Nominations are being accepted for five categories:

Utah Entrepreneur of the Year

Most Innovative Product

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

Greatest Contribution to Entrepreneurs

Utah Valley’s Best Kept Entrepreneurial Secret

If you have a nomination to make, please complete the UVEF Entrepreneur Awards Nomination Form.

Utah Student 25

“Utah’s economic resilience depends heavily on the state’s entrepreneurial leadership celebrated by the Utah Student 25,” stated Utah Governor Gary Herbert. “We applaud the boldness and vision of these emerging business leaders fostered by our great educational institutions. The seeds planted here hold the economic promise of tomorrow.”

Other top 25 finalists include $7 Cuts, Worldwide Book Drive, Sharp Media, iLocalized, Launch Sales and Marketing, Premium Landscape, Chocolot Artisan Confections, The Collegiate Advertising Company, Four Pillar Fitness, Rising Rain Studios, H&H Medical Corporation, K-9 Designs Mobile Dog Grooming, Seahorse Enterprises, MountainWest Memories, Let There Be Light, Desert Sno Shave Ice, Logan Windows, Epic Manufacturing, Simple Systems, No Risk Investor, PictureThis! Event Services, DPC Sealing Specialists, One Man’s Trash, and BuildYourJacket.com.

2009 Utah Student 25 finalist companies employ more than 100 workers and collectively produce $3.9 million in annual revenue. They include female and male entrepreneurs averaging 25 years of age, speaking 11 different languages. They currently attend Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Weber State, and Westminster College. Their businesses represent diverse industries including manufacturing, fitness, healthcare, services, construction, hi-tech, and finance, among others. The Utah Student 25 selects businesses based on revenue growth and profitability.

The Utah Student 25 is sponsored by: Omniture, Silicon Slopes, Utah CEO, CEO-BYU, BTJD, Grant Thornton, Cornerstone Media,  Compass Outdoor, KeyBank, Utah Fund of Funds, FundingUniverse, Provo Business Development Corporation, Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum, Novell Technology Center, Provo Tech Xelerator, Picture This!, PilmerPR, Bateman IP Law Group, Stephen W. Gibson, Doba, and SignCity.

Watch video: Benefits of Utah Student 25 – www.youtube.com/utahstudent25

Become a Facebook fan: http://tinyurl.com/utahstudent25facebook

Join the conversation on our Blog: http://utahstudent25.wordpress.com or Twitter: @utstudent25

About Utah Student 25

The goal of the Utah Student 25 is to encourage growth and entrepreneurial activities in the state. We help student entrepreneurs get the recognition they need to thrive, as well as provide them with resources to contribute to Utah’s economy and their communities. We create synergy between student business owners and Utah’s renowned entrepreneurial leaders. Find more information at www.utahstudent25.com

Press Contact:

John Pilmer, APR
PilmerPR
801-369-7535
jpilmer@pilmerpr.com

Randy sat down with us to answer a few questions about ModifyUtah and starting a business in a down economy.

What prompted the launch of ModifyUtah?

Obviously we have been in a housing crisis for the past few years.  Fortunately, Utah was behind the curve compared to the rest of the country.  Many of the adjustable rate and subprime loans in Utah are just now resetting, leaving homeowners with skyrocketing interest rates and payments they can’t afford.  Coupled with the decline in housing prices, we realized homeowners needed help.

We recognized the need for a local company to help local homeowners – rather than using an out of state company that is not aware of Utah laws of regulations, and Utah’s specific housing needs.

What challenges did you face as you started a new company in a down economy?

I believe that as long as you provide a service that people need – and not just want – you can find success in a down economy.  A home you can afford is a necessity.  We all need shelter, and people don’t want to foreclose or lose their home in bankruptcy.  We are providing a service people need, and that automatically helped us launch a successful business.

There were still challenges.  Capital is harder to come by, homeowners don’t have any extra money to spend, and many people are tired of talking about the failing real estate industry.  But when we opened our doors earlier this year, we immediately found homeowners who needed help and were anxious to use our services.

Can homeowners get loan modifications themselves?

