UV50 Startups to Watch: No. 4 Aptive Environmental
City Provo Founded 2015 Employees 2,500 Industry Environmental services Website GoAptive.com Founder David Royce, 40 The Company A provider of environmentally responsible pest solutions. YOUNG + HUNGRY Aptive Environmental hit the startup ground soaring. It did $37 million in revenue last year, and is on track to do $80 million in 2017. It expands into 100-plus new cities annually. Its […]
UV50 Startups to Watch: No. 5 Awardco
Founded 2014 City Orem Employees 15 Industry Software/recognition Website Awardco.com Founders Steve Sonnenberg, 36; Mike Sonnenberg, 38; Tanner Runia, 28 The Company A technology-based platform focused on employee recognition and making it more affordable for companies to extend incentives and recognition to employees. YOUNG + HUNGRY An old school industry needed a new-school spin. Enter Awardco. Its employee recognition platform is cutting […]
UV50 Startups to Watch: No. 6 Blue Raven Solar
Founded 2014 City American Fork Employees 400 Industry Solar energy Website BlueRavenSolar.com Founders Ryan Lee, 44; Jeff Lee, 43; Tyson Peschke, 34 The Company A provider of solar energy in the residential market. YOUNG + HUNGRY Hello, sunshine. In its short life, Blue Raven Solar has grown to be the No. 11 solar company in the nation (measured by install […]
UV50 Startups to Watch: No. 7 Sodalicious
Founded 2013 City Provo Employees 350 Industry Food + beverage Website MySodalicious.com Founders Kevin Auernig, 39; Anne Auernig, 38 The Company A chain of soda and cookie shops. YOUNG + HUNGRY Pop goes the company! Sodalicious splashed onto the scene in 2013 and now has 18 stores and two bakeries (it’s the only soda shop that makes its own cookies). Additional […]
UV50 Startups to Watch: No. 8 Taft
Founded 2014 City Provo Employees 6 Industry Retail/fashion Website TaftClothing.com Founders Kory Stevens, 28; Mallory Stevens, 25 The Company A direct-to-consumer designer men’s shoe company. YOUNG + HUNGRY Taft has given the men’s fashion world a kick of innovation. It’s sold more than 25,000 pairs of shoes this year alone, it’s grown to more than 350,000 followers on Instagram, […]
UV50 Startups to Watch: No. 9 Jarvis Ventures
Founded 2016 City Orem Employees 65 Industry Software Website JarvisVentures.com Founders Mike Tingey, 28; Steve Vincent, 28 The Company A startup incubator that takes ideas and builds them into companies with the use of its software. YOUNG + HUNGRY Startup your engines, because this incubator is heating up. Jarvis currently has three sellable offerings: Sahara Development, Olumo and Lightbulb. And in […]
UV50 Startups to Watch: No. 10 Lou Lou & Company
Founded 2014 City Provo Employees 9 Industry Retail/children’s fashion Website LouLouandCompany.com Founders Karen Klakring, 29; Jeff Klakring, 33 The Company A baby blanket and accessory shop. YOUNG + HUNGRY What started as a baby blanket mission for a new mom has turned into full-fledged business with nearly 2,000% growth and customers in 37 countries. Lou Lou is the creator of the knit […]
UV50 Fastest-Growing Companies: No. 22 TravelPass Group
Three-Year Growth 109% 2016 Revenue $51.3 million City Lehi Founded 2006 Employees 115 Industry Technology/travel Website TravelPassGroup.com Founder Ryan Williams, 42; Ryan McCoy, 41 The Company A technology company that helps consumers find and save on the best travel destinations. NOT THROWING AWAY THEIR SHOT TravelPass is on cloud nine. The company — which has developed […]
Click-worthy CEO: Get to know MyFastPC Founder Ryan Grover
MyFastPC is a godsend for anyone staring at the “spinning wheel of death” on their computer screen. The remote desktop support company helps users solve their technical difficulty woes without having to unplug and haul their computer into a repair shop. (Bless you, Ryan Grover.) The Vineyard resident loves reading (he currently has five books […]
Secrets to networking, productivity + inspiring a team
PSST! Can you keep a secret? (We can’t.) Local pros gave us the secret scoop on networking, productivity + inspiring a team. Lucky for you, BusinessQ is a tell-it-all kind of gal. To networking “Friendly advice. It might sound a little outdated (like Jane Austen outdated), but I’ve always had the most success with introductions. […]
Inspiration station: 12 work perks to energize employees
You can’t fake culture. And you can’t copy it, either. But inspiration breeds innovation. Here are 12 ideas — that aren’t foosball tables — for energizing employees. #nooffensefoosball Wash + Wear MX, Lehi Employees can take part in a laundry service at work where their clothes are delivered to them fresh, clean and folded — and […]
4 Utah Valley companies promoting + supporting women in the workplace
She works hard for the money. (So hard for the money.) To be frank, the stats regarding women in the Utah workplace are less than fun. At the Women Tech Council’s Talent Innovation Summit, Cydni Tetro, co-founder and executive director of WTC, outlined the tough trends. Compared to similarly employed men, women earn 70 cents […]
Best Company to Work For: 97th Floor employees raise their game thanks to time, teamwork and trust
[pullquote]Employees: 63 employees Founded: 2005 City: Lehi, Utah[/pullquote]A few years ago, Chris Bennett was ready to fire an employee for being forever five minutes late. The digital marketing company was at a turning point, and things were either going to really take off — or they were going to plummet. “My first instinct was to tighten […]
Best Company to Work For: BambooHR believes ‘work life should support the personal life’
[pullquote]Employees: 280 employees Founded: 2008 City: Lindon, Utah[/pullquote]BambooHR is in the people business — literally, figuratively, happily. “We founded this company, no joke, for the purpose of creating a great place to work,” co-founder Ben Peterson says. “Both Ryan (Sanders) and I felt strongly that work life should support the personal life — not vice versa. Happiness […]
