Part of what’s great about being on Shark Tank is the buzz, not just the investment. The Sharks are so famous that whatever business they invest in gets to bask in their reflected glow. The buzz is at its peak during the broadcast — nothing like millions of people finding out about your brand or invention at once. But the best Sharks keep up the promotion long after the original show airs.
[At Amazon: Alyssa’s Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies]
Take billionaire Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. He’s got a whole section on his site devoted to his Shark Tank investments, sure. But Cuban never wastes a chance to favorably mention the products he really believes in, like Alyssa’s Cookies. Chances are that Mark Cuban is eating one of Alyssa’s Cookies right now. One of Cuban’s unwavering beliefs is that there is no substitute for hard work, sweat equity and, above all, persistence. (Neither Rome, nor the ultimate healthy cookie, were built in a day.) Cuban, who often cautions that PR is fine and good but often unsustainable, keeps using his big profile to talk up Alyssa’s Cookies, long after the Shark Tank appearance. Just this week Jason Hirschorn’s popular newsletter — and site REDEF — happened to mention that “MARK CUBAN sent me a big box of ALYSSA’S COOKIES.” Cuban remains behind the brands he believes in. On Dan Patrick’s sports talk show in 2014, Cuban said of Alyssa’s Cookies,
“I live off of these cookies. These things are high-fiber, taste amazing, low carb and literally that is all I will eat anymore.”
The interview broke the Alyssa’s Cookies website — but in a good way. A billionaire who’s grinding on marketing for a cookie upstart — three years after the cookie’s moment in the TV sun? That’s walking the walk.
