CharCharms was conceptualized by founder Charlotte Trecartin. Since pursuing her business venture, the young entrepreneur has developed truly unique products, taking hydration accessories to the next level. 

An Idea Was Born

At 21 years old, I was a full-time student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business with minors in chemistry and exercise science. But that’s not all! I was also a nanny, competitive bodybuilder, and cycle instructor at the local Lifetime Fitness. What can I say, I love being active. As a student and an athlete, I carried a water bottle with me all the time.

In the fall of 2020, I began my junior year virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. One evening at home, I spontaneously had the idea that I would love to hang my hair tie from my water bottle instead of putting it on my wrist or stashing it in a pocket. This is where the idea of a stick-on hook on the side of a water bottle was born.

The next several months were consumed with sketching and photoshopping my own rendered images for a product. I researched materials and adhesives and created several rough prototypes. During this time, I also reached out to a lawyer to initiate the patenting process. I was motivated and on my way!

However, as the academic year became busier, my budding concept fell in priority as I focused on my studies. A few months later, as the spring semester came to a close, I returned to my plans, and decided to pursue my business idea full force!

The Summer of Growth

The summer of 2021 was packed with change and growth! I picked up a sales job selling coupon booklets door-to-door. This provided me with the initial capital to invest in a proper patent and materials to start making prototypes. I learned the ins and outs of sales methodology, landing closes, and handling rejection... lots of rejection. All of this prepared me for the world of entrepreneurship and the challenges I would face when starting a business.

What came next? I got busy networking! Finding a mentor was key, and I achieved that goal when I met Andrew Fogaty of 36Squared, a non-profit 501c3 business incubator here in Chicago. Satisfied with meetings and encouragement, Fogaty even arranged for a local Chicago SunTimes News reporter to interview the CharCharms founder (me!!) about the new company. Check out the article here! Having consistent, yet diverse mentors would become a staple in my CharCharms journey.

A New Kind of Hydration

Not long after dedicating myself to this process, more ideas began swirling and my vision of ‘CharCharms Water Bottle Accessories’ was moving into development. Utilizing outsourcing more than ever, I hired freelance graphic designers, videographers, prototypers and friends who had skillsets I was looking for. With their help, my water bottle hook idea began to evolve and take shape; it became more and more real every day.

CharCharms launched its first product collection on Sept 24th, 2021, that fall and winter we made our first sales! As that year wrapped up, I realized that in order to really grow, I needed to join a newly popular social media app: TikTok. By early 2022, I was ready for another mentorship program. I joined a local business incubator, The Gallery, and was paired with Bob Easter who became my new mentor. I began making TikTok content religiously and poured myself into growing the brand’s presence on that platform. 

CharCharms quickly gained over 50,000 followers and we saw sales tick up and up… We began launching product collections seasonally, but we were still a small business at this point operating from my dad’s basement. My small team consisting of local highschool students and helpful neighbors were making bead charms in-house, hand pouring our stick-on hooks into molds. We had over 300 products on the website, but I was still figuring out how to develop and run a small company. Along the way though, I learned a lot about myself!

Growth = New Challenges

By 2023, CharCharms had garnered support from all across the country on social media. We were seeing sales, but I knew we could be bigger. I had a goal for this year that I honed in on: retail. It was time that I found a new mentor! I met Chettha Saetia through the Illinois SBDC | CMAA and he helped guide me through the scaling process from negotiations with suppliers to day-to-day operations as we explored retail opportunities.

At this time, CharCharms only had a few products in a store at the local mall, but we got our big retail break that summer when we launched in Urban Outfitters. From there, we had products in-stores at American Eagle, Palmetto Moon, and more than a dozen independently-owned boutiques across the country. 

With every retailer that expressed interest in CharCharms, I learned more about how to scale, where to source supplies, how to put together a team, and most importantly, what to sell. Our product assortment was expanding: we were more than just adhesive hooks and decorative charms now. As the reusable water bottle market exploded (Stanleys, Owalas, etc.), CharCharms evolved with the trends. We established six core products that became the foundation for our retail partners.

By the fall of 2023, we got an order from our biggest retailer yet: Dick’s Sporting Goods [DSG]. They wanted to start with a small batch of products so we shipped our first full pallet, loading it onto a truck from my dad’s garage. At this point, I realized CharCharms had outgrown the basement, we needed more space and by early 2024, we moved into our first warehouse space. While only 400 sq. ft., this first space allowed us to fulfill our next order with DSG, this time shipping to stores nationwide! 

New Year, New Focus

2024 quickly became the year of retail for CharCharms as we expanded our custom products with DSG and received our first, major order with one my dream retailers: Target. I was ecstatic for this opportunity and though we had just moved into a new warehouse space only a few months prior, it wasn’t big enough to fulfill the equivalent of 150 pallets worth of product that Target had ordered. So, we temporarily set up shop in the warehouse of a fellow founder friend.

Now, who is “we” ? At this point, I needed a full time team. Up until this point, I had relied on part-timers and family friends, but now I needed reliable talent that could help bring CharCharms to the next level. At one point, we had more than 40 people working in the warehouse assembling and packaging product. I learned so much in the span of 4 weeks about team building, organization, and what I wanted the future of this business to look like. We launched in Target online and nationwide in-stores on September 1, 2024!

After tackling our first, major nationwide launch, we decided to commit to a 9,000 sq. ft. warehouse and office space. We needed to be established somewhere, have one cohesive space where we could brainstorm product assortment, collaborate with new partners, fulfill retail orders, and more. Our team is growing: we hired a warehouse team lead, we brought on financing partners, and we outsourced needs like supply chain management and accounting. We are still a small, but mighty in-house team, but we are putting in place experts and systems at every level of business. 

In under 4 years, what began with an idea about a hair tie has expanded faster than I could have ever expected, and I’m not finished! From concept to execution, I worked relentlessly to bring the idea of CharCharms to life and I aim to see it through to its full potential. What’s next for us? Stay tuned and stay hydrated! But I promise you, this is only the beginning. 

Charlotte Trecartin

President & Founder of CharCharms