According to CNBC, twin sisters Taylor Capuano and Casey Sarai each invested $5,000 from personal savings in 2022 to launch Cakes Body, a company creating silicone nipple covers designed to prevent chafing and visible bra lines. The business reached $1 million in revenue in its first full year and exploded to approximately $95 million in net sales for the fiscal year ending in June 2024. After appearing on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in December 2023, the sisters secured a $300,000 investment from Emma Grede for 10% of the company, valuing Cakes Body at $3 million. The company has been profitable since 2022 and has attracted nearly half a million social media followers across TikTok and Instagram. This remarkable growth from side hustle to nine-figure business demonstrates how solving personal pain points can uncover massive market opportunities.
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The Power of Solving Personal Pain Points
What makes the Cakes Body story particularly compelling is how it exemplifies the “scratch your own itch” startup philosophy. The sisters weren’t conducting extensive market research or chasing trending industries—they were solving a genuine problem they personally experienced with uncomfortable, ineffective nipple covers. This authentic connection to the product created an inherent understanding of customer needs that larger companies often miss. When founders build solutions for problems they’ve personally struggled with, they bring an intuitive grasp of user experience that can’t be replicated through traditional market research. The positive product reviews highlighting the “grippy” silicone and superior quality suggest they successfully translated their personal frustration into a product that resonates with a broader audience.
When Niche Markets Reveal Massive Opportunities
Cakes Body’s success challenges the conventional wisdom that billion-dollar businesses must target massive, obvious markets. The nipple cover category had long been dominated by cheap, disposable options that treated the product as an afterthought rather than a solution worth perfecting. By focusing intensely on a specific product category that larger intimate apparel companies had overlooked, the sisters were able to dominate a niche and expand it significantly. This pattern repeats across successful DTC brands—identifying an underserved segment within a larger market and delivering exceptional quality where competitors have settled for mediocrity. The $95 million in sales proves that what appears to be a niche product can actually serve a much larger customer base than initially apparent.
The Bootstrapping Advantage in Modern Commerce
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this story is that Cakes Body achieved profitability in its first year and remained bootstrapped until the Shark Tank deal. This financial discipline forced the sisters to build a sustainable business model from day one, rather than relying on venture capital to subsidize growth. In today’s e-commerce landscape, where many DTC brands struggle with profitability despite impressive revenue numbers, their approach demonstrates the power of capital efficiency. The fact that they only sought outside investment after establishing product-market fit and profitability gave them significant leverage in their Shark Tank negotiation, resulting in a deal that valued their company at $3 million despite having already proven their business model.
Social Media as a Business Accelerator
The rapid growth to nearly 500,000 social media followers highlights how modern commerce has fundamentally changed. Traditional retail would have required years of shelf space negotiations and distribution deals to achieve similar reach. Instead, the sisters leveraged platforms like TikTok and Instagram to demonstrate their product’s effectiveness directly to consumers, creating authentic content that resonated with people experiencing similar wardrobe frustrations. This direct-to-consumer approach combined with social proof created a virtuous cycle where customer testimonials and demonstrations drove further awareness and sales. The Shark Tank appearance then served as a massive accelerant, providing both capital and national exposure to a business that had already validated its product and marketing strategy.
What This Means for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
The Cakes Body story offers several crucial lessons for entrepreneurs. First, you don’t need massive funding to start—the sisters began with just $10,000 total. Second, solving a problem you personally understand can be more valuable than chasing trending markets. Third, profitability from day one creates optionality and leverage. Fourth, social media platforms have democratized access to customers in ways that were impossible a decade ago. Finally, their experience shows that sometimes the most promising business opportunities exist in categories that established players have overlooked or underserved. Rather than trying to disrupt massive, competitive markets, finding a specific pain point and solving it exceptionally well can create surprising scale.
The Future of Intimate Apparel Innovation
Looking forward, Cakes Body’s success signals a broader shift in the intimate apparel industry toward specialized solutions rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. As consumers increasingly demand products that address specific needs and fit preferences, we’re likely to see more brands emerge with focused product lines rather than comprehensive catalogs. The sisters have demonstrated that there’s significant value in perfecting a single product category rather than spreading resources thin across multiple offerings. Their growth also suggests that the market for innovative intimate solutions extends far beyond traditional demographic boundaries, with potential for global expansion and product line extensions that maintain their focus on solving specific wardrobe challenges.
