wonderful") called them "sock cockroaches," when Lori Greiner said she didn't like that they planned to use their investment money to hire more people, and when Mark Cuban said their sales shouldn't be plateauing.

Today, Bombas is one of the biggest "Shark Tank" successes: Heath told Business Insider's Richard Feloni that the company had been profitable since 2016 and brought in "just under $50 million" in revenue in 2017.

John told Feloni that Bombas was his best investment, largely because the company's social mission — donating socks to homeless shelters — is also good for business.

Bombas might not have landed the deal with John in the first place if they hadn't been so well-rehearsed.

"Even if you're talking about questions that you didn't specifically work on," Goldberg said, "the fact that you prepared so many other things gives you the confidence to feel like you can answer anything."

SEE ALSO: The 'Shark Tank' founders who were called 'sock cockroaches' on national TV before landing a $200,000 deal have become one of the show's biggest success stories

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• On an episode of "Shark Tank," Vibes founder Jack Mann received a $100,000 offer from Kevin O'Leary. He turned it down.
• Mann was initially nervous about messing up his pitch, so he hired a speech coach, who taught him an unusual memory technique.
• The memory technique involved associating keywords from each paragraph with a different image. Mann delivered his pitch seamlessly.

Between the day Jack Mann was approved to appear on "Shark Tank" and the day the episode was filmed, there were about five weeks.

"It was a stressful time that month; I'll tell you that," Mann told Business Insider. Mann is the founder of Vibes, a company that makes reusable earplugs designed to preserve sound quality. Vibes was just three months old when the episode was filmed.

Mann told Business Insider that, going into the show, he was less nervous about preparing answers to the Sharks' questions and more so about delivering his opening pitch. Specifically, he was worrying about his mind going blank in the middle.

"I hadn't done much public speaking previously, and definitely hadn't done anything to that magnitude on television," he said.

So he hired a speech coach, who guided him in using a specific memory technique.

As Mann explained it, you simply associate a keyword in each paragraph of your speech with a different image. Then you work your way clockwise through the group of images, "rather than think through what's the next thing you were trying to say."

For example, Mann said, you might use an image of a house to remember to talk about your background and where you're from.

"Things really go wrong when you forget what you're trying to say and you slip up," Mann said — something that's happened before on the "Shark Tank" stage. "So I found that [technique] helpful."

Mann delivered his pitch seamlessly and received a $100,000 offer

Mann's memory technique is similar to another, research-backed strategy, called the "method of loci" or the "memory palace."

Using that strategy, you associate each item you're trying to remember with a specific image and place. As you walk through the different places in your mind, you're reminded of the items they're linked to.

Ron White, a two-time national memory champion, previously told Business Insider that he taught a six-year-old girl to memorize the names of all 44 US presidents using much the same technique.

Ultimately, Mann delivered his pitch seamlessly and went on to receive an offer from Kevin O'Leary (a.k.a. "Mr. Wonderful"): $100,000 for 35% of the company, with a royalty of $2 for every pair of earplugs sold until O'Leary got his money back. Mann turned down the offer, and has "zero regrets" about it.

As of 2017, Vibes had grown from an initial $33,000 investment to $2 million in sales.

"I'm happy with where we are today, where we've grown, and where we're going to continue to grow," Mann said.

SEE ALSO: 'Shark Tank' founders who were called 'sock cockroaches' on national TV prepared answers to about 300 questions before they even appeared on the show — and they landed a $200,000 deal

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• "Shark Tank" contestant Shaan Patel bombed his answer to a question he knew the Sharks were going to ask him.
• The question was whether Patel, a medical student, wanted to be an entrepreneur or a doctor.
• Despite stammering through his answer, Patel secured a $250,000 deal from Mark Cuban.

No matter how much you practice a big business pitch, nothing compares to the pressure of actually delivering it.

For Shaan Patel, that lesson was made painfully clear on a 2016 episode of "Shark Tank."

Patel went on the show to pitch his SAT tutoring company Prep Expert to a panel of celebrity investors. Although the investors were impressed by Patel's credentials — he scored a perfect 2400 on his SAT in high school — he nearly blew his chance at a lucrative deal when he flubbed the answer to a question he knew they were going to ask him.

The question was whether Patel, who at the time was earning a medical degree in dermatology from the University of Southern California, wanted to be an entrepreneur or a doctor. 

Patel told Business Insider he had prepared for that very question on the flight to Los Angeles for filming of the show. In fact, when producers of the show asked him to write down 25 potential questions he might face from the panel, that was the first one he wrote.

But when it came time to answer the question in real life, Patel stammered his way through an answer that left the Sharks unconvinced about his commitment to his business.

"It was so funny because on 'Shark Tank' when they asked me that question, I totally stumbled," Patel said. "I could not give them a clear answer and I looked like a total goofball. Like, how did you not think they were going to ask you that?"

The Sharks didn't spare Patel their criticism.

