He’s the CEO of Lindon, Utah-based hands-free shoemaker Kizik, which allows people to put on and take off shoes without untying the laces by using a grip technology built into the heel.
Kizik’s rapid growth has mirrored that of Utah overall, which saw a 1.7% increase in its population from 2020 to 2021,Over the last five years, its population has grown 9.6%, and over the last 10, it has grown 20.4%, which means one in five Utah residents did not live there 11 years ago. While experts agree these trends were in place long before the Covid-19 pandemic, they have accelerated over the last two years as workers shuffle locations in pursuit of a variety of benefits, including a better job, more affordable housing and better amenities.
“People are moving out to less populous places, but they are still close enough to go see a big show or go into the office [to go to] a meeting. They still want to be in civilization,” Wiggins said. But those trends are changing, and the places people are moving to in the last quarter are different now than at the beginning of the pandemic, Wiggins stressed.
“The historic population declines in the nation’s largest cities raise the question of how unusual this prime pandemic period was. Examining data going back two decades, there was no individual year that comes close to showing the population declines that these cities witnessed in 2020 to 2021, alongside slower growth in their entire metro areas and suburbs,” the Brookings report.
“Most times, the best pipeline for talent is tapping the top workers currently in your business. These workers typically know folks who, although not in the same industry, would make great employees at their current job. Providing the right incentives can make your employees the best recruiters money can buy,” Brownell said.