Podcast Summary: The Side Hustle Show

Episode 696: This 15-Year Old is Running a $100,000 Business From His Bedroom
Host: Nick Loper
Guest: Harrison Knott, Founder of Cool Towel
Date: September 11, 2025

Overview

This episode features 15-year-old entrepreneur Harrison Knott, founder of Cool Towel (cooltowel.co.uk), who scaled a simple idea—cooling neck towels—into a six-figure business while still in school. Host Nick Loper guides the conversation through Harrison's journey from idea to execution, sharing the actionable lessons, marketing tactics, challenges, and mindset that helped make Cool Towel a success. The episode is a masterclass in e-commerce, branding, resilience, and leveraging modern platforms like TikTok Shop and UGC to drive sales—even as a teenager juggling school and sports.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Genesis of Cool Towel

[02:04]

• Personal Pain Point: Harrison was frustrated with overheating during sports.
• Market Research: Noticed a gap—cooling towels existed but weren’t strongly branded in the UK three years ago.
• DIY Beginnings: Created the first prototype with his grandma, sewing a microfiber towel around an ice pack. Realized a better version was needed.
• First Order: Sourced 50 units via Alibaba after negotiating minimums and leveraging some prior experience with suppliers.

"I got my grandma to come round, and she bought her sewing machine... We made the first ever cool towel prototype on day one."
— Harrison, [03:28]

2. Early Hustles & Entrepreneurial Mindset

[06:04]

• Cool Towel wasn’t his first venture; Harrison started reselling on eBay at 8 years old.
• The drive was never about money, but challenge and growth.
• Multiple failed businesses taught resilience and valuable skills.

"I started 13 businesses, and I think out of the 13, 10 of them were failures... But from that, I've gained so much knowledge and so many skills..."
— Harrison, [06:11]

3. Branding & Product Differentiation

[05:02]

• Branding and packaging were strong focal points. “If you have bad packaging, if you have bad branding, people won’t value your product…you’ll get returns, you’ll get bad reviews.”
• Harrison designed the original branding himself, building on skills from prior hustles.

4. Launching & Marketing Cool Towel

[07:29]

• Utilized Shopify for the initial website; created video ads with trending sounds and hooks.
• UGC and organic TikTok content became the growth engine; paid ads only came later.
• It took 30-50 TikTok videos before experiencing viral traction ([09:59]).

"I think I posted about 50 videos before my first one properly blew up..."
— Harrison, [09:59]

• Initially, transitioned entirely to TikTok Shop after discovering conversion rates far exceeded Shopify ([11:24]).

5. Scaling: Cash Flow, Paid Ads, and UGC

[15:17]

• Cash flow and inventory management were early challenges, especially with TikTok Shop’s 2-month payment delay.
• Paid ads ramped up in 2024, scaling monthly sales to hundreds per month but with slimmer margins.
• TikTok’s new “GMV Max” AI-ad solution helped lower acquisition costs by automating campaigns ([16:17]).

6. Affiliate & UGC Creator Recruitment

[20:48]

• Used TikTok Shop’s built-in affiliate platform, automating outreach using Reacher (Reach AI) by 2025 ([21:28]).
• Crafted a performance-based pitch, offering 20% commission and free samples to creators.

“I'd rather just get loads of people making videos and if one goes bang, it's easy...”—Harrison, [21:57]

• Sent out 800-1,000 free towels; only a few creators drove major sales, but viral hits were highly impactful ([25:03]).

7. Business Tools & Systems

[25:55]

• Tech stack includes Shopify, Canva for design, ChatGPT for website copy and customer service, and Fiverr for outsourcing tougher jobs.
• Focused on maximizing average order value with bundle offers and plans for expanding the product line (e.g., cooling headbands, pet products).

8. Logistics & Fulfillment

[29:00]

• Prefers self-fulfillment for control, content opportunities, and cost savings.
• Recruited friends and family to pack during viral order surges. Biggest day: £25,000 in sales (~2,000 units shipped) ([29:35]).