"Your biggest problem, Shaan, is that you're not 110% committed," Kevin O'Leary said.

"I give my money to people that will die for their business," he continued. "They'll give up their lives for it. That's the kind of general I want to back. You're not that kind of general."

"I'm not sure that you know the direction you want to be," Lori Greiner said, with Robert Herjavec adding, "I can't invest in a part-time entrepreneur."

Despite the harsh words, Patel managed to come out on top when he accepted a $250,000 offer from Mark Cuban for 20% of his company and any of Patel's future business ventures.

In the two years since the show aired, Prep Expert has grown tenfold, with sales increasing from $1 million to $10 million and the company expanding from one full-time employee to 10. Prep Expert now offers live classes in five US cities, and between live and online courses, has tutored 30,000 students, a couple of whom have gone on to score perfect scores on the SAT.

Patel and Cuban have even co-authored a book, "Kid Start-Up," about how parents can teach their children to become entrepreneurs. 

At the same time, Patel finished medical school, earned an MBA from Yale, and is now in residency to become a dermatologist. 

"If I could go back to the show and answer that question, I would have said I'd like to do both," Patel told Business Insider.

Ideally, he said, he would be able to have a career as a dermatologist and as a business leader, possibly only practicing medicine "a couple times a week."

"All of the Sharks wear multiple hats. None of them are just Sharks on 'Shark Tank,'" he said.

"They do all kinds of different things, and they don't just hold one career. I think lots of people do that. I don't know why necessarily it was so astounding for them."

He continued: "But I can understand that if you're going to invest in someone you want them to be fully 100% dedicated to it. Hopefully I've been able to show the Sharks, now being one of Mark Cuban's most successful investments on the show, that I was able to grow the company and continue my education at the same time."

SEE ALSO: A 'Shark Tank' entrepreneur who won $300,000 realized previous contestants were doomed by the same type of question

DON'T MISS: A perfect SAT couldn't get this guy into the Ivy League — now he's running a successful business with Mark Cuban

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NOW WATCH: Here's the morning ritual 'Shark Tank' star Daymond John uses to stay focused throughout the day

• Nick Sky and Dan Stelmach, brothers and founders of the student-loan payment app ChangEd, say you need to "embrace the broom" to find success as an entrepreneur.
• "Embracing the broom" means doing whatever job that needs to be done and not thinking the work is beneath you. The advice can be traced back to Andrew Carnegie.
• Through hard work and persistence, the brothers scored an appearance on "Shark Tank" and a $250,000 deal with Mark Cuban.

If you want any chance at success as an entrepreneur, you're going to have to embrace the broom.

That's what Dan Stelmach and Nick Sky learned from their mother, who immigrated to the US from Poland and worked three jobs to support the family as a single parent.

"She was always doing the dirty work to get the job done," Sky told Business Insider.

That willingness to grind out a living is what embracing the broom is all about. The idea comes from business magnate Andrew Carnegie, who once said that an aspiring business leader shouldn't be afraid "to try his hand at the broom" no matter their greater ambitions.

Stelmach and Sky have taken that to heart as they work to get ChangEd, their student-loan payment app, off the ground. 

The app, which the pair began working on in 2016, is simple enough: Users link their bank accounts, and every time they use their credit or debit card, ChangEd rounds the purchase up to the nearest dollar and collects the change. Whenever the pool of change reaches $100, the app automatically sends a payment to their student-loan servicer. The service can speed up users' payment timelines by a full six years, the creators said.

The pair launched the app in April 2017, and have put countless hours into developing it. Both Sky and Stelmach worked on ChangEd at a full-time pace while holding down other jobs: Stelmach sold cars, while Sky woke up at 5 a.m. to drive for Uber. Stelmach has said he invested his life savings, about $30,000, into ChangEd.

"If you're trying to build something from the ground up, a good work ethic, persistence and discomfort are all things that you need to be okay with," Sky told Business Insider. "You'll be introduced to the broom, and if you think you're too good for it or that the work is beneath you, you'll have problems. No work is beneath an entrepreneur."

He continued: "Embracing the broom, to me, means being happy to do the dirty work. Understanding that you're not beneath the work just because you think you're more qualified."

When the brothers pitched their app on an episode of "Shark Tank" that aired earlier this year, the panel of celebrity investors took note of the lengths they went to finance their dream.

"That's the way you hustle. That's what I'm talking about," Mark Cuban said on the show.

"Now THAT'S an entrepreneur that's Rising and Grinding," Daymond John tweeted.

Cuban eventually offered the pair a $250,000 deal for a 25% stake in their company, which they accepted. The exposure they got from "Shark Tank" helped grow their business "tenfold," they said, and last month the company announced it had sent its millionth dollar to student-loan servicers since the app launched.

"Not everything is all sunshine and rainbows every single day, but we love the roller-coaster ride that a startup is, and we're working hard every single day," Sky said.

