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April 05, 2010
So. Utah Concept to Company Finalists |
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March 03, 2010
Pushbutton Digital Media Summit |
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January 13, 2010
Wasatch Digital iQ: Cashed Out Start-ups Face a Funding Dry Spell |
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February 05, 2009
Grow Utah Ventures Unveils North Front Entrepreneur Alliance |
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February 04, 2009
North Front Entrepreneur Alliance Created |
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January 30, 2009
Alan Hall on Fox Business News |
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December 19, 2008
The Ins and Outs of Getting Your Company Funded By Angel Investors |
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November 24, 2008
Grow America Unveiled |
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November 24, 2008
Entrepreneurs Bringing Optimism to Utah |
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November 24, 2008
GEW Utah Unleashes Ideas to Overflow Crowd |
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November 05, 2008
Utah Pulse - Alan Hall |
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November 02, 2008
Techrockies, Alan Hall Interview |
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September 30, 2008
Utah City's Goal: Sports 'Mecca' |
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September 07, 2008
Entrepreneurship Through Abundance |
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May 12, 2008
Alan Hall: UTC Chairman for 2008 |
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April 11, 2008
SEED Project Sprouting Coverage |
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April 11, 2008
SEED Public & Private Partnership |
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April 11, 2008
What one good SEED can grow... |
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March 31, 2008
Craig Bott Interview with Silicon Slopes |
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March 03, 2008
LATEST launch: The Magazine for Utah Entrepreneurs |
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August 31, 2007
Grow Utah Ventures Partners with Zions Bank |
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August 03, 2007
Counties Collaborate to Fuel Entrepreneurial Development in Northern Utah |
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June 29, 2007
launch: The Magazine for Utah Entrepreneurs |
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June 01, 2007
Seven Characteristics of Successful Businesses |
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May 20, 2007
The New Entrepreneurial Generation |
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May 15, 2007
Weber Entrepreneurs Association featured on KSL |
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April 19, 2007
Mar.Apr Issue of Launch |
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April 04, 2007
WEA Business Week Article |
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March 26, 2007
Grow Utah Ventures grows Utah |
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March 12, 2007
Alan Hall Speaks at Snow College |
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March 02, 2007
EDC Utah Economic Review |
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January 15, 2007
Seed Utah |
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January 08, 2007
Alan Hall and Greg Warnock named as Utah's Top 25 People Best Driving Business in 2006 |
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December 26, 2006
The Entrepreneur as Steward for Good |
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December 20, 2006
Grow Utah Ventures begins publication of LAUNCH |
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December 20, 2006
UVEF Names Winners of 2006 Awards |
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September 14, 2006
Alan Hall Speaks at Utah Entrepreneurial Forum |
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August 15, 2006
Bus Station now Ticketed for Businesses |
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July 07, 2006
Grow Utah Ventures Continuing Work to 'Vivaciously Expand Utah's Business Climate |
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June 24, 2006
UTC Announces Four New Executive Committee Appointments |
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June 06, 2006
Alan Hall Standing Tall |
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May 31, 2006
Cache Valley Venture Accelerator Club Partners with Utah Angel Investor Clubs |
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May 30, 2006
E-Station |
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May 11, 2006
Utah's Business Incubators Cooking Up a Corporate Feast |
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May 11, 2006
vSpring Capital Announces the Top 100 Venture Entrepreneurs |
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May 08, 2006
Alan Hall Delivers Commencement Speech to School of Business at Weber State |
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April 26, 2006
Junto Winners |
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April 10, 2006
Grow Utah Ventures Gives Back |
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April 02, 2006
Alan Hall is the Real Deal |
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March 16, 2006
Utah Seeks Global Trade |
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March 13, 2006
Grow Utah Ventures, Grow Utah-Organized ‘Angels’ Lead Investment Round in Revinetix |
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March 06, 2006
Program Uncovers Talented Entrepreneurs |
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March 01, 2006
MarketStar CEO Alan Hall Steps Down |
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February 16, 2006
Grow Utah Ventures Works With UITA to Support New Utah Entrepreneurs |
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January 26, 2006
Junto Program |
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December 13, 2005
Response to the E Station |
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December 12, 2005
KSL Metro Report Highlights Grow Utah Ventures |
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November 21, 2005
New Businesses will Emerge from the E Station |
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November 17, 2005
Sharp Analytics Announces Investment from Grow Utah Ventures |
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November 15, 2005
Ogden will be launch site for firms |
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November 08, 2005
Alan Hall featured on the Business Jive Podcast |
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September 22, 2005
Alan Hall Speaks to UITA on Angel Investing |
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September 15, 2005
Elemental Business receives equity investment from Grow Utah Ventures |
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August 31, 2005
Grow Utah Ventures Announces Formation of Olympus Angels |
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August 12, 2005
Alan Hall Keynote Speak at Utah Rural Summit |
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August 01, 2005
TecServ Announces Investment From Grow Utah Ventures |
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July 18, 2005
Utah Business - Entreprenurial Fundamentals |
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June 01, 2005
KSL - Student Entrepreneurs Receive $50K to Start Businesses |
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May 06, 2005
Weber State University students win Junto awards, funding for new businesses |
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May 03, 2005
Alan Hall's Five C’s to Consider When Hiring |
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May 03, 2005
Grow Utah Ventures Announces new Portfolio Company- Mobileoptics |
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May 03, 2005
Alan Hall Joins UITA Board |
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April 21, 2005
Alan Hall to Speak at Weber State University |
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April 20, 2005
UITA Appoints a New Utah Chairman |
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April 19, 2005
Business Ignitor Event |
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February 14, 2005
The Ride of Your Life |
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February 14, 2005
Grow Utah Ventures - Humanitarian VC Firm Aims to Create an Entrepreneur's Utopia in Northern Utah |
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January 10, 2005
Return of the Angels |
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January 10, 2005
Kauffman Foundation - Profiles in Giving |
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Grow Utah Ventures - Humanitarian VC Firm Aims to Create an Entrepreneur's Utopia in Northern Utah
February 14, 2005
Colin Kelly Jr.
