2012 Economic Engines

Revenue in 2011 $1,740,000,000  Founded 1984 City Provo  Employees 1,100  Industry Personal care/nutrition  Website www.nuskin.com  Founders Blake Roney, 53; Steven J. Lund, 58; Sandie N. Tillotson, 53

The Company A direct selling company that distributes more than 200 anti-aging products in both the personal care and nutritional supplements categories in 52 international markets.

The Success With unparalleled revenues, a 28-year history of standout leadership and an integral emphasis on being a “force for good” locally and abroad, Nu Skin has been and will continue to be an irreplaceable economic engine in Utah Valley.

Key To The Economy “Innovation.”

The Advice “Find smart, good people and keep them by your side. When we were a young company, it was basically us against the world. Just about everyone thought we would fail. But we supported each other and made sure we all never quit on the same day. And then we welcomed other people who shared the vision and values of Nu Skin.”

Revenue in 2011 $1,100,000,000  Founded 1983  City Provo (Corporate headquarters are now in Houston, Texas)  Employees 3,600  

Industry Infrastructure software Website www.novell.com  General Manager Bob Flynn, 55

The Company Now operating as a business unit of the Attachmate Group, Novell is a software company that provides collaboration, endpoint management, and file and networking solutions for organizations. 

The Success A power player pioneer that helped put Provo on the map, Novell’s continued innovation — and recent partnership with Attachmate — proves the Utah Valley giant isn’t going anywhere. 

Key to the Economy “Cost management and business fundamentals. Plan for the worst and execute for the best.”

The Advice “1. Focus on flawless execution. 2. Invest in products that people need to have, not merely like to have. 3. Hire energetic people who are committed to your strategy.”

The Three-Year Plan “We’ll be growing, with a combination of our current products and an enhanced set of technologies that are fueling our growth.”

The Force Factor “We feel both honored and responsible for being good corporate citizens.”

Revenue in 2011 $399,700,000  Founded 1983  City Provo  Employees 1,000  Industry Technology  Website www.ancestry.com  

CEO Tim Sullivan, 49

The Company An online family history resource.

The Success Genealogy is all the rage — and Ancestry.com is firmly rooted as a market leader. With top-of-the-line technology and a dream social media scenario, the company has grown remarkably with higher-than-high revenues.  

Best Moment Ever “Our best moments happen every day at Ancestry.com. We have an extremely rewarding line of business that helps people connect with their family history, and every day our customers experience this 10 times over.”

Hardest Moment Ever “We have an ongoing challenge of figuring out the best way to acquire and digitize billions of historical records and then mold them in a digestible format. Fortunately, our company culture values difficult challenges because it allows our employees to rise to the occasion.”

The Advice “Make it a priority to improve customer experience — view your product from the eyes of the customer. And face challenges with creativity — look for new ways to solve challenging problems.”

The Force Factor “We love being headquartered here in Utah and are grateful to have the energy and innovation that this valley has to offer. In return, we are happy to benefit the local economy by hiring local talent and by recruiting bright minds from out of state to assist in the growth of the Utah Valley economy.”

Revenue in 2011 $317,465,705  Founded 1999  City Provo  Employees 1,100 (5,000 in the summer)  Industry Home automation  Website www.vivint.com  

Founder Todd Pedersen, 43

The Company A provider of home technology services. 

The Success You can’t think home automation without thinking Vivint (or APX Alarm, as they were formerly known), and that’s thanks to their first-rate technology, impressive management and stalwart sales force. 

Best Moment Ever “Emotional switch to Vivint.”

Hardest Moment Ever “No distinct moment. Hard moments arise all the time. The easy and right decisions aren’t always the same, and it boils down to making the right choices.”

Key To The Economy “Staying relevant and innovative.”

The Advice “Stay efficient and realize you may need to make sacrifices.”

The Three-Year Plan “We will be the largest home automation company and solar company in the world offering the best products and services for a truly ‘connected’ life.” 

The Force Factor “We are a company that believes in giving back and helping build confidence in Utah’s economic future.”

Revenue in 2011 $254,427,074  Founded 2003 City Provo  Employees 58 in-house, 17,755 represented  Industry Human resources  Website www.esghr.com  Executives Steve Pierson, 54; Daryl Sisk, 43

The Company A professional employer organization. 

The Success People, people, people. Not only is Employer Solutions Group in the people business (a market every company in the world needs, mind you), it has focused on celebrating its own employees — and has come out on top because of it. 

Best Moment Ever “ESG likes giving back to the community and strongly promotes employees to do the same. There is a tremendous amount of gratification seeing our giving back efforts benefit others.”

Hardest Moment Ever “Anytime I have to let go of an employee, that’s the hardest moment for me.”

Key To The Economy “Being open to employees’ suggestions. They have had incredible insight for cost-cutting improvements and revenue-generating ideas.”

The Advice “If you really want to grow, outsource the time drains that aren’t your core competencies.”

The Three-Year Plan “ESG will be growing steadily and continuing to be the premier PEO in the intermountain west.”

The Force Factor “We are grateful to be partnered with loyal clients who help our organization be successful year after year, and we take our job seriously in helping each one of them succeed in their individual businesses.”

Revenue in 2011 $188,891,642  Founded 1993 City Lehi  Employees 418  Industry Health/beauty  Website www.youngliving.com Founder Don Gary Young, 63

The Company A direct selling company that markets essential oils, supplements and skin-care solutions. 

The Success Celebrated products, a stalwart charity arm, one-of-a-kind leadership and a proven distribution method have made Young Living one sweet triumph. 

