A 19-year-old entrepreneur has turned a small 3D-printing venture launched in his parents' basement into a business that generated $808,000 in gross revenue in 2025, highlighting the opportunities social media can create for young founders.
Mike Satterlee, founder of CruiseCup, started by making and selling plastic accessories using a 3D printer he purchased with his savings. Today, his company sells insulated drink holders and other products through its website and TikTok Shop, with a viral Instagram post helping fuel a sharp rise in demand.
According to a report by CNBC Make It, CruiseCup's revenue surged in August 2025 after Satterlee promoted a new product designed to hold two 12-ounce cans. Dubbed the tactical reloader, the cooler allowed users to reload drinks from either the top or bottom, setting it apart from competing products.
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The response was immediate. Orders poured in by the hundreds in a single day, leaving Satterlee calculating how long his 60 printers could take to meet demand. His estimated fulfilment time was around six weeks.
CruiseCup generated about $100,000 in revenue that month, roughly 60% more than the highest monthly revenue Satterlee had achieved with his earlier businesses, he told CNBC Make It.
Documents reviewed by CNBC Make It showed that CruiseCup recorded $808,000 in gross revenue across its website and TikTok Shop in 2025, with additional sales through Amazon.
Satterlee's entrepreneurial journey began well before CruiseCup. During his freshman year of high school, he learnt to use a 3D printer in a design and production class. In September 2022, he bought his first machine for around $500, using money saved from birthdays, Christmas and previous ventures.
In June 2023, he launched Solefully, a business selling decorative shoe charms designed for Crocs. The venture generated an estimated $250,000 in sales in 2024, allowing him to move beyond his parents' basement and rent a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in Clifton Park, New York, for $3,600 a month.
As he explored new products, Satterlee found that car cupholder adapters capable of accommodating different drinks attracted greater interest online and offered better profit margins than shoe charms. He eventually shifted his focus to CruiseCup, closing Solefully in June 2025.
According to CNBC Make It, Satterlee now operates CruiseCup full-time with one other employee and uses 160 printers to manufacture plastic products. The company also sources stainless steel models from a Chinese manufacturer.
Despite its revenue growth, the business remains focused on expansion. Satterlee says he takes home around $500 to $1,500 a month, reinvesting much of the proceeds in additional printers, advertising and product development. He declined to disclose the company's annual profit.
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CruiseCup is now exploring UV printing and plans to expand its drinkware range, while Satterlee hopes to build a larger marketing team and secure space on retail shelves.
The broader market is also expanding. A Shopify spokesperson told CNBC Make It that sales of 3D-printed products on the platform rose 112% between October 2025 and September 2026.
For Satterlee, the goal is to keep building. He told CNBC Make It that he enjoys designing products and running the company, describing the work as something he finds genuinely fun.
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