SEE ALSO: 4 years after 'Shark Tank' entrepreneurs gave a frenetic pitch at top volume that made Mark Cuban laugh, they aren't sorry they did it

DON'T MISS: Jeff Bezos once said that in job interviews he told candidates of 3 ways to work — and that you have to do all 3 at Amazon

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• Mark Cuban has an estimated net worth of $3.9 billion.
• He's earned his fortune through a lifetime of business deals, including the $5.7 billion sale of Broadcast.com, his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, and investments made on ABC's "Shark Tank."
• Cuban has spent millions on private airplanes, a yacht, and a luxurious Dallas home, not to mention $2 million in fines from the NBA.
• Cuban is in the news this week after an investigation into the Mavericks organization surfaced evidence of a hostile workplace for women. Cuban has pledged to donate $10 million to women's causes and domestic violence awareness.

Mark Cuban is one of the wealthiest people in America, with an estimated net worth of $3.9 billion according to Forbes.

The businessman and investor earned his fortune with a series of shrewd business deals starting in the 1990s, most notably the sale of his streaming site Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion in stocks.

He bought the NBA's Dallas Mavericks in 2000 and helped transform them into a championship team.

And he's added to his empire with investments like the ones he makes each week on ABC's "Shark Tank," where he's been a regular for eight years.

Cuban is in the news this week after an investigation into the Mavericks organization surfaced evidence of a hostile workplace for women. Cuban has pledged to donate $10 million to women's causes and domestic violence awareness.

But $10 million isn't the fortune it sounds like to the billionaire. Over the years, he's spent his money on private planes, a 24,000-square-foot house, a $110,000 bar tab, and millions of dollars of fines from the NBA. 

Read on to see how Cuban has earned — and spent — his fortune.

SEE ALSO: A look inside the daily routine of billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who starts working the minute he wakes up and falls asleep to 'Law & Order'

Mark Cuban is worth an estimated $3.9 billion, according to Forbes. That ranks him among the 250 richest people in America.

Source: Forbes

Cuban made his fortune over a lifetime of shrewd business deals. He's the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks …

Source: Forbes

… he's the co-founder of 2929 Entertainment, which owns the production companies behind films like "Akeelah and the Bee" and "Good Night and Good Luck"…

Source: Biography

• The day before she appeared on "Shark Tank," Doddle & Co cofounder Nicki Radzely froze up and forgot her name during the final rehearsal.
• Radzely, who was pitching the Pop Pacifier, had to appear on the show alone because her cofounder, Janna Badger, had just given birth.
• Despite all the commotion, Radzely earned multiple offers, ultimately accepting $250,000 from Kevin O'Leary.

Nicki Radzely and Janna Badger, the founders of Doddle & Co, were supposed to appear on "Shark Tank" together.

But a few days before the episode was scheduled to film, Badger, who was living in Seoul, South Korea, gave birth to her third child. Radzely would have to dive into the tank alone.

Doddle & Co makes baby products. including pacifiers and teethers; on the "Shark Tank" episode, Radzely was pitching the Pop Pacifier, which is designed to stay clean because the nipple pops back in every time it falls. At the time, the company was just four months old.

The day before the episode was filmed, there was a final rehearsal with the show's producers. "I went out on the rehearsal stage feeling really confident, that I'd done this before to some degree and that I was going to hit the ball out of the park," Radzely told Business Insider.

But when the producers drew back the curtain, Radzely said, there was no audience, no stage. All she could see was "a sea of desks and laptops and everyone completely silent, staring back at me."

Undeterred, Radzely looked at the producers and said, "Hi. My name is…"

"I completely froze and forgot my name," Radzely recalled. The producers gave her a second chance, reassuring her that she'd be fine. "I was like, ‘OK, you got this. You know what you're doing.'"

Once again, she walked through the curtain and said, "Hi. My name is…" This time, the producers took pity on her, telling her simply to practice before the next day.

Radzely went back to her hotel room in a state of panic and spent the next 12 hours rehearsing.

Standing on the "Shark Tank" stage, Radzely was perfectly poised and delivered her pitch seamlessly. She received multiple offers, including a joint offer from Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, and Lori Greiner. Ultimately, Radzely opted to accept Kevin O'Leary's offer: $250,000 for 10% of the company.

Today, Doddle & Co has reached nearly $1 million in sales.

"The show was tremendous for the brand," Radzely said, largely because it put their name out into the world.

In that sense, she said, "we got a good deal."

SEE ALSO: 'Shark Tank' founders who were called 'sock cockroaches' on national TV prepared answers to about 300 questions before they even appeared on the show — and they landed a $200,000 deal

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NOW WATCH: I woke up at 4:30 a.m. for a week like a Navy SEAL

• Generation Z, the generation born after 1997, differs from millennials when it comes to how they use social media.
• Shaan Patel, the founder of SAT tutoring company Prep Expert, said adults don't realize how Generation Z is able to balance its use of technology and social media.
• Teenagers today are also more eager to become entrepreneurs than the previous generation, Patel said.

