VIDEO: Akropreneurs, Ep. 5

In the lab with Andrea Pierce-Naymon, founder of OY-L

OY-L began with a body butter but has expanded its line to include a number of other zero-chemical products. (PHOTO: Ilenia Pezzanit/The Devil Strip)

Andrea at the door of her Akron Global Business Accelerator lab(PHOTO: Ilenia Pezzaniti/The Devil Strip)

Some of the best known inventions and innovations were produced by entrepreneurs who mostly wanted to solve a problem they were experiencing that then proved they could help other people vexed by the same issues.

That’s the case for Andrea Pierce-Naymon, the founder of OY-L, a zero-chemical skin care line based in a lab at the Akron Global Business Accelerator. After her daughter began experiencing weakness, pain and discomfort, Andrea leapt into action, studying and researching the labels of everything that went into and on her daughter’s body.

From the shock at what she found on those labels, OY-L was born, initially as a product she made in her basement for family and friends. Now, OY-L is being shipped to large buyers in California and sold by upscale retail outlets like Sak’s Fifth Avenue.

To learn more about what OY-L offers, visit them online at oy-l.com

This video, shot and edited by Ilenia Pezzaniti, is part of The Devil Strip’s reporting on small business ownership and entrepreneurship, which has been made possible with support from The Fund for Our Economic Future and the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.