Pictured above: Andrew Gale, CFO and Ryan Porter, CEO of LiveView Technologies 

April 18, 2024, American Fork, Utah

LiveView Technologies builds video surveillance units that integrate solar power, remote access, and video management in a trailered, mobile platform to help industries address security needs. The company uses video feed and notifications to enable clients to make informed decisions in real time.

We sat down with Ryan Porter, Founder and CEO of LiveView Technologies (LVT) at BILL Founders & Finance Fest last month, an exclusive gathering of Utah tech execs and BILL customers "to celebrate the beauty (and challenge) of growing businesses together and lessons and tips from Utah entrepreneurs on how they grew and scaled their businesses." LVT is a BILL customer. Porter and LVT executives were featured at the event.

Porter explained that LiveView Technologies initially focused on providing live video feeds of residential construction sites. He pointed out, “building your house is probably one of the largest expenses in your life. Imagine being able to watch the process from your phone or laptop. There’s a natural desire to see what’s happening even though you can’t be there all the time.” The company appealed especially to out-of-state clients that wanted more information about the home construction project and updated views of the site. The idea was successful. Porter said clients would log in an average of 3.6 times a day to monitor progress on the construction project. 

We discussed Porter's vision for wanting to start LiveView Technologies, which he founded in 2005. 

Porter always knew that he wanted to be an entrepreneur. “My dream was to invent something, build it, and take it to market,” recounts, Porter. To reach that goal, he drafted many different ideas until he settled upon the idea of "putting live video on projects, so the owners could see what was happening in real time.” After refining the product idea, he moved forward with building LiveView Technologies. The company is headquartered in American Fork, Utah.

In 2007, LiveView Technologies continued to grow and began to expand to other states. And then the 2008 economic crisit hit, which deeply impacted the housing market. "I knew there would be a major problem in the housing market. So instead of expanding, we actually got into commercial markets through the projects with the Department of Transportation.” The company identified a problem that its mobile systems could effectively address. Porter said, “When it snows, there is no way for UDOT to know the conditions on many very remote roads in Utah.” The solar-powered cameras of LiveView Technologies easily deployed to the rural areas of Utah with their live feeds uploading to the company’s cloud platform which could be be easily viewed by the public.

As the company grew, they explored the idea of expanding its use cases to different industries. For example, they set up systems to observe endangered owls and migrating elk. These opportunities showcased LVT's rugged technology and its ability to withstand the elements in all seasons. The solar-powered units could be deployed wirelessly and assisted conservationists with their work. LiveView Technologies discovered that “if there’s an entity that deals with people, property, or physical assets, then there’s a potential need for our solution, which is just about every business that exists.”

In 2011, the company dramatically increased the capabilities of its system, by investing in both outside talent and new technologies to build an enterprise cloud platform. This platform was designed to manage multiple devices, cybersecurity, user rights, software, etc.

"We've got thousands of devices spread all across the country, and many in some of the most remote and dangerous places in the country. With all these electronic IoT devices, the system must be reliable, and it's got to work all the time," said Andrew Gale, the company's CFO. "And then throw on top of that a cellular network. And solar power. Our cloud platform allows us to manage and control the health of everything, from all of the equipment to all of the users; it all must work in harmony, and it does."

One critical aspect of the LVT enterprise platform is its ability to identify potentially criminal activity in video clips using AI technology. As Gale explained, “99.99% of the time, the video is captured but is never looked at again. Its the 0.01% that is actually important for analytics and identifying the valuable information to upload.” The video service also increases the security of places such as parking lots. About the process for protecting locations, Porter said, “We identify anomalies and trigger a deterrence effect to try to stop dangerous events from happening. We have strobe lights, LED lights, and speakers that stop these occurrences. 75% of the time these events happen we can prevent a crime from happening.” Using the LVT systems, the customer can use the speakers to deter would-be criminals who are always startled at having been identified and usually quickly leave the premises once caught.

LiveView Technologies appeals to potential customers looking for its flexible, weather-proof, and mobile security solutions due to the easy, turn-key deployment and straight-forward subscription model. The company sets up their product at a location in minutes, so surveillance can begin almost immediately. A benefit of the speed that a unit can be deployed is that cameras are no longer just a response to crime. Gale said, “Cameras are much more proactive now. They are to identify anomalies before crimes happen, so we can stop them before they occur.”

As AI and video surveillance continue to develop, LiveView Technologies seeks to grow the availability of their solutions and further reduce criminal activity.

Learn more about LiveView Technologies on their website: https://www.lvt.com/

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