Her Parents Came To America With Only $100 In Their Pockets—Now, She’s The Boss Of A Startup!

Mark Cuban shared his views in a podcast by 888-Barbara and said that believing in the American dream and achieving it is not always easy. Yet, one could be anywhere in the country, start a business, and make it to the carpet to potentially crack a deal with him and his colleagues. It’s as simple as it is.

What you read above is the fundamental reason why Cuban does ABC’s Shark Tank, and it’s also what drives him to make investments. In a recent episode of the show, entrepreneur Krystal Persaud, proprietor of a solar chargers business called Grouphug, won over the heart of the NBA owner with her story and work ethic.

Introducing Herself

As a first-generation American, Persaud’s story starts with her parents migrating to the United States from Guyana with only $100 at hand. The careers of her three older sisters all revolve around the field of medicine, so she wanted to show her parents that she could make a living out of being a designer.

Persaud started as an intern in a New York tech company, where she worked on industrial design. When she left, she was already a product design senior director. Although Persaud is no engineer, she likes to view herself as a creative technologist. Overall, the young entrepreneur accumulated seven years of experience in constructing consumer electronics.

Even with all the success that she garnered from designing toys, Persaud still chose to pursue a career in sustainability and become a part of the solution. Eventually, she became her own boss.

How Her Business Started

Persaud founded Grouphug, where she keeps herself busy by designing and selling solar panels for small windows. She designs these solar panels, like how she used to design toys. A beautiful solar panel that she could just hang in her apartment and use daily was also she wanted.

Every window solar panel can be connected to chargers for various electronic devices. As sunlight hits the panels during the daytime, all the energy goes straight to an internal battery. With the energy stored, charging your devices day or night is possible. All this is what she shared on the Shark Tank episode.

Getting The Nod Of Approval

After Persaud’s presentation, some Sharks were left uncertain of the product. They thought that investing in her business was just too early since there weren’t any panels that have been delivered to clients yet.

However, Cuban was hooked. He envisioned a future where solar panels could be sponsored by firms who want to utilize them for advertisements in public spaces—for instance, a New York City park—to showcase the product and win the attention of customers.

During the episode, Cuban told Persaud how impressive she was and how he thinks that her concept has potential, although its execution needs some work. Then, he made her an offer by giving her the $150,000 with a catch! He wanted 25%,” which is more than her 10% stake offer. Persaud accepted.