If you are reading this article, chances are you’re familiar with the tech sector slump we are currently experiencing—layoffs, a decrease in both public and private company valuations, a lower level of venture capital raised in 2022, etc. Just google “Are we in a tech recession?” and you can spend hours reading about the doom and gloom. 

It may sound like the perfect market conditions to not launch a seed-stage venture fund, but my partners and I are confident that Utah’s startup ecosystem is the place to be investing in right now. We launched RevRoad Capital last July. Call us crazy, but we like to think we’re optimists.

Not only is Utah the #1 state for entrepreneurship, but it also boasts the highest rate of unicorns per venture-backed startups. For our relatively small state, this means entrepreneurs get to see the success of our community first-hand in accessible ways. Launching a startup, raising capital and building a company is doable here in Utah.

Last fall, I caught up with a friend who runs a successful e-commerce brand. I asked her how her company was fairing in the tough environment (2021 was a banner year for e-commerce, 2022 not so much). She acknowledged the headwinds and then told me about a Utah-based startup called Particl that was a game changer for her company. 

Intrigued, I called another friend who runs a different e-commerce brand in Utah and asked, “Hey, have you heard anything about Particl?” She exclaimed, “I love Particl!” It turns out that several of my friends were already happy customers whose companies used the same product in different ways. 

Founded and led by Josh Wilson, Particl empowers e-commerce brands to make data-informed decisions in real-time. This pandemic-born startup is the world’s largest e-commerce database that analyzes both price and sales quantity across the market. Particl’s AI platform gives customers the data and tools to decide what products to develop and how to price them for ROI optimization. 

Fortunately for us, at the same time I learned about Particl, the company was raising its Series A. As unique as it was for me to be introduced to Particl via customers, each of my partners played the due diligence role of “devil’s advocate”—and then Particl’s team blew us away one meeting at a time. RevRoad Capital invested alongside Tandem Ventures, Album VC, Peterson Ventures and University Growth Fund, all Utah-based funds. Particl could have included VCs from other markets—and they would have if we had not launched our fund—but Josh Wilson and the Particl team saw the value of having local investors collaborating with them at this stage and in this economic environment. 

Every time I visit the Particl office things are humming! The team continues to iterate on its product as they receive feedback from customers, and they continue to bring in new ones. It is exciting to witness a disruptive team in action and see their unwavering desire to build the best retail product development and pricing platform globally.

Isn’t it interesting that Utah’s unique and thriving e-commerce brands, which are key components of our state’s great entrepreneurial ecosystem, would become the inspiration and initial customers for a Utah-based SaaS company that is then capitalized by Utah-based venture funds? This is the Utah flywheel in motion, and Particl isn’t the only startup succeeding here. I guess you could say this is why we at RevRoad Capital are optimists, tough macro environment and all.