CofC Alum is the Ambassador of Fun
In Atlanta for the FIFA World Cup semifinals, Eli Dent ’17 had Argentina fans clamoring to give the Kickit Kourt a try. Life couldn’t be better.
Above: Argentine fans at the Kickit Kourt at Atlanta’s Underground
Eli Dent ’17 came to the College of Charleston from the University of South Carolina with the goal of gaining one-on-one time with his entrepreneurship professors. The rising junior struggled in his classes of up to 300 students to get time with his professors at USC.
The marketing major and midfielder for the men’s soccer team asked David Wyman, associate chair of marketing and management, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and associate professor of entrepreneurship, for 20 minutes of his time. Wyman told him to come by the next day; 20 minutes quickly ran to an hour.
“Such a thoughtful, personal, highly engaging interaction was a breath of fresh air,” says Dent. “Professor Wyman really served and continues to serve as a mentor.”
A passionate entrepreneur, Dent operated his business, Sidekik, in between soccer practice and classes. With Sidekik, Dent aimed to get more people involved in soccer, his passion since he was 4 years old, by making it fun while also giving them a way to increase their foot-eye coordination.
Inspired by the Chinese juggling toy, jianzi, Dent developed a small rubber disc with colorful feathers attached — the rubber made it bouncy, making it fun to kick and the feathers slowed its speed like a badminton birdie. He touted Sidekik as both a juggling toy and a training apparatus for soccer players.
At the College, Dent jumped into the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He participated in the entrepreneurial-focused programs, namely NGAL (Network Globally Act Locally) and Impact X. He helped create TIDES (Technology, Innovative Design and Entrepreneurship Studio), a maker space on campus where any student can give life to creative ideas. He also applied for the Tommy Baker Entrepreneur of the Year Award his first year, but didn’t even qualify to present.
“Not getting through the application phase lit me up and gave me something to strive for,” says Dent. “I needed to get outside my comfort zone – do bigger things and test myself.”
He made it his objective to get into retail stores, and he did. When he noticed Sidekik wasn’t getting many online reviews, he enlisted his Impact X team to develop an app for that. They created Txtra as a way for consumers to provide product and service reviews through text messaging. At the Impact X Demo Day, the judges ranked Txtra as a finalist; and later that year, Txtra launched in Shopify’s e-commerce platform.
His second and final year at the College, Dent again applied to present at the Tommy Baker Entrepreneur of the Year Award. This time he was accepted, and his pitch won, validating everything he had been building.
“Eli was among the best presenters I have ever had,” says Wyman. “He looks at everything with an entrepreneurial eye, which, combined with his enthusiasm, sets him up for success.”
That success could be seen in more than 50 retail outlets by the time Dent graduated in 2017, but Dent wanted more. He decided to combine badminton and soccer with a net, and Kickit Pro was born. He formed his company, Kickit, together with an advisory board on which Wyman serves.
When things got difficult, Kent Wagner, then COO and now adviser, told him that he needed to be the Ambassador of Fun, otherwise the company wouldn’t succeed. (Wagner founded Millennium Music on the corner of King and Calhoun streets, a primary hangout from 1995 to 2008.) Dent took Wagner’s advice to heart and has taken the company to new heights by listening to his market.
“Eli’s enthusiasm, married with due diligence is what makes him strong,” says Wyman.
When people were looking for fun things to do outside during COVID, Dent discovered that Kickit Pro is not designed for the average Joe. The foot-eye coordination proved too difficult, so he designed Kickit Soccer Tennis, an easier, fun way for people to play.
Kickit Soccer Tennis uses a ball half the weight of a soccer ball with the fuzziness of a tennis ball to slow the speed. Today, there is an annual Kickit Soccer Tennis league in Chicago, and Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods regularly run tournaments.
The Ambassador of Fun branded a van and traveled the U.S. to introduce Kickit Soccer Tennis. Then, during the 2022 World Cup, Dent took his roadshow to Europe, visiting Barcelona and Valencia, Spain; London; and Paris.
The recent World Cup proved to be a boon for Kickit. Based in Atlanta, Dent set up a Kickit Kourt at the Underground, where FIFA watch parties were held.
“It was really fun to see different cultures play Kickit,” says Dent. “They all have their own style. We had a lot of fans from Argentina, so I put my Spanish to use – a big shoutout to Professor (Devon) Hanahan, who was my instructor at CofC.
“It is such a joy to feed both my passions,” continues Dent. “I am extremely grateful to do my job. The relationship is very personal to me. As a founder, it is easy to get wrapped up in things, particularly when a product doesn’t work.”
Currently, Dent has introduced a range of products and has more in the pipeline, all designed to keep soccer fun, grow coordination and make it less intimidating for all. In addition to distribution in the U.S., Kickit is in global markets: Australia, Canada, South Africa, the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands.
Next market, Argentina?
