Tennis pro. Tech leader. Keeper of plants. Seizer of opportunities.
CD Lucas is something of a Renaissance man. A natural go-getter, he credits his University of Washington School of Business degree — and his innate drive — with propelling his path as a business owner and entrepreneur.
“It was the immersive academic curriculum and the daily interactions and experiences with professors, classmates and faculty that nurtured my natural business acumen and entrepreneurial drive — which propelled me into the corporate tech world and then ultimately my retail business,” said Lucas.
Finding an ideal training ground
Lucas’ path to a bachelor’s degree began with community college in Bremerton, where he balanced mechanical engineering courses with his work as a certified tennis pro. But life had other plans for the first-generation college student.
At age 20, he put his engineering studies on hold and moved to Seattle, where he continued his career on the courts. He also founded Gemini Events, a high-profile LGBTQ+ production company. Even as he managed a full schedule of tennis coaching, fashion and nightlife events, his mind was on his next move.
“I was itching to complete my BA,” said Lucas.
He searched high and low for an educational program that would accommodate his work schedule. When he discovered UW Bothell’s Eastside Leadership Center, Lucas knew he’d hit the trifecta: flexible academic programs, abundant opportunity and the solid foundation of a world-renowned academic institution.
The ELC’s project-based curriculum, which demanded intense group work and collaboration, proved an ideal training ground for Lucas’ later role in the tech sector.
“On the backbone of the academia of it all,” he said, “the program was designed to emulate the daily corporate experience of working in and managing cross-collaborative teams.”
Seizing a BOLD opportunity
While pursuing his business degree, Lucas joined forces with 12 other students to found BOLD: the Business Organization and Leadership Development program. From keynote events to immersive sessions at some of the region’s leading businesses, BOLD connected up-and-coming students to C-suite executives. They worked with companies including Boeing, Costco, Microsoft, Smartsheet, Starbucks, Tom Douglas Restaurants and a host of others.
“This program really enabled students to bridge the gap between academia and real-life application in the workplace,” said Lucas, who received his degree in Business Administration in 2014.
BOLD’s faculty director was Susan Gibson, lecturer in the School of Business, who Lucas recalls as especially supportive.
“She was like a big sister,” he said. “She pushed me, was honest with me and was encouraging — everything I would expect and hope from a faculty member under the UW badge.”
Before graduating with a double concentration in marketing and corporate finance, Lucas had already landed a job. A CEO he had worked with through BOLD recruited him to serve as chief of staff and program manager at a software development company called Level 11. During his five-year tenure with Level 11, which focused on smart spaces, the company earned consecutive spots on the Inc. 500 list of the country’s fastest-growing privately held companies.
It also gained annual recognition from Seattle Business magazine as one of Washington’s 100 best companies to work for.
“How I operate and the lens that I operate through is a testament to the inherent knowledge, behavior and drive that was developed and nurtured at the School of Business.”
CD Lucas, Business Administration ’14
From technology to terrariums
Lucas’ life took another big turn in 2020. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Level 11 was acquired by another company, and he suddenly had time on his hands. He took a “sanity-preserving” deep dive into his hobbies: plant and arium-keeping.
What’s an arium? It can take many forms. In the world of indoor ecosystems, an arium is a container for plants, animals and sometimes fish. Depending on the amount of water in play, you might have a terrarium (plants and soil) or an aquarium (100% water). Along the watery spectrum, there are paludariums (roughly half land and half water) and ripariums (more water than land).
Lucas turned his passion for arium-keeping into a business with the 2021 launch of The Arium Shop in Issaquah, Washington. “I often joke about doing this for the sake of needing to ‘actually put my business degree to use!’” he said.
At his Gilman Village store, customers browse for everything they need to design and build their ideal arium: starter kits, containers, plants, cuttings and fauna that range from snails and vampire crabs to freshwater fish and shrimp.
The Arium Shop also hosts regular workshops in which the arium-curious build nano-sized versions to take home. Lucas has no interest in a paint-by-numbers approach.
“We do not know what our class participants will build in advance,” he said. “So we use the open-ended term, arium. The project can only be defined as to which type of arium it is after it is built.”
Recognition for retail sustainability
Last fall, readers of 425 Business magazine voted The Arium Shop “most sustainable” in its Best in Business 2024 awards. Lucas made the cover of the end-of-year holiday issue. “We actually had no idea we were in the running,” he said of the reader-nominated award.
With its mission to bring nature indoors, The Arium Shop incorporates sustainability in both its purpose and its means of operation. When sourcing inventory, Lucas and team lean into sustainable brands that use upcycled materials. They also repurpose almost all the packaging material that arrives with wholesale orders.
“We are honored to be included on 425 Business’ Best in Business 2024, let alone make the cover!” said Lucas. “We appreciate our community’s continued support of small business, and we look forward to growing and serving more communities in the years to come.”
What’s next for The Arium Shop? A sharper focus on online growth, manufacturing and branded merchandise. Lucas is also eyeing a potential expansion of retail locations, with Vancouver, B.C., topping the list of contenders.
Through the many phases of his life, he keeps coming back to the basics he absorbed as an undergrad.
“How I operate and the lens that I operate through,” said Lucas, “is a testament to the inherent knowledge, behavior and drive that was developed and nurtured at the University of Washington Bothell School of Business.”
