KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Shark Tank Success Stories: Behind the Pitch — A Candid Conversation With Successful Founders

Nicole Denise Phillip is a Brand Intelligence Strategist and founder of CoAgency, where she helps coaches, consultants, and online service experts turn clarity into consistent conversion. Through her Intelligence Pillars framework — Business Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, Capital Intelligence, and Well-Being Intelligence — Nicole equips leaders to scale without burnout by aligning their messaging, automation, systems, and capacity. With over a decade of experience in brand positioning, business development, and strategic advisory, Nicole is known for helping high-capacity entrepreneurs eliminate confusion, install intelligent systems, and build businesses that support their life instead of competing with it. Her work bridges the gap between calling and conversion, strategy and sustainability, visibility and profitability. When Nicole speaks, audiences leave with clarity, conviction, and a framework they can immediately implement.

Kirby Holmes is an entrepreneur and innovator, best known as the co-founder of K9 Mask®, the world’s first air filter mask for dogs featured on ABC’s Shark Tank. With over 30 years of leadership as a missionary, pastor, humanitarian aid worker, and business leader, he creates solutions that build resilience and well-being for people and pets worldwide.

Nathan Jones is an entrepreneur, inventor, and small business owner who transformed a simple idea into an internationally recognized consumer product. As the founder and owner of Jonesen Design, LLC, and inventor of the patented Freeloader Child Carrier, Nathan has spent more than a decade navigating the challenges and opportunities of building a business from the ground up. Founded in 2012, the Freeloader Child Carrier was developed to help families explore the outdoors together. What began as an innovative product concept evolved into a global business, generating more than $5 million in gross sales, with products sold on every continent. Nathan personally guided the Freeloader through the many stages of entrepreneurship, from initial design and prototyping to patent protection, international manufacturing, product development, marketing, and global distribution. Along the way, he developed relationships with overseas manufacturers, established wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales channels, and navigated the financial, logistical, and operational challenges familiar to small business owners. The Freeloader was featured on the television program Shark Tank, providing national exposure and an opportunity to introduce the product to a broader audience. Over time, the company's customer base expanded beyond outdoor enthusiasts and traveling families to include families with children who have disabilities or mobility challenges, creating an unexpected and meaningful dimension to the company's mission. Since 2021, Nathan has also worked through Jones Venture Advisory, an independent advisory practice focused on business development, operational strategy, risk management, and organizational leadership. His consulting perspective is informed by firsthand experience building a consumer brand, managing international supply chains, and navigating the realities of small business ownership. In addition to his entrepreneurial pursuits, Nathan served 20 years with the Austin Fire Department, concluding his career at the rank of Lieutenant. Throughout his tenure, he held a variety of operational and leadership roles, including six years commanding an engine company within the department's Wildfire Battalion. His career encompassed emergency response, complex incident management, strategic planning, and personnel leadership. Two decades in the fire service shaped his approach to leadership, reinforcing the importance of adaptability, sound judgment, and effective decision-making in high-pressure environments—principles he continues to apply in business and entrepreneurship. Nathan graduated with honors from San Francisco State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy and Religion. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Sarah, and is the proud father of three children.