Built at Campus: Ashley Byington’s Story
When Ashley first joined Campus, she had no idea just where the journey would take her. A few years later, she found herself on the other side of graduation with her Associate’s in Business Administration, holding $25,000 in grant money for her business idea, and, soon after, launching her own event rentals company – her very first client being Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho.
Joining Campus opened the door to opportunity, and Ashley made the most of it.
Finding Campus
Ashley found Campus after an unexpected layoff upended her career. She saw an opportunity to gain a better foundation in business so she could build, independently, as an entrepreneur. “I thought, let me take a class or something that is more focused on business ownership,” she said. She expected to take a couple of courses and move on, but quickly fell in love with the Campus experience.
The beginning certainly wasn’t easy. “My first quarter at Campus, I was unemployed,” she recalls. “I was actually really struggling… but I had a success coach at Campus that really helped me with interview skills and finding resources.” The support she found and the opportunities Campus unlocked completely changed her trajectory.
What hooked her from the start and kept her going was the quality of the classes. Her macroeconomics professor had spent years as an analyst at Mars, the global candy company, and brought that real-world intensity directly into the classroom.
“She would just come in and be like, alright, let’s go through all of this today – bam, bam, bam. That’s the level that I wanted,” said Ashley. “I honestly think that the traditional four-year college is not for everyone, and if you still want to get an education and learn how to start a business, Campus is the best choice. These professors work at four-year institutions that I would never be able to afford or even dream of going to.”
Competing on The Grind
It was her teaching assistant, Reagan Williams, who pushed Ashley to go further than coursework alone. Upon Reagan’s encouragement, Ashley signed up for The Grind.
The Grind is Campus’s annual business plan competition, open to students in our Applied Entrepreneurship course. Over ten weeks, students build a business from the ground up, and compete for $35,000 in real prize money.
Invigorated by Reagan’s encouragement and eager to put her best foot forward, Ashley spent months putting her pitch together. And when the time came, she delivered, winning the $25,000 grand prize and accolades from an esteemed panel of judges including Shaquille O’Neal, Joe Lonsdale (Co-Founder, Palantir & 8VC), and Jennifer Hyman (CEO, Rent the Runway).
“I really feel like they invested not necessarily in my idea, but in me,” said Ashley. “As soon as I did get the money at graduation, I put the rest into this idea, starting Sugar Pine from the ground up.”
Launching her own business, Sugar Pine Events
Sugar Pine Events, Ashley’s experiential event rental company, was built on a philosophy that Campus helped her articulate. "Going to Campus really prepared me to launch this business. We were able to see an opportunity: bringing more focus on the actual experience-type of event rentals versus just what you might need,” Ashley explained. “Campus taught me how to identify the problem a little bit better."
Sugar Pine made its debut at Treefort Music Festival, where Ashley and her team styled the VIP space. Thinking back, Ashley says that none of it could’ve happened alone.
“I think it's really important that you have a support system,” said Ashley. “For me, some of that is my TAs and my mentors that I've made relationships with at Campus. You just gotta ask for help when you need it, and I wouldn't be able to do this without those people behind me, rooting me on."
Now, having launched her business and looking forward to what comes next, Ashley has just one message for those considering an unconventional path like hers: “You have nothing to lose. Just go for it.”
Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/2meHfTMbK0Y
