Three prominent investor-judges from “Shark Tank,” television’s high court of American entrepreneurship, descended on Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton to hear pitches from hopeful local innovators in search of financial backing.

The visiting judges for the so-called “CrocTank” event, sponsored by Noble Capital Markets of Boca Raton, included Canadian venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, a.k.a “Mr. Wonderful,” FUBU apparel founder Daymond John, and cyber-tech entrepreneur Robert Herjavec, also from Canada. The contest was a wrap-up event of a two-day financial investment conference called NobleCon, which drew some 200 executives from around the country to Boca Raton.

Only one of four competitors chosen from a pool of more than 100 applicants scored a deal at the Wednesday on-stage event, which took place in a student union auditorium on the FAU campus in Boca Raton and drew nearly 2,000 ticketholders. The local competitors were selected, according to the College of Business, from the university’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship, Tech Runway and the Research Park at FAU.

“I want to assure you what you see on Shark Tank is the real deal,” intoned longtime show announcer Phil Crowley, sporting a Panama hat.  “These guys have no idea what the pitch is going to be. And today is no different. All they know is that all of the entrepreneurs today are from the Noble and Florida Atlantic eco-system. That’s all they know.”

“Whatever they decide today will be subject to due diligence,” he added. “Secondly, and this is a big difference: They can make any offer they’d like without any restrictions they usually have on the show. And yes, if a deal is struck, they will be investing their own money.”

“Are you ready? This is CrocTank!”

From there, “CrocTank” evolved as part lovefest, part tough-love advice peppered with snide remarks. They advised the entrepreneurs about how to develop their markets and make presentations that yield dollars. The trio, mainstays on the ABC-produced show now in its 17th season, closely vetted all of the proposals from the entrepreneurs, some of whom had raised money previously but sought more cash to advance their companies’ growth and development.

A single winner

Dr. Andria Beal, a scientist and founder of EpiPaws, based at the Research Park at FAU, emerged as the only competitor to come away with money. She cut a deal with O’Leary for $250,000 in exchange for 20% equity in her enterprise, which specializes in genetic testing for pet dogs and cats. She could not be immediately reached for comment after the presentation.

O’Leary appeared influenced by Beal’s ties to the founder of a Miami-based company called Basepaws, in which “Mr. Wonderful” said he had invested previously. That deal, he reported, was among the better deals he has ever reached on “Shark Tank.”

Beal told the panel she works with Basepaws founder Anna Skaya, whose firm uses DNA to ascertain a pet’s age. But she said her company is different in that it gives pet owners a chance to pinpoint whether a pet has a disease. “With Epi Genetics we can tell you here and now you are developing a disease and you need to do something about it,” she said.

O’Leary, though astonished by the $120 sales price of Epi Paws’ test kit, jumped in anyway. “I’ll do the $250,000. I want 20%, and I have no flexibility,” he said.

Interesting innovations, but no sale

The sharks took a pass on proposals from the three other participants who all outlined technology-driven businesses.

Carbon Limit, which is based at the Tech Runway, served up a technology that reduces carbon dioxide emissions from concrete in roads and buildings. But the pitch from CEO and founder Tim Sperry was too rich at a $75 million valuation on $1.2 million in sales, and too complex for a buy-in from the three sharks.

“This isn’t just about the money for me, although it is about the money,” Sperry said, drawing laughter from the audience. He noted he had became the father of a daughter six months ago.

“I don’t just  want to leave her a thriving business,” he said. “I also want to leave her a thriving planet. I think we owe that to her generation, her children’s generation and beyond.”

The statement drew a round of applause. But the Sharks were thinking in more practical terms.

“You have to educate the whole world that you have a way to use cement to suck carbon out of the air. That’s a helluva mission,” O’Leary said. “Why would I care about this until the person that is paying you to build a road or build a building says ‘You’ve got to use this guy’s product that sucks carbon out because I care about this.’ Because right now I don’t care about this — because I don’t have to care.”

Herjavec called the pitch interesting, but too complicated.

“I always think I try to sell products or services that are native to the customer,” he said. “So the cement buyer is waking up every day and thinking I need to reduce my costs, I need stronger cement, I have new codes coming up for buildings, especially here in Florida. Those are the things I’m thinking about. I don’t think the average buyer is waking up and saying, ‘Gosh, I just built that road, how do I get carbon credits from it?’ And I think you might be able to convince him, but I think it’s a long road.

“To Kevin’s other point, I don’t think people are walking down the road are saying, ‘Gosh, if this road just sucked carbon I would walk on it.’

“I think you have a marketing challenge,” he added. “It seems like a good product from what you’ve told us. There’s an old Yiddish saying that says, the way it begins is usually the way it ends. And this started complicated and I worry it’s going end complicated.”

Quipped O’Leary: “There’s also a Yiddish saying that says, ‘don’t suck carbon.’”

Sperry said he would throw in “advisory shares” for each panelist.

“You’re a good salesman,” O’Leary said. “I would never give you that ($75 million) valuation on $1.2 million in sales. Congratulations, but that’s insane. That’s nuts. Good for you.”

“Listen, I’m going to anger therapy now, ” O’Leary concluded. “I’m trying to be a nicer Mr. Wonderful. I think this valuation is absolutely, just — no.”

“Tim, it’s not for me,” Herjavec said.

“Yeah, nice guy,” John said when asked for his decision. “The people that are in charge of buying this product, they don’t get rewarded for doing anything like this. They get penalized. I personally believe they are very risk averse.”

Declared Crowley, the announcer: “Three sharks are out.”

 Hemotag from the Research Park offered a device designed to monitor heart attack patients outside hospitals. Founder Kaustubh Kale noted he had received an $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

But he was seeking $200,000 in exchange for a mere 1% in equity, an offer that jarred the sharks.

O’Leary countered with $200,000 for 15% equity. But Kale declined despite cries from the audience to accept.

 Auto TQ offered a device designed to supplant the use of tourniquets in medical emergencies. FAU graduate Hannah Herbst and Robert Flippo, an executive at Golden Hour Medical and former CEO and co-founder of Boca Raton-based MobileHelp LLC, noted tourniquets are often mishandled at accident scenes, causing unnecessary blood loss among trauma patients.

But instead of an investment, they requested a $500,000 loan at 12%, a proposition that didn’t fly with the panel.

“We are not the loan tank,” O’Leary said. “There is no scenario in which I would like to give you a loan.”

Better than expected

Overall, the sharks sounded impressed by the quality of the products and ideas pitched to them. Their feedback cheered Andrew Duffell, president of the Research Park, which is home to 20 “mature” companies and 34 second-stage firms that are still scaling up.

“I think that it was unique in every way as it added value to everything we are doing here,” Duffell told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Thursday. “For us in the Research Park and the TechRunway, it was incredibly validating to hear the Sharks say more than once they thought they were going to get rubbish pitched at them, but (instead) this was the real deal. That was huge for us.

“Then to have four of our companies presenting to them — whether or not they got a deal, that gives them credibility they were good enough to pitch the sharks,” Duffell said. “And the public relations value makes them stand out among their competitors — I couldn’t even venture to guess.”