Last night on Shark Tank, Nate Berkopec, a 19-year-old New York University student originally from Minnesota, dared to take his six-month-old environmentally conscious clothing line, The Factionist, into the Tank.
"It's really easy to do your market research if you are the market," he proclaimed of his clothing's message and ethical manufacturing methods, and duly confident, he requested $30,000 for a 20% stake of his business. "It's not just an apparel brand," he enthused. "It's a movement."
But right after that, he ran his ship into the shoals that have scuppered many a vessel before his.
Check out my interview with Berkopec, and also make sure to check in with the big winners from last night's show, Erin Whalen and Tim Stansbury of Grease Monkey Wipes, who also granted us a behind-the-scenes follow-up video interview as part of our AfterShark series.