8 design tips for maximizing your office space
For spaces that are startup to spacious — try these office design tips on for size. FOR SMALL COMPANIES Have a tiny budget for your tiny company’s tiny office? Here are 8 tips for thinking big when you’re small. 1. Show a little creativity. “Small space design is tricky, but fun,” says Lindy Allen, founder […]
2017 Headliner of the Year: DevMountain
Headliner of the year? That’s code for crushing it. DevMountain, a coding bootcamp school headquartered in Provo, has become a leading institution in an exploding industry. According to Course Report, a third-party resource for students, the $200-million market boasted 91 full-time coding bootcamps nationwide and nearly 18,000 graduates in 2016. For its part, DevMountain, founded […]
2017 Marketer of the Year: Harmon Brothers
There’s no skipping these ads. The Harmon Brothers are all work and all play. The Provo-based marketing agency is a viral video king, with its ads being viewed more than 450 million times and driving more than $100 million of revenue in 2016. So what’s on their playlist? They made Chatbooks all the chatter of […]
2017 Entrepreneur of the Year: Kevin Auernig, Sodalicious
Kevin Auernig was born to make lemonade. As a kid, he opened lemonade stands and played “company” with his cousins. And in second grade, when other kids were declaring their dreams of fighting fires and flying planes, Auernig was making a plan — a business plan. “I wrote that when I grew up, I wanted […]
2017 Company of the Year: Jane
Jane is plain impressive. What started in 2011 as a home-based operation making button earrings has turned into a 100-employee, $110-million world-class online boutique. Jane represents the everyday girl. But this Lehi company, with its gorgeous growth, creative crib, fierce finances and powerful philanthropy, has quickly become Utah Valley’s “it” girl. Year in the life […]
Q Awards: Naming Utah Valley’s top movers and makers in 2017
By Briana Stewart and Jeanette Bennett Photography by Dave Blackhurst New year, new leaders. Utah Valley BusinessQ presents our 2017 movers and makers.
A snapshot into photographer Justin Hackworth’s life
Photographer Justin Hackworth is a visual storyteller whose work has appeared in national publications like People, Parade and Glamour. Around town, Justin’s work has been seen at museums and galleries including the Springville Art Museum and BYU. Originally from Idaho, Justin made a name for himself in Utah Valley as the co-founder of The Provo […]
The Let’s Be Better: 10 ways our culture can still improve for working women
Let’s talk. In the women’s issue of Utah Valley BusinessQ, the ladies weigh in on what it’s like to be a woman in business in 2016. Here are 10 ways our culture can still improve for working women. 1. More, please. “Although women now make up 38 percent of the business owners, women are only […]
Doctor’s Orders: For Dr. Shelly Savage, family, faith and fortitude are the best medicine
Dr. Shelly Savage will see you now. The founder of Grandview Family Medicine is working her dream — helping patients, working alongside her husband, being a mom to her six children, living her LDS faith, and paying it forward. And her ability to “do it all” comes down to one key component. “You can […]
Storybook School: For 33 years, Cheryl Lant has taught preschoolers to read and to lead
Cheryl Lant is a self-taught entrepreneur. And she is one talented teacher. Thirty-three years ago, she opened her first Learning Dynamics Preschool in Orem. Today? There are five Learning Dynamics locations — four in Utah, one in Arizona — and their phonics-based reading program is being marketed to schools across the West, with more […]
The Best Not Say That Again: 13 phrases that need to take an early retirement
Let’s talk. In the women’s issue of Utah Valley BusinessQ, the ladies weigh in on what it’s like to be a woman in business in 2016. Here are 13 ways our culture can still improve for working women. 1. “How do you balance it all?” “I don’t. I’m just sleep deprived. If things need to […]
Starr Player: Starr Fowler has traveled the world championing humans (and their resources)
Starr Fowler is a woman of the people. Throughout her 15-year career, the HR genius has been a coach, a strategist, a champion, a leader, and an employee game-changer. “It’s funny, because everyone thinks when you go into HR, you do it because you like people,” says Fowler, who is the senior VP of human […]
Ready, set, goal!: 6 companies share their resolutions for 2017
If you need some ideas on New Year’s resolutions for your company, these six companies have a few ideas they are willing to share. Here are six Utah Valley companies that set the goal to the 2017. What will yours be? Berkshire Hathaway, Orem Resolution: “To increase referral business and loyalty by 25 percent.” — Sheralyn […]
Happy New Goals: Your company needs resolutions, too
2016 … am I right? If your company is feeling that end-of-year lag, then look ahead to 2017. It’s the wondrous future! And it’s bursting with fresh ideas and beautiful promise. Kory Kogan, a global productivity practice leader at FranklinCovey and the co-author of the No. 1 WSJ bestseller “The 5 Choices: The Path to […]
The Good: 10 reasons it’s never been better to be a working woman
Let’s talk. In the women’s issue of Utah Valley BusinessQ, the ladies weigh in on what it’s like to be a woman in business in 2016. Here are 10 reasons it’s never been better to be a working woman. 1. Open table. “I love that the business world is recognizing that having women at the […]
Baby Got Bling: Female entrepreneurs defining ‘girl power’ with purpose, passion and power
Baby Bling is all girl. From the three owners to their 10 employees to their 60 locally-contracted seamstresses, this bow business is the literal definition of girl power. “When a man walks in, it’s kind of hilarious. It’s like, ‘Who’s here? Is that a man? We can smell him!’” laughs Summer Harris, founder of the […]