"Their accomplishments and the growth of their businesses is just startling," he said. "As a venture capitalist, I think I am familiar with most of the businesses in the state, but these women have not sought venture capital, so they haven't been on my radar screen, and their accomplishments are just staggering. They're remarkable."

But that's what entrepreneurship offers, Warnock said: equal opportunity for success to anyone, regardless of sex, race or any other factor.

"Entrepreneurship provides an independent, self-determined way of life," he said. "It allows people who might not otherwise have that opportunity to be the captains of their own financial destiny. It's not a respecter of persons — entrepreneurship rewards performance and performance alone."

"There's a large contingent of women-owned and minority-owned businesses among entrepreneurs, because they're closer to an equal footing (as entrepreneurs). Nobody is standing in their way."

Allen said entrepreneurial spirit has helped Utah's business climate rebound from the downturns of recent years.

"I think it's better than it's ever been," he said. "We have great ideas, we have a lot more financial support for startup entrepreneurs with venture-capital funds and angel investors. We also have a lot more entrepreneurial training at the university level and in the business community.

"There's better infrastructure, so companies don't have to start out and sell out a few years later for a few million dollars. They have a good shot at going all the way, and by that I mean to an IPO (initial public offering) or to being a very successful large company."

Utah's culture

Warnock said Utah's homegrown culture also is entrepreneur-friendly.

"It seems to be that we have a dose of a 'Wild West,' frontier kind of a mentality in our cultural heritage," he said. "We have people with pioneer blood in their veins, and there's a fierce independence in our community, and a lot of those things drive entrepreneurship."

Brittain, who worked at business schools in Texas and California before coming here, said Utahns, native or not, tend to be ambitious.

"For people with a lot of ambition, Utah doesn't have a lot of big corporate opportunities," he said. "When you put together these ambitious people and the lack of really big companies, you get an environment that favors entrepreneurship."

Brittain said the availability of venture capital funding has never been better, and entrepreneurial education in Utah — both for college students and for people interested in starting businesses — also is a strong point.