Alumni tackle ‘Shark Tank’ and succeed

Skyler and Brittney Scarlett appeared on ABCs Shark Tank on Feb 26. Photo credit: Miles Huffman

Skyler and Brittney Scarlett appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank” on Feb 26. Photo credit: Miles Huffman

Graduating college, starting a business and appearing on national TV all in the span of three years might seem unachievable to the average person, but to entrepreneurs Skyler and Brittney Scarlett, it’s been a pretty fun reality.

The Chico State alumni founded their own cryotherapy company, Glace, in late 2014 in their hometown of Carmel.

“Right when I graduated from Chico, I knew I had to make a big decision,” said Skyler Scarlett, who graduated in 2012. “I thought I was going to go to graduate school for physical therapy, but it was a lot of money and it was a lot more school.”

Brittney Scarlett’s husband mentioned the emerging science of cryotherapy to Skyler Scarlett, who in turn got hooked on the idea. After discovering Olympians and the Dallas Mavericks were swearing by it, he found a place in California to try it out for himself and instantly loved it.

“Right off the bat I had energy. I felt great,” he said. “I asked my sister to try it, she loved it. We had friends try it, they loved it and I really felt the potential of it at that point.”

Cryotherapy is a relatively new practice in reducing inflammation and pain. The patient stands in a nitrogen chamber to cool the skin down significantly. “It’s a very quick process — only up to three minutes,” Skyler Scarlett said.

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Chico State graduates, Skyler and Brittney Scarlett, braved “SharkTank” for their business. Photo from Skyler Scarlett’s Facebook page.

The company has experienced a welcome boost in interest after appearing on the ABC program, “Shark Tank.” On the show, start-ups pitch their brand or company to a panel of millionaires in hopes of trading a share of the company for financial support and guidance.

“We’ve had over a thousand franchise requests since the show aired,” according to Skyler Scarlett.

The pair applied in May 2015 on a whim and ended up getting a shot on the show. They filmed in September 2015 and the episode aired last month.

With two locations opening just this week, the siblings have some big plans.

“We registered in every state so I think we’re, hopefully, going to be throughout the U.S.,” Brittney Scarlett said.

With nationwide coverage in mind, the pair still haven’t forgotten about Chico.

“One of our dreams, even before we opened the (location) in Carmel, was to have a location in Chico,” she said.

“We think Glace would do really well there not just for college students, but really the whole city could benefit from having a Glace location,” Skyler Scarlett said.

Amelia Storm can be reached at [email protected] or @amelia__storm on Twitter.