INNOVATE® Utah by Sven Boermeester

InnovationsoftheWorld.com

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“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” —THOMAS EDISON

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The “Innovate® Utah” Team would like to give a special thanks to all the participants and the following companies for their support and assistance in making this project a reality.

Meet the people that are building a better Utah for tomorrow

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INNOVATE® UTAH: A MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE AND MORE.”

SVEN BOERMEESTER - FOUNDER/CEO, INTERNATIONAL GROUP PUBLISHER Sven Boermeester - Founder/CEO, International Group Publisher with Callie Van Graan, Global Village COO

Innovate® Utah showcases the best of Utahs innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Embedded in its pages, you will find augmented reality videos that accompany nearly every feature, and when you use the free GLOBAL VILLAGE AR app, the world of the future will open up before your very eyes.

ecosystem, and who play or want to play an active role in its growth and development. This inaugural edition of Innovate® Utah is just part of a global series. We are currently launching volumes in cities throughout the GlobalVillage. world publishing partnership network.

But “Innovate® Utah” is far more than a tech-enabled publication; it is a multimedia experience centered around the deluxe hardcover coffee-table book you are now holding, which includes AR videos and also an online web platform and multilevel social media networking. Online, the full e-book will be viewed in the millions through the InnovationsoftheWorld. com online library.

By experiencing Innovate® Utah, you are part of our Global Village network, and we are happy to have you. I trust you will join us as we continue the journey of the Innovate® series. Sven Boermeester Founder/CEO International Group Publisher

This publication aims to celebrate those involved in the Utah ecosystem, but it is also meant for all business leaders and decision-makers who can effect change in their industries throughout Europe and throughout the world. We publish Innovate® Utah for the open-minded folk who want to know more about the exciting changes that have recently transpired in the Utah

Belinda van Graan CMO

Gia Bischofberger Project Manager

Meghan Tear Percy Managing Editor

Peter Batistich Art Direction and Designer

JR Giggs Web Development Partner

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... THE CONCEPT OF GIVING TO GIVE. - GILL WAGNER, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

For more than 40 years, I’ve been a passionate advocate for honesty and high ethical standards in sales. This passion was sparked in my youth as Dad taught me: “It’s just the right way to behave, Son.” Then as I proceeded through my entrepreneurial career, I learned that it’s not only the right way to behave, it’s the surest way to achieve phenomenal sales results, because at the core of honest selling is the most magnetic force in humanity …

So I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Sven and the team at Global Village for its innovation in publishing; Ken Davis for sharing his insights into the Utah ecosystem; Clint Betts and the team at Silicon Slopes for hundreds of nominations and their support; all the participants for sharing their stories, photos and videos; and all the members of this tribe who are demonstrating how giving to give can change their businesses and an ecosystem.

… the concept of giving to give.

And I’d like to invite you all to help me take that concept to a larger ecosystem.

Humans are a tribal species. Birds of a feather flock together. Givers attract givers and repel takers. So salespeople who put the interests of buyers above their own will inevitably become members of a very large, very giving tribe.

I am hereby announcing a new book in the Innovate series – Innovate Society. This book will tell the stories of 50 regional nonprofits (one from each of the United States) that are innovating not only society itself, but how nonprofits function, raise money and succeed.

And in that tribe, everyone always wins.

We will give each nonprofit four full pages in the book, all the design work and even the writing absolutely free, so they can share their inspirational stories with all the other “cool kids” in our Global Village.

So when Sven Boermeester, CEO of Global Village, approached me about the Innovate Utah project, pointed out I wouldn’t know anyone in the ecosystem, informed me I’d be working for nine months for zero pay, mentioned there was no guarantee I’d ever see a dime, and told me Global Village would give all participants in the book their pages as a gift with zero obligation to buy a single book, I, of course, replied: “I’m in!” The aspect of these Innovate books that excites me the most is that people who don’t yet understand the value of giving to give get to witness its magnetic power firsthand. And when they do, our tribe will grow, and more people will win.

Adding my own innovative twist: We won’t ask any of them to buy books! By the time Innovate Society is published, it will contain the combined energy of thousands of givers across this country. And when we direct that energy outward, it will change the world. Are you in?

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Gill Wagner is a true Renaissance man and sales expert, with 40-plus years of advocacy for the elimination of deceit and dishonesty from the profession he loves. His peers have named him the “Father of Honest Selling,” the “Best Business Connector in St. Louis” and one of the “Top 100 St. Louisans to Know” to succeed in business. His passion is identifying the win-win connections others don’t see, and his preferred model of doing business is on straight commission.

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CHAPTER ONE

THOUGHT LEADERS

CHAPTER ELEVEN

FOOD & BEVERAGE

CHAPTER TWO

FUTURE CITIES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER TWELVE

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

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CHAPTER THREE

HEALTHCARE, BIOLOGY & HUMAN HEALTH

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

EVENTS & MEDIA

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA & ANALYTICS

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, & SPORTS

CHAPTER FIVE

SOFTWARE & IT SERVICES

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SOCIAL INNOVATION

CONTENTS Global Village CEO Sven Boermeester

Publishing Partners Gill Wagner

Global Village COO Callie Van Graan

Project Manager Gia Bishoffberger

Global Village CMO Belinda Van Graan

Art Direction & Design Peter Batistich: Deep Fried Designs

info@globalvillage.world www.InnovationsoftheWorld.com www.GlobalVillage.world

Managing Editor Meghan Tear Percy

Production Team Gia Bishoffberger Sarah Nieman

Research & Selection Gill Wagner

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CHAPTER SIX

BLOCKCHAIN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CHAPTER SEVEN

E-COMMERCE

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

FUNDERS, ACCELERATORS, AND MENTORS

CHAPTER EIGHT

SERVICE INNOVATION

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

FINANCE & HUMAN RESOURCES

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CHAPTER NINE

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

CHAPTER TEN

PRODUCT INNOVATION

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CO-WORKING

CHAPTER TWENTY

INNOVATIONS OF THE WORLD

DOWNLOAD THE GLOBAL VILLAGE AR APP TO VIEW 100 AUGMENTED REALITY VIDEOS IN THIS BOOK!

To experience the future of print, download the Global Village AR App from the IOS or Android App stores. Open the App and hold it about 30cm above any page that contains an image with the “play” Icon.

Make sure your back camera is pointing at the page. Click the Play button that appears onscreen and immerse yourself in the latest updated content with reference to that page. Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in The ‘Innovate Philadelphia’ vol 1. Neither ‘Innovate Philadelphia’, nor Global Village assume any responsibility for errors or omissions. All rights reserved: No part of this publication shall be reproduced, copied, transmitted, adapted or modified in any form or by any means. This publication shall not be stored in whole or in part in any form in any retrieval system.

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THOUGHT LEADERS

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“I believe you have to be willing to be misunderstood if you’re going to innovate.“ —JEFF BEZOS

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HOME–TURNS OUT UTAH WAS TOO SPECIAL TO SHAKE. CLINT BETTS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SILICON SLOPES Growing up, I spent countless hours throwing a baseball as hard as I could against the side of our family’s cinder block garage. If a better way of spending time existed, the world did a great job of keeping it secret. I thought “cinder block ball” was the official pastime of every boy in Spanish Fork, Utah. I thought it was normal to spend that much time alone, dreaming of the day I’d be able to put the Beehive State and the circumstances of my life in the rearview mirror. Last week I saw that old cinder block garage. My mind drifted back to that angry kid, tears streaming down his face as he attempted to escape reality by throwing a baseball until his arm went numb. I’m thankful for him. I’m thankful he didn’t give up. I hope he’d be proud of the person he is today. I hope he’d forgive me for the regrets, pain, and heartache I’ve created along the way. I hope he’d appreciate the way I love my wife Brooke and I hope he’d feel the overwhelming happiness our four children bring to life. I hope he wouldn’t be too mad he lives just a few minutes from that garage. It turns out Utah was too special to shake. It’s become more than a beautiful land filled with kind, earnest, and flawed folks trying their best to make it a better place – it’s become a personal reminder of a boy’s journey to a better and happier life. It’s become home, and for that I couldn’t be more thankful. I’m thankful for what we’ve built together. What makes Silicon Slopes special is the people who live, create, and serve here. Thank you for everything you’ve done to make this community what it is today.

+1-385-374-0888 SiliconSlopes.com

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MY EARLY LESSONS FROM THE POCKET CALCULATOR. SCOTT PETTY, SIGNAL PEAK VENTURES

The Litronix 1100

The early seventies saw the launch of the pocket calculator. As a kid at that time growing up in Palo Alto, I went door to door selling the Litronix 1100, one of the early pocket models. My father, an attorney who represented many startups including Litronix, would bring them home for me to sell. Compared to the “adding machines” of the day which were the size of a typewriter, the 1100 was small, sleek, portable, and with its LED display completely visible in the dark. As I went from house to house, I watched as my neighbors marveled over these tiny “adding machines.” So much so, they often promptly bought one, two, sometimes three calculators on the spot, with hardly any sales pitch.

When businesses and consumers recognize a pioneering, well-designed solution, they have to have it and can’t live without it. Novel product creates incredible kinetic energy for marketing and sales. Successfully growing a startup without state-of-the-art solutions or game changing business models is grueling, and at best full of expensive headwinds on the lead generation and conversion front. Truly groundbreaking solutions that are momentous, elegant, and simple don’t come along often. They don’t require brute force customer acquisition strategies. They fly off the shelves as my pocket calculators did in the early seventies. The greatest successes in my investment career have been with entrepreneurs who get this. They lead with innovation in mind, a deep understanding of their customers, and product management that is superlative. They understand that even the best marketing or sales strategy will lose out to ordinary solutions that do not enthrall users. At Signal Peak Ventures, we seek out entrepreneurs who believe this passionately—entrepreneurs who fervently believe great product solutions are second to none.

At a young age I saw first-hand the appeal of a new technology that could essentially sell itself. It was an early lesson that has always stuck with me. Innovative and unparalleled product is the tip of the enterprise spear.

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INCREASING UTAH’S SIGNIFICANCE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY.

IVY V. ESTABROOKE, PHD, VICE PRESIDENT, GOVERNMENT & COMMUNITY PROGRAMS, POLARITYTE The United States has long depended on innovation, technology, and small businesses to maintain economic prosperity and a national security advantage. While much of this economic growth has come out of hubs on the East and West Coasts, Utah has managed to create a non-traditional innovation ecosystem that has resulted in one of the nation’s fastest growing economies. But this is no time for complacency. Change is coming (as it always does), and Utah must be prepared. One of the critical components to maintaining our economic edge is to provide more support to organic growth from startups within the state. Utah has plenty of talent and good ideas, but moving those startups into the marketplace requires infrastructure and capital. We need to open up pathways to those who could change the world, if they only had the opportunity.

That (and the skiing, of course) is the reason I came to Utah – to provide opportunity to those who were looking for it. I came to work on a progressive idea that had challenges with expectations and execution. Bringing together government, academic, and private partners we fostered innovation and watched businesses grow. As a cognitive neuroscientist with expertise in emerging technology and government defense, I believe the collaboration of public and private sectors bringing technical understanding can make the biggest impact. As we continue to look for ways to maintain and increase Utah’s significance in a global economy, we should look to biotech as the new wave of revolution. In the last recession, biotech was one of only two sectors that continued to grow and is still growing here in Utah. I foresee the next innovation at the intersection of medicine and data analytics, providing insight for individual patients. Imagine the possibilities if we could use big research results and apply them at a personal level and for a manageable cost. That’s what inspires me – improving the quality of life for everyone by leveling the playing field for the innovators among us.

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THE POWER OF STORY.

GAVIN CHRISTENSEN, KICKSTART SEED FUND I believe our ecosystem has shown that there is no limit to the type of company or level of ambition that you can have here. However, it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when I was one of the few people who believed Utah needed a seed fund. Thinking back on the lessons learned from the journey that started in the Great Recession of 2008 with Kickstart’s founding to where we are now, I’m reminded of the power of story. In my case, it was the story of the quality and untapped potential of Utah entrepreneurs that I believed in so much I was willing to put everything on the line for. And when shared with local universities, angel investors, venture capital funds, and other key stakeholders, that story is what motivated them to participate in a seed fund the community could rally behind. Stories can seem commonplace and inconsequential, but there’s a lot of research supporting the fact that storytelling is something all entrepreneurial leaders need to master. Stories are powerful forces for change and entrepreneurs must be able to craft and share a compelling vision as they chart new territories. I love this quote from The Righteous Mind by Johnathan Haidt: “The human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor.” I’ve found storytelling to be essential in my own experience in building Kickstart and the entrepreneurial process in general. Entrepreneurs who master this skill and use it ethically will find it to be their greatest superpower.

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RAINBOWS AND PERFECT STORMS. KEN DAVIS, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, TASKEASY

Red Tape Through these sharing-economy enterprises, we are seeing for the first time two mutually exclusive business plans being executed simultaneously, and the business framework is still catching up. For example, there are nearly 10,000 sales tax jurisdictions in the United States. Normally, a contractor would work in only one of those jurisdictions at a time. While figuring out the rules for sales tax calculation, collection, remittance and reconciliation might be painful, it must be figured out only once. And the contractor can keep track of rule changes and make adjustments as necessary. A middle-provider company takes on that problem for everyone, everywhere. And the rules and regulations change constantly, so navigating the storm is no small task. We might collect only a few dollars in a jurisdiction but then pay filing fees or legal and accounting fees, and end up paying more in sales tax then we actually collect in revenue. One would think that with the number of new sharing-economy companies being formed – sitting between buyers and sellers – that the legal and regulatory landscapes would evolve to a format more conducive to these types of businesses, but the opposite is actually happening. Many jurisdictions are running their own experiments for how to best accommodate this new paradigm, and their experiments are not compatible with one another.

Legalities Incompatibility challenges abound. Because we work with contractors, we don’t control the exact schedule of the work they perform, but we do ask them to abide by all local regulations. We recently had an instance in which a contractor, who certified to us that he would abide by all local ordinances, chose to perform work on a Sunday in a locality that strictly enforces blue laws prohibiting such work. The local government came after TaskEasy, even asking us to appear before a judge, in person, to address the violation. As ridiculous as this sounds, this kind of breach happens all the time, and it’s often a far greater barrier to doing business than the cost of a civil fine. We constantly balance the costs – legal costs, the costs of management distraction, and the constant worry about what random unknown rule or regulation is going to be the next thing to surprise us – against being a strong advocate for our contractors, while still needing them to be responsible for these things.

The information age, a global economy and unparalleled connectivity have combined to create a rainbow of innovative opportunity, and one of the most pursued business avenues currently under that rainbow involves positioning oneself squarely between consumers and contractors—as in Airbnb, Uber, TaskEasy, Momni, Neighbor, and many others. While the rainbow may gleam brightly, to succeed with this business model, one must navigate the perfect storm of obstacles.

Duality First and foremost, these “sharing-economy” businesses are really operating two startups at the same time. And the needs of those startups are often not compatible with each other. Consumers want fixed low prices and timeliness, while contractors want variable high payments and total schedule flexibility. In some ways, the enterprise must operate as two separate businesses—with different leadership, different development, different marketing and sales talent, and different strategies. At the same time, those teams must come together while avoiding the friction inherent in such collisions. And when conflict can’t be avoided, both sides must be served through compromise.

In the end, the challenge is worth it. We’re building infrastructure that allows more buyers to work with more sellers more effectively. Offering customers the convenience of being able to click a button and have their lawns and yards magically cared for, with a high quality standard and a high degree of reliability, while providing a larger book of business than ever before to our contractors is our goal. Sharing-economy businesses may have to navigate the perfect storm now and then, but the rainbow of innovation is ever present on the horizon.

connect@taskeasy.com TaskEasy taskeasy.com 14

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WE ARE GROOMING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE COMPUTATIONAL THINKERS.

CARINE CLARK, SAAS CEO, PUBLIC BOARD MEMBER, SILICON SLOPES, STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

Thirty years ago when I started my career at Novell, I never imagined that someday Utah would benefit from a vibrant and amazing technology community, dubbed Silicon Slopes. Back then, technology was a small ecosystem in which super-nerdy coders and geeks – like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Michael Dell—would talk about things no one else understood. Technology was an industry-specific market like healthcare, manufacturing and aerospace. Today, technology is part of the fabric of every market. Utah is a frontier in more ways than one. While we continue to struggle in our drive for diversity, it’s still a great place to build companies, teams and communities. Silicon Slopes is home to more than its share of unicorns and founder-led companies, all focusing not only on growing technology but also on ensuring that our communities thrive and grow as well. If only technology grows and other parts of our community lag behind, we will have failed to use technology to improve life for all of us. Silicon Slopes has had tremendous success, but we still have a long way to go. For example, we long for more-diverse teams, as well as more diversity on our boards of directors. We need more women in executive and leadership positions. One public company CEO whom I know is determined to have 50% women on his board by the end of next year, and he’s having a hard time getting even halfway there. Our state has benefited from tremendous growth drivers, and yet we still have families at or below the poverty level and children who go to bed hungry. We struggle with clean-air issues. We struggle with tremendous pressures for our educational system, and we have children in elementary school who still can’t read. We strive for diversity of thought and look for cultural contributions from new members of our community. We see the tremendous potential in technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. We work closely with our colleges and universities to ensure that our students can “visit their future,” leapfrogging the struggles we had as we built our careers. We want to make sure they have access to capital, and we believe that every one of them can be an entrepreneur. We are grooming young people to be computational thinkers. Young people, especially young women, cannot be what they cannot see – we want them to see us working shoulder to shoulder with all kinds of people to build a better community. And we want them to be passionately curious. Because no matter how smart computers are and how fast technology moves, nothing can replace human curiosity. If we get this right, Utah will continue to be a great state.

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FROM SELLING OUT OF MY GARAGE, TO SLAYING IT ON SHARK TANK. RACHEL NILSSON, FOUNDER & CEO, RAGS

One of the most commonly asked questions I get is “What is it like to to be a woman CEO?” I have always found this question super interesting. As I have been in multiple leadership positions, I never really considered myself to be on an uneven playing field just because of my gender. Throughout my career, I have had more time to reflect on this through natural observation. I have realized that sometimes women’s more empathetic, compassionate, emotional sides were deemed as weaknesses when in leadership roles. In fact, there are so many times when I would see women leaders feeling the need to be harsh and hard in order to be “respected.” I believe, in most cases, that is actually unnecessary. A mistake. A self-inflicted burden. What a shame and disservice to everyone! While recognizing this, I have naturally learned some pretty important life lessons. I have learned it is in my best interest to lead with sincere empathy, real compassion and confidence. I have learned that my role doesn’t require the need to be harsh or scary in order to be respected. I have learned that I want to be a leader who leads by example and not by fear. My hope is that both men and women start to embrace how refreshing it is to have confident, empathetic, compassionate leaders at the helm. True leadership starts with leaders who will recognize and embrace these amazing qualities. No better time than now. The world is a-changin’.

| rags_to_raches ragscom ragstoraches | rags_com rags.com 16

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DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR? BLAKE MODERSITZKI, PELION VENTURE PARTNERS

“Don’t go it alone.” The life of an entrepreneur can be great – you’re your own boss, and you make the rules. But you are not the only one on the quest. Do you have the temperament to recruit, nurture and reward the team who has the skills and conviction to make your vision the reality? Help from the outside is also key. Surround yourself with great mentors – people who will guide you, push you, are willing to have the hard conversations with you. When you have expert guidance, support and motivation, you avoid beginner hurdles. Entrepreneurship impacts relationships, and physical and mental health. Is your family up for this journey?

“Accept that you may fail as often as you succeed.” Failure is likely, and success is not a given, at least not immediately. Understand the risk you are taking. Are you capable of learning from your mistakes and adapting?

“Don’t blame others.” At the end of the day, you can blame only yourself for failure – not your team, your mentors or events out of your control. It’s on you. A successful entrepreneur takes the heat and “fixes it.”

“Stay humble.” Just as you shouldn’t blame your team members for failures, you should not accept the praise for their successes. Are you capable of aiming the spotlight on the stars and feeling joy for their accomplishments?

“Do your homework.” Nobody is born an entrepreneur. Different people take different paths to achieving their definition of success. Just know: The entrepreneurial roller coaster of emotions is vast and deep.

Research, planning and deep thought are needed to succeed as an entrepreneur. Without proper preparation, your dream business could fail quite quickly.

No Matter the Generation, the Lessons Ring True “Focus on giving, not getting.” I’ve had a front-row seat to entrepreneurship my entire life. I grew up on a farm in Bancroft, Idaho. My father was a farmer who knew that if you came in from the fields without dirty hands, you were doing it wrong. My grandfather ran a furniture and carpentry startup, and my greatgrandfather owned a fleet of fishing vessels and a shipyard. From their wisdom, I gleaned the following lessons indispensible to entrepreneurial success.

In the great book The Go-Giver, a young man named Joe is a true go-getter, but he feels the harder and faster he works, the further his goals are from reach. Joe doesn’t achieve success until he understands that the power of seeking to give is far superior to the power of trying to get. Are you willing to give more to the entrepreneurial ecosystem than you take? In summary, ask yourself: Am I ready to be an entrepreneur? Do I have the risk tolerance, fortitude, passion and support to embark on a journey with the potential for both heartache and great success? pelionvp.com 17

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NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION AND THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE TODAY. SHAUNA SMITH, PRESIDENT, FOUR FOODS GROUP/SAVORY

I still remember opening day in our very first restaurant like it was yesterday. Except it wasn’t yesterday… it was 11 years ago. We had just moved into a newly developed area in Utah that was starved for eating establishments. We asked ourselves what we would love to eat if we got to choose. And that is how we found Kneaders. It was a success immediately, even in the midst of a recession. Imagine me with my hat and hairnet and apron on, managing one location with 60 or so employees. I was able to serve in every capacity in our restaurant and I learned so much about how to run a successful restaurant. We built Kneaders into a legacy brand. I had no idea what I was doing at the time. But I had been a sounding board for my husband while he was the CEO of two technology companies. I had a good start. Lots of deep digging, problem-solving and solution finding during those 14-15–hour days. I love the restaurant industry. I am Southernborn and raised in Alabama, so hospitality is in my DNA. I was meant to serve people through food. I appreciate that I get to work in an industry where hospitality is important. I think of restaurant founders who are in the same boat I was—trying to operate a successful business while growing and expanding. That is why we exist … we are the solution to that dilemma. As we partner with the original founders, we work together to execute the vision of each of our promising portfolio brands. I still think like an operator. It has served me well. I am in my second year as President of Four Foods Group. We serve as the Value-Add team to our Savory Fund which is focused on funding the growth and replication of promising brands. I wish there had been someone like us when I was getting started. I would have jumped at the chance to have the knowledge, know-how, the experience, and the support of Savory. Necessity is the mother of invention and that is why we are here today. My job as the President is to ensure each of our brands meets its full potential for growth. I work with each of the portfolio company’s leadership—R&R Barbeque, Mo’bettahs, and Swig—to ensure we have the right people in place, that they have all the necessary resources to execute their goals and to meet the vision we have for each brand while under our watch. For us, every day is Important—what we say, what it feels like, the experience our customers have. Our most important work happens inside the walls of each of our restaurants starting with our employees and guests to the delicious food that brings us all together. For me, I love to see our teams execute. I have done everything from A to Z in the restaurant business. And I know what it takes—it is hard work. And I LOVE every step of this process—to scale brands and being part of a winning team. The humans are the very best part of my work—from our value-add team to our brand teams to our guests and to our founders. Each one of them are the reason I wake up every day.

What is the legacy we want to leave as FFG/Savory? • • • • •

Grow & develop people, nourish individuals Positivity breeds success Successful brands, successful people Industry disruptor Abundance mentality—give back, share with others

fourfoodsgroup.com

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LIFELONG LEARNING, CHANGE, AND INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP. PROF./DR. SUSAN R. MADSEN, ORIN R. WOODBURY PROFESSOR OF LEADERSHIP & ETHICS, UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY

The most innovative leaders I know are those who are lifelong learners and who are constantly open to and thrive on change. In fact, many adult learning scholars argue that you really don’t learn unless you are transformed in some way. With these two concepts in mind, let me share some insights and advice. First, become a lifelong learner. People who are learners develop a growth mindset, which means they embrace challenges, learn from criticism, persist despite obstacles, see efforts as a path to mastery, and are inspired— instead of threatened—by other’s success. Lifelong learners are readers. They discover joy in acquiring knowledge that they can use in some way. These people often develop deep reflection skills and become more observant individuals. Interestingly, all these characteristics, and others, are linked to developing leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities. Why be a lifelong learner? Various studies have found that learners are better leaders, try new things, earn more money, are more independent, gain more skills and expertise, are more interesting and satisfied with life, have more active minds and knowledge, continue to gain cognitive skills as they age, and are more creative and innovative. Second, embrace change at the individual, organizational, and societal levels. Innovative leaders thrive on and flourish with change. How do you do this? Prepare for ongoing change and expect and accept that constant change is part of life, including in your family, work, church, community, and even leisure activities. Shift your mindset of viewing change as a hardship or trial to a positive challenge and growth opportunity. In addition, strengthen your self-efficacy to change, and believe you have a capacity to do so. You can only get more confidence in your ability to change if you practice. Hence, you might have more failure at first, but then you’ll get better and better. In addition, be proactive with change by volunteering and accepting new growth opportunities and becoming more open to feedback and new ideas. I believe that in today’s world we need more leaders who are innovative, and can problem-solve in ways we have never seen in the past. We need more courageous leaders who are willing to remain ethical, honest, and true to their values and beliefs. And, I believe that linking these characteristics with the ability to learn and change is what will make a true difference in the years to come.

Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University and also the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project. She is also a women and leadership author, speaker, and global thought leader.

Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership & Ethics Founding Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project Woodbury School of Business, Utah Valley University Orem, UT | +1-801-863-6176 madsensu@uvu.edu | utwomen.org

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DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING BECKY FROST, SENIOR DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS, INSTRUCTURE

In early 2016, Instructure launched its Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) Council to “make Instructure an awesome place to work for everyone.” Those were our words for the mission of the Council at the time, and building a workplace where people can thrive and develop in their careers remains a foundational tenet of our Council today. In 2017, the Council grew from a dozen members who work in our headquarters to more than 70 people from all of our offices around the world. We recognized our HQ-based approach could be more inclusive and encouraged all our offices to have DIB Council subcommittees. Today, we continue to learn, adjust, and ensure we cultivate a culture that is founded on diversity, inclusion, and our company values—and yes, we still focus on making Instructure awesome for everyone. We aren’t perfect, but we keep working. From the beginning, we have taken a different approach to diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Instead of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), we have workgroups of about 1020 people that partner with HR and come together to focus on the Council’s strategic pillars: Inclusion & Belonging at work and in community; Accessibility; Career Development; and Diverse Hiring. As the lead on the Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Council at Instructure, Becky Frost works closely with the executive sponsor, Jeff Weber, EVP of People and Places, ensuring that the Council’s work aligns closely with HR initiatives. She partners with global leaders to empower each office location to remain consistent with organizational goals, and relevant for their locations. This approach has meant that teams have the freedom to focus on areas they need most and interact with various community groups in unique ways.

+1-801-869-5017 press@instructure.com instructure.com 20

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CREATING POWERFUL WORK ENVIRONMENTS. ARIAN LEWIS, CEO & FOUNDER, KILN

Prior to starting Kiln, Arian led the creation of a global coworking brand for Barclays Plc. called Rise. Rise is exclusively for Fintech with locations in London, Manchester, NYC, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Cape Town, and Vilnius. Arian is a native of Utah and loves playing in the snow with his family. He holds an MBA from Oxford University and a BA from BYU. Co-working or flex office space currently represents less than 5% of the commercial office sector in the US but by 2030 it is expected to represent roughly 30%. Co-working is not a new concept but comes at a time when multiple trends are driving new demand to flex office or coworking. The modularity of business, lifestyle aspirations of millennials, and the ever-increasing need to compete for talent in tech are some of the drivers. Co-working can also help with speed to market. Startups can quickly connect with fellow founders and experts to solve problems and refine their products. Co-working also increases connectivity to others, creating a community where bonds and relationships can be formed. At Kiln we strive to create both an effective and uplifting office, where the friction of doing business is removed, whilst also curating a community. It is the connectivity to others, which creates the most meaningful outcomes. We can only be in one place at one time—and so we need to make it count. The people and place that surrounds us as we do our life’s work are critical. Where we work can impact our emotional and physical wellness, our perceptions of the work we are doing, and our relationship to the world around us. It can also have strategic and growth implications for our businesses. At Kiln we are on a journey to forge the future of work, forge a community that enables growth, and forge relationships that are meaningful. We are passionate about not only building an environment to grow a company but a community to support an individual.

+1-971-300-7887 hello@kiln.co kiln.co 21

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THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY IS FAR FROM DEAD. JENN FOSTER, CEO, ELITE ONLINE PUBLISHING

We often hear about the groundbreaking moment that inspires people, but for me, it was a series of moments that guided me. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit; it runs in my blood. My grandfather and father were wonderful examples of leadership and the freedom that owning a company brings. I recall the day when my grandfather told me the story of starting his first business, a roller-skating rental business. He was only 20 years old! I was inspired, and I still continue to be inspired by my family as they continue in their endeavors. My grandfather, Reuel Call, was an aviation innovator with Call Air, and built gas stations in the west, Maverik Country Stores. Like with any new business adventure, I faced challenges. I was always open to new ideas and decided to create a book writing retreat on the breaks of a marketing conference in San Diego. I embarked on the writing retreat hosted by my new joint-venture partner, Melanie Johnson, who owned a private villa in the Dominican Republic. Surrounded by authors and experts, the seeds to the beginning of our journey were planted. There was a synergy between my colleague and me, and that’s when it started clicking into place. I knew we each had unique skills we could bring to the table and build something together. I had the distinct thought that I wanted to help 100 authors not only get their books published but also achieve bestseller status on Amazon. The publishing industry is far from dead. It’s thriving in new ways thanks to innovative technologies, such as e-readers and audiobook recordings. In this day and age, we have access to a plethora of information and resources at the tip of our fingers. As technology is advancing, the means of consuming information will be even faster. Our purpose is to teach others the importance of sharing knowledge and leaving a legacy. You do this by writing a book. Books are the new business card — the kind that won’t get thrown in the trash. They establish your expertise and draw in more clients. Regardless of your challenges or hesitations, pursuing your own career goals and establishing a business is one of the most rewarding life experiences. The most vital aspect is continuing to learn and develop as advances are made in your industry. It has been five years since the bookwriting retreat in the Dominican Republic. We have a weekly podcast, Elite Expert Insider, where we interview experts to motivate, educate and inspire other business owners. My company, Elite Online Publishing, is nearing our goal of helping over 100 authors become bestsellers.

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CULTURE IS EVERYTHING. JONNY HANNA, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, HOMIE

Business consultant Peter Drucker once said “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” and I’m a believer. Culture is everything. It’s true that you can have a financially successful company leading by fear and threatening to fire people if they don’t follow your lead. But fear-based leadership styles and cultures pit people and departments against each other, chase out the best talent, and cause turnover to flourish. Those who choose to stay end up working in misery, surrounded by jealousy, gossip, and extreme competition with co-workers who should be partners and friends. I can promise you that a culture of happiness, trust, and safety will bring more lasting success to any business venture than a culture of fear ever will. A humanity-focused culture allows qualities like compassion, care, loyalty, and empathy to shine. Innovation thrives, productivity increases, and the best talent stays. If your employees feel taken care of, your clients will feel taken care of, which in turn takes care of your investors and stakeholders. A focus on a healthy culture is a focus on the emotional health of your employees. And a healthy culture has nothing to do with ping-pong tables or bagel Fridays. In order to build a culture of safety and trust, your executives must lead by example. Cultural success starts with defining a set of core values that support the mission and vision of the company and using them as a compass for hiring and training employees. At Homie, we formed a culture committee comprised of employees at every level to uncover and define our core values. We live these values every day, making them a barometer for our success as a group and as individuals. As a result, employees feel confident in our expectations. They feel heard. They feel safe. Homie’s Core Values: We’ve Got Your Back Loyalty • Homies come first • Obsess over the customer • There’s only one “La Familia” Fight For Your Right Balance • Work is part of your life but it’s not your life • Hustle at work, hustle at home • It’s not about getting more things done, it’s about getting the right things done

The Status Ain’t Quo Disruption • Start with why • Power to the people • Leadership doesn’t need permission Check Yourself Humility • No egos • Progress over perfection • Grateful isn’t dead

If you don’t focus on a culture of safety, you may end up with a culture rooted in anxiety and uncertainty. The good news is that it’s never too late to turn culture around. Many leaders have written books and created training guides on the topic. Some of my favorites include Built on Values, The Advantage, Delivering Happiness, Start with Why, and Connexions Classroom. I’m happy to be a resource as well. Culture most definitely eats strategy for breakfast, but if you can combine the two by applying a well-defined strategy to create a culture of empowerment, your business will be unstoppable.

About Johnny Hanna: Johnny Hanna is the co-founder and CEO of Homie. Homie is a tech-first brokerage building software to streamline home buying and selling with a mission to eliminate unnecessary fees and commissions. Homie is building a full-stack platform to simplify the entire process from contract to close—including home loans, title, escrow, and home insurance. Prior to Homie, Johnny was co-founder and president of Entrata, formerly known as Property Solutions, where he spent 12 years changing the face of the apartment industry by building marketleading real estate software. Johnny helped grow the company’s revenues to over $100 million in annual recurring revenue and over $1 billion in monthly rent payment processing. He led sales, client services, and human resources for Entrata. He also focused on building an amazing workplace culture and hiring hundreds of employees that won Entrata “The Best Place to Work in Utah County” award. Entrata has received numerous awards like “Technology Fast 500” by Deloitte 2012, Utah’s 5th “Largest Job Creator” in First Annual Inc. Hire Power Awards 2012, Gold in 2012 W3 Web Creativity Awards, “Most Innovative” in MHN Technology Choice Awards, and “Best Consumer Products & Services App” by Tabby Awards. Johnny earned a B.S. in Business Management at BYU Idaho. homie.com

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HERDING CATS & CODERS This is not a book for programmers. This book is for those who have to work with programmers and programming teams to get software built for their businesses.

Most people responsible for software projects are CEOs, marketing directors, project managers, and entrepreneurs. Not being on the same page as your development team leads to poor products, cost overruns, and project failures. Herding Cats and Coders will put you on the same page as the techies. This is the perfect book for a non-technical manager, whether working with an outside developer, a development team, or an agency. And to avoid boring you to death by turning this book into a dry, technical treatise, I’ve kept things lighthearted—and irreverent at times. If you are a non-technical user or manager who either works with developers or plans on engaging with software engineers to build something, Herding Cats and Coders will help you succeed. gregrossmunro gregdrm

Get it on Amazon today!

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DISRUPTING THE GLOBAL BOOK BUSINESS FOUNDER/CEO, INTERNATIONAL GROUP PUBLISHER - GLOBALVILLAGE.WORLD How is the commercial book publishing world being disrupted? Some clients joke with us that we are bringing back a dying art form as books are cool again. The business model however has changed completely, gone are the days of pay to play by selling advertorials or advertising. A great book on an ecosystem or industry needs to be authentic and all encompassing of all the major players sharing their story, not just who ever paid to be in there. To finance that we moved to a crowd funded book buying model where the market and the participants buy the books in bulk to use as gifts to clients, visitors, investors and employees. You also need to add technology to the printed book by embedding augmented reality videos into its pages, we do that by hiding QR codes behind the images that a mobile phone can read to activate a video. The books also need to be available online as ebooks, a blog and ultimately a forum where all the participants can communicate with each other. How do you set up your business in new cities and countries? We look for skilled marketing professionals in each city that know their community well and form 50/50 partnerships with them where they collect the stories and we design and print the book. We are a fast growing tribe of fun and energetic publishing entrepreneurs, partners and friends. We all share a passion for innovation, beautiful places and cultures that we want to embrace, share and showcase with the rest of the world. We are always looking for marketing entrepreneurs to join our team, please reach out to me on LinkedIn or info@ globalvillage.world.

The top three reasons being, Dubai has more than a million business savvy expats living there from 120 different countries. When you network in Dubai you network with the world. Going Global means you have to fly constantly. When it comes to flying, the world is flat and Dubai is in the middle, you can reach more than 80% of the globe with a direct flight. That is a big deal when you add up cost, time and jet lag. Last but not least, Dubai is a tax-free country with no business or personal taxes. That being said you cannot beat the lifestyle of Tampa Bay so the head office will always remain right here.

How do you set up a global business quickly?

Sven Boermeester is a global publishing entrepreneur with a career that spans over 20 years with stops in more than 100 countries. He was Born in Antwerp, Belgium and grew up in South Africa. After completing his business studies in Cape Town, he opened his first media company and started publishing the trade and industry directories for South Africa followed by the launch of the Best of the World publishing series in Dubai. Fast forward 20 years and 183 ‘Best of’ editions across 60 countries, Sven now lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and young son. He is working on disrupting the publishing business by mapping out the Innovation ecosystems of every major city in the U.S. and around the world, through his latest Innovation books and augmented reality video series.

My advice is to set up a small branch in Dubai and spend some time there if you have the means to do that. Dubai even more so than Singapore is the crossroads of the world for many reasons.

Email: info@globalvillage.world sven-boermeester-8605823 www.GlobalVillage.world www.InnovationsOfTheWorld.com 25

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CHAPTER TWO

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FUTURE CITIES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 26

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“If you look at history, innovation doesn’t come just from giving people incentives; it comes from creating environments where their ideas can connect.” —STEVEN JOHNSON

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SILICON SLOPES

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Silicon Slopes is the voice, hub, and heart of Utah’s startup and tech community.

ELEVATOR PITCH We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization empowering Utah’s startup and tech community to learn, connect, and serve in an effort to make entrepreneurship and opportunity in Silicon Slopes open and accessible to all.

OUR STORY Spanning from Logan to St. George, Silicon Slopes is a state-wide organization and the official moniker of Utah’s startup and tech community. Thanks to the Silicon Slopes community, Utah is a vibrant, diverse, global innovation

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hub with some of the greatest entrepreneurs and companies in the world. Silicon Slopes reaches a unique audience of more than 250,000 on a monthly basis through our various media channels and properties. We organize and host more than 200 events annually, including Silicon Slopes Tech Summit, the largest and most prominent tech event in Utah with more than 20,000 attendees. Silicon Slopes events attract more than 40,000 total attendees over the course of a year. With more than 6,500 startup and tech companies in Utah, Silicon Slopes is home to entrepreneurs and leaders who have earned global recognition through hard work, a focus on building exceptional companies, and a willingness to give back and serve others. Silicon Slopes believes opportunity only exists to all if we’re willing to extend it to all. We have a responsibility to ensure the Silicon Slopes

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don’t rise while the rest of Utah falls or remains stagnant. Entrepreneurship is often just as much about chances that are given as it is about chances that are taken. Silicon Slopes strives to give a chance to anyone with a desire to take and earn it. Once earned, an expectation is set to reach back and give a chance to someone new. While we’re making real progress towards becoming more welcoming and open to entrepreneurs of every stripe and background, there is still a long way to go before the battle is won. The struggle to break into this game is all too real for those who can’t even get a ticket. We must assume a leading role in this effort. Silicon Slopes is an organization and community that is open and welcoming to everyone without regard to religion, race, gender, class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or origin of birth. Welcome to Silicon Slopes. Welcome to your community.

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STACK REAL ESTATE

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STACK Real Estate’s story began in 2006 with a gamble on 120 acres in the middle of thennowhere—next to Thanksgiving Point. Despite bordering only horse pastures and hayfields, Andrew and Nathan envisioned this piece of property becoming Utah’s premier, Class A Office Park. The land was purchased and Thanksgiving Park, STACK’s first development, was born. In August 2007, they closed on the construction loan for their first 150,000-square-foot office building. The next month, Lehman Brothers failed and the economy headed into a tailspin. Despite the shaky economic footing, they carried on and finished the building in November 2008. Speaking of that first year, Andrew remarked, “Times were tough. We fought hard for any deal we could get in order to hit the loan covenants hanging over our head. We were fortunate enough to land some awesome 30

tenants—Microsoft, Sorenson Capital, Propay, and Lingotek.” Andrew and Nathan ran with that momentum constructing five more 150,000-square-foot buildings, completing the park they envisioned and creating a vital seedbed for many of Silicon Slopes most promising startups. With Thanksgiving Park’s success, Andrew and Nathan broadened their scope and STACK evolved from a “project” at Thanksgiving Point, to a premier Real Estate Development company within Silicon Slopes. Today, STACK Real Estate owns and operates 20+ commercial real estate buildings, totaling 2.7+ million square feet of Class A office, retail, and hotel space along Utah’s Tech Corridor. With more than double that amount in the pipeline, STACK is actively influencing and innovating how and where tenants use office space.

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STACK applauds the national recognition Silicon Slopes has garnered and the unique ecosystem Utah has fostered for the growth of its tech scene. The last twelve years have been the perfect storm for STACK Real Estate’s explosive growth and they are quick to credit Utah’s economic climate for facilitating their success. From the beginning, STACK has had one intent: Build the Best Buildings, in the Best Locations, for the Best Tenants- a philosophy everyone at STACK is eager to perpetuate as they continue to build Utah’s brand through infrastructure.

stackwithus.com 31

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PASSIVELOGIC “Building Automation, Meet Future.”

For most of us, buildings are the background noise. The ubiquitous backdrop to our work and play. PassiveLogic decided to focus the technology lens on this neglected vertical to improve the human-building interaction for the entire marketplace. Globally, buildings consume 36% of all energy demand and this continues to increase by 3% per year. The lowest hanging fruit for reducing this energy consumption is to optimize the way buildings are controlled. A U.S. Department of Energy study from over a decade ago concluded that building controls and automation was the best opportunity for addressing building inefficiency, and yet the problem still persists. However, technologists have done little to 32

address this opportunity in a substantive way. In fact, remarkably, building controls in 2019 are based on a foundation of 19th century technologies like the mercury thermostat.

