Monday’s PPAI Expo Conference, the official kickoff of The PPAI Expo 2025, also marked the return of The Pitch, promo’s version of a hybrid between Shark Tank and The Voice. In front of a packed audience full of promo professionals, seven contestants were given three minutes each to pitch their product to a panel of judges.
Every contestant had the benefit of bringing great promo products to the table, and they all came prepared to make the sale, but there could only be one winner.
- It’s perhaps only fitting that The Pitch winner for 2025 was a former Shark Tank contestant. Jason Lucash, CEO and co-founder of Rupt, won both the audience vote and impressed the panel of judges.
- The Austin, Texas-based supplier triumphed with “Trinifty,” a product with a removable charger power bank that can charge three wireless devices at once. The Trinifity folds easily, making it a travel accessory for anyone who doesn’t want a tangle of wires in their backpack.
Lucash and Rupt co-founder Mike Szymczak originally founded Origaudio before it was acquired by HPG. During the Origaudio days, they appeared on season two of Shark Tank, but Lucash says The Pitch was a whole different ballgame.
“I was more nervous for this than Shark Tank,” Lucash says. “I think because it was more people I know, and it was a live audience.”
Jason Lucash
CEO, Co-founder, Rupt
The full crowd of promo professionals might have added some extra nerves, but fortunately, Lucash had a good test audience to practice on.
“I wrote my pitch, and I practiced it with my wife and kids,” Lucash says. “My kids actually practiced the pitch, too, which was really cute.”
- Distributors can see the Trinifity and other Rupt products on The PPAI Expo trade floor at booth 2535.
As The Pitch grows over the years, it has managed to be a vehicle that spotlights the two most important parts of the promo industry: the products and the people who are passionate about them.
“I loved it,” Lucash says. “I’m a product person. I design the products. I love talking about something that I created. To do it on this stage with the production of The Pitch, it was awesome. I felt like I was on a game show.”
A Sign Of Success?
What does a victory at The Pitch bring to a promo product? Recent precedent says it can make a big impact. Sweeter Cards, a St. Louis-based supplier, took home the winning title at The PPAI Expo 2024 after presenting a fully customizable greeting card and chocolate bar combination.
- Maple Ridge Farms, PPAI 100’s No. 60 supplier, approached Sweeter Cards the day after it won and announced in July that Sweeter Cards was its first acquisition in the Mosinee, Wisconsin-based gourmet food company’s 45-year history.
- One month after The Pitch, Sweeter Cards was named Rupt Ventures’ first strategic investment in the promotional products industry.
To ensure that contestants couldn’t simply study the preferences of past judges, this year’s version of The Pitch featured a whole new crop of judges. Instead of Mark Cuban, Reba McEntire, Mr. Wonderful or Snoop Dogg, the panel included four respected industry veterans:
- Nadav Raviv, senior national account executive for GBS Corp.
- Nenette Gray, founder of Lemonade Creative Marketing and a member of the 2024 #Online18.
- Stephen McFadden, director of vision and new business for The Specialty Company.
- Meg Erber, director of sales for Proforma, PPAI 100’s No. 3 distributor. Erber co-presented on behalf of S&S Activewear, PPAI 100’s No. 5 supplier, at the inaugural competition, and took first place with the Hero Hoodie, an easily reversible hoodie and backpack.
The show was emceed by Anji Corley, who will be conducting various interviews and content in the PPAI Expo Live booth outside of the trade floor through Thursday.
Along with Rupt, the competitors included:
- HPG (Booth 2216)
- St. Regis Group (Booth 5805)
- AZX Sport (Booth 5947)
- Charles River Apparel (Booth 2033)
- Rupt (Booth 2535)
- City Bonfires (Booth 6456)
- Hirsch (Booth 2427)
