Darien Craig and Brandon Echols have known each other since they were 6 years old in small-town Hayden, Alabama. They attended the same high school and even dropped out of college in tandem, they said on Friday's episode of ABC's "Shark Tank."
During that episode, the pair hit another milestone together: agreeing to an investment offer for their jointly owned business. Craig and Echols co-own Y'all Sweet Tea, which Craig founded in 2021 — after getting fired from his previous job, he wrote on his company's website.
"The week I got fired, I had $7 to my name," wrote Craig. "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."
Y'all sells its tea direct-to-consumer and in roughly 600 grocery store locations, mostly across the southeastern United States, Echols said on "Shark Tank." It brought in $4 million in revenue, including nearly $800,000 in profit, last year, he added.
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Those numbers included a detail that the show's investor judges found particularly interesting: Y'all added flavored teas to its lineup last year, and sold 10,000 units of its first flavor, "Georgia Peach," in just 35 minutes, Craig said. The first eight of those minutes were responsible for $100,000 in sales, he noted.
"When you're dropping that amount in that short period on your own site, that's rare," Kevin O'Leary said. Barbara Corcoran chimed in: "Do you know how few entrepreneurs can make that claim?"
"That is beautiful. That is like beauty," Mark Cuban added.
Money Report
'You don't need me to tell you how to run this business'
Craig and Echols asked the investors for $500,000, in exchange for a 5% equity stake in their company. Guest investor Rashaun Williams, a venture capitalist and minority-stake owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, quickly offered them $500,000 for 10%.
"I'll let you figure out if you want to go to Walmart, if you want to stay direct-to-consumer, or what balance of both," said Williams. "You don't need me to tell you how to run this business ... I think you guys are a rocket ship."
Cuban and Corcoran bowed out. Y'all was a better fit for Williams' investment style, Cuban said: Craig and Echols noted that they hoped to eventually find an exit for their company, and a professional VC investor could help them grow enough to get acquired or go public.
But O'Leary wanted in. He proposed a joint offer with Williams — $500,000 for 20% of Y'all, which the two investors would split down the middle.
Not to be outdone, Lori Greiner added another joint offer with Williams to the table: $500,000 for 15% of Y'all. O'Leary promptly lowered his offer to match.
Craig asked if any of the investors would chip in another $250,000. They declined, with Williams saying Y'all could always raise more money in the future. After quickly deliberating, Craig and Echols accepted Greiner and Williams' joint offer — prioritizing the combination of Williams' VC knowledge and Greiner's retail experience over the stronger financial terms of Williams' solo proposal.
The quartet officially inked the deal at Greiner and Williams' proposed terms after the show's taping, Craig confirmed to CNBC Make It.
"Rashaun is an awesome businessman and Lori has so much experience in retail," Echols said on the show. "It couldn't have been a better deal."
This story has been updated to include Craig's post-taping confirmation of the investment deal.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."
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