Small ideas can lead to big change.

• Author: Francom, Sarah Ryther
• Position: From the Editor

Utah has a strong record of entrepreneurialism. Companies ranging from high-tech enterprises like Novell to manufacturers like Blendtec have found great success here. And in recent weeks, three homegrown companies have announced they're about to undergo billion-dollar acquisitions--Vivint for $2 billion Ancestry.com for $1.6 billion and Schiff Nutrition for $1.1 billion--further evidence that entrepreneurs can make it big in the Beehive State.

The state's infrastructure to help grow companies was also recently praised by the Kaufmann Foundation, which partnered with Inc. magazine to discover startup and company growth trends across the nation. Their analysis, which was based on 30 years of Inc. 500 firm data, pointed to Utah as the nation's No. 2 state for creating high-growth startups, outranked only by Washington D.C.

In this issue's Industry Outlook, we hear from a group of serial entrepreneurs and investors who discuss the state's overall startup environment. Though the group applauded the state's entrepreneurial spirit, business-friendly policies and accolade-worthy accomplishments, they agreed that there are still many challenges and opportunities for improvement.

While the group brought up many important challenges, from funding struggles to workforce issues, what caught my attention were the many thoughtful and innovative ideas presented.

Larry Ribgy, co-founder of ZARS Pharma, said tax incentives for angel investors would keep deals flowing. "I have seen it work very well in other states. Angels are always looking for some kind of deal and some kind of bargain, and a state tax credit for angel investing would really help the environment in terms of galvanizing the angels," he said.

Serial entrepreneur and...