‘Shark Tank’ star to hear local entrepreneurs’ pitches

Two local entrepreneurs will pitch their companies to “Shark Tank’s” Daymond John when he gives the keynote speech at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting.

The gathering will be Dec. 1 at the Century II Convention Center.

Trevor Crotts, co-owner of BuddyRest, and Miguel Johns, founder of KingFit, will join John, star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” series, onstage after the keynote speech about entrepreneurism and branding he will deliver at 7:30 p.m.

Crotts is founder and president of BuddyRest, which produces high-end orthopedic dog beds. Founded in 2011, the company has received multiple awards from the pet industry.

He has a small sewing and assembling operation near downtown Wichita and expects to see dramatic sales growth in the near future with a new line of dog products, PupIQ.

Johns is the CEO of Wichita-based KingFit Preventive Health and Performance, an innovative health and wellness platform powered by artificial intelligence. Founded in 2015, KingFit helps health care organizations improve their diabetes management quality of care and increase their reimbursement at a lower cost.

They will make their pitches to John and a panel of three local business leaders: Christina Long, owner and principal consultant for CML Collective; Scott Schwindaman, president and CEO of Lubrication Engineers; and Jeff Turner, partner at the Turner Nichols Group and retired president and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems.

Both Crotts and Johns were in the first class of the e2e Accelerator program, where they learned more about how to start and build a fast-growing company.

And both said they’re flattered and excited to present to John, but it’s more of a showcase of what they have done than an actual business pitch.

“It’s a tremendous value to us to talk with such an iconic entrepreneur,” Crotts said. “I consider it quite an honor.”

Crotts noted that John is involved with a company in the pet industry.

“So, on the surface, it’s absolutely a great fit, so I’m absolutely relishing exploring a partnership with us but ultimately not going to the event with high expectations,” Crotts said.

Johns said he already has his five minutes planned out, split between details about his company and the community’s spirit of support for entrepreneurs.

“We don’t expect any deals out of this, but if one comes, we won’t turn it away,” he said.

This story was originally published November 20, 2016 at 7:22 AM with the headline "‘Shark Tank’ star to hear local entrepreneurs’ pitches."