Grow Utah Ventures grows Utah

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Soon after its inception in 2005, Grow Utah Ventures realized the value of tapping into a local resource: Weber State University students. In its mission to give back to the community in a significant way, by improving local economic development, Grow Utah Ventures provides expert advice, funding and support to local entrepreneurs who are hoping to get businesses off the ground. The idea is simple: If Grow Utah Ventures can educate entrepreneurs and help local businesses get off to a successful start, those businesses, in turn, will eventually provide good jobs for more people in the community.

There are a lot of people in this community with good ideas, and Grow Utah Ventures sees many of them; about 700 were received in 2006. The organization looks for entrepreneurs who have a solid business plan, along with something else: an intention to build value not just for themselves but also the community in which they live.

This is where WSU students come in. Someone has to sort through all of the proposals, determine which businesses meet Grow Utah Ventures' criteria and make recommendations on who should reach the next level of screening. Teams from the WSU student group Weber Entrepreneurs Association (WEA), comprised mainly of students in the John B. Goddard School of Business & Economics, have been performing this duty for the past two years. These students put their time, energy and talent into Grow Utah Ventures, and in return they're getting real-life experience that can't be duplicated in a classroom.

The idea of this partnership was a natural fit. Grow Utah Ventures is a local-first organization, and its founders wanted to support WSU. In educating people about entrepreneurialism, it just made sense to start with the university. At first, the partnership between Grow Utah Ventures and WEA members was unofficial, with students volunteering to help out in their spare time between school, work and other responsibilities. But as Grow Utah Ventures built up a steady stream of applications, it became clear that the system had to change. Now, a scholarship program funded by the Hall Foundation helps take some of the financial pressure off students, who apply to become team members and commit to working several hours a week on the project.

This relationship benefits both students and the community, and there isn't anything else like it in the U.S. In the process of evaluating startup companies, students are evaluating management, marketing, finance and all of the business functions they've learned about in books and lectures.

Several students, like WEA president Ryan Steinbeigle, have worked on this project since the beginning. Steinbeigle, a senior business administration-management major from Ogden, says this experience is the best he's had at WSU.

"I've learned about making smart business decisions, and also about being honest and ethical, a straight shooter," he says. "When I graduate this spring I'll have a step up on most people entering the business world."

It takes a certain kind of person to become a successful entrepreneur. For students in the WEA, the experience with Grow Utah Ventures allows them to see the inner workings of entrepreneurialism. They'll have the opportunity to continually look at themselves in the mirror and ask, "Do I really have the stamina for this?" This unique opportunity allows students to learn what is really required to succeed in a business venture.

While these students are working to help people in the community reach their business goals, what they are learning now will help with their own entrepreneurial dreams. Some students say they'll return to Grow Utah Ventures in the future with ideas of their own, reinforcing the principals the organization was founded upon: that educating the community and helping small businesses can make a big difference in our local economy.

Hall is the founder and chairman of Grow Utah Ventures, and founder and chief executive officer of MarketStar Corporation, headquartered in Ogden. Gale is dean of Weber State University's John B. Goddard School for Business & Economics.

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