Mike Satterlee built a business around a reloadable can cooler
CNBC Make It's profile follows the teenage founder who chose CruiseCup over college and reports $808,000 in annual revenue.
CNBC Make It
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 107,891 views a day, 21 times a normal first day on this channel (5,080).
I'm A Teen Who Built A 'Can Cooler' Business — It Brings In $808,000/Year
Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:00Satterlee demonstrates the double-can cooler's top- and bottom-loading operation.
- 1:13He explains choosing CruiseCup over college, then tours the warehouse and its 3D-printing operation.
- 2:49His routine involves long workweeks; later, he explains why he isn't taking a formal salary.
- 3:40The financial breakdown separates 2025 revenue from sales during the first nine months of 2026.
- 5:00He explains the switch to stainless steel models manufactured in China.
- 6:34Demand exceeded production capacity during a holiday rush; expanding into retail stores is his next goal.
Mike Satterlee demonstrates his product from both ends: a double-can cooler that reloads from the top or bottom. That small piece of drinkware has become a full-time business, complete with a warehouse and a decision to put college aside.
The 19-year-old CruiseCup founder is the subject of a fast-starting CNBC Make It profile, which drew about 74,000 views in its first half-day, far beyond the channel's usual opening pace.
The headline's annual earnings figure needs one distinction: it is the company's gross revenue for 2025, not Satterlee's personal pay. He says he doesn't yet take a formal salary and works long weeks while living with his parents.
His warehouse in Clifton Park, New York, contains rows of 3D printers. Satterlee traces the business back to discovering printing in high school, then getting a burst of attention from a social media demonstration of the reloadable coolers. Choosing the business over college wasn't an easy rejection of education. He describes himself as a lifelong learner and calls it the hardest decision of his life.
Some viewers are asking a more basic question: how does the product keep a drink cold? Others focus on manufacturing, suggesting molds instead of so many printers.
The profile follows a production change already underway: Satterlee says he switched to stainless steel models manufactured in China in July. He also recounts having to halt sales when holiday demand exceeded capacity. His next stated goal is getting CruiseCup into big-box stores.
Published on Trari
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What viewers say
Would’ve been good if you guys had explained what the product actually does lol. Does it cool the cup?
@thenextlayerSee it on YouTubeNice idea, but instead of having so many printers, just get a mold made.
@mikesimons1544See it on YouTubeCongratulations. Nice to see a successful young person with some initiative. 😊
@kaloriebear1See it on YouTube
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- Channel
- CNBC Make It
- Subscribers
- 2,000,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 2,007,644
- Channel views, pace per day
- 45,425 (on a normal day: 270,101)
- Video published
- October 15, 2026
- Video views so far
- 74,475 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 107,891
The numbers
The CruiseCup profile has drawn an unusually large opening audience for CNBC Make It. Its view count so far covers only the first half-day.
💡 Test your knowledge
In which state does Mike Satterlee run CruiseCup's warehouse?
CruiseCup operates from a warehouse in Clifton Park, New York.