Dakota and Garret Porter are brothers and two avid snowboarders who came up with an interesting idea in 2012 when they were just 16 and 13 years old respectively. They wondered if sticking lights onto the bottom of their snowboards would help light up the area around them and allow them to snowboard at night more easily. Now today, they have turned the idea into ActionGlow, a business that creates LED lighting systems for many different sports products including snowboards, skateboards, and surfboards.
These brothers are innovating because they are combining fashion and practicality in the niche market of light up sports equipment, letting people enjoy their sports at night as well as look cool. In addition, Dakota and Garret are exemplary models of what it means to be a young entrepreneur. Age was no barrier for them and even at an extremely young age, they were unafraid to pursue their idea. In order to further the business, they both obtained short 1-year associate degrees that provided formal education but also allowed them to quickly continue on full time with their business, an interesting route to take. This inspires me in my own life to pursue creative ideas relentlessly and take advantage of the time you have. In addition, Garret and Dakota give back to their community by helping other young people understand how to be a successful entrepreneur.
It’s super interesting that these two entrepreneurs were so young and came up with a very simple and effective invention. It makes me question why I didn’t think of something this cool and simple! I also appreciate how you were inspired to relentlessly pursue your passions and creativity, great job Nate.
This is a great idea! I have seen products like this many times while I have been out skiing, I wonder if it was theirs. This story is really inspiring for me and it seems that it is for you. They took something that they are passionate about and found a way that they can make it better, which is an awesome way to come up with a product. I am really glad you shared this idea.
This is a very interesting idea that they came up with. Not only is it practical it is fun. It is amazing how many stories begin with these young kids seeing a problem and finding a way to fix it. It seems so easy yet, they actually did it. I also was intrigued how they got shorter degrees so they could quickly focus on their business.