On Friday, an NC State alumnus will try out for ABC’s “Shark Tank” for millions of people to watch. Despite the pressure, the young entrepreneur and her business partner are ready for the challenge. 

Sharon Bui, an NC State alumnus, and her business partner Kate Steadman, an Appalachian State alumnus, will compete on the popular reality series to showcase their startup clothing company in Raleigh. 

In 2012, Bui and Steadman started Frill Clothing while they were juniors at their respective schools. 

When Bui was in Chi Omega, she said she grew tired of buying expensive, ugly recruitment clothes she would never wear again. She also noticed when they would receive their orders, none of the girls were happy with the fit — girls from size 00 to size 10. 

“When both ends of the spectrum and both sides are upset, that’s when you know there is a huge problem with design and aesthetic to the clothing,” Bui said. “So I wanted to fix that problem.”

Bui said that Frill has a niche market, but, unlike their competitors, it has numerical sizing instead of small, medium and large. Consumers also have an option to donate a portion of the price of their order to the sorority’s philanthropy, or they can choose to take that amount off their order. In addition, Bui and Steadman offer a payment plan unlike other companies that supply their same demand. 

These differences helped them stand out in the application process of “Shark Tank.” Bui said that in order to make it to the televised round of the show, applicants have to make it through multiple rounds of submitting videos as well as pages of documents outlining why they deserve to be on there. 

Bui and Steadman submitted their application in January 2014 and filmed their part in June of the same year. 

When it was time to present to the judges, Bui said they were nervous, but as soon as they got to California, the nerves were gone.

“You kind of just realize that they are normal people too. I mean yeah they are, like, billionaire investors, but at the same time they put on pants like you do,” she said.

However, both Bui and Steadman said they did not make it this far alone. 

Anthony J. Pompilano III, their “unofficial business advisor” has helped them throughout the entire process. Pompilano started two companies in Raleigh and now works as a product manager with Facebook. He met Bui after speaking at an entrepreneur class at NC State. A student in the class came up to him after and told him about Bui and Steadman’s business. 

“They are like assassins,” Pompilano said. “They are very unassuming when you first meet them, and you wonder ‘are these two really the ones who built this business?’ But they don’t need to make a lot of noise, they just show up and get the job done.”

Pompilano said that as an advisor, he makes sure they keep focused on their goals and not worry too much about the aspects that don’t matter in the long-run. He helps Frill because he, too, received help as a young entrepreneur.

“I had a lot of people who helped me, and I was really appreciative of that,” Pompilano said. “And the only way I knew how to repay those people was to go and do the exact same thing for others, and that’s kind of what I ask of the companies I help.”

Pompilano said he is excited for the girls and believes they have something special.

“I think it’s awesome. I think that it’s really good timing for them, and I think they really figured out how to reach an audience, which is pretty difficult for most companies to reach in a great organic, authentic way,” Pompilano said. 

Bui feels that now is the perfect time for Frill to gain more exposure.

“I just felt like this was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Bui said. “I mean we are young, we are women. I just felt like everything was in line for us to do well.” 

She added that Frill has never been in debt, so they aren’t going on the show for the money.

“I loved the show. I watched it every Friday, and I was like ‘you know what, we could probably do that ourselves. We could probably do this,” Bui said. 

Both Bui and Steadman were featured in the “Shark Tank” season 6 trailer, as well as the sneak peak after last week’s episode. Bui said it was “surreal” to see her face on television. 

She said that no matter what happens, she is excited to represent NC State. She spoke about her enthusiasm for the textile program and loved how much the classes aligned with real-life business.

“I’m just so pumped and just really excited for everyone to see it,” Bui said. “No matter what happens, I’m so proud to represent NC State and Raleigh because I grew up here— my dad worked at State, I love State and I love my education at State.”

The episode will air this Friday at 9 p.m.