Coolest Entrepreneurs: Paul Allen, Soar.com
Paul Allen | Age 54 | Soar.com The cool roots run deep with Paul Allen. After earning a bachelor’s in Russian from BYU in 1990, he spent over two decades as a founder and entrepreneur, shaping and shifting our valley to be the business mecca it has become. Infobases, Ancestry, 10x Marketing, Provo Labs, FamilyLink. […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: Cydni Tetro, ForgeDX
Cydni Tetro | Age 45 | ForgeDX In her illustrious tech career, Cyd Tetro has matched and surpassed her colleagues — and she does it all in high heels. Armed with a computer science degree and MBA from BYU, Tetro set off to conquer the product world — from building to managing to innovating. She […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: James Burt, The Artistik Company
James Burt | Age 43 | The Artistik Company You may not know James Burt’s face, but you know his handiwork. Murals across town are bursting with color, creativity and charisma — and it’s all thanks to Burt’s state-of-the-art talent. Silicon Slopes. Adobe. Stack Real Estate. Instructure. John Curtis’ office wall in Washington, D.C. These […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: Nico Niccoli, 53 Catering
Nico Niccoli | Age 27 | 53 Catering Nico Niccoli didn’t choose the food life. The food life chose him. He is the son of a restaurateur and the youngest of five boys. He grew up in a kitchen, and his family life revolved around good food. (See also: His strong Italian heritage.) “I love […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: Courtney Rich, Cake By Courtney
Courtney Rich | Age 36 | Cake By Courtney Courtney Rich is an icon — no matter how you slice it. After a career in media consulting, this self-taught baker has spent the past decade catapulting to cake fame with more than 277k followers on Instagram and hundreds of students annually at Orson Gygi’s culinary […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: Vanessa Quigley, Chatbooks
Vanessa Quigley | Age 47 | Chatbooks Any chat with Vanessa Quigley is one for the books. She is the co-founder of Chatbooks, a Provo company that is revolutionizing our Instagram feeds with easy-to-print memory books. Memory books, by the way, that have been featured on The Today Show, Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, and InStyle. […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: Arian Lewis, Kiln
Arian Lewis | Age 40 | Kiln Arian Lewis has the startup scene all fired up. He is the CEO and founder of Kiln, a leader in Utah’s co-working space. It has locations in Lehi and Salt Lake, 1,000+ paying members, 200+ companies with memberships, and has hosted 150+ events that have fostered collaboration and […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: Ken Bretschneider, Evermore Park + The Grid
Ken Bretschneider | Age 52 | Evermore Park + The Grid It’s Ken Bretschneider’s reality, and we’re all just playing in it. The visionary behind Evermore Park, The Grid and The Void is virtually the coolest with his one-of-a-kind entertainment experiences in Pleasant Grove. But before he became a master of the virtual universe, he […]
Coolest Entrepreneurs: Courtney Brown, Cents of Style
Courtney Brown | Age 37 | Cents of Style Courtney Brown is wearing her heart on her sleeve. (Also, pumas. She’s wearing pumas on her sleeves, too.) The stylish mogul has created a multi-million dollar fashion brand. And while they offer the latest in clothing, shoes and accessories, the company’s main goal is to empower […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: These business cool kids will knock your socks off
By Jeanette Bennett and Briana Stewart They’ll knock your socks off. From head to toe, these entrepreneurs are all impressive, all unique and all cool. So kick it up a notch and read through their cool feats (and feet). (For those who count 11 sockstars above, to that we say: the more, the Mo’ Bettah.) […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Travis Hansen
Tesani: Travis Hansen, 39 Travis Hansen learned leadership during nearly two decades on the basketball court for UVU, BYU and the NBA. Now he’s fast breaking on the wave of entrepreneurism. “Surfers paddle 90 percent of the time, and 10 percent of the time they get to ride the wave,” Hansen says. “We call those […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Pete Tidwell
The Mighty Baker: Pete Tidwell, 35 Oh, how the mighty has risen. After years working as a marketing maven in New York City, Pete Tidwell turned up the heat. He made his cake hobby and bake shop dreams into a reality, and then made his way to reality TV to win Food Network’s “Cake Wars” not […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Alison Faulkner
The Alison Show: Alison Faulkner, 34 Alison Faulkner has found her calling. And as she always tells her 108,000 followers on Instagram, “If you feel called to do it, freaking do it!” Faulkner started her shiny career as a blogger, influencer, and dance party diva. But in 2017, her expertise and offerings found their ultimate groove. […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Marcus Liassides
