A community on the rise.

• Author: Betts, Clint
• Position: SILICON SLOPES

Thank you for reading the inaugural edition of Silicon Slopes Magazine. We're only a couple of months into 2017, but it's already shaping up to be another seminal year for Utah's startup and tech community. There's never been more money, talent or resources available to startups in Utah's history. It's hard to believe there's ever been a more exciting time to be an entrepreneur in Silicon Slopes.

With 2016 having already come to a merciful end, let us remember how lucky we are to live and work in this state. Silicon Slopes is home to more than 5,000 tech companies. We're no longer a small community with just a couple of success stories. We're rapidly becoming a vibrant, diverse, global innovation hub with some of the greatest entrepreneurs and companies in the world.

Looking at some of the numbers, it's clear Utah is in a strong position heading into the new year.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

* Utah: 3.4 percent

* California: 6.3 percent

* United States: 4.9 percent

MEDIAN HOME PRICE (PER SQUARE FOOT)

* Utah: $164

* San Francisco: $948

* Boston: $612

* Manhattan: $1,789

VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTED IN UTAH

* 2015: $1B+

* 2016: $1.17B

We're lucky. We've accomplished a lot. But we've still gota lot of work to do.

In the years to come our community will be called upon to solve and overcome a number of challenges. Paramount to our continued success and prosperity is our duty to ensure the Silicon Slopes don't rise while the rest of Utah falls or remains stagnant. We have a responsibility to care for and lift up those around us whether they work in tech or not. Startup Santa has taught us the power and influence our community can wield to do good and make a meaningful impact on people's lives. We have 347,000 Utah children living at or near the poverty level. More than half of those...