Ever Gonzalez: an outlier and innovator in entrepreneurial co-working.

• Author: Morgan, Alexa V.
• Position: Around Utah: Spotlight

"Our whole focus is to help entrepreneurs start, grow and scale their businesses," says Ever Gonzalez, founder of Outlier, a St. George-based media and events company.

Looking to escape the "rat race" of Long Beach, California, Gonzalez migrated to southern Utah in 2006. The friendliness of the local business community and continued efforts by the City of St. George and Dixie State University to cultivate entrepreneurial talent persuaded him to stay. "I feel very at home here," he says. "I can just live a quiet, happy life while still being able to do amazing things."

Gonzalez spent years grinding to build his own business, a successful freight management company. But after a while, he once again craved something new and challenging. He tracked down entrepreneurs he found interesting and asked them to share their story. In his spare time, he created a website and began posting weekly interviews.

Before long, the blog started gaining traction, and Gonzalez decided to launch a podcast. He sold his company three years ago to focus entirely on Outlier. "I haven't looked back," he says. "It's been an amazing ride."

More than 380 episodes in, Outlier On Air has earned a loyal following that spans the globe. Each session receives between 10,000 and 20,000 downloads in the first week. The podcast is available for free at outliermagazine.co or via iTunes.

"We don't make money off of the podcast, but I like to say that we make money because of the podcast," Gonzalez says.

Outlier's visibility translates into exciting events for the local business community. Gonzalez recruits both homegrown and international entrepreneurs to deliver keynote addresses or lead workshops and training sessions. After their presentation, they are asked to mingle with and mentor the attendees.

Outlier conducts weekly mastermind groups, in which an advisory panel...