2023 Startups To Watch

FOUNDED 2020 CITY Orem EMPLOYEES 6 INDUSTRY Energy/electrical WEBSITE elektrikapp.com FOUNDER Mario Dealba (36) THE COMPANY An online marketplace for high-voltage electrical cables and parts.

Elektrik creates an all-inclusive marketplace for all things electrical, and is a trusted marketplace for solar farms, battery storage, wind farms and data centers around the country. Amazon for electric! FEATHER IN THE CAP “Our second year in business, we did 10x what we did our first year and reached profitability. Up to now, we have done around $7 million in sales and expect to double it by the end of the year.” HAT TRICKS “I want to see Elektrik become the first place people think about when they think of high voltage equipment. I want to transform the way people buy electrical equipment, and bring technology into the process.”  NO CAP ON VALUES “Perfection. We have to be perfect in every aspect of our work, our customer service, our packaging, our follow-up sales process, our parts picking — in high voltage, there is absolutely no room for error.” THE ADVICE “Faith helps navigate turbulent waters.” THIS IS THE PLACE “We are an underdog compared to other big tech hubs like Silicon Valley. It is so cool to show the world that Utah has some sick and innovative startups and talent! Let’s go, Utah!”

FOUNDED 2020 CITY Lindon EMPLOYEES 10 INDUSTRY Toys WEBSITE stairslide.com CEO Jay Davis THE COMPANY A toy that turns stairs into a slide for endless family fun.

In a culture saturated by screen time, Stairslide is meant to give kids a chance to have an old fashioned good time. These stackable slides lay over any stairs so kids can do what kids are meant to do — play! FEATHER IN THE CAP ”When we acquired Stairslide from the original founder, we took it from a business with a lot of potential and turned it into $6 million within the first year of business. The next year we were over $10 million.” HAT TRICKS “We sold around 150,000 slides last year. We’ve always sold out of our inventory before December, so we’re buying and making enough inventory this year to target hitting $20 million by the end of 2023.” NO CAP ON VALUES “We live in a world where people are not active enough and are more focused on electronic entertainment. We wanted to transport kids back to 1990 and share some of our childhood memories with them — going down the stairs in a laundry basket or a sleeping bag — but this is more fun and more safe.” THE ADVICE “If you want to get big, you have to take big swings, take risks and take leaps of faith.”

FOUNDED 2020 CITY Lehi EMPLOYEES 54 INDUSTRY Software WEBSITE droplet.io FOUNDERS Skyler Hair (33) and Mike Rowland (33) THE COMPANY A platform that helps schools, governments and businesses replace manual paperwork and with a digital form and workflow automation.

Droplet seeks to help school districts ditch the paper and replace them with a flexible, digital and automated system. Droplet is trusted by almost 200 organizations across 30 states, including Utah Tech University and Seattle Public Schools. Get schooled, paper. FEATHER IN THE CAP ”We finished 2022 at $2 million in annual revenue and are on track to more than double that to $5 million this year. We’ve maintained a 98% retention rate and 150% net revenue retention.” HAT TRICKS “We want to be the next biggest Utah unicorn software company! Beyond that, we want to digitize every form on the planet.” NO CAP ON VALUES “We really value intellectual humility. We fight for what we believe is right, but remain open to new ideas, and we withdraw when we receive data that supports a different opinion. We believe ideas are separate from those that present them, and that ideas can be poked at and dissected without reflecting negatively on whoever proposed them.” THIS IS THE PLACE “Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, but it feels a lot less lonely in Utah.”

FOUNDED 2021 CITY Lindon EMPLOYEES 6 INDUSTRY Wholesale artificial turf supply WEBSITE eliteturfsupply.com CEO Taylor Brown (33) THE COMPANY A premier artificial turf supplier serving homeowners, contractors and landscapers with high-quality turf options.

