KidPreneur successfully raises money from the ‘Sharks’ to expand business
Carson Grill with his father, Jason Grill, were about to touch up paint around their house when they realized the stowed away paint cans they opened had dried up or rusted due to inappropriate storage with some emanating repulsive odor. They realized they can’t be the only ones dealing with this scenario and felt a compulsive urge to come up with an improved way to store paint for home restoration projects.
Carson, merely a teenager was a born entrepreneur. With his father’s help, they designed Touch Up Cup, a practical solution to help keep paint fresh for over 10 years. It simply required incorporating a stainless steel ball for easy mixing and preserving paint
The Touch Up Cup not only provided easy solution for small paint jobs but also helped with spills and other messes when you least expect them. To homeowners and tenants alike who like their living quarters in pristine condition, Touch Up cup deemed invaluable. To launch the product nationwide, they started DZ Innovations Inc., with both Father and Son duo sharing equal partnership in the venture.
To increase their footprint, they went to Shark Tank seeking an investment of USD 150,000 in exchange for 10% equity. Ultimately, they ended up raising the desired amount in exchange for 17.5% stake from guest Shark, Blake Mycoskie – founder of TOMS shoe, valuing their company at USD 850,000 at the time of the pitch.
Once the Shark Tank episode aired, the Touch Up Cup website logged 40,000 visitors and roughly 5,000 new orders. Their product was sold out at 4,000 retail locations across the country. They netted about USD 220,000 in sales over the last two years and the co-foudners expects their sales to reach USD 2 million in 2021.
Alongside the flagship product, Touch Up Cup introduced painting accessories such as anti-slip drop cloth to their product line. They also introduced several other restorative and creative fresh containers to increase the longevity of Bagels, Donuts and Muffins. All these items are available at several US retail chains as well as via their website.
Both father and son duo make a great team, are modestly humble and neither take credit for their successful venture yet credit each other.
You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop an idea.
― Larry Page, Co-Founder Google
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/19/shark-tank-how-teen-landed-business-deal-with-toms-founder.html
https://themillennialmirror.com/trends/touch-up-cup-shark-tank/