Ron on the Run: Straight teeth bring bright smiles to Utah's economy
KUTV — Despite the coronavirus pandemic, entrepreneurs and companies are still coming to Utah. Some are bringing smiles to the state's economy.
"Congratulations, Neeraj, for his efforts here in this new and exciting company, Byte," Gov. Gary Herbert said.
Another business success story for Utah was celebrated at the state capitol with the governor.
"We've been named the epicenter of small business," he said.
Meet Neeraj Gunsagar, the CEO of Byte, an at-home teeth-straightening company from Los Angeles, California, that has expanded to Utah.
"We started the year with around 10 to 15 people in Utah. We're out in Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, and now I think that's grown to more than 150 people," Gunsagar said.
The Lehi office is Byte's marketing and customer service center.
"You get an impression kit sent to your house. You use the impression kit on your own. Send it back to us. And we develop a treatment plan for you that's digitized," Gunsagar said.
During the pandemic, Byte's revenue soared from between $10 to $15 million last year to $200 million this year--a 1,000% growth.
Byte's story isn't all that unusual in Utah. Herbert said businesses come here because of competitive tax rates, a tech-savvy labor force, 130 different languages spoken here, and fewer government regulations.
Utah underwent regulation reform two years ago.
"We found we had 368 regulations that really had no purpose. And we eliminated or modified them," Herbert said.
So, companies like Byte see nothing but a bright future in Utah.
"I can see us in three to four years having over 500 people in Utah alone at Thanksgiving Point," Gunsagar said.
Herbert said the state is working with seven or eight companies to resettle or expand in Utah.