In a state where water conservation is an annual concern — with 60 percent of residential water used for outdoor irrigation — Elite Turf Supply has entered the ring at just the right time. FEATHER IN THE CAP “We’ll do close to $5 million in 2023. We estimate that we’ve helped save 58 million gallons of water since 2022 with our installations. In August, out of 158 applicants, we were fortunate to be the recipient of the ‘Small Business Spotlight’ by America First Credit Union and the Utah Jazz. As part of the award, we get $250,000 to advertise with the Jazz this upcoming season.” HAT TRICKS “We plan to have $30 million annual revenue and have 1 billion gallons of water saved by 2027.” NO CAP ON VALUES “We don’t believe in tying our customers to contracts. We believe we have to show up for our customers everyday to keep them coming back.” THE ADVICE “I used to think that founders and CEOs were so much ‘smarter’ or more ‘capable’ than me. Now, having played both roles, I don’t think there is much that separates a CEO from an individual contributor. Take the first step!”

FOUNDED 2021 CITY Lehi EMPLOYEES 8 INDUSTRY Tech/software WEBSITE distro.io FOUNDERS Chad Ingram (36), Andrew Mackay (32) and Jake Toolson (43) THE COMPANY A marketplace where companies can find, hire and pay talent in over 200 countries around the world. 

As an entrepreneur himself, Chad Ingram noticed a problem in the startup world: finding and retaining quality talent. Distro offers a more sustainable, connective platform as a marketplace for startups to find qualified people, hire and pay them — all automated. FEATHER IN THE CAP ”Within our first 12 months with customers, we’ve passed the $3 million gross ARR mark and continue to grow. Our product has helped companies save 30% or more on hiring costs.” THE CHALLENGES “When the market started declining a little over a year ago, we started seeing several companies pause hiring plans, tighten budgets and have large layoffs. We felt confident in the opportunities our platform could provide to these companies — even during a down economy — so we made some subtle adjustments to our messaging and started seeing an uptick in new customers again.” HAT TRICKS “We are striving to have 500+ hires made through the platform by the end of 2025.” THIS IS THE PLACE “It is motivating and exciting to see how much entrepreneurship and innovation is coming out of Utah, and we want to contribute to that growth.”

FOUNDED 2021 CITY Lehi EMPLOYEES 9 INDUSTRY Dental WEBSITE dentacor.com FOUNDERS Pam Sitterud, Nate Wilson and Dr. Dax Rapp THE COMPANY A traveling team of dental hygienists that provides dental exams and cleanings in the comfort of homes and businesses.

Dentacor is on a mission to make dentistry more transparent, accessible and affordable. That looks like hygienists visiting businesses and homes for quick, comfortable exams and cleanings. Dentacor is all the teeth’s chatter. FEATHER IN THE CAP “We’re proud of helping people feel that they are worth smiling and getting taken care of. Also, winning first place and the People’s Choice award in the 2023 One Utah Summit Startup Pitch Competition.” THE CHALLENGES “The biggest resistance we see is dentists wondering if they can get diagnosable quality images and X-rays. To combat that, we’re adding a high-quality scanner that gives a computer-generated 3D image of the mouth, which the dentist can manipulate to see details of the gums and teeth.” HAT TRICKS “We hope Dentacor will help revolutionize the dental industry itself. We also plan to expand to Texas, Arizona and Nevada later this year.” THE ADVICE “Have a vision beyond the product and the financial possibility. When you can see the difference that your product is going to make in people’s lives, that’s where an endless source of energy comes from.” 

FOUNDED 2020 CITY Provo EMPLOYEES 27 INDUSTRY Education tech WEBSITE halda.ai FOUNDERS Lance Hydrick (44), Dallin Palmer (35) and Spencer Peterson (36) THE COMPANY An AI-powered student engagement and personalization platform.

