Real estate mogul and Shark Tank investor, Barbara Corcoran, calls it the most emotional pitch she’s seen in the show’s 10 seasons. The young entrepreneurs showed “inspiring strength,” she said.
Corcoran was referring to three siblings who pitched the Cup Board Pro, their dad’s invention. Their father was a New York City firefighter who recently passed away from cancer related to the 9/11 cleanup of the World Trade Center. According to USA Today, the invention–an easy to clean chopping block–may have wowed the judges. But it was the young family’s story that “stole their hearts.”
How, exactly, did the story steal hearts and open minds? As it turned out, the pitch followed a classic three-part hero’s journey. It’s a time-tested formula that transports an audience into another world. Done right, the formula captivates people, earns their trust, and inspires them to dream bigger.
Cup Board Pro’s Hero’s Journey
A hero’s journey is a classic three-part storytelling structure that all great books and movies have followed across time. A great presentation does the same. Act One is the set-up. It introduces the characters and their world. Act Two is the conflict where villains, hurdles and struggles are introduced. Act three is the resolution. In great movies, a resolution often involves a transformation of sorts. The characters find powers they didn’t know they had.
The Cup Board Pitch took the sharks along a classic hero’s journey.
Act One: Three siblings walk on stage. They introduce themselves as Kaley, Keira and Christian Young. They’re seeking $100,000 for a 10 percent equity in their business–the Cup Board Pro. “Our dad invented the Cup Board Pro and it was his dream to be on Shark Tank,” said Kaley. “Unfortunately, he passed away before he had that chance. But we’re here today to continue his legacy and make that dream a reality.”
In thirty seconds we’ve established who the entrepreneurs are, what brings them to the show and what they hope to get out of the exchange.
Act Two: Keira introduces a video of the hero–their father, Keith Young, who recorded a video demonstration of the Cup Board Pro. In the video, Young shows the viewer how the cutting board captures liquid and food scraps much more efficiently than a standard cutting board.
“I’m a New York City firefighter. I’m a father. I’m a widower,” Keith says. At that moment, we learn about the challenges he had to overcome. When his wife died of breast cancer, he had to cook, clean, and take care of the kids as a single parent. The invention was part of his strategy to simplify mealtime.
In Act Two of the Cup Board Pro story, the audience and the judges are transported to the world of single parents. Daymond John, who was brought up by a single mother and lost many friends in 9/11, couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down his face.
Act Three: The siblings’ challenge is resolved as all five judges take the rare step of investing in the company. They even add a twist at the end. They agree to invest $100,000 for 20 percent equity in the company. The sharks will donate all of their individual profits to charities who work with firefighters affected by 9/11. Within 18 hours of the show, Sony Pictures Television announced that 26,000 Cup Board Pros had been back-ordered, worth more than $1 million in sales.
Most great stories end with a transformation. Kaley offered the transformative moment when she said, “My dad showed us what strength was…We’re only here because of how strong our parents were.”
Shark investor Mark Cuban said, “The story’s amazing.” It was amazing because it wasn’t just any story. It contained multiple emotional triggers. Neuroscientists who study narrative tell us that stories that elicit fear, sadness, surprise, or joy connect us to one another. Research finds that when people listen to emotional stories of love and loss, they have higher levels of oxytocin, a neurochemical that bonds two people together and builds trust between them.
Stories entertain, of course, but the Cup Board Pro pitch went even further. It inspired viewers that it’s possible to triumph over tragedy, to find strength in adversity.
You might not have a personal story as compelling as the Young family, but you have a story. Frame it as time-tested formula of the hero’s journey to inspire your audience. Once you do, you’ll be far more likely to gain their trust and their support.