Today's teenagers are often accused of being obsessed with social media.

But one entrepreneur who works with them says adults aren't seeing the full picture.

Shaan Patel, the founder of the SAT tutoring company Prep Expert, has worked with thousands of high schoolers through his mix of live and online video courses since 2011.

In seven years, Patel's customers have gone from the oldest of the millennial generation to the youngest members of Generation Z, defined as those born after 1997.

Although there's no questioning Generation Z's prolific use of social media, Patel said teens today are better than adults at knowing when to put the phone aside.

"My worry has always been that you become very distracted with social media," Patel told Business Insider. "I think Generation Z, at least the students taking our courses, have learned how to balance that maybe better than adults, like social media addiction and things like that. They are so focused on these tests, they are able to learn online and they don't get distracted."

"They are really, really savvy about when to use technology and when to not, and I don't think we give them enough credit for that."

Another big difference Patel noticed between his older and younger students was in their prospective career choices. Today's high schoolers, he said, take their inspiration from entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, not to mention shows like "Shark Tank" that reward entrepreneurs who build businesses from the ground up.

"Seven years ago, almost everyone wanted to become a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, something like that. Today, entrepreneurs are becoming the rock stars of society," Patel told Business Insider. 

"What's really, really interesting to me is all these kids are learning coding, learning about technology, they want to start their own companies, they want to become an entrepreneur."

On that front, Patel can relate to his Generation Z students. He's an entrepreneur himself, of course, and he even went on a 2016 episode of "Shark Tank" to pitch Prep Expert, earning a $250,000 deal from Mark Cuban. 

Patel's experience getting his company off the ground helps him relate to his Generation Z students, he said.

"As a millennial, I was never encouraged to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career path growing up," he said.

And his No. 1 piece of advice for the younger students he tutors? No matter what the examples of Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates suggest, don't drop out of college.

"They are the exception, not the rule. I tell kids to continue to work on their business while pursuing their education," he said.

Not only did Patel stay in school, he recently earned both an MBA and a medical degree, and makes time for his business while he does his dermatology residency at Temple University.

"Generation Z student entrepreneurs are primed for success if they stay in school as they launch their businesses."

SEE ALSO: A 'Shark Tank' entrepreneur practiced his answer to the question he knew the Sharks would ask, but he bombed it anyway — and still landed a $250,000 deal

DON'T MISS: Mark Cuban is worth $3.9 billion — see how he earns and spends his massive fortune

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• "Shark Tank" alumni, including the founders of Bombas and Coffee Meets Bagel, say their experience on the show was valuable even beyond getting an offer.
• For example, it forced the entrepreneurs to think about their business more carefully as they prepared for their appearance.
• Those founders who received offers say it confirmed that they had a compelling business idea.

Few if any "Shark Tank" alums will say they didn't care about the prospect of making a deal with one of the investors.

But many entrepreneurs have told Business Insider that their experience in the tank was valuable not solely for financial reasons.

Consider Randy Goldberg, cofounder of sock company Bombas. He and cofounder David Heath appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2014, ultimately landing a $200,000 deal with Daymond John.

Goldberg said the mere act of preparing for their appearance on "Shark Tank" was useful. The cofounders compiled a spreadsheet with nearly 300 questions that the Sharks had asked other entrepreneurs, and rehearsed their answers to these questions over and over again.

"It makes you take a look and examine things and have answers to questions that you might be ignoring," Goldberg said of the rehearsal process. "It brings things out in the open."

Jack Mann, founder of earplugs company Vibes, hired a coach to prepare for his appearance on "Shark Tank," and learned a technique to help him remember his pitch. Mann said he still uses the technique — which involves associating a keyword in each paragraph of your speech with a different image — today, when he gives presentations.

Multiple other entrepreneurs who received offers from Sharks said it confirmed for them that their business idea was compelling.

Dawoon Kang, cofounder and co-CEO of dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2015 and declined Mark Cuban's offer of $30 million for the entire company. Kang said she and her cofounders have no regrets about turning Cuban down — even though other people called them greedy.

Still, Kang told Business Insider, "To get Mark Cuban to benchmark us at $30 million really was a huge testament and validation of all the work that was done to build this company."

Mark Lim, cofounder of Lollaland, went on "Shark Tank" in 2012 and won $100,000 from Cuban and Robert Herjavec. Lim told Business Insider that getting "validation" was a key benefit from the experience — especially since the business was still in its infancy at the time.

The exposure that comes with appearing on "Shark Tank"— which has a national audience of about 10 million, according to the New York Post— is perhaps the most meaningful benefit.

Nikki Radzely, cofounder of baby-product company Doddle & Co, won $250,000 from Kevin O'Leary. "Going on the show was tremendous for the brand," she said, largely because it brought "awareness to parents that were looking for a better solution to soothe their baby."

