Eric “Ike” Eicher–Ball State grad, Co-Founder/President of strategy and brand agency RightHand, and Black Belt in Taekwondo, knew what he wanted to do from a young age. Ike has a very successful career in the advertising and marketing space due to his willingness to take chances, make mistakes, and not let fear be his guide. His time at Ball State went a long way in getting him to where he stands today.

Time at Ball State

Ike spent his undergraduate studies at Ball State from 1994 to 1998, studying Advertising, Marketing, and Creative Writing. Originally from Pennsylvania, he moved to the Indianapolis area with his parents in 1990. Shortly thereafter, Ike and his parents attended a Cardinal Preview Day at Ball State.

It was very apparent to Ike early on that he wanted to do something with his life that allowed him to write, speak, and be creative. When he shared this in an exercise with the Dean of Communications, they emphatically stated, “If you like to write, if you like to speak, and you’re creative, come with me!” And the rest was history for Ike. He was sold on the Ball State dream.

His tenure at Ball State was extremely formative for him. “Ball State gave me a great foundation…right away, I was surrounded by other people who had similar interests. I loved the professors; I could feel that they really cared.” When asked to recall a specific instance of a professor having a strong impact on him, Ike shared a special moment with Professor Alfredo Marin-Carle.

In an introduction to design class, Marin-Carle had his students complete a full-page print ad without the use of their computer design software. Students were to do a cut-and-paste exercise where they had to typeset, an old-fashioned method that Marin-Carle had used during his advertising career. The purpose of this tedious activity was to illustrate the importance of stopping and thinking before you act. In the industry that Ike operates in, the amount of work that you do in pre-planning and understanding just what the client needs cannot be understated. Marin-Carle’s lesson of preparation and understanding client needs has stuck with Ike to this day. “It’s resounded with me is all these years that you’re always going to win when you stop and think before you do.”

Ike’s time at Ball State also included his involvement in the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and the relationships he built there. Ike cited the fraternity’s requirements of philanthropy (work with nonprofits like Big Brothers/Big Sisters), academics, sports, and social events greatly contributed to his college experience. As he has progressed in his life, Ike has enjoyed seeing his fellow members turn into fathers, business owners, doctors, dentists, and people working in finance. He has been able to cheer them on and also feel their support in his endeavors.

“When I started my business, it was amazing how many people reached out to me and said, “I don’t know anything about what you do, but I want to help you. That was incredibly important to me…and Ball State was a conduit to that.”

One of Ike’s most memorable moments at Ball State came on his first day on campus. He has a strong fondness of recalling the excitement and nervousness of his parents dropping him off combined with the assurance that he made the right call. “I look up and I see my best friend Tad looking out of our dorm window into the parking lot, and remember thinking, I did something right for this to happen.”

RightHand

Despite knowing exactly what he wanted to do going into college, Ike’s career post graduation took an unexpected entrepreneurial trajectory. After graduation, he was able to get a job working for a national agency supporting Chicago, Indiana, Detroit, and Toronto, focused on HR Communications and Employer Branding. What stood out most: of the 14 employees in their office, 11 of their employees were Ball State grads!

Ike then moved to working on the client-side, going from being an Advertising Manager for a big Insurance Company to working for a PR Agency. A common theme for this stage of Ike’s career was realizing how hard he was working to realize someone else’s dream, and that he really wanted to pursue working for himself. He saw a potential need in the market to serve companies who are looking for a better product (video, digital, print) at a better rate that they might be able to normally get due to the larger agencies who had to compensate for their overhead costs. Ike had a vision of having a team of freelancers who are specialists in their specific media coming together to fill this need.

This line of thinking led Ike to start RightHand with his business partner Bryan Kryder in 2018. RightHand, as it stands today, consists of eight members who offer more than 70 combined years of strategy, brand, and agency experience. Their work consists of serving the Indianapolis area and beyond by helping their clients bring their most authentic stories to the world. Their services include helping their clients in brand strategy, strategic facilitation, campaign development, brand identity, and content production.

When asked about the future of RightHand and his personal career, Ike’s face lit up. “I’m excited. We have an exceptional team. They are not only really good at what they do, but they’re great people. As far as goals for the business; in two years we will have a national campaign under our belts. We are going to go big, move forward, and really show people that we are bringing thinking to the market that people haven’t seen.”

While RightHand has made a name for itself in Indiana working with companies like the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, USA Hockey, Diversified, and Indianapolis Business Journal, it is clear that their team has goals of growing their footprint nationally.

Advice for Cardinals

If there is one thing that Ike would wish for the Ball State students of today and tomorrow it would be for them to learn to lead and to not let perfection get in the way of progress.

“Take initiative, take ownership, and accountability. Understand what that means whether you are on a team and are leading by example with the things that you do or you own a business yourself. Learn to be an effective leader; the world needs good leaders.”

Ike also feels that it is imperative for students to understand the value of and to not lose the human connection. He feels that, especially in his industry, that when you get a group of smart people together, brainstorming and ideating over an idea, great things can happen. Being resourceful; learning from and leaning on experts in their fields, is something that Ike values and has helped put him in the position that he is in today and that will help carry him forward towards his goals.