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2019 Grads Swim with the When Oliver Zak and Selom Agbitor came to Miami in 2015, they had a few things in common. Both grew up in Ohio (Oliver in Cleveland, and Selom, who was born in Ghana, but raised in Columbus). Both chose the Farmer School for its beautiful campus and reputation as a top business school with a strong finance program.
For Oliver, (at left in the photo below) it stemmed from watching his father, who was a skilled surgeon, reinvent himself as an entrepreneur after a serious car accident made it impossible for him to operate. Entrepreneurship gave Selom (at right in the photo below) an outlet for his creativity, while not abandoning his immigrant parents’ wishes for him to pursue a respected, financially secure career path. And while they each started small online resale businesses throughout their Miami years, it wasn’t until their senior year that they ventured into manufacturing and offering their own product.
“I knew I wanted to study business and finance in particular, and after touring Farmer, I was sold. I actually had to transfer into Farmer. So I made the decision to come to Miami without even having that locked down. That’s how much I knew I wanted it.” Oliver said.
It started with a need – both have tattoos and were looking for a product that would heal and protect a new tattoo. They discovered that the few products that existed were filled with chemicals and ingredients that weren’t good for the skin, and the idea for their own product was hatched.
The two met their first year as members of the business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, and discovered a shared passion for starting businesses.
F S B T HE J O U RN EY
Tattoos range from tiny one-color pieces to large, intricate works of art. Just as an art collector wants to protect their investment, so do tattoo aficionados. But unlike traditional art, tattoos cannot be shielded from sunlight, water and wear and tear.
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