9. Setbacks & Lessons Learned

[33:39]

• Lost 2,000 orders and £10,000+ when new stock got stuck in customs; orders were auto-canceled by TikTok Shop.
• Early mistake: shipped initial orders without tracking, resulting in no payout from TikTok Shop ([13:08]).
• Main lesson: Resilience and not giving up, even after large setbacks.

"The main thing there in that moment was I learned that the proof of concept was there... It can work."
— Harrison, [13:56]

10. Personal Branding & Unexpected Opportunities

[35:51]

• Only later leaned into personal branding—using his story and face—to build trust and connect with audiences.
• Personal brand videos went viral, leading to direct sales, networking, and unique opportunities (e.g., all-expenses-paid co-create event with Alibaba in Vegas) ([37:45]).

"From the personal brand videos... I went viral... people like the fact that it was a teenager, not just... gaming. And from that one I got sales. Two, I developed a personal brand... Three, I got quite a few opportunities..."
— Harrison, [36:44]

11. Looking ahead: Expansion & Diversification

[39:59]

• Plans to expand internationally, potentially via 3PLs, Amazon, or wholesale/retail partnerships.
• Experimenting with new product lines (e.g., dog cooling towels) via partnerships.
• Focus on developing social media presence and helping other aspiring entrepreneurs.

Notable Quotes

• "Don't give up, stay resilient. If it was easy, then everyone would do it... Enjoy the process and learn from your mistakes." – Harrison’s top tip, [42:52]
• "People like a tangible business... they can see it, it's real, it's not just some big corporation." – Harrison, on self-fulfillment, [29:00]
• “I enjoy packing them. I like the process. It's quite satisfying, you know, seeing all the orders go out the door.” – Harrison, [29:00]
• "Most people, after losing all that and spending all that time, would just give up. But from that, I've gained so much knowledge and so many skills I can apply into the next business and keep growing." – Harrison, [06:11]
• “It was never about money for me really. The reason why I started it was because I liked the idea of being successful and almost like becoming my best self.” – Harrison, [06:11]

Important Timestamps

• [02:04] – Harrison introduces his business and how revenue broke six figures this summer.
• [03:28] – The “aha!” moment: Prototyping Cool Towel with his grandmother.
• [05:02] – Emphasizing branding and packaging as key differentiators.
• [09:59] – Persistence with organic TikTok; viral video on the 30th-50th try.
• [13:08] – Early mistake: non-tracked shipping = no payout from TikTok Shop.
• [15:17] – Cash flow challenges and the cycle of inventory reinvestment.
• [16:17] – Lowering acquisition costs with TikTok’s new ad AI.
• [21:28] – Automating affiliate/creator recruitment with Reacher (Reach AI).
• [25:03] – Sent 800-1,000 free samples to creators; a few big wins made it worthwhile.
• [29:35] – Self-fulfillment: massive one-day shipment with help from friends and family.
• [33:39] – Losing £10,000+ when stock gets stuck in customs.
• [35:51] – Power and future of personal branding.
• [37:45] – Viral personal videos lead to high-profile opportunities (Alibaba event).
• [39:59] – Expansion goals: international markets, retail/wholesale.

Memorable Moments

• The entire concept began with a simple household hack and grew through resourcefulness and trial-and-error.
• Harrison's maturity, openness about failure, and focus on skills/growth over money are recurring motifs.
• Packing orders himself became a unique part of the brand’s story and content strategy.
• The large-scale UGC campaign was a numbers game—hundreds of free samples for a handful of massive hits.

Summary Takeaways

• Persistence Pays: Viral hits often come after 30+ attempts, not 3.
• Branding Matters: Even with commodity products, strong branding and storytelling can command a premium and win loyalty.
• Leverage Platforms Fully: TikTok's organic reach and in-platform shop can be massive growth levers, but operational hiccups (shipping, cash flow) are real.
• Tech and Automation: Automating outreach and customer service is key to scaling as a solo teen founder.
• Resilience: Failures—sometimes costly—are part of the process. The differentiator is perseverance and rapid learning.

Connect

• Follow Harrison Knott: TikTok (@harrisonknott)
• Business Site: cooltowel.co.uk
• Episode Bonus: 25 eCommerce Niche Ideas (link in The Side Hustle Show notes)

“If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.”
— Nick Loper, [43:08]