Tony Fayne turned an unfortunate turn of events into a growing business.
The metro Detroit resident had a friend develop skin cancer at age 30, catching him and his circle friends and family off guard.
"It was shocking," Fayne says. "I had no idea you could get cancer that early in life."
That played a significant role in Fayne's inspiration to launch
Sunscreen Mist, a startup that makes applying sunscreen quick and easy. The Commerce Township-based company created a sunscreen application system that is part sunscreen spray and part booth.
The users can either step into the booth and be sprayed with a mist of sunscreen or use a spray gun to spritz themselves with sunscreen. Sunscreen Mist’s stations are designed for placement in theme parks, beaches, and poolside at hotels.
"I wanted to bring this to the market to make it so people could easily access sunscreen," Fayne says. "Melanoma is so preventable."
Fayne and Sunscreen Mist’s CEO, Josh Kaplan, recently appeared on the entrepreneur show TV show "
Shark Tank" to pitch its product. The 1-year-old company and its staff of six people is just getting started deploying its stations, with 25 being used around the world right now.
Source: Tony Fayne, founder & president of Sunscreen Mist; and Josh Kaplan, CEO of Sunscreen Mist
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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