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College dropout who got fired built $4 million company from scratch before appearing on ‘Shark Tank'

You will be amazed to know the inspiring story of the 'Shark Tank' contestants and the co-owners of Y'all Sweet Tea!

Young entrepreneurs Darien Craig and Brandon Echols appeared on ‘Shark Tank’ and impressed the judges with their story! The duo have known each other since they were 6 years old in small-town Hayden, Alabama. They attended the same high school and eventually dropped out together. During their appearance on the show, the duo revealed how they decided to run their co-owned company, Y'all Sweet Tea, which Craig founded in 2021. What drove Craig to invent his start-up? On the company’s official website, he revealed that he had been fired from his job and had only $7 to his name.

“With the last paycheck I received, I used the $300 from that check to purchase the first jars, sugar, and tea that would eventually catapult this idea,” he added. Craig’s decision took him in the right direction. The tea company sells direct-to-consumer and in roughly 600 grocery store locations. Craig revealed on ‘Shark Tank’ that the company earned $4 million in yearly revenue and made nearly $800,000 in profit. Y'all Sweet Tea had recently added flavored teas to its lineup, and it spiked their overall sales. Around 10,000 units of flavored tea alone were sold by the company that year. In the episode, the entrepreneur duo claimed that tea brands didn’t utilize social media to promote.

“So we doubled down on social media and built a team of influencers that know a thing or two about sweet tea,” one of them said. They welcomed one of their top influencers, who had 1 million followers at the time, to spill some “tea,” and it was none other than Mama Sue. “Everybody knows Mama Sue,” investor Mark Cuban announced. However, the duo spent a chunk of money on marketing, which diluted their profit, which didn’t make sense to Cuban. “So you put $800,000 pre-tax in your pocket, right? Why not continue to grow and keep on putting money in your pocket or reinvesting that, as opposed to just throwing it all into advertising?” he asked.

The contestants explained that they wanted to build their brand, and marketing felt like the right bet. “Which would you rather have, a brand that is recognized, or be rich as f*ck?” Cuban asked pointedly. Kevin O’Leary seconded his fellow ‘Shark’s point of view. “I’m starting to agree with Cuban,” he said. “When you're dropping that amount in that short period on your own site, that's rare,” he added. However, ‘Shark’ Rashaun Williams didn’t doubt the business or its owners and quickly presented his offer.

He declared that he would leave the brand expansion plan up to them because they are “smart enough.” He would only provide them with the money, sources, access, and even infomercials if they wanted. “I think you guys are a rocket ship, and I think if you had the right money and the right resources, you could continue to grow,” Williams added. The duo had three offers in total, one from Williams, one joint offer with him and O’Leary, and a third one with Williams and Lori Greiner. The duo accepted the latter after declining Mr. Wonderful’s offer.