We’re back today with our interview series, talking to Aidan from Epoch bracelets. Aidan and his friend David are two life-time friends with a passion for sharing history through unique education. Aidan is a Liberty University graduate with experience in business, having owned a national franchise that he is still involved with today. He has a passion for aviation, having obtained his Private Pilot’s Certificate in aim to support missions and humanitarian relief efforts. David is a current student athlete at Drury University triple majoring in finance, accounting, and economics. In his free time he enjoys pickleball, strength conditioning, and volunteering locally with his team. Together, they created Epoch, stylish apparel that lets you wear history on your wrist. Wearers scan the embedded chip with their smartphones, and receive daily history facts. It was such an interesting concept, I was intrigued to find out more about how they came up with them!
Aidan, welcome to the blog! I wanted to start with a step back, and ask when did you both discover your passion for history?
Both of us had a passion for history at a young age. I loved history for as long as I could remember. It was always my favorite subject in school, especially world history. I loved learning about the Medieval Times, kingdoms, historic castles and battles fought, etc. Now I have shifted more of my research into American History, but I find all history fascinating.
My partner David went to the same school I did (which is how we initially met). He too loves history as much as I do, traveling around to various historic sites and museums to further his research. We both had the same history classes together as well all the way from middle school, so we would always team up to tackle projects and homework.
You both studied subjects other than history at university. What made you want to turn to making a history-themed business, and do you think your outsider experience helped at all?
My major was not in history, yet it did have a lot of historical ties. I am a man of faith, and I wanted a major that could both strengthen that, yet also tie into history for deeper learning and research. That is why I chose my major to be in Religion, more specifically, Apologetics. I was able to study the religions of the world, and the history of each as well, which was extremely fascinating.
David, however, did choose a different route, majoring in finance, accounting, and economics. He is very business driven, and brilliant when it comes to mathematics, statistics, etc. He is an entrepreneur at heart, as this is not his first business start-up.
When I came up with the idea for Epoch, the first person I ran it by was David. With his experience and major, I knew he would be the best partner I could find. After hearing my idea, he instantly jumped on the train, being able to build another business with yet another major interest, one around history.
It’s a very unique concept for a product, so where did you come up with the idea?
The idea for Epoch came to me when I was driving through just a regular, ordinary small town. That is at least, what I thought. The town was Valles Mines, located in southern Missouri. But what most people don’t know is that the town’s founder, Francois Valle, saved the city of Saint Louis (Missouri) in the Great Revolutionary War in 1780. He and his men in the town traveled to the city despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, and if it weren’t for him and his militia, the city would have fallen.
I thought to myself and wished that more people could know and learn about such great history that lives around us in our day to day lives. However, in such a fast paced world, not all have the time to sit and research. That is why I created Epoch. A daily wearable and accessory, built from the past. The bracelet is embedded with an NFC chip, so one tap of your phone pulls up our custom landing page, producing a random historical fact each time it is tapped.
Can you tell us a little more about what people can expect from their bracelets?
Our bracelets are built to last, being fully waterproof, durable, and comfortable. It is a soft fabric, and is sure to be a great conversation starter. The biggest thing you can expect from our bracelets is its ease of use, convenience, and comfortability. It does not require an app and comes preprogrammed, so you can instantly start tapping and learning, anytime, and anywhere.
That’s great that they don’t have to download any apps. What kind of history facts will they get?
What we decided to focus on, and to ensure all facts remain new and educational, is to learn about history that happened on this specific day. For example, when you tap your phone on June 10, you will receive facts from history that specifically happened on this very day, June 10. It is a fun way to learn about the history that shaped our world, finding out about such history on the very anniversary it happened. Additionally, it is not just one fact for each day, it is multiple. You can tap your phone as much as you want, and it will continue to pull new facts from this day.
The facts can also be filtered by century, and soon filtered by topic. We are in the works for additional filters, but each tap will bring up a famous event, a battle, an invention, a discovery, and soon, famous births/ deaths of influential people of the past.
You donate a portion of your proceeds to historical sites and societies. Why was this important to you?
It is important to preserve our history so we know where we came from. We can also learn from the past, so we do not fall into the same mistakes again. Our history can be overlooked quite a bit, and I want to help curve that. For example, in my state, only 0.1% of our tax revenue is allocated to the state parks, in which many have great historical significance, sites, and structures. They mostly have to rely on visitor donations, as a majority of these parks are free to explore. I want to ensure they stay free for all to see its beautiful history, and do not weather away due to lack of maintenance/ funding.
This is why, with every purchase of one of our bracelets, we give portions back to these parks, sites, and societies to ensure our history remains preserved and accessible to all people.
It’s really great to see a company giving back like that. Do you have any tips for anyone wanting to create their own history-themed product?
I would say to go for it. Here in the United States, passion for history among the people is a large majority. Recent surveys revealed 46% of Americans regularly consume historical media, 69% research history online for interest, and 91% believe learning about history is important for building a strong foundation for the future.
For any history-themed business or product, the market is there for it. But build on something you are passionate about. A great quote from Steve Jobs reads, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” So I do urge you, if you have the idea, go for it! Don’t let your idea become history, let your idea make history.
A huge thank you to Aidan for talking to us today, it’s always interesting hearing about people’s innovative ideas to make history more accessible. If you’re interested in Epoch, then you can find their website here. Please note, they currently only ship in the USA.
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