FIRED BY FIERO: Two Duke University graduates craft a success story by inspiring people to learn crochet.

• Author: Gentry, Connie

The rush of learning something new, something that seemed impossible, has taken Justine Tiu and Adrian Zhang from a modest $200 investment to a $5 million business in just two years.

They describe Cary-based Woobles as an ed-tech company that teaches the art of crocheting miniature plushies, while combining physical crafting kits with online education. Using the Japanese art of amigurumi simplified into an easy step-by-step process, customers create colorful penguins, dinosaurs and assorted cute critters. The crafting inspires renewed confidence in ones ability to tackle unknowns.

The couple, who got married in 2021, use a term popular among some gaming enthusiasts, "fiero," to describe the adrenaline rush of conquering the challenges of starting and now scaling their entrepreneurial venture.

They mainly sell direct to consumers through the company website and Amazon and by wholesale channels to boutique stores and chain retailers. It's a big shift from their former New York jobs on Wall Street (Zhang at Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan) and in technology (Tiu at Google) before the Duke University graduates returned to North Carolina in 2020.

Amid filling orders for the 2022 holiday rush, Zhang says, "We're 10 times busier this year. Last year we were packing orders from a single bedroom in my parents' basement. Now we're in four warehouses [in Apex.]"

Their fulfillment team has grown from one to eight associates, shipping six, sometimes seven, days a week. As for the business partners-newlyweds, they live, breathe and dream Woobles.

"I don't even think about how many hours we're working; pretty much if we're not cooking, eating, or walking our dog, we're working," Tiu says.

While the first two years were a whirlwind, the last six months have accelerated even more dramatically, punctuated with a winning Sept. 30 appearance on the ABC TV network's "Shark Tank," publication of a crafting book that became an Amazon bestseller and the launch of Shortcake, their proprietary online learning platform that simplifies the craft process.

The couple were surprised by the opportunity to compete on "Shark Tank," but even more astounded when business tycoons Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner agreed to invest $450,000 for a 6% stake in Woobles--well above their pitch for $250,000. (The transaction was never completed. "It simply wasn't the right fit for us," Tiu says.)

"It was a fantastic experience. We didn't know what to expect but what you see on TV is exactly...