This roundtable appears in the 2025 Utah Business Forward program. Buy tickets here!
Last month, Utah Business partnered with Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar (Dentons) to host a roundtable discussion featuring several speakers and participants from this year’s Utah Business Forward event. This conversation was moderated by Steven Wright, head of public relations at Mountain America Credit Union.
Utah is known for its collaborative business community. How has unity or cross-industry collaboration played a role in your organization?
Silvia Castro Bennett | President & CEO | Suazo Business Center
It’s a unique Utah DNA, the collaborative community. … I see a lot of cross-sectionality that even though somebody may start and it may not be their industry or it may not be their area of focus, people are willing to jump in and lift that person up or lift their organization up.
Cydni Tetro | Founder & CEO | Women Tech Council
[Collaboration is] woven into the communities that are around us, … grounded in opportunity, economic mobility, the opportunity to be successful no matter what your background is, the ability to open doors, the ability to find funding, the ability to bring communities together. … I’ve found it in every aspect of my career, and it’s a really unique opportunity that all of us have to have built businesses and careers in an ecosystem that’s willing to do that.
What Utah values do you believe give businesses here a competitive advantage over other states?
Lavanya Mahate | Founder | Saffron Valley
Utah is definitely unique and people-first. That’s a huge value that gives us a competitive advantage. Also, the philanthropy in this state is just really amazing. Being in the nonprofit industry and having worked with a lot of organization foundation leaders, I know firsthand that people not only write checks, but they also really care about the causes that nonprofits are for.
Allyse Jackson | Founder & CEO | Beehive Meals
When we went to Arizona, it was about a two-year process to put a facility in, at about a $2 million investment. And it’s not that they have different regulations here versus there, but their unwillingness to work with us as a small business could have put us under at some point. Had I tried to start initially in Arizona, I would not have a business today. … The collaboration is truly why I have my business today.
Utah has been named the No. 1 economy in the United States for three years. What do we have to do to continue that trajectory?
Russ Smith | Attorney & Stakeholder | Dentons
It’s the education of the new entrepreneurs that’s going to continue to evolve moving forward. … 20 years ago, we didn’t really have very many VCs that were in town, but now we have a bunch, we’re on the map, and money will flow. We have companies [going] public, and that has loosened things up and given opportunities to new businesses to continue to grow and give opportunities.
Jessica Elwell | Co-Founder & COO | OxEon Energy
There’s also a lot that needs to stay. OxEon itself would not exist without funding from the state of Utah. When we decided to spin out, we received a TAP grant, a Tech Acceleration Program grant, that paid for all of our prototyping. … We have the state of Utah behind us, really helping us figure out what that pathway looks like. That support of innovative companies, especially if we need to look at how we manufacture things in the U.S., is priceless.
How has Utah’s economy and state growth created opportunities or pressures for your company?
Erynn Kerrigan | Founder | XL PR
The American dream is so alive in Utah if you’re willing to put in the hard work, hustle and dream big. … It’s actually one of the only states in the U.S. to have multiple people come together to create a workforce playbook to help people stay ahead of the times. It’s amazing how the Utah business ecosystem can kind of foresee that. … It’s like they’re already creating this so we can stay ahead of the AI culture and implement it better.
Silvia Castro Bennett | President & CEO | Suazo Business Center
Instead of thinking that “when one of us thrives, we all thrive,” we’re seeing more of plus or minus. If you’re successful, I’m not successful. That’s the biggest risk we’re facing right now: this evaporation of some of those values that we’re no longer willing to help people. This is going to be a challenge in the coming years to continue that road. [Referring to gender disparity,] you can only grow so far while leaving women behind.
How should Utah businesses balance rapid economic growth with sustainability, workforce development and quality of life?
Lavanya Mahate | Founder | Saffron Valley
It’s important to balance all of this growth and explosion with what we do with our self-growth, personal-growth and self-awareness. What we invest in our personal development is as important as what we invest in our professional development … where we match our inner values and who we are with our outer success.
