#402: From Rock Bottom to Shark Tank: How Akeem Shannon Turned a Rejection Into a Million-Dollar Business

Have you ever had a great idea but hesitated to act on it?  Have you ever failed and wondered if that failure defined you?  Have you ever chased success only to question if you were following the right path?  For every aspiring entrepreneur, creator, or dreamer wrestling with self-doubt, Akeem Shannon’s story is not only relatable—it’s a blueprint for turning trials into triumphs.  In this episode, Akeem shares the untold moments behind his rise: ⚉ The power of storytelling ⚉ First taste of entrepreneurship and failure ⚉ From pivotal failures to taking the leap ⚉ Building Flipstik from scratch  ⚉ Facing doubts and family fears ⚉ Shark Tank rejection ⚉ Rapping for investor ⚉ The Plot Twist: From rap pitch to meeting P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg ⚉ Why the story matters more than the product ⚉ Success isn’t always about the money ⚉ Performing under pressure ⚉ Sales is storytelling ⚉ Use-case: The product's impact to the deaf community  ⚉ What is the next level of brand growth  ⚉ What is the One-Thing Rule  ⚉ Why you need the right mentor for you    After losing his college scholarship, Akeem was forced to find work for $10 an hour at a local cell phone shop. But he leveraged the sales skills learned there to become the top sales professional at not 1 but 2 Fortune 500 companies. After an accomplished sales career, Akeem chose to pursue his dream of entrepreneurship. He struggled at first but eventually scaled his company Flipsitk from a single mall kiosk to an Inc Magazine Top 50 Fastest Growing Consumer Brand.  With the help of celebrities like Snoop Dogg,  appearances on Shark Tank and The Today Show, and distribution in 3000 retailers including Target, Best Buy, and AT&T, Akeem has now made customers out of 1 million consumers. Akeem’s stories have entertained and inspired on the stages of South By South West (SXSW), the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), Fast Company, Bank of America, the Smithsonian, and many more.  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: ⚉ [Book] The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Deluxe-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0063442469/  ⚉ [Video] Shark Tank: The Shark's Best Rap EVER! (Flipstik) | Shark Tank US | Shark Tank Global - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSDqS5TextM  ⚉ [Movie] Air - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_(2023_American_film)  CONNECT WITH AKEEM: 🔗  Website: https://www.akeemshannon.com/  🔗  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akeemshannon   🔗  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akeemshannon   🔗  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getflipstik   🔗  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@akeemshannon   🔗  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AkeemShannon   CONNECT WITH PATIENCE: 🔗 Website: https://onlinesuccessjourney.com/   🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinesuccessjourney/   🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlinesuccessjourney/