With the decline of the economy, many have found struggles and difficulties. For one student, the recent recession has proven to be a boost for his business.
Ryan Porter, along with his business partner Bob Brenner, started off attending night classes at this university and is now the head of Live View, a company that installs cameras on roads and highways across the state of Utah.
Established by Porter and Brenner, Live View was intended to be used by families awaiting the completion of construction on their new homes. Originally called Homeview Technologies, the company started out with only five cameras monitoring residential construction sites and progression until three years ago.
From there, Porter and Brenner decided to license the product to the Utah Department of Transportation. UDOT now uses the technology to monitor rural roads for snow removal and maintenance.
Within two years of utilizing the technology, which only consisted of 20 cameras statewide, UDOT has reported saving over $300,000. This year alone, with 72 solar-powered cameras across Utah roads, UDOT now claims to have saved nearly $1 million in snow removal and road maintenance.
“Everything that we do has never been done before,” Porter said. “It’s all testing, making sure it’s reliable. There is no box to think in. It’s all outside the box.”
Porter attributes his success to his attitude during the transition from monitoring construction sites to installing and licensing Live View technology to UDOT.
Porter mentioned that one must stay out of the habit of feeling sorry for one’s difficult circumstances. One must adapt and be innovative with new ideas and applications.
“You have to stay caught up on your receivables,” Porter said. “Some people just give up and file bankruptcy, going down with their company.”
According to Porter, Live View has finished installing cameras in Utah. Because of UDOT’s success with Live View cameras, they have taken the product to national conventions and conferences across the U.S. to demonstrate the product to several other states.
Wyoming, Arizona and Idaho are either deeply interested in the product or, in Idaho’s case, already using some cameras on the Utah-Idaho border. Other states such as Indiana have also shown interest in the product. Porter hopes to license the product to as many clients as possible.
