Braeden Riley was quite methodical in picking where to get his higher education, touring about 40 college campuses. The Los Angeles native ultimately picked the University of Utah because of the access it offered both to nearby skiing and a high-touch, hands-on entrepreneurship program.

Indeed, getting his eyes on the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is what ultimately sealed the deal.

“I was in the make-space area, and I was just like, ‘Jeepers, this is crazy,’” Braeden said. “I’ve been to the [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory] and some offices in the Silicon Valley, and that was probably the closest thing that I’ve seen to it. It was unlike any college tour I’d taken, largely because of Lassonde — that’s what really made it stick out to me.”

Now a senior, he recalls being thrilled when he got his acceptance letter to Utah, and he submitted his housing application to live in the Lassonde Studios dorm that same day.

Braeden decided to major in  Operations & Supply Chain at the David Eccles School of Business, and started up a technology consulting company not long after arriving on campus. He applied for the “Get Seeded” grant and actually received some funding within 60 days of coming to the university.

What impressed him even more, though, was participating in his business courses and instantly recognizing the ways he could practically apply the source material.

“I would be sitting in a class and I’d be like, ‘Wait a minute, I need to do financial forecasting,’ or, ‘I need help building a business model,’ so I reached out to my professors,” Braeden said. “When you’re trying to create a company [while] on campus, it’s cool to see the actual application of what you’re doing in a real business happening in parallel with your classes.”

He’s also participated multiple times now in cohorts with Doman Innovation Studios, which is a follow-up program of sorts to Lassonde. Whereas Lassonde is about building entrepreneurs, Doman tries to provide next steps in terms of incubating concepts.

Braeden noted that Doman has proven invaluable to him, particularly in eventually convincing him to abandon his then-nascent tech platform.

“One thing that I like about them is they really don’t sugarcoat your idea,” he said with a laugh. “Once you have a business and you’re actually making money, or you’re at least making some real steps toward making money, they’re there to kind of positively and comfortably tear you down so that you can do it the right way. I mean, I’ve always appreciated how heartbroken I am after every meeting.”

Lest that sound unnecessarily harsh, he clarified that the process is meant to help founders identify both problem areas and their own blind spots to them. In his case, the feedback was sobering but necessary: He was tremendous at putting together pitch decks and sales figures and getting potential investors energized about a business, but when it came to making the company successful …

“I had no idea what I was doing, and I got called out multiple times,” he conceded. “People would be like, ‘This isn’t a business; it’s creating a vibe more than it is actually doing anything. … You have a great pitch, but you don’t have a product — and you can’t really do anything without a product.’”

It was tough to hear, but he realized the critique was accurate. He had weaknesses he needed to address in his business acumen, and his Operations & Supply Chain courses have helped him do that.

He appreciates the “holistic” approach to business that OSC brings, as it depends upon both math skills and people skills. He also enjoys its focus upon the challenge of improving businesses through reducing costs, waste, inefficiencies, and mistakes via optimization.

The immediacy of the courses is appealing, as well, as many are night classes taught by people with industry experience, and many of his fellow students are adults with actual jobs in the field — thus giving him access to a wealth of firsthand knowledge and pragmatic viewpoints. He namechecked several professors, adjuncts, and lecturers — Kristen Cox, Staci Ghneim, Payden Dallimore, and Sue Sundar — who’ve enabled him to become more well-rounded and better prepared for his next business venture.

Speaking of which, his advisers and cohort partners at Doman are encouraged by his latest project, No Consequence energy drinks — a company he acquired in September 2024. It’s been yet another learning experience, but he’s proud that there’s not only a product this time, but that he’s also managed to get it into several on-campus stores (including Lund Commons in the CRCC building) and could be selling it through regional retailers soon.

In between taking his courses and running his business, a healthy dose of FOMO has him participating in myriad other projects, including OSC Club and Eccles Ambassadors.

He encourages future Eccles School students to just try everything.

“There’s this expectation of college that it’s the best four years of your life, so you’re supposed to do stuff and get out there,” said Braeden. “… Get your hands dirty, sign up for programs, and get involved. You’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities that come along.”