How this NC entrepreneur scored a ‘Shark Tank' deal with Mark Cuban

RALEIGH, N.C. — For Raleigh entrepreneur Jon Hayes, the “Shark Tank” appearance that scored investment dollars from celebrity investor Mark Cuban started with an email.

[RELATED: How this local entrepreneur built a network of dealerships for rare and vintage cars]

“It was random,” he admits, recalling a day in February when he received an unsolicited note from a “Shark Tank” producer who had seen the website for the travel rewards firm he founded in 2014, RewardStock. “You should apply,” the producer said.

“At first it just seemed kind of spammy … I didn’t think it was going to turn into anything,” he says.

But what it turned into was a trip to Los Angeles, an investment, hula dancers and an unprecedented level of buzz for his startup. In an interview, he talks the Triangle Business Journal through what happened — and what’s taken place since Sunday’s episode was filmed in June.

Read the full story here.

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