Atlantans to swim among ‘sharks’ at Shark Tank Summit in Las Vegas

The stars of “Shark Tank” are taking the drama of the hit ABC show on the road with a three-day conference of entrepreneurs in Las Vegas that will feature prominent Atlanta business figures.

Among those scheduled to appear at the first-ever Shark Tank Summit is “guest shark” Rashaun Williams, a venture capitalist who is a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons. Williams appeared on some Shark Tank episodes last season with more appearances to come this season, including on the season premiere Wednesday.

Since 2009, the show’s Sharks have seen hundreds of entrepreneurs pitch their businesses while deciding whether to invest money in them or not. The show has not only helped give small business owners massive exposure but inspired others to go out on their own with their latest and greatest ideas.

“I learned from the school of hard knocks — just being out there, writing my own checks, getting in deals, studying what the great investors (do),” Williams said.

At the summit, Williams will advise attendees on how to create a pitch deck, where to meet investors and how to build a team during a session titled “Think Like a Shark: From Scrappy to Scale — This Is Your Zero-to-Hero Game Plan.”

“I’m pretty fired up about it,” Williams said. “Shark Tank” has “literally millions of fans from all around the world that want more after they see the show.”

Williams graduated from Morehouse College in 2001, then worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, eventually starting private equity firm Value Investment Group. He also runs a nonprofit, the Kemet Institute, that provides financial literacy classes to underserved communities.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the few things that democratizes wealth creation in this country,” Williams said. “I didn’t have access to that dream growing up on the south side of Chicago. I didn’t have someone giving me the answers to the test.”

Billionaire Mark Cuban as well as longtime Sharks Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary and Daymond John are also set to appear at the Las Vegas event, which is officially called the Clover x Shark Tank Summit.

Along with Williams, other Atlantans in the lineup for the Sept. 28-30 event at the Venetian Resort include Metro Atlanta Chamber CEO Katie Kirkpatrick, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs CEO Jay Bailey and Sole Play CEO TJ Bennett.

This type of representation shows that “Atlanta is on the map,” Williams said. “Ten years ago, we wouldn’t be talking about this. But all of the good work that Atlanta Tech Village and the state has done and the city has done with making Atlanta home for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs and financial influencers, I think it’s being recognized now.”

Kirkpatrick said “people look at the number of unicorns that have come through in the last several years,” referring to startups that have reached valuations of $1 billion or more. “Atlanta has really done a really nice job in that space.”

The chamber has started programs to drive entrepreneurship and innovation, with a particular focus on companies that can scale with “real growth” — that can have significant impact on a community, creating jobs and wealth, she said.

Kirkpatrick and Bailey will speak on a panel titled “Swim With Your Pack: Why Community is Your Strategic Advantage.”

Bailey, whose organization offers education, networking, mentoring and funding resources to help Black entrepreneurs, plans to discuss how an array of entrepreneur-focused groups work together in Atlanta.

Fiserv acquired Clover through its $22 billion purchase of Atlanta-based payment processing giant First Data in 2019.

It’s not surprising that people from Atlanta were selected to speak at the Clover x Shark Tank Summit, Bailey said.

Fiserv is “deeply involved in the entrepreneurial community” in Atlanta, giving $1 million for grants to entrepreneurs supported by the Russell Center, he said. “So they’ve seen this ecosystem in real time, and are a real part of it.”