When Utah adopted the nickname “the Beehive State,” we meant business, literally. Since its origin, Utah has been busy creating industry with impressive perseverance. These seeds that our founders planted are coming into full fruition now, so much so that Utah and its industrious Utahns have impressively poised Utah Valley to “eclipse Silicon Valley,” so says Utah Governor Gary Herbert (and CNBC’s statisticians agree).
In 2013, Entreprenuer.com ranked Utah Number 11 on a list of the best cities for Tech Startups, and one month later, Business Insider declared Utah to be Number 7 Hottest Startup Hub in America. But Utah has been busy, ensuring that in the following two years, we could continue to create a viable, thriving, buzzing hive for startups.
Lending credence to the power of the Midwest, Utah is now nestled comfortably in 3rd place (right after Michigan and Texas for best Startup states in America according to CNBC, superseding both California (by a considerable margin) and Colorado (looking at you, TechStars!). The poll examined diverse factors that make Utah more hospitable to startups—workforce, cost of doing business, economy, etc. In broad strokes, the poll concludes that our economy is our best attribute.
Before the poll was published, Governor Gary Herbert penned an impassioned letter extolling Utah’s business virtues, citing his own rationale for our thriving hive: investing in things that matter like education, transportation, and infrastructure. Making Utah innovative and intelligent will surely contribute to future success.
And true to Utah form, Governor Herbert echoes our continued cry for excellence, saying, “For all Utah’s success, we are not satisfied. It’s not enough for just us to invest in Utah; more and more we are encouraging businesses around the world to follow suit. We want them to invest in and become part of Utah’s future, and to allow Utah to invest and become part of theirs.”
Utah will continue to impress, invest, and thrive. Way to go, busy bees!
