Silicon Slopes, or the area between Provo and Salt Lake City in Utah, is booming with startup activity. The Provo-Orem area in particular, known as Utah Valley, has been a hub for startup growth. The Milken Institute ranked its ecosystem as #1 in 2020. An hour north, Salt Lake City is a more populated area and houses many Utah-wide connection groups. The area has quietly been on the rise since 2010.
Events and Meetups:
The area is home to many universities, which offer a slew of events for entrepreneurs. Take Entrepreneurship Week, which is hosted by the Rollins Center of Entrepreneurship at Brigham Young University. It’s one of the largest entrepreneur networking events in the state, according to its website. Outside the universities, accelerators host events, such as RevRoad in the Provo/Orem area, which hosts speakers regularly. In Salt Lake City, Silicon Slopes hosts networking events there as well as 15 other cities in the state. Here’s our story about the evolving Utah ecosystem.
Restaurants and Gathering Places:
Drinking is against the Mormon faith, which means the bars aren’t as much as center of the entrepreneurship scene. But you can talk shop in restaurants in Provo such as the Black Sheep Cafe, which serves southwestern and Native American food, Station 22, an American restaurant, and Communal, a farm to table restaurant. People tended to gather before the pandemic at restaurants on Center Street, Tom Taylor, the owner of the Startup Building, a coworking space for entrepreneurs, said. iAnd the Vivint Smart Home Arena during a Utah Jazz Game in Salt Lake City, is the place to be, Inc. reports.
Outdoor Activities:
Many people move to Utah for outdoor activities. It’s known for its skiing — the region hosted the 2002 winter Olympics, after all. In its warmer months, its mountains offer hiking trails and biking paths. You can also visit the Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere.
— Skyler Rossi
