Entrepreneur of the year 2008; Utah's innovators take the fast lane.

• Author: Harding, Becky Badger
• Position: Ernst & Young

Based on what they've seen from this year's Entrepreneur of the Year entries, Nicole Davis, Ernst & Young's program director for the annual competition, says, "We are excited about the incredibly strong and incredibly healthy entrepreneurial environment in Utah. Regardless of the economy, there's no shortage of great ideas, great people, and great stories. "In fact, it might be the economic slowdown that has caused more entrepreneurs to rise to the surface. Whatever the reason, the amount of applicants this year increased by 30 percent over last year, Davis says. "And this was also the most competitive year we've had as far as innovation, new technology and new ways of looking at business," adds Davis, who is now in her seventh year of heading up the program for Ernst & Young.

From Logan to Cedar City, and from dance floors to headphones, the 2008 finalists cover a lot of territory. Each story is inspiring and could constitute a feature in itself. Here's a brief glimpse of these remarkable trendsetters that continue to wow Utah and the nation.

JOHN EDWARDS

CEO, Move Networks

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

How does an online company handle growth, not to mention bandwidth, when they're adding 100,000 new unique viewers everyday? Just ask John Edwards, the brains behind Move Networks. He'll tell you the answer is Move's remarkable technology along with his vision of delivering a television-quality viewing experience online. As a pioneer in an entirely new entertainment medium--online television--Edwards relishes the chance to try new things and approach problems in new ways. "We are experiencing a cultural revolution in the way that people consume, interact with, and comment on entertainment, including TV, music, news, sporting events and film," says Edwards. As the partner of choice for the largest media companies in the world, it's no wonder that Edwards is also dealing with internal growth issues. Move ended 2006 with 25 employees and 2007 with 100. Currently at 150, Edwards is expecting to end 2008 with more than 200 employees in offices worldwide.

JEREMY HANKS

Co-founder, Chairman and President, Doba

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Jeremy Hanks says he's always looking for the easy path. Growing up on a farm, he tried to find ways to get through his chores quicker and more efficiently. As an avid outdoorsman, if he's on a backpacking or hiking trip, he looks for ways to turn roadblocks into hurdles and get to his destination more quickly. And so it makes sense that that's exactly what he's doing with Doba. As the owner of an online retail business, Hanks experienced difficulties dealing with his inventory, which is how he came up with Doba, a Web platform that hooks up suppliers of products (manufacturers and wholesalers) with appropriate retailers. His solution is changing the way the world of physical inventory works. Although Hanks wouldn't say that being an entrepreneur is necessarily easy, he is definitely on the fast path. In 2007, Doba was ranked first on Mountain West America Capital Network's list of Utah's fastest-growing companies and number 23 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing privately held companies in America.

JOHN SPERRY, CEO

RICHARD HANKS, Chairman and President, Mindshare Technologies

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

When Mindshare Technologies landed a contract with McDonalds, they were competing against 22 other companies, some with thousands of employees and offices all around the world. With well-deserved confidence, John Sperry and Richard Hanks convinced the client that their "Mighty 32" employees could do the job as well as any of the big guys. And, according to McDonalds, they have. John Sperry says their company was based on the belief that "there's nothing more powerful than learning from your customer." Since developing their real-time customer feedback technology, Mindshare is currently collecting about 40,000 surveys per day and turning them into real-time usable reports for their clients. Their technology offers customers a simple, anonymous way to compliment - or complain about - the businesses they patronize in 25 different industries, including travel, food and beverage, hospitality and retail. Profitable since 2005, Mindshare and its Mighty 32 have just hit their 60th consecutive month of revenue growth.

REAL ESTATE/CONSTRUCTION

ORLUFF OPHEIKENS

Chairman, R&O Construction

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Orluff Opheikens is an uncommon leader with a lot of common sense. Under his leadership, R&O has grown steadily during the last 33 years, now ranking 247th in the Engineering News-Record's "Top 400" contractors in the nation. When asked how he keeps his customers satisfied, he said, "We didn't sit down one day and say that's what we ought to do. It's just who we are". Opheikens not only keeps his clients happy, but he constantly has the best interests of his employees at heart. In fact, during the almost-catastrophic industry downturn in the early '70s, R&O weighed their potential projects not by how much money they'd make, but by how many hours they could keep employees working. Whether you're talking to his employees, his customers or his colleagues, Orluff Opheikens' "good-guy" reputation is just common knowledge.

PAUL GIFFORD

President and CEO, Discovery Investment Group

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It takes an optimist to see the bright side of the current real estate market. But it takes more than just an optimist to keep his real estate investment company doubling every year, even in an economic downturn. That would take someone like Paul Gifford--a quintessential optimist to be sure--but also a savvy businessman who has found a different way of looking at the market. Gifford credits Discovery's...