WYOMING - A global business is connecting Wyoming's Big Horn Basin to Korea, Japan, and China. It pays local workers more than double the going part time pay. And, managers plan to expand to Montana and other states surrounding Wyoming.
Ten Sleep, population 300, is a sleepy town at the base of the Big Horn mountains. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso visited Ten Sleep Friday, to investigate the town’s new global business. It’s called Eleutian Technology. It sells the English language to students in Korea, and soon to Japan and China. How does it work?
Eleutian hires teachers part time, to give lessons over the internet. By years end 160 teachers in five Big Hon Basin counties will be teaching for Eleutian. In a year, the company founder hopes to have 1500 employees in the state. When it grows to it’s potential, Eleutian owners say they may bring jobs to small towns in states all around Wyoming.
Eleutian Founder Kent Holliday told KULR the market potential is huge. He said, “Between Korea, Japan, and China, is a hundred billion dollars a year. There’s not many hundred billion dollar markets, and that’s just Korea, Japan, and China. You take the world market and its trillions of dollars a year.”
After his visit, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso remarked, “I’m very impressed with what I see going on here in the little community of Ten Sleep, Wyoming. You have people, entrepreneurs, with great ideas, working internationally.” But, what do the employees think? They like the pay, at $15 to $25 an hour. And, they like having a teaching job. Lori Browning says a full time teaching job is hard to find here.
Teacher Manager Lori Browning said, “For three years I was okay, okay, I’m going to sub, I’m going to sub. And each year I felt like that’s not going to happen. And, yeah, I was going to have to move.”
Lori Browning has a full time job with Eleutian now. Robert Cunningham works part time. Former Denali National Park Superintendent Robert Clay Cunningham said, “Its good for Wyoming, good for South Korea, good for the teachers. It’s a good thing.”
Since South Korea is 16 hours ahead of our time, the teachers work early mornings and evenings.