NBAA-BACE Welcomes Inspirational ‘Shark Tank’ Investor, Entrepreneur Daymond John as Day 2 Keynote

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today announced that entrepreneur, investor and storied “Shark Tank” television personality Daymond John will be a featured speaker for the Day 2 Keynote at the 2023 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, NV.

Recognized by one Yale University writer as a master of “the intersection of creative and analytical thinking,” John overcame dyslexia to launch FUBU (“For Us, By Us”) in 1992 from the basement of his mother’s home. Initial funding came from a $100,000 mortgage taken against that home; today, John’s global lifestyle brand touts more than $6 billion in product sales worldwide. The FUBU brand is featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

Since 2009, John has shared his knack for entrepreneurism and marketing on ABC TV’s business-reality program “Shark Tank.” The five-time, Emmy-winning show features John – known today as “the people’s Shark” – along with other entrepreneur-panelists who critique and often invest in contestants’ plans for start-up businesses.

“Daymond John’s story is one of the triumph over adversity through innovation,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “We are pleased to feature him at our Day 2 Keynote and look forward to his insights and perspectives that will surely offer guidance for the business aviation community, as well.”

John routinely utilizes business aviation to manage his various companies, speaking engagements and other business priorities, as detailed in a May 2013 feature story in Business Jet Traveler magazine.

John has received hundreds of awards, including Brand Week Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign and Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Recently, he was named No. 2 on LinkedIn’s Top 20 Voices, a list of top online influencers. John’s marketing firm, The Shark Group, offers advice on how to effectively communicate to consumers through innovative means and connects brands with influential celebrities for everything from endorsements to product extensions.

The author of five books is also a member of the National Advisory Board for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), an international nonprofit organization providing entrepreneurship training and educational programs to students and adults in underserved communities.

The 2023 NBAA-BACE Day 2 Keynote will begin at 9:30 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Learn more about the world’s largest business aviation event – NBAA-BACE – at nbaa.org/2023.