Nutritional supplement firm leads Utah Valley entrepreneur list

PROVO — From nutritional supplements to distilled spirits, the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum named its "Top 25 Under Five" Thursday, spotlighting successful companies that started up in the last five years.

Agel Enterprises, a multi-level marketing, nutritional supplement supplier based in Lehi that delivers its product in gel form, was named as the number one performer.

"This is a great place to start a business and a great place to nurture a business," Timothy Robinson, the company's director of communications, told the group gathered at the Novell Campus.

Other businesses in the top five are Imagine Learning Inc., Provo, which provides English literacy programs; Local Results, Salt Lake City, which helps businesses get placed on Internet search engines; High West Distillery & Saloon, a Park City business that distills and markets small batch whiskeys and vodkas; and Funding Universe, a Web-based company based in South Jordan that helps match entrepreneurs with investors.

John Pilmer, 2010 chairman of the UVEF, said the 25 businesses were responsible for generating $195 million in revenue and 900 jobs over the last year.

"These companies not only demonstrate impressive growth in these early years, but do so during the greatest recession of our lifetime," Pilmer said.

Other businesses recognized include: SEO.com, Bluffdale; Simply Mac, Salt Lake City; FamilyLink.com, Provo; EnticeLabs, Provo; Pounders Hawaiian Island Grill, Midvale and Logan; Jive Communications, Orem; Campus Book Rentals, Ogden; Kynetx, Lehi; Parallel HR Solutions, CFOwise, Pleasant Grove; KT Tape, Orem; Xcelus, Provo; Fiftyfilms, American Fork; Qualified Address, Provo; and Izatt International, American Fork.

? — Marc Haddock