{"id":598,"date":"2014-09-23T21:33:20","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T21:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.thinkapps.com\/?p=598"},"modified":"2014-09-23T21:41:58","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T21:41:58","slug":"raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charles Michael Yim, founder and CEO of Breathometer, is a visionary and experienced entrepreneur whose innovative ideas in the hardware and software industries are transforming the way consumers use mobile technology. His many successes include founding Chatterfly and overseeing every aspect of its development, from its initial inception to its profitable acquisition by Plum District.<\/p>\n

But his latest pioneering product, a mobile app that allows users to instantly check their blood alcohol level called Breathometer, exploded onto the market after its startling success on the television show, Shark Tank, late last year.<\/p>\n

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Yim about that ground-breaking appearance\u2014the first time that all five \u201csharks\u201d invested in a single entrepreneur\u2014and discuss how it felt, as well as what it takes to achieve that sort of success in today\u2019s mobile marketplace. Here\u2019s what we learned:<\/p>\n

You already have quite a good track record as a serial entrepreneur, how did you get started? At what point in your life did you make the decision that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cFirst out of college I went to work on a start-up called Fortified Software, and within a very short period of time it was acquired by HP. I was basically leading business development\u2026with upwards of twenty plus employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further explaining that Fortified Software was at that time, \u201cspecializing in applications security \u2026 [which] \u201cwas not for [him].\u201d Yim felt he could learn a lot from his time there, and from the the success of that venture, he apparently did.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter [the acquisition] I started my first start up, ProBuddy, which was a \u2018Yelp\u2019 for local service providers.\u201d By teaming up with a senior engineer at Facebook, which in his words \u201cwas still new and cool at the time,\u201d Yim was able to create and then later sell this original venture.<\/p>\n

He then explained how he had built his second company, Chatterfly, a mobile loyalty rewards platform, which he then went on to sell to Plum District (a sister company to Groupon). In fact, these two experiences developed his track record and provided him with first-hand understanding about the mechanics of business\u2026 which in turn, led to his development of Breathometer.<\/p>\n

What was the VERY FIRST thing you did when you came up with the idea for Breathometer?<\/h3>\n

\u201cI started talking to friends about the idea\u2026 [Essentially] the first step was validating the idea.\u201d The next steps, he explained, involved rapid prototyping and a crowdfunding campaign for further validation, and from that point, according to Yim, \u201cthe traction\u2026developed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"timthumb\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the first time all 5 sharks participating in the same deal together on Shark Tank, what does it mean to you that all of them believed in your product so much?<\/h3>\n

\u201cA lot. They believed in the social cause [of the product], the technology\u2026they believed in me as an entrepreneur [and in my] ability to execute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since all five sharks backed the idea he gained even more social validation saying that when, \u201c\u2026 proven entrepreneurs believe in you, the product, and the concept\u2026 [and] believe it will become something,\u201d that it solidifies the justification of your idea.<\/p>\n

What made you and your team believe that appearing on Shark Tank would be of value to your company?<\/h3>\n

\u201cFree marketing\u2026 (chuckling) \u2026I don\u2019t think anyone can deny that.\u201d<\/p>\n

What has life been like for Breathometer after getting so much exposure from the show?<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blessing. [We] got a tremendous amount of exposure from it and it changed my life personally. It has helped us with sales, introductions, tips\u2026everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

After raising money from IndieGoGo what was the biggest challenge you faced bringing the product to market?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cHardware manufacturing. It is not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

You obviously have a lot of experience when it comes to pitching products to investors, what are your top 3 tips you can give to any aspiring entrepreneur when it comes to dealing with potential investors?<\/h3>\n

(Without hesitation) \u201cKnow your product. Know your market. Know your numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you learned any new things from any of the Sharks since you’ve partnered up? Please share!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned that each of them have their own style\u2026 in terms of business.\u201d He further explained that he is learning new things every day, specifically \u201chow to scale a business [and]\u2026how to handle a hardware company,\u201d which presents different challenges than a software business.<\/p>\n