Absolutely, homeowners can get a loan modification themselves if they are willing to put in the time.  It is like doing your own taxes.  Anyone can do their own taxes, but many I, like many others, pay a professional tax preparer to get it done right so I don’t have to spend the time.

The fact is, banks are not interested in working with homeowners.  Their processes are not conducive to this kind of personal interaction.  Homeowners end up spending hours upon hours on the phone with the bank, and then go back and forth about paperwork for months before achieving any results.  In fact, many of our clients have spent the last three to six months trying to get their own loan modification.

So how does ModifyUtah bridge the gap?

Experience – we’ve done hundreds of successful loan modifications.  We provide a professional team of lawyers, negotiators, and brokers who negotiate mortgage loan modification in a quick, timely manner.  We also evaluate the loan for free from the start, so we know if the homeowner is a good candidate for a loan modification.  We have established relationships with most of the major banks and mortgage servicers in the United States, so we have the tools to get the loan modification quickly and easily.

We’ve heard about individuals who claim to do loan mods but simply take payment and never do the work – how does that affect your business?

It is unfortunate.  We opened our doors here locally so people could come in, sit down with us, and understand we are a brick and mortar company helping Utah homeowners.  But there are unethical business owners out there.

We’ve learned a lot about overcoming a negative industry reputation, so we have done everything by the book to prove to homeowners that we’re different.  We are licensed with the Utah Department of Real Estate, and most importantly, we offer a money-back guarantee.  If we can’t modify the loan, the homeowner can get their money back.

Any tips for other businesses who have to combat bad seeds in their industry?

If you have some bad seeds giving your business a bad name, you have to legitimize yourself.  Join every professional association you can, earn every applicable license and make sure you are in compliance with all laws.  Then, offer a guarantee.  And finally, provide good client references.  If customers can talk to people who had a good experience with you, they’ll be able to trust you.

Thank you to Allison Yrungaray for conducting this interview for Utah Valley Business Blog.

Funding Universe

This event is all about Social Entrepreneurs. See profit-based social ventures who aim to improve our community pitch to a panel of experts.

This Event is Tomorrow!: RSVP HERE

Panel of Judges

• Todd Manwaring — BYU Director of the Social Entrepreneurship business plan competition
• Fraser Nelson — founding Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Utah
• Steve Grizzell — Managing Director of InnoVentures Capital Partners

Attendance & Lunch are free

Attendance is free. You’ll learn how investors think, meet the hottest start-ups, and have a lot of fun. You’ll also help decide the winner of the event by investing your monopoly money in the business of your choice.

When & where

November 4
11:30 – 1:30 pm MDT
Lone Peak & Red Pine Rooms
Karen Gail Miller Conference Center
9750 S 300 W
Sandy, UT

RecruitHire has announced the launch of its next generation online recruitment management system.  Built by recruiters with more than 40 years of experience, RecruitHire offers the tools and functionality necessary to match a candidate with an open position across town or across country in as little as 72 hours.

RecruitHire’s online recruitment management system offers several distinct benefits over competing services, including:

• Recruiter Ranking and Reputation, a system that rewards recruiters for supplying good candidates who progress in the hiring process.
• Candidate Profiles completed by recruiters that require more detail than a resume, giving the employer peace of mind knowing the recruiter knows the candidate well.
• A Customizable Message Center that allows both recruiters and employers to streamline the recruiting process by creating their own personal online recruiting management system.

RecruitHire is unveiling these innovative new features in Chicago this week at Booth #203 of Onrec Expo 2009.

“The powerful RecruitHire interface allows employers to spend more time interviewing and selecting qualified candidates, and less time on worthless phone calls and emails from under performing recruiters,” said Alain Templeman, CEO of RecruitHire.  “RecruitHire will connect employers with top recruiters who have actually proven themselves by providing top talent – rather than just casting a wide net.”

RecruitHire recently acquired Dayak’s recruiting marketplace of more than 6,000 recruiters and 1,500 employers to strengthen their global network and help employers find the best candidate to fill jobs quickly and easily.

