We’re hanging out with the cool kids — 10 Utah Valley powerhouses who are too hip to be square.
John Pestana
Age: 40
Company: ObservePoint, Provo
He’s known to some as “that other guy who founded Omniture” — and that’s just how John Pestana likes it. As business partners with Josh James, the two started MyComputer.com, which led to Omniture, which led to the sale heard round the world: Adobe purchasing their company for $1.8 billion. It’s been four years since the big sale, and Pestana is living the dream. He’s in a band called Silent Monk. He’s building a recording studio to help out the local music industry. He threw a full-blown formal “prom” for his 40th birthday. He has a Ferrari and Lamborghini. He buys and remodels student housing units to make them hip and modern. He’s an investor in a model train business called ExactRail. And he founded ObservePoint, a multimillion dollar tech business that flies under the radar. So far it’s a stellar product, seven employees and a logo — and that’s just how John Pestana likes it.
COOLEST Entrepreneurial Moment
Taking our company (Omniture) public and ringing the bell on Nasdaq.
COOLEST Company Moment
Selling Omniture to Adobe.
COOLEST Bootstrapping Moment
In the early days, Josh James and I had our wives pretend to be employees so we looked bigger when clients came to visit.
COOLEST Risk
There was one point at Omniture where Josh and I mortgaged our houses to make payroll.
COOLEST Meal Ever Eaten
My favorite place is a little beach called Rum Point in the Cayman Islands. You sit on picnic tables with menus attached to coconuts. The crystal clear ocean laps up on the white sand beach. Truly beautiful.
COOLEST Talent
Writing music.
COOLEST Quirk
I love to surprise people with cool experiences. So if I ever call you on the phone and just say, “Are you in?” your answer should be yes.
COOLEST Ritual
A movie club I have with my friends once a month where we watch classic movies.
COOLEST Compliment
The ones from my former employees who tell me how much they enjoyed working with me. I have been blessed in my life to work with some amazing people.
Glad to see John on this list – he definitely is one of the coolest!
So proud of our daughter and her spunk. She was like that when she was little and has continued to have it as an adult. It has taken her far. Congratulations Susan we love you.