Carson Grill was just 15 years old when he went on Shark Tank with his father for his very own product, the Touch Up Cup. He had just started his freshman year of high school, but unlike most of his classmates, he was already running his own company. The Touch Up Cup is a patented plastic cup that holds 13 oz. of paint. It has stainless steel springs that mix paint and remove clumps when the cup is shaken. Carson first came up with the idea while working with his dad around the house. The two of them noticed that the paint and paint buckets his family kept around for home touch-ups became rusty, old, and unusable over time. The sharks were very impressed with Carson as he led the pitch and answered all of the questions with detailed and advanced vocabulary and business terminology. His knowledge and involvement in the brand definitely helped gained the sharks’ attention. He ended up landing a deal with guest shark and founder of Toms, Blake Mycoskie, for %150,000 in exchange for 17.5% of the company. 
Since landing the deal on Shark Tank, the Touch Up Cup gained a lot of attention and success due to the publicity from the show. YouTube clips and short Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok videos of Carson pitching on the show received millions of views, helping to further advertise the company for free. According to the most recent update, the business did $1 million in sales in 2021 and was projected to do over $3 million in 2022. The company also expanded its product line and made advantageous deals with nationwide retailers like Walmart and Lowe’s. Currently, the Touch Up Cup is available at Lowe’s, Meijer, Walmart, and Theisen’s. They offer nine different products on the brand’s website, such as tarp, brush set, brush cleaner, and more. Instead of just selling Touch Up Cups, they’ve begun selling products to aid in the entire painting process. It has also expanded to sell online via Amazon rather than just through its own website, which will likely help to increase brand awareness.
This is a really cool idea. I’ve never heard of this invention before and I was surprised by how young the inventor was. This was a cool story to learn about someone so young following their entrepreneurial ventures. Good job!
It’s amazing how Carson was able to create a business and win a deal with one of the Sharks at such a young age! He was able to notice a problem and create a solution that would solve the problem for himself. He was then able to build a business around the idea by sharing the solution with others in need. It’s cool that he’s able to continue to expand and grow his business by adding new products and selling through different channels!