OUR STORY PassiveLogic founders Troy Harvey and Jeremy Fillingim looked at this underperforming technology foundation being applied to the most complex controlled infrastructure in the world. They saw an opportunity for transforming an entire marketplace through innovation. The underlying problem is a considerable mismatch between the complexity

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Troy Harvey, CEO of the controlled systems and the automation tools being used to model those systems. Bolton point solutions from other companies create unnecessary complexity while still not achieving the intended goals. In contrast, PassiveLogic founders took a holistic, systemsbased approach. A systems engineering approach re-invents building control from the ground up, starting by tossing out relic technology. The keystone of PassiveLogic’s redesign is physics-based deep digital twins. A digital twin is a virtual version of a physical object, system, or process — the link between the physical and digital worlds. These digital representations of the real world can be manipulated, simulated, and analyzed to understand building systems, behaviors, and interactions that are too difficult or expensive to observe in the physical environment.

OUR SOLUTION Deep digital twins directly model the physical complexity of actual systems without oversimplification, enabling buildings to operate autonomously. Fully Autonomous Buildings develop their own control sequences on the fly in response to changing conditions. The digital models can be extended to predict the future, showing the implications of a control or environmental change on the systems being modeled. PassiveLogic’s innovation enables the understanding of not just “what” occurred, but “how”, “why”, and “what will be”. The real value of this innovative approach is that when a building fundamentally understands its own physics, it is then possible to evaluate 33

its performance—including energy usage— and make control decisions that optimize for efficiency. In fact, when artificial intelligence and machine learning are applied to these deep digital twins, not only can we optimize a building’s control in the moment, but we can compare futures and continuously improve a building’s performance over time. PassiveLogic’s innovation allows buildings to no longer be a forgotten backdrop, but rather become value-enhancing assets that belong in the 21st century. Autonomous Buildings will reshape how people interact with, design, manage, and maintain the built environment.

Passivelogic.com

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ATWOOD INNOVATION PLAZA AT DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY The premier entrepreneurship and innovation center for Southern Utah.

ELEVATOR PITCH The Atwood Innovation Plaza at DSU boasts numerous resources and personnel a student or community member may need to either launch or grow their business, including a business resource center, patent and intellectual property center, makerspace and manufacturing center, private co-working space, the Jarem Hallows Business Incubator, Lovesac Startup Lounge, and the Miller Innovation Hub.

OUR STORY Located in the old East Elementary School, entrepreneurship has breathed new life into a building rich in history and memories. With significant renovations and modifications, this facility lends itself to housing entrepreneurship Atwood Innovation Plaza is home to numerous industry pipeline programs, including Code Camp, a gathering of 300 students competing in an annual 24-hour coding challenge.

Lindsay Atwood, Dixie State University Trustee Lindsay Atwood, Naming donor of Atwood Innovation Plaza

Innovation Guidance and Solutions Center Director Wayne Provost provides prototyping instruction through 3D printing available in the Cleantech makerspace at Atwood Innovation Plaza. 34

Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Executive Director & Zions Bank Business Resource Center Executive Director, Don Willie

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activity, including education, training, manufacturing, events and even housing startup companies themselves. Atwood Innovation Plaza is led by TIE Center Executive Director Don Willie and is successful because of the key stakeholders who play a critical role in building and sustaining the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. These groups include the Zions Bank Business Resource Center (ZBBRC) and co-working hub, The Innovation Guidance and Solutions Center, the Makerspace, ACE Academy, and several offices of academic innovation. The Zions Bank Business Resource Center provides no-cost technical support to startups and innovators. ZBBRC staff are experienced business mentors and offer support in business planning and formation, developing pitch decks, performing customer validation, identifying and pursuing funding/investment, marketing a product/service, and technical education in business, marketing, social media, and more. This center also has six private offices and six open workspaces that are available for startup companies to rent as well as a private podcast and photo studio. This office works in collaboration with the Jarem Hallows Business Incubator, which is focused on developing business concepts from gaps or pain-points within industry. The Innovation Guidance and Solutions Center supports innovators who are looking to secure patents, trademarks, copyrights, and more on their property. This center also works to prototype products during the initial phases of

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The Atwood Innovation Plaza Makerspace includes both metal and wood shops. These prototyping and small-run-manufacturing spaces are funded through donations from Lindsay and Laura Atwood as well as a grant through the Economic Development Administration research and development. This center is also home to a robust business mentor network that can be leveraged to support early-stage concepts through a company launch. The Makerspace at DSU includes nearly 8,000 square feet of prototyping and manufacturing equipment, making it one of the largest makerspaces in the state of Utah. Open to the community, innovators are able to prototype or perform small-run manufacturing on 3D printers, laser cutters/engravers, wide-format printers, craft machines, sewing machines, electronics, and more. The first phase of the makerspace opened in March 2019 and was expanded due to demand. A woodshop and metal shop were subsequently opened in November 2019.

Key Leadership involved: Don Willie, Executive Director, Zions Bank Business Resource Center & Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Lindsay Atwood, Trustee, Dixie State University Richard Williams, President, Dixie State University Michael Lacourse, Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dixie State University Kyle Wells, Dean, College of Business, Dixie State University Eric Pedersen, Dean, College of Engineering, Science and Technology, Dixie State University Wayne Provost, Director, Innovation, Guidance and Solutions Center Trevor Clingman, Program Coordinator, Zions Bank Business Resource Center at Dixie State University Zack Manweiler, Program Coordinator, Makerspace at Dixie State University Rick Atkin, Program Director, Dixie Business Incubator

Several offices of academic innovation are housed at Atwood Innovation Plaza. These offices research and implement innovative teaching methods that can be used both inside and outside the classroom as well as online learning opportunities. Atwood Innovation Plaza is named after the late Dixie State University Trustee Lindsay Atwood, who was a lifelong entrepreneur and businessman. Lindsay was passionate about inspiring entrepreneurs and fostering innovation. The primary financial contributors to this facility are Dixie State University, Lindsay and Laura Atwood, The United States Economic Development Administration, The Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation, Zions Bank and Love Sac.

Atwood Innovation Plaza at Dixie State University located in St. George, Utah

Don Willie, Executive Director, Zions Bank Business Resource Center & Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center 453 South 600 East | St. George, Utah 84770 | 9AM-5PM, Monday–Friday | +1-435-652-7741 | Innovation.dixie.edu 35

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ROLLINS CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY

Executive Director and longtime entrepreneur Petersen had recently read these books when he became the director of CET in 2010, and they spoke to his experiences in starting his own companies. The core insight was that entrepreneurship (an innovative, disruptive startup) does not equal an existing successful business. “Business is executing on a known business model,” says Petersen, “while entrepreneurship is discovering the answers to unknown, untested, untried, and unproven business models. So if you teach entrepreneurship like it’s an existing business, you will fail.” In the old days, companies were started by someone merely running an idea by “friends and family, developed further into a business model,” and then, according to Petersen, they would begin building their product and company, with money the founders had raised from “friends, family, and fools.” After they had built their product and “set up shop,” they would begin taking the product to market, only to find the market didn’t want what they had built, which is one strong reason more than nine of ten new startups fail.

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Instead of this, BYU Marriott’s Rollins Center adopted the principles of the lean startup model, where startups are taught to fully develop new ideas, test those ideas and early assumptions with real potential customers, and then, after many iterations, begin to build early virtual prototypes and minimum viable products, where further testing with customers continues before investing any meaningful dollars or time into the new venture. Says Petersen, “Once customers have validated your idea and early

The Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (CET) at Brigham Young University, with Scott Petersen as its executive director, is BYU’s innovative program within the Marriott School of Business, and was the first university entrepreneurship program in the world to fully adopt the principles inspired by the lean startup movement.

OUR STORY The story of the modern era of BYU Marriott’s CET starts with its adoption of the “lean startup” model—the first university in the world to do so. The model is based on three books: The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank, Nathan Furr and Paul Ahlstrom’s Nail It Then Scale It, and Running Lean by Ash Maurya.

Did You Know: CET has been ranked a Top 5 entrepreneurship program nationwide every year since 2014.

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business model, it is appropriate to seek early capital to finish finding product-market fit and to continue to grow the new venture.” The first stage for CET’s entrepreneurs is idea generation, innovation, and iterating the potential business model. This involves market research and “getting outside the building” to uncover gaps or problems with current market offerings. After that comes identifying what can be improved upon through brainstorming, innovating, and iterating with their team, and eventually building a virtual prototype—the same as drawing up blueprints before building a home. Using 3D-printed prototypes or virtual prototypes (wireframes), entrepreneurs can then present their early business model to potential customers. Being informed by a substantial number of customer interviews and learnings, they can then build what is known as an MVP, minimum viable product, and sell this early version to a handful of early adopters who believe in the disruption they are bringing to the marketplace. With additional iterations and customer learnings from these early adopters, CET’s entrepreneurs can then build their next iteration, a minimum salable product, which is offered to a few more companies. The learnings from these 20-125 companies then lead to further product development, which leads to a MAP—a minimum awesome product. At this point the product is delivering sufficient value that customers would buy and recommend it, and the company can prepare to build its initial early infrastructure. This is all made possible because of the early discipline in how a company should be started, so that it can secure the needed capital for growth, or it is in a stage to successfully grow through bootstrapping or internal funding. Most wannabe startups won’t get through this first stage, but failure here is not really failure—it is quitting before you actually start so that significant capital and labor are not needlessly spent and neither the entrepreneurs nor investors have really lost anything. Then the entrepreneur can start all over again with a different idea until they find a model worth pursuing. “This is the advantage of the lean startup methodology,” says Petersen. “You save yourself a lot of time, energy, and money—and you don’t scar your reputation with investors in the meantime!”

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If an entrepreneur’s idea passes, they start to build the early infrastructure of their company, often with seed money, which is used for product development, reviewing architecture for scale potential, onboarding, marketing and sales, and then team building. At BYU, the end of this particular stage of company-building is the BMC, or Business Model Competition. Here students compete for large cash earnings as a reward for following the correct method of building a solid company. The third quadrant, or stage of companybuilding, is customer development. As student entrepreneurs progressively build their startup in the right order, the CET wants to reward traction in getting new customers, increasing revenue, developing a product informed by real customers, and cementing important strategic partnerships. The competition it holds in connection with this part of company-building is the New Venture Challenge. The top-ten teams each earn $15,000 and an automatic invite to the summer Founders Launchpad, an accelerator modeled after Y Combinator from Silicon Valley. CET also invites 10 more teams (that aren’t paid) to participate in the summer launchpad. These teams view it as a great prize to get accepted into the summer program. “This model is why we have a giant list of companies that are scaling,” says Petersen. “Companies such as Owlet, Podium, Divvy, Foreup, Jolt, Sales Rabbit, and many others over just the past few years.” But the purpose of the Rollins Center is not success at all costs. Its vision statement is to lead in developing responsible entrepreneurs of faith and character—“young people who can go out and build these exciting companies,” says Petersen, “and at the same time be a force for good wherever they go.” Petersen also attributes the success of CET to its many donors, called Founders, who support the Center financially and experientially. Some of these Founders also serve as adjunct professors who are successful entrepreneurs, passing along to the rising generation their unique skills and experience. BYU also has an outstanding engineering college, Life Sciences college, and Math and Physical Sciences college.

“We seek to build powerful relationships with the entire university community. And so, notwithstanding our current success, we’re still just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our potential,” says Petersen. “So you have to look around at what we’ve achieved and say ‘Wow!’” The future looks bright indeed! To learn more about BYU Marriott’s CET, visit marriott.byu.edu/cet

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THE UTAH BLACK CHAMBER

ELEVATOR PITCH Over the last five years, Utah’s minority population has increased dramatically. Utah has always been known as very homogenous, and the community has been working to change that perception. One of the organizations committed to this mission is the Utah Black Chamber. The Utah Black Chamber was founded on September 9, 2009, by James Jackson, III, from West Jordan, Utah.

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OUR STORY The original premise of the chamber was to provide education, resources, and tools to facilitate the growth of Utah’s small black businesses. However, the focus broadened as companies were struggling to retain their diverse talent. So, the chamber expanded its mission to enhance the overall economic development of Utah’s Black Community. The chamber serves as a hub for companies to identify and build relationships with the black community to recruit talent, provide resources and education for business and personal growth, and be an advocate for policies that can further stimulate the growth of the overall community. The chamber also founded its 501(c)(3) arm, the UAACC Charitable Foundation, in 2018 to further its mission in enhancing the economic prosperity of Utah’s Black community through health, education, and resources. The Utah Black Chamber has relationships and collaborates with local, city, and state government organizations, business resources, and other chambers to establish a “bridge of trust” to help Utah’s leading organizations become more diverse and inclusive. According to the 2010 Census, the black population has grown over 30% since the chamber was founded, and the growth has progressively increased due to Utah having one of the nation’s top economies and a steady growth of companies moving into Utah.

To help companies attract and retain diverse talent, the chamber co-founded and are in current development of several programs. In September of 2018, the online diversity guide, www.livingcolorutah.com, was created by Utah’s diverse chambers and organizations to get people connected to Utah’s diverse community. The diverse chambers launched the Utah Diversity Career Fair in 2017. The fair attracts over 50 employers and 250 job seekers each year and growing, and are working with colleges and universities to strengthen the relationships with companies to continue building a pipeline of diverse talent. The chamber also works with other black organizations to not only connect

the community, but also to collaborate with other organizations to provide more education and resources to the community for business and personal growth.

EVENTS First Friday is the chamber’s signature networking event, which occurs in the evening of the first Friday of each month. A BBQ in the park was the chamber’s first-ever event and had an attendance of about 200 people. That BBQ has now transformed to a massive community event in downtown Salt Lake City with BBQ and a Motown show and attracts nearly 8,000 people. Another big event is the chamber’s Evening in Harlem, which recognizes the Harlem Renaissance to celebrate Black History Month. This is the chamber’s only fundraising event of the year that focuses on the mission of its charitable foundation. The chamber also hosts luncheons and breakfasts throughout the year which focus on education and resources for the community. The Utah Black Chamber is a champion for the diverse community, and an influential partner for Utah’s overall economic growth as companies become more aware that diversity adds dividends.

+1-801-747-9134 info@utahblackchamber.com utahblackchamber.com 39

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WORLD TRADE CENTER UTAH ELEVATOR PITCH An official member of the World Trade Centers Association, World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) is a 501(c)-6 nonprofit organization that was founded in 2006 as the statewide voice of international business. WTC Utah’s mission is to lead Utah’s international business development and elevate Utah’s global status to promote prosperity and build economic resilience. International business supports nearly one (1) in five (5) jobs in our state as 95% of consumers live outside of the United States. A wide range of Utah products— from chocolate to 3D-printed antennas—can be found in 197 markets around the world. WTC Utah supports this growth by pursuing three key objectives: 1) Empower Utah businesses to expand international sales to increase revenue and

create jobs, 2) Attract foreign investment and facilitate international partnerships to fuel innovation and business development, and 3) Mobilize Team Utah’s international engagement to elevate Utah’s global status. Many of WTC Utah’s programs, like Governor-led international trade missions, give local innovative companies an opportunity to make business connections in other countries while learning how to successfully expand into a new region. Utah-based Optisys, a cutting-edge antenna design company, specializes in using 3D printing to create the industry’s lightest weight and smallest antennas— the backbone for next-generation 5G wireless data systems. WTC Utah programs have enabled Optysis to participate in two trade missions and an aerospace trade show to help the company position itself to expand significantly over the next five years, primarily into Asia, Europe, and Mexico.

Miles Hansen, President & CEO of WTC Utah

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Following WTC Utah’s Governor-led trade mission to Taiwan and South Korea, Janos Opra, Chief Business Officer of Optisys, stated, “The trade mission was essential for Optisys in meeting with customers, including a Vice President of Samsung Electronics, and having the backing of WTC Utah added legitimacy to our company. We’re excited to capitalize on the momentum generated on the trade mission to drive our growth in Asia and beyond.” In September in 2019, the organization set out again on a Governor-led trade mission—this time to Hong Kong and Japan. Additionally, WTC Utah hosts multiple inbound trade delegations from countries such as Qatar and China to showcase the state’s business prowess firsthand. Each year, WTC Utah leads dozens of innovative Utah companies to industry-specific trade shows around the world. Hand-selected to represent the state abroad, these high-potential companies are given the opportunity to take their innovative products to international markets and to attract investment. Focusing on aerospace and defense, advanced materials, biotech, advanced manufacturing, and outdoor industries, these companies travel to the biggest trade shows in the world, including the Paris Air Show, OutDoor Germany, JEC Composites, and Bio Korea, to show the world what Utah has to offer. To further assist Utah companies and enable them to travel abroad, WTC Utah also offers grants to small and medium-sized companies who are interested in exporting. These grants are made possible through generous contributions from the US Small Business Administration and the US Department of Agriculture. An effort of this scale requires a lot of local lift. By engaging the public and private sector in support of Utah’s strongest industries, WTC Utah can leverage its unique position as a public-private partnership to provide strategic leadership that lifts local efforts to a global level. We work to mobilize an inclusive “Team Utah” approach in order to avoid duplicating resources and leveraging collective efforts towards Utah’s international objectives. Foreign investment activities will also thrive through this team approach, as the state works to attract investment to match foreign investors with opportunities in Utah. As stewards with our partners of Utah’s global brand, WTC Utah will continue to be a strategic leader for elevating the state’s presence internationally. info@wtcutah.com +1-801-532-8080 wtcutah.com

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HEALTHCARE, BIOLOGY & HUMAN HEALTH 42

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“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” —ALBERT EINSTEIN

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LINEAGEN ELEVATOR PITCH Lineagen’s mission is to accelerate and enhance access to behavioral screening and genetic diagnostics to transform care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other disorders of childhood development. By combining the most advanced testing technology with dedicated genetic counseling and insurance support, we make genetic answers accessible and timely for these children and their families.

OUR STORY Michael S. Paul, PhD CEO/President

Lineagen assists families and their healthcare providers access to high quality genetic tests with a goal of helping personalize medical management for those with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. To date, Lineagen has been providing genetic testing services to families and their healthcare providers for over 9 years and has performed over 60,000 tests for those with neurodevelopmental concerns. We developed our services with families in mind, including DNA collection through a cheek swab (rather than a blood draw). We have several testing options, including chromosomal microarray, fragile X syndrome testing, whole exome and whole genome sequencing, and pharmacogenomic testing. Lineagen helps speed up the diagnostic process by offering m-chat.org, a free online screening tool to help 44

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determine if children are at risk for autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, we now offer a telehealth platform through MyDevelopingChild.com that allows families access to genetic testing from the convenience of home without needing to wait months to see a specialist. All services include access to licensed/certified genetic counselors who discuss differences in tests, explain the results, and provide resources and information for next steps. Whether it’s helping with behavioral screening, understanding test results and the implications to family planning, or navigating the insurance process, we help you every step of the way. Often times, parents are told many possible explanations for their child’s symptoms without ever receiving a definitive and accurate diagnosis. Today, FirstStepDx PLUS® and NextStepDx PLUS® testing services help providers pinpoint the genetic cause of delay and develop a personalized healthcare management program for their patients. Testing today means more appropriate treatment as soon as possible. Our FirstStepDx PLUS uses chromosomal microarray (CMA) testing

technology can detect hundreds of genetic conditions and is recommended as the first-tier test for developmental delay according to nationally accepted guidelines. Our NextStepDx PLUS uses whole exome sequencing (WES) testing technology as a second-line test to detect genetic variations that FirstStepDx PLUS CMA might not detect. For parents, one of the most important advantages in testing with Lineagen is that we don’t require a blood draw to get a DNA sample. No needles, no tears; all of Lineagen’s tests, including FirstStepDx PLUS and NextStepDx PLUS, use a painless cheek swab for DNA sampling. After your test is run, we give you the results, in a detailed, easyto-understand and personalized report. If you have questions about your results, you can contact our team of licensed/certified genetic counselors. Finally, we are the insurance-reimbursement experts. Our team of reimbursement specialists handles everything, from preauthorizations to appeals, so the insurance burden doesn’t fall on you or your doctor. While there are many laboratories that provide genetic testing, Lineagen is the only laboratory solely dedicated to children’s health issues and that provides these additional levels of service for families. We’re helping individuals with developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder through our cutting-edge genetic testing services, clinically-impactful reports, and insurance-reimbursement expertise.

2677 East Parleys Way Salt Lake City, UT 84109 +1-801-931-6200 lineagen.com 45

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EMPATH HEALING AND WELLNESS ELEVATOR PITCH Empath Healing and Wellness creates safe spaces for healing—particularly for mental-health healing and particularly for Utah’s diverse community. Empath’s focus on whole-person healing begins with exactly what its name suggests: meeting patients wherever they are on their journey to wellness.

OUR STORY Melanie Davis’ path to becoming a practitioner of holistic psychotherapy began long before her years of schooling and working in a group practice. Her mother was a social worker, and from an early age, Melanie witnessed the significant role that emotional intelligence plays in working with others—especially when they are struggling. In founding Empath Healing and 46

Wellness, Melanie sought a name that reflected the all-important skill of being in-tune with another’s emotional state and their story. “Empath felt like the most authentic fit. That concept of Empathy is at the core of connecting with people on their mental-health journey,” Melanie says. As she earned her degrees and license, Melanie focused primarily on treating anxiety and depression, but after years in a group practice, she saw a need for a more focused approach, one that addressed the needs of a diverse community, families and children of color, and families going through transracial adoptions. As someone who was adopted and is African-American, Melanie also saw that she was in a unique position to provide that focused care. “I realized that for some groups of people looking to treat their anxiety, depression, or trauma, there weren’t spaces that they perceived as being safe,” Melanie says. “There are fantastic

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providers throughout the State of Utah, but sometimes people feel their therapist may not understand their story. Because feeling comfortable and safe is the first step toward healing, it’s so important that people—no matter their background or that of their therapist—find someone they can relate to.” People of all races and backgrounds have found exactly that in Empath Healing and Wellness. Some even travel from southern Utah or out-of-state to see Melanie, or her husband France, Empath’s medical director. Empath Healing and Wellness’ provision of care is a bit like a Venn Diagram, where its circles include adoption, race, trauma, anxiety and depression, families and children, and Utah’s culture itself. The practice is as strong in one area as it is in another, and the overlap between those circles makes the practice unique and particularly suited to supporting the community.

“In Utah, there is a huge population of people struggling with mental illness,” Melanie explains. “We have high rates of suicide in Utah and significantly high rates of depression that lead to suicide in children and adults. “As with any region, there are unique cultural aspects here—and cultural oppressive behaviors—that are reflected in the mental-health struggles people face. I grew up here, and I understand these dynamics.” Empath Healing and Wellness is rooted in Utah but a constant stream of discoveries in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, and medicine will keep Empath evolving as it continues to grow. Despite changes in the industry, Empath will remain a safe place for people to come and do the work they need to in order to lead happy lives.

empathhealingandwellness.com 47

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PolarityTE ELEVATOR PITCH PolarityTE is focused on transforming the lives of patients by discovering, designing, and developing a range of regenerative tissue products that mirror the natural healing processes in the human body. Our technology harnesses a patient’s own cells and redeploys them to allow the body to regenerate itself on the site of the defect.

OUR STORY Built into human DNA is an amazing ability for the body to heal itself. But what happens when our own healing process takes too long, or when there’s a need to replace tissue that is too badly damaged or missing entirely? That’s where PolarityTE has found the paradigm shift in disruptive biotechnology that will change the practice of medicine.

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At PolarityTE, our revolutionary platform is being developed to induce cell and tissue polarity, creating uniquely functional tissue to mirror natural development in the human body. Our launch product, SkinTE, does this by taking a small sample of healthy skin from the patient and turning it into a paste that is reapplied to acute, traumatic, and chronic wounds, including burns and diabetic foot ulcers. By allowing the cells to grow directly on the injured area, those cells can communicate with surrounding tissue, which help it to grow to full thickness; fully functioning skin with sweat glands and hair. SkinTE’s approach is an alternative to the traditional skin-graft treatment, which often has complications that leave patients in the hospital for months and creates painful scars that limit

mobility. The product has also been successful in recent pilot clinical studies to treat patients with diabetic foot ulcers. In the three years since inception, we have grown from two (2) to more than 150 employees, from 4,000 to more than 200,000 square feet, taken a product from bench to bedside, registered a second product with the FDA, and progressed a product pipeline. Our facilities include roughly 170,000 square feet of R&D and manufacturing space in Salt Lake City and Logan, as well as new corporate headquarters near the Salt Lake International Center. Born from a desire by doctors to help patients who have lost hope, PolarityTE was founded by physicians who left their residencies at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to start the company. Edward Swanson, MD, PolarityTE’s Co-founder and Chief Translational Medicine Officer, says of his decision to walk away from his clinical physician career path, “It became clear that as a physician, PolarityTE was a place I could bring solutions now, not in decades, to patients who have been told there are no other treatment options too many times.”

Choosing Utah was a business decision that convinced PolarityTE executives to leave coastal biotech breeding grounds to launch in Utah. The state’s location and infrastructure facilitate distribution, which is key to our business model that requires quick access to customers across the country. Our founders recognized a growing and thriving life sciences industry already in place in Utah, and hoped to capitalize on the strong Utah economy, affordable cost of doing business, enviable quality of life, and homegrown talent. PolarityTE recognizes that deep-technology companies that are founded on scientific discovery and meaningful engineering innovation take time, and we are in it for the long haul. This means cultivating people along with the work by fostering a corporate culture where employees can build careers and compete at a global scale—while also building successful and fulfilling lives where families can thrive. But before all else, our physician-founded company aims to put the patient first by building great products and getting them to patients as quickly as possible.

123 North Wright Brothers Drive | Salt Lake City, UT 84116 | +1-800-560-3983 | polarityte.com PolarityTE 49

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INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTHCARE

Intermountain delivers high-quality outcomes for affordable costs– and it’s transforming the way healthcare is delivered.

ELEVATOR PITCH The main innovation being pursued by Intermountain Healthcare—a Utah-based nonprofit health system comprised of 24 hospitals, 215 clinics, 39,000 employees, 5,100 employed and affiliated physicians, and a health insurance company called SelectHealth—is to focus not just on healthcare, but on health.

OUR STORY CEO Marc Harrison, MD

Here’s an example: A woman in her 50s we’ll call Mary was coming repeatedly to an Intermountain emergency room for complications related to her diabetes. Why was she coming to the ER for something she could have easily managed at home? When the hospital’s staff asked her, they found her housing situation was unstable. As Mary moved between the homes of family members and friends, she sometimes left things behind, including her insulin, and as a result, her health suffered. “I’ll be fine when I get my insulin back,” she always 50

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thought to herself. But she kept landing in the ER. By traditional standards, that’s how a hospital makes money. And the more services it provides, the more money it makes. When people come in to the ER, they get a CAT scan for $1,200, an MRI for $3,300, two days of inpatient care for $8,300 a day, and so on. But providing all those services—all that healthcare—for Mary wasn’t keeping her well. What she needed was a stable place to live. That’s what Intermountain’s team worked to provide— and that’s why Intermountain Healthcare is a founding member of the Utah Alliance for the Determinants of Health. The alliance is a collaboration between numerous community partners designed to proactively address forces such as chronic hunger, affordable housing, joblessness, personal safety, etc., that affect people’s health long before they come to a clinic or a hospital. That’s one of the key innovations that makes Intermountain unique. As one of the nation’s leading integrated health systems, a major part of its mission is to help keep people healthy by helping them avoid the medical problems that impair their quality of life. “We’ll still focus on helping people when they’re in a car accident, have a heart attack, or get cancer,” says Marc Harrison, MD, Intermountain’s CEO. “But we have the opportunity to do that in conjunction with a ‘keep people well’ system.

We’re still going to have great trauma programs, great heart surgery programs, great cancer care programs, and great neuro ICUs, but won’t it be terrific if we can actually keep people out of some of those places?” Related strategies Intermountain Healthcare is pursuing: • Intermountain uses best practices and evidence-based medicine to consistently deliver the best possible clinical outcomes without the variation and waste that increase costs. • Intermountain has advanced health information technology to generate data that show what works, what doesn’t, and how to continually improve the care it provides. • Intermountain integrates all the components of care—including hospitals, physicians, and health insurance—to better serve its patients. Intermountain is widely recognized for providing high-quality care for affordable costs—and as a transformational leader in how healthcare is delivered. Its processes and programs have been praised by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, numerous medical and professional journals, and healthcare systems and providers around the world. The system’s innovations have also been recognized with honors including the Hearst Prize for Mental Health Integration, Hospitals & Health Networks’ “Most Wired” Award, Microsoft’s Health Innovation Award, InformationWeek’s Elite 100 award for IT innovation, and many more. 36 S. State Street | Salt Lake City, UT 84111 +1-801-442-2000 contactus@imail.org intermountainhealthcare.org

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AGE PERFORMANCE ELEVATOR PITCH Age Performance is a training facility designed to help older adults function physically at the highest level possible. The program helps them to not just maintain their strength but increase it, ensuring that they remain independent longer and that their healthspan meets their lifespan.

OUR STORY It was the early ’90s, and Paul Holbrook, founder and CEO of Age Performance, was visiting his uncle in a nursing home. As he walked down the hall past rooms of frail and bedridden people, he had a thought: “What would happen if you took these very frail, bed-ridden people and worked them very hard physically?” A number of outcomes were possible—including some undesirable ones—but there was also this possibility: What if they got stronger? Around the same time, a landmark study out of Tufts University had proven the benefits of weight-training for older adults. Over the course of the 12-week study, 100 subjects whose average age was 87 underwent 52

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weight-training using a typical formula: lifting 80% of their one-repetition maximum for 10 repetitions. At the end of the 12 weeks, every one of the subjects had increased their strength by at least 110%, their ability to climb stairs by 28%, and their walking speed by a half mile an hour. “It was incredible,” Paul says. “This was the validation of my thoughts when I’d walked into my uncle’s nursing home. It was all being proven in front of my eyes. When I saw this report, I called up Tufts University and asked to do an internship there. And they said sure.” In 1998, upon completion of his graduate studies in gerontology and his internship—which was under Dr. Marie Fiaterone, the principal researcher of the study that had drawn Paul to Tufts University—Paul returned to Salt Lake City and opened the prototype of Age Performance. It was a personal-training program for older adults called Age Well. Housed in a local gym, it was one of the first programs of its kind in the country. But Paul’s vision had grown. “I just kept visualizing that there needed to be a place for older adults to work out. A place where they weren’t intimidated, with a program that was safe and effective, and that they would be attracted to.” In 2005, Paul opened Age Performance, which has its own facility and has grown from employing one trainer to eight. Many clients have been with Paul for over a decade, and Paul reports that through Age Performance, they have not only maintained their strength but in some cases increased it. “One of my clients started with me in his mid60s, and that was 25 years ago. Now, in his mid80s, his strength is the same.” Age Performance’s innovation lies not just in bringing an effective exercise program to older in adults but also in disabusing everyone of the notion that their frailty is inevitable. While that frailty comes from a breakdown of fasttwitch muscles—the muscles we use to sprint or recover ourselves if we trip—weight training can reverse this breakdown. And because fasttwitch muscles can be the difference between stumbling and falling down—which can lead to so many other complications—it is imperative to keep them well-developed.

“You can envision in your mind’s eye how you want to be when you are 50, 60, 70, 80, 90,” Paul says. “When you have that mental focus and you’re consistent, you give your body no choice but to get to that point that you’ve imagined.” Paul hopes to expand Age Performance beyond Salt Lake City and to empower older adults everywhere to live their best lives. “This can happen anywhere. When we give our body a physical stimulus of some intensity, then there is this divine intervention that happens that improves our health. We all have access to that, it’s in all of us, and to me, that’s magic. It’s magical what happens when you give your body a physical stimulus on a consistent basis. There’s nothing like it in the world.”

1291 1100 East | Salt Lake City, UT 84105 +1 801-467-6554 ageperformance.com

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BIOFIRE DIAGNOSTICS

Great things often ignite in unlikely places. In 1990, three friends gathered in the corner of a potato-equipment facility to begin creating cutting-edge scientific instruments. Inventors Kirk Ririe, Carl Wittwer, and Randy Rasmussen began developing and perfecting novel instruments for rapid DNA analysis.

OUR STORY In 1999, the fledgling company made a big leap from the farm to University of Utah Research Park, where they could work closely with university researchers to push the frontiers of their technology. While the firm’s inventors found success with their early instruments, they wanted to offer an all-in-one device that combined instrumentation, chemistry, and software—all working together to provide a fast and easy result. They were striving for a simple and elegant solution to a complex problem. The problem? Infectious disease diagnostics. How can healthcare providers quickly and easily determine which pathogen of two or three dozen possible culprits is causing an infectious disease?

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Traditional infectious disease diagnostics test only for one “bad bug” at a time. If a patient has flu-like symptoms, for instance, they may be tested for influenza. But if they don’t have the flu, they’ll most likely be sent home without an answer. As a result, most infections go undiagnosed, leading to additional testing, patient dissatisfaction, and, potentially, compromised patient care, where treatment is based on guesses, not answers. BioFire’s syndromic approach to infectious disease diagnostics changes all of that. The BioFire® FilmArray® System combines a broad grouping of probable pathogenic causes into a single, rapid test that maximizes the chances of finding out what’s making a patient sick. These fast diagnostic results enable physicians to provide appropriate treatment quickly and cut back on the number of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions. BioFire currently offers FDA-cleared diagnostic panels that tackle five infectious disease syndromes: respiratory infections, bloodstream infections, gastrointestinal infections, meningitis/encephalitis, and pneumonia. More trailblazing panels and instruments are on the horizon. In 2014, BioFire was acquired by global biotechnology firm bioMérieux. Founded in 1897 by Marcel Mérieux, who studied with microbiology pioneer Louis Pastuer, bioMérieux has a footprint in 150 countries. The

acquisition expanded BioFire’s reach beyond the United States and gave bioMérieux a vital partner in the molecular diagnostics space. Now operating in the new, state-of-the-art Alain Mérieux Center for Molecular Diagnostics within University of Utah Research Park, BioFire has grown into a powerhouse with nearly 2,000 employees (and counting). Today, our passion burns brighter than ever. BioFire remains committed to combating disease through superior thinking and product innovation. We’re always looking to the future and blazing new trails with new technologies, software, and devices. Our aim is to give physicians, hospitals, and laboratories the tools they need to help everyone, everywhere, live healthier lives.

BioFireDiagnostics biofire-diagnostics-inc BioFireDX biofiredx.com 57

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DATA & ANALYTICS 58

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“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” —GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

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HEALTH CATALYST ELEVATOR PITCH In the United States alone, there was $1 trillion of waste in the $3.6 trillion total healthcare spend for 2018. While healthcare waste can occur for many reasons, it’s clear that many of the problems lead to economic instability, re duc e d care quality and op erational inefficiencies in the healthcare industry.

OUR STORY Dan Burton, CEO Health Catalyst’s founders, Tom Burton and Steve Barlow, who previously held leadership roles at Intermountain Healthcare, recognized that healthcare needed to change and believed 60

in the power of data and analytics to drive decision-making and dramatically improve outcomes. Together, Tom and Steve built a new data platform that could be used to replicate the data-driven outcomes that were being achieved at Intermountain Healthcare. Health Catalyst was born. Today, Health Catalyst is recognized as a leading provider of data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organizations. The company’s data-driven solution is comprised of three parts. The Data Operating System (DOS) is the foundation of the Health Catalyst solution. DOS integrates data in a flexible, open, and scalable platform that provides customers a single comprehensive environment to integrate,

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organize and manage their data from their disparate systems. Analytics Applications, the second part of the Health Catalyst solution, are built on top of DOS and designed to allow customers to pinpoint opportunities for measurable improvements across the entire enterprise. Finally, Health Catalyst’s Services Expertise brings a world-class team of more than 250 analytics experts, including data scientists, data analysts and data engineers, and domain experts such as healthcare administrators, physicians, and nurses to help customers achieve sustainable, measurable improvements. Together, Health Catalyst’s three-part solution empowers customers to operate a more datainformed business and produce measurable clinical, financial and operational improvements. For example, one customer saw a 45% relative reduction in their severe sepsis mortality rate;

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another reduced surgical site infection by 33% and yet another realized $74 million in operational improvements. These significant results are not unique. Since 2015, Health Catalyst has generated more than 650 documented, customer verified improvements. If you ask Health Catalyst how this continued business and client success is sustainable, they’ll tell you that it all starts with the Health Catalyst Flywheel. The Flywheel begins with a customer recognizing the need for improvement using the company’s three-part solution. As Health Catalyst delivers on those three components, the company drives measurable improvements for customers. At the center of the Flywheel is team member engagement. Team member engagement is foundational to everything the company does and is the top priority for executives. Employees are so vested in the company that Health Catalyst has earned more than 50 best places to work awards and maintains a team member engagement rate in the 95th to 99th percentile, as measured by Gallup. 61

Health Catalyst believes that when team members feel connected to and empowered by the mission of the company and respected at an extraordinary level, they produce outstanding work, which enables customers to realize measurable results. As customer trust and confidence in Health Catalyst builds, engagement in the shared work increases, and clients choose to renew and expand their relationship. Health Catalyst’s innovative technology and employee engagement model are working. In July 2019, the Utah healthcare unicorn announced its initial public offering on the NASDAQ. Now, the company looks forward to continuing to make a dent in the country’s trillion-dollar healthcare waste by creating a future where all healthcare decisions are data informed.

3165 Millrock Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84121 +1-855-309-6800 healthcatalyst.com

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OBSERVEPOINT

ObservePoint empowers data-informed companies to trust their data and create better experiences for their customers with accurate and actionable data. Our solution is an automated platform built to validate marketing tags and optimize digital analytics implementations—giving companies trustworthy data to guide their marketing decisions and better connect with their audience. When they first met, John Pestana and Rob Seolas were just neighbors. At least, to each other. John was the co-founder of Omniture—the Provo, Utah–startup turned global web analytics company that was later acquired by Adobe and became Adobe Analytics. Rob was involved in his own startup, iLeadMedia, an online loyalty program and lead generation company that was early to the digital marketing game. Both John and Rob led busy lives, keeping up with their respective businesses, each making a dent in the emerging digital marketing space in their own way. What they knew of each other’s careers was mostly filtered to them through their spouses, who were running partners.

One day, as John and Rob visited on a deck in Rob’s backyard, the two started bantering about a challenge John had noticed many users of Omniture had: as companies’ web analytics implementations matured, so did the rate of errors, with no simple platform to identify and alert analytics stakeholders of those errors. Rob had recently made a successful exit from iLeadMedia and was eager to sink his teeth into a new project, ideally in the burgeoning analytics space. John, whose entrepreneurial spirit was excited about a new project, suggested that when the time was right, he and Rob should start this venture together. A few years later, the time had come for John and Rob to join forces to create ObservePoint. Starting in 2009, John and Rob were able to pool their resources to bootstrap ObservePoint during the early stages to identify whether the challenge John had identified at Omniture was a big enough opportunity to create a profitable business. Rob Seolas, CEO of ObservePoint But John and Rob’s vision was not restricted to helping Omniture customers— they envisioned a technology platform that could scan entire websites without deploying any code, conducting audits to check for any and all thirdparty technologies installed on the site. 62

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Since that fateful day on the back porch, ObservePoint has received more than $25M in venture capital and has grown to more than 100 employees. In 2018, ObservePoint generated nearly $14M in revenue on their suite of analytics testing and tag governance products. Big-name companies like Adobe, Comcast, Verizon, Chevron, Ford, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Texas Instruments, and others are among the many customers who have caught the vision of the value ObservePoint provides. Together, John and Rob have led ObservePoint to achieve many important milestones and public recognitions, including: • • • •

Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America Deloitte Fast 500 North America MountainWest Capital Network Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Utah (recognized 3 times) Digital Analytics Association Finalist for: Best New Technology, Most Influential Vendor Finalist, and Technology of the Year

John and Rob’s goal is for companies who use ObservePoint to be able to focus less on verifying data for accuracy and more on strategic initiatives that help them increase revenue and improve customer experiences. Their vision is to bring insight, automation and order to the chaos of data collection.

John Pestana at ObservePoint’s user conference, Validate 2019

251 W. Riverpark Drive, Suite 300 | Provo, UT 84604 | ObservePoint sales@observepoint.com | observepoint ObservePoint.com 63

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DOMO ELEVATOR PITCH Domo is the quickest, easiest and most secure way to drive your business with data.

OUR STORY Before starting Domo, founder and CEO, Josh James, was the CEO of a web analytics firm called Omniture. As leader of that company, he knew the power that real-time data gave online marketers to understand their business and improve performance, yet he was frustrated that he didn’t have that same access to data about his own business. He knew where the data lived and who to ask to get it, but by the time he received it, it was often too old, in too many different formats, or was no longer relevant. As a result, it was nearly impossible to have the insights he wanted when he needed them, and to track initiatives in real-time that he cared about such as sales, customer success, or employee retention and recruiting. The more he talked to other CEOs, the more he realized his problem was universal. This frustration was the genesis behind Domo and the reason why Domo is a solution designed to specifically serve the needs of CEOs and other decision makers across organizations. Domo’s cloud-based platform and business applications are designed to make it easy for every decision maker – from the CEO to the frontline worker – to have the insights they need to make better decisions and take actions right from their phones. Their technology does this; making it easy to bring together data from across the organization to answer questions that are most relevant for each business person. Domo works with many of the world’s leading and most progressive brands across multiple industries including retail, media, manufacturing and more. Its customers include well-known companies such as Cisco, DHL, L’Oreal, NBC Universal, Target, Traeger and TELUS, as well as 40% of the Fortune 50. 64

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INITIATIVES In 2019, Domo launched Domo for Good, a social good program that leverages the power of the Domo platform to help non-profits leverage their data to advance their work in making the world a better place. Today, organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund, Save the Children and Choice Humanitarian are part of the Domo for Good initiative.

