Susan Petersen was a mother of two babies when she started making tiny leather moccasins. She used leather scraps that she found at a yard sale. She posted them online and was overwhelmed by the response. She sold old metal window frames in order to buy more scrap leather. She sold her first pair of moccasins on Etsy for $20. Today, she sells her Freshly Picked Moccasins for $45 to $60 a pair.
In 2014, Petersen pitched her business on Shark Tank and made a deal with Daymond John for $150k for 25 percent of the company. According to Petersen, when John renegotiated the terms of the deal, the deal fell through. Although Petersen lost out on the opportunity to work with celebrity fashion guru John, she’s picked up several celebrity endorsements from posh parents including Kim Kardashian, Rachel Zoe, Jessica Alba, and Liv Tyler, among others. Freshly Picked has posted $5.4 million in sales which is allowing Petersen to pay off her parents’ home.
[Related: 27 Favorite ‘Shark Tank’ Products at Amazon — New List]