Best Moment Ever “Seeing our distributors achieve success.”

Hardest Moment Ever “Betrayal of employees who I trusted completely.”

Key To The Economy “Developing products that make a difference in people’s lives that they feel they can’t live without.”

The Advice “Give more from yourself than you expect to receive, and make sure your products are always of the highest quality. Be sure to maintain a high level of integrity and tell the truth about your company and products.”

The Three-Year Plan “Three-quarters of a billion dollars in sales globally and established in many more countries of the world.”

The Force Factor “(I love) knowing that I’m helping to diminish the unemployment rate of Utah and giving families a better-than-average opportunity to have a better-than-average life.”

Revenue in 2011 $131,267,230  Founded 2007  City Lehi  Employees 65  Industry Security and automation  Website www.2GIG.com  President Todd Santiago, 40

The Company A developer of security and automation systems for residential and small businesses.

The Success With a push for innovation, innovation and (you guessed it) innovation, 2GIG hit the ground flying and has achieved out-of-this-world growth with remarkable revenues. And with the home automation industry exploding, 2GIG has nowhere to go but up. 

Best Moment Ever “Being in our factory in China and watching our first units roll off the production line. Exhilarating!”

Key To The Economy “It comes down to delivering a product or service that saves the customer time and/or money and improves upon existing solutions. We will continue to grow as long as we make life easier for our customers and have the same or better price point than what they are currently using.”

The Advice “You have to know your customers’ business and industry as well or better than they do. We spend a lot of time with our customers trying to better understand their pain points and needs. Then we go into development mode and build solutions they need (sometimes before they realize they needed it).”

The Three-Year Plan “Our goal is to become the default home control system for millions of homes throughout the world. We will be expanding into international markets in 2012 and will be in multiple countries within three years.”

The Force Factor “It’s exciting to be a growing force in Utah Valley’s economy. This is where many of us grew up and have lived much of our lives. It’s a phenomenal place to grow a company and hopefully our success will continue to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the valley.”

Revenue in 2011 $56,432,403 Founded 2002  City Lehi  Employees 101 Industry Technology  Website www.1on1.com  Founder Nick Greer, 35

The Company A provider of online media services.

The Success Thanks to top notch “human capital,” impressive leadership and cutting edge technology, One On One Marketing keeps raising the bar and leaping over it. (Editor’s Note: How cool is it that One on One Marketing has 101 employees? Crazy cool.)

Best Moment Ever “The first day 10 years ago when One on One started. I was petrified but never more excited and confident.”

Hardest Moment Ever “Creating greater focus meant we had to let go of 40 of the most amazing people I have ever known.”

Key To The Economy “‘Screw it, let’s ride.’ Sorry, mom, for the crude language.”

The Advice “Do you really want it? Do you really believe or are you drinking the wrong Kool-Aid? Go and fight for it until your body and mind cannot take it any longer. Do not rest until you achieve your dreams.”

The Three-Year Plan “Not even close to how we look today. You may not even recognize us.”

The Force Factor “Ask the other guys. I am still trying to be like them and hope one day I can be that stalwart force.”

Revenue in 2011 $48,478,000  Founded 1997  City American Fork  Employees 190  Industry Technology  Website www.certiport.com  

CEO Ray Kelly, 52

The Company A provider of performance-based certification exams and practice test solutions for academic institutions, workforce and corporate technology markets.

The Success This impressively intelligent tech company has grown thanks to smart leaders, dedicated employees, key partnerships and an ultimate goal of educating the world through certifications. 

Best Moment Ever “Attending our yearly Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office. There is no greater joy than seeing those students compete for the title of World Champion. (www.officecompetition.com)”

Hardest Moment Ever “It is challenging to put together effective teams and make changes in personnel when necessary to drive success.”

Key To The Economy “Filling a current market need. You have to provide a good or service that is valuable enough for people to need it in a down market. Certification, for instance, is even more valuable in a down economy as people look to update their skills and find jobs.”

The Advice “Develop a very clear strategy for growth with specific, attainable tactics and goals. Then, get your entire team on the same page.”

The Three-Year Plan “We expect to double our revenue and earnings in the next three years by expanding our product offerings and partner base around the world.”

The Force Factor “Utah Valley has always been a great place for business. We have a skilled, educated workforce at our fingertips, and we are able to manage an international business from Utah Valley.”

Revenue in 2011 $45,877,000  Founded 1913 City American Fork  Employees 280  Industry Banking/financial  Website www.bankaf.com  CEO Richard Beard, 59

The Company Utah’s largest community bank with 12 branches in Utah and Salt Lake counties and a loan office in Layton.  

The Success World-class services delivered with small town charm has led Bank of American Fork to thrive despite the tumultuous financial climate.

Best Moment Ever “Seeing the strengthening of our communities by the homes, businesses and people the bank has worked with. This process has helped provide jobs and prosperity to those communities.”

Hardest Moment Ever “The traumatic recession of 2008 – 2010, which severely damaged customers and their lives. The loss of homes and businesses of friends and neighbors has been painful.”

Key To The Economy “Understanding that risk is an intimate part of a capitalistic economy. This leads prudent business people to understand short-term gain may end in long-term loss. A balance of risk and reward is essential.”

The Advice “Adopt values that mean something to all employees; develop a risk reward matrix to keep growth in balance with the inherent risks of rapid growth.”

The Three-Year Plan “Growing in communities that value the community banking model. We are a repository of the hopes and financial aspirations of the community and will continue to be an intimate part of those which we serve.”

The Force Factor “We are merely a reflection of our customers and associates. It means our communities are strong and resilient.”