38 | MARCH 12 • 2020
business SPOTlight
brought to you in partnership with
B I R M I N G H A M
T
en years ago, the lives of brothers
Alex and John Ketty, and Jeremy
Eckhous converged onto a shared
path — and it happened to be fluorescent.
“
Alex came to my home to quote a
replacement price for our deck,
” explains
Eckhous, who formerly worked in the
corporate world before becoming a serial
entrepreneur. “My wife showed him several
samples of a new, luminous compound that
I had obtained from a British engineer. Alex
was immediately struck with the possibili-
ties.
”
Today, the three West Bloomfield men
are the owners of Glow Path Pavers, a
Keego Harbor-based business making paver
stones that glow in the dark.
That initial encounter sparked their col-
laboration, but it didn’
t exactly progress at
lightspeed.
“For seven or eight years we would meet
every couple of months to brainstorm appli-
cations, develop prototypes and research
competitors,
” Eckhous recalls.
During that time, they not only fashioned
product concepts, but also a genuine rela-
tionship.
“We didn’
t really activate any of the
ideas,
” he continues, “but we did generate a
close friendship.
”
Their professional backgrounds proved
complementary.
“We brought different perspectives,
”
Eckhous says. “I’
ve done more technical
stuff, and I think more corporate — I’
m
more cautious about committing time and
money. They’
ve learned by doing, through
owning their small business [Creative Brick
Pavers, also in Keego Harbor].
”
They also come from different faiths. But
that hasn’
t dimmed their prospects. To the
contrary.
“We share the same values,
” says Eckhous,
who grew up in Huntington Woods,
graduated from Berkley High School and
Michigan State University and made his
bar mitzvah at Temple Israel. “I think
Chaldeans appreciate the same things Jews
do: education, family, integrity and honesty.
“In our business, that means creating an
honest product that does what it says it does
and makes life simpler and more environ-
mentally responsible and sustainable.
”
Eckhous does not consider himself
religious. “My worldview hasn’
t been that
Jewish,
” he says, “but I am dedicated to
the Jewish culture. I really ascribe to being
outgoing, generous, kind and thoughtful
and committed to living a good life without
harming others or causing trouble or being
dishonest in any way.
“My dad reacted to his Orthodox New
York upbringing by kind of going the other
direction, but he also believed that if you’
re
good to people and honest and you believe
in carrying yourself with integrity, good
things are going to happen,
” Eckhous adds.
“So that’
s what’
s guided me throughout my
life.
”
As for the Kettys, Alex describes him-
self and his brother as “very religious”
JERRY ZOLYNSKY
Alex Ketty of West Bloomfield, Jeremy Eckhous of West Bloomfield and John Ketty of Birmingham
.
GLOW PATH PAVERS
Business Shines
Two Chaldeans and a Jew are on a mission to make
the world glow. Parts of it, anyway.
SAM BLAKE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Keego Harbor