The_Ticker

Photo of Brite founders Lukas Thackery, Martin Craig Dombrowski and Nate Wimer posing.

Brite Ideas

Brite Ideas

The future’s looking Brite for West Virginia University alumni Lukas Thackery, Martin Craig Dombrowski and Nate Wimer.

In 2023, the trio came up with a bright, or rather, Brite idea to start a business that proactively identifies college students' needs through an app that rewards students for sharing real-time feedback.

As an MBA graduate from WVU's John Chambers College of Business and Economics, Thackery recognized that Brite needed a strategic plan that valued experimentation. 

That led him and his co-founders to Vantage Ventures.

“Vantage Ventures and its director, Dr. Ryan Angus, helped our team by making us continuously challenge our business model assumptions,” Thackery said. “Their mindset kept us nimble and adaptable, driving our growth and success.”

Since launching in 2023, Brite has expanded to five college towns, giving away over $10,000 in prizes from more than 100 local businesses. In November 2024, the company received $150,000 from Wing 2 Wing Ventures, enabling them to build their engineering team and accelerate growth.

So, what’s next for Brite?

According to Thackery, Brite aims to launch new university partnerships designed to reduce student attrition through data-driven insights by spring 2025.

Do you have an entrepreneurial idea you want to pursue? Apply today to the spring cohort of Vantage Ventures’ startup accelerator!

February Research Successes

Our roundup of Chambers College research publications, media appearances, awards, achievements and other noteworthy tidbits.

Read Article

The Hall

The West Virginia Business Hall of Fame posthumously honored coal industry billionaire and philanthropist Chris Cline and three other state business leaders who have led widespread growth.

Read Article

Breaking the Mold

MBA graduate Kristin Morvik is using her business education to educate the world.  

Read Article

A Big Four Dream

Lana Latif has already met her goal of securing a job with a Big Four accounting firm -- and she’s still in grad school. Latif will earn her master’s in accountancy in 2021 before heading to Pittsburgh to be an assurance associate at Ernst & Young. According to her mentor, Gary LeDonne, this is a great success story for Latif who came to WVU after living with her family in Palestine. 

Read Article

Frank Fumich: Mountain Man

Chambers College alumnus Frank Fumich no longer lives in West Virginia, but he’s still called to the mountains – specifically, Mount Everest. 

Read Article