Alumni Spotlight: Alex Mulvaney - ShineOn

Meet Alex Mulvaney, CEO and co-founder of ShineOn, a company providing a unique spin on the typical bike light. Alex graduated from CU Boulder in 2019 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. 

Alex and his co-founders, Katherine Vega and Taylor Brooks-Murphy, have a combined history of 10 years of bike commuting. The three found themselves displeased with the current bike lights. Feeling unsafe and sometimes blinded by other bike lights, they decided to create their own. They came up with the first ever dual shining bike light to make cyclists safer and 250 times more visible!

Entrepreneurial Beginnings

Alex began immersing himself into the entrepreneurial community during the last years of his study. He has been unconsciously immersed in the entrepreneurial community since childhood. He shared that growing up, his dad never had a “real job”. 

After attending a talk at the Deming Law Center on AI and new policy, he was fascinated by the discussion around new companies. This got him thinking about an entrepreneurial future. While at this event, he met Michael Kol and the two later created the Startup Club on campus together. 

ShineOn

ShineOn is a combination of Alex’s skills and passions and he was excited to kickstart this venture! The ShineOn Dual Beam lights up the rider’s body as well as the road ahead to make the safest possible biking experience. This ensures that cyclists can be seen 10x sooner and from farther away by motorists! Check out their website to learn more! 

Through the Startup Club and other people he met during his time at CU, he was able to grow the business and put together a strong team. Whether it was the New Venture Challenge or Kickstarter events, the team participated and utilized as many resources that they could.

Impact of COVID

As for many businesses, COVID has had a huge impact on the way their team operates. Alex shared that they were in the process of ordering their parts for manufacturing when COVID hit. They had to pause and were set back a few months. Thankfully, they persevered and have been able to move forward in the remote environment and manufacture their product, which is now in retail stores in Colorado.

Advice for Current Students

“I like the saying that several paths lead to the summit of excellence. What works best for me is just getting started and trying something. Whether it's knocking on doors or teaching yourself new skills, the act of showing up is important. It’s scary to create something, but everyone is rooting for your success, especially in the Boulder community. People give you so many tools to succeed. I started with zero knowledge and now I’m here.” 

Alex stressed the importance of putting yourself out there and utilizing resources. He loves the “Give Back” mantra that the boulder entrepreneurship community goes by and helps where he can. 
Alex and his team first pitched their ideas to Get Seed Funding on campus. To learn more about funding your initial idea, check out the GSF website here.