Behind The Screens: Shark Tank’d By Mark Cuban & The Dallas Mavericks
Back in 2018, I was part of a wild ride that ended with a startup landing one of the most coveted ad placements in sports: a jersey patch on the Dallas Mavericks. That startup? 5miles. That patch? A bright orange logo stitched right next to Luka’s heart.
The goal was huge: get our brand next to the Mavs, and do it in a way that made Mark Cuban say yes. Not just because we had money, but because he believed in what we were building. And spoiler alert: we pulled it off.
The Announcement
When the partnership was announced in March 2018, it threw a lot of people off. Big names like Whataburger, GameStop, and AT&T had been floated as frontrunners. Then BOOM: 5miles, a peer-to-peer marketplace app, snagged it. The press went nuts.
But this was never just about getting our logo on TV. We pitched this as a tech-forward partnership - one that brought in crypto, innovation, and community. Something more Cuban-style.
The Power of Data
If there’s one thing you have to know when pitching Mark Cuban, it’s this: bring receipts. He’s all about data, and luckily, we were too.
I helped build a pitch deck backed by real growth metrics, app engagement numbers, and projections powered by our move into blockchain. We weren’t just selling ad space, we were selling the future of secure online transactions and a smarter way to buy and sell.
When we walked into the meeting on June 15, it honestly felt like a scene out of Shark Tank. Cuban sat there like a judge, and we laid it all out: growth, tech, and how we were connecting with the Dallas-Fort Worth community. The numbers told a story, and that story landed.
Why This Worked:
Shared Values, Not Just Dollars
What really helped seal the deal was that we weren’t just waving a check. We showed how our mission aligned with what the Mavericks were all about: innovation, entrepreneurship, and real community work.
A great example? Our “Entrepreneurial Expedition” program. We pitched it as a community initiative tied to the deal; something that would inspire local youth to think like founders and build like pros. That connection to impact hit hard.
SEM + Local Strategy Side Note
From a marketing perspective, we also kicked off localized SEM campaigns tied to the partnership. We pushed targeted ads during game nights and geo-fenced events around the arena to drive app installs in real time. We leaned on SEO too, optimizing content around key terms like “Mavericks crypto partner” and “5miles Dallas deal” to catch that initial buzz.
More Than Just a Patch—And a Lesson That Stuck
When that orange 5miles logo finally showed up on the Mavericks jerseys, it wasn’t just a flex, it was a signal. A small startup had stepped onto one of the biggest stages in sports by thinking big, backing it up with data, and telling the right story to the right person.
And yeah, it was a huge win for 5miles, but also a personal milestone for me. It proved that in a world full of billion-dollar brands, smart storytelling and strategic thinking still matter. A lot.
That experience sticks with me. Whether I’m building a paid media funnel, writing a pitch deck, or automating back-end systems for a small business, it always comes back to this: if your idea’s solid and your data backs it up, there’s no room too big to walk into.
