Silicon Slopes organization opens new Lehi headquarters
Clint Betts, executive director of Silicon Slopes and editor-in-chief of Beehive Startups, speaks with Josh James, founder and CEO of Domo and founding partner of the Silicon Slopes brand, at the grand opening of the organization's Lehi headquarters on Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
Carine Clark, Silicon Slopes executive board member, speaks during the grand opening of Silicon Slopes organization's Lehi headquarters on Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
The Silicon Slopes nonprofit's vision of "Learn, connect, serve," adorns the walls of its new Lehi headquarters.
A mural adorns the wall of the Silicon Slopes nonprofit organization’s Lehi headquarters.
A mural depicting various Utah startups and Utah companies adorns the wall at the new Silicon Slopes Lehi headquarters.
The nonprofit organization Silicon Slopes has a new home, and it’s not Provo.
“I probably shouldn’t make this public, but Mayor Wilson, we have plans to annex Lehi,” joked Provo Mayor John Curtis on Tuesday during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the organization’s new office space in Lehi.
Curtis was at the grand opening of the new 5,000-square-foot Silicon Slopes headquarters on the first floor of the 2600 Executive Parkway building at Thanksgiving Point, to celebrate a major move for the organization.
Clint Betts, executive director of Silicon Slopes and editor-in-chief of Beehive Startups, started Beehive Startups about four years ago in Provo. Josh James, founder and CEO of Domo, started the Silicon Slopes brand a decade ago. The two men possessed a similar vision for promoting entrepreneurship and technology in Utah, so Betts and James joined forces and their brands under the Silicon Slopes nonprofit just six months ago.
Early on Betts thought he’d stay in Provo, but Lehi has become the bridge between the Silicon Slopes area that straddles both sides of the Point of the Mountain. The new office space in Lehi, donated to the organization by Slack Real Estate, is meant to be a dedicated location where Utah’s tech community can come together to fulfill the Silicon Slopes vision: to learn, connect and serve. The facility will also house Silicon Slopes offices, meetings and events.
The Silicon Slopes organization’s board of directors reads like a who’s who of Utah — boasting CEOs from major tech companies and Utah unicorns including: James, Carine Clark, Adobe’s Brad Rencher, Dave Elkington of InsideSales, Pluralsight’s Aaron Skonnard, Ryan Smith of Qualtrics and Vivint’s Todd Pedersen. Tuesday’s grand opening was a quiet affair — compared to recent tech celebrations in the same area — catering to this core group.
Gov. Gary Herbert also attended and complimented these business leaders for the way they are driving Utah’s economy.
“The backbone of our economy is really small business. You can’t be a large business, if you’re not a small business first,” Herbert said gesturing behind him to James. “Many people say it can’t be done. Usually they are interrupted by others who are doing it. You’re the interrupters, you’re the one saying, ‘Forget the naysayers, we can make it happen despite the challenges we face.'”
The walls of the new Silicon Slopes office are adorned with multiple murals. One of those is dedicated to those companies who, by their own hard work, put Utah on the business map. Another proclaims the Silicon Slopes organization’s vision of helping the startup and tech scene “learn, connect and serve.” The third mural highlights important people and places of the area.
Betts honored his roots, and one of those people essential to the area’s development, Curtis, with the Silicon Slopes first Community Hero Award.
“John Curtis empowers Provo city residents to learn, connect and serve every single day. John Curtis cares about entrepreneurship, and his city has been where so many great companies have gotten their start. John, we have moved a little further north, but we’ll be back often, and we will never forget the place where this all started,” Betts said.
From its new Lehi headquarters, the Silicon Slopes organization will continue to promote, support and celebrate entrepreneurship within Utah.
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