Shark Tank is a popular reality program that best represents the American dream, where even the most seemingly unachievable goals can be achieved with enough perseverance and hard work. Although not every entrepreneur portrayed on the show succeeds to that level, Shark Tank's breakthroughs are what has made it such a beloved staple for ABC.

One of these innovations was introduced in Episode 4 of Season 10 when Danh Tran and his apparel company, ButterCloth, were introduced. Tran's company, which he created in 2016 while serving as the chief designer at Affliction Clothing, was inspired by his need for comfort after years of donning stiff formal shirts. The outcome would be ButterCloth, a dress shirt composed of 100% cotton that feels like a T-shirt.

Gary Falkenberg, his business partner, and Metta World Peace, the brand's celebrity ambassador, were also invited to present their concept for Buttercloth. They appeared on the program looking to trade a 10% stake for $250,000 in cash. Tran's experience as a Vietnamese immigrant who cashed in his 401(k) and sold his house to launch ButterCloth, touches the sharks.

Following the distribution of samples to all of the sharks, the pair began responding to inquiries on the logistics of the brand and the materials used in the design of the shirt. Dahn talked about his shirts' typical pricing points, which are roughly $100 when sold exclusively online. The fact that each of these premium shirts barely costs $20 to produce seemed to impress the sharks, giving them room for respectable profit margins. They stated that within the last seven months of selling the shirts, they had already made more than $500,000.

Kevin O'Leary made the decision to withdraw because of their high customer acquisition costs, which are depleting the majority of their profit margin. Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner both decided to withdraw rather than make them an offer, leaving just two sharks with whom to bargain. Charles Barkley, the featured shark, quickly withdrew, but Robert Herjavec made the decision to offer them $250,000 in exchange for 25% of the business. He is steadfast in his offer of $250,000 for 25%, and Tran accepts it.

Now that we know a bit about what happened when Buttercloth's founders appeared on Shark Tank, let's take a quick look at what exactly their product claims to do and where they are in 2022.

What is Buttercloth?

ButterCloth, as we've mentioned, is a dress shirt composed of 100% cotton that feels like a T-shirt. They are now one of the most well-known brands for men's dress shirts that are totally composed of cotton and do not easily wrinkle, crease or retain body odor. The brand has a strong emphasis on providing softness and comfort that are developed specifically for guys.

The company's tagline, "The World's Most Comfortable Shirt," is meant to appeal to men who spend the entire day at work wearing a professional suit and who want to be as comfortable as possible. According to the company's advertising, the shirt is made of a remarkably breathable fabric. You feel professional wearing the shirt because it fits perfectly and has a sophisticated appearance. Additionally, there's also a variety of styles to choose from, and the shirts come in several stunning patterns.

Buttercloth in 2022: Where are they now?

ButterCloth's popularity skyrocketed after featuring on "Shark Tank." In a season two update section, we find that ButterCloth has achieved 3 million dollars in sales and managed to sell 30,000 shirts within just seven months. Tran also offers a special line inspired by Robert Herjavec, who shows his pride in Tran's achievements during a pop-up event in Los Angeles.

They are currently anticipated to make more than $5 million each year and have continuously added fresh products to the collection, including finer fabric shirts and underwear. The company appears to be positioned to be in business for quite a long time, with a steady growth rate as the years' pass. Right now, Buttercloth's apparel is only sold on the company's website and costs between $98 and $118.

The business would launch the Cotton 10.0 in 2021, an upgraded fabric that provides the ultimate comfort. In addition to its already extensive selection of dress shirts, ButterCloth soon expanded its product line to include underwear, socks, polo shirts, face masks, and much more. All of these items are offered on their website. TV star Jay Leno also became a brand ambassador for the organization in 2022 and announced that it was his ideal driving shirt. Customers who sign up for ButterCloth's giveaway also had the chance to fly to Los Angeles and visit Jay Leno's renowned garage.

But wait, who is Dan Tranh, and how did he start Buttercloth?

Buttercloth's Founder: Dan Tranh

Danh has claimed that in Vietnam, his parents owned a tailoring business. When he was barely ten years old, he began to make his own outfits. His mother approached him after noticing that he was fascinated with tailoring. She made an effort to dissuade him from a profession in fashion by telling him that it was a terrible option.

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Danh was eventually focused on his dream to design. He aimed to immigrate to America and launch a fashion business. He had to make a decision. He had to decide whether to carry out his plan or let his parents down, who expected him to become a doctor or an attorney. In the end, he chose to apply to a fashion school.

It was an expensive school that cost $120,000 a year to attend, which meant he couldn't afford it. Eventually, he was hired by Mattel to create doll clothing. Danh was able to pay for his dream design school after 5 years in the workforce and saving.  He graduated from Otis College with a fashion bachelor's degree. He started Buttercloth after liquidating his possessions and taking a distribution from his retirement account.

