Troy Carter is another guest who has appeared on Shark Tank as a guest ‘shark’. Unlike some other guests, Carter is not a recurring guest on the show. Here is what you should know about Troy Carter.
What is the History of Troy Carter?
Troy Carter was born in West Philadelphia. He was raised by his father and step-mother after his father divorced his biological mother when Carter was quite young. Carter left high school at the age of 17 and pursued a music career with 2 Too Many, his high school rap group.
James Lassiter and Will Smith eventually signed the group to WilJam Records, their label. 2 Too Many lost this label’s contract a year later and Carter started working as a personal assistant for Lassiter.
Carter also worked in the studio for DJ Jazzy Jeff at the same time. Soon enough, Carter was promoting rap concerts around the city of Philadelphia. He promoted a rap concert for The Notorious B.I.G.
We should add that Carter met Sean Combs, a record producer, while promoting rap concerts in Philadelphia. Combs hired Carter as an intern for Bad Boy Records, based in New York City. You should know that Carter then moved to Los Angeles to work with Lassiter once more.
However, Lassiter fired him and Carter returned to Philadelphia. Lassiter claims that this was because Carter had gotten an entitled attitude. Carter then experienced some difficult years in Philadelphia.
It is important for us to mention that Carter met rap artist Eve in Philadelphia some time after that. Eve requested that Carter work as her manager. At the same time, Carter started managing Floetry and Nelly, two more rap acts.
We need to also point out that Carter started working with Jay Erving, who is the son of former basketball player Julius Erving. Carter co-founded Erving Wonder, a talent management company, with Jay Erving.
The next major development in Carter’s career happened when he met Lady Gaga, who was unknown at the time. Carter later founded Coalition Media Group along with Atom Factory, which was the company’s management division.
Carter also got an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special due to his involvement with Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden. Carter has managed many other artists since he signed Lady Gaga, including John Legend, Lindsey Stirling, Pia Mia, The Ceremonies, and Meghan Trainor.
We will also add that Carter serves on Slate.com’s board of advisors. Carter is also part of The Aspen Institute’s 2012 class of Henry Crown Fellows. Oprah Winfrey named Troy Carter to her SuperSoul 100 list of influential leaders and visionaries.
Carter serves as the CEO of Q&A, a music and technology company. Carter formerly served as Spotify’s global head of creator services. However, Troy Carter left Spotify in September 2018 and took on an advisory role at the company instead.
Troy Carter is married to his wife Rebecca. The two of them have a total of five children.
When Did Troy Carter Appear on Shark Tank?
As previously mentioned, Troy Carter did not appear on Shark Tank multiple times. Carter only appeared on Shark Tank once. His sole appearance came during season 7 episode 3 of Shark Tank.
We also have to note the fact that Troy Carter did make an investment during his sole appearance on Shark Tank. Carter heard a total of four pitches during that episode. He invested in Foot Cardigan.
More specifically, Carter invested a total of $125,000 in Foot Cardigan in exchange for a 10% stake in the business. This was the only investment Carter made during his time on Shark Tank.
Carter did not invest in Foot Cardigan by himself, though. Mark Cuban also invested in it, matching Carter by investing $125,000 in the company. This means Foot Cardigan received a total investment of $250,000 from the two Shark Tank investors.
Foot Cardigan is a subscription service and it delivers a pair of original new socks each month for women, men, and children. The two entrepreneurs who appeared on Shark Tank to pitch Foot Cardigan were Matt McClard and Bryan DeLuca. DeLuca and McClard created Foot Cardigan along with Tom Browning and Kelly Largent.
What Was The Best Investment Troy Carter Made on Shark Tank?
The best investment that Troy Carter made on Shark Tank was also his only one. Carter’s investment in Foot Cardigan proved to be a wise one, since the company experienced rapid growth after its appearance on Shark Tank. Foot Cardigan sold roughly 90,000 socks in the five days after its appearance on Shark Tank.
Additionally, Foot Cardigan got 7,000 new subscribers due to their coverage on Shark Tank. The current net worth of Foot Cardigan is $4 million. However, Foot Cardigan apparently never finalized the deal with Mark Cuban and Troy Carter.
What Was the Worst Investment Troy Carter Made on Shark Tank?
Troy Carter’s lone investment on the show Shark Tank did seem like a good one. Unfortunately, the deal was not finalized, as previously mentioned. However, Troy Carter did decide not to invest in Two Guys Bow Ties.
Two Guys Bow Ties was also pitched during Carter’s only appearance on Shark Tank. Tim Paslay and Adam Teague are the two entrepreneurs behind Two Guys Bow Ties. Two Guys Bow Ties essentially reimagines men’s accessories, including bow ties, by utilizing wood as a fashion material.
Troy Carter did not invest in Two Guys Bow Ties, but Daymond John did, investing $150,000 in return for a 17% equity stake and 10% royalty on sales until his investment is repaid. Following its appearance on Shark Tank, Two Guys Bow Ties doubled their business and their staff tripled in size.
Additionally, Tim Paslay and Adam Teague founded a second company, Plank and Mill. Plank and Mill makes stick panels and salvaged wood peel panels. Plank and Mill’s annual revenue is roughly $3.5 million.
