Q&A with Josh James.

• Author: James, Josh
• Position: Interview

UTAH BUSINESS EDITORS SPOKE TO JOSH JAMES ABOUT ADOBE'S $1.8 BILLION ACQUISITION OF OMNITURE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO UTAH'S GROWING TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY.

UBM: DO YOU SEE ADOBE'S ACQUISITION OF OMNITURE A BOOST OR A HURDLE TO THE STATE'S TECH INDUSTRY?

JAMES: The acquisition is another example that Utah can grow great companies. Adobe is a huge software company in the world and when a company like that comes along and says that it's interested in a Utah company and in our market, that's a good thing for the state.

UBM: HOW DOES THE ACQUISITION AFFECT THE SILICON SLOPES CAMPAIGN?

JAMES: [The acquisition] reinforces the idea that you can build world-class companies here in Utah. It provides a reflective look at all these up-and-coming companies and reinforces to the rest of the world that a company in Utah can acquire other companies and become one of the fastest-growing public companies. It also reinforces the fact that there are strategic advances to doing business in Utah. One of those advantages is our employee base-we have a young, hard-working, educated employee base in Utah.

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UBM: WITH SUCH A STRONG ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT, UTAH HAS POTENTIAL TO BECOME A NATIONAL TECH LEADER. WHY AREN'T WE THERE, YET?

JAMES: I don't agree that we don't have enough venture capital or the right infrastructure here to make Utah a great [tech community]. I think the challenge is we don't have enough angel investors to help entrepreneurs get started. But once you get through that initial fire, world-class VCs will come to our state-they're more than happy to get on a plane and invest in the best companies that will give more return to their shareholders.

What I also think we need is time. We need more time for more companies to grow into big companies. So many Utah companies get to $10 or $20 million and then sell. That doesn't help build Utah's brand [as a technology hotspot]. We need companies to grow to $100, to $200, to $300, to $400 million in revenue. That takes time.

UBM: WHAT DOES THE ACQUISITION MEAN FOR OMNITURE EMPLOYEES?

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