“Shark Tank’s” “Cactus” Jack Barringer and former Iowa State student Brandon T. Adams will visit Iowa State on Tuesday to visit with students, answer questions and share their entangled story in entrepreneurship.
Barringer began his entrepreneurial journey years ago in his 20s, starting as a milkman with one truck, gradually expanding until rival Blue Bunny bought the company out for over $80,000. Barringer then invested his time and energy into success and motivation as well as direct sales.
When Barringer visited the university following his appearance on ABC’s TV show “Shark Tank,” then-Iowa State entrepreneur student Adams discovered he could pass his class by attending extra credit lectures.
“I looked at them all, and there’s this one by this guy and it said Cactus Jack Barringer, world-renowned inventor and did a deal on Shark Tank,” Adams said.
Adams decided to sit in the front row and take the opportunity to approach him after his presentation. He met Barringer and connected with him because they were both from Iowa and enjoyed hunting and fishing, Adams said.
“What Jack did is he…opened me up to connections, and most people who are looking for mentorship, I don’t think they show up enough. Like I kept showing up, where Jack didn’t have a choice,” Adams said.
Of note, Adams said, is opening the door to former Shark investor and multimillionaire Kevin Harrington, whom Adams still works closely with. In fact, to be closer to Harrington, Adams moved to Florida.
According to Adams, Barringer is full of advice and poetry, which he tends to follow closely.
“I do want to share this quote because it changed my life,” Adams said. “I believe it is from Earl Nightingale. He said, ‘Brandon, you become what you think about most of the time.’ He paused. ‘Brandon, you become what you think about most of the time.’ I did not 100% get it right away,” Adams said.
Barringer said he believes entrepreneurs should view failures as lessons learned and use them to improve themselves moving forward.
“Failures are nothing but teachers and the name of the game,” Barringer said. “It’s back to persistence. It’s pretty darn simple. Stick and stay and make it pay.”
He added that never giving up, persisting and pivoting can lead to eventual success.
Barringer said for every success he had, he had five times where he lost everything. He emphasized that it is about learning how to fail with grace.
In fact, Adams recalled that in 2019, after his Emmy-winning TV show, “Success In Your City” and getting married, he almost lost everything.
“I put everything I had into a TV show producing the show content, but I also had a few other business endeavors that did not work out,” Adams said. “It hit me in 2019, and I lost everything. My car got repossessed. I lost my land. I didn’t have a house at the time. I was almost evicted from my place.”
However, Adams advises young entrepreneurs to embrace failure, take risks and keep choosing persistence. He pivoted in his journey and eventually built himself back up, and he emphasizes in his career that everyone is the average of the five people they surround themselves with.
“It’s also if you’re in the wrong area, move where you’re supposed to go,” Adams said.
Both Barringer and Adams said they believe the entrepreneurship landscape has changed dramatically, particularly since the beginning of Barringer’s career. With the rise of social media and technology, there is no excuse, Adams argued.
“You can take videos for free and crowdfund,” Adams said.
Barringer, soon to celebrate his 80th birthday, said he would simply like to ride into the sunset.
“This cowboy is going to ride off into the sunset. And I’m going to go down to my cabin, and I’m going to hunt and fish,” Barringer said. “I’ve always heard the saying, ‘Make memories when you’re young because that’s what you live on when you get old.’ And I’ve got a world of memories, and that’s what I’m going to do next.”
“Out-Sharking the Sharks! Entrepreneurs Cactus Jack and Brandon T. Adams on Entrepreneurship and Life” is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday in Stark Lecture Hall, 1148 Gerdin Business Building.
