According to investor Kevin O'Leary, there is a common thread among successful pitches on ABC's "Shark Tank."
"The most important part of a pitch in the Tank, boardroom, or Zoom is capturing the attention of the room," he tweeted on Friday.
As an example, O'Leary pointed to entrepreneur Akeem Shannon, who captured the attention of all the Sharks on Friday's episode of the show by starting his pitch with a rap about his product, a phone accessory called Flipstik.
"It's a kickstand on demand," Shannon rapped of Flipstik, a reusable adhesive made to attach mobile phones to other surfaces for hands-free use. "Sharks, give a kid a chance. I'll deliver ROI [return on investment] on your 100-grand."
After his rap, Shannon asked the Sharks for a $100,000 investment in exchange for a 20% stake in his company. And although he hadn't even revealed the details of his business yet, he had already captivated all the investors.
"Way to go Flipstik," O'Leary tweeted.
Mark Cuban and Daymond John loved Shannon's presentation and called it "the best rap we've seen" on the show. Barbara Corcoran said it was "an awesome way to come into the tank," she tweeted on Friday.
"His energy is contagious! The best salespeople always have high energy," she added.
Thanks to his rap and pitch, Shannon received offers he may not have otherwise, as his company hadn't generated a ton of sales: In about two and a half years, Flipstik generated $115,000, Shannon told the Sharks.
"Your sales suck," Cuban said. "You know $115,000 [in two and a half years] is awful."
Because most of Flipstik's sales were through brick-and-mortar retail, Shannon said the Covid-19 pandemic devastated growth, and he came on the show to get help selling directly to consumers.
Shannon received offers from O'Leary and Lori Greiner, as they were impressed with Shannon as a person.
O'Leary offered $100,000 for 20%, which is what Shannon asked for, and Greiner offered $100,000 for 25%. Cuban was about to make an offer, but Shannon accepted Greiner's instead.
Shannon's rap did the trick, because in the perfect pitch, "you have to explain exactly what the business is in less than 90 seconds," O'Leary previously told CNBC Make It. "If you can't do that, you'll never be successful."
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."
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