Daymond John, a successful entrepreneur and investor who gained fame on the hit television reality series “Shark Tank,” spoke at the University on Tuesday, giving students advice on a successful entrepreneurship model.

Learning business basics at universities such as UT is vital to an entrepreneur’s ability to stay successful, according
to John.

“People always ask me — should you get a higher education?” John said. “The fundamentals of business are always worth it because it’s so hard to [be successful], but it’s 10 times harder to keep [that success]. I hope I reinforce a lot of the lessons the professors are teaching.”

John’s appearance was part of the Texas Cowboys Lectureship series. John focused his talk on his rags-to-riches story of starting FUBU, his clothing line he founded in 1992, and also spoke about business points he learned from trial and error during his career.

In his speech, John emphasized the importance of paying attention to the appearance students present through their social media profiles and discussed the value students can gain through branding themselves. 

John fit the Texas Cowboys’ mold of core values that the organization wants to highlight, according to Wes Cole, communications studies and human relations senior and who is on the lectureship committee for the organization.

“I think his story is one of hard work,” Cole said. “He followed his dream, and I think that’s something that every college student can benefit from hearing.”

Cole also said John’s message impacts many students at UT because of the University’s large business footprint.

“UT business is very driven at this school, so we knew it would be a big draw to have Daymond here,” Cole said.

Having a successful and famous entrepreneur on campus gives students a model to follow as they navigate their
college years, business freshman Madison Beltran said.

“[John] gives valuable lessons to people who don’t know if they will do well in their career,” Beltran said. “His advice is not just beneficial to business majors but all students here who are all trying to figure out how be successful.”