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ACCOLADES The Utah-based company has been consistently recognized for its growth and innovation. It has been named to the Inc. 500 and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists. Fast Company named Domo as one of its Top 10 Most Innovative Enterprise Software Companies, and the World Economic Forum named Domo a Technology Pioneer.

CNBC recognized the company as a CNBC Disruptor 50, and Forbes included it on the Forbes Cloud 100. Recognizing Domo’s focus on creating a diverse, inclusive and welcoming workplace, Domo was named to the Women Tech Council Shatter List and is an eight-time winner of Utah Business’ Best Companies to Work For.

Fast Facts • • • •

Founded: October 2010 Public (NASDAQ: DOMO) Employees: 800 Offices: Silicon Slopes (HQ), London, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, Seattle, Singapore, Hong Kong

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SALTSTACK

OUR STORY

SaltStack software is used by tens of thousands of IT organizations to maintain and secure the digital infrastructure used by their businesses.

SaltStack is located right in the heart of the Silicon Slopes in Lehi. It was founded in 2011 by Marc Chenn, CEO, and Thomas Hatch, CTO. Marc is originally from Hong Kong and was an All-American track and field standout at Brigham Young University, where he earned an undergraduate degree and an MBA in finance. He has a history of building significant value for high-growth companies and has extensive experience in the systems-management software industry. Thomas is a Utah native and an award-winning software developer widely considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts in opensource software. Together, these two formed an unlikely bond that played a major role in creating one of the most powerful IT and security automation platforms in the world.

Marc Chenn CEO, Co-founder, and Board Member

Thomas Hatch CTO, Co-founder, and Board Member

SaltStack software is used by tens of thousands of IT organizations to maintain and secure the digital infrastructure used by their businesses. SaltStack products are built on the Salt automation engine which delivers incredibly fast, massively scalable control and protection for any enterprise cloud, data-center infrastructure, or application stack. This power

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death star i SECURITY BREACH POST-MORTEM

THERMAL EXHAUST PORT MERIDIAN TRENCH

EMERGENCY RADIATION DISCHARGE

SUPERLASER POWER CELL

CARRIER BEAM CRYSTAL

SUPERLASER TRIBUTARY BEAM SHAFT

EQUILATERAL TRENCH

HYPERMATTER REACTOR

ION DRIVE REACTOR

SECTOR COMPUTER CLUSTER

POWER CELL

FUEL COLLECTOR

it just takes one open thermal exhaust port. The Meridian Trench circled the north pole of the Death Star. This trench contained a thermal exhaust port which led directly to the Death Star reactor. The Alliance exploited this vulnerability by sending an attack run of star fighters into the trench to fire a pair of proton torpedoes into the exhaust port. The torpedoes hit their mark causing the reactor to explode and triggering a chain reaction that led to the destruction of Death Star I.

ADAPTED FROM ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY PRINTPOINT

Intelligent Automation for SecOps

and speed is why web-scale companies like LinkedIn, eBay, Salesforce. com, Bloomberg, Clemson University, Adobe, Hulu, and TD Bank have used SaltStack for years. SaltStack maintains the Salt open source software project which was originally created by Thomas Hatch and is today one of the largest, most-active open-source projects in the world, with thousands of contributors and hundreds of thousands of lines of code. Simply put, SaltStack is used to automate the work of maintaining and securing all the things in an enterprise data center. It is unique in providing intelligent, event-driven automation and collaboration for SecOps, NetOps, ITOps, and DevOps teams. Common SaltStack use cases include infrastructure as code, configuration drift detection and remediation, container orchestration, multi-cloud management, and continuous code deployment.

ACCOLADES SaltStack SecOps is the newest SaltStack product and was named Hottest New Product at the 2019 RSA Conference and also won the Stevie Awards People’s Choice Award in the category of Endpoint Security Management. SaltStack also won the Best of VMworld Gold Award for virtualization management, won an InfoWorld 2014 Technology of the Year Award, won the GigaOm Structure LaunchPad competition, and was named a Linux Journal Reader’s Choice product in five categories. The Salt open-source project was included on the GitHub Octoverse list for 2012 and 2013 as one of the largest, most-active open-source projects in the world. 2801 N. Thanksgiving Way, Suite 150 | Lehi, UT 84043 +1-801-207-7440 | saltstack.com

Although SaltStack is headquartered in Utah, it has proud employees and contributors located around the world. 67

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SOFTWARE & IT SERVICES 68

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“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” —ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB

I I NN NN OO VV AA TT EE

CYBAGE

UU TT AA HH

Finding the speed to innovate

Cybage is a global professional services organization that designs and provides services in product engineering, consulting, and operations. Our scientifically-driven, data-oriented, and delivery-focused approach enables us to spot unmet needs. We empower our customers to build concrete breakthrough products and services, making them more innovative and agile. We serve a variety of sectors, from Technology-Enabled Businesses, Media & Advertisement, Travel & Hospitality, Supply Chain & Logistics, Healthcare & Life Sciences, to Online Retail across the globe. Cybage’s Centers-of-Excellence include emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, BI, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Enterprise mobility, E-commerce, CRM, and ECM. These breakthrough technologies are the ignitors for sector-specific futuristic solutions.

Keep innovating or get left behind The US business market looks markedly different today than it did a decade ago. It has been reshaped by dramatic events, like the internet bubble and the evolution of the Silicon geography. In the decade ahead, the next wave of innovation continues to accelerate this pace of change. More broadly, the day-to-day nature of work revolves around stimulating creativity by developing new ideas for products and services. There’s a misconception that revolutionary ideas about products or services are always created by imagining the unimaginable. But innovation isn’t about swinging for the fences; it’s about creating the right swing. While there has been a swing of tech hubs being touted as the “next Silicon Valley,” home to giants like Adobe, eBay, and many more, there lies an accelerated growth area known as Silicon Slopes—bustling with top brands, and countless startups—“Utah, the second-fastest-growing technology hub in the US.” 70

Greg Wiggins Senior Vice President, Business Development This blooming tech hub continues to look for help in managing the ever-increasing growth. Back in 1999, Greg Wiggins partnered with Cybage to address a similar growth. Within seven years, Cybage helped grow the software company to $350 million in revenue and earn a spot in the Fortune 500 with a billion-dollar acquisition.

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Seeing the high demand for outside talent in Utah, Greg Wiggins saw potential in Cybage to bridge this demand and supply gap. He introduced Cybage to Greg Butterfield, Utah’s Technology Hall of Fame inductee, who led the billion-dollar acquisition.

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By being at the forefront of emerging technologies, Cybage has helped dozens of other Utah businesses build innovative solutions that are not only affordable but also scalable. Further, Cybage started providing enterprise solutions to businesses in need to drive their internal operations and accelerate their overall growth.

Greg Butterfield Independent Director Greg Butterfield, a renowned software industry veteran, started his journey in a Utah software startup in 1985. In his stellar experience of 30+ years, Greg has worked with seven major companies, all of which have had multi-milliondollar assets. Greg has invested in about 30 different technology companies. He has been the driving force behind 15 acquisitions and has successfully completed two IPOs as CEO. A critical asset in making this happen is Cybage’s innovation framework based on its three-pronged value proposition. • Execution Excellence focuses on consistent, world-class deliveries, underpinned using the Cybage’s own prescriptive analytics platform to address all key areas of its operations. • Software at the Center states its belief that software is at the heart of business problem-solving. • Engage the Future portrays the Cybage logic that interprets technological change to create meaningful value for its clients. With this philosophy, it’s not surprising that Cybage has a longstanding list of clients across the US. It is also known for increasing the metabolism of an organization by bringing in the scale and agility that is required to deliver without quality loss. Driven by its strong fundamental data-driven processes, Cybase focuses on becoming an extension of the customer’s company through collaboration and not just being a technology vendor. +1-848-219-1221 cybage cybagesoftware cybage.com

Furthermore, Cybage is constantly working on new technologies and in new directions to help better support the growth of the IT industry globally by handing out services as per growth needs.

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WEAVE ELEVATOR PITCH At Weave, we know that a personal, human connection will always outweigh an automated, canned response for today’s businesses who are truly trying to connect with their customers. We know this because we also learned firsthand while building our business about the value in timely, personalized communication. Nothing is better than a call or text at just the right moment in the customer journey to help build customer confidence and strengthen customer loyalty. This laser focus on the value of customer communication along with unfaltering loyalty to our customers is what makes Weave unique. Just as all of our customers’ businesses started, Weave started as a spark (or in Weave terms: the hunger, creation, and care) that has brought our company from two brothers working in their attic to over 550 people making waves in the communications space—all in the name of the small to medium (SMB) business owner.

Co-founders of Weave: Brandon Rodman, Clint Berry, and Jared Rodman

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OUR STORY From 2011 to 2014, Weave co-founder Brandon Rodman endured everything from naysayers to significant personal debt in his pursuit to get his vision off the ground. He and his wife, Lindsay, paid employees from their personal bank accounts, emptying their savings and both of their retirement accounts to fund the business. At the end of these three, long years full of struggles and sacrifices, and adding the cost of everyday life raising a young family, the couple found themselves in significant credit card debt and owed $200,000 to a software development firm that built the early version of Weave. But, they knew they were onto something important and didn’t give up! The co-founders continued to work tirelessly to build what would become the Weave VoIP phone system. Even in the early days, the customer was always the most important factor in the business. Every new hire was trained on the importance of understanding customer needs and communicating quickly and honestly with customers to help build a long-term relationship. As the company continued to grow, it became evident that the customer experience mindset was resonating internally and was now a strong part of the employee experience at Weave. Each employee was entirely focused on customers, allowing the management team to also concentrate on providing a stellar employee experience and expand the team.

Two years later, in 2014, Weave became the first Utah company to be selected by Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that has launched over 2,000 companies, including Dropbox, Airbnb, Stripe, and Reddit. Working with Y Combinator was the catalyst that helped launch the struggling startup fully into the marketplace. Weave is now in rapid growth in terms of customers, employees, and verticals served. Weave has attracted a top-tier executive leadership team, doubled the amount of innovative employees and has secured funding, all helping the company to accelerate its momentum and flourish as a leading customer communications provider—with no plans of slowing down.

Weave has a personal and rare understanding of the difference great customer experience can make in the success of a business and this is what drives our team to continue to innovate. We are driven to create because we want our customers to succeed. As the possibilities increase in the landscape of customer communication, Weave will continue to innovate to provide businesses with the technology necessary to connect with their customers and build stronger human relationships.

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WORKFRONT

ELEVATOR PITCH Workfront, the only modern work management application platform for the enterprise, helps people get their best work done by automating projects and processes, orchestrating content, and providing company-wide collaboration in a single platform. More than 3,000 global brands use Workfront to operate more strategically, including 50 of the Fortune 100 companies and all of Inc. Magazine’s Top 10 Most Valuable Brands.

Laura Butler, SVP, People & Culture, Workfront

OUR STORY Originally founded as “AtTask” in 2001 by Scott Johnson, Workfront’s original goal was to 74

simplify getting work done and help people do their best work. “I hated the way work was organized and processed,” says Johnson, who, working at the time at a marketing agency, says communicating about projects between stakeholders was always a mess. “We needed something intuitive, easy, and centralized. It didn’t exist at the time.” Johnson saw how a clear and transparent organization of workflow would benefit all aspects of work. “If we want to be efficient in the work that we do,” he says, “we need to be able to see clearly where our energy would really make a difference.” And so Workfront was born. Early on, they competed against the likes of Microsoft, IBM, and HP in the then-flourishing “project management”

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market. However when they tried to raise capital, they failed. According to Johnson, “Microsoft owned the market. Everyone thought that they would destroy us.” Those investors were right about one thing: Workfront never quite belonged in the “project management” space because it solved for much more than the traditional category tactics. In retrospect, it was ahead of its time. From the company’s beginning, it was creating a category of service that didn’t yet have a name. To escape the trap of out-visioning demand, the company continued to innovate, while at the same time staying laser focused on customers’ actual needs. This approach has created a company and culture of innovation grounded in authentic opportunity that continues to fuel strong growth. And what are those needs? Laura Butler, Workfront’s Senior Vice President of People & Culture, explains: “Modern work is more virtual, more global, and has increased turnover, and thus there’s an increased need for efficient and comprehensive knowledge transfer.” Furthermore, adds Butler, the complexity of completing work is growing, driven by digital natives and boomers working on the same projects, and an increasingly diverse talent pool collaborating across a variety of cultures, geographies, and work styles.

Workfront simplifies things. It’s built for people, effortlessly connecting teams and easily integrating into existing applications and systems. The ability to see, measure, and analyze critical factors such as resources, outcomes, and priorities keeps everyone on the same page, with a clear understanding of why their work matters. “It’s especially helpful if you have an entire organization or entire department using it as a work management system,” says Butler, citing

improvements she’s seen by using the platform in her own department. Workfront has helped thousands of companies successfully transform their businesses into modern enterprises that increase revenue, improve customer experiences, and reduce costs. Clients include BT, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Fossil Group, TSB, and Trek. Trek Bicycle Corporation, one of the world’s leading bike manufacturers, works with over 2,000 internal employees, and more than 1,700 dealers across 90 countries. With so many moving parts, visibility and efficiency are a must. Trek leverages Workfront to manage the process of creating top-of-the-line bikes — from the overall design concept to which tires, brakes and reflective lights will be used, all the way down to the special sticker that tells you to “wear your helmet.” Another company that uses Workfront to help them innovate and thrive in a highly competitive market is Fossil. Fossil Group is an American fashion designer and manufacturer that owns nearly 30 different brands across 150 countries. Fossil leverages Workfront in their marketing, creative and product design teams to bring new products to market in a timely manner. For more information, visit workfront.com

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DEALERTRACK DMS A UTAH TECHNOLOGY SUCCESS STORY

In 2018, Utah-based Dealertrack DMS relocated offices from South Jordan to Draper, Utah. In the process, the company grew its available space to 112,000 square feet housed within a brand-new, state-of-the-art building along the Silicon Slopes. It was a landmark move for the company, which has added more than 500 new high-paying tech jobs to the local economy since 2015, cementing its place as one of Utah’s fastest growing tech companies. From humble Utah beginnings, Dealertrack DMS has become one of the biggest players in the competitive dealership management software (DMS) industry. And the company’s story serves as an

example of the value Salt Lake Valley innovation can bring to global business. Using software developed in Utah, Dealertrack DMS helps thousands of dealerships to streamline processes, improve customer service, and operate their businesses more efficiently. The company’s DMS suite serves as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system for dealerships and provides them with comprehensive oversight into company operations ranging from sales and parts inventory to vehicle service and accounting.

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“Dealertrack DMS couldn’t be where it is today without Salt Lake Valley’s access to a highly educated workforce and business friendly policies. Looking forward, we’re uniquely positioned for future growth with a diverse culture and hugely talented population of innovators ready and willing to share their rich experiences with us. Being part of this beautiful valley and taking part in Utah’s technology boom has been an amazing experience.” —Mandi Fang, Vice President & General Manager, Dealertrack DMS

Today, Dealertrack DMS supplies software to auto dealerships across the country and is a prime example of how Utah’s innovative tech scene has drawn international attention and accolades. But Dealertrack’s beginnings and evolution are as complex as the company is innovative, involving multiple businesses and mergers over the course of several decades. Starting as Ensign Information Systems, founded by Rich Holland and Blake Nielson in the early 1990s, the company began with the goal of providing a new, modern DMS solution to auto retailers. In 1999, it was purchased by mobile database provider Sundog Technologies to form Arkona Dealer Management Solutions based in South Jordan. Early on, the company differentiated itself by developing an application service provider (ASP) DMS that could be accessed through the internet. This removed the requirement to invest in expensive hardware and maintenance to run a dealer management system. In the early 2000s, Arkona signed a contract with Mitsubishi Motors, whose interest stemmed from Arkona’s excellent service and innovative tools. The software’s built-in “Buy Here Pay Here” and “Finance & Insurance”

systems helped auto retailers complete an entire transaction at the dealership, dramatically reducing the time and documents needed from customers. Mitsubishi’s exclusive contract instantly gave Arkona access to more than 500 dealership customers, and the business continued to grow. Success brings attention. And the Utah company’s innovations began to draw the attention of New York–based Dealertrack. As a largely finance-oriented dealership tool, Dealertrack realized that Arkona’s DMS tools could significantly improve its offering. The company purchased Arkona in 2007 for $58.9 million, diversifying its services and solidifying its position in the marketplace. Arkona, now Dealertrack DMS, provided Dealertrack with a competitive edge to drive sales and attract bigger buyers. And one of the biggest was General Motors. The auto giant made Dealertrack its priority DMS provider, giving the company access to more than 7,000 franchise dealerships throughout the country. Within just a few short years, an innovative software solution developed in Utah had become an industry leader. By 2008, Dealertrack DMS

had gained significant market share. And by 2014, the company was bringing in more than $800 million in revenue. And once again, the company’s success caught the attention of an even bigger buyer. Cox Automotive purchased Dealertrack in 2015 for a whopping $4 billion—constituting the largest auto software deal in history. What began as a small software program coded in South Jordan in the 1990s now exerts an enormous influence on the auto retail industry, touching thousands of auto dealerships and millions of car buyers worldwide. Today, Dealertrack DMS is a pillar of Silicon Slopes and the Draper business community, providing Salt Lake Valley with an economic backbone and technology resource for talent development. As the business continues to grow and innovate, the company continues to call Utah home. And while its branding and affiliations have changed and evolved over two decades, the story of local innovation lives on in Dealertrack DMS’ technology and values, which are inseparably tied to Salt Lake Valley.

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THE POWER OF UNIFIED IT

IN OUR DATA-DRIVEN WORLD, TECHNOLOGY PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN EVERY BUSINESS OPERATION. AS A RESULT, THE MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) IS ONE OF THE FASTEST-CHANGING AREAS OF BUSINESS–AND ONE OF THE MOST VITAL.

The need to provide instant and anywhere access to corporate data, while efficiently securing and protecting the business, is the charter of today’s IT. Ivanti powers this IT mission with a unified approach to maximize user productivity and reduce IT complexities, risks, and costs for the business. With solutions that deliver better visibility, faster feedback, predictive insights, and automated actions, Ivanti is changing the IT landscape. Its solutions break down IT silos and unify IT processes for a more efficient, secure, and productive business.

Driving IT Transformation for the Digital Workplace Ivanti is focused on enabling the process, automation, and shared data that unifies IT operations, operational security, and asset management. This not only lowers IT risks, but also enables faster response times while also increasing end-user satisfaction. Ivanti helps organizations to Discover all the IT assets on the network, while at the same time providing integrated dashboards and analytics which Provide Insights into the state of the environment and ongoing IT initiatives.

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Ivanti also enables IT to Take Action on the insights using integrated processes and technologies. On a larger landscape, this empowers IT to not only better support individuals, but business decisioning as well.

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“At Ivanti, we’re helping customers respond to user demands and market changes, comply with regulations, and secure their entire organization -- all while reducing costs. We call it the Power of Unified IT.” – Steve Daly, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Ivanti

Ivanti continues to build on its mission to unify IT with a focus on automating and securing the digital workplace. From PCs to mobile devices, VDI and the data center, Ivanti is helping today’s IT evolve by discovering and managing IT assets on-premises and in the cloud, improving IT service delivery, and reducing security risk with powerful insights and automation.

Volunteering Builds Trust and Happiness At the center of the Ivanti mission are its employees. The company’s passion for employees has fostered a family-centric culture that is focused on today’s blended work/life world. This employee-first culture also extends to Ivanti customers, creating a customer closeness that leads to both loyalty and engagement. One example of Ivanti’s employee-first culture is its unique unlimited volunteer time off (VTO) program. Employees are allowed—even encouraged—to take as much time as they want to volunteer in support of charitable causes. In this way, Ivanti supports its employees, their families and the community, building trust and happiness.

Each year, Ivanti employees spend thousands of hours of volunteer time pursing personal charitable passions such as teaching young women how to code, helping children with autism, or supporting the needs of hospice children. The program, which is a passion project of Ivanti’s executives, has proven to be an enabler of employee satisfaction. By empowering its employees to follow their passion—both in the workplace and in their community—Ivanti has found sustaining growth and success.

“At Ivanti, we know our ultimate success lies in the passion of our employees. That’s why we reflect their passion with programs that empower a blended work life and give them the opportunity to give back to their communities in ways that are meaningful to them.” —Sue Urses, Vice President of Human Resources, Ivanti ivanti.com 79

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EXECUTECH

AN AWARD-WINNING, OUTSOURCED I.T. SERVICES PROVIDER. EXECUTECH PROVIDES ENTERPRISE-QUALITY IT SERVICES TO SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. Awards & Recognition

People First Approach

Executech is owned and operated by Eric Montague. Eric is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in the Mountain Region, an award recognizing the most successful entrepreneurs in America. Eric was also named as a Utah Business Magazine “40 under 40,” an award honoring the 40 most successful business leaders under the age of 40. Executech is the Intermountain West’s premier outsourced IT provider, a Utah Top 100 company, a three-time Best of State Winner, and was recently named as one of Utah’s “Best Places to Work” by the governor. Over 1,000 companies in Utah trust us to run their networks because we are the best at what we do.

Unlike many IT companies who try to service remotely and often with an impersonal touch, Executech is defined by its technicians who have real people skills, business skills, and technical skills. Every client receives the support of a dedicated technician who will work onsite for nearly all technology needs. Technicians are available 24/7/365 to answer any issue or question and there is no extra charge for off-hours or holidays.

A Certified Team of Experts Every client is backed by a team of over 70 certified technical experts that proactively build solutions for their needs. With Executech, whether a client

Eric Montague

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has 5 or 500 computers, they have an elite IT department at an affordable price. To achieve this, Executech’s management team has implemented processes and rigorous training programs for each of its IT professionals. This ensures that each consultant knows the industry’s best practices and can provide services that result in no downtime, loss of productivity, or any data loss for their clients. Executech employs Microsoft Certified Engineers & Cisco Certified Engineers. Executech is the only IT provider in the state to achieve the Apple Consultant Network certification.

No Contracts—Just Service Unlike others in the industry, Executech does not require its clients to sign long-term contracts. This is key to the company’s success as it ensures the client is taken care of by its IT professionals and satisfaction is being met. Projects are charged at a discounted rate and every technician works to proactively meet client needs within his specified hours.

Advanced Technology & The Cloud In addition to better quality of service and technicians with real people skills, Executech has brought some of the latest technology advances to its clients to save time and cut costs. Executech now offers almost every service via a hosted product, minimizing cost and complexity to the average customer. Executech manages over 30,000 end users via the cloud and is a dominant provider of cloud services in the Intermountain West. In addition to cloud services, Executech offers to all its clients FREE network monitoring. This new software called “Digital Armor” has revolutionized how Executech can produce more value for the dollar to its clients and substantially improve network reliability. No other provider in the state offers this level of protection at no additional cost.

Community & Giving Back The goal of the management and technicians at Executech is to enhance and elevate life in Utah. To achieve this goal, Executech employees seek to solve any IT problem as quickly as possible and with energy and personality. But helping elevate life in Utah also means giving back. Executech is committed to serving and donating to its community and state. Executech sponsors many programs within the state, including significant contributions to the BSA council and local camps. Executech has also made a

$100,000 donation to the new Hale Center Theater being built in Sandy, Utah. Executech runs the computer networks for over a dozen nonprofit organizations in Utah at no charge. 81

1314 W 11400 S. | South Jordan, UT 84095 +1-801-253-4541 executech.com

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“I skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” —WAYNE GRETZKY

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tZERO

tZERO’s Executive Team

ELEVATOR PITCH The way that we invest and trade value will fundamentally change as assets become digitized. tZERO is a technology company that is building the next generation capital markets platform, capable of tokenizing, trading and settling digital assets.

OUR STORY Saum Noursalehi, tZERO CEO

Our story began when Utah-based Overstock.com became the first major retailer to accept bitcoin as a payment method in early 2014, causing the company’s founder, Patrick Byrne, to recognize the promise of blockchain technology. After becoming more familiar with the benefits to humanity possible with cryptocurrency, blockchain and other distributed ledger technology, Overstock created Medici Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary with the goal of advancing blockchain technology to democratize capital, eliminate 84

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Asset Tokenization tZERO’s proprietary technology can tokenize a company’s capital raise or existing capital structure, new or existing funds as well as illiquid assets such as real estate or fine art. This year, tZERO partnered with Entertainment Financing Company BLOQ FLIX to tokenize films and Alliance Investments to tokenize a luxury real estate development in Manchester, UK. middlemen and re-humanize commerce. To this goal, Medici Ventures has built a global blockchain keiretsu of pioneering and innovative companies like tZERO, which is introducing greater efficiency and transparency to capital markets by leveraging blockchain and smart contract technology. In 2016, tZERO’s long-term vision for modernizing capital markets commenced when it provided the technology behind trading the world’s first public digital security, Overstock.com’s OSTKO (formerly OSTKP). Following the successful issuance of OSTKO, tZERO launched its security token offering (TZROP) in December 2017. Overstock tasked Saum Noursalehi, who was then president of Overstock after 12 years with the company, to lead tZERO as its CEO. Having studied computer science at The University of Utah, Noursalehi has always had a strong interest in technology and his proven track record as an innovative leader helped tZERO through the highly publicized issuance of tZERO’s security tokens. To date, TZROP and OSTKO both trade on a trading venue powered by tZERO technology. tZERO’s security token offering (STO) was one of the first STOs on a decentralized public network that was conducted in full compliance within existing U.S. securities laws. Using the capital raised from the offering, Noursalehi formed teams for tZERO’s key business units: asset tokenization, the secondary trading platform for digital securities, as well as the cryptocurrency wallet.

Secondary Trading Technology Platform Secondary Trading Technology Platform: tZERO’s secondary trading platform powers market places for digital securities. One of these venues will be the Boston Security Token Exchange (BSTX), the world’s first fully regulated security token exchange, which was established by tZERO and its joint venture partner BOX Digital Markets in June 2018.

Crypto Unit tZERO’s Crypto Unit launched a Crypto App, tZERO Crypto, in June 2019, allowing users to trade bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and Ravencoin (RVN). Long term tZERO expects a variety of cryptocurrencies and digital assets to trade on this technology platform.

tZERO continues to work toward its vision of creating a robust blockchain-based ecosystem for investors to have venues to buy and sell digital assets, integrating the technology to tokenize assets (tZERO’s tokenization protocol technology) and establishing direct relationships with customers (subject to its wholly-owned subsidiary becoming approved as a retail broker-dealer).

From here, Noursalehi hired an experienced management team to help execute this business plan.

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GUNCERTS James Story was born and raised in San Francisco during the wildly transformational and emerging video game and personal PC culture. His favorite childhood recollections are riding bikes with friends for miles with a roll of quarters in his pocket, the destination, Pier 39’s video game Mecca. These experiences led to his embrace of technology and the wide-open creative landscape that it offered to him. James is a father, husband, American entrepreneur, veteran Marine, and believer in Christ. James graduated Dean’s List where he earned a BS in Business from California State University Northridge with a focus on market research. Ironically, his college education albeit good would lead him to write the essay titled “The Case Against College,” which steered may of its readers toward unique alternative choices over the traditional college education system. Creativity and altruism married to high concept ideas aimed at the heart of solving problems have always stood to define James’ brand of entrepreneurship. His self-inoculation to the potential harms of the word “no” can be credited to the GK Chesterton quotation, “An inconvenience is merely an adventure misunderstood.” This sentiment would serve him faithfully during his lifelong mission in thinking, creating, and marketing and a lifestyle revolving around the repetition of this process. The sum of two of his core competencies—firearms and blockchain technology—would lead him to embark on the Guncerts project.

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Guncerts will harness the inherent power and security from blockchain technology, and marry it to the high profile firearm industry which may benefit from some innovative selfpolicing from the private sector. Guncerts may free up thousands of law enforcement hours, nationwide, currently used to investigate the history and or true ownership of a firearm. Guncerts would achieve this by using the Ravencoin Protocol, by issuing a non-fungible digital asset to represent a real-life asset. Imagine the digital token which is assigned to a real-life asset as a certificate of authenticity. The digital token may function like and provide value like Carfax does for vehicle ownership, transfers, repairs, and can even use messaging to alert owners of important recalls. One of the brightest futures in blockchain te chnology may b e the us e of digital representations, or tokens, to represent realworld assets. In Guncerts’ case, that is a firearm. Tokens may include information about the firearm to include, make, model, serial number, the gun may then be linked to the token by a laser etch. The laser etching would, in effect, announce to any “need to know party” that the firearm has been tokenized and relevant information regarding the firearm exists, digitally. Gun owners will finally have the ability to easily and quickly prove ownership, transfer, record repairs and or upgrades while enjoying greater privacy as their personal information would never be attached to the token. Manufacturers, distributors and or importers can benefit from logistical advantages throughout the supply chain. Manufacturers could quickly and costeffectively communicate to the token holders in the event there is a recall or other important information needing to make it to the firearm, i.e., token holder. The token would also transfer to the new party in the event the firearm is sold

and or gifted away, thereby giving the new party all the functionality the token offers, including warranty benefits, etc. The aim of Guncerts goes even further than the tokenization of firearms. The firearm industry is currently underserved due to the restrictions placed by Washington and the banking industry. The results are higher fees associated with risk, inability to secure merchant processing services and the outright de-platforming of firearm sales by PayPal, Square, and Shopify. Guncerts will fill this void by having a comprehensive sales, inventory, and payment gateway for firearm dealers. Finally, a fullservice sales platform dedicated to the firearm industry. Guncerts would even have a simple way to allow customers to pay for firearms using cryptocurrency.

In order to accurately link or transfer ownership and record usage, i.e., history of the firearm, Guncerts turns to the Ravencoin network. Ravencoin excels with perfection in proving who owns what asset and the firearm industry provides the perfect use case. For more information on Ravencoin, please see our White Paper which is free for download off www. Guncerts.com. Guncerts is patent-pending and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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STORJ LABS

Storj Labs provides secure, affordable distributed cloud storage that gives data ownership back to the user, instead of major corporations.

Atikh Bana, UI/UX Designer

John Quinn, Founder & Chief Revenue Officer

Shawn Wilkinson, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer

JT Olio, VP of Engineering

OUR STORY Initially started in Atlanta in 2014, Storj Labs was growing steadily and looking to expand the company to the western half of the United States. After evaluating several cities, Storj ended up settling in Salt Lake City, Utah, in August 2016.

Lake and Lehi Kiln buildings. The Storj open-source cloud storage platform utilizes spare disk drive space (think Airbnb, but for disk space) shared by its community members. This network of individual hard drives create a secure network for developers, operations teams, companies, and anyone else who needs secure cloud storage.

Salt Lake City was an ideal location for a myriad of reasons, including the low cost of living, a deep pool of talent, a burgeoning tech community, the presence of a distributed systems community, and an international airport close to the city. Currently, Storj Labs has offices in both the Salt

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invented the tardigrade decentralized cloud service, which is the world’s first decentralized cloud object storage service. Tardigrade offers enterprisegrade, decentralized cloud storage that’s automatically encrypted, easily implemented, highly performant, affordable, and ridiculously resilient.

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Through the Tardigrade Open Source Partner Program, any open source projects that enable users to store data on Tardigrade will receive a portion of the revenue generated by those users.

Tardigrade delivers durability, performance, and security that’s better or on par with all other major cloud providers (Amazon S3, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure)—yet it’s still a fraction of the cost, potentially saving companies millions on their cloud storage.

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“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” —ALAN KAY

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TASKEASY: SOLVING AN AGE-OLD PROBLEM WITH TECHNOLOGY

TaskEasy delivers automated yard care to homeowners, renters, and businesses through intuitive software and innovative technology. Since its inception in 2013, the company has grown from a 10-member crew working out of a basement to a 300-person team with headquarters in Salt Lake City and three international support offices. These teams specialize in connecting thousands of lawn-care professionals with customers ranging from individual homeowners to the largest home rental institutions in the country. TaskEasy believes in simplifying life by connecting people and technology to provide hassle-free exterior maintenance services like yard care and lawn mowing. The company’s mission is to bring convenience and relief to homeowners, renters, and property managers across the nation. TaskEasy does this by empowering local landscaping entrepreneurs and business owners with robust software and intuitive technology. TaskEasy was born as a solution to a long-standing problem. Ken Davis was a property owner with a modest portfolio, dealing with the hassle of managing exterior maintenance for his properties in

Ken Davis, Co-founder and CEO

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multiple cities. He was sinking countless hours into finding and vetting contractors and then auditing the work to verify completion. Davis also discovered that pricing was often not fair to either him or the contractor, who felt they were “working two jobs,” or “charging for travel and performing services for free.” The entire exterior maintenance services industry was plagued with inefficiencies, which caused unnecessary tension between customers and contractors. As an entrepreneur with several successful ventures under his belt, Davis was wellequipped to solve this age-old problem: mowing the lawn. He began developing a method to make buying yard services for customers — and fulfilling services for contractors — as easy as buying products online. The result of Davis’ efforts, TaskEasy, launched to consumers in April 2013. Investment rounds totaling $45 million have resulted in a stateof-the-art platform, which includes a website, financial system, supporting apps, and strong network security. The result is a powerful ecosystem that automates and audits exterior property maintenance services and provides reporting and accountability to clients. By bringing automation and technology to the traditionally outdated and lagging landscape services industry, Davis became a gamechanger. TaskEasy was the first to introduce a satellite image-based tool capable of calculating square footage of a property’s lawn without having to visit it physically. More importantly, TaskEasy’s engineers built a unique formula that has established fair market pricing for yard care services in all 50 U.S. states. The automatically calculated labor and service pricing model has become a key to the company’s success. An ability to order lawn maintenance online with accurately calculated prices meant that customers and contractors didn’t have to haggle on price or spend hours on the phone arranging the service. Now, lawn maintenance specialists can concentrate on the quality of the service, and the TaskEasy customers free up the time previously spent on looking for someone to take care of the yard or taking care of it themselves. With just a few clicks, customers can now order exterior services, check the completed work, and approve payments wherever they are—all from the convenience of their phone or laptop. Since launching in 2013, TaskEasy has mowed

lawns and serviced yards in over 12,000 cities and across all 50 US states. The company’s portfolio consists of hundreds of thousands of properties nationwide, and its network of more than 12,000 screened and vetted contractors is the nation’s largest. TaskEasy works together with landscaping businesses in each area, supporting local industry with hundreds of thousands of properties to service.

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SOLID NUMBER, INC. ELEVATOR PITCH For the past 20 years, the payments industry has been only slightly affected by the digital revolution. Incredibly, 2019 just ended, and most payment processes still run at analog speeds. But that’s about to change, and Solid Number, a financial technology company, is part of the movement behind modernizing money. Welcome to payments 2020. Solid Number partners with banks and businesses to provide a platform that can send and receive money at the speed of now.

THE WHY As business owners and operators, Solid Number founders Adam Campbell and Michael Clark experienced firsthand the time-consuming nightmare of processing reimbursements, cutting and delivering checks, buying gift cards in bulk, and the inevitable mismanaging of cash in a business. Earlier as employees, they experienced the debilitating impact of delayed rewards, incentives or gifts for employees who work hard for a business. “One time I got a last-minute request to revise an entire pitch deck for a sales meeting happening

the next day,” explained Michael. “So I stayed up all night to get it done. I sent the deck on, the deal was closed—and you know what I got? A ‘kudos’ email three weeks later. It was so demotivating, I never wanted to do something like that again.”

THE WHAT Nearly every great industrial transformation shares a familiar storyline: old vs. new, David vs. Goliath, slow vs. fast. No matter the narrative, the basic battle rages on. The world of payments is like that, too. By 2030, mankind will look back in disbelief that receiving money took days or weeks, processing wasn’t available instantly and gaining access to funds was limited by brickand-mortar bank hours.

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THE WOW Solid Number is a driving force behind building technology that focuses on transforming monetary disbursements—to run at the speed of real time, anytime. Solid Number provides its customers with what they need: instant payments. “Whether they’re motivating sales reps with real-time spiffs or reimbursing employees instantly for business expenses, we love making our customers’ lives easier,” says Adam. “I’m still amazed at how fast we get money to our own people. Today I asked one of our employees to pick up some supplies on his way in, and I reimbursed him as soon as he gave me the receipts.” The Solid Number platform isn’t only for employees or vendors—it’s also for their clients’ customers. “We’re learning how valuable customer incentives can be,” says Adam. “Companies are incentivizing their customers now by offering

awards or gifts; why not send the customers cash instead of another type of incentive? The company pays either way, and the value loop can be closed instantly.” Michael adds, “It’s rewarding to hear from customers whose lives are transformed with as little as $5. Sometimes we don’t realize how motivating $5 at the right time can be. This is the real opportunity that businesses have, and we love delivering it. We’re living in a transformation economy. When you can transform people’s lives, they’ll love you forever.”

THE WHO Since launching its product in August of 2019, Solid Number is eager to work with more companies and expand its reach in the United States. “We’re transforming the entire payments ecosystem,” Adam remarked, “and the key to making the transformation successful is our team. We call them ‘our gladiators’—they show up every day ready to work hard to battle the status quo. We don’t grow or solve major problems for our customers without the right team with the right mindset—which is: Do what it takes to get the job done right.”

Adam Campbell Adam Campbell and Michael Clark spent years processing millions of payments to thousands of workers through traditional methods. Having witnessed the pain of traditional payments, they knew there had to be a better way. That’s when they built Solid Number with a vision to extend real-time payments to millions worldwide.

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PEEK

Peek’s mission is to connect the world through experiences with a double-sided marketplace, Peek.com and Peek Pro.

ELEVATOR PITCH Peek.com is a site where consumers can find over 20,000 easily bookable experiences either locally at home or when they’re on a trip. The site offers real-time availability, allowing consumers to book experiences right up until the last minute and with confidence, with over 800,000 verified reviews and a best-price guarantee.

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OUR STORY Peek Pro provides online booking software to tour operators and a valuable POS (point of sale) system to help tour operators cut down check-in queues and improve in-person customer experience. The Peek Pro app allows tour operators to manage their business on-the-go from anywhere. More than 8 million activities lasting over 1.4 billion hours have been booked on the Peek platform, and the company has won several awards for innovation, including the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award alongside Airbnb and Rent the Runway, and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Travel Award. The New York Times called Peek “a site you want to visit again and again.” The company was founded by Ruzwana Bashir and Oskar Bruening in 2011. Ruzwana is a travel junkie, having navigated her way through 50 countries. With an MBA from Havard University and a background in investment banking, having previously worked at Goldman Sachs, Gilt Groupe, Artsy, and the Blackstone Group, Ruzwana decided to found Peek after a birthday trip to Istanbul with friends. She says, “I spent hours researching what the best things to do there were, and calling these far-flung activities companies to try to book the cool experiences I’d discovered. The whole process ended up being lengthy and frustrating. I found myself wishing that there was a onestop shop to book amazing activities online—but it didn’t exist, so I figured it was time to build it!” Her co-founder, Oskar, grew up with a passion for travel, arts, and technology. After graduating with a Masters in Engineering from MIT and a Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Studio School, Oskar has spent the last two decades building software at top Silicon Valley technology companies. At Peek, Oskar runs the product team, working closely with tour operators to build the best-in-industry business software for the tour and activities space. Peek now has over 150 employees in offices across the world, including Salt Lake City, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Santiago, Chile. Peek prides itself on its open, inclusive and fun company culture and on being a great place to work, both in Utah and beyond.

Quotes from Peeksters: “Working at Peek has been nothing short of life changing for me and my family. The atmosphere to problem-solve and be creative in our solutions has pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to grow every day. My supervisors and team continue to push me to be better but also encourage and support me without hesitation. I’ve never felt more comfortable in a work environment than I do at Peek. The culture, the people, and the product are second to none. What more could you ask for?” “I love my coworkers who turned into friends who turned into family.” “I truly enjoy working at Peek! I feel constantly inspired working alongside such innovative talent. We are encouraged and incentivized to get out and experience the world. Peek is changing an archaic yet growing travel industry by empowering operators and bettering the tourist experience.” “Working at Peek has been a jumpstart to my tech career. Everyone works together to make sure we succeed. It’s a happy growing family that makes work feel like home.”

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HEY NEIGHBOR.

Neighbor.com is a peer-to-peer storage marketplace that connects people looking for space with those who have it. Some are calling it “the Airbnb of storage.” People with extra space in their basement, garage, closet or RV pad can make thousands of dollars each year simply by posting their space on Neighbor’s website or mobile app. People in the neighborhood can store their stuff with people they trust for 50% of the cost of traditional self-storage. Neighbor’s safe and convenient platform is helping communities save money and come closer together.

THE FUTURE OF STORAGE It might not seem like it, but Americans have a lot of things to store. Right now, 1 in 10 American households is leasing a storage unit. To meet that demand, there are more storage facilities than McDonald’s, Burger Kings, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Dominos, Dunkin Donuts, Walmarts, Home Depots and Costcos ... combined! And most of those facilities are over 90% full. These are the numbers that fuel the behemoth $400 billion self-storage market. 98

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Unfortunately, these storage facilities are charging high prices and are increasingly unsafe, with 1 in 10 broken into each year. On top of that, industrial locations mean that renters have to drive 25-30 minutes across town just to access their belongings. Neighbor’s mission is to solve those problems. By creating storage with vetted community members and neighbors with unused space, Neighbor keeps costs down and keeps your things nearby. Not only do renters save time and money on a safer, just-right space that is backed by a $25,000 guarantee, but hosts make a whole lot of easy cash and are protected up to $2 million. It’s the neighborly way.

OUR STORY Preston Alder, one of the founders of Neighbor, recognized a need for alternatives to commercial self-storage when he and his wife were preparing to live internationally for several months to work with one of his clients and they had no place to store their belongings. “Not only were all the units in our surrounding area completely full, but the ones that weren’t full were very expensive and unsafe. So we ended up storing our items in our neighbor’s garage and

it was heaven-sent for us. It was very helpful to have a place to put it at a more affordable rate. I had this realization, ‘Why isn’t everyone doing this?”’ Alder said. After sharing his experience with others, Preston realized he wasn’t the only one experiencing this problem. Preston, together with his friends Joseph Woodbury and Colton Gardner, founded Neighbor with the friendly mission to match people’s empty space to other people’s extra stuff.

