Combining his love for playing football with a passion in product engineering, Duke University graduate student—and running back—Jaylen Coleman created Infinity Portal to bring some light to the traditional trophy.
Infinity Portal is a customizable LED display that creates an optical illusion light tunnel that illuminates to what seems like infinity. The fully portable display consists of a 3D printed frame and a custom laser-engraved photo, surrounded by LED lights that are completely personalizable by the user using the HappyLighting app. The portal also comes with a rechargeable battery and removable wall mount, making the display ideal for awards, gifts and decoration.
As an undergrad, Coleman was a student research engineer with a focus in biomaterials, biomechanics and drug delivery. Even as a full time student-athlete, his passion toward engineering never faded, as he was actively involved in various engineering clubs such as Duke Motorsports, Duke National Society of Black Engineers and Duke eNable—a student-run organization that aims to connect amputees in the Durham area with free 3D-printed adaptive prosthetics.
During his time with eNable, he realized the potential of what he could create and impact with 3D printing. Now studying his masters in engineering management, Coleman combined his love for sports and engineering product design to found his own company.
On top of maintaining this startup and completing his masters, he continued to play football for Duke and is a part of the 2023-2024 cohort of the Melissa & Doug Entrepreneur Accelerator, a year-long intensive program designed for Duke students who are committed to launching and growing their companies—which also doesn’t count for credit. [We have written about fellow cohort members Alleviate Health, Hayha Bots, SaveOr, College To Climate and Aurganics.]
The Infinity Portal product consists of two sheets of acrylic, one on the front with the custom photo engraving and one on the back. LED lights line the space around the 3D printed frame and sit between the two acrylic sheets, creating a semi-reflective and semi-transparent effect on the acrylic.
The result is that the LEDs will bounce light back and forth and create an infinity effect, as if you’re looking through a portal—thus the name Infinity Portal. Through using adapters and doing some coding, he was able to get the LEDs to connect to a mobile app where users can control the lights of the frame.
Infinity Portal currently has six different models that customers can choose from, each with a unique form of lighting and frame. Every display is created by demand. Coleman said that he has had engraving requests ranging from family photos, award certifications and elaborate art pieces—anything you can think of.
Most traditional trophies and awards that sit on someone’s desk or bookshelf normally end up collecting dust, according to Coleman. Most of the time they’re overlooked. With Infinity Portal, any award or recognition can be engraved and displayed in a unique way with lights to catch your eye.
“If you see LEDs, you have to glance at it and then ask someone about that award,” Coleman said. “Then that person gets to relive the moment of receiving that award and have it mean more to have something that they can interact with over and over again.”
Coleman was even able to present custom Infinity Portal award plaques to the Duke athletic faculty last spring.
Even with his busy schedule, Coleman is continually dedicated to this startup, with more than 20 designs already made (according to photos on the website). Although the displays are created on demand, Coleman anticipates creating a waitlist to figure out customer discovery and the amount of materials needed to fully scale these products.
Other forms of LED displays can range from $200 to over $1000, according to Coleman. He wanted to create more financial accessibility for college students to enjoy these displays too, therefore pricing each between $55 and $95.
Coleman’s dedication to creating an accessible and unique product while maintaining graduate school and football is what got him and Infinity portal into the M & D program.
“It’s a really cool cohort because a lot of us are going through the same things and may be in different stages of our companies,” Coleman said. “The program does a really good job of connecting you with people who have been in your shoes and can contribute advice according to the stage and size of your company.”
Coleman hopes to bring something physical and ready for market into Duke stores, connecting his work and dedication directly to his own alma mater. With the basketball season coming up, he hopes to bring more products in for not only athletes, but also sports fans.
