Outdoor activities like running are considered food for the soul, but limitations presented by the storage of personal effects such as keys, wallet and more put a damper on the experience. Dayton-area student and avid runner Aaron Perry sought a solution.
Perry, a sophomore finance major at Cedarville University, was a typical college student working during summer break. Two years ago, he took working to the next level, starting his own business Ultra Lyte.
Ultra Lyte’s concept aimed to help runners like himself find a place for key items on a run by storing them inside a lightweight hat. The product features two elastic pockets on each side, providing space for small accessories.
This past summer Ultra Lyte moved outside a basic concept to the next level with the help of Cedarville’s The Pitch initiative, officially launching the preorder portion of his business on stage. The Pitch is a program hosted by the university’s entrepreneurship center that allows students to make a business pitch to entrepreneurs in highly successful businesses — much like Shark Tank.
“We’re always told to do what we’re passionate about,” Perry said. “For the Pitch, I spent 40 hours working on the presentation, but it didn’t feel like 40 hours. It was an enjoyable process. It wasn’t tedious or overbearing. It was just time I enjoyed because I was bringing an idea into reality.”
After prototypes and experiments, Perry determined a hat with pockets could meet the needs of a runner. As he has continued to develop the company over the summer, Perry hopes to fully launch his business this December.
Perry said he chose to pursue college courses that would help him develop a business, including business theory and topics in marketing. But he believes the tough part that many students fail to capture is the application of those courses in life.
“I think people have a lot of ideas and they don’t know how to execute the ideas,” Perry said. “Just going out and learning is a lot. There’s a lot of professional growth that can take place once we learn how to apply theory with business principles.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 5,456 students in more than 175 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio.