Their hope was that in doing so, they would bring people and neighborhoods closer together too. Neighbor’s growth has been meteoric. In early 2017, Neighbor launched its product and began servicing customers in Utah. Since then, Neighbor has expanded to have a national presence, with active users in all 50 states. Renters and hosts aren’t the only ones who think that Neighbor is a great idea. Publications like the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Penny Hoarder, Cheddar, and Entrepreneur have shared Neighbor’s story in national headlines. During their early stage, Neighbor won grants from business competitions at BYU and the University of Utah. Neighbor was also proud to accept the Utah Governor’s prestigious Technology Commerce & Innovation grant, as well as the Utah Innovation Award. Recently, Neighbor was named a World Changing Idea by Fast Company. As Neighbor.com looks to the future, they plan to continue to expand globally in hopes of empowering more everyday people to pay down their mortgages and contribute to their community. And through it all, Neighbor has one enduring message to people everywhere: Won’t you be our Neighbor? +1-801-653-0264 Neighborstorage storewithneighbor neighbor.com

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WHAT WE DO Momni links all moms everywhere, offering instant access to trusted care. We are a subscription-free childcare option that is affordable and easy to use. Momni includes easy profile setup, instant connection with hosts near you, access to reviews, and payment within the platform. We also provide a way for moms to earn extra money from home on their own schedules.

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OUR MISSION What began as a simple idea given to one mother has become the vision of an international movement. The Momni Movement is rippling forward in concentric community circles. “Momni Circles” are being organized internationally through technology caresharing circles of trust and literal Momni Circle groups, both physical and online, to provide caresharing connections, support, encouragement, education and protection. We envision a world made better, where all mothers are linked together and the Momni technology provides instant connections to facilitate worldwide mother to mother caresharing. We circle around one another to help care for our young children in our own homes. When one mother is in need, we all circle up to contribute where we can! We are mothers! We are Momnis!

Karmel Larson, Founder & CEO

FOUNDATION For millions of mothers around the world, finding high-quality childcare is impossible. In the poorest countries, some mothers are forced to drug their children while they work, lock them at home alone or tie them up for their own safety. The Momni Foundation helps mothers circle up to solve this care crisis. Through our caresharing app, we pay mothers in developing countries to care for the children of other moms in need.

MomniApp support@momni.com momni.com

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ROUTE ELEVATOR PITCH Route is a one-click premium shopping experience for online ordering and the only way to view all of your online orders, from any merchant, visually in one place. Online shoppers can insure and visually track everything they order online in one centralized app. E-commerce merchants can add Route to their online store by enabling one-click solutions for their customers for shipping insurance, visual package tracking, and one-click claim handling.

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OUR STORY Route CEO and Founder Evan Walker recognized the inconvenience of tracking shipments while traveling through Italy one summer. While out roaming the markets of Florence, he bought a few rare antiques he wanted to ship home but was concerned about not having visibility of the shipments. Realizing how little transparency there is around shipping packages and how difficult it can be when something goes wrong, the idea for Route was born. With how complicated the process of tracking down your packages is when it’s lost or having to jump through hoops if it’s damaged or stolen, the opportunity seemed enormous. “Our goal with Route is to simplify — making order tracking modern and visual, handling shipping issues with one-click, and creating a better online shopping experience for consumers,” says Walker.

Additionally, the company offers Route Plus which gives merchant partners the option for their customers to fully insure their packages for 1% of the cart value. “Route Plus merchants see on average an 8-12% conversion increase due to higher shipping confidence. A better experience means more repeat customers and a higher ROI,” says Walker. Once the shopper adds Route Plus at checkout, it enables one-click refunds and reorders for any packages that are damaged, lost or stolen within the Route app. Route Plus is backed by 330 years of experience in insurance with LLOYDS; the world’s leading insurance company. What started out as a simple solution to a major pain-point has quickly escalated into a sweeping customer experience platform, with game changing solutions and features. Since their January 2019 launch, Route has raised millions in VC funding, assembled a team that has built 5 billion dollar+ companies, and have quickly become one of Utah’s fastest-growing startups. The Route HQ is located in Silicon Slopes, Utah, with an additional office in Los Angeles, California.

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Melanie Alder, CIO, and David Wright, CEO, founded Pattern in 2013

PATTERN ELEVATOR PITCH Pattern is the industry’s leading partner for global e-commerce— helping brands like Nestle, Panasonic, Sylvania, TUMI, and others attain worldwide e-commerce growth and control on marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart.com, eBay, Alibaba, and others. Pattern has more than 300 employees across 13 global offices and provides a full suite of monitoring, compliance, advertising, creative, consulting, and distribution services for hundreds of brands. With more than $300 million in global revenue, Pattern is currently ranked among the fastestgrowing companies in the US and is ranked among the top 5 Amazon sellers globally.

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OUR STORY Melanie Alder and David Wright founded Pattern (formerly iServe) in 2013. As just one of more than a million third-party sellers, Pattern grew quickly by consistently demonstrating a knack for growing brands and helping them regain control. Pattern has since grown into a global organization with 13 locations in North America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and Asia. Today, large consumer brands like Skullcandy, Clorox, Igloo, and Thorne trust Pattern’s marketplace intelligence to help them navigate the complex world of e-commerce. Pattern sets itself apart by relying primarily on math and data from its proprietary monitoring software, Predict, to accelerate growth for brands on Amazon, Walmart.com, eBay, and other marketplaces. “When you’re talking e-commerce, it’s almost ridiculous not to talk about it in the context of data,” said David Wright, Pattern Co-founder and CEO. “If any company who specializes in this e-commerce world isn’t almost completely data-driven, then they’re certainly subpar.” On average, brands grow their eCommerce revenue by 40% in their first year with Pattern. Once brands have gained domestic marketplace dominance, Pattern takes full advantage of the opportunity abroad and helps brands expand to international marketplaces from Alibaba’s Tmall and Taobao in China to Rakuten in Japan and MercadoLibre in South America. “Really the secret is that we are brand obsessed,” explained Melanie Alder, Co-Founder and Pattern’s Chief Investment Officer. “Pattern has experienced such explosive growth because we are brand obsessed and we tailor all of our offerings to what a brand wants and needs.” Pattern Headquarters is located in Silicon Slopes, Utah, with 12 additional offices worldwide.

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OVERSTOCK.COM, INC. ELEVATOR PITCH Overstock.com, Inc. is a Utah-based technology company founded in 1999. Its industry-leading e-commerce website and apps offer a broad range of new products at low prices, including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, home improvement, and more. Overstock is visited by nearly 40 million customers a month and features a marketplace providing customers access to millions of products from its drop-ship partners.

OUR STORY Over its twenty-year history, Overstock has built an organization focused on developing new and innovative technologies for e-commerce and other traditional businesses and markets to provide customers with increased convenience and trust. In 2014, Overstock was the first major retailer to accept cryptocurrency and, in the same year, founded Medici Ventures, its wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to advancing blockchain technology. Medici Ventures and its network of companies believe blockchain is the key to building a technology stack for civilization that will

eliminate middlemen, democratize capital, and re-humanize commerce in existing markets such as identity, land governance, money and banking, capital markets, supply chain, and voting. In addition to its groundbreaking work in the developing world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, the online retailer continually develops new and industryleading technologies to provide the best customer experience for its shoppers and suppliers. These technologies include Overstock Retail’s industry-leading mobile shopping app, which offers a seamless and intuitive shopping experience. The app is equipped with the latest technologies, including augmented reality where shoppers can view true-to-life size product renderings and high-quality 3D models in their own room to see if the product matches their current design. The award-winning app also features personalized product recommendations and unique search functions. Overstock Retail expanded this award-winning app 106

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functionality to its mobile website, bringing augmented reality and 3D models to all mobile users without downloading a separate app. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies continue to rapidly advance, Overstock continues to build and then integrate these next-gen technologies throughout the entirety of its business. The company’s dedicated algorithms team creates ML models and integrates them into departments such as Marketing, Sourcing and Operations, Customer, and Digital to bring greater efficiencies to the company and provide the best possible experience for customers at every touchpoint. Overstock continually builds and introduces ML models across various product teams, including pricing, ranking, search recommender systems, marketing, CRM, advertising technologies, email, sourcing, and supply chain, which has helped the company lead the home goods market for 20 years. Overstock’s website uses ML alongside recommendation engines focused on providing

customers personalized product recommendations relevant to their own shopping patterns and history, making it much more convenient to shop on a website with millions of products. Customers also receive emails that use machine learning models to find relevant products and offers for individual shoppers in real time, creating an ecosystem of near-instant customer personalization. This real-time personalization ecosystem spans beyond email and is being implemented throughout the organization’s various e-commerce and advertising platforms. Overstock utilizes its expert team of technologists and engineers to build cutting-edge models in machine learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain, and more to create a heightened customer experience focused on convenience and trust. As a data-driven tech company, technology and data are at the forefront of each project happening at Overstock. With award-winning apps, innovative customer care techniques, a cutting-edge marketing tech stack, and an incredibly high-speed mobile and desktop shopping platform, Overstock has created a seamless shopping experience from inspiration to post-delivery needs.

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“There’s always an element of chance and you must be willing to live with that element. If you insist on certainty, you will paralyze yourself.” —JP GETTY

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ELEVATOR PITCH Founded in 1939 by Nicholas Mouskondis and now in its third-generation leadership, Nicholas and Company has received many honors for the high quality of its products, its outstanding service to customers, and its relationship with team members. These include the Utah Business Magazine “Best of State for Food Distribution” in 2003, 2006, 2009–2019, and “Best Company to Work For” in 2005 and 2011. “We have a business culture focused on creating mutual success with our customers,” says Peter Mouskondis, the company’s current steward. “Our team of food service experts utilizes state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology, and exemplary food safety practices, as we practice ‘Philotimo,’ a Greek word meaning the love of honor, every day. We think this captures the true importance of hospitality. We value our genuine partnerships and have a passion for serving people. That’s our family recipe for success!”

OUR STORY Nicholas & Company was founded by Nicholas William Mouskondis, who left his home in Crete, Greece, to forge a better life in the US, “the land of promise and opportunity.” With an eighth grade education, no knowledge of the English language, and a sign on his back reading “Utah,” Nicholas

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began his long journey to Salt Lake City. He started the business by collecting discarded, dented cans at the railroad station. After he and his family relabeled them, he sold them to customers on his bread route. Bootstrap tenacity, long hours, and great fortitude kept Nicholas and his wife Anna moving ahead, following their vision and realizing the American dream. Under the progressive leadership of its second president, their son William (Bill) Mouskondis, the company expanded past Salt Lake City, joined buying groups for purchasing power and distribution partnerships, and increased its customer base. Working with his wife, Elyce, and many dedicated employees, Bill secured larger facilities in the Salt Lake International Center. He placed great emphasis on technology and was the first food-service distributor to invest in computers for the delivery fleet, upgraded office systems, and provided laptop computers for the street sales team, receiving numerous awards for its outstanding operations and business practices. Peter Mouskondis and his wife, Nicole, thirdgeneration leaders, have a strong commitment to customer partnerships and the Nicholas & Company team. They invest in building infrastructure and developing the tools needed for success, more than doubling the size of the company’s facility, forming national alliances for product development, and further investing in technology. Additionally, the transportation fleet has been expanded and updated to capitalize on innovation and become more streamlined for safety and efficiency. Each generation has unique challenges and opportunities. The family’s vision and commitment incorporate integrity, honesty, and opportunity for all associates and partners. These are guideposts in meeting customers’ needs while never forgetting the history and the things that have helped make Nicholas & Company

Peter Mouskondis

Nicole Mouskondis

the Intermountain West’s largest independent broad-line food-service distributor.

to maximize efficiencies, utilizing sustainable practices and products. It provides customers with many options for local, sustainable, and green products in all categories it stocks, and is committed to sustainable operations in its warehouse, office, and delivery fleet.

ACCOLADES Nicholas & Company has been honored for its achievements by food companies and distributors, magazines, chefs’ organizations, culinary and dining groups, the International Foodservice Manufacturers Assn. and the Utah Department of Work Force Services, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Utah Highway Patrol, and Utah Department of Agriculture. Its charitable/community work has been lauded by various local and national philanthropic entities.

SUSTAINABILITY Thanks to a carbon-footprint reduction plan, created in partnership with the SWCA Environmental Performance Group, the company is implementing environmental changes to reduce its environmental footprint. In 2008, its facility was expanded and upgraded

“We are committed to sourcing realistic options for the environmentally conscious food-service operator, making it easier for our customers to green their operations,” Mouskondis says. “The Envirable™ collection of products represents recycled, recyclable, and compostable options to traditional paper products, disposables, takeout containers and more. We are a member of Utah’s Own and support many local companies and distribute many local products.” Those at Nicholas & Co. are proud of what has been accomplished toward being a sustainable business and a responsible member of the Utah economy, and are excited about our continued development. The industry is changing and growing rapidly. Foodnetwork has been a huge influence, changing the public’s perception about dining out and making customers more savvy about food quality and safety. Nicholas & Co. currently has facilities in the Salt Lake City Distribution Center and has added Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, distribution centers using the industry’s newest technology and best practices. With double-digit growth leading the company into the 21st century, it currently employs more than 800 team members.

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DAPPER & DASH

The premier onsite salon and barbershop for men and women.

ELEVATOR PITCH Serving Silicon Slopes and the entire Wasatch Front since 2017, Dapper & Dash has become a staple at Utah’s most successful businesses and growing each year, now with thousands of customers looking forward to each visit at their place of work.

OUR STORY Dapper & Dash makes it easier than ever before for men and women to get a haircut, trim, wash, style, wax, and more with their high-end busses as well as permanent in-office salons and barbershops. Convenience at the front door of any business is good for employees and employers. Employees love marking off to-do list items in the free minutes they have at the workplace and employers love bringing great perks that keep their employees close. 112

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Founders Kara and Jeff Fuhriman have worked the corporate schedule for a long time, so they understand the value of bringing convenience to the office. Kara is also a seasoned stylist, barber, and salon owner. Jeff roots from the thriving Utah tech scene and has built Dapper & Dash on exclusive tech that makes it a truly innovative business founded on convenience, quality, and customer experience. He’s been passionate about using technology to create amazing customer experiences since he first started working in tech over a decade ago. Dapper & Dash busses are ‘’smart”; enabled with Wi-Fi and self-running systems that allow each bus to operate effectively in all conditions—no matter what. The busses are selfcontained, meaning they don’t require access to any facilities. And, they are environmentally efficient: bringing the salon and barbershop to corporate locations reduces emissions as it saves everyone who uses the service the car drive to and from the salon or barbershop.

Dapper & Dash has been thinking about the future of the salon and barbershop for a long time now. It’s exciting that technology now enables a come-to-customer experience that hasn’t been available before. We live in an Uber and Amazon economy—we expect services where we are. The future of the salon and barbershop is right at our front door when we want it, and Dapper & Dash is perfecting that process. For that, Dapper & Dash continues to grow its service footprint and is considered one of the most innovative businesses in Silicon Slopes. dapperanddash.co 113

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INCORPORATE MASSAGE The leader in corporate massage services.

ELEVATOR PITCH

Amelia Wilcox, Founder & CEO

With hundreds of certified, professional massage therapists working in more than 70 North American markets, Incorporate Massage helps businesses reward employees, reduce worker injury, and improve recruitment and retention of top talent.

OUR STORY Incorporate Massage started as a way for CEO Amelia Wilcox to provide an awesome employee benefit to local businesses. At the beginning it was very simple—no technology, no automation, and no thoughts of innovating the corporate massage industry. It took a while for the idea of corporate massage to really catch on; however, companies now know they need to invest in their employees, and with that Incorporate Massage has grown quickly. As the company has grown, the space has become increasingly crowded, and clients have become more sophisticated, expecting more from their corporate massage vendor. In order to differentiate from competitors and exceed the expectations of clients, Incorporate Massage focused on building a technology that would enable it to provide the best customer experience. 114

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HOW WE’VE INNOVATED When booking corporate chair massages, clients experienced several major pain points. Previously, booking corporate massage involved extensive communication with a sales person, and staffing events was a lengthy and manual process. Additionally, large companies with multiple job sites needed to hire multiple vendors to cover all offices, and most clients were required to take their own time to manage the massage schedule and other aspects of the massage event. Based on those assessments, Incorporate Massage saw a serious need and decided to build the first ever on-demand massage scheduling platform in the corporate space. It allows organizations to book a team of massage therapists instantly at their own convenience without ever talking to a person. Not only does the application offer the benefits of self-service, but also automation of all of the painful aspects of manual booking. Staffing now happens instantly in many cases, and automated email notifications keep clients in the loop without the lag that used to be typical. The scheduling tool allows for the client’s employees to schedule their own massages across as many job sites as needed with minimal action necessary from the client. The technology also makes managing large multi-location events streamlined and easy. Over the last year, Incorporate Massage has worked to improve the UI/UX to make the client experience event better.

Team photos at company retreat in Park City, UT

ACCOLADES

Incorporate Massage therapists giving massages at a marketing conference

In 2019, due to the focus on customer experience and innovation, Incorporate Massage earned the Bronze Stevie® Award in the Company of the Year— Business Services category and debuted at No. 678 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies. The company also ranked on the MWCN Utah 100 list of fastest-growing companies in Utah for the second time, landing at No. 21. +1-800-556-2950x1 | incmassage incorporatemassage incorporatemassage.com 115

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“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.“ —CHINESE PROVERB

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SEEK ELEVATOR PITCH Seek enables consumers to see products in their life before they buy them. In working directly with businesses, Seek offers its technology to be installed directly on these businesses’ websites, allowing their consumers to test out products before they buy them. Seek’s AR increases customer satisfaction by increasing the chances they will purchase something they do not end up returning.

OUR STORY In-app AR is more available than most consumers know—but that’s just the problem; they don’t know. While people browse products online every day, the truth is that they’re mostly just looking at them through the web; they balk at having to download a brand-specific app in order to access the AR capability. Seek knew of this problem from its early days as a B2C platform, when its biggest struggle was getting users to download its app. Brands contributed rewards, which appeared as augmented-reality treasure chests all over the world. Imagine Pokemon Go, but with tangible, real-life value.

Seek was ahead of its time—too far ahead of its time. And so it pivoted. It rebuilt its technology so that AR could be available on any website on any device—iOS or Android—no app required. It also became a B2B company. “When we made our end product more accessible, that’s when things started to get better,” says Jon Cheney, Seek’s founder and CEO. “We took it out of the app and onto the web, and that’s when things started to get really exciting.” One of Seek’s customers is Walmart, and because Walmart is itself enormous and serves an enormous amount of people, whatever tech it brings on has to work for the masses and must be easily accessible. That standard became a sort of “accessibility thermometer” for Seek. “The consumer clicks on the product, and it just works. Done. No downloading, not 10 steps to download, figure out how to use and register on an app. It’s just there right on the product page,” Jon says.

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Growing Seek in Utah has saved them. By avoiding high startup costs in places like Silicon Valley (where they were told they had to be or they would never succeed), Seek has been able to compete on the world stage with far less investment and dilution than other similar B2B SaaS startups. “There’s a unique business environment here,” says Jon Cheney, Seek’s founder and CEO. “People are very creative and entrepreneurial. Utah actually has the second-highest number of ‘YouTubers’—London is first—and the talent pool is as strong as, say, Silicon Valley, but living costs are drastically lower, so we can pay our employees a great salary that is rewarding for them.” Part of the reason Utah’s talent pool is so strong, especially in terms of sales, Jon says, is the presence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose congregants have experience traveling the world over and speaking with people about their religion. That’s not to say that their religion is a sales pitch—rather, it teaches its congregants to listen, to identify with another’s problem, and to help

with a solution. Whatever its origin, that customer-focused set of skills has helped companies in Utah better serve their clients and to grow much more quickly than they might elsewhere. The future for Seek looks awesome—literally. Jon describes a consumer of the not-so-distant future. They are in their home, wearing something similar to Google Glass, and considering the state of their living room. They can ask a website to show them a brown leather couch—no, a red one. They can browse art that will pair nicely with the couch. They can see all of these things thanks to AR. “I’m excited for the whole world to get deeper into AR,” Jon says. “There are so many different things that are going to happen when people can access AR through a lens or screen that is literally before their eyes. It’s going to feel realer than it ever has. This is the experience of the future—the consumer experience of the future—and Seek wants to be the glue that brings it all together.”

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“As the consumer buying journey continues to evolve, so does a brand’s ability to scale trusted recommendations from the people consumers are turning to for advice on what to buy,” says ExpertVoice CEO Tom Stockham. “Whether online or in-store, consumers need personalized buying advice. The more product knowledge and experience those trusted individuals have, the better recommendations they can provide to the customer and the better experience that customer will have.”

OUR STORY Founded in 2004 as 3point5, Salt Lake City–based ExpertVoice started as an online retail training platform. For years, in the name of improved profitability, retailers had been cutting costs and hiring fewer, less experienced sales reps;

EXPERTVOICE ELEVATOR PITCH With nearly any product a consumer buys today there are literally hundreds of options at their disposal. Individual brands, like Nike, now have more options for running shoes than the entire running shoe industry had just 30 years ago. This type of product expansion is happening in every industry, and each of these additional products comes with overwhelming amounts of information. So how can a brand stand out among the competition and make sure its product gets the attention it deserves? And how can a consumer find the product that’s best for their needs? For ExpertVoice, the answer is simple: trusted recommendations.

Tom Stockham

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ExpertVoice Team Photo, 2019 Field Day

and brands were finding it harder to train retailers about their product. Aware that knowledgeable salespeople drive more sales, 3point5 provided brands with product training that retail sales associates could access online. Today, ExpertVoice is proud to partner with hundreds of prominent brands, thousands of retailers and feature more than one million active users, verified industry professionals and influencers who are passionate, knowledgeable and trusted in their field. They’re the people consumers ask for advice on what to buy. The user base is no longer only retail sales associates, it ranges from members of the military, ski patrol, outdoor guides, firefighters, chefs and more. Typically, the reach of an expert on ExpertVoice is significantly lower than someone a marketer would consider investing in, such as Kim Kardashian or LeBron James. However, the strength of their recommendations is incredible. In fact, according to a study by Dr. Jonah Berger and the Keller Fay Group, 82% of consumers are highly likely to follow a recommendation

made by one of these real-life influencers while another study showed that only 3% trust celebrity endorsements. ExpertVoice provides members with the product experience and education they need to give better buying advice. They enjoy sneak peeks into upcoming launches, deep dives on the latest innovations and the chance to test new products before they hit store shelves. A study from Marshall Fisher and the Wharton School of Business found that retail sales associates who engaged with brand training on ExpertVoice sold 46% more than those who didn’t train. Ultimately, a brand’s success depends on what people say about their products—in retail stores, online reviews, and on social media. Increasing advocacy is the most impactful way to ensure people recommend that brand more often. As the world’s largest advocacy platform, ExpertVoice helps brands identify and empower their most influential advocates, giving them the tools they need to authentically promote their products to their target audience. 121

9 Exchange Place, Suite 1000 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 info@expertvoice.com expertvoice.com

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PODIUM

Podium modernizes the way business happens locally with products designed to help businesses be found, chosen, and gain insight into their customers’ experience. Did You Know: Though 95% of their employee base is in Utah, they’re now expanding into Brazil and Australia and having tremendous success in these countries.

OUR STORY Podium was founded in Lehi, Utah, in 2014. Today it helps over 40,000 businesses improve their customer interactions. But before it was named one of Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies, its founders, Eric Rea and Dennis Steele, set out to solve one significant problem: how to give a single tire shop in Canada the modern tools to operate in a modern economy. Eric Rea’s father owned a bike shop in Calgary that struggled to collect reviews that showcased his outstanding customer service. So, Steele and Rea decided to create a review solution that would offer a fairer representation of the hard work Rea’s dad poured into his shop. 122

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They had a simple approach: help a local business stand out by creating seamless connections between them and their customers. They wanted to empower businesses to create a brand that galvanized the workforce and reflected the people within it. But though companies consistently delivered excellence along the way, somehow, their efforts didn’t reflect on their online footprint. “When Podium started, many companies had a similar problem and this became a challenge that Podium set out to solve,” says Jason Taylor, Podium’s Chief Technology Officer. The majority of businesses only received polarized reviews when a customer were either overly delighted with their experience, but more often motivated to leave a bad review when something went wrong. There hadn’t been a solution for companies to capture everyone in between and create an accurate representation of the customer experience they delivered. So, Rea, Steel, and team established a system that sent review invitations to all customers automatically. Immediately, companies started to see an increase in their online ratings, more leads, and more positive reviews. Their game-changing tool empowered customers to continue the conversations with a business past the review cycle. This inspired Rea and Steele to look beyond the horizon and create a software platform that gave

customers the option to message with companies as organically as they would a family or a friend. This was the start of Podium.

across multiple mediums. Now, Podium offers those businesses a solution: manage all communications from one inbox.

Modernizing the Customer Journey

“Our interactions are text-based, not email. They were started this way, and this focus on convenient messaging has fueled the company’s products ever since,” says Taylor.

Today, over 89% of consumers would like the option to message a business. They expect the ability to use platforms like Apple Business Chat, Google Messaging, SMS text messaging, Instagram, or Whatsapp to directly message enterprises about their products and services. As a result, companies struggle to manage overwhelmingly long lists of text conversations

Messaging allows businesses to create richer, trustworthy interactions with their customers proving to today’s buyer that said business values their input. Moreover, Podium’s Interaction Management platform has created a way for local businesses and enterprises to flourish both on and offline by offering businesses the necessary tools to improve visibility, drive more leads, and empower text-based payments.

ACCOLADES In the past 5 years, Podium has been lucky enough to work with some of the best businesses in the world, helping them with their most significant business challenges and transformations. The company has also been recognized, receiving No. 13 on the Inc. 5000 in 2018 and No. 52 in 2019, and making Forbes Cloud 100 (2018), as well as Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups (2018).

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PRODUCT INNOVATION 124

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“You can’t allow tradition to get in the way of innovation. There’s a need to respect the past, but it’s a mistake to revere your past.” —BOB IGER

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Hip Hop Duo, Earthgang

THE ORIGINAL LIFESTYLE AUDIO BRAND. Born on a chairlift in Park City, Utah, they’re best known for their board sports DNA and Sensory Bass Crusher headphones, an innovation created to deliver on a promise they call “Music You Can Feel.” They became one of the world’s most influential audio brands by bringing more performance, color, and emotion to an otherwise predictable, monochromatic headphone industry. Their unmistakable style disrupted an audio arena that had yet to offer a brand who embodied the visceral power of music. From their mind-blowing Crusher headphones that give you bass you can feel to a team of the most elite board sports athletes, Skullcandy continues to evolve as a leader in audio performance and style. Today, their industry is on a quest to perfect cordless audio, and Skullcandy continues to impress by offering more options. 126

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the brand is gaining more recognition than ever for its strategic use of color and relatable storytelling. Skullcandy also launched more products in 2019 than ever before. The company made ears everywhere rejoice with the release of their latest and greatest Sensory Bass headphone, Crusher ANC. A combination of three premium technologies, Crusher ANC claims to be the world’s most immersive headphone, and promises to give listeners an experience aptly titled: Deeper Dimensions of Sound. Crusher ANC’s one-of-a-kind sound immersion is made possible by integrating the company’s patented Sensory Bass technology with Active Noise Cancellation and Personal Sound calibration—an audio engineering feat that’s never been done before. The company debuted their Sensory Bass drivers in 2004, setting the standard for immersive audio. Since then, their inhouse engineers have perfected the technology, making Crusher ANC the fourth generation of a headphone that’s unlike anything else on the market. They worked in-house to accomplish such a feat, relying solely on their extensive engineering team, and new headquarters’ premium resources, including a full test lab and anechoic sound chamber.

Professional Snowboarder, Anna Gasser As such, 2019 has been a re-defining year for the growing company. In March, they launched a groundbreaking campaign called 12 Moods. By showcasing emerging artists and athletes to tell monthly mood stories, highlighted by limited-edition product drops in unique colorways, Skullcandy is delivering music you can feel in a whole new way. They understand their audience wants to try true wireless audio, and they’ve responded by focusing their monthly limited-edition drops on the true wireless experience. Skullcandy currently boasts a full suite of completely cordless earbuds; including three different form factors to meet their consumer’s preference for fit, style, and feature-needs such as durability and battery life. Each one of their true wireless products gets its month to shine as a limited-edition release in a vibrant color that embodies their selected mood for the month. With every piece of 12 Moods content created by their in-house marketing team,

By adding Personal Sound to Crusher’s tech lineup, listeners will be able to hear parts of their music they’ve never heard before through Skullcandy’s first app experience. Users download the app to take a short hearing test, which then optimizes their Crusher ANC’s sound profile to their unique hearing. They’re giving customers fair warning with two simple words: “Expect Goosebumps.” Skullcandy is proving the impossible is possible when you build a team of young, scrappy, like-minded individuals who share the same values as their company. It’s no surprise that two of the brand’s core beliefs are Banded Together and Fresh Tracks. You can see these values brought to life as the company consistently ventures into new territory and does it as a unified team. With research and innovation happening on a daily basis, Skullcandy employees get much needed breaths of fresh air from their unique location. Situated in the heart of Park City, right below the Olympic Park ski jumps, their headquarters gives workers access to world-class trails for every season. And you can rest assured they make use of them day in and day out. Where the cliché might be reaching elsewhere, it’s true here that they work hard and play even harder. Skullcandy HQ | 6301 N. Landmark Drive | Park City, UT 84098 help@skullcandy.com | +1-888-697–5855 | skullcandy.com 127

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ELEVATOR PITCH ElectraFly is an aviation company building a hybrid-electric, personal flying vehicle.

OUR STORY More and more it is becoming evident that innovations in air transportation are developing quickly and that highways in the sky for personal transport or package delivery will soon be a reality. Some report that flying cars could take off as soon as 2023. ElectraFly has international patent-pending innovations to increase the lift capacity and flight times for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Founded in 2017, ElectraFly is a team with pilots, entrepreneurs, and builders. They have received attention for their innovative efforts and have started flight testing and developing multiple working prototypes. “There is an undeniable change happening in air transportation, but there are problems in efficiency,” says John Manning, ElectraFly Co-founder and Director of Development. “So 128

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many—especially as children—dream about flying. We’re developing innovations to make the dream of personal flight a reality and to shape the future of urban air mobility.” Today, unmanned aerial vehicles are entering numerous markets, including inspection, surveying and mapping, agriculture, and imaging. However, they are limited in what they can do because they cannot lift heavy loads and they are not designed for forward flight or long-distance travel. Significant opportunities are coming for unmanned and manned aerial vehicles and the supporting infrastructure. In December 2018, Morgan Stanley analysts forecasted urban air mobility could become a $2.9 trillion global market by 2040. The ElectraFly is designed for shorter urban air mobility scenarios, including personnel transportation and supply delivery. Imagine flying rooftop to rooftop to avoid trafficcongested city roads. Or flying from a central point to a special airdrop landing pad before boarding a plane for a long flight. While the first ElectraFly models are designed for personal transport, its innovations are scalable for specific purposes, such as package and supply delivery, search and rescue, first responders, or military Special Forces. For example, a batch of ElectraFly vehicles could be deployed from a cargo plane in a Special Forces military operation with or without pilots to access a remote or hostile location. The ElectraFly could have the ability to descend on minimal power and without a parachute reducing the risk of being seen. The vehicles would aid in personnel stealth operations and quick evacuations. The single-passenger ElectraFly also reduces the risk of transporting or evacuating a team from a hostile environment with a military helicopter, which would require a pilot and crew in addition to the full Special Forces team. ElectraFlying electrafly electrafly.com

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SARCOS ROBOTICS

Sarcos is the only team in the world to have successfully produced a powered fullbody exoskeleton that augments human performance with enhanced strength and endurance in both the upper and lower body.

MISSION

Sarcos is revolutionizing industrial labor forces globally by deploying robots that combine human intelligence, instinct, and judgment with the strength, endurance and precision of machines to create the safest, most productive and cost-effective workforce in the world.

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Our robots help humans safely completing in minutes tasks that typically take several workers many hours to perform, while minimizing the risk of injury.

We are revolutionizing a myriad of industries by deploying robots that will create the safest, most productive and cost-effective workforce in the world.

Our robots enhance human productivity while keeping workers safe and out of harm’s way.

OVERVIEW Sarcos Robotics is the undisputed leader in developing versatile, energetically autonomous, highly mobile and dexterous robots. Our products combine human intelligence, instinct, and judgment with robotic strength, endurance and precision to augment worker performance. With more than 25 years of research and development, and decades of advancements in complex electromechanical and biologically-inspired engineered systems, we have created three award-winning, revolutionary robotics designed to save lives, reduce injury and improve productivity: the Guardian™ S multi-purpose mobile inspection robot, the Guardian™ GT large-scale industrial robot, and the Guardian™ XO ® powered, full-body exoskeleton. Sarcos® robots are unique in that they are versatile, multipurpose platforms designed for a myriad of use cases and industries, designed to solve many challenges. These robots are revolutionizing and redefining the workforce of the future in a broad range of industries, including automotive, aviation, advanced manufacturing, oil & gas, power generation, construction, logistics, mining, defense, and public safety.

The Guardian™ S multi-purpose, inspection and IoT robot enables operations and maintenance (O&M) teams to gather visual and sensor-based data regarding critical assets in facilities and plants. The robot makes inspections and remote surveillance safer and more effective through its all-terrain, state-of-the-art visual surveillance, twoway, real-time video, voice, and data communication, and optional cloud-computing functionality. The Guardian™ GT first-of-its-kind large scale industrial exoskeleton robot provides an unparalleled combination of dexterity and strength for the operator. Mounted on an agile vehicle base that can be powered by batteries, diesel, or natural gas, the single or dual-armed system can lift and manipulate payloads up to 1,000 pounds, dexterously, and with minimal human effort. The Guardian™ GT robot is custom-built to customer specifications. The Guardian XO ® is a battery-powered, full-body industrial exoskeleton that is highly mobile and dexterous. The XO® augments humans by assisting with lifting and transporting heavy items and completing non-repetitive tasks in unpredictable and unstructured environments. The Guardian XO robot enables the operator to perform hours of physical activity that would otherwise be impossible for a single human to perform. The Guardian™ XO® will be available at the end of 2020.

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RAGS

Dubbed as one of the nations “coolest kids brands” Rags creates unique, comfortable and stylish clothing for kids. Founder and CEO Rachel Nilsson has built the brand from her own basement to a multi-million-dollar business in a matter of a few years. Her dynamic stretchy neckline has won the hearts of moms and kids everywhere. Forget the snaps and fuss with regular kid’s clothing. Rags offers moms and kids a choice for clothing that can be worn for every activity. Rags have graced the pages of major magazines, the kids of influencers, celebrities, and, most importantly to Nilsson, the closets and homes of everyday moms around the world. After being featured on the popular, hit television show, Shark Tank, Rags has been on a fast track to growth and popularity. As Nilsson continues to lead a team of some of the industry’s best, she reiterates a few things that have helped create the brand that’s loved today by so many.

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I wanted something... 1. FASHIONABLE. Who doesn’t like a welldressed little kiddo? 2. Had a comfortable FIT. I didn’t want my son Harrison to look like he was wearing a box. Everything he had just never fit his cute little body. 3. That was super FUNCTIONAL. I say it all of the time: Function over fashion. But the Rag was perfect. It had no snaps, it was easy on and off, and it looked amazing. Best of both worlds. These three things are the driving factors behind everything I like and there was nothing in the marketplace that had all three.

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I sewed the first Rag out of my husband’s T-shirt! It fit the bill. It was sooo comfortable for Harry. The patent-pending neck design made slipping it on and off a parent’s dream come true. I immediately shared the Rag with my Instagram pals and the response was crazy. It started selling super-fast and I found myself sewing around 200 Rags every three to four days. People loved it as much as I did!

ACCOLADES We were featured in the British Vogue twice. American Vogue included us in “What the Cool Kids Are Getting This Holiday Season: The Most Stylish Gifts for Ages 0 to Preteen.” The Huffington Post nominated us for the “Top 15 Coolest Kid Brands in America.” In 2016 we aired on ABC’s Shark Tank and were listed as one of the top 10 pitches of the season.

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On the show, Rags received three offers from the Sharks. Shortly after that, we were featured multiple times in Forbes Magazine and have since been featured in US Weekly, Pop Sugar, Brit + Co, and more. My goal is to be more than a cool clothing line and a cool brand. I hope to inspire moms, and future moms, to not sweat the small stuff, live in the moment, keep perspective, and follow your dreams. You only have one life to live, enjoy it!

Rachel Nilsson | rags_to_raches ragscom ragstoraches | rags_com rags.com

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Cory Steven Tholl CEO

ELEVATOR PITCH Klymit makes ultra-lightweight sleep gear for when you’re away from your bed, focusing on solutions that are comfortable, reliable, and affordable. With a range of products designed and precision-engineered in-house, Klymit has been operating out of Utah for over 10 years, and is now based in Kaysville.

OUR STORY “We’ve chosen to solve what we view as the one main problem to being outside—sleeping,” says Cory Tholl, CEO of Klymit, who describes himself as an avid problem-solver who loves the outdoors. “People love to go camping, but many people hate to sleep away from their bed,” says Tholl. “And we recognize that, so we’re trying to solve this one obstacle that’s restricting people from enjoying the outdoors more.” Klymit specializes in portable mattresses for sleeping outside or away from your bed. “Many people carry a big bulky pad that’s not even comfortable,” says Tholl. “No wonder they don’t love sleeping outdoors. We saw that as an opportunity.” So Klymit set out to produce something that’s ultralightweight. “Something that can fit in your back pocket,” says Tholl, “while not sacrificing comfort.” Why focus on this problem? Tholl says it feels good to assist others in enjoying the outdoors. “Being outdoors is good for the soul,” he says. “It gets you away from the world of electronics, from the hustle and bustle of life.” 134

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Klymit works with all facets of the outdoor experience—boating, camping, hiking, hunting, and more, and aims to solve the problem of outdoor sleeping for everyone. Tholl cites first time campers as a group he particularly wants to help. “It pains me when first time campers go out and take really poor equipment, hate camping because their equipment was poor, and then never want to go camping again.” “It’s such a missed opportunity.” Klymit wants to change the mindsets of as many people as they can, so they make every effort to set their products at price points that make that possible. “A family with five kids can now actually afford to go out camping with real equipment and have a good experience outdoors.” Though sleeping mats are where Klymit first found success, they now offer a wide range of

other outdoor products, from sleeping bags, pillows, and tents, to backpacks, dinghies, blankets, and beds for your dog. What all these products have in common is that they’re custom designed and precisionmade using a CNC welding machine invented by the engineers at Klymit itself. “We needed a process that allowed us to prototype inflatable products with accuracy and quality,” says Tholl. They now use this CNC welding machine to create computerdesigned prototypes “really quickly, inhouse.” According to Tholl, this allows Klymit to think outside the box in terms of the products they can imagine.

they’ve operated out of, from Ogden to Clearfield, and now Kaysville. “Utah is just a really great place to do business,” says Tholl. “So many organizations and local governments have tools in place to help you be successful, and it feels like—on an individual level—people want to see you succeed.”

Utah, says Tholl, has also been instrumental in Klymit’s success. Fifteen minutes away from the mountains and with outdoor venues for skiing, camping, boating, hiking and hunting literally in their back yard, Tholl says at Klymit they’re inspired by their surroundings. Utah natives started the company, and most employees grew up there as well. “The outdoors are in our blood,” says Tholl. But it’s not just the physical climate that has aided Klymit. Especially in the early days, they received much-appreciated support from the angel investing network in Utah, and have been welcomed by every city 135

For more information on Klymit, visit klymit.com 457 Deseret Drive | Kaysville, UT 84037 +1-801-310-7235

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COTOPAXI

Cotopaxi products are built to last and designed to enhance your everyday. They’re also unique and inventive—functional but far from ordinary.

ELEVATOR PITCH In 2014, Davis Smith assembled five extraordinary innovators (Stephan Jacob, CJ Whitaker, Sam Ricks, Cheri Sanguinetti, and Jordan Allred) and started Cotopaxi with a clear mission: create innovative outdoor products and experiences that help alleviate poverty, move people to do good, and inspire adventure. Today, we remain committed to making a positive impact on people’s lives. In fact, Cotopaxi’s creed, Do Good, touches every aspect of our company. From our giving model to our company culture and sustainable product design, we see our entire business as a vehicle to make an impact. 136

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OUR STORY Through the Cotopaxi Foundation, we put 1% of our revenues toward addressing poverty and supporting community development. More specifically, these funds support our grant making program. Every year, we promote organizations successfully improving the human condition. To date, we’ve awarded 42 grants in six focus countries. Cotopaxi is a certified B Corp, which means we belong to a group of companies focused on advancing the hybrid business movement and utilizing the power of business as a force for social, environmental, and economic good.

To become certified as a B Corp, a business must meet best-in-class standards regarding its impact on workers, suppliers, community, and the environment. The B Corp model helps us ensure we are always fulfilling our mission and elevating our work. Cotopaxi products are built to last and designed to enhance your everyday. They’re also unique and inventive—functional but far from ordinary. When you wear or use them, you’ll notice they are high-quality items, but you’ll also notice they are high-quality items with a higher purpose. We aim to prioritize impact at every step of the design process. We’re into funky; we’re into sustainable; we’re into treating those who sew our products with respect. How do we do that? Each one of our factories agrees to a rigorous code of conduct, completes an audit or relevant certification, and agrees to help promote fair labor practices. We work with partners like Fair

Trade USA, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and B Corp to always hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards and to improve over time.

Through the fusion of business and adventure, Cotopaxi hopes to ignite passion for community, turn inspiration into action, and build a movement for lasting, collective good.