When Lance Hydrick and Dallin Palmer realized that website personalization was the best way to help students explore school options — especially in higher education — Spencer Peterson entered the chat, wielded the AI sword, and Halda has been making the school research journey enjoyable ever since. FEATHER IN THE CAP “We bootstrapped Halda to over $1 million in revenue before taking any outside funding. Halda now engages with prospective students every 0.63 seconds, making us the go-to student engagement and personalization platform in higher education and private K-12.” HAT TRICKS “The goal is to become the most prominent AI-powered engagement platform for universities.” ON TOP OF IT “We have an invite-only think tank for companies building with AI in Utah. We meet every other month at Album VC headquarters. The best ideas boil to the top.” NO CAP ON VALUES “1) We seek truth in everything we do. There are no untouchable subjects at Halda. We test all of our assumptions and prove them out. 2) If the student wins, everybody wins. Everything we do must be approached through the lens of the student, our end user.”

FOUNDED 2021 CITY Springville EMPLOYEES 67 INDUSTRY Renewable energy WEBSITE torus.co FOUNDERS Nate Walkingshaw (45) and Gilbert Lee (47) THE COMPANY A renewable energy storage and management company working to revolutionize renewable energy.

Born from Nate Walkingshaw’s experience rooted in nature, Torus generates, uses and stores power in one seamless experience with a mission to “empower individuals and communities to become their own renewable energy providers.” FEATHER IN THE CAP “We’re proud to have launched the Torus Station systems, dramatically reducing our customers’ power costs and carbon emissions. Also, achieving recognition for safety excellence in 2023 from the Utah Manufacturers Association.” THE CHALLENGES “Our biggest challenges have been the engineering complexities of developing our unique Torus Flywheel technology, navigating regional regulatory and permitting requirements, and keeping up with demand from the market.” THE ADVICE “Ground yourself in strong values and guiding principles. Celebrate strengths, be direct in communication and always prioritize your customers.” THIS IS THE PLACE “Utah is our inspiration. We’re at the center of innovation and we all want to preserve our beautiful state and celebrate it with clean air and renewable energy for all.”

FOUNDED 2020 CITY Lindon EMPLOYEES 47 INDUSTRY Manufacturing WEBSITE nutriient.biz FOUNDERS Jake Hadlock (35) and Brandon Hadlock (32) THE COMPANY A contract manufacturer of custom dietary supplements.

Nutriient provides quality manufacturing and the ability to scale for various brands, along with formulation and flavor development in-house. Manufacturing to the max! FEATHER IN THE CAP “Achieving 8x growth in year two. Achieving GMP and Organic certification. Giving raises and promotions to employees — nothing beats rewarding our team.” THE CHALLENGES “We severely underestimated what we didn’t know going into the business. We found out very quickly the wealth of experience needed to operate efficiently and make the right decisions. Another hurdle at the beginning was getting the right people in and the wrong people out.” ON TOP OF IT “We share a business park with three other businesses that do exactly what we do, which is helpful in making connections and solving problems.” HAT TRICKS “We have goals to be on the Inc. 5000 list next year for fastest-growing companies and to expand to a 100,000+-square foot location with an on-site lab.”

FOUNDED 2021 CITY Lindon EMPLOYEES 24 INDUSTRY Mental health WEBSITE noble.health FOUNDERS Eric Red (41), Danny Jackson (41) and Dr. Kevin Skinner (53)  THE COMPANY A remote therapeutic monitoring program for cognitive behavioral therapy.

Noble Health’s mission is to democratize access to care by breaking down the barriers that prevent people from seeking the help they deserve. FEATHER IN THE CAP ”One of our most significant accomplishments to date is that we’ve enabled nearly 1,000,000 families and individuals to access essential support with their costs covered — a testament to our impact in reshaping mental health support.” THE CHALLENGES “One big puzzle was how to fund mental health services. Our solution? A B2B2C model, where we team up with partners willing to foot the bill for their employees’ mental well-being.” HAT TRICKS “We share a profound goal with our partners at the Cook Center for Human Connection: the eradication of suicide. In collaboration, we’re working towards establishing an impact fund designed to extend critical resources to those who might otherwise be unable to access help.” NO CAP ON VALUES “1) We believe that genuine connection lies at the heart of our endeavors. 2) We challenge ourselves to reject mediocrity and resist the excuses of limited time, energy or difficult conversations.”