A foundation for entrepreneurship success: Miguel Avila ’18 and the growth of Daily View Pools LLC
By Bryson Foster ’23 ’25 M.A.
Photos by Kat Lawrence
Floating in a pool is effortless — buoyancy prevents you from sinking. Dreaming, by contrast, demands hard work. Miguel Avila ’18 learned this when he founded Daily View Pools LLC.
Through sheer determination, Avila, a Huntersville, North Carolina, native, developed his business while participating in 49er Foundry, UNC Charlotte’s student incubator, as an undergraduate.
“The 49er Foundry helped in so many ways,” Avila said. “First, it connected me with resources. It also advised me on strategies for navigating a start-up.”
Now, Daily View Pools employs more than 15 people in Charlotte — and it’s growing. The company has three locations, including one at the PORTAL Building at UNC Charlotte, the University’s workspace and talent innovation center for regional and global businesses.
“The opportunities I’ve had at Charlotte are allowing me to take next steps as a business owner,” said Avila.
Company outlook
Daily View Pools is a licensed contractor building outdoor spaces that inspire connection. The company launched in 2016 as a swimming pool renovation company. By 2018, they were building pools, and installing concrete flooring and pavers.
Avila’s innovative entrepreneurial spirit spurred him on, and in 2024 Daily View Pools began offering pool management and outdoor construction, including sidewalk and light-pole installations. With the increased offerings, the company was awarded contracts with the cities of Charlotte and Greensboro.
Before all his success, Avila presented his original idea to the 49er Foundry, where his skills were enhanced as he learned. The PORTAL Building location continues to support the company’s growth.
“We’ve taken advantage of many University-developed resources,” said Avila. “We’ve used our partnership with UNC Charlotte mostly to hire talent. Being an alum is part of who I am so working with UNC Charlotte students is always exciting.”
Through a technology-driven business model, Daily View Pools offers online cost-estimation that provides customers with immediate quotes for pool services. Through a partnership with Waterguru, the company is able to monitor the quality of clients’ pool water with smart technology; another with Pool Brain enhances customer service and allocates resources efficiently.
“Through these partnerships we are improving transparency and building trust,” said Avila. “We do this by providing access to information so people can make the best decisions.”
Laying the foundation
Avila earned a B.S. in economics from UNC Charlotte in 2018 and participated in extracurricular activities, including the University’s student-run radio station, Radio Free Charlotte, and business accelerator programs. A pivotal moment came in 2015 when he landed an internship at Ventureprise.
As a marketing intern for what was UNC Charlotte’s resource for student entrepreneur support, and is now part of the role of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, he scouted student startups and organized pitch competitions for student-led companies.
“I did that enough to catch the entrepreneurial bug and foster a desire to start my own company. I thought, ‘Well, I’m advising all these startups on starting their companies, I should do it myself,’” he said.
Devin Collins, former director of Ventureprise and current regional innovation officer for the Division of Research at UNC Charlotte, said Avila’s success does not surprise him.
“Miguel is an exceptional entrepreneur and an even better person,” he said. “His success today with Daily View Pools is a direct reflection of his character, work ethic and desire to create value for his family, customers and community.”
Avila credits the finance knowledge he acquired through his courses in the Belk College of Business as essential to running his company successfully.
“My economics professors used to say, ‘If you learn anything, remember this: Opportunity cost is your next best option.’ I often think about this when I’m making tough business decisions,” Avila said.
“During my internship with Daily View Pools LLC, we helped develop an estimation tool, which reinforced my coursework in web development and software engineering, and provided hands-on experience with modern frontend frameworks. The technical, production-ready skills I acquired were foundational for my career growth and strengthened my job-market competitiveness.”
-Diven Ahuja ’24, computer science
Returning to roots
Key for Avila is remembering his higher ed roots. In addition to being an active alumnus, he leads the Google Developer Group Charlotte, which since 2024 has provided learning opportunities for over 1,000 students on campus. (Avila is central, along with Google and the College of Computing and Informatics, to convening the upcoming “Build with AI” event series, taking place at 5 p.m., Thursday, April 2, at the Dubois Center.)
“Giving back is an important lesson that I learned as a student,” said Avia, who now hires Niner interns for the opportunity to gain hands-on experience as he did. “The advice I often give to students is that there is no right time to start a company.”
Outside of the business world, Avila’s continues to cultivate a years-long passion for DJing. He attended Backspinz Music Academy in high school and applied his skills at Radio Free Charlotte. Last October, Avila returned to campus to perform at the second annual Bachata Brunch during the 2025 Homecoming week.
“It was surreal. Djing on campus made me reminisce about my college days,” he said. “It was definitely a moment I’ll remember.”
Looking ahead
With the success of Daily View Pools, Avila plans to expand his business interests into government contracting. The company will expand its operations under the name of Daily View Construction, focusing on residential and commercial spaces.
“We’re doing government work with Charlotte and Greensboro, growth that has led to renaming our company to reflect our broader offerings,” said Avila.
In 2020, Avila was named to Charlotte Inno’s 25 Under 25 Innovators, and in 2024, he received Elevate Lifestyle’s Top 30 Under 30 Future Leaders of Charlotte Award. He was invited to serve as co-chair of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Latin American Business Council, and serves on the Small Business Committee for the P.A.V.E. Act (N.C. House Bill 948).
For Avila, giving back beyond the Charlotte community is imperative.
“The Wilmington Chamber wanted to bring in someone with experience running a company and involvement in different programs in Charlotte to offer advice and direction to local programs,” said Avila. “That’s one way that I’m sharing my experience with the community. I’m learning about Wilmington and hope to do more business there as well.”
With all that Avila has accomplished, he advises others to create opportunities for themselves. “If there is something you wish existed in an organization, you should be the change and create it yourself,” Avila said. “It’s something that I’ve always done; creating value is how I measure achievement.”
The expansion of of Daily View Pools LLC , led by Miguel Avila ’18, to include light pole installations has led to a contract with the city of Charlotte through its Strategic Investment Assets program. Pictured above, Avila’s team is installing solar-powered lights for the Charlotte Area Transit System’s Arrowood Station.
Bryson Foster, a double UNC Charlotte alumnus, is a freelance writer based in Concord, North Carolina