The strangest tech to come out of Utah: March edition: On apps that pressure you to tip, electrode-laden headphones, and baby monitoring 2.0.

• Author: Stone, Zara

WITH THOSE OH-SO-FUN TAX DEADLINES looming and supply chain shortages ever-present--who knew getting some Patron or Modelo would be such an ordeal?--you'd think Beehlvers would be feeling the pinch. You'd be wrong. Utah's techies haven't let something as banal as a booze shortage stop them from celebrating their wins. In-state VC funding ballooned a whopping 100 percent in 2021, and so far, 2022 continues that trend. Slap down that Silicon Slopes x America First Visa credit card, and let's party like we're done with variants, mmkay?

Keeping with the "Ker-ching!" theme this month, your favorite game--Two Truths and a Lie, the Utah Tech Edition--explores the increasingly wacky world of NFTs (skip to the bottom for the answer).

Out of the following three Utah-owned NFTs, which is the fake one?

1. An NFT for each of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

2. An NFT that provides a virtual locker room experience for a Utah-based basketball team

3. An NFT that combines interplanetary art with an IOU ticket to space

TIP VIA TEXT WITH ALLSET

To tip or not to tip--a question more divisive than it sounds, especially when posed to an international audience. Tipping for service is regarded as an insult in Japan. And were you to leave a five-dollar bill on a British bar, the bartender would likely chase you down, assuming you'd forgotten it. Besides, dollars in London? C'mon.

In the good ole USA, however, tipping is often an adjunct to poor wages. While we can all debate why that's seriously messed up--and why Utah has kept their meager $7.25 minimum wage since 2009--tipping is customarily expected pretty much everywhere in this country. One issue that arises: tips not given due to lack of understanding. Someone who'd be horrified at stiffing a waiter all-too-often forgets to tip the more "hidden" servers who also contribute to a good experience, such as housekeepers and cloakroom attendants.

That's where Allset, a Lehi-based startup (not to be confused with AllSet, the "wait-free dine-local" app, or All Set, the boutique events company), comes into play. For $90 a month, Allset sells tipping text reminders. For example, shortly after a housecleaner leaves, the customer's phone will ping: "To leave a tip for our hardworking team, reply with $75, $20, or a custom amount ..."

Allset reports that 16 percent of customers respond to their text-message guilt trips with a tip, $25 to $33 on average. Since the app debuted, it's helped create a 300 percent boost in...