From Scouting to Innovation

Just 22 years old, Kyle Dimick has already seen success as an entrepreneur and inventor. A 2024 graduate of Plymouth State University, he just received a patent for the first product he hopes to develop for Life-Able, the company he founded and leads.

Dimick, who grew up and still lives in Thornton, joined Scouting as a Tiger in Pack 58, which encompasses Campton, Thornton and Waterville Valley. He worked his way through Cub Scouts, earning its highest rank, the Arrow of Light. He then joined Troop 58, where he was elected Senior Patrol Leader twice. He went on to earn Scouting’s highest rank of Eagle Scout, and was named Eagle Scout of the Year 2019 by the Daniel Webster Council.

“I have always enjoyed working toward goals and learning new skills, so Boy Scouts was perfect for me,” Dimick said. He enjoyed how hands-on the program was and learning outdoors and first aid skills. He credits Dean Johnston and Dennis Fort, his Scoutmasters, and Steven Hines, his Venturing Crew 58 adviser, with mentoring him and guiding him.

His Eagle Scout project built a bridge at the Pemi Fish and Game Club to transport cross country skiers as well ATVs, four-wheelers and snowcats. Dimick raised funds and donations, and supervised dozens of volunteers who helped him construct the 16-foot-long, 8-foot-wide hemlock bridge seven years ago.

“I felt like it would make a long-lasting impact. I wanted to do something that would be there for years to come,” Dimick said. “I also thought it would be cool to make a bridge.”

He went on to join Crew 58, which is part of the BSA Venturing program, serving as Crew 58 vice president twice, as its president, and as president of the Exploring and Venturing Officers Association from 2020 to 2022.

“Boy Scouts focused more on outdoor skills and first aid,” he said. “Venturing focused more on leadership skills.”

Dimick earned 59 merit badges, exceeding the requirements to reach the rank of Eagle.

“I found learning about different activities very enjoyable, so I kept going,” he said, noting he always loves taking things apart and putting them back together. “One day I’d be learning how to weld, then I would be learning how to make paper. I just found it so entertaining.”

He said Scouting helped him earn multiple certifications and recognitions in the areas of first aid, wilderness survival, leadership and more, all of which have helped him in his professional life. He also had the opportunity to attend national youth leadership training and high adventure leadership training.

He said one of his best Scouting memories was a 50-mile canoe trip in Pittsburg. The trip was a lot of fun, he said, and took a surprising turn when a conservation officer tracked him down in the middle of it to award him Scouting’s Medal of Merit. A few months earlier, he had come upon a serious car accident and provided significant emergency care to the victims, and was nominated for the medal.

He served as an assistant Scout leader for a couple of years after completing his Eagle project. He said he still returns to the troop to spend time with its members at annual Thanksgiving and Christmas events and projects.

“My favorite was wilderness survival, making primitive shelters, just sleeping in the woods and living off the land,” he said. “I still live in the middle of the White Mountains, so I do a lot of wilderness activities every day. Knowing how to get around in the wild, I still use all that today.”

He said the first aid skills he learned and the certifications he still has have continued to help him when he responds to an emergency. Living in an area popular for its outdoor activities and working at a bike shop, he’s often been able to help injured hikers and bikers.

Dimick said he is the first person in New Hampshire and among the first in the United States to achieve the rank of Summit, the highest rank in Venturing. He is a member of the Order of the Arrow, the national scouting honor society.

Dimick graduated from Plymouth State with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Pre-Law and Philosophy.

“These experiences helped me be an effective leader during my college years,” he said. He cited his work as a member of the Marketing Association of Plymouth State as an example, serving as its head of sponsorships, vice president and president, and helping to grow its membership from 2 to 30 during his college years. “I also helped get us competing on the international stage where we were recognized in three categories,” he said.

Dimick currently works as an AV information systems specialist at Plymouth State while also working on his business and developing his newly patented automatic nail cutter, Trim-Able, for both fingers and toes.

“Scouting helped me with my audio-visual job. That’s where I first started playing with circuits and wiring,” he said. “It just showed me that this is entertaining and something I can do so when I saw the job opening at Plymouth State, I thought, ‘I know how to do this. Let’s give it a shot.’”

Developing his first LifeAble product, the Trim-Able, had its roots in his recovery from a high school ski jumping accident. New Hampshire is the only state that still has high school ski jumping as a competitive sport, Dimick said, so he figured he’d give it a try since not many people have done it.

“I made it through the entire season without a problem, and then on the last day of practice on the last run, I landed on my head,” he said.

He injured his shoulder and during his many physical therapy sessions that followed, he noticed a lot of patients coming in just to have their nails trimmed because their injury prevented them from doing it themselves. He started to devise a solution so the injured or disabled could trim their nails themselves at home.

“I’ve always been very mechanical, and thought there’s got to be a better way to trim your nails,” he said, noting his interest in robotics technology.

His prototype and business idea of a company that produces accessible technologies won the Panther’s Pitch contest at Plymouth State, and received the second-place prize in the 2024 Paul J. Holloway Innovation to Market Competition at the University of New Hampshire.

Now he has a patent after working on the device for six years. “I’m trying to figure out the next steps,” he said. “But I do have a lot of people I’m talking to and am pretty confident this will work out.”

He envisions a line of products that change lives.

“My goal is to make a company that’s really pushing. I feel like the accessibility industry is very underserved and overpriced,” he said. “People want devices that make them feel like they’re the same, not devices that make them feel different.”

But his dream is not just to help those living with a disability.

“So what I’m doing is taking a task that most people have to deal with, and I’m making a device that will help not just people who have difficulty with that task, but everyone as a whole,” he said. “My goal is to have completely able-bodied people also want to buy this because it is a better way of doing the task. I want them to be like ‘I’m buying this because it’s cool.’”