www.slenterprise.com February 10, 2020 Volume 49, Number 29 $1.50 Silicon Slopes Venture Fund Weber & Davis Making sure Utah's 'amazing ride' continues Counties and one of three people creating the fund. James, co-founder of Omniture and found- Brice Wallace “So, if there’s something that we can do to er and CEO of Domo, and Jeff Kearl, gen- pages 15-18 The Enterprise give back, the No. 1 thing is, how do we eral partner at Pelion Venture Partners. Sponsored by: make more organizations successful so that Pelion will provide the fund’s operational A fi rst-of-its-kind venture capital fund the amazing ride that we are on in Utah support and management alongside James, will focus solely on Utah tech startup com- continues?” Kearl and Smith. The three founders have panies and entrepreneurs. Smith said such a fund would have for years invested in startups, both inside Unveiled during the Silicon Slopes been handy when he started running a busi- and outside of Utah. Tech Summit in Salt Lake City, the Silicon ness 17 years ago. “There’s deals that aren’t getting pages F1-F8 Golf Slopes Venture Fund is designed to bolster “Had I had something like this, I guar- done,” James told the crowd at the summit. Utah’s tech ecosystem and replicate indus- antee that we could’ve shortened the pro- “There’s entrepreneurs out here in this au- PAGE 13 try success that has made Utah a tech hot cess to get to where we did — signifi cantly, dience right now that are looking for some spot. not just from the funding and the money, money, that are looking for some advice, “Success breeds success,” said Ryan but the know-how,” he said. and there needs to be more and more ven- Sponsored by: Smith, co-founder and CEO of Qualtrics The fund’s other founders are Josh ture funds and angel funds to go around to help get them funded, to help shepherd see VENTURE FUND page 5 Visit Salt Lake Salt Lake City Golf offers six-premier courses situated throughout the city. books conventions Each of our courses has its own charm and appeal. From the unbelievable valley-views at Bonneville, to paradise in the urban jungle at Nibley Park and Forest worth $123 million Dale, or for the ultimate escape from reality, travel 10 minutes up Parley’s Canyon to Mountain Dell. Visit Salt Lake, the organization tasked with bringing conventions and other events No matter your skill level, there’s something for you! to Utah, booked 14 future events during the fourth quarter of 2019 that will bring about 127,00 people to the state — and those peo- Book your next event with us! ple will spend about $123 million while Book an event at one of our facilites and one our PGA they are here. Those folks will occupy hotel professionals will help you plan your event and make rooms for 116 nights during their visits. sure it runs without a hitch. 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Contact Us SLC's Granary District changing The Big Gear Show, which was an- Bonneville Forest Dale nounced late last year, is slated to be held 954 Connor Street 2375 S. 900 E. in the Salt Palace Convention Center July Salt Lake City, UT 84108 Salt Lake City, UT 84106 with OZ development program 21-25, attracting retailers and manufactur- Salt Lake City investment fi rm focused on ers serving the active paddle, climb, bike Glendale Mountain Dell John Rogers Opportunity Zone investments and headed and camp segments of the outdoor indus- 1630 W. 2100 S. Parley’s Canyon, Exit The Enterprise by renowned Utah investor Jim Sorenson. try. Up to 3,000 retailers and exhibitors are Salt Lake City, UT 84119 134 Two rundown industrial complexes expected to attend the event and spend $2.9 Nibley Park Rose Park Salt Lake City’s blighted Granary are the center of the transformative proj- million while in Salt Lake. 2730 S. 700 E. 1386 N. Redwood Road District is taking on a new look. ects Q Factor has undertaken. Both are lo- The Commission on Presidential De- Salt Lake City, UT 84106 Salt Lake City, UT 84116 The old industrial area on the edge cated in an area generally bounded by 600 bates selected Salt Lake’s University of of downtown is taking on new life thanks South and 900 South between 300 West Utah to host a vice presidential debate in to the mergence of three forces: Qualifi ed and Interstate 15. Known as the Granary October. The event will generate extensive Visit us online at Opportunity Zones legislation created by District because of its history of fl our pro- national media coverage and attract more