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.

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“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.

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.