All of our products are born from colorful creativity, careful deliberation, and best-in-class materials. As a result, they stand out for their durability, intuitive details, and sustainable stories.

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NU SKIN ELEVATOR PITCH Founded 35 years ago, Nu Skin develops and distributes innovative consumer products, offering a comprehensive line of premium-quality beauty and wellness solutions. The company builds upon its scientific expertise in both skin care and nutrition to continually develop innovative product brands that include the Nu Skin personal care brand, the Pharmanex nutrition brand, and most recently, the ageLOC anti-aging brand. The ageLOC brand has generated a loyal following for such products as the ageLOC LumiSpa skin cleansing and treatment device, ageLOC Youth nutritional supplement, the ageLOC Me customized skin care system, as well as the ageLOC TR90 weight management and body shaping system. Nu Skin sells its products through a global network of sales leaders in Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Pacific. As a long-standing member of direct selling associations globally, Nu Skin is committed to the industry’s consumer guidelines that protect and support those who sell and purchase its products.

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Most companies define themselves by their product. Ask Nu Skin what they do, and they’ll tell you: They’re an empowerment company. Founded in 1984 in Provo, Utah, Nu Skin now operates in nearly 50 markets with more than 60,000 independent distributors. Nu Skin’s sales leaders use a cloud-based sales and networking platform to build their own businesses. This helps Nu Skin’s entrepreneurs do what they do best: sell Nu Skin’s high quality products. Nu Skin invests similarly in its internal team. Behind its products is a team of scientists and botanical experts. Nu Skin products are deeply rooted in world-class science such as the research in gene expression that is utilized in the company’s ageLOC line of products and the numerous published scientific articles from its team of more than 75 in-house scientists. These experts find the best ingredients and develop unique technology that has received multiple patents in skin and hair technology. Ritch Wood, CEO

Some of those patents lie in devices like the ageLOC LumiSpa, an innovative facial cleansing and treatment tool that oscillates and vibrates to scrub away dirt and makeup while renewing the skin; and Facial Spa, a handheld device that uses microcurrent technology to stimulate and tone skin. The company’s strength in technology is evident in its award-winning products that have led to Nu Skin being ranked the world’s number one at-home beauty device system brand.* The company’s already stringent 6S sourcing process adds to the transparency of its products. But consumers are increasingly demanding that ingredients are pure, clean and sustainable in their products. This is why Nu Skin has developed and invested in ingredient-sourcing innovations like controlled-environment agriculture (CEA). Using artificial intelligence to maintain the perfect water, sunlight, and soil conditions, Nu Skin is working toward sourcing pure and safe ingredients in a cost-effective way.

Ryan Napierski, President

“At Nu Skin, we have always focused on using only the best, most effective ingredients in our products,” said Ritch Wood, CEO of Nu Skin. “This is a natural evolution in our commitment to innovate where we intend to infuse the best of nature, the latest in science and the most advanced technology into pure, safe and sustainable products.”

Nu Skin Research and Development Leaders: Dr. Mark Bartlett, Dr. Helen Knaggs, Dr. Joe Chang

More information is available at nuskin.com

[*] Source: Euromonitor International Ltd; Retail Value RSP terms; all channels; 2017 and 2018. Includes at-home Skin Care Devices exclusively paired with topical consumable of same brand. Based on Euromonitor custom research methodology, Jan/Feb 2019. Includes electric facial cleansers as defined in Passport database; does not include hair care/removal, body shavers, or oral care appliances.

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OWLET BABY CARE

Owlet Baby Care, a Utah-based company, is on a mission to give parents insights into their baby’s general wellness.

Owlet believes that by empowering parents with the right information at the right time, they can experience more joy and less worry during the newborn phase. Owlet hit the market in 2015 with the Smart Sock—the first ever baby monitor to track a baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels. The Smart Sock is a wearable baby monitor inside a sock that comfortably wraps around a baby’s foot while they sleep. Using an accompanying Base Station, the Smart Sock uses lights and sounds to notify caregivers of their baby’s status: green means levels are within the preset zones, and red means levels have fallen out of the preset range. Kurt Workman, Owlet CEO, believes every parent, new and expecting, should have access to better tools to care for their baby in their home. The desire to find better, more data-driven ways to care for infants grew out of a personal experience: Workman and his wife were concerned about their children potentially inheriting a hereditary heart condition. “With the advances in today’s technology, I knew there had to be a better way to watch over our infants while they slept,” Workman said. “It blew my mind that we had the technology to tell me practically everything, except for what was most important to me as a parent: is my child okay?” 140

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In addition to developing ground-breaking infant wellness products, Owlet also champions the message of safe sleep and partners with organizations who promote safe sleep practices. The ABCs of safe sleep—Alone, on their Back, and in their Crib—are recommendations from the American Pediatric Association and are bestpractice in the effort to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Though the Smart Sock has not been evaluated by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) as a SIDS prevention tool, Owlet hopes spreading the safe sleep message can help make a difference for families around the world. “We want this product to be as impactful as the car seat when it was introduced in 1975,” Workman said of the Smart Sock.

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Since the launch of the first Smart Sock in 2015, Owlet has continued to innovate in the baby tech space and was voted best baby monitor three years running. In early 2019, they launched the Owlet Cam, a video baby monitor that streams live video and audio to a user’s smartphone, and are hard at work on the Owlet Band, a first-ofits-kind wearable pregnancy tracker. The Band won two CES Innovation awards and is expected to launch in beta in late 2019. Owlet is also in the process of releasing a baby sleep coaching platform designed in partnership with leading sleep pediatric sleep consultants. With visions of becoming the authority on safe sleep and overall baby wellness, Owlet has positioned itself as an industry leader in the often overcrowded baby market.

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TRAEGER GRILLS

The real innovation at Traeger is how its products make customers feel. As strange as this may sound, the Traeger Grills innovation story is not about the grills, or the pellets, or the rubs and sauces, or the technology, or anything Traeger makes. And as important as it is, the company’s culture—how Jeremy Andrus bought the company and moved it to Utah to tap into the energy and passion of the ecosystem there—is also not its innovation story.

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searching on my phone for a nearby butcher, or researching flavor palates for turkey, or planning my Christmas dinner contribution six months in advance, or figuring out whether I could smoke Brussels sprouts. Yes, the grills are incredible, the company culture is wonderful, and the wordplay is fun, but the real innovation at Traeger is how its products make customers feel. I am a Traeger customer. And Traeger has innovated me.

And as fun as they are, words like WiFire® and Smokenomics are not its innovation story, either (although ya gotta love ’em). Don’t get me wrong … the grills are incredible, the culture that creates them is outstanding, the inventiveness of the wordplay is quite clever, and they all contribute to the company’s innovation story. But the real innovation at Traeger is about none of those things. So what is the Traeger innovation story about? It’s about me! I love my Ironwood 650. And from the moment I fired it up and completely mucked up my first attempt at ribs, I found a new passion for grilling. Even though I overcooked them and really didn’t like the rub I chose, I was still so fired up, I constantly glanced at the neighbors to see whether anyone was checking out my new baby. You know how a new car fuels your passion for washing, waxing, and detailing? My 650 not only sparked my passion for grilling, it fired me up to an entirely new love for mixing and matching flavors, for experimentation, for the blending of rub and sauce and wood and meat and time. After 40 years of grilling on charcoal and gas, I found the chef inside me I didn’t realize I had lost. And I’m not talking about just while I am on my patio or in my kitchen. I’m waiting in a lobby for a meeting to begin, and instead of thinking about the meeting, I find myself 143

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WALKER EDISON

ELEVATOR PITCH Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Walker Edison is a leading partner for the biggest names in e-commerce. Beautifully designed by an inhouse team, their line of ready-to-assemble furniture brings trendy styles to every home at an affordable price. Their designs represent the desire to break the mold and Live Outside the Box™.

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OUR STORY Founded in late 2006, Scott and Brad Bonham started the company with a collection of glass TV stands they discovered in China. They formed partnerships with local Utah companies to sell their newly acquired inventory and Walker Edison was born. Matt Davis joined the team and became co-owner in early 2007. With a mindset for growth and a vision of becoming a leading e-commerce solution, Brad and Matt improved their shipping to meet ISTA-3A packaging standards, implemented 24-hour, same day shipping, and reverse engineered quality furniture for dropship. Since then, they’ve leveraged the power of data analytics, sparking exponential growth and allowing them to scale their business to better serve their customers and partners. Today, Walker Edison is continuing to break the mold in order to reach new heights. They’re expanding into international territory, selling their products and building warehouses in Canada, Germany, and the UK, introducing furniture in new categories and new styles every month. They’ve been a top partner to companies like Wayfair, Target, Overstock, Walmart and Amazon and are constantly seeking ways to improve their relationships.

GIVING BACK

Achievements and Accolades

• • • • •

Event host and donor for Rise Against Hunger Sponsor hundreds of children for Sub for Santa Supports Take Home Pantries at local schools Donor to Utah’s homeless shelter, The Road Home Active participants with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah • Sustainer of the Catholic League of Charities • Trained by and supports Prevent Child Abuse Utah • Advocate and backer of Pamela’s Closet

• Ernst & Young’s 2015 and 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist • Utah Business Fast 50 recipient four times between 2013-2019 • Home Furnishings Business Forty Under 40 • Best of the Beehive – 2019 Salt Lake Magazine • Mountain West Capital Network Utah 100 • Utah Business 2015 CXO of the Year

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OUR STORY Several years ago, I saw a good friend put a lot of money into manufacturing his product without first completing all the necessary steps that would have given him the best chance at being successful. Our founding team has felt the pain, the fear of making the wrong choices in those early stages. We have seen individuals and companies miss critical steps in taking their product to market.

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OUR PRODUCT ECOSYSTEM

Regardless of the product, or the size of our company, we have all had similar challenges: from knowing where or how to start, to product design, supply chain, fulfillment, IP, branding etc. Marketing, sales, retail, keeping current with e-commerce, finding funding, the list goes on and are all part of the complex ecosystem required for tangible products.

WHO IS INVOLVED? EVERYONE!

If we can successfully help an entrepreneur go to market with a product, or help an established product company do business better, we also help all the supporting businesses in the ecosystem.

Product Design Engineering Prototyping

Manufacturing Sourcing Supply Chain

3PL Logistics Warehousing Fulﬁllment

Legal / IP Licensing Accounting

“A rising tide lifts all boats.” Crowd-funding Venture Capitalists Traditional Bank

We are committed to empowering product companies and the product ecosystem, with relevant and reliable information, education, and resources. We want to empower individuals and businesses to be better, to stay innovative, to do more with less, and to reach out to others, and pay it forward.

Sales Distribution CRM/Processes

Join us. —Ezra Roper, Founder of Product PowerUp

Amazon E-commerce Brick and Mortar

Branding Marketing Customer Experience

PlaneBiz@gmail.com

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“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” —STEVE JOBS

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FOUR FOODS GROUP/SAVORY

We take promising restaurants and apply our proven logistics. The result is magic.

Four Foods Group is an award-winning restaurant development, operations, and growth firm with a proven 11-year track record. Having owned, operated, and managed over 162 restaurant locations, Four Foods Group is one of the top 100 restaurant operators in the nation for the past three years. Four Foods Group has ranked among Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America for eight 150

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consecutive years, a MWCN 100 recipient for eight years running, and as a UV50 company for eight years running. The restaurant brands rank among the Technomic Top 150 Fast Casual Restaurants. We serve as the Value-Add team to our Savory Fund, which is focused on funding the growth and replication of our portfolio brands which include R&R BBQ, Swig, and Mo’Bettahs. 151

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NOMAD EATERY– CULINARY INNOVATION WHY SHOULD THE TECHIES HAVE ALL THE FUN?

ELEVATOR PITCH While Utah is home to some great unicorn technology companies, innovation comes in many flavors ... including the culinary world. One of the state’s new restaurant innovators is Holly Jo Cloyd. Utah, with its increasingly eclectic and international population, ever more sophisticated palate, and strong preference for healthy, fresh ingredients and house-made entrees, was ripe for the kind of culinary inventions Cloyd had in mind.

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OUR STORY When Cloyd found herself unexpectedly divorced at the age of 49, this mother of five, who had always been a stay-at-home mom, did what anyone else would do. She worked for a small wage in various Utah food establishments to learn the business, went to the International Culinary Center in New York to become a classically trained chef, and then proceeded to launch or purchase four different food-related companies. Nomad Eatery, her current focus (2110 West North Temple with a second location in Salt Lake City in the works to open December 2019) was the Utah Restaurant Association’s Best New Concept in 2018.

Nomad uses a chef-driven approach to menu development. That meant Cloyd had to find a talented chef to bring in as a partner. Having worked under Justin Soelberg previously— Soelberg is also a graduate of the International Culinary Center and was part of Cloyd’s inspiration to attend—she knew he would be perfect to drive Nomad’s development. Nomad, true to its name, is a combination of Soelberg’s timely ideas. The fast casual menu features a variety of tastes suited for well traveled diners: “We wanted a place where you can get a specialty wood-fired pizza ... a pork taco or a smoked salmon salad, finishing it off with a local peach crisp or a massive rice crispy treat,” he says. You can also enjoy a drink at Nomad’s hip bar.

“I had a degree in art history and a passion for making meals large groups could enjoy. I decided I’d use my personal setback as a stepping stone for growth, and I followed my passion with a great deal of help,” Cloyd says. “Our first venture was the Cluck Truck, bringing healthy chicken wraps to the masses. I worked for free at a food truck and learned the business. Then, with my sons and my partner, we started our own. You are never too old to learn something new.” Cluck Truck was a hit; it expanded to two trucks and was sold about the time Nomad was readying for launch.

Holly Jo Cloyd with business partner and chef Justin Soelberg nomad-eatery.com

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PAGO RESTAURANT GROUP ELEVATOR PITCH Pago Restaurant Group is a small, local, family-owned business focused on bringing great and unique food to our fine Salt Lake City, Utah. Pago opened in 2009 and immediately received local and national accolades. Since that time, we’ve expanded to six unique restaurants: Pago, George & Bar George, Trestle Tavern, East Liberty Tap House, Hub & Spoke Diner, and Birdhouse.

OUR STORY After sixteen years of working in restaurants across the Wasatch Front, from Sage’s Café to Grand America Hotel to Squatters Pub Brewery, owner/founder Scott Evans launched his first restaurant. Scott developed the idea while in grad school and in 2009 (when he was just 29 years old) he made his dream a reality by opening Pago—a tiny, NYC-like fine dining restaurant with changing seasonal menus and an extensive wine list featuring lesser-known wines. Since 2009, Pago Restaurant Group has grown to six unique restaurants and is one of a handful of restaurant groups with multiple (nonchain) restaurants in the SLC. Scott is a passionate innovator in this space who brings new and unique types of cuisine, beverages, and dining styles to market and pushes the boundaries of the typical Utah palate and experience. This strategy is not without its challenges. Scott is often criticized for having restaurants with unusual food or slightly elevated prices, perhaps out-of-touch with the standard Utah palate or preferences. But he doggedly pushes back on this criticism. After travelling extensively around the US and internationally, he developed an appreciation for the vast food culture of the world—from fine dining to farm-to-table to hipster diners to ethnic cuisine. His vision for Pago Restaurant Group is to continue bringing many of these dining concepts back to Utah and find fantastic chefs and front of house managers to bring each restaurant to life. Pago Restaurant Group is also well-known for its unique and exceptional beverage lists. Despite the detailed DABC laws in 154

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Utah, Scott has built each of his restaurants with unique beverage menus that complement the cuisine. As a sophisticated drinker himself (Scott received his Level I Court of Masters Sommelier certification and Wine & Spirit Education Trust / WSET Level 2 certification), Scott continues to build his knowledge of wines, spirits, and other alcoholic beverages. He brings many new wines and alcoholic beverages into Utah for the first time, and Utah diners benefit from his work.

ACCOLADES For its excellence in food and beverages, Pago Restaurant Group restaurants have been recognized in local press and national press, including Pago winning 2014 Best Restaurant in SLC by Salt Lake Magazine and countless awards and reviews by local media, as well as mentions in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Wine Enthusiast, The Guardian, and many more. As Chelsea Nelson of the local food/cocktail blog Heartbeat Nosh said on The Utah Foodie radio show that featured an in-depth interview with Scott: “Whether you know Scott Evans by name or not, and whether you like his restaurants or not, you should be thanking him. He has singlehandedly changed the food scene here in Utah.” 878 S. 900 East Salt Lake City, UT 84102 +1-801-532-0777 pagoslc.com 155

TABLE X Holly Tuckett/Flying Hat Media

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Nicholas Fahs

David Barboza

I come from a family that embraces food and cuisine, so I began cooking at an early age.

I come from a small Portuguese-Irish family in Maryland, where family dinner was always on the table. My parents always cooked, and from them I learned to cook with my heart. Which is why my food is rustic and comforting.

My mother comes from a strong Italian family raised in New Orleans. Family life was all about food and Southern hospitality. My father was obsessed with French culinary tradition and always wanted to be a chef. He graduated from Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France, in 2004. I wasn’t exposed to this obsessive side of my father until shortly before he passed away. I became intertwined with my father’s passion. After I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY, I traveled to France, Spain, and Italy to better understand food culture and the craftsmanship of fine cuisine. I worked for and ran kitchens in Maine, Wisconsin, New York, and Virginia before coming to Salt Lake.

Mike Blocher I have a down-to-earth approach to cooking high-level food—I combine simple techniques with refined, focused flavors. My early exposure to the restaurant industry is what led me to culinary school. After that, I studied long-term with Chef Sean McKee in Vermont and Washington, DC, before relocating to Salt Lake City. Along with my duties to develop the menu for Table X and manage the restaurant day-to-day, I also oversee all bread production for the restaurant. It’s a sizable undertaking, but one I enjoy because every guest at Table X receives fresh bread to start their meal. My approach to simple and refined food works well with the mission of Table X: I create thoughtful, delicious dishes in a casual and approachable restaurant setting.

Holly Tuckett/Flying Hat Media

Table X is a culmination of my ideals: deep compassion for community coupled with food that is inspired by local ingredients, art, and expression.

I attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park where I met Mike and Nick. Who knew this is where I would end up? I’ve worked in a number of restaurants in upstate New York, Connecticut, and Virginia before settling in Salt Lake. I want my diners to connect with their food, through the snapshot lens of my edible world. Our earth provides all we need to survive and thrive and I want to help people remember that. I entertain archaic ideas in modern environments.

All of our experiences, together and separate, have brought us to where we are today. To the three of us, Table X is about elevating our guests through food and raising the bar in Salt Lake City through innovative work and taste. We believe great hospitality is about how our guests feel within our walls—not just the service we provide. We each bring something slightly different and unique to the table, and that’s what makes our cuisine singular. We hope you enjoy your time with us. We are great friends—and our bonds extend long before the beginning of this restaurant. We are alumni of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY, and we’ve traveled across the globe working in many facets of the hospitality industry—from fine dining and highend resorts to home cooking to mom-n-pop establishments. Table X represents the purest form of our passion for great food and hospitality. We hope to set the table for you soon.

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CHOCOLATE CONSPIRACY RAISING THE BAR

OUR STORY Texture sets the Chocolate Conspiracy’s bars well above the competition. Newcomers, as well as chocolate aficionados, often comment on the smoothness of the bars compared to other dark chocolate. This inspiration results from the fact that raw, unfiltered honey, sourced from Utah beekeepers, is used to sweeten a majority of the Chocolate Conspiracy’s bars. In fact, this is the only US company producing a fine chocolate sweetened in this manner. Unroasted cacao beans, rarely used in the chocolate industry, complement this honey-sweetened product. Founder and Head Chocolate Maker AJ Wentworth prefers to source the choicest cacao beans—certified organic, certified fair trade, and certified kosher. This non-GMO, non-hybridized cacao is cultivated from a combination of oldgrowth cacao trees and new trees that have been planted to help maintain not only the forests but the livelihoods of the farmers and harvesters. The Agro-Industrial Cooperative Atalaya Association is formed by 300 members living in the Ucayali region of Peru. Sixty percent are native to the Ashaninka community. With migrant settlers, they plant many varieties of fruit. Co-op members are involved in all aspects of growing and harvesting. The chocolate bars are a varietal blend of Forastero, Trinitario, and Criollo cacao beans.

ELEVATOR PITCH Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Chocolate Conspiracy continually tempts chocolate connoisseurs with innovative ideas in fine, raw chocolate products—honey-sweetened bars, truffles in an array of flavors, and a smooth drinking chocolate, which can be made from a variety of milk bases. 158

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Best known for its chocolate bars, the Chocolate Conspiracy also produces a range of delicious truffles, peanut butter cups, and a drinking chocolate, which is delightful either hot or cold. The basic lineup of bars, found in stores or ordered online, includes the dark bar, mint, blackberry ginger, maca and spice bar. Clever holiday bars are also produced and available October–February, consisting of Americano Chai, Gingerbread Rooibos, Chipotle Orange, Coconut Lime, and Raspberry. The latest innovations by the Chocolate Conspiracy incorporate a variety of flavor infusions and interesting taste combinations. Working with local breweries, the company has created highly popular beer-infused chocolate bars. A selection of bars planned will launch a unique collaboration with several Salt Lake City breweries. The Chocolate Conspiracy offers tea- and wine-infused specialty bars and manufactures chocolate for other companies as well, including Fisher Brewery, Kiitos Brewing, Uinta Brewing, Hip and Humble Boutique, Aseda Raw Honey, and Spanish Valley Vineyards. New infusions, non-dairy white chocolate, and chocolate with alternative sweeteners are also in the making. The Conspiracy fulfills special orders for custom flavors and custom packaging. When customers drop in on a Saturday, the small, open factory design of the facility allows them to savor the aroma of fresh chocolate and watch as chocolate makers pour bars, roll truffles, and blend drink mix for packaging. The Chocolate Conspiracy offers tours in the afternoons, and participants enjoy a variety of product samples. Another inventive idea is the packaging design of the Chocolate Conspiracy bars. Wentworth wanted to create an old English feel with the packaging. He happened upon images in a 19th Century book of poems by Walter Crane, entitled A Floral Fantasy in an Old English Garden. AJ embraced these designs, lending an understated elegance to the bars, which in league with the subtle flavors of chocolate, represent the height of a satisfying taste. Raising the bar takes time and dedication. AJ and his co-conspirators continue to stay the course, setting the standard of unmatched dark chocolate in Utah. 159

ACCOLADES ¬ Best Organic Chocolate in SLC 2012 ¬ Silver and Bronze medals at the Utah Cheese Awards 2016 ¬ Zero Waste Award 2016 ¬ Premier Chocolate Vendor for the Rolls Royce Owners Club 2017 Donated to many nonprofit organizations and charity events, including: ¬ Cancer Support Community ¬ The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society ¬ Planned Parenthood ¬ McGillis School ¬ Utah Farm Conference ¬ International Rescue Committee ¬ Native American Rights Fund ¬ Whole Kids Foundation ¬ People Helping People ¬ Save Our Canyons ¬ The Sharing Place ¬ Red Butte Gardens ¬ The Natural History Museum ¬ Tracy Aviary eatchocolateconspiracy.com

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SHADES BREWERY…

CREATING INNOVATIVE CRAFT BEERS! ELEVATOR PITCH Here at Shades, we are creating award-winning craft beers through the use of science. Brewing is more than creating delicious recipes! The quality of the ingredients matter. We have elevated the quality of ingredients by creating proprietary super strains of yeast. Our brewmaster affectionately refers to himself as a “yeast farmer.”

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OUR STORY We were able to secure a sample of ancient strains of Scandinavian yeast called Kveik. The yeast sample showed incredible potential but had some undesirable elements. We were able to isolate the various strains in the sample in our lab. We purified the yeast strains by examining and isolating the microorganisms. We then used the best strains to create our own proprietary yeast blend. Kveik yeast not only ferments more quickly than commonly used yeast, but it gives off incredibly delicious aromas. Our proprietary blend of Kveik yeast has helped us create uniquely amazing-tasting beers. This year alone, we have won three gold medals in the toughest beer competitions. We believe when you pick up a beer for the first time, you should experience a new sensation; mark the moment. The moment shouldn’t feel like a slight variation on the next tap over. Our beers give customers what they didn’t know they were missing. Unexpected, disruptive, or as we like to say, a refined rebellion against the repetitious, routine brew. When it comes to beer, it’s okay for yeast to settle, but you shouldn’t have to.

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“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” —LEE IACOCCA

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HONG KONG

RIPECONCEPTS ELEVATOR PITCH RipeConcepts is a world-class outsourcing boutique for all things digital, with a core in creative, graphic design, web, animation, 3D modeling, and back-office solutions. They can work with anyone, from startups to Fortune 500s, and pride themselves on being twice as fast and HALF the cost of US domestic providers.

OUR STORY RipeConcepts grew out of the needs of the previous business of Paul Lyon, RipeConcepts’ founder and CEO. Twenty years ago, Lyon had a business that did outsourced manufacturing of licensed items. “We had every license from John Wayne and Jimi Hendrix to Sesame Street and Wonder Woman,” says Lyon. But that business struggled with two issues: one was ad agencies’ lack of guaranteed ROI, and the other issue was seasonality. Lyon thought he could do better than the agencies he was hiring, so he started his own.

“I started RipeConcepts to disrupt creative agencies who take your money and never provide you any tangible return,” says Lyon. RipeConcepts does this, first and foremost, by going offshore, to Cebu, Philippines. “In Cebu, we have a dozen universities in a fifty-mile radius,” he says. Much of the labor pool Lyon is able to access there are first-generation college graduates, who are simply hungrier than most American Millennials and have a better work ethic. The Philippines is a natural fit because 96% of the population speaks English. RipeConcepts also builds “mirror teams” for companies who may want some friendly competition with their domestic staffers. “So maybe they have twenty people doing Photoshop every day,” says Lyon. They create a mirror team doing the same thing, and typically within 3-6 months they outperform that domestic team. “And at a fraction of the cost,” adds Lyon.

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The company is now ten years old, has a handful of people in Salt Lake City, Hong Kong, and China, and 600 full-time employees operating out of a state-of-the-art facility in Cebu, Philippines. “We do work for everyone from Disney to Warner Brothers to Lego and Mattel,” says Lyon. “These are prized brands that typically would not be comfortable going offshore. We also do back-end work for agencies as highlevel as Ogilvy, and branding for a lot of startups.” They handle anything and everything creative, digital, designrelated, which is supported with a lot of development. Lyon explains the wide breadth of RipeConcepts’ offerings by citing the fact that a company’s CAC (customer acquisition cost) is their highest cost. “Once you develop a customer and you develop trust,” says Lyon, “I find it advantageous to build that partnership and do whatever they need done.” This agility for Lyons is paramount, and is one aspect of RipeConcepts’ willingness to leverage the advantages others miss. Lyon notes that the internet has dissolved the world’s borders, opening up job markets. “In the digital world, there’s so much disruption, and creative agencies haven’t been keeping up,” he says. “They’re old school.” RipeConcepts, on the other hand, is a whole new breed. “We’ve created a diamond in the rough,” says Lyon. “The borders are gone.”

Paul Lyon Founder and CEO

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Behind every great business is a great story Successful founders, CEOs, and executives are master storytellers. They use stories to communicate their vision for a better future and to connect their purpose to the values of the people they serve—both inside and outside their companies. The problem is that leaders sometimes struggle to articulate the market and technology insights they’ve discovered and how they create value. Backstory Branding® guides companies through the process of creating clear, concise, compelling messages that attract the right employees, customers, and investors. Like a well-focused camera, the best brand stories have the correct aperture. They’re open to future growth while staying focused on a specific position or category they want to own in the market. If your brand doesn’t stand for something bigger than your current offering, you’ll cap its upside—but if your story is too open-ended, your brand won’t stand for anything. Backstory uses an integrated approach to scope stories that communicate your full value. I do this by helping clients articulate

and align their internal and external brand stories. This alignment enables companies to make meaningful promises that they can keep in an emotionally satisfying way—at scale, which is the essence of branding.

Jed Morley, Backstory Branding® Founder

Working at IDEO early in my career honed my appreciation for the importance of human-centered design and intentional brand culture. This experience spurred me to create an insight-driven methodology that codifies internal and external messages that reinforce one another. In addition to developing overarching company stories, I partner with clients to define customer personas and clarify value propositions or benefit statements for each audience. These persona-specific messaging frameworks allow businesses to align the efforts of their marketing, sales, and client success teams so employees can work together to deliver a consistent, tailored customer experience. I have successfully applied this process on behalf of some of Utah’s most innovative, trusted, and high-growth companies—and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

To learn more, please contact Jed Morley | +1-801-921-9640 jed@backstorybranding.com | backstorybranding.com

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I asked Jed to guide us through the process of creating a new branding framework. He helped us refocus our story and firmly established us as the category leader. He is a master storyteller, an incredible sparring partner, and a top intellect in his space. —Ryan Wedig, Co-founder & CEO

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“Branding is the process of making a meaningful promise and keeping it in an emotionally satisfying way.” —Jed Morley

Jed is gifted at distilling the essence of the brand message. He is strategic and not afraid to tell clients what works and what doesn’t. In addition to Jed’s competence, he was personally delightful. —Stacee McIff, Associate Professor at Snow College/ Business Department Chair

Jed drew out the human characteristics of a deeply technical product and reshaped the way I present my company to others. He has amplified my vision as a CTO. —Thomas Hatch, Founder & CTO, SaltStack

Jed helped craft our brand communication style and strategy. The result was exactly what we’d hoped for. —Rob Nelson, Founder & CEO

Jed is a powerful brand strategist with a unique ability to work with complex organizations to hone in on their most unique position in the market. —Pauline Ploquin, President at STRUCK

Jed articulated our product value proposition more succinctly and clearly in a few weeks than we had in a few years.

Jed asks key questions that drill into core strategy. He helped us reframe our brand story to accelerate our growth.

—Dave Grow, President & COO, Lucidchart

—Ben Peterson, Co-founder & CEO, BambooHR

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Located in Farmington, their company has grown from an idea into an Inc. 5000 fastestgrowing company in America. By enabling their 1,200+ website partners to create their content profitably, they serve over 2 billion monthly ad impressions and have a team of 40 incredible people across three different offices.

The Problem When an ad displays on a website for a reader, the transaction encompasses up to 40 “middle-men” from the advertiser buying the ad until it reaches the reader on the website. This fragmented and technically difficult marketplace creates confusion among website business owners who are trying to monetize their web traffic.

The Solution

Executive team left to right: Kevin Hill (CTO), Nate Putnam (CEO), Kyle Ivins (CRO)

MONUMETRIC

Monumetric was founded on the belief that information sharing between people is a fundamental human purpose. They build digital advertising technology that enables people to pursue their passions, profitably.

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Monumetric provides premium ad monetization products and services for content website owners. They disintermediate the layers of complexity between Reader and Advertiser by consolidating all transactions and tracking into

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one easy-to-understand dashboard and payments system. Some problems require they build new technology products which provide buyers and sellers the highest performance and earnings possible. By reducing confusion, difficulty, and distrust, Monumetric helps build a sustainable relationship between advertiser and website owner.

Culture and People The company relies on their seven (7) pillars of company culture to guide their decision making. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Purpose Safety Disruption Grit Happiness Growth Measured Each pillar represents a key principle that enables Monumetric to become a world-class people-building organization. Additionally, each member of the team follows a personal “Pathway” made up of Deliverables and Education in order to reach their next level of advancement in the company. This instills a strong sense of growth potential and control into each team member’s personal improvement. They’re also known for their open dynamic workspace which was remodeled from a warehouse to a Class A office space. Every desk is equipped with sit/stand legs, wheels, and a battery pack so that teammembers can work anywhere at anytime (the desks even fit in the elevator!). They enjoy playing cornhole, Super Smash Brothers, putting, drone flying, spikeball, pool, and ping-pong to keep every day interesting.

Above All Else Monumetric is dedicated to improving the advertising ecosystem which empowers a free and open internet. They enable the content creators and distributors of digital information to profitably operate their website businesses. At the same time, they’ve built an environment which encourages people to “bring their nerd to work,” to have fun, and to become their very best.

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METHOD COMMUNICATIONS OUR STORY David Parkinson and Jacob Moon co-founded Method in 2010. Since then, Method has become one of the most successful and talked-about PR agencies in tech for producing real business outcomes for their clients. Method’s trajectory from a young, unknown agency hundreds of miles from Silicon Valley to a tech powerhouse with offices in Salt Lake City, San Francisco, New York City, and London is just part of the driving appeal of its story. Beyond the kudos and accolades, Method has introduced ideas and practices that are changing how PR and marketing agencies build lasting success. These practices have roots in Parkinson and Moon’s work as the in-house PR department for Utah’s billionaire Sorenson family and their wide range of innovative companies and groundbreaking ventures. As the head of this department, Parkinson frequently found himself frustrated by the quality and

ELEVATOR PITCH Method Communications is the PR and marketing partner for challenger brands shaking up the status quo and market leaders facing challengers of their own. The company is cut from the same cloth as the innovative companies it represents: Method brings a differentiated approach to its industry that turns convention on its head. As entrepreneurs in PR and marketing, Method knows how to bring narratives to life and capture the spotlight; driving meaningful business outcomes.

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consistency of the work done by the agencies he brought on. Most had no senior leadership, an ever-evolving team roster, needlessly complicated billing structures, average writing capabilities, and no way of measuring ROI that he could use to show his teams’ work to his executives. “Finding a better way” was the driving principle behind James LeVoy Sorenson’s success story. Through years of working closely with Mr. Sorenson and witnessing the success of his endeavors, Parkinson coupled these lessons with his own experiences, developing basic principles that break the traditional agency formula. These principles are the bedrock of Method’s success. The company provides active senior leadership on each account, which helps drive strategy and build client relationships where the agency can serve as an extension of the team. Method also provides an integrated approach with a focus on building a strong narrative through content and measures ROI based on the clients’ business outcomes. If these principles seem familiar, it’s because most are increasingly followed by PR agencies across the country. The wholehearted embrace

of these differentiators is likely driven in part by the fact that there is no questioning Method’s success. Method’s clients are category leaders and high-growth disruptors who want to punch above their weight. The agency has a knack for identifying tech “unicorns,” with approximately 40% of its clients valued at over a billion dollars. Method continues to focus on creating gamechanging results for its star-studded portfolio of influential tech brands. Throughout its history, the team has worked with all of the major players in Utah’s own Silicon Slopes, including BambooHR, Domo, Galileo, Instructure, InsideSales, Lucid, Podium, Pluralsight, Sorenson Capital, Traeger, and Vivint Smart Home, as well as marquee names in tech around the country such as 1Password, Check Point, Credit Karma, Nutanix, PagerDuty, Robinhood, Trivago, and Workplace by Facebook.

In 2018, Method went global. The company was acquired by Chime Communications, a UK holding group, which enables Method to seamlessly support global enterprise clients by teaming up with sister agencies around the world. This powerful network of bestin-class agencies will further help Method continue to grow as a tech PR powerhouse and enable it to provide clients with streamlined communications and amazing opportunities anywhere in the world.

47 West 200 South, Suite 402 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 +1-801-461-9790 MethodCommunications method-communications methodcom methodcommunications.com 171

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“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building on the new.” —SOCRATES

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ELEVATOR PITCH Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Slopes, 42Chat creates Mobile AI Chatbots that allow companies to provide instant answers and personalized connection over text. As the market leader in deep conversational chatbots for live events, 42Chat is revolutionizing the attendee experience by providing 24/7 interaction and engagement via SMS, Web Messenger, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and many other messaging platforms.

DID YOU KNOW Co-Founders Bob Caldwell and Chuck Elias first met while working at a hamburger stand on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, in the 1980s while they were in their teens. They worked at “The Alaska Stand,” and while you may not have heard of it, you’ve certainly heard of “Five Guys,” whose menu was inspired by Alaska Stand’s burgers and “Thrashers Fries” (next door to the A-stand). 174

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Chuck Elias Perhaps there was something in the water at the A-stand as nearly everyone went on to incredible business success. This included the future Global Brand Manager for Bentley Automobiles; the largest wholesale plumbing distributor in the mid-Atlantic; one the largest soybean farmers in the mid-Atlantic; and the head of VIP Sales for the Baltimore Orioles. As Elias says, “The business talent coming out of one shift flipping and selling burgers is kind of crazy to think about.”

OUR STORY The truth is, it wasn’t the water, it was the attention to process and detail and learning how to work under pressure. If you asked the cofounders of 42Chat, Bob Caldwell and Chuck Elias, how to sweep a floor, they would each show you the exact same way. Are they floor sweeping enthusiasts? No. They would also show you the same way to flip a burger and count a till. It’s not that they have a passion for those, either. It’s simply that, when they were teenagers, they worked on the same shift at the same burger joint on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland—the “ Alaska Stand.” Bob Caldwell “It’s the kind of business you work your way up from the bottom,” says Elias. “And that’s where we first learned how great businesses.” Jerry Givarz, the boss (whose family started the A-stand in 1933), had a knack for demonstrating simple truths about business. “He’d stand next to you and throw nickels in the trash,” says Caldwell. You’d serve a customer, and he’d throw a nickel in the trash. You’d serve another customer. Another nickel in the trash. Eventually you’d get up the guts to ask him what he was doing.” “‘Same thing you’re doing’, he’d say. ‘You just gave that guy five packs of ketchup—but he left three on the bench that we have to throw away. Each of those ketchup packets cost five cents.’” “When that little nuance clicks as a kid,” says Caldwell, “you realize business success is about the little things.” You have to remember; on the boardwalk you could have a crowd 3-deep around the whole counter section all clamoring to get food. It was busy from 8 AM to midnight nearly every day of the summer. “We took all the orders in our heads, including which condiments went on each burger, and we had to be ready to instantly respond to the grill when the burgers were ready,” says Elias. “It could get crazy in the busy moments—you had 6 people on the counter taking orders, two guys on the grill flipping burgers, someone cooking fies, and lots of moving parts,” Caldwell continued. “It was hectic, but it was organized, and surprisingly fun!”

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It was in the heat of the summer, the commotion, and craziness that lifelong business lessons were forged. Elias notes, “There was a process for everything and you had to learn it if you wanted to work the best hours.” “Whether it was counting the till, cleaning the fans, sweeping the floors, even stacking the cheese—so you could get to it easily with 20 burgers on the grill—there was a perfection in the process and the schedule that made the business work,” notes Caldwell. It’s funny to think that burgers, lemonade, and ketchup packets can add up to a boardwalk MBA, but they did: • • • •

Ketchup packets = Intelligently trim costs Closing the till = Accounting matters (to the penny) Slinging Lemonade = Know your margins, push your profitable items Cleaning fans = Have a process and schedule for everything

This unorthodox business education has served both Caldwell and Elias well. Caldwell has since built and sold multiple businesses, including the world’s leading merchant risk company (G2 Web Services) and is lead investor in one of the largest healthcare companies in Utah (ConnexionPoint). Elias went on to serve in the US Coast Guard, graduated from the Harvard Business School, and has led multi-billion-dollar businesses at Home Depot, SuperValu, and other companies. After Alaska Stand in Ocean City, their lives, business and otherwise, proceeded along their separate courses for over a decade. Then, as chance would have it, they literally ran into each other thousands of miles from the beach at Utah’s famous “Gardner Village.” It was Halloween in the year 2000 and both were taking their young kids through the hay maze. They learned that they had both recently relocated to the state to work for tech startups and lived about a mile apart! They hadn’t seen each other in at least a decade and reconnected as friends. Over the years, Caldwell stayed in Utah building G2, while Elias left for a successful corporate career—but they always stayed in touch. A decade and a half later, explains Caldwell, one of the co-founders was frustrated that he couldn’t reply to an outbound SMS text from a business and have a real conversation. “If I use text to communicate with my friends and family, why can’t I do that with a business?” says Elias. “And, since 90% of customer service interactions are repetitive, why can’t we use technology to respond automatically. And that’s where the idea for 42Chat was born.”

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Caldwell and Elias founded 42Chat in 2016 with the idea that SMS texts were going to radically change how businesses provide customer support. Elias says that while their initial bots were pretty basic, the increase in new messaging platforms and improvements in AI technologies, when combined with great design, allowed 42Chat to build increasingly sophisticated conversational bots. “It was the right time and place,” says Caldwell, who goes on to explain how conversational bots differ dramatically from structured bots. “A structured bot can do a set number of things—a, b or c, and is really little more than an automated voice response menu. We’ve all had that hellish experience of listening to the recorded options, finding none that match what we need, and being frustrated at the wasted time and effort just to get an answer. A conversational bot is different. It allows customers to simply text a question, like they would a friend, and receive an instant response. 42Chat’s deep conversational bots understand the millions of different ways questions are asked and then immediately deliver the correct response.

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42Chat’s first fully conversational Mobile AI EventBot was for an event they did with BizBash in May 2017. This was “Betty,” who is now famous in the events industry. It was the first time that our clients saw that bots can be fun and informative, with real personalities. “In fact, our clients don’t see our bots as a technology,” says Caldwell. “They see them as true team members helping to create amazing events.” It was in August of 2017, that 42Chat won their first major award—the Society for Independent Show Organizers (SISO) Innovation Battlefield Award. “SISO is composed of the CEOs, Presidents, and decision-makers of the leading companies in the event industry. It’s a highpressure pitch competition where the members vote for the innovation they believe will most impact the industry. It was a huge honor to win the award, and really opened the door to our success in the events industry,” says Elias. Since then, 42Chat has deployed hundreds of bots, for everything from small meetings to 100,000-person trade shows to sporting events and even weddings. 42Chat recently launched the first self-service EventBot builder, which allows customers to answer a few simple questions, and in minutes, deploy a deep conversational bot to support their attendees and guests. “This is a game-changer,” says Elias. In October, 42Chat launched the industry’s first ExhibitorBot. “This is a deep conversational bot answering the questions exhibitors have when they attend trade shows,” says Caldwell. “Setting up a trade-show floor in less than 24 hours is an enormous undertaking, with complex logistics and a lot of moving parts.

