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SALT LAKE CITY

In the past two years, Utah has seen the most economic growth in the country, and is home to many “soonicorns.” The Salt Lake City to Provo corridor has been a fertile environment for technology startups. While alcohol has proven to be an essential ingredient for many startups in parts of the Global Silicon Valley, channeling the prohibition of spirits has proven to benefit the entrepreneurs here. But despite its dry reputation, there are more bars than you’d think—118 and counting. There are also more non-Mormons than Mormons, and SLC has one of the largest LGBT communities in the United States.

VENTURE ACTIVITY Q4’15 - Q3’16

VC FUNDING: $364.4M

DEALS: 47

EXITS: 25

5 YEAR YoY FUNDING GROWTH: 22.6%

5 YEAR YoY DEAL GROWTH: 4.3%

Source: CB Insights

 

SALT LAKE CITY AT A GLANCE

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Power Breakfast

Copper Onion

Pago

Park Café

Pig & a Jelly Jar

Coffee Shops to Start Up In

Coffee Connection

Park City Roasters

The Rose Establishment

Local Bar

Bar X

Beer Bar

High West Distillery

“Must Be At” Local Events

Sandy Balloon Festival

Sundance Film Festival

Twilight Concerts

In the Know

The Mormon Mafia is real. While not as deathly, it is certainly as potent. Also, the Hotel Monaco is one of the best hotels to get shut-eye in SLC.

THE TOP

ANGELS

Ben Capell

Elliott Bisnow

Joel Peterson

Josh James

Mike Levinthal

Nobu Mutaguchi

VCs

EPIC Ventures

Kickstart Seed Fund

Peak Ventures

Pelion Venture Partners

Signal Peak

Sorenson Capital

University Venture Fund

Wasatch Advisors

ACCELERATORS

BioInnovators Gateway

Boom Startup

Church & State

Impact Hub

Lassonde Institute

ThinkAtomic

ENTREPRENEURSHIP EVENTS

BrainShare

INTERFACE

RootsTech

StartFEST

Tech Security Conference

Q4’15 - Q3’16 TOP FUNDING ROUNDS

StorageCraft—$187M

Domo—$130M

Vivint—$100M

Health Catalyst—$70M

Lucid Software—$36M

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