The impact of market orientation and brand storytelling on <i>Shark Tank</i> evaluations – a B2B and large language modeling perspective

Purpose The purpose of the study is to determine how signals of market orientation and brand storytelling affect the evaluation of start-ups by Shark Tank judges. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyzed 430 Shark Tank pitches to test their hypotheses. Their expert annotations based on elements of their conceptual model pave the way for them to deploy a large language model that gives us unique psycholinguistic insights into the start-up pitches. Findings The authors find that market responsiveness and external disadvantage and passion and determination in brand storytelling have a significant impact on the evaluations of start-ups by investors. Research limitations/implications The research is set in an early-stage venture context in the US. Practical implications The research findings on business-to-investor interactions can benefit B2B marketers, start-ups and investors. Originality/value Their research which draws conceptual inspiration from the resource-based view of the firm and the signaling theory is unique in that the authors use cutting edge large-language model tools to draw psycholinguistic B2B insights from the Shark Tank interactions.