“Before our ExhibitorBot, exhibitors would have to trek across the show floor to find out the status of their move-in, but now they simply text their question and get an instant response.” In Utah, 42Chat is now the official AI chatbot for Silicon Slopes events, including for the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit held in January each year. According to Elias, the high-iteration cycle of the the events industry has been instrumental in the success of the company. With every event they support, they learn how to build a better, more conversational and focused bot and how to deploy it faster and at lower cost. And because events can have thousands of attendees, all looking for immediate answers, the technology has to work. As a result, 42Chat’s AI Chatbot platform has been built to scale and support virtually any type of gathering or event, and beyond. “In the near future,” says Elias, “your first path to customer support will be through a chatbot, whether it is booking a dentist appointment, ordering a pizza, or registering a product. “As we’ve grown and learned the power of Mobile AI Chatbots to change the customer experience, we continue to find new uses for our technology and can’t find the edge of the chatbot space,” says Elias. “The reality is,” says Cadlwell, “that from the business perspective, most customer-support conversations in nearly every corner of our lives is a repetitive interaction that is perfect for AI Chatbots. And remember, our bots are the perfect team member—answering exactly the way you want, instantly, 24/7/365, are always in a good mood and continuously learning, all while providing a complete written record of every single interaction.” What more could you ask for?

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CORNERSTONE THE CREATOR Shaping Immersive Brand Experiences

Every company has a message. Cornerstone Technologies is the company others turn to when they need individuals to see their message. Touch their message. Interact with their message in a meaningful way. In other words, Cornerstone envisions, creates and flawlessly delivers immersive brand environments and transformative attendee experiences. We pride ourselves on the ability to get it done. To do it right. To make sure our customers win.

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In 1994, partners Todd Mortensen and Chad Fraughton founded Cornerstone expressly to manage the logistics of helping WordPerfect maintain a high-profile presence at trade shows and technology expos. Today, Cornerstone routinely produces massive corporate events running concurrently across multiple venues and featuring such diverse elements as general session keynotes, firsthand company tours, breakout sessions, company showcases, pop-up sales environments, concerts with A-list headliners, and more. Fraughton notes a couple of factors integral to Cornerstone’s success. First is what he calls the “hybrid” nature of the company. As one would expect, its employees are a collection of world-class A/V gearheads. They can go deep inside the worlds of audio, visual, and lighting technology. However, the company is equally driven by the pursuit of creativity. It is able to step back and consider the unique and perhaps unintended ways technology can be used to showcase its clients (and their messages) in unique and memorable ways. Hybrid.

The second factor is the company’s relentless quest for excellence in customer satisfaction— determining needs and exceeding expectations. In the early days, that meant investing in an inventory of lighting gear to expanding its client offerings. Twenty-five years later, it means bringing on-line a state-of-the-art video and communications production truck that features the highest tech capabilities, while helping save time and alleviate the complexity of load-ins and load-outs. The common thread from then to now is this: we define our clients’ needs and activate them in real life.

To more efficiently accomplish these activations, Cornerstone has spawned a number of sister companies designed to fill specific niches within the space: a team of architectural and interior design professionals specializing in product launches, retail environments and parties/galas; a talent acquisition arm to acquire and manage headline performers and keynote speakers; a scenery fabrication firm to create set pieces that are on-brand and on-message. Creative vision and flawless execution are paramount to what we do at Cornerstone. If you can dream it, we can produce it.

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BALLOON ARTISAN OUR STORY If you would have told me 10 years ago that part of my legacy in this world would involve balloons, I would have called you crazy. However, life has a weird way of sending us down avenues we could never imagine. I have had quite a diverse professional career in my life. I have started several of my own businesses, served as a paid advisor for over a dozen companies, and even had a brief foray into the world of investment banking working for Goldman Sachs. For 4.5 years I sat at the head of a digital marketing agency where I spent countless hours studying metrics, data, and algorithms. I have led software development projects and spoken from stages across the country teaching many of the skills I have learned. Yet, here I am today. A balloon artist. Out of all things, why would I choose to be a balloon artist? You see, I’ve noticed a terrifying trend throughout my life. We all come into this world curious, imaginative and full of wonder. The world is our playground and our creativity is endless. Truth be told, there is rarely a goal too ambitious for us to pursue in our early years. However, it seems that life has a way of almost beating that imaginative and creative side out of us. From the time we are children to the time we are fully immersed in our

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careers, it’s like some part of us just disappears. But that part of us is never truly gone; sometimes we just have to go and find it once again. Up until the fall of 2017, creating balloon art was just a fun hobby business. But then, I was asked to create my biggest balloon art project yet. I will never forget the pure joy I experienced when we finally hoisted an installation that had taken 30 hours to build into the air. It was incredible! But as amazing as it was to see the finished creation, watching people’s reactions as they entered the room and looked up to see thousands of brightly colored balloons suspended over them was absolutely priceless! At that moment, I knew that the next chapter of my life HAD to be helping people all over the world experience that same excitement and energy those attendees were experiencing; that same sense of creativity and wonder we were so familiar when we were young. Since then our team has grown and we have been on a mission to bring creativity back into the world. We team up with companies and individuals that want their employees and guests to have an experience they will never forget. It has been an amazing journey and has been such a meaningful pursuit for our entire team. Creativity changes culture. It helps us think outside the box and solve difficult challenges. It brings joy into our lives. It makes the world a better place and keeps life exciting. And one thing I do know for sure is that a sculpture made of thousands of balloons (some much taller than we are) reconnects us with our inner creativity unlike anything else!

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ELITE ONLINE PUBLISHING An innovative, full-spectrum marketing company that understands the power and status a book brings to individuals and companies.

ELEVATOR PITCH We strive to assist clients in both publishing and marketing their book to build their business and brand. With information being consumed faster than ever, Elite has created unique opportunities that benefit authors from all genres. We believe that everyone has a story to tell and that readers will benefit from it. Self-publishing can be a daunting project. Many individuals are not sure where to even begin—let alone how to ensure their book reaches its audience and is successful. That’s where we come in. With a background in media, web development, marketing, and publishing, Elite has the unique opportunity to help authors reach the top of their niche.

We turn ordinary business leaders with little to no writing experience into accomplished authors who top the charts and become instant authorities in their field. We often say that books are the new business card—and they’re far more effective! How many people throw away a book?

OUR STORY We have published over 2,500 titles with many of our authors beating out books published by authors like Tina Fey, Tim Ferris, and Robin Williams. Elite Online Publishing’s CEOs, Jenn Foster and Melanie Johnson, are national leaders in the publishing and marketing industries. Combined, they have written over 20 bestsellers. Together, they interview some of the most influential, inspirational speakers and entrepreneurs on the podcast Elite Expert Insider. We live in a day and age where technology is constantly changing and improving, whether that is with marketing techniques or how we 182

access new information. Access to websites, books, video footage, and more are readily available at the tip of our fingers. A simple search on our cellphones can provide us with answers that would take days or years of schooling to discover. This information is distributed through various systems; eBook, Audiobook, Paperback Book and Hardcover Book. We continue to work with our authors long past book-launch day, ensuring their success and a positive experience on this exciting journey. All of our authors are part of the Elite publishing family, and they are the reason we do this.

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Elite is passionate about creating valuable platforms from which leaders can share their ideas and pass on their expertise. Every author Elite publishes becomes a No. 1 Bestseller across many platforms including Amazon, iTunes, Google Books, and more. In addition to expert branding and marketing services that include video production, author page platform design, social media, and website design and management, Elite also helps authors find their voice through writing workshops, masterclasses, and content creation digital courses. Elite prides itself on its ability to help business professionals become authors who are able to brand themselves in a meaningful way and create permanent resources for their clients and readers to carry with them. Founders Melanie Johnson and Jenn Foster are both business leaders, entrepreneurs, and No. 1 Bestselling authors themselves. Melanie owned and operated two TV stations in Houston and Dallas and created multiple awardwinning advertising campaigns for businesses before becoming the owner and CEO of Elite Online Publishing. In addition to writing and publishing, her expertise spans broadcasting, communications, marketing, promotions, and finance. In addition to Elite, Jenn Foster is also the CEO of Biz Social Boom, a company dedicated to helping business owners of all sizes thrive in today’s highly technical world of product and service promotion. She helps hundreds of businesses build award-winning websites and become front-page news across search engines. Jenn is an award-winning web designer, highly soughtafter speaker, and is named one of America’s “Premier Experts.” Have you ever had a good idea and then just ran with it? That’s exactly what these two single moms Melanie Johnson and Jenn Foster did. They had become friends over the years, from going to the same marketing conferences, and at one of these conferences an idea was born. They both knew about publishing and were No. 1 bestselling authors. Melanie had a villa down in the Dominican Republic, and Jenn was determined to figure out how to monetize and enjoy the villa and the beach. Together they came up with hosting a bookwriting retreat at the beach called Hot Chicks Write Hot Books at the Beach. During the breaks of the conference, they made a video, created the logo, sent out an email campaign, and Jenn

created the lead-capture website. The retreat was a success. From the momentum of the retreat, other authors started pouring in, and they wanted Jenn and Melanie to publish their books as well. That is when Elite Online Publishing was born: August 2015. Since then, Melanie and Jenn have made almost 100 authors No. 1 bestsellers, became 13x bestselling authors themselves, and published over 2,500 books under their own imprint and brand. They host a weekly podcast, Elite Expert Insider, that educates, inspires, and motivates entrepreneurs, innovators and growth seekers. The podcast has had over 60,000 downloads on one episode. They are speakers and have spoken on stages across the country. Melanie participated in the Sugarland, TX TEDx conference and has her speech on TEDx YouTube. Elite Online Publishing believes every business and entrepreneur should have a book. Your book is the cornerstone and a marketing piece for your business and personal brand. Melanie and Jenn started their business with an idea and bootstrapped it together with no money and have doubled their revenue every year. They are truly the idea of the American entrepreneurial dream.

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ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND SPORTS 184

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“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all what the world needs most are dreamers that do.” —SARAH BAN BREATHNACH

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UTAH SYMPHONY | UTAH OPERA When it comes to innovation, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera has a unique challenge: how do you evolve centuries-old art forms in new and dynamic ways?

Utah Opera’s artisans built all new costumes and sets in-house for the 2018 production of The Little Prince (top and bottom left), and Moby-Dick in 2017.

Utah’s oldest and largest nonprofit arts organization—which merged in 2002 as the only joint symphony and opera company of its size in the country—has a mission to connect communities through great live music, much of which are timeless classics written centuries ago.

to 155,000 students and more than 35% of Utah’s public schools each year. Every few years, the orchestra also takes the show on the road to rural communities, performing free outdoor concerts at the farthest reaches of the state, often against southern Utah’s iconic red rock landscape.

The company’s education outreach department is considered one of the most robust in the nation; it reaches every school district in the state on a three- to five-year rotation, amounting

Evolving the audience experience has been part of the approach. As one of only 15 fulltime orchestras in the nation, Utah Symphony’s transformation from staid and traditional to

current has been a necessary one, prompted by the growing intersection between digital realms and the public’s desire for accessibility and entertainment being bundled into one experience. The Films in Concert series presents full-length blockbuster movies from Harry Potter to Star Wars while the orchestra performs the soundtrack live to the picture. Cassandra Dozet has a passion for translating the typical classical music experience into

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one that is engaging and inspirational for audiences. As the Director of Operations for the Utah Symphony, she has led a project called UNWOUND that presents shorter, more casual concerts unlike ones the orchestra has presented before. “Unwound is especially exciting because it brings together a team of younger voices who are not often heard at the table, and gives them open space to pave new ways in to the incredible music that generations before us have treasured,” explains Cassandra, who has been with USUO for seven years. “We haven’t created a brand new product—instead we’ve highlighted aspects of the live concert experience that are already special but not usually brought into such clear focus.” Pre-concert activities include food trucks on the plaza, beer and trivia in the lobby, and T-shirt presses running custom prints. Patrons are encouraged to wear jeans—the entire orchestra is dressed down in jeans themselves. An onstage host guides the audience through what to look for, listen for, and pay attention to. Go-Pro cameras trained on the conductor’s face and soloist’s hands broadcast images onto screens above the stage, bringing a new perspective to the concert experience. On the opera side of the business, Utah Opera Artistic Director Christopher McBeth is devoted to bringing new opera to the Capitol Theater stage each year, including Moby-Dick in January 2017 and The Little Prince in January 2018, for both of which the company built all new sets and costumes. His philosophy? That as an evolving art form with roots in tradition, contemporary productions serve to shed light on current issues and engage audiences in “…t he breadth of what this terrific art form can offer.”

Christopher McBeth

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Utah Symphony performs on an outdoor stage in southern Utah during the orchestra’s Mighty 5 Tour in 2014. Indeed, Utah Opera’s 38,000-square-foot state-ofthe-art Production Studios house space for scenic artists, backdrop and set designers and builders, lighting, woodwork, and welding experts, and a full costume studio that employs stitchers and drapers year-round. Since its inception in 1978 by Glade Peterson, the company has valued the creation and maintenance of costumes and sets, to this day generating annual rental revenues that can amount to $260,000 from other regional opera companies who rent pieces. (Building a complete set from scratch can cost upwards of $150,000.) Costumes for more than 45 productions and sets for nearly two dozen operas are stored and rented to companies around the country. In short, creating a community of music lovers that stretch to the corners of the state, and encompass urban and rural settings, drives the heart of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, whose motto “music changes lives” is the driving force for all it creates.

Cassandra Dozet

Utah Symphony’s Unwound series features multimedia projections above the stage, the orchestra in blue jeans, and a dynamic lobby experience that capture concert goers’ imagination.

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Directed by Molly Heller, Heartland is a multidisciplinary collective with collaborations in dance, visual arts, and music.

Marissa Mooney

The collective originated as a method of survival—a way to relocate myself in the world after a sudden and traumatic divorce. The jarring nature of the ending of my marriage dismantled every aspect of my life, and the pain felt like a thick tar that I couldn’t wipe off. It was my apocalypse. After resurfacing from the depths of grief, I began going to crowded dance clubs where I would disappear into exhaustion. Surrounded by strangers in these intimate, unassuming spaces, I was able to process my emotions through movement. I felt BIG. I belonged in my own skin again and my heart was whole.

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open each evening, merging into a dance party where audience members become participants and performers, moving and grooving through their experiences. Our work has been presented nationally by atypical performance venues whose limitations invite creativity, adaptability, and challenge the desire to perfect. The Heartland Collective is a way of changing dance cultures. It is a mutable, love-centered approach to art-making, where the evolution and well-being of individuals are nurtured, rather than exploited or diminished. It is also an integrated approach to living life and healing—a dynamic continuum of growth where there is no arrival or fixed point. I am invested in people and the relationships that develop through patience, hard work (showing up together consistently), risk, and vulnerability. As a director, I am dedicated to working within a non-hierarchical model, where leadership and creative autonomy are distributed. This moveable exchange IS movement and a way of leaning INTO life.

Upcoming: The Heartland Collective is designing more performance/dance parties for the upcoming year that will tour nationally, including a geographically specific tour to Nebraska, a Heartland state where I was born. We will also premiere our evening-length work, Cosmos, in fall 2020. Future goals for the collective: investing in a multidisciplinary space for Heartland performances, workshops, and artist housing.

In this work, I have collaborated with five dancers and a music composer to design dance parties based around curated, themed performances (Valentine’s Day, Woodland Creatures, and Cosmos). These performances

Marissa Mooney

This vibrancy led me to research the idioms, sensations, and physical spaces of the heart. Drawing on the metaphorical language of the heart for inspiration (i.e., heartbreak, heavy heart, affair of the heart, heart of gold, etc.), a physicality developed which emphasized the density of my body, forces of resistance, and my attempt to accept non-resolution. I wanted this language of the body to return to a club-like environment where experiences are co-created and the relational nature of music and dance is equalized. Heartland was born from my desire to cultivate connection alongside others through movement.

Tori Duhaime Marissa Mooney

Marissa Mooney

Heartland began as an antidote to my personal pain and it continues to be a platform to cope with change. But over time and by being transparent about this life-changing event, it has given other people permission to untangle their complex emotions. The space Heartland curates is not an escape from reality. Rather, it becomes a mirror to examine the inter-workings and intra-workings of our hearts and to celebrate how courageous this is. We don’t often choose our endings in life, but Heartland gathers people together to practice curating beginnings.

Centralized in Salt Lake City, UT | Founder and Director: Molly Heller The Heartlanders: Florian Alberge, Nick Blaylock, Brian Gerke, Marissa Mooney, Melissa Younker Music Composition: Michael Wall, Nick Foster theheartlandco@gmail.com | mollyheller.com 189

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UTAH WARRIORS

BUILDING PROFESSIONAL RUGBY IN THE BEEHIVE STATE

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PROFESSIONAL RUGBY IN UTAH Rugby is America’s fastest-growing sport, outpacing soccer, lacrosse, and other traditional American sports. And with rugby being one of the world’s largest sports, the professionalization of the sport in America was inevitable. In 2018 the Utah Warriors were one of the seven founding members of Major League Rugby (MLR), which has now become North America’s fastest-growing professional sport with twelve teams competing in 2020 and fourteen slated to compete in 2021. In 2021, the MLR will feature eight of North America’s largest media markets from New York to Los Angeles.

RUGBY IS IN UTAH’S DNA Utah is one of North America’s epicenters of rugby with a multigenerational rugby community that dates back to the late 19th century and includes the historical influence of the world’s second-largest Polynesian communities outside of Polynesia. Whether it was 20-time National Champion Highland Rugby of five-time National Champion BYU, Utah’s rugby community from youth to pro is pound-for-pound one of America’s most dynamic.

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BUILDING THE EPICENTER The Utah Warriors’ founder is Kimball Kjar, whose vision is to make the Warriors and Utah the epicenter of rugby for North America. “We have something special here in Utah,” Kjar says. “Rugby is a part of who we are and there are so many synergies that the sport has with our business, technology, and civic communities that the opportunities to do something special are pretty exciting to think about.” Some of the opportunities Kjar is referencing are the Warriors’ plans to build their own stadium and ancillary high-performance training center. The facilities which will play host to not only the Warriors home games, but also other sports, and community events will help fuel more local, national, and even international repute in the State of Utah.

WARRIORS NATION America’s fastest-growing game also means Americans are becoming fans of the game at higher rates. The Warriors are in the MLR’s top three in average attendance and boast the MLR record attendance of 9,186 set on March 30, 2018, in the Warriors’ first-ever match. And first-time watchers of Warriors home games quickly become some of the team’s biggest fans and season ticket holders. “My first time at a Warriors game, I didn’t know what was going on,” said current season ticket holder Ryan Garrett, “but we loved! And we soon bought season tickets and love coming to every home game!” The Warriors fan base is also one of the most uniquely situated and committed from a marketing perspective. The Utah Warriors social media channels boast 60% average engagement and indexes higher than all other professional sports leagues in the categories of Families, Millennials, Academics, and Affluence.

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SOCIAL INNOVATION 192

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“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” —WOODY ALLEN

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UTAH WOMEN & LEADERSHIP PROJECT

The Project was created in 2009 and is housed in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

UWLP Team (from left to right: Megan Roper, Karen Deardeuff, Kimberly Williamson, Susan Madsen, Robbyn Scribner, & Heather Sundahl)

OUR STORY

ELEVATOR PITCH The mission of the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) is to strengthen the impact of Utah girls and women through informing, engaging, and developing their voices, confidence, influence, and leadership. This is done primarily through research, events, and resources.

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The seeds for the UWLP were laid in 2008 when Utah’s Commissioner of Higher Education approached Dr. Susan R. Madsen, a professor of organizational leadership in the Woodbury School of Business, about the troubling status of women and education within the State of Utah. This conversation led to the creation of a “one-year” major research endeavor focused on how to increase the rates of women attending and graduating from college. By 2011, it became clear that a more organized effort was needed to advance a social change movement in Utah, so Dr. Madsen expanded and extended the work. Because research and other resources have been so important in leading change, they have continued to be the focus and driving force for these projects and initiatives. In 2013, Dr. Madsen formed the UWLP primarily because of continuous requests for additional research on women and leadership in the state. These endeavors have served as a hub for many

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coordinating efforts promoting change for girls and women throughout Utah. The Project leads social change in Utah by 1) publishing research briefs, snapshots, impact recommendations, and reports; 2) providing workshops, seminars, and other gatherings to help prepare and advance women of all ages for leadership; 3) gathering and creating resources; 4) assisting women in finding women’s groups, networks, and associations; and 5) partnering and collaborating with entities that have related goals and efforts (e.g., nonprofits, associations, colleges/universities, K-12 schools, companies, churches).

Even with a small staff, the UWLP makes a major impact: over the past decade, this team has written and published 70 research reports, hosted hundreds of events, and created and released 100+ related resources including infographics, podcasts, videos, curricula, databases, and toolkits. UWLP staff receive emails nearly every day from individuals explaining how a report they read, a speech they heard, or a resource they used has made all the difference in their lives. For example, Dr. Madsen recently received the following email: UVU President Astrid Tuminez Speaking at Event “I am a single mother with five children and was a college dropout. I heard you speak three years ago about the importance of attending and completing college. I went home that day and registered for college at a local university and started attending a few months later. I wanted you to know that I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in May and have just started my master’s degree. It has changed my life, and it has changed my family. We have hope, and I have confidence in my future as a woman, mother, and contributor to society.” This is why Dr. Madsen and her team put their hearts into this work—to change lives, one girl and one woman at a time. The UWLP’s mission to strengthen the impact of girls and women in Utah is making a profound difference to women, men, families, communities, and the state as a whole. 800 West University Parkway, MS 205 Orem, UT | +1-801-863-6176 madsensu@uvu.edu utwomen.org 195

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OUR MISSION Utah ranks 37th in the nation for what women earn in the workplace and 51st for gender pay parity. Through relationship and skill building, Braid has set out to shift the economic trajectory of Utah women.

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THREE AIMS OF BRAID

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WORKSHOPS

1. Connect the women in our community so that we learn who we are. 2. Empower women to start, build, and grow entrepreneurial ventures and careers. 3. Create an encouraging and safe space for women to ask questions, learn, explore, and connect.

We invite industry experts to present and share insights on topics like social media marketing, website setup, basic business law, and building teams. These workshops are great opportunities for Braiders to connect with mentors and find a jumping off point for building their businesses and brands.

COMMUNITY

The idea behind the name Braid is that one strand by itself can easily bend or break, but when you weave those threads together, they add strength to each other. We hope to see women connecting and adding strength to each other as a result of our skills workshops and networking events. We believe that relationships are economic power.

Many of our Braiders are primary caregivers for their children and are working on building income streams for their families on the side. Braid gives these women the opportunities with other people and skills who can help them shift their economic trajectory. Women have so much potential to help each other, but if they never connect, then those relationships may never develop. We love our community and how much good they can do when they connect with each other. Wins for us look like job positions filled, mentors introduced, and clients made as a result of connections made through Braid.

OUR STORY In the fall of 2015, Allison Lew gathered together a group of local women business leaders to brainstorm how to strengthen the women in entrepreneurship community. From that discussion, Allison realized that most of the entrepreneurship programming in the community was not designed with women in mind. As an answer to that need, Braid was born.

Allison Lew, Founder & CEO of Braid allison@braidworkshop.com Kassidi Henrie, Co-founder of Braid kassidi@braidworkshop.com Braidworkshop.com

Since then, Braid has morphed from a city program into a business and Kassidi Henrie (former financial controller at local dev boot camp DevMountain) joined Allison as co-founder. 197

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EQUALITY UTAH

Advancing LGBTQ Rights: How Utah’s reputation is changing for the better.

When people think of the state of Utah, they often think of our world-famous snow or our iconic arches and red rocks. And maybe the Sundance Film Festival, if they’re cinephiles.

Our least favorite is that Utah is a homogenous state dominated by repressive and regressive ideas. Why do we hate that misperception? Because we’ve worked for the last 18 years to make sure it’s not true.

Those are the good associations. But they are often paired with the less than good associations—many of which are as untrue as they are prevalent.

Of course, Utah is definitely a red state with many traditional values, but our capitol, Salt Lake City, is one of the most densely populated LGBTQ cities in the country (one that the Boston Globe calls “America’s super gay, super cool 198

hipster haven”) and identified by Gallup as the 7th “gayest city in America” (per capita, we are “gayer” than both Manhattan and Los Angeles). And it’s not just happenstance (or something in the water), but it’s because LGBTQ and civil rights advocates have been working for decades to elect fair-minded public servants who could make real and sustained change that celebrates and protects diverse populations.

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Tan France, Equality Utah Allies Gala, November 2018 ever pass a pro-LGBTQ law through a Republican-led legislature). In 2017, we filed a lawsuit that ultimately encouraged lawmakers to ensure our schools can properly identify, educate about, and celebrate the lives of LGBTQ people in our public schools. No longer can the shroud of silence shame our young people into thinking they’re any less worthy or wonderful.

Governor Herbert signs historic anti-discrimination bill, March 2015

Like what, you ask? Well, we can remember fondly December 20, 2013, when Utah Supreme Court Justice Robert Shelby deemed that Utah’s Amendment 3, which narrowly defined marriage as only between one man and one woman, was unconstitutional. On that historic date, we became the first state in the nation to overturn a ban on gay marriage. Or take, for example, our antidiscrimination bill in 2015 that, when signed by Governor Herbert, protected the state’s estimated 55,000 LGBTQ adults from discrimination in housing and employment— ensuring that nobody could be fired or evicted because of who they are or who they love (and making Utah the first state in the union to

In 2019, we built a diverse coalition to pass a hate crime law to protect people who are targeted because of their faith, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. We are also working now to protect LGBTQ youth from the damaging and ineffective practice of conversion therapy. We’re also working to lift the voice of our transgender siblings (and to stop any attempts at anti-trans policy), so they, too, can live authentic lives with the legal validations we all value so deeply.

Few industries are as forwardthinking by nature as the tech world, so we so appreciate our deep and broadening partnership with the giants that make up Utah’s famous Silicon Slopes, and we believe in our collective power to make Utah an even better place in which to do business. Working together, we can create a state people from all backgrounds can be proud to call home. —Troy Williams, Equality Utah Executive Director

And our newest focus, our Business Equality Leader program, is offering Utah’s diversifying and growing corporate sector the tools and training needed to recruit and retain diverse employees, to create inclusive corporate cultures and to take the lead in their industries by thoughtfully standing up for equality. equalityutah.org 199

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GATHER

ELEVATOR PITCH In a world where everyone uses technology for social engineering, how do you innovate? You go old school.

OUR STORY Gather found a niche helping candidates and political groups get on the ballot. Combining technology and data software with good ol’ fashioned door-to-door interaction.

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In 2012 Tanner Leatham, the founder of Gather, worked on a presidential campaign. Being very low on the seniority food chain, he realized that campaigns were lacking quality face-to-face interaction. Prior to working on the presidential campaign, Tanner did door-to-door sales for five (5) years all over the country. An opportunity arose to bring many contacts from the doorto-door industry to Ohio to volunteer for a presidential campaign. The efforts of the experienced door-to-door team who volunteered were extremely successful in helping people in a very important swing state become registered to vote. A light bulb was sparked to take the experience of the doorto-door sales industry and bring them into the political atmosphere. Gather was born. Gather has helped over 100 campaigns get on the ballot and has collected over 1,000,000 signatures since its start in 2014.

Tanner Leatham tanner@gathersignatures.com

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING 202

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“Don’t be afraid to take big steps when one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” — DAVID LLOYD GEORGE

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RENATUS

From Coast to Coast, Renatus students believe that Renatus is the premier real estate investment and entrepreneurial educational service in the country.

ELEVATOR PITCH With a comprehensive online and live educational system, Renatus has reached over 17,000 students nationwide. Experts teach strategies in real estate investing, business management, finance, and much more.

OUR STORY Bob Snyder, CEO and Founder of Renatus, has been involved in the direct sales industry for over 30 years. He has mastered negotiations and sales, business organization and management, founded or co-founded dozens of successful companies, and trained thousands to follow in his footsteps. Bob wanted to give back, to pass on to others the knowledge and experience that brought him to the point of financial freedom. In 2011, Bob founded Renatus as a company that would provide a symbiotic relationship between family and work, celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit and encouraging financial freedom through education and community. The Five Fs have become the framework upon which Renatus has grown and its community has thrived. Fun, Family, Fitness, Faith, and Finance represent core values that direct business decisions, create work/life balance and propel the organization forward to be recognized on the Inc. 500/5000 fastest-growing companies list for three consecutive years. Renatus takes great pride in the quality of its current, relevant, and actionable education services. Its online video library containing

Bob Snyder

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more than 400 hours of training, (in addition to assessments, note-taking capabilities, and task creation), is available 24/7 through the Renatus learning platform, HELIOS. All courses are taught by “practitioner instructors” who work hands-on in the areas they teach, so customers can be confident that these strategies are applicable to real life. The courses adhere to the Instructional Systems Design method, so no matter what the teaching style or the subject matter, Renatus delivers a consistent, effective learning experience. The goal is to empower each learner with practical information that will inspire them to take action and achieve results. Renatus education is organized by Learning Paths, each with courses related to a specific real estate investing or business strategy. Bob designed the Renatus Essentials Learning Path to introduce people to the world of

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real estate investing and small business ownership. These courses teach the concepts and mechanics of basic real estate transactions from acquisition to exit and business startup strategies from entity selection to banking. Renatus customers enjoy a self-paced learning environment that includes videos, workbooks, presentation materials, and audio files so they can access their courses on the go. Each class was developed with learning outcomes that are reinforced through relevant course content and evaluations. The Essentials Learning Path helps individuals gain a foundational understanding that will lead them to take action and create cash flow. In addition to the courses, learners receive access to weekly professional coaching calls and countless activities hosted by local Renatus community members from coast to coast. Bob realized early on that to be successful, it often required the use of multiple strategies

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throughout the process. With that in mind, he set out to create a comprehensive educational system that included a wide variety of topics that would always be available as a resource. This gave rise to the Renatus Accelerated Investor Training (AIT) courses. These advanced Learning Paths offer a thorough and enlightening experience. The curriculum is delivered through 11 vocational paths, which focus on specific groups of Real Estate or Wealth Management strategies. The format begins with a solid foundation of three CORE courses then progresses to five specific STRATEGY courses that go in-depth with vital content and is rounded out with two BONUS courses to complete a deep-dive into the material. Each learner is encouraged to take an assessment that helps them define and understand their Investor ID. Once a customer knows more about their investment preferences, resources, risk tolerance levels and passions, they can select the most appropriate course materials. They have a customized set of Learning Paths to help them achieve their goals. Bob understands the value of like-minded investors working together to create accountability and fun in the learning process. Education holders are encouraged to find the local community of Renatus customers and participate in their activities. Regional groups and teams meet across the country at events that range from small get-togethers with new learners, to real estate workshops where local experts share their experience. Larger events are organized around regional and national conferences that disseminate new information, network, inspire action, and reinforce relationships. Learners can also enjoy courses and events as they are streamed online or begin hosting events in their own hometown, building up the community in which they live. Education holders and guests may attend a live class filming as a part of the studio audience when new courses or updates are filmed. With his vision to renovate the industry and set Renatus apart as an innovative game changer, Bob created “Complimentary Lifetime Access” for the Renatus customers on specific products. They love that, after their redemption period on their purchase, they will have access to those classes, including course updates, for as long as the Renatus website is live and active. On average, Renatus films about 20 courses each year, both expanding the curriculum and keeping content current and relevant.

It can be easy for new customers to feel a little overwhelmed with so much content, but this is where the Five Fs come into play. From the culture permeating the corporate office to national conference events, FUN is always intertwined with work. Annual music video competitions, themed parties and events, and epic awards ceremonies have come to be expected and appreciated by veteran community members and new learners alike. It is not uncommon at a Renatus event for 50% of attendees to be recognized and receive an award for their progress and efforts over the past year. Donating to charities, such as the Locator Foundation founded by Troy Dunn, is one way Bob and the community express their gratitude and support of FAMILY. The foundation’s work to reunite and rebuild families coincides with the deepest emotions and goals of Bob personally, and he has enthusiastically encouraged the community to be a part of that work. Renatus now aids in restoring families as well as homes and buildings. 206

Troy Dunn Creator and host of UpTV’s hit show, The Locator, and founder of the Locator Foundation.

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Mental and physical FITNESS are vital to our future. Instructor Ron Williams demonstrates this in his course and spreads awareness of the best ways to care for our “Most Valuable Real Estate”—our bodies. The best methods of exercise and nutrition are consistently sought out and shared by Ron, a national health and wellness leader and the most decorated bodybuilder in history.

centered entrepreneurial knowledge, so that they may attain financial independence as business owners and real estate investors, it is clear that FINANCE is a driving force in the growth and success of the company and its members. The combination of real estate investment and business ownership are powerful tools to increase immediate income while building secure, long-term wealth.

Whether an individual has FAITH in themselves, in the community, or in a higher power, Renatus encourages this devotion as an organization comprised of people making a positive, lasting impact on the world. The wealth created through application of our education is simply a tool that allows us to enlarge the good we do, become our best selves, and be the change we wish to see in the world.

By incorporating fun, faith, family, fitness, and finance, Renatus is changing the economic landscape of America, striving to empower one million entrepreneurs with this wealth creation system. When they use their experience and knowledge to convert a crumbling house into a modern home, help community and family members reach their personal goals, make a new networking connection, or build passive income through a real estate portfolio, the true vision of Renatus is realized.

Since the mission of Renatus is to empower one million motivated individuals with principle-

Ron Williams 7-time Mr. World, 7-time Mr. Universe, 7-time Mr. Olympia, and founder of Ron Williams Champion Life company.

myrenatus.com

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FIVE-STAR EMPIRE ELEVATOR PITCH Five-Star Empire helps its clients to improve their finances through real estate investments and business ownership, allowing them to concentrate full-time on what matters most.

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OUR STORY Collaborating with an Inc. 5000 company, Five-Star Empire is the brainchild of Michael Huggins, who made $1 million in 14 months working part-time in the real estate industry. Begun nine years ago, Five-Star Empire helps its clients to leverage their assets in ways they didn’t know they could. This is where the company’s innovation lies: in changing peoples’ understanding of finances. “People need to know what banking is, what credit is, what retirement accounts are, what life insurance is,” Michael says. “And not just what these things are but how wealthy folks use them versus average folks who were simply never exposed to them.” Five-Star Empire simplifies these concepts for its clients, enabling them to see opportunities for passive income that they may not have previously considered or even known existed. Another facet of this education lies in combatting their preconceived notions about money. “Many people think that if they are rich, then it makes someone else poor,” Michael says. “They then don’t do the necessary work of making themselves financially independent—even when that’s exactly what they’re working toward in their life.” It’s a story that Michael himself knows well. He worked hard in school, earned a degree in automotive/diesel technology, and took a job as a mechanic. He’d ticked all of the boxes required for the American dream—but it wasn’t working. His fifteen-hour days didn’t provide him enough to even be able to afford his own car. (The irony of working as an auto mechanic and not owning a vehicle was not lost on him.) Michael turned to real estate and his perspective changed. So did his life. In his first year, Michael brokered two short sales that earned him enough to quit his jobs. He began to see all of the ways real estate could be leveraged to earn a living, but more importantly, how it could be used to offer clients the same freedom he had found. “For example, I taught my grandmother about velocity banking and she decided to use it to pay off her house,” Michael says. “She actually had to explain to her mortgage broker and her personal banker how that works, but once she pays off her mortgage that way, she’ll have a lifestyle increase, even though she’s in retirement and on a fixed income.”

The money management strategies on which Michael educates clients originate from a philosophy of living abundantly and thinking of wealth; not just in terms of money. “The goal is to work full time on ourselves—on our relationships and our personal goals and how we are in the world—and part-time on our business. Economics should be part-time stuff, and it’s possible to use your assets in such a way that you can make it that way.”

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OUR STORethink International is a global social enterprise and international training organization designed to challenge people to rethink how and what they think. We are a world leader in the design and delivery of custom learning products with a purpose.

Launching the Rethink Tank for Women in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Cottonwood Country Club in August of 2016

Our innovative Rethink learning approach was born out of the social, cultural, political, and emotional reaction to the 2016 elections. People across the country and around the world were thrown into a social and political climate that dramatically challenged them to rethink how and

Our foundational VALUES are Power Conversations. Equitable Partnership. Equal & Valuable Exchange. Diversity of Thought. Reflective Meditation. Our MISSION is to challenge people to rethink how and what they think and ultimately build bridges across social, cultural, and political differences. Our PURPOSE is to strengthen minds, stimulate creativity and innovative thought, and generate power-conscious decision-making. Our ROLE is to guide people and organizations through the process of generating their own solutions to personal, professional, organizational, and societal needs. Our EXPERTISE lie in Global Leadership. Communications. Civil Discourse. Personal Empowerment. Branding. Multicultural Media. Social Media. Building Inclusive Cultures. Women In Leadership. Diversity. Inclusion. Unconscious Bias.

RETHINK THEORY OF CHANGE Our Pathway to Consciousness Theory challenges us to rethink the impact of our personal history and experiences. No matter who you are or where you are from, you have been socially conditioned to think a certain way about who you are, what your purpose is, and what your role in the world should be. As we learn and grow as individuals and come to the realization that we have the power to define who we are and determine what we will become, our minds become free. When our minds are free, we are able to tap into our highest levels of creativity and innovative thought. It is at this stage of “power consciousness” that we step into our own power and embrace our freedom to rethink our life circumstances in order to make them work for us. Join us today to RETHINK. CREATE. And INNOVATE!

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what they think. In June of 2016, we launched the Rethink Tank for Women in Washington, DC. The purpose of the Rethink Tank was to bring together women with differing points of view to engage in meaningful conversation with the intent to build bridges across social, cultural, and political differences. And, it worked! We learned that through infusing our foundational values into our Rethink Conversation Model, we were able to stimulate higher levels of creativity and innovative thought. Soon after our DC launch, we expanded our business model to an all-inclusive platform offering custom learning products to a global audience and Rethink International was born.

LEARNING PRODUCTS & SERVICES We offer custom design and delivery of learning products in the form of in-person small to large group trainings, conference workshops, facilitated conversations, board and staff retreats, keynotes, and personal leadership coaching. SIGNATURE LEARNING PRODUCTS: RETHINK Civil Discourse: iVALUES Conversation Model RETHINK Your Brand: A Journey of Self-Discovery RETHINK Diversity: Redefining Diversity & Resolving Your Unconscious Bias RETHINK Social Media: RETHINK and WIN the Social Media Game suilang@rethinkintl.com +1-202-210-8280 rethinkintl.com

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Launching a NEW PROJECT The Inclusion Experience Project (IXP), is an innovative learning project that offers a series of intentionally designed learning Experiences aimed to elevate the consciousness of leaders for the purpose of driving trust, stimulating growth, and building a culture of inclusion in the workplace. Sui Lang L. Panoke sharing her personal story at IXP’s Inaugural Inclusion Experience at Kiln Salt Lake in June 2019.

IXP Co-Founders: Sui Lang L. Panoke, Founder, Rethink International and Women Politics Media Sara Jones, CEO, InclusionPro and Co-founder, Women Tech Council Shawn Newell, VP of Business Development, Industrial Supply James Jackson, III, AVP of Zions Bank and Founder of the Utah Black Chamber

Sui Lang L. Panoke facilitating a deep-dive discussion at the Inclusion Experience Project’s Inaugural Inclusion Experience IXP1: Authentic Conversations in the Workplace.

Inclusion Experience Project Co-founders of the Inclusion Experience Project | inclusionxproject.com Left to Right: Shawn Newell. Sui Lang L. Panoke. Sara Jones. James Jackson, III

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ELEVATOR PITCH Hallo, a language live-streaming platform, was founded in 2017 by three BYU graduates, Joon Beh, Benjamin Dent, and Michael Curtis, to disrupt the whole $56 billion language industry. Despite the massive demand for and investment in language learning, language development is neither swift nor comprehensive, in large part because learners spend most of their time reading textbooks rather than speaking. Hallo connects users of similar skill levels via video chat in seconds so they can start practicing together. In addition, Hallo provides the marketplace for teachers and focuses on live streaming, while still offering private lessons. This makes learning fun, affordable, and tailored to each person’s learning style while providing teachers with the opportunity to have unlimited potential and success, based on their performance.

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OUR STOIn 2018, Hallo doubled their Facebook following every month, bringing their audience to 180,000 and are currently growing by 7,000 followers each week with $0 spent on advertising. In May 2019, Hallo officially launched its app, and in the following three months, Hallo found 100,000 users and logged a few million minutes of audio and video calls—averaging out to over 1,000,000 call minutes a month. Hallo’s mission is to empower others to find more opportunities in life and make dreams come true through language. The Hallo team is committed to building a more educated and connected world by bringing the fun back to learning and making it the social experience it was designed to be.

ACCOLADES Year 2019 started strong for Hallo as they started partnering with RevRoad and took 2nd place at the Silicon Slopes Startup Competition in January 2019. They then championed the Investors Choice Competition in February and closed their Seed funding, being oversubscribed a few months later. Hallo is the first real-time, live-streaming social platform available in the market. Hallo connects language learners, helping them improve their social speaking skills—arguably, the most important aspects of language learning. + 1-801-678-4084 | halloglobal.com 213

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INSTRUCTURE

INSTRUCTURE’S MISSION IS TO HELP PEOPLE GROW FROM THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL TO THE LAST DAY OF WORK.

ELEVATOR PITCH To support the journey of lifelong learning for its 30 million users, Instructure is expanding its impact in education, growing into the employee development market, and supporting the connection between the academic and professional worlds.

