UVEF Top 25 under 5 Years
Trent and I had the opportunity to attend the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum Top 25 under 5 award luncheon yesterday, and we had a great time. We had found out last week that FundingUniverse would be one of the top 25 and we ended up at number 19!
After hearing about the top 5 companies, I think that I could’ve guessed all but the #1 company. The top 5 were:
- Agel (www.agel.com): Agel Enterprises, LLC has created a nutritional supplement in single-serving gel form packaging that is not a burden to consume, is convenient, tastes good, and quickly absorbs into the body.
- Control4 (www.control4.com): Control4 is the platform for today’s digital home and makes whole-home automation a practical option for any residence. They believe that home automation is not just for the rich and that fully customizable solutions are not just for luxury homes.
- SkullCandy (www.skullcandy.com): Skullcandy was founded in 2003 by CEO Rick Alden. It is the fastest growing consumer electronics company on earth, specializing in audio & gaming headphones, audio accessories, integrated audio devices & mp3 players.
- Seastone (www.seastone.com): Seastone Consumer Products Group is the market leader in specialty gift card packages and gift card promotional programs.
- Mindshare Technologies (www.mshare.net): Mindshare’s business monitoring survey tools gather continuous real-time threads of customer feedback that can be immediately transformed into actionable intelligence.
I’m going to be honest, I was a little disappointed to find out that another MLM was at the top of the list. I really would’ve like to see MoveNetworks at the top of yesterday’s list. From everything that I hear, it sounds like they are the real deal. They must be, they just raised another $46M that was led by tier 1 VC Benchmark Capital. It should be fun to see the company grow.
Anyway, congrats to all of the companies that were on the list!
UPDATE: Because of a few misunderstandings (on the way that my original entry read), I have edited the current entry to better reflect my thoughts on the subject.
Brock: I’m surprised by your comment about “another MLM” topping the list. Not quite sure why you are so down on the network marketing industry.
I expect better from a VC executive like you.
…You evidently haven’t learned that MLMs are cash cows.
@Mark,
Thanks for visiting the blog.
It’s not that I’m “down” on the network marketing industry, it’s that I’m “up” on the technology industry. I completely understand that MLMs are cash cows — there is no doubt. I guess that I was hoping to see a technology company beat out an MLM for once!
Brock
Brock,
I completely agree with your outlook on MLM’s in Utah. They call them “snake oil” companies for a reason. I believe it is a different kind of network marketing. How many friendships have been ruined/tainted by those members of MLM’s trying to overpower their friends. I would have like to see a non MLM company up there also. And yes, Utah is known as the MLM capital of the world…lots of suckers out there. Entreprenuership isnt just about making money. Its about growing a fantastic organization.
“Is it just me, or does it give Utah a bad image to have MLMs topping all of Utah’s lists of awards?”
It is no coincidence that Utah is the MLM Capital of the world. LDS missionaries are taught how to sell “snake oil” at a young age and learn that there is money to be made by (mis)applying the “commitment pattern” to business dealings. Personally, I find these business models to be very unethical.
In ‘Utah Business’ you claim that your grandfather taught you to stand up for your principles. In no way am I suggesting that you agree with my assessment but, isn’t MLM just a part of LDS culture?
That is, you think it is fine to aggressively sell your religion using the same techniques used by the MLMs; however, you argue that MLMs give “Utah a bad image.” If it is commendable to sell your religion to others, is it not also commendable to sell your vitamins to the population who may or may not be able to afford it? In both cases you are preying on people’s inability to say “no” to someone who is young, clean, well dressed, and not afraid to knock on the front door of your private residence.
@Cade,
Thanks for visiting the blog.
A couple of thoughts: As you’ll see, I have taken the liberty to edit the blog entry. I think that my words were taken out of context — which I realize is my fault (I should’ve done a better job communicating my thoughts).
For example, as I mentioned above, I am not down on MLM’s. They have done a great job providing a high-quality of life for the Utah community and I think it is commendable if you can successfully sell an MLM product. I don’t think that I would participate as one of the distributors myself, but I do not look down on those that participate as distributors… and I definitely don’t look down on the companies themselves.
Secondly, I honestly don’t think that an MLM is a “part of LDS culture.” In fact, if you were to look at the geographic regions that produce the most revenue for MLMs, you will usually find that the majority of their success comes from international distributors (especially regions throughout Asia).
Brock
Interesting list thanks for the post.