Erynn Kerrigan | Founder | XL PR
“Looking successful versus being successful.” There’s this place in between. You have to know when to be and when to do. Utah definitely has a hustle culture. We’re very good at putting in 15-hour days, day in and day out. … When we can balance being versus doing and know when to do, we can create more sustainable companies that can breathe when we need to breathe and do when we need to do.
Allyse Jackson | Founder & CEO | Beehive Meals
We work a lot in our business on the why. … What we have done for more of a workforce development with our team is really diving in with each of them on what their why is, what they want, and what they are actually working toward. … So if Beehive Meals is going here in the future and this is where you want to go, … it helps our teams to [understand] why they show up to work every day and why they are away from their families eight hours a day.
Ali Vallarta | Host | City Cast Salt Lake
The public asks business leaders to think about self-regulation. What are the values of your company? Just because you could lay off 50 people and replace them with AI, should you? If we make a promise as taxpayers to fund an entertainment district, a new development or a big idea, what then is your promise back to us? I would love to see some elected officials go harder for things like prevailing wage.
Which sectors or industries do you see driving Utah’s next wave of growth?
Ali Vallarta | Host | City Cast Salt Lake
Because we’re in local media, most of our advertisers are local, and an incredible thing for us is that it’s just good content. I do mean that in earnest, but it seems nuclear.
Cydni Tetro | Founder & CEO | Women Tech Council
The places we’re investing in as an ecosystem are in AI, energy, deep tech, and aerospace and defense. Those four sectors are where there’s lots of economic growth. I would add in another sector, which is that we have lots of consumer products here. Those five categories have very strong holds here, and they’re evolving very rapidly.
Jessica Elwell | Co-Founder & COO | OxEon Energy
For hardware development, product development, medical development, and aerospace and defense development, we have such amazing pathways for talent through the university system. … Most of our full-time engineers come through our internship program. We have a huge conversion rate [of] interns to full-time employees. Our strong university system is in tune with the companies it serves, [helping develop the] workforce so that the right employees are coming into the Utah market.
How do you see Utah’s role on the national and global stage evolving as the state continues to grow in influence and reputation?
Cydni Tetro | Founder & CEO | Women Tech Council
As the [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] opens up the [Salt Lake City] Temple, they’re expecting 5 million visitors over the course of six months downtown. As that happens, it is a global stage, and you’re going to have people come through. This is an opportunity for the state to think about how we treat [visitors], how it’s recognized, and the stories that [are about] the founding of this state. … The Olympics are the next stage that we have, and there’s a lot of work that leads up to [that event.]
Silvia Castro Bennett | President & CEO | Suazo Business Center
One of the things I also see is there’s opportunity. I would love to see more women in some of these committees. And that’s the one thing that we lose out on. I want to see more of you. There are some committees [where] I might be the only woman, and that’s an opportunity that helps to shape a reputation when you have more women at the table.
What is one piece of advice you would give to the next generation of Utah entrepreneurs?
Jessica Elwell | Co-Founder & COO | OxEon Energy
Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know. You’re not going to know it when you start. Nobody starts entrepreneurship [saying], “I know everything, this is going to be easy.” Just lean into it — curiosity will get you through.
Russ Smith | Attorney/Stakeholder | Dentons
Don’t be afraid to fail, and surround yourself with good advisors.
Allyse Jackson | Founder & CEO | Beehive Meals
Entrepreneurship is like a game. If you make five bucks, you’ve won. You’re never going to hit a home run on the first one.
Lavanya Mahate | Founder | Saffron Valley
Invest in yourself and personal growth as much as you invest in your profession, and enjoy the journey.
Erynn Kerrigan | Founder | XL PR
Rise above your excuses because the American dream is very alive in Utah, and it is possible.
Cydni Tetro | Founder & CEO | Women Tech Council
Don’t screw people along the way. The entire lifetime of a career is built by building great relationships with people, and you should know that from day one.
Ali Vallarta | Host | City Cast Salt Lake
Build a workplace culture that doesn’t need a union. Unionize your workforce before they unionize you. See them as partners from day one.
Silvia Castro Bennett | President & CEO | Suazo Business Center
Build the ability to let your employees learn along the way, as you learn along the way. Be willing to fail, but always be focused on building. Build relationships for the long term. Look at the person, not just what they can do for you.