Scottsdale’s Steiner to graduate from ASU with digital degree

I have so many business ideas already thought out. I actually already have started one company so far that is called The Protein Lab, which is a company that is only aimed at finding ways to turn certain types of food into high protein foods.”

Hayley Steiner, an Arizona State University student and Scottsdale resident

Embodying the digital culture, Hayley Steiner, an Arizona State University student and Scottsdale resident graduates on Monday, Dec. 13 with a master’s degree in digital culture from the School of Arts, Media and Engineering.

She has already created one business and is laying the groundwork for another company, according to an ASU News press release.

After graduation, Steiner plans to see how well her business does, and if it “takes a while to take off,” she will get a job as a software engineer at the beginning of next year.

“I have so many business ideas already thought out,” said Steiner in the release. “I actually already have started one company so far that is called The Protein Lab, which is a company that is only aimed at finding ways to turn certain types of food into high protein foods.”

Steiner described the company on its Instagram account as a “one woman owned business” that “aims to find new solutions for high protein nutritional meals,” the release said.

For the Arizona-based business, she makes protein balls in different flavors and with high amounts of collagen, the main structural protein found in the body.

“With this company, I hope to open storefronts in the future and eventually keep introducing new products with high amounts of protein,” said Steiner of new idea for a future business. “Many people buy clothes from clothing brands like Nike and Adidas without even realizing that these companies are using a technology that allows them to use plastics in their products.”

She added  there is another clothing company called Girlfriend Collective that uses plastic to create thread, which can be used to create all their workout products.

“My idea would be not only to use plastic, but to find technology to be able to break down all types of trash. Then with all the new textiles created from all the different types of trash, the textiles would be combined with other materials like wood or bamboo to make furniture. This would help solve a huge problem but also be a company that creates sustainable furniture," Steiner said.

With help from the ASU Venture Devils program, Steiner is taking the first steps toward this new venture.

“I have been accepted into this program and now have access to mentors, which is a huge blessing,” she said.

“This idea would take a very long time to create, as there needs to be research done to see if this is even a possibility to break down all types of trash into new textiles. There would need to be prototypes made to see if it is possible to use these textiles to create furniture. Right now, I am working with one mentor who has given me advice on how to start this research. I am hoping that in the future I will be able to create a company that would be able to achieve this.”

Steiner studied graphic design in her undergraduate program and always loved visualizations. After graduating with a bachelor’s in 2016, she worked a few years in the field and then decided to change careers and teach English abroad for a year. In 2018, she moved to Japan and was an English teacher in an after-school program.

“It was an amazing experience. At this point of my life, I had some experience with technology but not a lot. I always found interactive design to be so interesting and knew I wanted to get into that. Not only to do designs for print, but designing for interactive media and technology purposes.

It definitely hit me harder when I went to the Team Lab Borderless Mori Digital Art Museum in Tokyo. In this museum, they have huge installations with projections and some with motion capture. It was very interactive, and this is also how I got inspired to find a graduate school program where I could get the skills for this kind of design,” said Steiner.