Erik Niederhauser, 32

Two years ago, Erik Niederhauser, was at a crossroads: he had left his job managing a milling center and was considering returning to his native Switzerland, where he studied and received his certification in dental technology. Then he got a phone call from a former dentist-client that changed everything. “He wasn’t happy with his current lab and wanted to see what I was up to. In the span of the week, three more former dentist-clients also reached out and I realized it was time I started my own business,” he says.

With that, Pink Dental Laboratory, located in Dulles, VA, was born. The name is inspired by Niederhauser’s technique of building pink porcelain to simulate the gingiva on All-on-Four zirconia substructures to achieve a lifelike result. 

Initially, Niederhauser limited his services to this technique and staining and glazing arches that dentists milled chairside. However, once he started posting photos of his work on Instagram, his...