Sorenson Media: Marcus Liassides, 39 Marcus Liassides is your typical entrepreneur who went from small town London to big city American Fork. OK, so that’s based on a true story. But in our defense, the British entrepreneur is no stranger to a little drama. Liassides has worked in television, video, and digital advertising for most […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Kristy Sevy
FuzePlay: Kristy Sevy, 34 Kristy Sevy is so fly. (And purple hair is just the beginning.) It’s been almost two years since she started FuzePlay, an edTech company that helps kids “build, hack, play.” Their premier product, the ZUBI Flyer, will officially soar off shelves this December. But Sevy’s mission to disrupt the industry and […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Ty Bennett
Leadership Inc.: Ty Bennett, 36 Ty Bennett is the talk of the town. Well, the talk of many towns, to be exact. His life as an author and public speaker has led to more than 100 keynote speaking engagements a year in cities all over the world. His clients include the likes of Coca-Cola, AT&T, […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Tiffany Pritchett
Pritchétt Bridal: Tiffany Pritchett, 21 Tiffany Pritchett is all dressed up with everywhere to go. The certified hair and makeup artist has dreamed of opening her own bridal shop since she was 14. And one year ago, she and her husband, Cody, made that dream a reality. They purchased Avenía Bridal in Orem, and quickly went […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Johnny Hanna
Homie: Johnny Hanna, 39 When it comes to business, Johnny Hanna is right at home. In 2003, he joined a few friends in Provo to build his first company, Entrata (formerly known as Property Solutions). Entrata has become the go-to software for rental properties, and Hanna helped grow the business to more than $100 million […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Matthew C. Peterson
Jive: Matthew C. Peterson, 40 Say hello to Matthew Peterson. He’s the co-founder of Jive Communications, a company in Orem revolutionizing the telecommunications industry. (Forbes, in fact, just named Jive to its list of Next Billion-Dollar Startups.) Peterson is a self-taught programmer and considers himself an accidental entrepreneur. But the force was clearly strong with […]
10 coolest entrepreneurs: Share a cold one with this year’s crop of cool kids on the block
By Jeanette Bennett and Briana Stewart If you promise to play it cool, we’ll introduce you to this year’s 10 Coolest Entrepreneurs. These locals are moguls, mentors and magic makers — and we’ve brought them together in one cool place. Read on to find out who sold a business to “The Donald,” who rode a […]
10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: Eric Farr
We don’t need a white board to brainstorm cool things about Eric Farr — his career is one good idea after another. He started a T-shirt business at 16, which then turned into a specialty advertising company he ran through college. He founded Dental Management Systems and was CEO of EvolveMed. And then he and […]
10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: Brittany Jepsen
Brittany Jepsen knows her craft. The magic mind behind The House that Lars Built — a DIY, style, food and party blog — was always taught that a “creative mess is better than tidy idleness.” But these days? She’s not messing around. The next-generation Martha Stewart has 100,000-plus followers on both Pinterest and Instagram. She’s […]
10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: Donna Root
Donna Root is no one-company wonder. Start a thriving diamond business? Check. Start a company that develops “lifestyle robotic devices”? Obviously. Speak to groups as large as 15,000 and train more than 500,000 individuals? Done. Be a contributor for Forbes and The Huffington Post? Yep. Run a company that raises global consciousness? Boom. But even […]
10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: Adam Terry
Adam Terry is feeling the love. Hungry admirers everywhere are following his waffle truck empire to the ends of the earth and the ends of their Instagram feeds (Waffle Love is currently grooving at 50,000 followers). And when the Provo chef competed on Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race” with two of his 14 […]
10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: Matt Bowman
Matt Bowman is kickin’ it new school. The former 6th grade teacher and Novell director has combined his careers of days past to create a company of the future — My Tech High. It’s an online learning provider that helps today’s tech-savvy kids become tomorrow’s successful entrepreneurs. And as the kids would say, the company […]
10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: Marty Haws
It’s impossible not to follow —and like — Marty Haws. Not only is the Alpine resident an executive for Social5, a social media content company, he’s a former BYU basketball star — and father to two more BYU basketball stars (Tyler and T.J. Haws). What’s more, he’s used his star power to brighten the world […]