The Q Awards
Meet our 2021 movers + makers
Q AWARDS: Headliner of the Year — Qualtrics
Back in a 2012 BusinessQ cover story with Ryan Smith, we called Qualtrics “the most successful Utah Valley company you’ve never heard of.” My, how times have changed. Since then, the Provo giant has dominated both its industry and the headlines. Qualtrics now has 3,600 employees. It has 25 offices around the […]
Q AWARDS: Contributor of the Year — Mike Washburn, Thanksgiving Point
When Mike Washburn arrived as the CEO of Thanksgiving Point in May 2003, the destination had been branding itself as an entertainment venue — a Disneyland of sorts. But as Washburn analyzed the Point of the Mountain landmark, he proposed that it return to its original vision. “Thanksgiving Point was intended to be […]
Q AWARDS: Marketer of the Year — Nicole Tanner, Swig
Before her fountain drink empire flooded the straws and hearts of Utah, Nicole Tanner was at a crossroads. In 2008, while out running with a friend (who also happened to be a nurse), the two started talking mammograms. Tanner, who wasn’t yet the typical testing age of 40, asked for advice on when she should […]
Q AWARDS: Executive of the Year — Ritch Wood, Nu Skin
The year was 1989, and Ritch Wood and his wife were moving to Utah from Ricks College. When they arrived in Provo, they stopped to see one of the only people they knew in town — Burke Roney, who had been Wood’s LDS mission companion in Italy. Roney, along with family members and a few […]
Q AWARDS: Entrepreneur of the Year — Ryan Caldwell, MX
Ryan Caldwell once told BusinessQ that great CEOs won’t choose to run a company unless they’re obsessed with it. “Do something that matters,” he said. “Pick a company you can sink your teeth into. Contribute to this world. Don’t just do something you can win at.” It’s been 11 years since he sunk […]
Q AWARDS: Company of the Year: Lendio
Exactly one year ago, BusinessQ sat in Lendio’s Lehi office interviewing Brock Blake for this very article series — The Q Awards. He was our 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year, and the story detailed his leadership in creating FundingUniverse (connecting tech entrepreneurs to angel investors) and eventually pivoting it to Lendio (connecting brick-and-mortar businesses to […]
Q Awards Headliner Of The Year: Homie
On the Move, Yo You’ve seen the billboards. You’ve chuckled at the slogans. Remember “Avoid the sins of commission”? Or how about “Keep the equity, you filthy animal”? Or there’s always this gem: “Best thing since 2-hour church.” Regardless of which rectangle revved your engines, one thing is certain: When it comes to the real […]
Q Awards Marketer Of The Year: Shea McGee, Studio McGee
In-House Marketing When Shea McGee graduated with a degree in public relations, she was trained in press releases, press conferences and corporate style guides. And a few years later when she graduated to entrepreneurship, she re-trained herself and her staff on what branding looks like in an Insta-world. Now she is the architect of interior […]
Q Awards Entrepreneur Of The Year: Brock Blake, Lendio
School of Brock Brock Blake ruled BusinessQ’s cover way back in 2008. It was our annual 40 Under 40 feature, and this particular editorial boasted a school theme for the cool kids around town. At the time, Blake was the founder of FundingUniverse, a “speed dating” site of sorts connecting entrepreneurs with investors. He had […]
Q Awards Company Of The Year: BambooHR
The Human Touch Get you an employer who looks at you the way BambooHR looks at its 600 team members. Focused. Authentic. Humble. Hardworking. Consistent. Exceptional. That’s just a sampling of adjectives these leaders use when talking about the Bambooligans. “Now, I’m gonna get a little awkward here, but we regularly tell them we love […]
Q Awards Executive Of The Year: Shauna Smith, Four Foods Group
Eat, Lead, Love Shauna Smith is in the food for love. She is the co-founder and President of Four Foods Group, a restaurant investment and management company in Lehi, and the walls of her headquarters are brimming with motivational mantras. Sayings like: “Around here it’s feast or feast.” “Good things come to those who hustle.” […]
The Q Awards: Executive DNA
MargARET georgiadis (MArgo)is a self-proclaimed “data nerd.” She revels in data. She’s obsessed with statistics. She’s inspired by mission-driven companies. And she loves using data to propel those missions forward. The CEO of Lehi-based Ancestry (as of a year ago) also refers to herself as an “accidental business leader.” But when you look […]
Q Awards: Naming Utah Valley’s top movers and makers in 2018
By Briana Stewart and Jeanette Bennett Photography by Dave Blackhurst New year, new leaders. Utah Valley BusinessQ presents our 2018 movers and makers.