Mann felt similarly, though he ultimately turned down O'Leary's offer of $100,000. The two things of most value, he said, were the investors' "acumen and experience," as well as "the obvious exposure that comes from the show."

SEE ALSO: 'Shark Tank' founders who were called 'sock cockroaches' on national TV prepared answers to about 300 questions before they even appeared on the show — and they landed a $200,000 deal

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Two months from now we'll be kicking off our ninth annual IGNITION conference in New York City.

We're excited to announce the latest round of additions to our packed agenda.

• Prolific entrepreneur Mark Cuban will return to the stage after speaking at 2014's event. He'll be joined by Felicity Conrad and Kristen Sonday, the cofounders of one of Cuban's business investments, the legal startup Paladin. Paladin aims to help legal teams sign up for pro-bono opportunities and enables coordinators to track lawyers' work.
• Barbara Corcoran, the legendary real-estate mogul and "Shark Tank" star, will be at IGNITION discussing her decades-long entrepreneurial career.

• Cindy Robbins is the president and chief people officer at Salesforce. She spearheaded a companywide initiative, helmed by CEO Mark Benioff, to close the gender wage gap. The tech company has since dedicated $6 million toward correcting compensation differences. Learn more about Salesforce's unique company culture and benefits, and how Robbins is continuing to scale new initiatives paving the way for other companies.
• Legendary businessman and venture capitalist Steve Case will be joined onstage by several of the entrepreneurs he's invested in, including Craig Fuller, the CEO of FreightWaves — the largest provider of news, content, data, and analytics for the freight and logistics markets — and Tye and Courtney Caldwell, the cofounders of B2B beauty-tech platform ShearShare.
• Rachel Holt leads Uber's New Modalities unit, which oversees the company's initiatives around bikes, scooters, transit, hourly rentals, and more. Ryan Rzepecki is the CEO and founder of JUMP Bikes, the dockless electric-bike-sharing startup that Uber recently acquired. The two will take the IGNITION stage together to discuss the future of urban transportation.
• Cal Henderson is the cofounder and chief technology officer of Slack, the team-communication and workplace-messaging platform. Henderson will share how Slack's technology is transforming and streamlining the modern work environment, and how it aligns with boosted employee time management and productivity.

Take a look at the full lineup of speakers confirmed so far.

This event will sell out, so get your tickets now to ensure you don't miss a moment.

Register here.

For updates on new speakers, sign up for our IGNITION mailing list.

SEE ALSO: Announcing IGNITION 2018 speakers: Don't miss Scott Galloway, Janice Min, Steve Case, and more!

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• On an episode of "Shark Tank," Jack Mann, the founder of earplug company Vibes, turned down a $100,000 offer from Kevin O'Leary.
• Today, Mann doesn't regret the decision at all. As of 2017, Vibes had reached $2 million in sales.
• Even if Mann didn't walk away with cash, he said he still gained valuable experience pitching his business.

Vibes was only three months old when its founder Jack Mann appeared on "Shark Tank"— but Mann managed to win a $100,000 offer anyway.

Vibes makes reusable earplugs designed to preserve sound quality. Kevin O'Leary (a.k.a. "Mr. Wonderful") was intrigued, and he offered Mann $100,000 for 35% of the company, with a royalty of $2 for every pair of earplugs sold until O'Leary got his money back.

Mann turned O'Leary down.

"I know that Kevin often goes to royalty deals," Mann said on camera after he walked off stage. "I already knew going in there that that wasn't something I was willing to take. The business is too small, and we can't be pulling money out of it at this time."

Today, Mann told Business Insider, he has "zero regrets" about his decision. "We've been able to grow and bootstrap without the need for outside financing," he said. "I'm happy with where we are today, where we've grown, and where we're going to continue to grow."

As of 2017, Vibes had grown from an initial $33,000 investment to $2 million in sales.

Even if Mann didn't walk out with cash, he still got solid practice pitching his business.

Mann hired a coach to prepare for his appearance on "Shark Tank," and learned a technique to help him remember his pitch. Mann said he still uses the technique — which involves associating a keyword in each paragraph of your speech with a different image — today, when he gives presentations.

What's more, Mann said the viewer feedback he received after the show aired helped him expand the business into new markets.

Initially, he was focused on using the product at concerts — but he learned that people were excited to use it at fitness classes and sporting events, and even on motorcycle rides. The most surprising use case he learned about was for individuals with sensory disorders and autism.

The entire "Shark Tank" experience was like a "pressure cooker," Mann said. "It makes you think in a different way about your business when you have to present it in front of not only multimillion dollar investors, but also in front of a national audience. … It's like going through a crash course in defending your business."

