Grow Utah Ventures and the NorthFront Entrepreneur Alliance Recognize Three Northern Utah Start-ups
Grow Utah Ventures and the NorthFront Entrepreneur Alliance recently recognized CampusBookRentals.com, Raganar Relay Events and Matchbin as Utah start-ups that are defying the odds and experiencing tremendous success despite the economic downturn.
The recognition came in The NorthFront Entrepreneur Alliances inaugural Entrepreneur Excellence Awards Banquet. The event was a huge success and drew a large crowd from across the business, government and entrepreneurial community. Awards were given in three designated categories including:
- Best Boot-strapped Business: Ragnar Relay Events – Based in Kaysville, Utah, Ragnar manages 11 running relay races across the country, including the Wasatch Back Relay.
- Fastest Growth Business: CampusBookRentals.com – Based in Ogden, Utah, CampusBookRentals.com rents text books to college students across the country. The company expects to see an additional 1,000 percent growth in 2009.
- Greatest Potential: MatchBin –Based in Bountiful, Utah, Matchbin helps media companies establish and monetize a presence on the web.
“These companies are the exact reason the NorthFront Entrepreneur Alliance was created,” said Curt Roberts, Northern Utah TOIP Director of USTAR. “It is important for Northern Utah to have an organization that establishes regular networking opportunities and instructional presentations pertinent to entrepreneurs in Northern Utah.”
In addition to these three awards, the NorthFront Entrepreneur Alliance recognized serial entrepreneur Alan E. Hall, founder of Grow Utah Ventures and Marketstar, with its Entrepreneur Legacy Award. Among his many contributions to Utah entrepreneurs, Hall has committed over $15 million of his own money with a goal to invest in 100 Utah start ups. To date he’s invested in nearly 65 businesses.
“Alan has been and continues to be a tremendous mentor to Utah entrepreneurs,” said T. Craig Bott, president and CEO of Grow Utah Ventures. “One of the most important things an entrepreneur can have is a successful mentor, someone who has walked in their shoes. Alan has provided this mentorship for many Northern Utah start-ups by investing in them and spending countless hours helping these entrepreneurs see the steps they need to take in order to be successful.”
The NorthFront Entrepreneur Alliance was created in 2008 under the sponsorship of SEED Weber/Davis/Morgan and Grow Utah Ventures. Its purpose is to bring entrepreneurs in Northern Utah together to learn, network, share ideas, find needed resources, and to recognize accomplishments among the group.