OUR STO2008 marked the beginning of the era of digital transformation, which disrupted industries around the world by solving offline problems with online, cloud-based innovation. That same year Instructure was born, brought to life by two grad students eager to apply the principle of digital transformation to disrupt and improve learning management systems. Instructure worked alongside schools during this transition, creating deep and meaningful relationships with teachers to facilitate classroom change and advancement. Canvas was the first cloud-based LMS to change the market, benefiting millions of students and teachers around the world. That was the first chapter in the story of Instructure. Our second chapter began under the direction of Dan Goldsmith, who was appointed as CEO in 2019. When corporations familiar with Canvas began to license and adapt it to help with their employee learning programs, Instructure decided to look at who else would benefit from a cloud-based learning management environment. Instructure found a growing demand from corporations eager to build out effective employee learning and growth programs. Instructure is uniquely positioned to drive the employee development market. It created Bridge from scratch to help corporate customers address their ever-growing needs around 214

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employee learning and development. The Bridge Employee Development Platform sits on the front lines of businesses while complementing back-office HR systems. It empowers employers and managers to inspire and motivate employees. But a new generation of students and employees is emerging that wants to extend their potential, amplify their impact, and be lifelong learners. Instructure is facilitating the convergence of the academic and professional worlds supporting growth and development beyond graduation throughout a career. Instructure has grown from two students traveling the United States in an old Geo Metro to gather teacher and learner feedback to a corporation of over 1,300 employees and $209 million in annual revenue. Its employees are driven by a common mission focused on lifelong learning and by our company values: Ownership, Relationships, Openness, & Simplicity. 6330 S. 3000 E., Suite 700 | Salt Lake City, UT 84121 +1-800-203-6755 instructure.com 215

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SOUL VISION BUSINESS, INC. “Your last day is going to be…”

Getting laid off is a great wake-up call to help you see what you really want to do with your life—IF you can get past the fear that your one and only paycheck just ended. It was the summer of 2008 when many people were impacted by the swift downturn in our economy. Overnight, people lost retirement plans, home equity plummeted, and fear of the future infiltrated our choices and conversations. So why not start a business? Never being one to follow the herd, that’s what I did and where I found myself in a world of:

“Go big or go home.” “Make it happen.” “Work hard now to play later.”

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Meanwhile, I was always thinking:

But I really like being at home. What do I “make” happen if I don’t know what I want? How long is the right amount of time to delay joy?

Being an entrepreneur is often a constant temptation to push yourself harder. You’ve got to want it bad enough and do whatever it takes. While there is truth in that mindset, it also pushes people into business models, hiring decisions, pricing structures, and marketing tactics that end up driving people to burnout, deep unfulfillment, and chasing a dream that they never wanted in the first place.

As more people are waking up to the fact that they can create their reality THEIR WAY, innovation is looking different. It’s not always about chasing the next big idea. It’s about simplifying. Streamlining. Choosing joy NOW while you grow your profits. It’s about recognizing that while working hard is required, the struggle is optional. When I emerged into the business coaching scene in 2009, I knew about people like Lisa Nichols from “The Secret” and Tony Robbins. I had no idea that people like me could work from home doing work they love to do and make great money. At the beginning, I didn’t trust myself so I followed the gurus who were adamant that the way to grow a business, make loads of money, and hopefully be fulfilled was to chase leads and convince them into being clients, hire teams even if you didn’t have a solid plan, rent a brick-and-mortar office, and over-invest in systems that you didn’t really need but you “should” want. That led to burning down my business in 2012 when I just couldn’t do it anymore. I then found my way. When people in my industry were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars hosting 3-day events, I created systems and strategies to invest $10,000 to host a 3-day event and 10x my investment within 30 days. When people were hiring sales teams, I studied authentic sales and learned how to master enrollment conversations that empowered people to choose what’s best for them, even if it meant saying, “No.” When I was being taught to push myself harder, I chose to rest, take care of my health, and invest time in the relationships that mattered most. My profits didn’t suffer. I just got happier. I innovated by “playing small.” To truly innovate your business, your profit model, and your industry, you need the space to pivot and evolve, and you can’t do that when you’re growing a business that drains you. What if your innovation is creating more joy, more ease, and more profits by getting back to basics: What matters to you? What do you REALLY want? And what is the simplest way you can achieve that?

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“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” —GEORGE PATTON

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From left to right: Ben Dahl, Ron Heinz, Scott Petty, Brandon Tidwell

SIGNAL PEAK VENTURES ELEVATOR PITCH Signal Peak Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in technology companies in established markets, primarily outside of Silicon Valley. We invest at a company’s inflection point as entrepreneurs find product–market fit and are ready to scale aggressively. Our team generally leads financings with initial equity check sizes between $3–$7 million. We back exceptional teams that are attacking big problems in a unique way.

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OUR STORY We believe investing is all about people. It starts with the people that invest in our funds as Limited Partners and ends with the people that we back as entrepreneurs. We are fortunate to be entrusted with the capital and the ability to work every day with incredible entrepreneurs. It is our mission to provide capital, expertise, and our collective experience to help these founders execute their visions and build significant companies with enduring value. Signal Peak Ventures was formed in 2012 when three experienced industry professionals—Brandon Tidwell, Scott Petty, and Ron Heinz—combined forces to help build a next-generation venture firm capitalizing on the hard-won frontier market wisdom gained from investing in the Utah tech ecosystem. Prior to the combination, each of the three partners had extensive, successful track records of venture capital investing, both inside and outside of Utah. In 2018, Ben Dahl joined as the fourth Managing Director. Ben brings 10+ years of venture capital investing

experience, a unique and diverse network, and an outstanding track record. We are better together; we have the combination of talent, energy, and experience to build a firm that survives us all and continues to generate exceptional returns for our investors. At SPV, we strive to be hands-on, ego-free and founder-friendly investors. We create value for portfolio companies through a collaborative approach—contributing strategic, financial, and operational expertise. We work hard for our founders through making early introductions to key customers, strategic partners, and co-investors, and by helping to recruit top executives. While we don’t exclusively invest in Utah, the state has been at the core of our strategy since inception and we are strong believers in the future of the tech ecosystem up and down I-15. Utah is and always will be home base for the firm. Collectively, the Managing Directors have put hundreds of millions of dollars to work in the Beehive State in companies that have employed thousands of people and generated well over a billion dollars of value.

2755 E. Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 520 | Salt Lake City, UT 84121 +1-801-942-8999 | spv.com

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KICKSTART SEED FUND ELEVATOR PITCH As an entrepreneur, you should be as discerning on which investors you partner with as investors are about the founders in whom they invest. Both sides should be looking for the right fit and it’s important that your investors bring more than cash to the table. You want investors that are able to provide expert guidance that will make the good times more lucrative, and who are able to work in the trenches with you during the inevitable hard times. All ventures firms tout a “people first” mentality and being true value-add partners—but that, traditionally, only manifests itself through capital and limited interactions at board meetings.

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OUR STORY At Kickstart Seed Fund, we go beyond this. Because of our entrepreneurial roots and the breadth of expertise amongst our partners, we not only understand what you as a founder and innovator are going through and the resources that could be helpful to you, but we formed a platform to meet those needs. Kickstart’s vibrant online and in-person community brings all the knowledge across our networks directly to our portfolio companies in the form of events, resources, and connections. This allows you to exchange ideas and share expertise with other founders and executives, empowering you to solve critical challenges and build the resilience required to respond to the unique challenges the startup environment presents. Similar to the start of your entrepreneurial journey, Kickstart began with the recognition that there was a problem to be solved: the lack of seed capital in Utah and the West was hurting entrepreneurs, and the ecosystem needed a seed fund. In 2008, Gavin Christensen worked with local universities, angel investors, entrepreneurs, venture capital funds, and other key stakeholders to build a seed fund that the community could rally behind. Nearly 11 years later, we are pleased that our big bet on the innovative potential of Utah now seems obvious, even though there were few who thought a dedicated seed fund would be viable when it launched. We were the first seed-stage investor in Utah and continue to be the most active investor in the region (2Q 2018 PitchBook—NVCA Venture Monitor Report). We are just as committed today to the growth of the Utah startup ecosystem as we were 11 years ago and will continue to innovate to find ways to add value to our companies and the community.

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HEN HOUSE VENTURES ELEVATOR PITCH Hen House Ventures has a unique vision for the software startups we incubate, providing immediate tools and resources to prove out the business plan and stabilize the company so they can attain funding, either through clients or investors, and grow organically.

OUR STORY As a tech startup veteran, Tara Spalding understands what companies entering the massive technology market are facing. “My experience as a serial entrepreneur from Silicon Valley was thrilling, but I had witnessed how our company’s growth and progression slowed down every time we needed to fundraise, because pitching to investors is difficult to prepare for and exhausts company resources.” 224

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and goal-driven. Hen House brings the right people to each project based on experience, skill, and fit. There is no us and them, there is always us. We watched contacts become prospects, prospects become leads, and leads turn into opportunities.” Tara’s passion for business growth is at the heart of Hen House’s vision. “Our purpose is to provide people and resources that will shift the economic trajectory and innovation impact for these companies. We are so excited when a client’s innovation gets recognized as an industry disruptor by top-tier analysts, or they close their first 7-figure deal. We know our contributions are important when new partnerships, investors, and customers emerge.” Tara strongly believes in supporting women entrepreneurs and makes it a point to mentor In 2012, Tara launched Hen House Ventures to help companies analyze and improve their marketing and sales strategies to rapidly scale when entering this highly competitive market. Startups often have a tight budget and struggle to attract the attention of prospective customers, partners, or investors. They are entering or trying to disrupt large market categories, often dominated by a well-known technology company that owns, on average, 40% of the market share. Applying her sixteen years of expertise as a product and marketing executive at software companies, Tara created a unique incubation program to help startups overcome these issues. “I wanted to turn my knowledge into a proven program that would thoroughly prepare companies for fundraising, while not slowing down company growth or innovation creation.” Hen House’s incubation program paves the path to financial success for startups by providing experts in marketing, sales, and operations (essentially a “drop-in” CMO or CRO team) to fill the gaps where startup founders lack the skillset or time to accomplish their marketing and sales objectives. Says Spalding, “We’re a team of experts with a variety of hightech experiences who band together and perform triage on companies when they don’t have the staff or time to fix their weaknesses. Our unique program lets startups pick and choose from a variety of initiatives that drive financial results, including market-fit surveys, media and analyst relations, branding and digital presence, competitive analysis, customer interviews and case studies, and pitch deck creation.”

first-time women CEOs who are diving into the tech industry. “It can be lonely when you are a woman who is developing leadership skills, entrepreneurial knowledge, and technology while also being a wife, mother, and community member. Many women CEOs don’t have a strong network to keep them focused and motivated, which is something I can personally relate to.” Hen House Ventures goes above and beyond to help tech entrepreneurs succeed, positively impacting the technology economy and community, and making the world a better place, one innovation at a time.

Mitch Lieberman, a former participant in the program, quantifies the financial impact Hen House had on his business: “The program and projects were clearly articulated

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Clarke Capital is a Family Office Investment Firm, focused on Alternative Assets, Hedge Funds, Early Stage University-Licensed/Acquired Technologies, and Growth Equity. We invest in growing companies, normally producing $1–$10 million of EBITDA with excellent management teams and defensible business strategies through Private Placements, Debt Instruments and Institutional Grade Alternatives. We are a group of operators first, investors second. Our team at Clarke Capital is full of experience of building and growing successful companies. We excel in partnering with our management teams to give them the tools to grow, creating a clear strategy, giving access to multiple forms of capital, and using our unparalleled network for business development. We have an excellent in-house legal department and believe in building IP for our portfolio companies. We have a specialized team dedicated to building, defending, enforcing, and litigating IP assets. Growth is the most challenging part of a company's life. Clarke Capital will help you build the foundations in your business to be ready for accelerated growth.

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PELION VENTURE PARTNERS INVESTING IN INDUSTRY DISRUPTORS SINCE 1986

Pelion Team

ELEVATOR PITCH

OUR STO-

Pelion Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Utah. We invest in entrepreneurs across the United States who are driven to change the world as we know it. We are passionate about technology and helping our founders achieve success.

In 2002, Blake Modersitzki left his desk running Novell’s corporate venture capital division for a new adventure with UV Partners, a Salt Lake City–based venture capital firm founded in 1986. Over the next several years, UV Partners would undergo name changes, strategy shifts, and team developments as what is now Pelion Venture Partners took shape. Today, we at Pelion are proud of our heritage as the oldest and largest early-stage venture firm based in the state of Utah. Since 2002, our team has backed close to 100 companies across the US and deployed nearly $800 million in capital. The entrepreneurs and visionaries that we work with are core to our success and we are fortunate to partner with individuals building disruptive businesses that completely rewire industries. At Pelion, our vision and focus are centered on promoting and 228

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progressing the visions of each of our founders. Capital can be a commodity in today’s venture capital world and at Pelion we strive to give not only financial resources, but also our time, expertise, listening ears, support, and networks to each entrepreneur we work with. The core of our firm’s DNA is software. Each partner and member of the team brings a level of software expertise through operating experience in tech companies, entrepreneurial experiences of their own, or academic pursuit of technical subjects. The investments that we make focus around software in enterprise settings. We have invested in infrastructure, cyber security, frontier tech, and vertical SaaS applications in a variety of industries including health tech, fintech, and legal tech.

Pelion Investment Team

While never considered a regional firm, Pelion has long supported the Utah entrepreneurial ecosystem in addition to making investments in other areas across the country including the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Boston. We have watched as the Utah tech scene has matured and have been eager to work with talented entrepreneurs across the valley.

UTAH PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS

Fusion-io delivers the world’s data faster. Pelion invested in Fusion-io in 2008 and had a successful exit in an IPO in 2011.

Today, the number of Utah companies in our portfolio is becoming a geographical majority. Utah has been home to Pelion since 1986 and the growth that we see continues to fuel our belief in the special combination of ideas, people, and talent in Utah. As long as there are founders with dreams in Utah, Pelion will continue to work to support those dreams. We are trustworthy confidants, champions of companies, and experienced operators whose only goal is to build a better future for all of us through entrepreneurship.

Weave is an integrated communications platform that allows small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) to run their business better and more efficiently. Before Weave, SMBs used paper, phone, and fax to communicate with customers, were slow to collect revenue, and didn’t track key metrics on their businesses. Today, because of Weave, SMBs have a platform to communicate with customers effectively, an internal platform to run their businesses efficiently, and analytics on key metrics to drive revenue. Pelion led Weave’s Series B in 2016 when the company was at $4 million ARR. Weave raised its Series C financing in 2018 and is targeting $65 million in ARR this year.

Divvy is disrupting the expense management industry and is considered the financial nervous system for businesses. Divvy is the leading spend and expense management platform for businesses. Divvy fused the best in financial software with the leading credit card to make the perfect spending solution for every business. Pelion led Divvy’s Series A in May of 2018 with a $9 million investment. The company has raised over $1 billion of debt and equity since Pelion invested. In 2018 Divvy raised a Series C financing. pelionvp.com 229

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EPIC VENTURES SKI LIFT PITCH

LEADERSHIP AND EXPERIENCE

Since the Internet ran on HTML layout tables and dial-up connections, EPIC has been investing in early-stage technology companies. Partnering with entrepreneurs and founders of iconic tech companies, EPIC has seen successful outcomes since founding in 1994. From behemoths like Ancestry to current tech unicorn superstars Health Catalyst, PillPack, and Instructure, EPIC’s pride is built on commitment to entrepreneurs at every point in the turbulent startup journey.

EPIC’s strength lies in the operational and strategic acumen of a cohesive team and dedicated leadership. EPIC Managing Directors Kent Madsen and Nick Efstratis have both been with the firm for over 20 years.

EPIC’s team and advisors have held executive roles at iconic technology companies, founded category-defining startups, and pioneered technologies that support modern ways of working and living. EPIC comprises operators, investors, and most importantly, is entrepreneurfocused.

Kent, formerly the CEO of a publicly traded NASDAQ Company, has been directly involved in 6 IPOs and dozens of acquisitions. Kent serves on the boards of Zions First National Bank, The University of Utah, and Utah Valley University Business School. Nick is an operator whose early experiences at Excite.com and as a founding member of the management team at NetDocuments helped shape his commitment to entrepreneurs and founders. Over the last decade, Nick has served as a judge for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. In addition, Nick was recently tapped to speak at The White House at The President’s American Leadership in Emerging Technology event. 230

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EPIC’s philosophy is: the best way to build lasting companies is to be a valuable partner and resource to the C-suite and founders.

EPIC VENTURES JR. ANALYST PROGRAM Headed by Directors Jack Boren and Ryan Hemingway, EPIC is training the next generation! Every semester EPIC recruits 15+ of the best and brightest from University of Utah and Brigham Young University to the program, providing an immersive learning opportunity where students gain real-world experience in the venture capital industry.

Nick Efstratis & Kent Madsen

Christopher Calder

Gabe Hawkes

Jack Boren

Ryan Hemmingway

Merry Osborne

To date, over 100 students have completed the program and have gone on to be leaders in private equity funds, investment banks, consulting firms and more. EPIC was proud to hire Senior Analyst Gabe Hawkes from the program after he moved through the ranks from Intern to Deal Source Team Member to Team Lead.

COMMUNITY Being an active participant in Utah’s rich tech ecosystem is highly prioritized at EPIC. Merry Osborne heads up Community, where she cultivates a diverse combination of networking and industry events to further the goals of adding value for the portfolio, being a connector in the space, and ensuring EPIC is top of mind when an entrepreneur is looking for funding. With a focus on increasing diversity, it was EPIC’s honor to host a gathering of leading tech CEOs and Derrek Johnson, President of the NAACP. EPIC is also active with the Women Tech Council, Silicon Slopes, and the Utah Tech Council. EPIC Director Chris Calder is a board member with the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association. The RMVCA hosts Adventure Doggle in Park City, bringing together investors and operators on a regular cadence to inspire co-investment and networking. Katie Rice is a Venture Associate with EPIC and co-founder of the Annual Ski Lift Pitch in New Mexico and a Judge for New Mexico’s Balloon Pitch.

SUCCESSES With 4 IPOs in 4 years and more than 14 IPOs total, along with over 35 profitable exits, we believe the best is yet to come! epicvc.com 231

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REVROAD

is short for roads to revenue and is also used in the context of revving your company faster on the road to success.

ELEVATOR PITCH RevRoad is a venture services firm. Venture services is a new term in the industry depicting the unique space in the heart of three intersections of the diagram shown below. RevRoad shares characteristics of accelerators, agencies, and venture capital firms, but in more important ways, it is not like any of those. At the core, RevRoad provides venture services to companies that would otherwise have to spend cash (and sometimes raise capital) to get those services that agencies and accelerators provide on a limited basis. Entrepreneurs starting or scaling businesses love this model.

ACCELERATOR

VENTURE CAPITAL

AGENCY

OUR STORY RevRoad was founded in 2017 by a group of six entrepreneurs who were united by a common passion for helping businesses grow. RevRoad’s founders believe that helping entrepreneurs solve problems and growing scalable companies is a great way to make the world a better place. In addition to guiding new innovations that solve real problems, RevRoad simultaneously creates many good and fulfilling jobs, both at RevRoad and within its portfolio of companies.

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At RevRoad, portfolio companies are the client organizations brought on-board to which services are provided. Entrepreneurs identify problems and bring their ideas— their secret sauce—to solve those problems. RevRoad helps them validate a hypothesis, establish traction, and then grow. RevRoad negotiates an equity exchange with the portfolio company for the value offered through 12 service departments. The goal is to achieve traction and the financial results each portfolio company desires, whether that’s sustainable growth, ongoing distributions, a sale of their company, an IPO, or some other harvest event. As of September 2019, there were 27 companies in the RevRoad portfolio. RevRoad receives applications from about 50–60 new companies each quarter. It then considers and evaluates each, choosing three or four to invest its resources into and onboard into the portfolio. To date, RevRoad’s portfolio of companies have a combined value well in excess of $100 million. Below is a chart of graphics representing each of the portfolio companies to date. Over a 10year horizon, RevRoad expects to work with at least 150 different companies in various industries. RevRoad is not a venture capital firm. Rather than offering cash to its portfolio companies, RevRoad offers a customized suite of services and support those companies may need in exchange for an equity stake. If a company needs funding, RevRoad’s expert team can help raise that capital while helping

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the entrepreneur(s) retain control of their company. Portfolio companies get access to RevRoad’s exclusive network of investors and mentors. RevRoad provides key services in 12 strategic areas at just the right time to support, complement, and help grow companies. It is all about helping entrepreneurs and their companies succeed. Unlike business incubators and accelerators, RevRoad helps companies on a deeper level, offering tangible services regardless of stage of development. RevRoad rolls up its collective sleeves and works with businesses long-term rather than writing checks or offering short boot camp–style mentoring or space-for-rent programs. Portfolio companies can select all of the services RevRoad offers or just a few based on what their particular needs may be at a given time. Portfolio companies can also increase the level of services for additional equity if needed depending on RevRoad bandwidth. RevRoad is here to help entrepreneurs succeed, and we’re in it for the long haul. We believe that it takes sustained effort and persistence to build strong businesses, and we work side-byside with our portfolio companies to help them win. Our unique 24-month RevRoad Venture Services™ system offers entrepreneurs a suite of expert services that makes traction and faster growth possible. In short, we don’t win unless the portfolio companies win, which creates perfect alignment. For additional information about RevRoad, please visit us at www.RevRoad.com

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ELEVATOR PITCH Nihlo is a holding company that owns shares in an assortment of businesses which are mostly in partnership with celebrities and professional athletes; fitness centers, brand management, technology, app, advertising, retail. Did You Know: Though Nihlo mostly works with athletes, they work with other kinds of celebrities too. For example, they work with George Takei, originally famous as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, and now an author, activist, and social media personality. This year, Nihlo helped him with a Pride campaign.

OUR STORY

To learn more about Nihlo, visit journeymanbrand.com

Nihlo’s holding can seem overwhelming, but the evolution follows a certain logic. Chris Schlierman, the founder and CEO, was originally a brand manager for celebrities, especially sports celebrities. The athletes and celebrities saw that running your own business was more profitable than merely licensing your image, and so Schlierman started businesses for them. Lots of them needed gyms, so he made a fitness center—Norton Training Center. They started a marketplace for their fitness centers, and the marketplace took off on its own, so Nihlo expanded that to online and into other people’s fitness centers. They partnered with an advertisement company so they could run advertisements 234

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in their facilities, and those advertisements have now also expanded into other people’s facilities.

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year, but only gets paid $30 million. “Know your worth,” says Schlierman. “That’s what I always tell my guys. ‘You’re worth more than the world tells you you’re worth.’”

This all got started because Schlierman was an athlete himself (track runner) with experience in the business world (marketing, advertising). Some athletes he knew started telling him about all their business ambitions, and the frustrations they had trying to get them off the ground—not being treated properly, taken advantage of. As an athlete himself, Schlierman could empathize, and decided to work with them. “I’ve worked on the corporate side,” thought Schlierman, “and I know how to help you guys.”

Schlierman says athletes are wising up to this reality. Kobe Bryant has his own energy drink that’s outselling Gatorade now, for example. “There’s a revolution happening in the athletic celebrity space now,” says Schlierman, “and we’re becoming a major player in that.” “It’s a whole different world from the agencies,” says Schlierman. “The agencies don’t teach their athletes anything. They don’t help them invest. They don’t help them grow a business. We teach them that.”

So he started helping them get representation with big brands, getting speaking opportunities, and then he started helping them build their brand, build their apparel lines, which eventually led to some of these athletes wanting to actually own and run their own businesses. And Schlierman helped them every step of the way.

Utah is a fantastic place for this business. It’s not the biggest hub for pro athletes, but Schlierman can tap his national network for clients and appreciates that the state is very helpful to new businesses. “It’s an exciting place to be right now to run a business,” he says. “There’s a real entrepreneurial spirit on the rise. Everyone’s starting a startup and everyone’s very excited.”

Schlierman knew that these athletes were worth more than they were getting from their agencies, because he worked for brands like Nike and Adidas and saw how much money they were making off of big stars. The stars would get a lot of money, but nothing compared to what the brands were making off them. Lebron James, for example, makes Nike $300 million per

Schlierman is looking forward to helping more and more celebrities and athletes into the business world. “They’re good speakers, they’re creative, and they have money to start with. It’s really a perfect fit for business.” 235

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MEDICI VENTURES

Peace Coliseum

ELEVATOR PITCH Launched in 2014, Medici Ventures is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc. that focuses on advancing blockchain technology to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce. Medici Ventures’ goal is to change the world by advancing blockchain technologies to allow everyone to participate in local, national, and global markets; eliminate friction-filled intermediary institutions in an effort to reduce costs, difficulty, time, and mistakes; and connect people directly with each other. Medici Ventures is applying blockchain and other technologies to areas such as identity, land governance, money and banking, capital markets, supply chain, and voting to build a technology stack for civilization.

OUR STORY Medici Ventures—named after the Italian banking family who introduced double-entry accounting to the West and revolutionized the world’s economy through innovations that propelled the expansion of international commerce—believes blockchain will change the world. With blockchain, humanity can build an impartial technology stack for a global civilization. By eliminating the need for intermediary trust institutions that stand between individuals, blockchain offers humanity the chance to connect once again and do business person to person. Blockchain technology can replace fear and fraud with trust, confidence, and the ability to transact and connect freely with all people. 236

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The technology can simplify payments, while making them less expensive. It can ensure settlement occurs at the same time as the transaction, instead of waiting a traditional pending period that may last several days. It can bring major increases in global liquidity as tokenized assets trade without the need for the medium of fiat currency. It offers massive efficiency gains by cutting out the need for frictional middlemen in existing markets. By eliminating these expensive trust intermediaries, blockchain provides the ability to re-humanize commerce by allowing for increased peer-to-peer transactions. Medici Ventures’ family of keiretsu companies are bringing blockchain-based products into production to change the world with this groundbreaking technology. Keiretsu are networks or families of corporations that have interlocking interests in one another. Each company in the Medici Ventures family is encouraged to find synergies between itself and others. The work Medici Ventures is doing in the blockchain space, alongside that of its innovative keiretsu companies, has put the company at the forefront of blockchain technology, and placed it at the center of thought leadership and disruptive technology products. Its development teams work on projects ranging from bringing

Medici Land Governance work in Africa

major populations out of poverty through proper land titling to an overhaul of securities markets. Each company in the Medici Ventures family is making valuable and substantial impacts through their work. Medici Ventures’ keiretsu companies bring real and meaningful blockchain-based products into production. For example, the Medici Ventures company tZERO has new technology that allows for the trading of security tokens in a

Bitt Leadership at the ECCB

user-friendly and compliant manner. tZERO has launched tZERO Crypto, its crypto-trading mobile wallet and exchange that allows for the buying, selling, and holding of cryptocurrency. Another Medici Ventures company that is making waves in the blockchain space is Bitt, which recently partnered with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank to develop a Central Bank–issued digital currency for those in the Caribbean to use for seamless cross-border payments. Medici Land Governance (MLG), another company in the Medici Ventures family, is focused on using blockchain and other technologies to help individuals and governments manage land titling and administration. The company is already working in three African countries as well as Tulum, Mexico; St. Kitts and Nevis; and Teton County, Wyoming, to implement its land-titling systems to bring individuals into the global economy with confidence and asset protection they have never had before. Medici Ventures is building a blockchain technology stack for civilization. By providing money and banking technologies to unbanked and underbanked populations, capital becomes democratized. Reducing middlemen and frictional roadblocks, while removing the potential for fraud and surcharges, brings humanity back to the days of true peer-to-peer commerce. Allowing people to connect and transact through technology and without burdensome and costly intermediaries both evens the playing field and re-humanizes commerce. mediciventures.com

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“If you look at history, innovation doesn’t come just from giving people incentives; it comes from creating environments where their ideas can connect.” – STEVEN JOHNSON

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DIVERSIFIED INSURANCE GROUP ELEVATOR PITCH As one of the leading insurance agencies in the country, Diversified Insurance offers the property, casualty, and healthcare risk-management expertise needed to protect client assets and employees. Our focus on emerging growth companies sets us apart as we are expert at helping clients from venture-backed startup to mature industry leader.

OUR STORY Diversified Insurance Group was founded in 2001 by two former Aon executives, Spence Hoole and Joe Henriod, who purchased Utah’s Aon operations. Today, we are still independently owned and operated, now with 9 equity shareholders and 65 amazing team members.

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Our goal is to be the best service provider in the industry, not simply the best insurance broker. Voted as a Salt Lake Tribune Top Place to Work in Utah for five years and counting, we pride ourselves on being different than the competition. We believe that happy employees = happy clients. Diversified serves more venture backed, IPO and public companies in the Intermountain West than any other broker. Current count is over 200 growth and public company clients, including 87% of the unicorn companies in Utah, 7 of the top 10 fastest-growing companies (according to Utah Business), and 23 out of the last 29 IPOs in the state. In addition, we are the largest provider of Directors and Officers Liability and Cyber Insurance in Utah. Our entire service model and focus is on managing the risk of growth companies. Diversified is a full-service insurance broker serving several vertical industries. While we have strong depth in all areas of Property & Casualty insurance from Captives to Workers’ Compensation, we are best known for our expertise, specialization, and unique resources in the areas of Cyber Insurance, Directors & Officers Liability Insurance, Errors & Omissions/Professional Liability, Employee Health Benefits, and Workers’ Compensation. We are the largest provider of cyber insurance in the Intermountain West. We assist companies in many industries, including traditional brick-and-mortar, manufacturing, high tech, healthcare and financial

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& Data Privacy Forum, Silicon Slopes, and Utah Association of CPAs. In addition, we have addressed dozens of boards, audit committees, audit-risk committees, executives, and in-house legal teams on cyber security, cyber insurance, and privacy regulation. We are sought out by public company boards to consult on SEC guidance and cyber-security disclosure. As with cyber, we are also the largest writer of Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance in the state. You don’t insure 23 out of the last 29 IPOs in Utah without being an expert in D&O insurance. Our D&O clients include the largest market cap company in the state ($14.9 billion) all the way to the newest public company($964 million). Again,

institutions secure best-in-class cyber insurance programs and coverage. Our cyber clients include some of the largest online companies and national brands domiciled in Utah. We have a strong national cyber-insurance reputation and are viewed by our peers and competitors alike as a thought leader in this space. In the past 12 months alone, our cyber team of experts has spoken to the following groups about cyber insurance: National Association of Corporate Directors, Summit Directors and Officers Conference, Cybersecurity

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Spence Hoole

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LENDIO

FUELING THE AMERICAN DREAM How a serial entrepreneur built the nation’s largest business-loan marketplace to help others achieve their aspirations.

OUR STORY From his boyhood paper route to his soccer camp business in college, Brock Blake has always found a way to let his entrepreneurial spirit blossom. Shortly after graduating from Brigham Young University, he entered an entrepreneurship competition similar to The Apprentice. After beating out hundreds of applicants and going through an eight-week boot camp with 20 other finalists, Brock used his $50,000 winnings to start a business with co-founder and friend, Trent Miskin.

The original business model connected small business owners to investors. But after realizing that most of their customers didn’t need venture funding, they started working on a spin-off that provides small business owners much-needed loans. Lendio was born in 2011. Now after eight years in business, Lendio has helped small businesses get access to over $1.5 billion in loans to start and grow their businesses—and that number is growing quickly. There’s a charitable component, too. For every new loan facilitated on Lendio’s marketplace platform,

Left: Brock Blake, CEO and founder; right: Trent Miskin, CGO and founder

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Lendio Gives, the employee contribution and employer matching program, provides a microloan to a low-income entrepreneur around the world through Kiva.org. Lendio has options on tap from 75 of the top online lenders, banks and industry specialty lenders. A one-stop shop for thousands of business owners looking for capital to start, operate, and grow, the company’s laser focus on customer satisfaction drives repeat customers— the renewal rate is 50%on first-time loans. Lendio’s highly-trained lending experts are focused on helping every borrower to build his or her credit profile. Priding itself as a small-business advocate, Lendio carefully vets both lenders and employees. Funding managers work to promote transparency and to present the best funding options possible to every borrower, ensuring his or her business is better off for taking out a loan. Lendio’s platform also creates a win-win scenario for its lenders, bringing them new customers by expediting the application and underwriting processes. With a 15-minute application,

potential borrowers are vetted according to the requirements of the lenders on the platform, and Lendio automates the data heavy lifting. To further facilitate its high-tech, high-touch approach to business lending, in 2017 Lendio launched a first-of-its-kind marketplace lending franchise program. Through access to Lendio’s marketplace as well as partnerships with community banks, Lendio franchise owners are filling a critical financing gap for hundreds of small business owners across

America in a way that’s never been done before. “As an entrepreneur, nothing could be more fulfilling to me than seeing the tremendous impact Lendio is having on businesses across the country. Access to capital for small businesses has been a difficult problem to solve; many lenders and lending platforms have tried and failed because they couldn’t get the unit economics right. We feel lucky to have been able to crack the code, so to speak, and have established a selfsustaining and profitable business,” says Brock. When it comes to building an entire workforce of people who buy in to the mission and the vision

of a founder, it requires a different set of skills that many entrepreneurs don’t have. The idea for Lendio came from Brock’s passion to promote the American dream of entrepreneurship through access to capital. But Brock says none of what Lendio has accomplished in the last eight years would be possible without a large group of people sharing in his passion. He has not only embraced his role as CEO, but his role as CCO (Corporate Culture Officer). Brock, along with the rest of Lendio’s executive team, have worked to create an environment that supports the collective vision, values, and desires of the employees. 245

“Running a business is tough and requires long hours. Candidly, I think many people underestimate this and do not have the passion it takes to pull it off long-term,” says Brock. He emphasizes that very few companies become overnight successes, but many companies do overcome significant challenges and defeats to emerge triumphantly. He adds, “To me, being successful in business is about more than winning or making a lot of money. It’s about the impact our business is having on our team members and on the customers we serve. That drives everything we do.”

4100 N. Chapel Ridge Road | Suite 500 Lehi, UT 84043 +1-855-853-6346 lendio.com

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VPTAX

The top talent at VPTax spent, collectively, over 100 years in corporate tax and they bring all that experience to the startup community of Utah.

ELEVATOR PITCH VPTax is an outsourced corporate tax department founded by former partners at Big 4 tax firms who were also former tax directors at large domestic and multinational firms. The firm is highly automated and process-oriented, with a significant proprietary technology backbone. They serve a diverse client base ranging from startups to established public companies. Did you know: VPTax has worked with The RealReal since 2015. They are a high-end fashion reseller that utilizes an efficient e-commerce marketplace and recently had a successful IPO. “We were engaged as their outsourced corporate tax department and supported their rapid growth and smooth transition to the stock market,” says Lord. “I appreciate that I can always reach my ‘VP of Tax’ at VPTax. As we’ve grown, there are constantly tax questions that arise. The VPTax team is accessible, knowledgeable, and incredibly responsive. When we do build a tax department of our own, it will be modeled after VPTax!” says Steve Lo, Corporate Controller the RealReal. 246

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OUR STORY The top talent at VPTax spent, collectively, over 100 years in corporate tax and they bring all that experience to the startup community of Utah. This is a perfect fit for people coming out of incubators or out of universities, who are entrepreneurs with a great idea, yet don’t necessarily want to know how to comply with the IRS rules or receive cash benefits from R&D tax credits. “We take care of that for them,” says Jeff Olson, Director of Sales, “and save them money and headaches in the process.” “We manage all our clients corporate tax compliance needs, which mitigates the burden of dealing with a company’s tax situation,” says Lord, also a Director of Sales. Focusing primarily on high-growth startups, VPTax helps startups and midmarket organizations understand the tax ramifications of what they’re doing as they grow. “Because of the way we designed our platform,” says Lord, “we become aware of their tax implications in our process.” At the heart of VPTax is this platform, which synthesizes data elicited from clients via answers to a series of questions that dig into their business. This is done annually, at times more frequently, depending on the nature of the business and their tax needs—which can become complex. “We have the team and resources to address this,” says Olson, “so our clients focus on running their business.” VPTax’s process is embedded in a proprietary workflow-management platform that provides accessibility and transparency. In the company’s fiscal Q1 every year, the client goes through a static interview that reviews everything taxrelated. VPTax and the client get into the weeds and dredge out what’s really going on. This generates a custom data set for their tax needs. “VPTax’s systematic process is also an enormous help to domestic companies with an international presence. As a company expands globally there are

Alex Lord

significant US corporate tax compliance requirements. These need to be complied with consistently and methodically. Overlooking these or failing to comply can cause significant, irrevocable US penalties and complications,” says Olson. “VPTax is adept at this—many of our clients have a presence in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.” Working with so many companies has emergent benefits that VPTax can then pass on to its clients. “If we learn something at one company,” says Olson, “that allows us bring that lesson to every company.” All VPTax compliance services are built on a flat-rate model, for startup customers as well as enterprise. “Everyone gets first-rate, world-class service at a flat rate,” says Lord. Utah is an exciting place for VPTax right now. “Silicon Slopes has an old school Silicon Valley vibe to it,” says Olson. “There’s a ton of opportunity to help out here … and many of these organizations can leverage what we provide. It’s just a great fit,” says Lord. For more information, visit vptax.com 247

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ZONOS

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AN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY BORN TO SIMPLIFY GLOBAL COMMERCE.

ELEVATOR PITCH The advent of new technologies has transformed traditional brick-and-mortar shopping into an increasingly digital experience. With world commerce exploding, it has become critical for companies to start doing business on a global scale; however, when you consider all the rules and regulations that come with selling abroad, many are terrified of the unknown or have no idea how to get started.

OUR STORY This is why Zonos was created. Clint Reid, Co-founder and CEO of Zonos, came up with the idea for the company after working as an international account executive with UPS. He was meeting with the owner of a company that was selling goods to Canada, but after explaining the overly complicated process of filing paperwork and the various taxes involved, the owner had heard enough and declared it was too complicated to keep selling abroad. Clint left the appointment in shock and after witnessing the reoccurring theme of businesses struggling to go global, he decided it was time to come up with a solution.

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“I started to talk with family and friends about the idea,” says Clint Reid. “Not everyone understood what I wanted to build, but they certainly understood how messy the problem was.” Zonos is currently a southern Utah–based technology company located in the thriving city of St. George that employs a group of 40 dedicated team members (a.k.a. “Zonuts”) and growing.

MAIN FOCUS The main area of focus for Zonos is with creating simple software solutions for international commerce; they are the leading solution in the marketplace for duty & tax (landed cost) calculations. Zonos’ innovative technology is designed to help businesses build trust with their international consumers by providing cost transparency for duties & taxes, global compliance management, and language/currency localization. Although Zonos mostly works with e-commerce businesses, they also partner with logistics companies, development shops, and trade organizations. “We are super excited about the work we are doing here,” says Daniel Johnson, Co-founder and CRO of Zonos. “We help companies of all sizes do business on a global scale and want to improve the overall international experience.” Zonos is unique from other international solutions; they are not a shipping company. They let businesses retain control while helping them increase their sales abroad. Things are just getting started for these Zonuts as they continue to revolutionize international commerce and reach everyone. 249

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STRATUS.HR

ELEVATOR PITCH When we first started Stratus.hr, we didn’t have a written business plan. Although Michelyn had experience with PEOs (Professional Employer Organization) in the past, I had to convince her to start a new PEO instead of pursuing real estate or developments. I envisioned an innovative company that helped growing businesses get the answers and resources they needed to compete with bigger companies and level the playing field; a company that provided much more than the typical PEO. I wanted to offer a real partnership that could help those companies grow.

OUR STORY With this vision in mind, we officially founded Stratus.hr (originally called “Innovative Staffing”) in December of 1999. While we’re a PEO that offers administrative relief of payroll, workers’ comp, benefits administration, and risk management, our custom-built HR tools and high-level service are what set us apart.

It wasn’t long after first launching that the internet started making a huge impact, not just on the day-to-day work, but with systems and processes that indirectly affected work. We soon realized that the innovators we served were more agile than we were, and that to serve them well, we had better learn to not just keep up, but to think ahead. Recognizing an opportunity, we became one of the first companies to offer paperless newhire onboarding in 2004. A few years later, we launched an online benefits-enrollment tool to simplify the process of enrolling employees in medical, dental, vision, and all other employee benefit plans. Employees were able to compare, view, and enroll in benefit elections all in one place. With advancements in technology, employees became less tied to their desks. They started working in motion, oftentimes with everything they needed in the palm of their hand. The development of smartphones ignited the popularity of mobile apps, and our developers were right there to stay ahead of the curve. We launched Stratus.hr Mobile, our employee app that allows instant access to pay and personal data, to satiate employee needs to self-serve and have immediate answers. The app also relieved our clients’ office managers from hours of looking up, answering, and assisting with simple employee questions and requests.

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John Farnsworth, CEO & Owner, Stratus.hr

Our portfolio of client-needed tech tools continued to expand and were consolidated into a single sign-on product we called Tech Center. But we soon realized our clients needed more than a single sign-on; they needed a fully integrated HR management system. Through thousands of client conversations and detailed notes, we launched a custom-built human resources management and information

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system (HRMS/HRIS) that I’m proud to say is a direct result from client input. Because we’ve custom-built this software instead of purchased the cookie-cutter version our competitors use, we continue to request client feedback and adapt to meet those needs. We’re far from finished with rolling out new upgrades, tools, and features to help our clients more efficiently automate their HR processes. While we’ve seen firsthand that HR technology is one of the best ways to make employee management easier for companies of all sizes, we also know that companies need expert guidance to back up the technology.

Stratus.hr’s HR and Management Teams

One business telecom services client explained it like this:

HR Director, Colin Thompson, accepts award for Utah Business Magazine’s Best Companies to Work For prize.

“I’ve used Stratus.hr with now five different businesses that I’ve owned over the last 18 years. Our businesses have varied in size from startup with 15 people to large national business with over 1,000 employees. The businesses have spanned different industries from retail and manufacturing, to business-to-business and software sales. Here’s what you’ll get with Stratus.hr: 1. The coolest employee management software called SplashTrack (game-changer). 2. A veteran competent staff that knows what they are doing. 3. Best of all, the best damn HR partner where the people are awesome to work with.” —Brett Bradshaw, Owner That’s the beauty of Stratus.hr. Our development team stays ahead of the curve to give small and medium-size businesses the best HR technology out there, while our team of certified HR, payroll, and benefits experts give our clients the care and attention they deserve. At the end of the day, our clients enjoy a smooth recruiting and hiring process, corporate-level benefits, solid training, and a vibrant company culture to help them have long-term success. It’s our recipe for putting both the Human and the Resources in our consolidated, innovative package of outsourced HR services.