the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to spur duction, its proximity to downtown and its than 4,800 media, production, security and SLCgolf.com! economic development and job creation in abundance of abandoned warehouse and support staff who will spend nearly $4.7 distressed communities; Q Factor, a devel- opment team led by Jason and Ellen Win- kler; and Catalyst Opportunity Funds, a see GRANARY page 4 see CONVENTIONS page 5 2 • February 10-16, 2020 • The Enterprise - Utah's Business Journal Fortem contacts with DOD for drone protection systems Pleasant Grove’s Fortem Technologies, a leading developer of counter-unmanned aircraft systems for security and defense has been awarded a contract with the Department of Defense (DOD) through its Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The contract is to develop systems to counter and deter improvised threat net- works. DOD has previously purchased various solutions from For- tem, including its SkyDome, DroneHunter, DroneHangar and TrueView radar systems. Fortem said its solutions are open ar- chitecture and designed to be customized to integrate with exist- ing systems in use by the military. “Innovation is key for an ever-changing threat landscape,” said Adam Robertson, Fortem chief technology officer. “Fortem is proud to be a partner of the DoD as our DroneHunter plat- form, coupled with our SkyDome system, represents the most advanced, effective hunter drone in its class to protect against drone-enabled threats to national security.” Robertson said that Salt Lake City has the second-youngest entrepreneurs in the nation, according to drone attacks on the nation’s military personnel are increasing. The new Fortem products will help protect military bases with- a new study from LendingTree. “Salt Lake City’s key industries include informa- out adverse effects to local communities, he said. tion technology, gaming, outdoor products, life sciences, health care, finance, Founded in 2016, Fortem Technologies employs 110 peo- logistics, manufacturing and distribution,” LendingTree said in the report. ple. Its products are used by airports, hospitals, sports stadiums “Among the local support for startups is Silicon Slopes, a nonprofit organiza- and defense establishments. tion that provides resources for entrepreneurs in the tech community. Utah as a whole has a low cost of doing business and has one of the best business tax climates in the country, according to The Tax Foundation.” Why share? Get your own copy! Geneva Pipe sold to Washington company Why share?Why Get share? your own copy! Northwest Pipe Co. of Van- Geneva was founded in 1956 water infrastructure products by couver, Washington, has acquired and employs around 140 people in adding reinforced concrete pipe To SubscribeGet your own copy! Geneva Pipe Co. Inc., a concrete its Utah operations. In 2019, the capacity and a full line of pre- pipe and precast concrete products company had approximately $43 cast concrete products, including Call: 801-533-0556 manufacturer based in Orem. The million in revenues. storm drains and manholes, catch or goTo online Subscribe to: transaction closed on Jan. 31 and Northwest Pipe said the pur- basins, vaults and curb inlets as slenterpirse.comslenterprise.comCall: 801-533-0556 was funded with cash on hand and chase of Geneva will give the well as Geneva’s products that ex- or go online to: debt, Northwest said in a release. company additional capabilities in tend the life of concrete pipe and slenterpirse.com manholes for sewer applications. Operations will continue with their current management and workforce at Geneva’s three Utah manufacturing facilities lo- cated in Salt Lake City, Orem and St. George. “The acquisition of Geneva, Murray 801.265.3500 South Jordan 801.253.3463 which we expect to be immedi- ately accretive to our financial results, is a significant step in the continuous growth of our com- pany in serving a wider spectrum Custom Framing of the water infrastructure mar- ket. By expanding into storm wa- ter and wastewater manufactur- D e s i g n ing, we are strategically growing Delivery + Install our firm,” said Scott Montross, president and CEO of North- Custom Mirrors west. “This transaction creates a stronger company while expand- ing our product offering to meet Framed Art the robust demand created by our Ready Made Frames country’s aging infrastructure.” Founded in 1966, Northwest Photo Frames is the largest manufacturer of en- gineered steel water pipeline sys- tems in North America.