118: How this Sweatproof Undershirt made it on Shark Tank | Billy Thompson of Thompson Tee

Background on Billy Thompson on Thompson Tee:

Billy Thompson is the President of Thompson Tee. He is the inventor of the Thompson Tee with Hydro-Shield Sweatproof Technology, a patented undershirt guaranteed to block underarm sweat, preventing embarrassing wet marks and yellow stains. As seen on Shark Tank, “The Doctors” TV and Editor's Pick in SHAPE magazine. They are proudly serving customers in over 135 countries worldwide and their product is fully handcrafted in the USA.

The Thompson Tee mission is to provide a safe, affordable and convenient solution to excessive underarm sweat and open a dialogue around hyperhidrosis so others don’t have to close themselves off to the world or constantly agonize over the appearance of sweat stains. And nothing gives them more pride when hearing the success stories of customers they diligently serve every day.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[2:11] Billy Thompson is the co-founder of Thompson Tee, which is known to produce undershirts that can block underarm sweat.
[5:00] Billy discusses in detail his Thompson Tee undershirts and how he got the idea of creating this type of product.
[8:34] Thompson Tee officially opened in 2011. Billy admits it took a long time for this business to come into fruition.
[10:30] Billy talks about “decision fatigue” and why it can be the source of stress for a lot of people.
[13:38] Mack Weldon is the most comfortable underwear, socks, shirts, undershirts, hoodies, or sweatpants that you will ever wear. They even have a line of silver underwear and shirts that naturally eliminate odor. They want you to be comfortable. So if you don’t like your first pair, you can just keep it and they will still refund you, no questions asked. If you want a bottom low price when ordering off of Mack Weldon, then be sure to enter the promo code MILLIONAIRE at checkout. This is for a 20% off your first order. Go visit MackWeldon.com and enter the promo code MILLIONAIRE at checkout.
[19:15] Billy describes the first two years of Thompson Tee as brutal. There was a huge amount of debt and no income was coming in.
[19:59] When Billy moved to LA, he took on several jobs. He worked for a fortune 500 company, talent agency, and he sold private jets for 25 hour blocks.
[23:19] Billy gave an insight on how much it would cost to rent a private jet for 25 hours.
[26:26] Billy tells the story of how he pitched his undershirt project to a rich client. He was also hoping that this person would invest in his business.
[30:34] Billy gets to talk to Randy about his undershirt project. Randy would be the co-founder for the Thompson Tee undershirt.
[32:09] When it’s time to make a hire for your small business, naturally you want to find the best person for the job. Odds are, that person is on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Jobs makes it easy to get a match with quality candidates, who make the most sense for your role. LinkedIn Jobs uses knowledge of both hard skills and soft skills to match you with the people who fit your role the best. Go post a job at LinkedIn.com/millionaire and get $50 off on your first job post.
[36:02] What his wife said to him and the positive testimonials and comments of the people who used the Thompson Tee undershirts kept Billy and Randy motivated during the early days of their business, when they weren’t earning enough money.
[39:06] Billy and his wife learned to live frugally and cut back on excessive spending. He describes it as a lean lifestyle.
[45:18] On the third year of Thompson Tee, they finally hit the million dollars in sales.
[51:28] Billy promoted Thompson Tee through influencers. One influencer helped him tremendously in marketing his undershirt.
[1:00:45] Billy moved from California to Las Vegas. He considers California as the worst place to run a business. It also boils down to quality of life.
[1:03:00] Billy talked about the Shark Tank experience. Being in the show also bumped their sales up tremendously.
[1:06:55] Billy gave a word of advice about partnerships in business.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Selling to the VITO by Anthony Parinello, Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Battery Checker
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Google Analytics
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Awareness

Key Point from the Interview:

“A word of advice to anyone who has a partnership, you guys better ensure that you’re fiscally aligned because partnerships usually break down in two spots, when you have no money, and then when the money starts coming in.”