2018 Entrepreneur of the Year: Andrew Smith, Four Foods Group
Ten years ago, Andrew Smith had a plate of experience running and selling tech companies and was looking for his next menu of experiences. “I went through the dot-com bubble and the recession, and those cycles suck,” Smith says. “I was searching for an industry where there were inefficiencies I could solve. And I found […]
2018 Executive of the Year: Case Lawrence, CircusTrix
So white men can jump. Case Lawrence has reached new heights with the ascent of Provo-based CircusTrix — the largest developer, operator and franchisor of trampoline parks in the world. It has more than 300 facilities around the globe, more than 3,000 employees, and did $58.3 million in sales in 2016. But before he soared with […]
2018 Marketer of the Year: Rachel Parcell, Rachel Parcell Collection
Rachel Parcell is a name Brand entrepreneur. Not only did she help create, define and elevate the world of blogging as a thriving business model, but two years ago she launched her own clothing line, the Rachel Parcell Collection. She is an Instagram icon (at press, she was nearing a staggering 1 million followers), a […]
2018 Headliner of the Year: Silicon Slopes
In the beginning, Silicon Slopes was a phrase that rolled off Josh James’ tongue in a meeting with the state of Utah. Then it became a lively wall poster, showing a caricatured landscape map of tech companies along the Wasatch Front that was sent to venture capitalists around the country and hung in offices along […]
A year in review: 2017 Utah Valley BusinessQ covers
Utah Valley BusinessQ’s quarterly magazine cues you in to all of the ins and outs of Utah Valley businesses. In 2017, our “Q Awards” feature returned and we continued with our annual UV50 awards. Here’s what we learned about business in 2017 from our four issues. Spring The return of the Q Awards helped us cue […]
2017 Executive of the Year: Truman Hunt, Nu Skin
Truman Hunt and Blake Roney met in the mission field while speaking French. The two said bonjour again as roommates at BYU and later bishopric-mates in an LDS ward. Then the two left on splits as Roney founded Nu Skin while Truman earned a law degree. But the au revoir didn’t last forever. In 1996, […]
2017 Headliner of the Year: DevMountain
Headliner of the year? That’s code for crushing it. DevMountain, a coding bootcamp school headquartered in Provo, has become a leading institution in an exploding industry. According to Course Report, a third-party resource for students, the $200-million market boasted 91 full-time coding bootcamps nationwide and nearly 18,000 graduates in 2016. For its part, DevMountain, founded […]
2017 Marketer of the Year: Harmon Brothers
There’s no skipping these ads. The Harmon Brothers are all work and all play. The Provo-based marketing agency is a viral video king, with its ads being viewed more than 450 million times and driving more than $100 million of revenue in 2016. So what’s on their playlist? They made Chatbooks all the chatter of […]
2017 Entrepreneur of the Year: Kevin Auernig, Sodalicious
Kevin Auernig was born to make lemonade. As a kid, he opened lemonade stands and played “company” with his cousins. And in second grade, when other kids were declaring their dreams of fighting fires and flying planes, Auernig was making a plan — a business plan. “I wrote that when I grew up, I wanted […]
2017 Company of the Year: Jane
Jane is plain impressive. What started in 2011 as a home-based operation making button earrings has turned into a 100-employee, $110-million world-class online boutique. Jane represents the everyday girl. But this Lehi company, with its gorgeous growth, creative crib, fierce finances and powerful philanthropy, has quickly become Utah Valley’s “it” girl. Year in the life […]
A year in review: 2016 Utah Valley BusinessQ covers
Utah Valley BusinessQ’s quarterly magazine queues you in to all of the ins-and-outs of Utah Valley businesses. In 2016, our “40 under 40” segment returned and we continued with our annual UV50 awards. Here’s what we learned about business in 2016 from our four magazines. Spring To start off the year, we named the top movers […]
The Q Awards: Naming Utah Valley’s top movers and makers in 2016
Q the applause: Utah Valley BusinessQ presents our 2016 movers and makers. Our second annual Q Awards highlight the best of the biz — including Omniture co-founder John Pestana, who is on a magazine cover for the first time in his lucrative career. You’ll also go inside the Google Fiber offices and find out the most unique fact […]
The Q Awards: John Pestana named Entrepreneur of the Year
John Pestana should have been on our cover years ago. He’s the co-founder of Omniture, after all — arguably one of the most influential tech companies in Utah’s history. (For the record, his co-founder, Josh James, has graced our cover twice.) To this day, people meet Pestana and innocently ask, “What do you do for […]
The Q Awards: Google Fiber named 2016 Company of the Year
We’re feeling lucky. It’s been two years since Google Fiber officially launched in Provo — bringing with it careers, clout and the cloud of all clouds. And it all started with a phone call. As the local legend goes, Provo Mayor John Curtis essentially “cold called” Google to see if they’d like to purchase iProvo, […]
The Q Awards: Brandon Fugal named 2016 Executive of the Year
You know Brandon Fugal. He’s the name that hangs on practically every office building on the Wasatch Front. He’s the commercial real estate icon who’s been ranked the No. 1 agent globally with Coldwell Banker Commercial. (Yes, globally.) He’s the trusted adviser who has spearheaded county-changing projects like Thanksgiving Park, Traverse Mountain and the upcoming […]
The Q Awards: CVX Live named 2016 Marketer of the Year
What a view. It’s been six years since Kid History launched its YouTube channel — catapulting these kid-voiced silly stories to millions of video views and celebrity status where fans squeal and sob upon meeting these Utah-based movie makers. Then, in 2015, Kid History (which is now most recognized for its brand of Bored Shorts […]