SEE ALSO: An entrepreneur who went on 'Shark Tank' to pitch his 3-month-old startup in front of a national audience relied on an unusual memory technique to avoid panicking and forgetting his script

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• Nicki Radzely, the cofounder of Doddle & Co., appeared on "Shark Tank" in January to pitch the Pop Pacifier.
• During the episode, Daymond John told Radzely her company "sucks" and questioned why she had valued her business at $5 million.
• Radzely ultimately accepted a $250,000 offer from Kevin O'Leary.
• Looking back, Radzely said she loved that John insulted her because it gave her more airtime and a chance to address other investors' and viewers' concerns.

Nicki Radzely didn't go on "Shark Tank" to make friends.

She knew she'd be pummeled with hard questions — and potentially insults — about the product she was pitching, the Pop Pacifier.

Radzely is the cofounder of Doddle & Co., a company that makes baby products, including pacifiers and teethers. The Pop Pacifier is designed to stay clean because the nipple pops back in every time it falls.

When Radzely went on the show in January, Doddle & Co. was four months old, and she was asking for $250,000 in exchange for 5% of her company, meaning she had valued the business at $5 million.

Daymond John took the lead on questioning Radzely about the cost, her sales, and why she thought the company was worth $5 million.

When Mark Cuban and Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, proclaimed the product a "hit" with parents, John jumped in to say it "sucks." It was a pun, since the product was a pacifier — but you would imagine that the comment would sting nonetheless.

That wasn't Radzely's reaction. "I thought it was fantastic," she told Business Insider. Radzely also got a kick out of John putting the pacifier in his mouth during the episode.

"I think he was giving me a wink through his comments and actions to get us on air and to give some rise to our brand," Radzely said.

"He asked hard questions," she said, "which helped me prove to the other investors that were sitting there that I could answer them and that there were no major flaws or gaps in our story."

She added: "The questions that people were probably thinking, sitting at home watching, he asked. So it gave me a moment to clear that air."

Radzely received multiple offers, including a joint offer from Blakely and Lori Greiner. Ultimately, Radzely accepted Kevin O'Leary's offer: $250,000 for 10% of the company.

Today, Doddle & Co. has reached nearly $1 million in sales.

Radzely said she "loved everything" that John "said and did."

"It only helped us," she said.

SEE ALSO: A 'Shark Tank' entrepreneur who panicked and forgot her own name during rehearsals stayed up all night practicing her pitch for 12 hours, and ultimately landed a $250,000 offer

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Barbara Corcoran has held a seat on the ABC series "Shark Tank" for the past nine seasons and invested in more than 30 businesses through the Emmy Award-winning show.

Corcoran's entrepreneurial career began with a $1,000 loan from a boyfriend that she used to quit her waitressing job and start the New York City residential real-estate brokerage firm Corcoran Group, which she sold in 2001 for $66 million.

Hear more about Corcoran's extraordinary career at IGNITION 2018.

Register now.

To keep up with IGNITION news, join our mailing list and you'll be the first to get updates on our speakers and agenda.

SEE ALSO: Announcing IGNITION 2018 speakers: Don't miss Scott Galloway, Janice Min, Steve Case, and more!

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NOW WATCH: Barbara Corcoran reveals what separates successful entrepreneurs from those that fail

• Amazon announced on Monday that it has launched a new partnership with the hit ABC entrepreneurial pitch show "Shark Tank."
• Via a special page on Amazon.com, the e-commerce giant will sell items from companies that the Sharks have invested in during any season of the show.
• It's part of Amazon Launchpad, the program where Amazon partners with young companies and startups to increase product selection on its site.

Entrepreneurs have a new reason to go on "Shark Tank."

Amazon announced on Monday that it is officially partnering with the show to sell merchandise made by entrepreneurs whose companies the Sharks have invested in. The items are collected on a dedicated page in Amazon's Launchpad section, where it collects items sold by startups and young companies. 

"For the first time ever, 'Shark Tank' has a store on Amazon.com dedicated to helping our entrepreneurs scale their businesses and highlight top products from the show,"Barbara Corcoran, one of the star Sharks, said in a prepared statement. "We are excited for the Amazon Launchpad Shark Tank Collection to bring products from our entrepreneurs to retail for customers and fans of the series."

Merchandise from the winners of season one through nine of the show are currently available on the page — over 70 items in all. As winners are picked in the currently airing season 10, their items will appear on the page as well.

"The Amazon Launchpad program is all about empowering creators and inventors, enabling them to reach hundreds of millions of customers," Jim Adkins, a vice president at Amazon, said in a statement. "By teaming up with 'Shark Tank,' we are making it fun and easy for fans of the show to discover a wide variety of unique innovations and cutting-edge products."

Come see Barbara Corcoran and Mark Cuban speak at Business Insider's Ignition Conference December 3 and 4. 

The perks don't stop there, either. Amazon is also giving each qualified entrepreneur a $15,000 Amazon Web Services credit that can be used toward cloud services.

However, there could be a downside to the opportunity.

Amazon logs data from every sale on its website, even from partners that use it as a platform. It's also known for not sharing as much data with these partners as other online platforms.

