SAU Grad Student, Former Classmate to Appear on 'Shark Tank'
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: February 26, 2013
A graduate student from Southern Arkansas University will be on "Shark Tank" Friday night.
Jessica Haynes and her business partner will appear on the TV show, which gives entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their business ideas to millionaire investors.
The 24-year-old Haynes (pictured, left), along with her former classmate and current business partner Kaci Matthews, (pictured, right) will pitch their idea of a shoe with exchangeable heels to the panel of investors.
Haynes and Matthews won the Innovation Award in the 2011 Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup Business Plan Competition with their interchangeable heel and magnetic shoe accessories idea.
In the Summer 2011 edition of The SAU Stater, the pair said the idea started with a problem. Haynes had a favorite shoe that she wanted to wear, but the heel was broken. A solution to the problem was found in the idea of interchangeable heels. They named their revolutionary start-up business JessKa Shoe Company.
Their business plan included 30 pages of analysis on the product, which has always been more than a class a project to the team. They filed for a U.S. utility patent in 2011 and are earnestly looking for investors to back their business.
"Shark Tank" airs at 8:00 Friday night on ABC.
Last year, more than 30,000 people tried to make it onto the show.
Jessica Haynes and her business partner will appear on the TV show, which gives entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their business ideas to millionaire investors.
The 24-year-old Haynes (pictured, left), along with her former classmate and current business partner Kaci Matthews, (pictured, right) will pitch their idea of a shoe with exchangeable heels to the panel of investors.
Haynes and Matthews won the Innovation Award in the 2011 Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup Business Plan Competition with their interchangeable heel and magnetic shoe accessories idea.
In the Summer 2011 edition of The SAU Stater, the pair said the idea started with a problem. Haynes had a favorite shoe that she wanted to wear, but the heel was broken. A solution to the problem was found in the idea of interchangeable heels. They named their revolutionary start-up business JessKa Shoe Company.
Their business plan included 30 pages of analysis on the product, which has always been more than a class a project to the team. They filed for a U.S. utility patent in 2011 and are earnestly looking for investors to back their business.
"Shark Tank" airs at 8:00 Friday night on ABC.
Last year, more than 30,000 people tried to make it onto the show.
