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OGDEN -- Sam Hunter's thoughts one summer day were only about his frustration that the pedal on his mountain bike had to be in a certain position before he could move through the rough hills above his home near Weber State University.
But that frustration quickly turned into excitement when he realized he could solve that problem himself. He decided to create unique bike pedals and shoe cleats that allowed bike riders to start pedaling at any point in their stride.
His prototype became known as Infinity Pedals 1.
And last week that excitement turned into cold, hard cash when his prototype won the Outdoor Recreation "Concept to Company" Contest at Weber State University.
Hunter received $10,000 in cash and $25,000 worth of business services from the sponsoring companies to help him turn his idea into an actual business that is likely to employ Utah residents.
Hunter, 33, is a manufacturing engineering graduate from Weber State University.
He knows well how engineering ideas can lead to profitable businesses.
He's employed at Vent Racing in Clearfield, which he described as "a small, little start-up company" itself.
But once he designed his Infinity Pedals 1, Hunter realized that a great idea and a vision for its use weren't enough.
He found himself with the predicament of not having the money to turn his idea into a business.
Addressing this dilemma is precisely why Grow Utah Ventures designed its Concept to Company competitions.
"We've seen good things come out of it," said T. Craig Bott, president and CEO of Grow Utah Ventures. "It gives hope to entrepreneurs out there that there are some resources out there."
Bott said Hunter was precisely the type of entrepreneur the judges were looking for.
"Sam has the idea. He has the passion. He just doesn't have resources," Bott said.
"He started out with just a great idea and then it was validated and tested. I'm confident his idea is really going to take off and make a good business."
Now, with the cash and business services he needs, Hunter said he's got a shot at making his idea fly.
"The patent services I received will give me protection on my idea while I further develop it," Hunter said.
He said Infinity Pedals 1 is just his first effort.
He plans to make the idea applicable to those who ride bikes on the streets as well as those in the mountains.
"This was just my first try," he said. "I'm used to failure. Failure doesn't deter me much," he said referring to his desire to improve his design.
"A lot of people in these businesses have gone through the process before," he said. "They will help nurse me along so that I can be successful."
Hunter said his was not the only good idea in the competition.
Impressed by the other ideas, he was frankly surprised when he won.
Runners-up were C.M.W. Products, LLC, which presented an idea to create the sensation of snowboarding while riding a longboard on pavement, and Multifacetid Design, Inc., which presented a ski binding adaptor that allows skiers to use existing alpine downhill ski bindings as alpine touring bindings for backcountry use.
Both of the runners-up are entrepreneurial companies from the Salt Lake City area. Each received $5,000 in cash and $12,000 in business services.
Bott said the Outdoor Recreation "Concept to Company" contest is held in Ogden each year because of the city's emphasis on outdoor recreation.
Grow Utah Ventures holds similar contests in other areas of the state during the year according to the strengths of those communities.
Anyone from the state is invited to participate in these contests.
The contest was sponsored by Grow Utah Ventures, Zions Bank, USTAR, Workman Nydegger, Ballard Spahr and CFO Solutions.
To learn more about past and upcoming Concept to Company contests, go online to to www.concepttocompany.org.