“As a major player in the online recruiting industry, we noticed our users needed a tool that empowered excellent recruiters and completed the feedback loop for employers,” said Allan Sabol, former Dayak CEO. “I believe RecruitHire has all of the right pieces for the next generation of online recruiting, and our users are now benefitting from the acquisition.”

Recruiters like RecruitHire because it allows them to better manage candidate relationships and be rewarded for providing employers with good candidates. With a 100 percent contingent solution, employers can participate in RecruitHire’s global network without paying a penny until a candidate is hired.

About RecruitHire
RecruitHire provides next generation recruiting for employers through a global network of proven recruiters and their top job candidates. The company’s highly efficient online recruitment management system allows employers to greatly streamline and accelerate the placement process, saving time and money. For more information, please visit www.RecruitHire.com.

Jeremy Hanks

THIS JUST IN: LaunchUp is all about the community at large helping first-time entrepreneurs. You can Join the LaunchUp Community and be on record as being willing to help.

This is the third LaunchUp event. The previous events were well attended and much appreciated. For more details on the event, visit the official LaunchUp Website at http://www.launchup.org/2009/11/02/launchup-3/

Here are some details:

RSVP: If attending in person, PLEASE RSVP. If on Twitter, tweet: I’m going to #LaunchUp to eat pumpkin pie, are you? http://bit.ly/launchup3

If not on Twitter, email jeremy @ jeremyhanks . com and let him know you’re coming.

• Date: Wednesday Nov 11th
• Time: 6:00 p.m.
• Location: Marketsplash/Logoworks – 825 E 1180 S # 300, American Fork, Utah 84003 (or participate online – see Home page)
  Located right off exit 275 on the west side of the freeway. We are right in between Provo College and the Tahitian Noni building.
• Event URL: http://www.launchup.org/live/

“Cloud computing”—the concept of devices connecting to the internet “cloud” to access powerful applications to accomplish whatever they need, is a concept Google CEO Eric Schmidt has been foretelling for the past 10-15 years. Today it is a phenomenon even greater than the advent of personal computing, he says. Schmidt shared his remarks in a couch-side keynote chat with David Bradford, CEO of Fusion-io, with a sell-out crowd of nearly 900 Utah executives at the Utah Technology Council’s (UTC) 11th Annual Hall of Fame celebration event at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City Friday night.

In his remarks, Schmidt noted that Utah is the best place in America for starting a business. He also acknowledged Utah’s broadband initiatives in Provo and Salt Lake City as key steps in supporting a knowledge economy that will allow a tremendous new wave of business and technology innovation to occur.

At the event, UTC CEO Richard R. Nelson noted interesting data from a recent UTC survey of 172 current UTC member organizations. Of these 172 companies, 8 percent are currently thriving. More than half of the companies queried—58 percent—report they are currently growing.  Twenty-nine percent are holding steady.  And only 5 percent of the 172—a small minority—report that they are currently in a state of decline.

“Ninety-five percent of our technology companies are thriving, growing or holding steady—a success level that far exceeds the majority of the United States,” Nelson said. “In fact, several national publications have ranked Utah as the region best poised to emerge from the current recession quickly.”

Nelson noted the number of technology companies in Utah has risen dramatically, from several hundred companies in 1999 to more than 5,500 today.

Following the keynote discussion, the UTC formally inducted Greg Butterfield, Managing Partner of SageCreek Partners, and Peter D. Meldrum and Mark H. Skolnick, Ph.D., co-founders of Myriad Genetics, to its 11th Hall of Fame, which honors individuals with ties to Utah who have made key contributions to the technology and life science industries.

“We are extremely honored to recognize these tremendous individuals for their outstanding achievements and for the impact they’ve made on technology throughout the world,” Nelson said.

About Utah Technology Council
Utah’s premier professional association, the Utah Technology Council, has become the essential business resource for life science and high-tech companies seeking to achieve greater success.  At its core, UTC exists to foster the Growth of the state’s more than 5,000 technology companies, ensure Utah develops the highest Quality Workforce in the nation, and attract an ever-increasing array of Funding. Members join UTC to share insights with industry peers, counsel with government and academic leaders, and receive help from professional service providers and funding resources. To become a member of this “must join” organization, visit www.utahtechcouncil.org or call 801-568-3500 today.

