To a southerner there is nothing better than a cold glass of sweet tea. Two college dropouts from Hayden, Alabama realized this and decided to package their recipe and take it to the famous television show Shark Tank to get an investment and recognition. They walked away with $500,000 and Alabamians raising their glasses to toast the product.

Darien Craig and Brandon Echols, founders of Y’all Sweet Tea, have been friends since six years old. They were such a tandem that they even dropped out of college together. During their appearance on the hit ABC show Shark Tank, the Alabama entrepreneurs introduced the panel to their packaged mixture of flavored sweet teas. Customers can order the product online and find selections such as: Mano,  Peach, Watermelon, Strawberry, Raspberry and of course regular sweet tea.

The two locals appeared on episode 5 of this season's show. Darien Craig “The week I got fired, I had $7 to my name,” wrote Craig. “With the last paycheck I received, I used the $300 from that check to purchase the first jars, sugar, and tea that would eventually catapult this idea.”

Y’all sells its tea direct-to-consumer and in roughly 600 grocery store locations, mostly across the southeastern United States, Echols said on “Shark Tank.” It brought in $4 million in revenue, including nearly $800,000 in profit, last year, he added.

Guest investor Rashaun Williams, a venture capitalist and minority-stake owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, quickly offered them $500,000 for 10%.

He told the founders “I’ll let you figure out if you want to go to Walmart, if you want to stay direct-to-consumer, or what balance of both,” then added, “You don’t need me to tell you how to run this business ... I think you guys are a rocket ship.”