Shortly after graduating from the University of Illinois, Charlotte Trecartin hired a TikTok coach for $400 per month, she says.
She wasn’t trying to grow her personal brand: Under the coach’s guidance, Trecartin started posting three times per day about her water bottle accessory company CharCharms. Her account grew to 80,000 followers, grabbing the attention of retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target, where CharCharms’ products sit today.
Trecartin, now 25, brought those products — which include straws, straw toppers, and charms and pouches that attach to water bottles — to ABC’s “Shark Tank,” in an episode that aired on Friday. They quickly drew skepticism from investor judge Kevin O’Leary, who said, “There’s a lot of crap like this on the market.”
Yet CharCharms was on track to make millions in profit last year, at the time of filming, Trecartin said. She declined to share exact profit figures for 2024, but tells CNBC Make It that her business brought in $6.5 million in revenue last year.
“Do you still think it’s crap now, buddy?” guest judge Kendra Scott asked O’Leary.