When Kolby Hanley arrived at Georgia Tech as a transfer student from rural Vermont, he had no idea he would soon launch one of the fastest-growing archery equipment companies in the country. But for the Materials Science and Engineering alumnus, ULTRAVIEW Archery emerged naturally from the intersection of two lifelong passions: competitive archery and hands-on engineering.

Hanley grew up immersed in archery, competing as a kid, through high school, and eventually on the Junior USA Archery team while attending Georgia Tech. But it was on campus, surrounded by maker spaces, 3D printers, and a newfound love for materials engineering, that something clicked. He began 3D-printing his own archery equipment, often spending long hours in the various labs across campus.

What started as personal tinkering quickly turned entrepreneurial. “Someone asked to buy one of my 3D-printed parts,” Hanley recalled. “That turned into two, then four, and soon I had a dozen 3D printers running nonstop out of my dorm room.” ULTRAVIEW Archery was born not from a long-term plan, but from what he calls “a blending of passions,” archery and the engineering skills nurtured through MSE.

Hanley’s work as an entrepreneur is deeply shaped by his materials science background. From carbon-fiber arrow shafts to ceramic-composite grips, MSE principles guide nearly every ULTRAVIEW design.

“I don’t even realize how much I use my MSE background sometimes,” Hanley said. “But understanding materials, manufacturing processes, and how things behave under stress, it cuts out a lot of guesswork.”

He recalls spending hours in mechanical testing labs as a student and diving deep into composites coursework. That knowledge now directly informs the tolerances, hardness, and performance requirements needed for ULTRAVIEW’s high-precision release mechanisms and other components. “Everything I learned in MSE is baked into our products,” Hanley said, speaking to the importance of applied comprehension.

Winning the InVenture Prize competition was the moment Hanley realized he might truly have a future as an entrepreneur. “It showed me that this was my thing,” Hanley said. “It was a high I’m still chasing.”
Coming from a small town and enrolling at Georgia Tech had already felt like a dream. Winning one of Tech’s most competitive innovation contests within a year of transferring made the possibility of running a business suddenly real. “It was eye-opening in every way.”

By the time Hanley graduated in 2019, ULTRAVIEW had already outgrown his dorm and even a friend’s basement. In early 2020, just as the pandemic began, he signed his first lease, hired employees, and expanded operations. The timing, surprisingly, worked in the company’s favor: archery equipment sales exploded during COVID-19.

ULTRAVIEW went on to become one of the fastest-growing private companies in the country, earning recognition on the Inc. 5000 list four years in a row and ranking as one of Georgia’s fastest-growing middle-market companies.
However, scaling so quickly brought its challenges. “Balancing school and a fast-growing business was the hardest part,” Hanley said. “I was 95% done with my degree. I wasn’t going to stop, but the business needed me, too.” After graduating, he poured himself fully into ULTRAVIEW.

Hanley credits much of his success to the mindset he developed as a high-level athlete. “To get to the top of anything, whether it’s archery, other sports, or chess, you need perseverance, passion, and an obsession with perfecting the craft,” Hanley said. That drive now informs how he leads ULTRAVIEW Archery, where the pressures of running a company mirror the intensity of competition. “Every day you’re solving the hardest problems first. Not every day is a great day. But if you’re strong enough to push through that, you look back and realize you’ve actually had a lot of victories.”

When asked what guidance he would offer to current students, Hanley referenced a piece of wisdom from Steve Jobs’ famous Stanford commencement speech— words that ultimately pushed him to pursue ULTRAVIEW full-time. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward,” Hanley said. “You just have to follow your heart and passions. If you wake up every day excited about what you’re doing, that’s the direction you should go.”

Today, Hanley continues to innovate at ULTRAVIEW Archery and remains deeply connected to the MSE community. He notes that following your passion doesn’t make life easier. If anything, it demands more time, energy, and sacrifice. “But when you look back, you’ll realize how much you’ve accomplished because you loved what you were doing.”

Read more articles from the Fall 2025 Edition of the MSEConnect Newsletter.