Shark Tank US | See The Way I See Entrepreneur Values Mental Health In Her Product

[Music] next up is a company with a mission to normalize mental health struggles [Music] hi sharks my name is Sophie Nestico I'm from Trumbull Connecticut and I am here seeking 250 000 for 10 of my business sharks you may not be able to tell from the big smile that I have on my face but I cry and I cry a lot but guess what we all cry because we're human Kevin I know you have a tough exterior but I've seen even you shed a tear in the tank never happens I'm on a mission to destigmatize mental health as it's not something that we should hide but rather something that we should embrace and wear it proudly and that's exactly why I created see the way I see a size inclusive mental health awareness clothing brand that emphasizes positive affirmations in a way that's never been done before what we do is simple we add signature reassuring reminders to the sleeves of your sweatshirts to give people that little boost that they find themselves needing so Lori if you're anything like me you're an overthinker just remember to breathe in and breathe out and Mark if you're ever feeling anxious about all the deals you have in the works just look to your sleeve to be reminded that this feeling too shall pass and I get it if you don't want to wear your heart and your literal sleeve we also have rings stickers keychains and so much more to give people that reminder to carry with them throughout the day sharks I filter community Through The Power of social media and my followers are with me every step of the way together we are breaking down barriers to end the stigma surrounding common mental health struggles once and for all so what do you say are you ready to see the way I see sharks in front of you is a crew neck a keychain and a sticker that I designed so feel free to check them out and get in your feels Sophie how did you come up and see a business idea you know since I was young I've always had a passion for helping others I always knew that I wanted to be a nurse and you know going into high school I started to develop pretty severe anxiety fast forward to my sophomore year of nursing school I started to develop even more severe anxiety so I decided to go down to part-time and in that time I refound my passion for art that I've had since I was 10. I took the 500 that I had in my bank account I bought a printer a sticker cutting machine I started to design mental health based stickers I started selling them online and I just continued to reinvest the money until I was able to actually purchase my first order of crew necks and I thought it was going to take at least two to three to four months to sell 100 sweatshirts and I was willing to do it but to my surprise it only took two days oh my gosh that's nice what happened so I have been using social media for as long as it's been out but I was able to use it to my advantage at this point where I was sharing my art on my page which was called see the way I see so that was also where the name came from you were seeing my art from my perspective so something's happening here are you spending a lot of money on advertising or not none this is pure Community none you go that's awesome so what you think you're gonna be doing this year so sales for this year would be two hundred and sixty thousand dollars that year to date actually I'm sorry that was 260 000 in 24 hours Let's Take a couple steps you're selling your stuff based off the drops then apparently yes exactly so I'm trying to do a drop a month rather than having something for sale all the time you make an announcement on social media if you're doing it right then there's a frenzy everybody tries to get it and it sells out quickly right and so this is your primary product the crewnecks and hoodies yes okay so crewnecks and Hope it is what do you sell them for and what do they cost you to make prunix I sell them for a 60 retail and they cost twenty one dollars landed okay hoodies hoodies um I charge 75 and those cost about 25 okay this year year today year to date year to date is seven hundred and ninety thousand dollars how many people are in your company just me you are making a mess how old are you 24. what's taking you so long so how much money is in your bank account right now so I just had a drop and I need to purchase my next drop but it's around 450 000.

and that's profit but you're just reinvesting your profits exactly right I've started with 500 in my bank account and I've grown it to this point nothing yeah I'm getting anxiety we're gonna have a crew neck for it that'll reduce your anxiety for Sophie I gotta I got an idea of a business that I want to start I'll sell you 20 for 450 000 what you're selling to her yeah she got the money yeah so what do you need a shark for you do so well so I'm proud of myself for how how far I've gotten it but I have zero background in business my family has zero background in business and I just feel like I'm hitting that point where I need a mentor Sophie why do you think you're worth 0. 5 million so total sales for my company has been just over 2. 3 mil nice yeah and I'm projecting to finish out a million this year and then next year 1.

75 I just continue to see this business growing and continuing to scale how much did you make on that 2. 3 million so the first year was nine hundred thousand dollars in sale I profited still a good number around a hundred and fifteen thousand and then the next year 2021 I made 640 000 in sales profit around 235 000 and then this year and 790 000.