The Future’s So Bright

How many of us have lost a pair of sunglasses while out on the water?

U students Chase Maires (Marketing B.S.)  and Stuart Jardine (Entrepreneurship & Strategy B.S.) are no strangers to this problem. Both love to be on the water and have spent lots of time boating.

Their solution? Aurora Sunglasses, a startup company providing wooden sunglasses that float at an affordable price.

“After countless hours of trying to find the right business, ideas started to come, and we really just happened upon the idea for the sunglasses,” Maires said. “We found that many people really liked how they looked and also the fact that they float.”

The sunglasses are currently for sale on their website for $35 or $45 a pop.

Aurora Sunglasses is a company that believes in style and enjoying time out on the water. It was born out of an Entrepreneurship 5000 class at the David Eccles School of Business. The class challenged their thinking and pushed them to pursue big ideas.

Professor Ralph Little pushes his students to get outside of their comfort zones and get into the right mindset for entrepreneurship. One of the assignments was to buy a business on KSL, which forced students to talk to other business owners and learn why they were selling. The final assignment was to develop a business plan and start a business. Maires and Jardine ended up sitting at the same table and developed a partnership.

Viola, Aurora Sunglasses was born.

“It is just amazing how many opportunities for entrepreneurship are available at the Eccles School of Business,” Jardine said. “I am so very grateful for the support and look forward to finishing the rest of my classes in entrepreneurship and working more with Lassonde in the future.”

Learn more at www.aurorasunglasses.com. Find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aurorasunglasses.slc and Instagram at @aurorasunglasses.