When Tanvi Gadamsetti and Madhev Aggarwal pitched their shoelace innovation at a college competition in Marquette in 2024, neither thought it would lead to a brand new business venture.
The pair recently gained a significant investment after appearing on Shark Tank in March for their shoelace company BRCĒ , pronounced “brace.”
Before they started BRCĒ, Gadamsetti and Aggarwal were in the middle of their junior year at Michigan State University studying material science.
“I myself ran track all throughout middle school and high school. And my co-founder was a professional cricket athlete. We both suffered physical injuries,” Gadamsetti said. “Not from our physical abilities or from playing the sport itself, but because of a lack of equipment and safety gear that was available to us and its performance during our time as athletes.”
Using their knowledge as materials scientists and engineers, they applied what they were learning on campus to a student pitch competition.
“We bought a lacing machine, and set it up in the middle of our living room. And we were just playing around with it, with different materials. See like what’s in a bulletproof vest. And why is something of that caliber not in everyday gear,” Gadamsetti said. “Why is that accessible to the everyday person, and that was when we learned it was that cost. Even though there’s these materials that exist around the world, it’s not in everything that we wear because it’s too expensive for a company to integrate it.”
Their student project brought them to the Upper Peninsula for the 2024 Michigan Collegiate Startup Challenge. After that event, the students were connected with experts from across Michigan. Eventually BRCĒ began working with experts from the MTEC SmartZone. Gadamsetti says that they were drawn to the SmartZone for its connections to Michigan Technological University’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Program Accelerator. Which she likened was a more engaged entrepreneurial crash course in networking, communication, supply chain management and business operation.
Gadamsetti explained that finding the AMMP Accelerator was difficult because of a recent focus on Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology. Michigan Technological University is rooted in materials science, engineering and manufacturing. Starting initially as an institution to train engineers in the local copper mining industry.
“We had never seen an accelerator that’s geared toward advanced materials and manufacturing. It’s not the most sexy industry, you see a lot of AI B2B SaaS, or like information technology,” Gadamsetti said. “So it was really cool to actually be a part of an accelerator that had other industry individuals and companies. Because there’s similar problems you go through, that was very structured, and specific for the industry you’re in.”
Gadamsetti is now the Chief Operating Officer for an emerging athletic company that has partnerships with all four major sports leagues in North America. BRCĒ has also become a sponsor for MSU athletics and Division 1 programs in the Upper Peninsula. Both founders will graduate this semester.
“I think we’re in a unique position, we’re able to leverage what we’re doing in the classroom to apply it into real life, which I think, you know, that’s the whole point of going to university or going to college,” Gadamsetti said. “So it’s great that we’re able to do it from a little bit early on than traditionally done.”
Balancing school and business doesn’t feel burdensome, she added.
“It feels like we’re doing a seamless integration and it’s actually great to go to class knowing that whatever we learn, we have a potential of putting it back and seeing that real life implication,” Gadamsetti said. “Sometimes you’re a student and you have a paper due tomorrow. Like I’ll go and work on an essay after this, and tomorrow I have a full day of meetings all for BRCĒ.“
She also offered advice to other young people who want to dream big.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Gadamsetti said. “I love that we started when we did. And I wish we’d started earlier. Because if this totally failed, no one would know. We would still have the rest of college or the rest of life to do whatever else you want. So now is the perfect time to do so.”
Learn more about BRCĒ and the MTEC SmartZone online.
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