Marisa Poster, 28, is a co-founder of Perfect Ted, a business that specializes in selling matcha powder and energy drinks infused with matcha. She launched the company alongside her brothers, Teddie and Levi Levenfiche. In 2024, Perfect Ted reported a revenue of £9.4 million and anticipates exceeding £30 million in 2025. The team appeared on the BBC show Dragons’ Den in 2023, successfully securing £25,000 for a 5% equity stake from investors Steven Bartlett and Peter Jones. Recently, Perfect Ted hosted its inaugural TikTok live event, attracting almost 200,000 viewers, with around 120,000 of them being new customers.

While I technically belong to the Gen Z demographic, I’ve been somewhat hesitant to embrace TikTok as a personal platform. However, I’ve recognized the potential it has for empowering businesses and founders as they share their journeys.

TikTok Live functions similarly to QVC but tailored for a younger audience, integrating a seamless purchasing process within the app.

The primary audience on TikTok aligns well with the Gen Z consumers we aim to reach, making it an obvious choice to explore the platform further.

Collaborating with an Agency to Execute Our Vision

We partnered with Go Places, a comprehensive social commerce agency adept in TikTok Shop strategies. They supported us in creating a creator strategy, helping to identify influencers who naturally resonated with our brand and product.

Our preference is to manage these efforts internally, and we may consider doing so in the future if the needs arise. That said, if working with an agency is a low-cost option for experimentation, it’s worth pursuing.

Addressing Concerns About Brand Representation

Our branding efforts have been carefully crafted to prioritize storytelling rather than direct selling. Initially, I was worried that TikTok Live would lean more towards pushy sales tactics rather than engaging storytelling.

We provided comprehensive briefs, yet it felt as though we were entrusting our brand to presenters outside our team. To ensure quality, we conducted intensive training sessions with our presenter, Veronica, and the Go Places team, delving deeply into the nuances of matcha.

An Exhilarating Experience

This was not a one-time event; it needed to be a full-fledged campaign. We promoted the store launch through a paid post on TikTok and set up a landing page for users to subscribe for live updates, which we also promoted on various channels.

I was present for the entirety of our first live session, which turned out to be one of the most thrilling three-hour experiences of my life.

Setting up on TikTok Shop was an initial hurdle of its own. Going live felt like stepping into a professional studio atmosphere, complete with skilled lighting and advanced camera setups.

Our producer—who was the account manager from the agency—designed the video feed and managed the incoming comments. They coordinated with Veronica to implement real-time sales strategies, such as announcing flash sales within seconds.

Surpassing Expectations

During our first live event, we surpassed our boldest sales forecasts, achieving double our targets. Notably, 67% of the buyers were non-followers, indicating their first interaction with our brand. Following the live session, our follower count surged by 80% within a 24-hour window.

To date, our initial three live events generated £21,000 in gross merchandise sales prior to applicable fees and returns, with 65% of that revenue originating from the live sessions, and the remaining 35% from influencer partnerships.

Throughout the three-hour live, we received numerous questions, providing instant feedback that felt like conducting sales in a colossal retail space with only one salesperson holding a megaphone.

Marisa Poster shared her insights during a conversation with Niamh Curran, a reporter for the Times Entrepreneurs Network.