Boston-area entrepreneurs pitch positive brand on ‘Shark Tank’ [Video]

“Sharks, did you know that Asian Americans are obsessed with sneakers and are a huge factor in driving sneaker culture?”That’s the opening line of Newton native Sam Hyun and Dover native Adam King’s pitch on Friday night’s episode of Shark Tank, which kicks off a new season on ABC.They co-founded 1587 Sneakers last year after King, who’s worked in the industry for two decades, kept hearing the same thing over and over again.”The word ‘Asian American’ is so uncool, it’s like the third rail of marketing. You market to hip hop culture, you market to skateboard culture, and the Asian Americans will just follow,” he said in a website promotional video.He goes on to tell the panel of potential investors on Shark Tank, “I got so tired of hearing that Asian Americans are follower consumers, and that is why we started 1587 sneakers.”Initially doing the packing and shipping from a …