Amazon could easily take a look at which items are blowing up on the site, gaining information for possible investment or acquisition in the future. Or, Amazon could take the idea and create its own private-label version.

SEE ALSO: Amazon's latest charitable donation could be a message to HQ2 candidate cities

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NOW WATCH: 7 outdoor adventures that are worth the hike

Mark Cuban is a businessman, investor, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and a regular on ABC's "Shark Tank."

This December, Cuban and the cofounders of the legal workflow platform provider Paladin, which Cuban has invested in, will appear together at IGNITION.

Paladin is a New York-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) business designed to empower the pro-bono ecosystem. Felicity Conrad and Kristen Sonday are cofounders.

Cuban also appeared at Business Insider's flagship 2014 IGNITION conference, where he talked about his sleep schedule and slammed other billionaires who complain about being rich.

Cuban, Conrad, and Sonday are joining an all-star roster of business leaders and entrepreneurs at IGNITION 2018.

Register now.

To keep up with IGNITION news, join our mailing list and you'll be the first to get updates on our speakers and agenda.

SEE ALSO: Announcing IGNITION 2018 speakers: Don't miss Scott Galloway, Janice Min, Steve Case, and more!

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• Jamie Siminoff appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2013, pitching his startup, Doorbot.
• In the months leading up to the taping, Siminoff practiced constantly, using the mock set he'd built in his backyard and fielding potential questions from friends.
• Ultimately, Siminoff rejected an offer from Kevin O'Leary and left without making a deal.
• Doorbot subsequently became Ring and, in 2018, the company was acquired by Amazon for $1 billion.
• Siminoff returned to the tank as a guest Shark in the season 10 premiere and could barely believe it was real. He remembered how nervous he'd felt the first time he appeared on the show.

Jamie Siminoff knew that a spot on "Shark Tank" could have the same impact as a Super Bowl commercial.

So in the weeks leading up to his appearance on the show, in 2013, he practiced relentlessly. He built a set in his backyard and had friends come over to watch him present his pitch and ask potential questions.

Siminoff is the CEO of Ring; at the time of his appearance on "Shark Tank," the company was called Doorbot. Ultimately, he was turned down by every Shark but Kevin O'Leary, who offered him $700,000 with royalties. Siminoff rejected the deal.

Months passed and Siminoff still had no idea if the episode would air. (Not every "Shark Tank" episode filmed makes it to TV.) The business was strapped for cash, Siminoff was going broke, and he started to have some regrets about not taking the deal with O'Leary. "I would have gone back and taken the devil's money at that point," he said.

In November, the episode aired and Siminoff said Ring saw an immediate uptick in interest, with $100,000 in sales that night alone.

Fast forward a few years, and Ring had received investments from Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and Goldman Sachs. Then, in 2018, Ring was acquired by Amazon for $1 billion. On the first episode of the show's tenth season, Siminoff returned to the tank as a guest Shark.

"If you had a heart rate sensor on me," Siminoff told Business Insider, "I would have looked like I was about to explode." He remembered vividly how anxious he'd been the first time he walked through those double doors.

As one entrepreneur after another took the stage to pitch their business, Siminoff couldn't help but see reflections of his younger self.

He ended up investing $100,000 in Bear Minimum, which makes camping cookware, at least partly because he could tell that "these people are putting their lives into this thing and that's the type of entrepreneur that will be successful." One of the founders talked about working as a Lyft driver at night to help support his business.

Still, Siminoff found it mind boggling to be in the position of power. "It's just so overwhelmingly insane that that is what I've been able to get to," he said, "that it really is hard to think that it's real."

SEE ALSO: An entrepreneur who landed a $250,000 offer on 'Shark Tank' was thrilled when a Shark said her company 'sucks' and questioned its valuation

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Troy Carter is one of the most fascinating names in music. His roots are in artist management (John Legend, Lady Gaga), but he's also a savvy consultant to technology startups, including Spotify, Warby Parker, Dropbox, and Uber.

Until September, he was Spotify's global head of creator services, and he's been a guest shark during the seventh season of ABC's "Shark Tank."

Lately, he’s been focused on developing Atom Factory, the talent management and full-service film and television production company that he founded. 

Of Lady Gaga's rise to fame, Carter has said that social media played a big role when radio play was tough to get. 

New album release strategies, improved data collection, and a new breed of digital, plugged-in artists and performers are among the trends Carter sees that he will discuss at IGNITION 2018.

And you'll hear more about his fascinating career and the lessons he's learned along the way.

Register now.

To keep up with IGNITION news, join our mailing list and you'll be the first to get updates on our speakers and agenda.

SEE ALSO: Announcing IGNITION 2018 speakers: Don't miss Mark Cuban, Sir Martin Sorrell, Danica Patrick, Troy Carter, and more!

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

One of our favorite shows to spot new products and enjoy some entertaining celebrity judge banter is "Shark Tank," which is soon returning for its tenth season.

