Provo High Graduate Kara Miller’s Business Helps Strangers Recover Unclaimed Funds

May 30th, 2024 /
Spencer Tuinei /
CTE, News, Provo CAPS, Provo High, Schools, Secondary Schools

According to the National Unclaimed Property Association database, there are almost 7 billion dollars in unclaimed properties. More than 33 million people (1 in 7) have unclaimed property to their name. Among these 33 million, some massive sums of money are tied up and held by county treasuries.

That’s where Provo High student (and, as of this article’s publication, newly-minted graduate) Kara Miller comes in. She’s the founder and owner of Overage Recovery Company of America (ORCA), a business forged through the Invest Nest competition. It’s a company with massive promise; the judges from regional and state competitions have awarded her $16,000 in prize money. Surprisingly, this successful business plan started small, no more significant than a fleeting thought during her Junior Business Class.

Before we examine Kara Miller, the entrepreneur and Invest Nest competitor, let’s examine Kara Miller, the student.

Kara is a Provoite with roots in Provo. She is the daughter of Kristy and Chris Miller. Chris, a district counselor, is also a Provoite and Provo High graduate (they’ve even shared a few teachers, as they both attended Sunset View, Dixon, and Provo High).

Kara keeps busy. At the time of this article, she was a full-time college student through Concurrent Enrollment and is now a Utah Valley University graduate holding an associate’s degree. She was a Dance Company student and a ballroom dancer.

She enjoyed many hobbies, but business became a passion in her junior year. It all started with Provo High Teacher Tory Norman’s business class, where she discovered her love for entrepreneurship:

I didn’t know what I wanted to do—I loved dance and other hobbies—but Norman’s class lit a spark. It required a lot of thought and focus. I loved it.

The final in Norman’s business class was formatted similarly to the Invest Nest pitch, so she used the course to build a project pitch for the competition– and she did exceptionally well. Kara made it to the final round of regionals but didn’t place in the top three. Kara noted she was a little disheartened but found a silver lining: those who placed in the top three couldn’t compete the following year. So, Kara vowed to compete next year, too.

She took her Junior Year Invest Nest placement as a challenge and refined her project into a lucrative business proposal, one demonstrating remarkable potential and compelling statistics that backed her vision. The comprehensive development of ORCA included meticulous real-world work, including SWOT analyses, extensive brand research, and more.

The company is bonafide, standing out with a mission driven by ethics compared to its competitors: Kara audits government agencies nationwide and examines state treasury records to identify private individuals owed $20,000 or more from tax on closure sales. She then contacts these individuals, acts as their legal representative, and navigates the bureaucracy to claim the funds, delivering the lion’s share of the recovered money to them.

The tax on closures pertains to tax debts. According to county procedures, the state seizes and auctions items to cover these debts. Any surplus from the auction is not returned to the original owner but instead goes to the county treasurer. The issue, then, is that many of these amounts require legal representation and include cut-off dates for those interested in claiming their owed amounts, as Kara explains:

It’s a lottery ticket with an expiration date. I focus on accounts nearing expiration—it’s a moral issue for me. I aim to return these funds to people who deserve them.

It’s a job that Kara enjoys, as she emphasized:

Unlike other companies that charge upfront, I only get paid if they receive the money. It’s exciting to give money to unsuspecting people. It’s the best feeling. That’s my goal—I love running a business that gives people money.

Kara has already identified leads totaling $2.1 million that meet her criteria. Her presentation was so impressive that she ultimately netted $10,000 for first place at regionals and $5,000 at state this year.

Clearly, Kara has an aptitude for business. She’s a beacon of perseverance and ethical entrepreneurship. We’re proud of her many accomplishments and thank her for her example.

As we bid farewell to this remarkable young woman and wish her luck, we also want to share her parting words for aspiring entrepreneurs:

You can do it. This process taught me that I can get knocked down but get up again. You can, too. I’m just a high school student who had a phone, a computer, and an idea. Now, I’ve got a business.

Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing your continued success.