The world needs more folks like Alan Hall and his partners at Grow Utah Ventures. The state’s newest venture capital group is also the first of its kind. Instead of existing primarily to provide a return for investors, Grow Utah Ventures has a charter to reinvest proceeds, foster entrepreneurship, and help create jobs for the future. Hold on now, a VC with heart and a higher purpose? Yep.
The story begins back in 1988 when Alan Hall recognized the need for an outsourced, field-marketing company to help other corporations position products in various channels. The result was Ogden-based MarketStar, created in Hall’s basement. Sixteen years later, MarketStar’s 2,200 employees worldwide have helped clients like HP, RIM, 3Com and Sony sell over $10 billion worth of products.
Recently, Hall accepted an offer from the Omnicom Group, a worldwide conglomerate of media, advertising, public relations and marketing companies, to acquire MarketStar. Omnicom has a reputation for leaving companies in place and intact after acquisition, so not much has changed since the sale. MarketStar remains headquartered in Ogden and Hall is still its Chairman.
One of the few things that did change after the acquisition was Hall’s bank account. As the majority equity holder in MarketStar, Hall profited from the deal and immediately decided to share his newfound fortune.
The Vision
Hall’s plan is two-pronged — aid and educate Utah’s less fortunate, and then help entrepreneurs create companies in order for these people to have good jobs. To achieve this goal, Hall has established two entities — The Hall Foundation and Grow Utah Ventures.
The Hall Foundation gives money back to the community to help with food banks, healthcare, education and scholarship programs. Grow Utah Ventures seeks to help establish and grow businesses through funding, mentoring and training programs.
Getting Started
Hall met T. Craig Bott, an entrepreneur and seasoned veteran of the local business community during MarketStar’s acquisition process. Bott has been a strategic management consultant for Ernst & Young, worked for FranklinCovey and many other firms as well as starting a few of his own. Hall asked Bott to head up Grow Utah Ventures as its President and CEO. Bott brought in CFO Solution’s Kent Thomas, an experienced financial manager, and one of vSpring Capital’s five founding managing directors, Greg Warnock, as advisors. Warnock and Thomas liked Hall’s vision so much that they agreed to help Grow Utah Ventures in addition to their day jobs.
“We don’t see Grow Utah Ventures as a VC in the traditional way,” says Hall. “We look at ourselves as humanitarian VCs, in that we are trying to grow the local economy for the welfare of Utah’s people.”
The initial step toward that goal was organizing Grow Utah Ventures’ first fund of $5 million, GU Ventures One. Hall is its primary investor. A second fund is in the works and plans are currently underway for an angel investor group aggregated by Grow Utah Ventures called the Top of Utah Angels Association. Though $5 million is small for a VC fund, all returns generated by the GU Ventures One fund will be recycled back in. Since investors don’t take money out, the fund will keep growing.
“Fund investors have agreed that the money recycles,” says Bott. “There certainly is a social cause behind this. Money generated from the fund will go back into the fund to help it grow.”
Bott hopes the $5 million fund will grow to around $20 million within the first five or six years. During those first few years, Grow Utah Ventures plans to invest in six to 12 portfolio companies with placement amounts ranging from $250,000 to $1 million.
Not Your Typical VC in More Ways Than One
One of the many differences between Grow Utah Ventures and a traditional VC is its ability to invest amounts as small as $250,000. Standard VC deals are rarely placed for under $500,000 and usually average over $1 million. This policy fills a greatly underserved niche in funding as some startups just don’t need $500,000 or more. Before Grow Utah Ventures, entrepreneurs in search of smaller amounts were limited to using debt financing or hoping for an angel investor’s help.
“Venture funds typically invest in less than one percent of the investments presented,” says Warnock. “There is a vast investment opportunity in private equities that do not qualify for VC consideration or that have been previously rejected by VCs. This is where angel investors play and where Grow Utah Ventures will play as well.”
Grow Utah Ventures plans to hold true to its promise of fostering entrepreneurship by hosting mentoring sessions and sponsoring educational events designed to help and encourage entrepreneurs. One such event is The Business Ignitor Series (see page 4), a quarterly event co-sponsored and conceived by Grow Utah Ventures, Snell & Wilmer and connect.
Grow Utah Ventures brings more than just money to the table for its portfolio companies. Entrepreneurs may also take advantage of Grow Utah Ventures’ management and marketing experience. The board at will offer management advice to portfolio companies and Hall will share his marketing experience from MarketStar.
“What is unique about Grow Utah Ventures is that not only do we provide the money and help with management when needed,” says Hall, “but we also bring some horsepower to the table with our 16 years of experience with MarketStar that can help an entrepreneur get a product to market like no one else could do.”
Funding the Future
Since its first fund is relatively small for a venture capital fund, initially Grow Utah Ventures may need to be conservative with its investments. As Bott puts it, the first fund is the “engine” which will drive the future of Grow Utah Ventures. Because of this, Grow Utah Ventures will pick its first few portfolio companies carefully. As these investments compound and the second fund and angel association are formed, then the real fun starts, which will expand the opportunities for Utah’s entrepreneurs.
If the team’s strategy pays off, in five to 10 years Utah could be a Utopia of sorts for startups with an environment ripe with startup capital, programs to encourage entrepreneurship, and a well-trained workforce ready to fill positions at these new companies.
“We will be looking for entrepreneurs that are not greedy,” Hall says, “but rather for partners trying to build value not just for themselves but also the community in which they live.”
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