The Stratus.hr family showing off their creativity

John Farnsworth, CEO & Owner, and Michelyn Farnsworth, President & Owner

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

CO-WORKING “Listen to anyone with an original idea, no matter how absurd it may sound at first. If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.” —WILLIAM MCKNIGHT

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There was a time when “Salt Mine” was a pejorative term for work. “Back to the Salt Mines” originated as an expression showing reluctance to return to exhausting and uninspiring work.

David Edmunds Founder/CEO of Salt Mine with (L to R) Clint Betts/Silicon Slopes, Richard Nelson/Utah Technology Council, Greg Warnock/Mercato Partners, Governor Gary Herbert, Aaron Skonnard/Pluralsight When David Edmunds and his team launched Salt Mine Productive Workspace in February of 2016 to serve Silicon Slopes, they wanted to turn that idea on its head. “We wanted to create a generous community where people loved to work. Co-working coupled with the ‘mining’ of technology and startup ideas happening in Salt Lake made the name a nobrainer,” said Edmunds. Edmunds and his team gutted an old Kmart-turned–bowling alley; creatively repurposing an underutilized property. The stunning buildout even has reclaimed wood from the old train trestle that once spanned the Great Salt Lake and even now sparkling salt veins can be seen in the wood. Filament bulb lighting, custom reclaimed wood furniture and desks, a gas fireplace, and floor-to-ceiling whiteboard walls make a signature statement in the modern space. A fullservice coffee café serves as a connection point for the entrepreneurial community. The expansive space with 24-foot ceilings has dedicated offices, desks, numerous conference rooms, private cellphone booths, upholstered booths, and large event spaces to serve as a platform for large gatherings and tech conversations. Because of the unique larger spaces, many local tech companies have found a second home at Salt Mine for corporate off-sites. It’s not unusual to see Pluralsight, Instructure, and Lucid teams at Salt Mine on a weekly basis. 254

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“Our mission is to help all entrepreneurs thrive; with a passion to help women, minority, and developing world entrepreneurs,” Edmunds explains. “We start with a stunning space, add a unique element of hospitality, and then provide programming of value to help entrepreneurs learn, connect, and grow.” The programming helps entrepreneurs connect with resources also helping technology teams connect with talent. Salt Mine launched in 2016 by hosting a Beehive Startups’ “Startup Conversation Series” that eventually came under the “Silicon Slopes” brand under Clint Betts leadership. Important thought leaders from the CEOs of the largest tech companies in Utah to the Governor and Lt. Governor have contributed to make these conversations a nexus point for the tech and startup community.

Now Edmunds is the committee chair of the Sandy/Draper chapter of Silicon Slopes and hosts monthly events to help entrepreneurs learn and connect. Salt Mine has developed strategic partnerships with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and sponsored the TCIP program as well as hosting a Business Accelerator Academy in partnership with Key Bank and South Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“We are so grateful for our strategic partnerships with Silicon Slopes, the Governor’s office, and Chambers of Commerce,” said Edmunds. “It is the whole ecosystem coming together that helps inspire and create new opportunities. “We just celebrated Leticia Morrill’s graduation from our Business Accelerator Academy. In addition to sponsoring the academy, we sponsored Leticia’s tuition. To see a minority woman have new opportunity and confidence to grow her business and cry with joy upon her graduation is really rewarding.” Edmunds credits his collaboration with others and his team’s focus on relationships for Salt Mine’s success. Our team goes the extra mile to provide a sense of welcome and hospitality. The focus on relationships results in a community that wants to strive together to make people’s lives better.

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The driving force behind co-working was said best by Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired Magazine – “Collectively connected, humans are capable of things we cannot imagine.”

ELEVATOR PITCH Kiln is a co-working space founded in Utah that intends to find the limits of our imagination. History has taught us many things. We have all heard the stories of great men and women who had a marvelous idea that sparked a flurry of innovation. From the telephone to the light bulb, the narrative has often been focused on what one single person can do to leave their mark on society. However, it has also taught us that community promotes innovation on a massive level. This concept is far from new; in fact, we have seen it as far back as Ancient Greece with their then-modern Agora. A place for markets and intellectual gatherings, the Agora made academic enlightenment possible. People from all across the land were able to gather and share ideas for the first time. Centuries later, communities may look quite different, but support and inspire each other just the same. Kiln is home to baby unicorns, teams, and creatives. Community thrives at Kiln, fostering the collective growth of each individual and team in the space. Beyond inspiring, Kiln adds to your experience of 256

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Long before Utah started working as a catalyst for innovation, Kiln was growing its roots here. Co-founder and CEO Arian Lewis was born and raised in Provo, Utah, and is the only founder originally from the States. With the rapid growth that Utah has been experiencing since the Olympics in the early 2000s and a homefield advantage, it was an easy choice. Lewis started his co-working journey by building and operating FinTech-specific co-working locations for Barclays all over the globe. In his time there, he met and worked with Leigh Radford, cofounder and creative director for Kiln. Fully committed to the economic and other intangible values coworking delivers globally, Arian decided to assemble his best team to build something they owned from the ground up. Andrew Redpath, co-founder and COO, joined the Kiln team after meeting Arian on top of a mountain. With him came an expansive background in finance and business operations. This dream team, with help from a few friends with backgrounds in real estate and Arian’s childhood home as a first office, got to work on creating a space meticulously designed to help individuals and teams elevate their craft. By combining years of industry experience and best practices from all over the world, they created Kiln.

having an office by facilitating a simple, beautiful, and worry-free space, so you are free to do your best work. Anyone who has lived in or visited Utah knows that it’s someplace special. No matter what time of year, the sights and things to do are sure to delight anyone from ages two (2) to 100. From the Tulips at Thanksgiving Point, to the Golden Spike up north, this state’s beauty and history makes it easy to love and to stick around. Our state and city governments are huge supporters of businesses both big and small. This takes form in everything from incentives for small businesses to join the market and big business to set up shop to constant updates to tax code and regulations to remove bureaucratic red tape and barriers of access. Not to mention talent coming in hot from three (3) major universities on the Wasatch Front alone and of course, an emotional connection to this place from CEO Arian Lewis.

The combination of these three individuals led to the assembling of a team with expansive backgrounds. We have experience from Sundance Resort to SLUG Magazine aiding our efforts to create a beautiful, inclusive workspace that fosters the work of early stage companies in the valley every day. The best part? We are just getting started. Within two (2) years of operation and approaching the one (1) year mark with our first permanent location at the Gateway in Salt Lake City, we are profitable and have a timely and proven path to profitability with our core revenue model tied directly to de-risked highyield real estate asset(s). We are so proud to call Utah our home. The amount of opportunity here is not easily matched, but most importantly it will always be the place Kiln started. In the months and years to come, Kiln has incredibly exciting plans to share. Be sure to stay tuned, you won’t want to miss this. +1-971-300-7887 hello@kiln.co kiln.co 257

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WEWORK Create Your Life’s Work It was August 2017, and there was a knock on Ryan Smith’s door. On the other side was Ryan Allred, an acquaintance from church. Hurricane Harvey had just flooded the Smiths’ Houston-area home, and Ryan Allred was there—unprompted—to help with cleanup efforts. Over the coming days, the two Ryans would grow close as they rebuilt not only the Smith home, but the homes of many others in the community.

Community was top-of-mind for Nathan Lenahan as well. The Dallas-based Army veteran received a call from the Texas National Guard to deploy to Houston for relief efforts— the very same day he was to start a new job at WeWork, the global coworking company. Nathan and more than two dozen other WeWork employees came together to volunteer and rebuild Houston-area homes, and it was there that he reconnected with Ryan Smith, a former colleague at the BYU Cougars football team. Ryan saw firsthand WeWork’s commitment to community, but when asked if he’d consider joining the company, said he’d only leave his employer, the Houston Astros, after the franchise won a World Series. 258

Just months later, the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2017 World Series and the next fall, Ryan had relocated to Salt Lake City to lead WeWork’s growth in Utah as its Community Director. It was the sense of community seen in Houston that attracted Ryan to WeWork, which is dedicated to helping its members make a life, not just a living. “Community is at the very core of what we do at WeWork,” said Ryan. “Every day, our team comes to work focused on helping our members thrive and grow.”

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Since Ryan came to Utah to lead WeWork as its Community Director, the global co-working company has opened three locations in the Beehive State: Innovation Pointe in Lehi, and two Salt Lake City locations at The Gateway, named Gateway 1 and Gateway 6. It is at Gateway 6 that Ryan sees a familiar face every day—Ryan Allred, who moved with his family to Utah to run the WeWork Gateway 6 as Community Manager. The Ryans and their colleagues are focused on helping members, including startups, succeed. WeWork’s business model allows it to accommodate a company of any size, from large enterprises (1 in 3 Fortune 500 companies are WeWork members) to singleperson startups. Startups looking for workspace have a number of options, including hot desks (access to shared workspaces and conference rooms), dedicated desks (desk space in a lockable office with 24/7 access to conference rooms and amenities), and standard private offices.

Members have access to any WeWork in the country, and amenities like WiFi, printing services, and drip coffee help startups focus less on overhead and more on building out their business. For many startups, the largest benefit of a WeWork membership is the networks created with fellow entrepreneurs. Eatables, a provider of healthy snacks, was WeWork’s first Utah member and quickly found customers in both WeWork and other members. Beyond that, Ryan and his team curate events for members focused on helping companies grow, and often invite groups like 1 Million Cups into WeWork’s Utah locations. “At the end of the day, I feel successful if my members are successful,” said Ryan. “We couldn’t be more excited to be in Utah at this time, and look forward to welcoming even more startups into our doors.” wework.com 259

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INNOVATIONS OF THE WORLD

“We are a global market place for ideas, creativity and collaboration.” ~ SVEN BOERMEESTER, CEO GLOBAL VILLAGE PUBLISHING 260

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www.InnovationsoftheWorld.com Connecting Minds - Building Communities

“The secret to innovation is the collective mind.” ~ CALLIE VAN GRAAN, COO GLOBAL VILLAGE VENTURES 261

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ELEVATOR PITCH LockerDome is an ad platform with a brain. A venture-backed, emerging growth advertising-technology company—and one of the first tech companies in St. Louis—LockerDome helps publishers and advertisers connect with users through performance-based advertising.

tools—like widgets for sweepstakes, or links to related articles or listicles—that connected LockerDome.com users to content on the publishers’ websites. Seed and Stage A funding had carried them this far, but they needed more to do more.

OUR STORY

“Being in St. Louis, we recognized that there are capital constraints. It’s more difficult to come by venture capital here than it is, say, on the coasts,” says Mark. “But we also recognized that we had to find a way to monetize this audience of 120 million users.”

In the days before it was a startup, LockerDome was LockerDome.com, a sports-focused website. From there, the site evolved into a “Pinterest for guys,” says Mark Lewis, LockerDome’s Chief Financial Officer. “It was a site where our audience could discover and consume content that we had curated based on what their interests were beyond sports.”

To that end, the team began designing a technology platform that would enable them to serve ad units based on users’ affinities. Most online advertising populates based on a user’s recent visits and searches, but LockerDome’s approach was different.

The pivot proved two things: that LockerDome knew the importance of evolution, and that it knew the right way to do it. Between January 1, 2012, and January 1, 2016, LockerDome grew from 5,000 monthly active users to over 100 million.

“Our fundamental belief was that people are more likely to engage with an ad if it has something to do with something they’ve just read,” Mark says.

The growth reflected a symbiotic relationship LockerDome.com had established with around 1,500 online publishers. LockerDome provided

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users were at least ten times more likely to click an ad presented to them based on affinity rather than location. It was time for LockerDome to build out the platform they’d envisioned, and St. Louis was the perfect city in which to do it. “The talent pool of developers is very deep in St. Louis,” Mark says. “We had a great product architect and we had an awesome team that asked the right questions, like ‘What would we want this platform to do if we were advertisers?’”

transparency is hard to imagine in the advertising world; then again, so is an organization that goes from a sports website to a world-class advertisingtechnology platform.

In addition to its talent, St. Louis held another secret weapon for LockerDome: there wasn’t an advertising-technology battlefield here. LockerDome was free to create its platform in exactly the way it thought best, rather than fighting preconceptions about what advertising technology “should” look like.

LockerDome’s commitment to high performance extends to its company culture, too. Employees are empowered with everything they need to succeed—generous salaries and unlimited paid time off, among other enviable benefits—and LockerDome prides itself on hiring for capability over experience. Most of its team leads began in non-managerial roles.

“We used to be based in New York, and when we were there, we often heard, ‘You can’t do it this way’ or ‘There’s no fit for that kind of advertising technology,’” Mark says. “But in St. Louis, the refrain wasn’t ‘No way.’ It was ‘Why not?’ It was a group of really smart people who were willing to create something new.”

From its origin to its platform to its offices; this is what true evolution looks like—and LockerDome is still evolving. “We were a service before we were a business, and we have been intentional in locating our business in St. Louis,” Mark says. “But it’s about more than the business, too. We want to grow so that we can return wealth to our employees and our shareholders. We are in the process not of building a business but of building a great company.”

Today, LockerDome helps publishers and advertisers to link up through quality content, and it helps readers to discover the products and services designed with them in mind. Thanks to Neo, the AI behind LockerDome’s platform, publishers’ stories lead to thoughtful advertising—it’s not an oxymoron—and marketers know that they’re not wasting their spend on the wrong audience. In fact, they can view each ad unit’s ROI in realtime through LockerDome’s intuitive and thorough dashboard. Such

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THIS WAS THE BEST MEETING I’VE EVER BEEN TO.”

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ABOUT PURINA Nestlé Purina PetCare promotes responsible pet care, community involvement, and the positive bond between people and their pets. A premier global manufacturer of pet products, Nestlé Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., a global leader in nutrition, health, and wellness.

OUR STORY The Retail Innovation Center (RIC) is where Purina demonstrates our Pet category thought leadership and builds stronger partnerships with our retailers. Since 2001, the RIC has been used as a meeting space to help our Sales team(s) communicate key brand/ product innovations within the Purina portfolio using a mock grocery store environment. However, driven by our commitment to continuous improvement, there was a need to reimagine the RIC beyond a meeting facility into a unique innovation experience.

Stephen Wurth, Senior Manager, Category Experience Design

FROM STORE TO STORIES The most significant transformation of the RIC was removing the store environment and replacing it with flexible stations that bring the pet-owner experience to life. Each station highlights a way to enable category growth backed by Purina’s proprietary insights while showcasing emerging retail technology and/or Purina-designed solutions that solve petowner pain points or transform behavior to drive business. The RIC is an immersive and experimental learning lab that constantly evolves and adapts to reflect the rapidly changing dynamics of the Pet category. Every element in the space is custom designed and unique to our lab, making it unlike any other innovation space in the world. Purina PO Box 2530 | Largo, FL 33779

FROM PLACE TO EXPERIENCE What’s truly revolutionary is the way we are engaging our guests. We’ve developed a new way of working in the facility called “RICx” that is transforming how we interact with retailers. Rooted in principles of design thinking, RICx helps build deeper empathy for pet owners through immersive learning, activates new opportunities through collaborative exercises, and builds clear action plans that enable new business. This approach positions the broader Purina organization beyond thought leadership and into a thought partnership that keeps retailers excited to come back and continue working alongside our team.

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Since the redesign, we’ve seen repeat visits, engaged new audiences from both current and emerging retailers, and used the experience to drive new business opportunities with some of our most strategic retail partners.

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ELEVATOR PITCH Open Bionics was founded in 2014 by Joel Gibbard and Samantha Payne with the goal of developing affordable, assistive devices that enhance the human body. In other words, Open Bionics turns disabilities into superpowers. The Bristol-based bionics company is known globally for using 3D printing and 3D scanning, along with some clever software and design, to make advanced, affordable and accessible bionic limbs.

OUR STORY In May 2018, following four years of research and development, the company released its first product, the Hero Arm. The Hero Arm is the world’s first medically certified 3D-printed bionic arm, and the very first multi-grip bionic arm for children as young as eight years old. Engineered and manufactured in Bristol, the Hero Arm is a lightweight and affordable myoelectric prosthesis, available now through prosthetics clinics in the UK, USA, France, Spain and Ireland. The company have ambitious plans to launch the prosthesis in new international regions throughout 2019 and 2020. The Hero Arm has market-leading functionality, weighs less than 1kg, has a breathable and adjustable socket, and can be fitted with customised covers; including Star Wars and Marvel superhero designs. Each Hero Arm is custom-built to ensure a perfect fit. The Hero Arm works by picking up signals from a user’s muscles. When an amputee puts on their bionic arm and flexes muscles in their residual limb just below their elbow; special sensors detect tiny naturally generated electric signals and convert these into intuitive and proportional bionic hand movement. The bionic hand is 266

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controlled by tensing the same muscles which are used to open and close a biological hand. Wearers of the Hero Arm can choose between different finger speeds and grips to allow them to pick up objects ranging from a small marble, to an entire shopping basket. Other multi-grip bionic hands, such as the bebionic and ilimb, are prohibitively expensive and too large or heavy for children (and some adults, too). The Hero Arm is less than half the price of these competitors, and because it’s manufactured using 3D printing, it is also the lightest bionic hand on the market. 3D printing is an extremely efficient and suitable manufacturing method for prostheses which are always “one-offs”. Almost all of the 3D printed parts are manufactured using an additive technique called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), which uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered nylon. Open Bionics believes that the most advanced prosthetic and orthopaedic technology should be available for everyone that needs it. Open Bionics have a development contract with NHS England, with the aim of offering the Hero Arm on the NHS in the UK. In June 2017, they worked with NHS England and the Bristol Centre for Enablement on a world-first clinical trial 267

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of a 3D-printed multi-grip bionic arm. Following a successful first stage of the trial, the company have now begun a second stage of the trial with multiple NHS clinics around the UK. Open Bionics also have royalty-free licensing agreements with Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Eidos Montreal and Twentieth Century Fox, to offer superhero cover designs such as BB-8, Iron Man and Alita: Battle Angel. They are making science fiction a reality. Their work has received praise from the likes of Mark Hamill and the Dalai Lama, they’ve won a whole host of coveted awards, and their users have featured in media all around the world.

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Open Bionics’ lab space is currently located next to the Bristol Robotics Lab, but the rapidly expanding company will soon move to a custom-built production space in the centre of Bristol following a £4.6 million investment round in January 2019 from high profile firms such as F1’s Williams Advanced Engineering. Open Bionics are proud of their Bristol roots, and it’s easy to see Bristol’s punk creativity pumping through the veins of this innovate bionics company. In the near future, Open Bionics look forward to offering the Hero Arm in multiple international markets and continuing the development of great products that solve challenges within mobility and independence.

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WE MAKE NUTRIENTDENSE BARS AND PROTEIN POWDERS WITH THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL SUPERFOODS TO HELP YOU “FILL THE NUTRIENT VOID” IN YOUR HECTIC DAY.

The Problem

How? By creating healthy, macronutrient-balanced plant-based bars and then boosting them with the world’s most powerful superfoods. Many brands use the word “superfoods”—Landish really means it.

As a big believer in the importance of healthy eating, Daniel had one frustration while working in banking in Montreal: the lack of nutrientdense, low-sugar snacks that could keep him sustained and focused during some long work hours.

The Superfoods

What’s wrong with protein or energy bars? One or often many of the following: • Too much sugar • Not nearly enough nutrient density • Don’t satisfy your hunger • Don’t taste good (sweet and fake or just chalky and bland) • Offer no functional benefits

CRICKET POWDER

For the same weight crickets contain twice the protein in beef and chicken, over fives times the vitamin B12 in salmon, and they’re also full of iron, calcium, potassium and a prebiotic fibre called chitin beneficial to gut health. SPIRULINA

Spirulina is a blue-green spiral-shaped microalgae and a form of a cyanobacteria. It’s extremely nutrient-rich with up to 70% protein, lots of beta-carotene, iron, calcium, phosphorus, iodine, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin, a powerful antioxidant. It also contains prebiotic polysaccharides responsible for probiotic growth.

Daniel felt that more and more nutrition-focused consumers like him would continue to demand better.

The Solution This led to the kick-off of Crickstart in 2016, which became Landish in the spring of 2019.

FUNCTIONAL MUSHROOMS

Among other benefits, functional mushrooms such as reishi and turkey tail, contain high levels of beta-glucans, which are proven to contribute to probiotic growth, reduce LDL cholesterol levels, and boost the body’s immune system.

The Landish team made it its mission to create the most nutrient-dense natural bars EVER for people experiencing what they call “the daily grind”. 270

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And there’s more to come…

How Landish Thinks About Nutrition The Landish team doesn’t believe in fad diets. The brand is all about macronutrient balance, micronutrient density, and gut health, which are understood to be the fundamentals of good nutrition.

How Landish Thinks About Life Commit to your health so that you can commit to something greater than yourself.

How Landish Thinks About Work Don’t sacrifice happiness today to pursue it in the long term. Work hard, but remember what matters most now and always: health and happiness.

3 of Landish’s Sustainability Initiatives 1. Sourcing sustainable ingredients. 2. Reducing the impact of its bar packaging by implementing its own private recycling program with TerraCycle. 3. Planting a tree in an area of BC or California devastated by wildfires for every online order received.

The Landish team (from left to right): Adrian Loffredo, Director of Operations; Erin Little, Community Manager; Daniel Novak, CEO; Gabrielle Faraggi, VP Sales and Michael Badea, COO

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MAKING ACCESS TO SPACE AFFORDABLE “I believe that Space is a great enabler that transforms our lives back on Earth. In a few years, we will see planets being colonised and asteroids being mined. Space travel will become as common and as affordable as air travel.” Rohan M Ganapathy, Director & CEO, Bellatrix Aerospace

When humans make Space their habitat in the not-so-distant future, a Bengaluru company would have been part of conquering the final frontier. A new Space company incubated at Indian Institute of Science, Bellatrix Aerospace is developing advanced in-Space propulsion systems that can bring down the cost of access to Space, and aims to be the first private company to launch a rocket from Indian soil.

systems. The major disadvantage with chemical propulsion is that they require a large mass of propellant.” Electric propulsion is an emerging technology that is quickly replacing chemical propulsion technology. Using an electric propulsion system, a satellite can carry 3 times more payload compared to a satellite that uses chemical propulsion. This results in reduced mission costs and increased Return on Investment (RoI) per satellite. Bellatrix aims to be a global leader in the field of propulsion by offering advanced technology at competitive prices.

Bellatrix Aerospace is led by a team of engineers with Rohan M Ganapathy (CEO), Yashas Karanam (COO) and Narendra Narayanan (MD) for whom creating technologies through internal R&D is an exciting challenge. This is due to the fact that propulsion technology is a restricted technology; technical information is not easily available and is constricted by export control/tech transfer into India.

“Our proprietary electric thrusters can also accommodate water as propellant. This is a scalable technology and offers a high thrust-to-power ratio compared to competitors in this segment. Bellatrix is working towards becoming a provider of combined solutions for all propulsion requirements and is currently developing different varieties of chemical and electric propulsion systems for satellites ranging from nano satellites to heavy satellites.”

Talking about the unique features of Bellatrix’s work, Ganapathy explains, “Just as cars need engines to move, satellites need propulsion systems for orbit raising and station keeping (maintaining proper orientation) applications. Most of the current satellites today use chemical propulsion

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Given the high cost of sending satellites to Space, the proposition of reducing the satellite mass even by a small amount is very attractive. Traditional satellites employ chemical propulsion systems which considerably reduce the on-board space available for payload. This makes the satellites very inefficient and expensive to launch. Electric propulsion systems negate this as they require much less fuel in comparison with traditional systems. This results in a dramatic downsizing of the propulsion system allowing for a satellite to carry much greater payload and enhance the orbital endurance. This allows for greater profitability and a competitive advantage among satellite operators adopting electric propulsion systems.

Bengaluru is also the hub for Space companies in India. With ISRO, HAL and BEL headquartered in Bengaluru, a complete ecosystem for aerospace manufacturing has come up in the city. The Public Private Partnership model is the key to building a better world with affordable access to Space based services.

Bellatrix is aiming to also diversify into ground to Space propulsion (rocket propulsion) after getting a good foothold in the in-Space propulsion area. It is working on newer ways of making access to Space more affordable through ‘Chetak’, a reusable micro launch vehicle that can carry a 200 kg payload to Low Earth Orbit. When this happens, Bellatrix would be the first private company to launch a rocket from Indian soil. The highs for Bellatrix have been getting a developmental contract from ISRO, receiving the TDB National Award 2017 from the President of India for development of technology with potential for commercialisation. Ganapathy was also featured on Forbes India and Forbes Asia’s ‘30 under 30’ list for the year 2018.

 Bellatrix team receiving Technology Development Board National Award – 2017 from President of India.

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CRADL Brad Snyder & Brandon Clarke: Co-Founders

The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have. – Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Introduction

Innovation Story

Formed in 2016, CRADL is a partnership between Brad Snyder and Brandon Clarke focused on putting Phoenix at the forefront of exploration and innovation in technologies, media, products, and services that help delight, and even save children and families. CRADL’s mission is to help professionals and entrepreneurs recognize that children are students and athletes and brothers and sisters and gamers and much more—at the same time. Programming, educating, and creating with the whole child in mind will result in better products and services that will move society from reaction and symptom-treating towards solutions, more supportive communities, and a stronger economy.

As proud fathers, our children are at the center of our worlds and, along with our wives, we are incredibly grateful to have the means to provide them a life of comfort and adventure. As entrepreneurs with several ventures between us, we’ve aligned our passion for what inspires the life and learning of kids with our individual skill sets. Brad as a child-life specialist, author, researcher, and founder of New Amsterdam Consulting, and Brandon as an avid youth sports coach, startup mentor, and co-founder of the StartupAZ Foundation. CRADL is poised to tackle big challenges facing today’s youth. Starting with mental health therapy in schools and the factors that affect school climate, we are in the early stages of developing WEXLER; a platform that will help millions of troubled students that lack access to resources to help cope with incidents of bullying, abuse, neglect, and other childhood traumas. Only 4.2% of school districts in the U.S. provide adequate access to counselors, yet nearly 45 million children have survived an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). WEXLER is designed to triage and deescalate common and even not-so-common situations which in turn, will help make classrooms more productive, campuses safer, and improve the overall learning environment. The goal is to provide students with actionable tools and situational-relevant resources based on their needs while beginning to develop a circle-of-care with parents/guardians, teachers, and mental health professionals. Where possible, CRADL leverages the talent within the local startup community, partnering with innovative entrepreneurs who have the market-defining technologies that help move WEXLER forward. CRADL is also evaluating a connectivity platform designed to reduce the unacceptably high turnover rate of foster parents and the multiple placements that plague children in the foster care system. The objective is to create a community which centers on better resourcing caregivers

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Why Phoenix?

and providing actionable techniques and trainings based on the needs of the youth in their care. In partnership with Foster Arizona—a young and ambitious non-profit that works tirelessly in the foster care community— we aim to reduce the current 80% turnover rate of foster care parents by 30% in two years. Better resourced caregivers create a more sustainable environment and less disruption for our nearly 18,000 displaced youth in the state of Arizona. And finally, CRADL’s signature event, the Cross-Border Youth Summit, was our way of reacting and responding to the increasingly louder and more vitriolic rhetoric, targeting the heritage of children and youth ins the Southwest. CBYS was designed to be an opportunity to convene middle school students from Mexico and the United States to share experiences and propose solutions on topics ranging from prejudice and bullying to commerce, education, and media. CBYS 2018 hosted over 250 students from both countries who collectively made impactful statements about how they wish to be portrayed in the media, educated in their schools, engage positively with their peers in person and over social media, and generally treated by the companies making the products they consume. The plan for CBYS 2019 is nearly 800 students with an expanded agenda, a higher-level of engagement, and even higher quality connectivity.

Greater Phoenix is well positioned to become the place to develop products and services for a more culturally diverse population. The demographics of Arizona now match what the demographics of the overall US population are predicted to be in the coming decades, making this region the perfect lab to develop and test products, strategies, and business models in education, healthcare, transportation, and media.

Advice & Best Practices Find a big problem that you’re passionate about that needs solving in a large enough market to make a sustainable and growing business out of it. If you lack experience in the industry or sector, find a job that allows you to build your expertise and become the most qualified person to solve the problem. 90% of startups fail. Avoid being in the majority by overpreparing. Ideas are easy, execution is hard. Find your tribe! “Surround yourself with people that push you to do and be better. No drama or negativity. Just higher goals and higher motivation. Good times and positive energy. No jealousy or hate. Simply bringing out the absolute best in each other.” —Warren Buffett

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ELEVATOR PITCH Caribu helps children age 0-7 to read and draw with their parents and grandparents through a video-call when they’re not in the same location. Caribu is a game-changer for the hundreds of millions of global families that are separated by distance and need to make memories together with their (grand)children through mobile and tablet devices.

OUR STORY We saw a picture of a soldier trying to read a children’s book to his daughter through a webcam and realized we could build something better. Today, many families are separated by distance because a parent travels for work, a grandparent lives in a different state or country, a parent is deployed, or the family is part of the 50% of couples who are divorced. Caribu’s platform opens up opportunities for children to connect with adults who can engage with them in real-time as they read and draw together.

Milestones

Caribu is using tech to rapidly scale and innovate a solution for the hundreds of millions of families, across the globe, that are separated by distance and want to make memories together with their (grand)children through mobile and tablet devices. Caribu allows you to call the toddler in your life, pick out a book, and read or draw together in real-time through a shared-screen video call. An in-app library has hundreds of books from leading children’s publishers (including Highlights, Sesame Street, Mattel, Usborne, and many others) in seven languages, and interactive educational workbooks and activities that you can draw on together. The result is an engaging experience in a carefully designed, curated, and secure platform. As our users say, “It’s FaceTime that kids don’t run away from.” Today, Caribu has customers in 164 countries.

We have been the finalist or winner in over 30 pitch competitions, winning over $100K in cash and prizes from organizations such as the 1776 Global Pitch Competition (with an investment from Steve Case), SXSW EDU, InterAmerican Development Bank, The Pitch Podcast on Gimlet Media, Teach For America, and Babson College. We have also been selected for many prestigious awards such Caribu being listed as a World Changing Idea by Fast Company and our CEO being named a Toyota Mother of Invention and one of the Top 100 Female Founders by Inc. Magazine. Caribu has been featured in Forbes for three years in a row, and has had over 90 international and national earned media mentions. We are also partnered with Blue Star Families to donate free subscriptions to all currently serving military.

Human connection has become a luxury good. Caribu’s mission is to bring families together, and our future vision is to be the world’s premier communications tool for people to collaboratively learn, be entertained, and connect. We want to change the world by creating the best and most engaging alternative for people to learn and bond with their families even when they can’t all be there in person.

“Caribu has a novel solution to a global parenting problem,” says Ryan Gunnigle, co-founder of Be Curious Partners and CEO of Kids II, whose brands include Bright Starts, InGenuity, Oball, Disney and Baby Einstein . “I believe this technology will redefine how families communicate and we’re excited to invest in this strategic partnership.” 276

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Maxeme Tuchman, Caribu’s CEO and co-founder, is eager to bring about the company’s future—and to do it in Miami. “The ecosystem in Miami is still young so we can be a big dolphin in a small pond,” Tuchman says. “In the past 3 years, we’ve invested as much in the Miami ecosystem as they’ve invested in us, and I’m honored to be building and growing our company in my hometown. There is an incredibly supportive and collaborative group of women in our ecosystem who will do everything in their power to lift each other up, celebrate each other, and help each other succeed. The future IS Miami.”

Her advice for future CEOs?

Maxeme Tuchman CEO & CoFounder with Team

“Get a CTO as your co-founder. Make sure they can explain things to you like a six year old, that they have patience to do that, and that they realize the value of having you understand their world,” she says. “Also, have a BHAV (Big Hairy Audacious Vision) and keep your eyes on the prize. If you’re building something with an inspiring vision that’s going to change the world or create solutions to real-world challenges, that will keep you motivated. Finally, keep track of the small wins. You will have them. Lots of them. Remind yourself that those will add up to big wins one day.”

111 NE 1st Street, 8th Flr, #112, Miami, FL 33132 415-952-3974 Caribu Caribu IG- @Caribu caribu.com 277

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LUXURY TRAVEL PILLOWS TO BEAT ALL OTHERS

Creator Dr. Micheal Majette tells the story of why he decided to combine his wants and needs as a traveling consumer with his knowledge and experience as a physician to create the perfect allin-one pillow: “Since I was a child I have had a spirit of serving others. I have always been concerned with the comfort of those around me and have found that helping a person in need brings me great joy. That same spirit has benefited me well as a physician. Like many of my colleagues, I often find myself treating the same conditions of chronic neck and back pain repeatedly. My goal is always to help each patient achieve a better quality of life through a combination of in-office care, suggestions for at-home care and products that aid in expedited recovery. “A common complaint I am presented with by many patients is pain associated with travel. As an avid traveler myself, I was always on the pursuit to find products, especially travel neck pillows, that enhance the “getting there” part of the travel experience. I have tested hundreds of different travel pillows hoping to find one I could not only use

myself but also recommend to patients. This goal seemed simple, but after over a decade of searching, I learned nothing like that existed.” “What I found through my research is that there are endless amounts of neck pillows on the market, but none were exactly what I wanted. Most are made of cheap materials and don’t offer the structural integrity and design required for long-term use. I greatly value the artisanal skills and passion that go into creating a product by hand. That one of a kind quality you can only achieve with non-mechanized production. This lack of focus in design quality is a common theme among most travel pillows on the market today. “This is where my story begins. My search for the perfect all-in-one pillow has led me to the creation of MyJet Luxury Travel Pillow. Hand-made of quality materials with a patented inner skeletal system for ultimate support, the MyJet Luxury Travel Pillow stands the test of time and has been thoughtfully designed with the same level of care that I show all my patients. 278

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I love this product because its uses have become unlimited. It has revolutionized the way we think of the common travel pillow. Whether it’s used for flying across the country, watching TV in the comfort of your own home or to relieve neck tension after a long day at work, I truly hope this product enhances your life as much as it has mine.” Each pillow will be shipped with: • Extra foam blocks for adding or subtracting additional padding/support to create the perfect fit for you. • One elastic 3-button strap, allowing for connection to any headrest or existing pillow. • Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects. Pillow types: • Coach class: Will consist of 2 color schemes, all breathable, lightweight, durable cloth material. You can always upgrade your pillow to a higher level cover at any time. • Business class (the most popular): Will consist of 4 different leather and cloth combinations. Also features a black suede inner-lined pocket on the top half to add temperature control packs for heat or cold and LED light. • First class: Coming soon. This version creates a user experience unlike any other. Includes all the above items, custom leather cover, superior Bluetooth remote phone and speakers and first of its kind surround sound. What makes the MyJet Travel Pillow Unique: • Customizable to all body shapes and any seat position using adjustable foam levels. • Adjustable patented internal frame and elastic strap not only hold the neck and head in perfect position, but also help to decompress nerves in the neck and shoulder to relieve pain.

• The high-quality materials used in creating the handmade covers improve with time and use. • The ability to make the pillow warm or cold without the use of batteries or power provides an unmatched level of comfort.

TESTIMONIALS “I can’t say enough about this pillow! Last year I took it on a mission’s trip to Africa. After 16 hours in my economy seat, I was so thankful to have this pillow with me. My favorite feature is the strap that connects it to the back of your headrest. Anyone who’s been on an airplane knows it’s impossible to get comfortable in an economy airline seat and the typical travel pillow doesn’t prevent you from falling over onto your neighbor’s shoulder. With this pillow, I was able to comfortably fall asleep without worrying about my head shifting to the side. Definitely one of my best travel purchases!!” - Patsy C. “I have had issues with my neck for over 20 years. Even after surgery, I still suffer from pain. I don’t travel that often, but my Doctor recommended the MyJet pillow for when I’m at home relaxing and watching TV. It really helps relieve the pressure and tension on my neck.” - Tom B. Phone: 813-463-3401 Email: info@myjetpillow.com

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message to everyone else in an organization that they don’t have to innovate. Option 3. Create a series of accelerator programs that can indeed help drive products and services to market much quicker than established processes.

ELEVATOR PITCH Having worked for the Walt Disney Company for 25+ years, most recently as Head of Innovation & Creativity, I have just created a startup, iD8 & innov8, to help organizations embed innovation into everyone’s DNA, by making creativity tangible, innovation easy, and the process fun.

From experience, however, I have learned that the challenge with all of these approaches is that they don’t really help organizations truly change their culture to be more innovative and creative. And that is where I believe there is a huge gap in the market. The traditional ways of doing business are getting completely upended, and no one is giving businesses a tangible toolkit that they can utilize throughout their organization to embed innovation into everyone’s DNA.

OUR STORY The next decade will be the most disruptive of our lives. Artificial Intelligence estimated to think thousands of times faster than a human—in under a decade. 3D printing that will disrupt every single industry. Legacy brands trying to move from a product-centric, we-build-it-they-will-come culture, to a consumer-centric one, and Generation Z, who believe more in purpose than profit who will re-write all the rules of doing business.

So I decided to create my own startup, iD8 & innov8, and create a very unique Innovation toolkit that is both simple and straightforward for absolutely everyone in every industry to use. It includes both a set of Creative Behaviors to drive motivation and inspiration to innovate, and a series of tangible, actionable Design Thinking, Innovation Tools, that people can use to Think Different, and disrupt their established business practices and truly innovate.

So how will we survive if we just keep iterating in order to make quarterly results, versus actually innovating to not only survive but to thrive in this brave new world?

I am very excited to leverage all my experience as Head of Innovation & Creativity at Disney, to now support other organizations around the globe to harness the inspiration that their own teams have, and to give them the practical tools they so desperately need to compete in a time of unprecedented disruption.

Option 1. Invite a leading innovation consultant to come in and run an innovation project for you. Option 2. Establish an Innovation department, which while it acts as a catalyst for change, also subliminally sends the 280

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Email: duncanwardle@gmail.com @duncanjwardle id8innov8.com

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42Chat 174 Age Performance Arian Lewis

52 21

Atwood Innovation Plaza at Dixie State University 34

Product Powerup

Hallo 212

Rachel Nilsson

Health Catalyst

Rags

Hen House Ventures

224

Rethink International

RevRoad 232

Hey Neighbor

RipeConcepts 164

Homie 23 ID8 & Innov8

280

Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology 36

Incorporate Massage

114

Route 102

20, 214

Salt Mine

SaltStack 66

Ivanti 78

Sarcos 130

Ivy V. Estabrooke

Scott Petty

Jenn Foster

Seek 118

BioFire Diagnostics

Johhny Hanna

Shades Brewery

Blackrock Micro Systems

Ken Davis

Shauna Smith

Blake Modersitzki

Kickstart Seed Fund

13, 222

Braid 196

Kiln 21

Caribu 276

Kiln 256

Carine Clark

Klymit 134

Chocolate Conspiracy

158

Landish 270

Clarke Capital Partners

226

Lendio 242

Lineagen 44

Cornerstone 178

LockerDome 262

Cotopaxi 136

Medici Ventures

236

Cradl 274

Method Communications

170

Cybage 70

Momni 100

Dapper & Dash

Monumetric 168

My Jet Pillow

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240

Nestle Purina

264

Domo 64

Nicholas & Co.

110

Electrafly 128

Nihlo 234

Elite Online Publishing

Nomad Eatery

152

NU Skin

138

Dealertrack DMS Diversified Insurance Group

Empath Healing & Wellness

22, 182 46

254

272

112

210

Herding Cats & Coders

Bellatrix Aerospace

Clint Betts

16, 132

Renatus 204

Balloon Artisan Becky Frost

188

Intermountain Healthcare

180

146

Heartland Collective

Instructure

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Guncerts 86

Backstory 166 Banjo

Epic Ventures

230

ObservePoint 62

Equality Utah

198

Open Bionics

266

Signal Peak Ventures Silicon Slopes Utah

160 18 11, 220 10, 28

Skullcandy 126 Solid Number Soul Vision Business

94 216

Stack Real Estate

Storj Labs

Stratus.HR 250 Susan R. Madsen

Sven Boermeester

Table X TaskEasy The Utah Black Chamber Traeger Grills

156 14, 92 38 142

tZero 84 Utah Opera

186

Utah Symphony

186

Utah Valley University

Utah Warriors

190 194

Executech 80

Overstock.com 106

Utah Women & Leadership Project

ExpertVoice 120

Owlet Baby Care

140

UVU Woodbury School of Business

154

VPTax 246

Five Star Empire Four Fodds Group/Savory

208 18, 150

Pago Restaurant Group Passive Logic

Walker Edison

19, 194

144

Gather 200

Pattern 104

Weave 72

Gavin Christensen

Peek 96

WeWork 258

Pelion Venture Partners

Workfront 74

Gill Wagner

13 4

17, 228

Global Village World

Podium 122

World Trade Center Utah

Greg Ross Munro

PolarityTE®

Zonos 248

12, 48 282

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InnovationsoftheWorld.com

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF THE WORLD - CONNECTING MINDS - BUILDING COMMUNITIES

The Innovate series is a 300-page in-depth study and AR video series that showcases the people and companies that are leading the race within the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems of each city and industry. A book with augmented reality video, an online platform and a global network with a common goal of ensuring the brightest minds of the world connect and succeed.

IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC...

DOWNLOAD THE GLOBAL VILLAGE AR APP TO VIEW 100 AUGMENTED REALITY VIDEOS IN THIS BOOK! To experience the future of print, download the Global Village AR App from the IOS or Android App stores. Open the App and hold it about 30cm above any page that contains an image with the “play” Icon.

Make sure your back camera is pointing at the page. Click the Play button that appears onscreen and immerse yourself in the latest updated content with reference to that page.

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