TV Shark’s $4,000 Lunches Offer Help to New Entrepreneurs

Two banners showing images of entrepreneur Daymond John, a co-founder of the FUBU clothing line and one of the resident predators on ABC’s “Shark Tank” television show, loomed at the front of a hotel meeting room as fledgling business owners and would-be entrepreneurs filed in.

Some in jeans, others in office attire, they were drawn by local radio spots or Twitter messages advertising the Daymond John Academy, a free, two-hour workshop “for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs.” An online registration form for the sessions -- currently touring major U.S. cities -- promises tips on how to get products to market fast, raise capital, line up manufacturers, secure shelf space in big-box retailers and “grow massive wealth in business using Daymond John’s strategies.”