As we've seen over the years, some pitches do extremely well, while others aren't so lucky — but the fact remains that the show brings forward new and innovative ideas most of us have never considered.

That's why the products from the show tend to make especially good gifts. They're far from generic and they usually solve a common problem or annoyance. Conveniently, most are also available on Amazon.

If your recipient loves watching "Shark Tank," they'll recognize these 20 awesome gift options.  

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.

A fun outdoor game

Spikeball 3 Ball Kit, $59.99, available at Amazon

On a beautiful sunny day at any park in the city, you'll probably see at least one group playing this fun and active game. With rules similar to volleyball, it's easy to learn — so the whole family can get involved. The company even holds nationwide tournaments if your recipient gets really good at the game. 

A balance bike

KaZAM No Pedal Balance Bike, $64.95, available at Amazon

Featuring a patented footrest design that helps young kids find their center of gravity, this bike builds the confidence needed to transition to riding a proper bike. The ergonomic, adjustable handles and seat will get kids comfortable and ready to ride right away. The bike weighs only eight pounds and the puncture-free tires never need air. 

A Wi-Fi-compatible sous vide

Nomiku Wi-Fi 1100 Watt Sous Vide, $179, available at Amazon

Pair the sous vide immersion circulator with a quality piece of steak and your home cook is equipped to make a delicious dinner to remember. The sous vide can be controlled from their phone and produces precise results without fail. 

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• The founders of Kitu Life appeared on "Shark Tank" pitching Super Coffee in February 2018.
• They didn't land an offer, but they say going on the show helped them prepare for future business meetings.
• They also discovered new types of customers they hadn't anticipated.

Three years ago, the DeCicco brothers came up with the idea for Kitu Life in a college dorm room.

Jordan DeCicco was a basketball player at Philadelphia University looking for a more nutritious alternative to the energy drinks he saw on the shelves of grocery stores. He and his brothers, Jim and Jake, who had also been college athletes, devised a bottled coffee drink made with Colombian coffee, lactose-free protein, and MCT oil from coconuts.

Today, the company is valued at about $50 million and Kitu Life products — which include Super Coffee and Super Creamer — are sold in Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Fairway. Jordan has since dropped out of school, while Jim has ditched his Wall Street gig to go all in on the business.

In November, the DeCiccos were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of innovators in the food and drink space.

Much of Kitu Life's success has hinged on their appearance on "Shark Tank" in February 2018 (the company was then called Sunniva Super Coffee). The founders went on the show asking for $500,000 for a 4.5% stake in their company and walked away without a deal — but Jim told Business Insider that the show was still a major boon for their entrepreneurial careers.

"The best outcome of 'Shark Tank,' despite the publicity, was how prepared we became for our business," he said.

In the month leading up to their appearance, the founders dedicated every spare second to preparing for anything and everything that could happen in the tank. They divided the 90-second pitch into three parts — one for each brother — and practiced it constantly: in the gym, in the car, in elevators.

"People would look at us like we were crazy, because we were walking down the street in here in New York City, just talking to ourselves doing this pitch," Jim said. "That's how we memorized it."

(Interestingly, the founders of Cousins Maine Lobster also said they practiced their pitch in different types of situations in order to get more comfortable with it.)

The Kitu Life founders called on investors, advisers, and even former professors to help them stage mock pitches. And once the founders had given their official "Shark Tank" pitch and gone through the Sharks' interrogation, they felt like they could handle anything.

The Kitu Life founders discovered new types of customers they hadn't anticipated

Another benefit of their "Shark Tank" experience was that it expanded their customer base: People who they'd never imagined using Super Coffee or Super Creamer were sharing their thoughts (some positive, some negative) on the products.

They'd initially marketed the product to college athletes, but Jim said they learned that "millennial moms with money"— i.e. relatively wealthy parents of young kids — had also taken a liking to Super Coffee and Super Creamer.

The Kitu Life founders aren't the only entrepreneurs to look beyond money when they think about the benefits of appearing on "Shark Tank."

Read more:People think startup founders go on 'Shark Tank' for big-name investors and a pile of cash, but entrepreneurs who have done it say that's not really the point

Randy Goldberg, cofounder of sock company Bombas, previously told Business Insider that, even though Bombas landed a $200,000 deal, preparing for the questions he might be asked was useful for future meetings.

Similarly, Jack Mann, founder of earplugs company Vibes, previously told Business Insider that even though he turned down a $100,000 offer, he discovered new uses for the earplugs. Initially, he was focused on using the product at concerts — but he learned that people were excited to use it at fitness classes and sporting events, and even on motorcycle rides. 

As for the founders of Kitu Life, Jim said, "The fact that we did it on that ['Shark Tank'] stage made every other business meeting a piece of cake, or much more comfortable than it otherwise would have been."

SEE ALSO: A startup founder who turned down $100,000 for his 3-month-old startup on 'Shark Tank' says he doesn't regret it one bit

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