# # #

PR Agency Contact:

Snapp Conner PR
Cheryl Snapp Conner
T) 801-994-9625
cheryl@snappconner.com

UTC Contact
Judy Young
801-568-3500
jyoung@utahtechcouncil.org

I read Dave’s book ‘The Myth of Multitasking‘ last year and found it to be remarkably helpful in understanding that I can’t really do many things at once, and that there is a cost to trying.

Here are the details on the Webinar:

Title: “The Get Time Webinar with Dave Crenshaw – REDUX”
Info/Webinar site: http://oct22.timewebinar.com

Synopsis:
Learn  the  secret  of why multitasking is worse than a lie  and  uncover  thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours  in lost productivity. I will show you in just one  hour  how to get more time, more focused, and more organized for the rest of your life.

The  webinar lasts one hour. I’ll also stick around and answer questions as long as people keep asking them!

There  is  no  cost  to  attend. You don’t even need to register!

SEO.com

“We’ve been fortunate to experience great growth during the recession, and now we want to give back to help someone else have similar success,” said Dave Bascom, chief executive officer of SEO.com.

Through October, SEO.com will accept submissions from various organizations that detail how the recession has affected them, and how they believe Internet marketing services could improve their situation. SEO.com will then award one of those businesses a six-month contract worth more than $60,000. Some of the services will include:

• Web Site Redesign
• Search Engine Optimization
• Pay-Per-Click Advertising
• Link Building
• Press Releases, Writing and Distribution
• Copywriting
• Local Search Optimization
• Social Media Optimization
• Website Analytics
• Blog Marketing

“With all the services we’ll provide over the period of six months, we expect to lay a foundation that will literally change the future of a struggling organization,” Bascom said. “To the winning organization, this will be worth much more than the $60,000. We will provide them with a strong online presence so they can attract many more customers through search engines, and we’ll design their site so more of those visitors will turn into paying customers.”

To participate in the contest, participants must fill out the Ultimate Makeover form which includes a section to write a 500-word essay that explains why they should be selected.

Any organizations that offer quality products or services and have been negatively affected by the recession are encouraged to apply. SEO.com will judge the participants based on the quality of business or service, the industry, the story behind the company, how it has struggled during the recession, and the potential to not only succeed, but to benefit the community.

“We really want to help a deserving company or organization get back on its feet,” said Nelson James, vice president of SEO.com. “We are good at what we do, and we are confident that the services we are offering in this package will do just that.” SEO.com is accepting submissions for the Ultimate Web Marketing Makeover through Oct. 31, and will announce the winner in early November.

If you know anyone who could benefit from this contest, please spread the word.

For more information, and to see a video, visit http://www.seo.com/web-marketing-makeover/

About SEO.com
SEO.com is a full-service Internet marketing firm that specializes in search engine optimization. The SEO firm’s search engine marketing tactics help numerous clients reach millions of potential customers on the Internet. SEO.com has grown rapidly since its inception and continues to expand its offerings as a full-service online marketing firm. The company offers everything from organic search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) to social media marketing, online public relations and search friendly-Web design. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 100 companies. For more information, log on to SEO.com.

WABCON includes two keynote speakers, 12 breakout sessions, lunch with the presenters, and excellent networking opportunities. WABCON was founded as the conference for Utah Valley businesspeople, by Utah Valley businesspeople. Our presenters are nationally known experts with local addresses. Comparable conferences are a few hundred to a thousand dollars.

WABCON is modestly priced at $47 to cover costs. Our aim is to give back to the community. Go to www.wabcon.com for full details, breakout session overviews, presenter bios, and to register.

Thursday, October 22nd
Sorensen Student Center on the UVU campus
Orem, Utah
Cost: $47
Register: http://www.wabcon.com

We look forward to seeing you this Thursday at WABCON!