But if everything had worked out to this point, she would ask if the team was interested in Shark Tank.

“I was watching it last night on CNBC,” said a representative from Rocean, whose company filters, flavors and carbonates water from the tap. “We love it,” was another response, perhaps not surprising in a hall full of small business owners.

Another unsurprising reply would come when she’d ask if a team was looking for investment. In most cases, who wasn’t?

Then Zemrak would take a business card and explain that she’d set up a 30-minute call once she was back in LA. Every card, she said, would lead to a call.

This process happened nearly a dozen times in less than an hour. Still, because people knew Zemrak, sometimes events happened out of the blue.

“Mindy! How are you? Can I give you a quick demo?”

Zemrak was intercepted by a man who follows her on Facebook and was pitching Intelashelf, a tray with wireless charging, bluetooth speakers and a ceiling video projector.

“I’m glad you stopped me,” Zemrak said after their chat.