Senior RaSean McMiller’s Aluee natural hair oil is available at more than a dozen stores in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana.

Photos by Ralph Freso/GCU

RaSean McMiller wanted to transfer last summer to a four-year college that could help him to the next level with his hair treatment business – a business that honors his late grandmother.

He discovered Grand Canyon University, which wasn’t on his initial list.

After some quick research, he saw how its entrepreneurship program has helped other business-minded students like him.

“It’s been the best choice,” said McMiller, who transferred from Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, Illinois.

McMiller’s product, Aluee Hair Care, has sold more than 2,500 units in the past year, thanks to his exposure to the IDEA Club’s Marketplace events on campus. He also has learned from club leaders Connor Vicary and Caleb McCandliss and Canyon Ventures Director Robert Vera. He also has taken a more aggressive approach on social media.

RaSean McMiller developed his hair care product after bleaching his hair and experiencing hair loss.

“I met the right people,” McMiller said while surrounded by stacks of Aluee boxes on his desk at Canyon Ventures, which helps boost startups. “They helped me grow.”

With an original investment of $8,000, McMiller said he has exceeded more than $65,000 in sales in the last 12 months. He believes Aluee’s Instagram account, whose nearly 8,000 followers can watch videos of testimonies about the product, has helped business, as well as his TikTok account.

“The biggest thing is getting in front of customers,” McMiller said. “I like to interact with them and tell them what I’m about and what Aluee is about.”

McMiller’s smooth, concise delivery is one of his most recognizable improvements over the past year. He has refined his skills since he pitched his product during an IDEA Club meeting in which judges selected the top five finalists for the “Shark Tank”-line Canyon Challenge entrepreneurial competition.

McMiller wasn’t selected, but he is working on another product for the next Canyon Challenge in December.

“It’s been the best choice,” entrepreneurship student RaSean McMiller (right) said of coming to GCU, where he’s learned from mentors such as Canyon Ventures Director Robert Vera (left).

“When something seems impossible or fails or goes wrong, he’s one to stand up and keep going,” said Vicary, a graduate student and former IDEA Club president. “Maybe not the prettiest path from coming to school and not knowing as much about entrepreneurship, but he has continued to take unbelievable strides forward. I think he’s going to do great things.

“ … We’ll have tours with billionaires who come through Canyon Ventures, and he’ll treat them the same as his friends. He’s very personable with them and very passionate about his projects. Those traits will take him a long way.”

The Marketplace events, often held three times each semester in the courtyard adjacent to the Colangelo College of Business, has enabled McMiller to meet prospective customers in person.

“About 8,000 students come through those Marketplaces,” he said. “I can talk to at least 3,000.”

McMiller started his business after bleaching his locks, only to experience hair loss. With the help of students who were willing to test his product (including some with similar issues), McMiller concocted an oil with only 13 natural ingredients.

“Once I came here (to GCU), I was doing street interviews (on social media) and getting a lot of momentum,” McMiller said.

That momentum has swung back to the Midwest. Thanks to timely connections, Aluee is available in about 15 stores in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana, including Urban Beautique stores and an outlet across the street from his southside Chicago residence. McMiller also hopes to finalize a deal soon to make Aluee available in the Valley.

As for the name of his product, McMiller said it’s virtually the reverse of the name of his grandmother Eula, a New York native whose passion for haircare left an indelible impression on him.

So to have the resources at Canyon Ventures has been invaluable, he said. He can operate his business at a low overhead while picking the brains of Vicary, who runs Jack’s Detail Garage and Turnkey Industries; McCandliss, owner/founder of CarChap lip balm holster and IDEA Club president; and Vera.

As he enters his senior year, on track to earn his bachelor’s degree in applied entrepreneurship, McMiller hopes to keep scaling his business through social media.

“Content is currency,” McMiller said. “You’ve got to be intentional with your brand to sell.”

GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]

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