#402: From Rock Bottom to Shark Tank: How Akeem Shannon Turned a Rejection Into a Million-Dollar Business

04/17/25 • 54 min

Have you ever had a great idea but hesitated to act on it? Have you ever failed and wondered if that failure defined you? Have you ever chased success only to question if you were following the right path?

For every aspiring entrepreneur, creator, or dreamer wrestling with self-doubt, Akeem Shannon’s story is not only relatable—it’s a blueprint for turning trials into triumphs.

In this episode, Akeem shares the untold moments behind his rise: ⚉ The power of storytelling ⚉ First taste of entrepreneurship and failure ⚉ From pivotal failures to taking the leap ⚉ Building Flipstik from scratch ⚉ Facing doubts and family fears ⚉ Shark Tank rejection ⚉ Rapping for investor ⚉ The Plot Twist: From rap pitch to meeting P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg ⚉ Why the story matters more than the product ⚉ Success isn’t always about the money ⚉ Performing under pressure ⚉ Sales is storytelling ⚉ Use-case: The product's impact to the deaf community ⚉ What is the next level of brand growth ⚉ What is the One-Thing Rule ⚉ Why you need the right mentor for you

After losing his college scholarship, Akeem was forced to find work for $10 an hour at a local cell phone shop. But he leveraged the sales skills learned there to become the top sales professional at not 1 but 2 Fortune 500 companies. After an accomplished sales career, Akeem chose to pursue his dream of entrepreneurship. He struggled at first but eventually scaled his company Flipsitk from a single mall kiosk to an Inc Magazine Top 50 Fastest Growing Consumer Brand.

With the help of celebrities like Snoop Dogg, appearances on Shark Tank and The Today Show, and distribution in 3000 retailers including Target, Best Buy, and AT&T, Akeem has now made customers out of 1 million consumers.

Akeem’s stories have entertained and inspired on the stages of South By South West (SXSW), the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), Fast Company, Bank of America, the Smithsonian, and many more.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: ⚉ [Book] The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Deluxe-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0063442469/ ⚉ [Video] Shark Tank: The Shark's Best Rap EVER! (Flipstik) | Shark Tank US | Shark Tank Global - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSDqS5TextM ⚉ [Movie] Air - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_(2023_American_film)

CONNECT WITH AKEEM: 🔗 Website: https://www.akeemshannon.com/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akeemshannon 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akeemshannon 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getflipstik 🔗 Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@akeemshannon 🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AkeemShannon

CONNECT WITH PATIENCE: 🔗 Website: https://onlinesuccessjourney.com/ 🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinesuccessjourney/ 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlinesuccessjourney/

For every aspiring entrepreneur, creator, or dreamer wrestling with self-doubt, Akeem Shannon’s story is not only relatable—it’s a blueprint for turning trials into triumphs.

Akeem’s stories have entertained and inspired on the stages of South By South West (SXSW), the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), Fast Company, Bank of America, the Smithsonian, and many more.

CONNECT WITH PATIENCE: 🔗 Website: https://onlinesuccessjourney.com/ 🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinesuccessjourney/ 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlinesuccessjourney/

Previous Episode

#401: How to Create a Successful, Paid Membership Community for Your Business with Andrew Guttormsen

Have you ever wondered how to build a thriving online community for your business that not only grows but also generates income?

Or how leaders in the digital space are transforming the concept of community to create meaningful connections and impactful results?

Join me and Andrew, co-founder of Circle, in this episode where he shares his journey of success, challenges, and the magic behind creating paid membership communities that truly deliver value.

⚉ From Teachable to Circle - Andrew's creator’s journey

⚉ Filling in a market gap and building a better tool for online communities

⚉ What sets modern communities apart?

⚉ Measures of personal and professional success

⚉ Who can and should build a community for their business?

⚉ Success, setbacks, and lessons learned from Teachable to Circle

⚉ Handling rejection in career growth

⚉ Know when to persist and when to pivot in entrepreneurship

⚉ How to build a successful startup

⚉ Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

Andy Guttormsen is the Co-Founder and CRO at Circle. He was on the founding team at Teachable ($250m exit), and went on to co-founded Circle in 2020. Circle is now the world’s leading community platform for creators and businesses with customers like Adobe, Webflow, Brendon Burchard, Pat Flynn, Modern Fertility, Harvard Alumni, and 9,500+ others.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

⚉ [Books] Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow - https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Life-John-Rockefeller-Sr/dp/1400077303

CONNECT WITH ANDREW:

🔗 Website: https://circle.so/

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewguttormsen/

CONNECT WITH PATIENCE:

🔗 Website: https://onlinesuccessjourney.com/

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinesuccessjourney/

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlinesuccessjourney/