UNC-Chapel Hill junior Aditya Bhatt calls himself an accidental entrepreneur.
Born and raised in India, one of his inventions in the energy domain earned him a fellowship in the United States in Silicon Valley. That then led him, at age 15, to establish his first venture, AMB Industries Inc, which uses technology to provide renewable energy solutions. The company is over five years old and Bhatt serves as chairman.
He’s continued to lean into product development over the past several years and says he has patented 12 inventions. The latest is for the internal chamber design of an Ultraviolet-C light sanitizer called the Ultraloop 2.0, used to effectively disinfect everyday items such as phones, wallets and groceries from the Covid-19 virus and other pathogens in 30 seconds.
Bhatt’s travels back to India from Chapel Hill after the onset of the pandemic last March revealed to him “loopholes” in sanitization. He says there were gaps in chemical sanitization methods and nobody appeared to be sterilizing luggage, phones, laptops or purses. That’s when Bhatt thought of creating Ultraloop Technologies Inc. to offer a reusable UVC sanitation method for households and public spaces like airports, universities and offices.
“Covid was just a wake up call,” Bhatt says. “This has been an issue for years where our phones have more bacteria and viruses than our average toilet seats.”
So far, Bhatt says they have sold over 50 UltraLoop units in the United States, eyeing sales of about $800,000 by year's end.
The company has raised $250,000 so far from three private investors to be used for further research and product development, Bhatt says.
Ultimately, Bhatt says he envisions Ultraloop Technologies being strategically acquired by a major corporation that can distribute the devices at a larger scale.
Bio
Age:21
Birthplace: Mumbai, India
Education: majoring in physics and computer science and minoring in entrepreneurship, UNC-Chapel Hill Class of 2023
Q&A
What was your first job? Self-employed at 15 at AMB Industries Inc.
How do you destress? I read a lot. I like to think and walk and go on runs.
What advice would you give a new entrepreneur? I think most people really get discouraged by the initial setbacks if people say "no," but I feel like everybody should try and be as greedy as possible and never take "no" for an answer. If someone says "no," I try to keep them in the loop. If they see that you are growing and you kind of follow up on everything, everybody gets interested. Just keep your ears open and listen with an open mind, even if it's a “no.” The “no” might turn to a “yes,” if you actually listen carefully.