He put $250,000 of his funding into the business after selling his house and incurring a loss on his 401(k) funds. Thankfully after their Shark Tank appearance and investment, he's been able to make back all the money lost. Danh will still be developing new ideas in 2022. He has added a significant number of fresh items to the ButterCloth store, such as t-shirts, Henleys, face masks, underwear, coats, and polo shirts made of the breathable fabric Icy Cotton. The idea to sell their distinctive apparel in physical stores appears to have been put on hold for the time being due to Covid 19 and its effects. The only place to purchase ButterCloth products is online.

Buttercloth's Networth in 2022

The firm appears to be doing well today, despite the fact that the agreement with Robert has already been concluded. Additionally, high-end men's shirts have started to carry the Buttercloth label. Sales surged on concert night as usual, and now there are more renowned sponsors.

On Instagram, The Buttercloth has over 52,000 followers, while its Facebook page has about 19,952 likes. There are plans afoot for new offerings. As of December 2022, the business is doing exceptionally well, bringing in $5–6 million annually.   Since the company's presence on the show, its estimated net worth has increased to nearly $15 million.

Have a business idea in mind? Here's how you too can get started

Step 1: 🛒Setup your Ecommerce Store

For the second half of 2022, retail eCommerce sales in the US alone totaled about $257 billion. This is an increase of 2.7% compared to the previous quarter. The most effective marketing tool you will ever have is your eCommerce website.

1. For instance, with effective SEO, your eCommerce marketplace will show up in the top SERP results. Additionally, social media platforms will give you a venue to interact with and gain your clients' confidence through ratings and feedback.
2. So where do you start? If you take a quick look at the Shark Tank contestants, you’ll get a straightforward solution- Shopify! This article highlights Shopify’s stronghold on the eCommerce sector, with 11 out of 13 brands choosing Shopify as their preferred platform to sell. Moreover, several popular Shark Tank brands like Bombas, Buttercloth, and more sell their products on Shopify.

Step 2: 💌 Start Sending Newsletters

Global email user numbers were projected to reach 4.3 billion in 2022. In 2025, this number is projected to increase to 4.6 billion, accounting for more than half of the projected global population.

Additionally, this Forbes article highlighted the impact email marketing had in the lives of successful Shark Tank contestants.

They found that email is the preferred medium for communication for 72 percent of buyers over any other platform. You can access an incredible customer base through email, and the best way to do it for your business is to invest in a solution that helps you create captivating content. If you’re looking for solutions to try out, these are among the best in the email marketing industry:

1) Awesome Send

Awesome Send is designed to empower ecommerce firms to attract and retain consumers, with a plethora of high-converting emails templates. Awesome Send also offers a robust Shopify integration that helps you connect information between your online store and email strategy seamlessly. Awesome Send's solution is accessible to all at a $39 flat with all features for users worldwide.

2) GetResponse

Get Response includes a good amount of tools that can boost your sales, like sales tracking, empty cart campaigns, and integrations with marketplaces like Magento and Shopify. GetResponse Free offers a free plan. But it has a monthly email send cap of 2500 newsletters for individuals with fewer than 500 subscribers. However, if you want to use capabilities like marketing automation or e-commerce features, things can get pricey very quickly.

Step 3: ⚡Grow your audience on social media

According to the most recent social media figures, there will be 4.59 billion social media users globally in 2022, and this number will only increase over the following several years (Statista, 2022). That currently represents around 57.5% of the world's population. Social media is the cornerstone of every successful marketing campaign in current times.

A wonderful example of an organization that has built its brand on the foundation of an effective social media approach is Grace & Lace from Shark Tank Season 5. When the entrepreneurs initially entered the tank, they asserted that their DTC site accounted for 90% of their more than $800k in revenues and that they hadn't yet spent a single penny on marketing. The business's socks profited from having over 34k incredibly engaged Facebook followers on top of being a popular pin on Pinterest.

Social media is about interacting and engaging; it's about establishing and sustaining relationships and using those interactions to promote your professional aspirations. And having genuine conversations is the sole strategy to do that.

You must be willing to pay attention, genuinely listen to what your community has to say and create consistent, high-quality content. So how can you do that with several competitors vying for the same success? Invest in a social media management platform!

1)    Awesome Social

With Awesome Social, your go-to social media scheduler, you can publish to all platforms simultaneously, share your content ideas with your team, manage numerous accounts from a single window, and seamlessly organize social media posts. Awesome Social is ideal for people seeking straightforward social media management features and offers four flexible pricing plans that start at $16 which you can choose from according to your unique needs.

2)    Sprout Social

Sprout Social is another great social media management app, however it functions more like a suite of tools for managing social media. You can manage your social media scheduling, inbox, mentions, and analytics with this web and mobile application. Sprout Social is a strong, comprehensive solution with a tonne of capabilities for the sophisticated social media marketer. However, its $249 introductory price may not be ideal for small businesses or independent owners who cannot make full use of its complex capabilities.