Yim also stated that \u201c[Mark] Cuban has been the most helpful. He is constantly involved;\u201d And added that he\u2019d observed a familiar \u201ctenaciousness\u201d of business character that was similar to his own, allowing for effective, and productive teamwork.<\/p>\n

Many of the top entrepreneurs have had mentors, who are yours?<\/h3>\n

\u201cRight now\u2026Mark Cuban, obviously.\u201d But Yim also acknowledges a co-founder of pay-pal as an early mentor and influence, who he originally met during the time he spent on his first start-up, Fortified Software.<\/p>\n

Is there any advice you could offer a first-time entrepreneur, one who is just starting-up?<\/h3>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can you tell us what Breathometer has for us in the future?<\/h3>\n

\u201cYeah! We\u2019re building a Breathalyzer platform\u2026moving into the Health and Fitness space\u2026and the medical healthcare space\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he couldn\u2019t reveal exactly what form the product(s) will take, he did humorously quip, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things you can do with breath.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Charles Yim about the ground-breaking appearance on Sharktank\u2014the first time that all five \u201csharks\u201d invested in a single entrepreneur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[365,67],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRaising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We recently had the opportunity to speak with Charles Yim about his appearance on Sharktank- the first time that all five sharks invested in an entrepreneur\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We recently had the opportunity to speak with Charles Yim about his appearance on Sharktank- the first time that all five sharks invested in an entrepreneur\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-23T21:33:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-09-23T21:41:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Benji Hyam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Benji Hyam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/\",\"name\":\"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-23T21:33:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-23T21:41:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9620f7426a9c46027504e4fe1243529d\"},\"description\":\"We recently had the opportunity to speak with Charles Yim about his appearance on Sharktank- the first time that all five sharks invested in an entrepreneur\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":768},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9620f7426a9c46027504e4fe1243529d\",\"name\":\"Benji Hyam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a1ecfdfbfceda47075ea4676f04c4de1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a1ecfdfbfceda47075ea4676f04c4de1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Benji Hyam\"},\"description\":\"Benji Hyam was previously the Marketing Manager at ThinkApps. Prior to ThinkApps, Benji co-founded Social Proof Interactive, a social media and content marketing company.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/benjihyam\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/benjihyam\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/author\/benji\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights","description":"We recently had the opportunity to speak with Charles Yim about his appearance on Sharktank- the first time that all five sharks invested in an entrepreneur","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights","og_description":"We recently had the opportunity to speak with Charles Yim about his appearance on Sharktank- the first time that all five sharks invested in an entrepreneur","og_url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/","og_site_name":"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more","article_published_time":"2014-09-23T21:33:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-09-23T21:41:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":768,"url":"http:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Benji Hyam","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Benji Hyam","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/","url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/","name":"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg","datePublished":"2014-09-23T21:33:20+00:00","dateModified":"2014-09-23T21:41:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9620f7426a9c46027504e4fe1243529d"},"description":"We recently had the opportunity to speak with Charles Yim about his appearance on Sharktank- the first time that all five sharks invested in an entrepreneur","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/23213320\/BxmeNdmCMAANL5V.jpg","width":1024,"height":768},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/raising-1m-sharktank-charles-michael-yim-shares-insights\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Raising $1M from 5 Sharks: Charles Yim shares insights"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/","name":"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9620f7426a9c46027504e4fe1243529d","name":"Benji Hyam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a1ecfdfbfceda47075ea4676f04c4de1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a1ecfdfbfceda47075ea4676f04c4de1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Benji Hyam"},"description":"Benji Hyam was previously the Marketing Manager at ThinkApps. Prior to ThinkApps, Benji co-founded Social Proof Interactive, a social media and content marketing company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/benjihyam","https:\/\/x.com\/benjihyam"],"url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/author\/benji\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}