Utah could be on the verge of becoming a hi-tech hub

SALT LAKE CITY — About a decade ago, Utah was considered one of the emerging technology development incubators in the West. Firms like Novell and WordPerfect were making noise in their respective fields. Today, the state could be on the verge of another breakthrough, according to a Silicon Valley venture capitalist.

Michael Goguen, managing partner at Sequoia Capital, was the keynote speaker at a venture capital roundtable discussion Wednesday hosted by the Governor's Office of Economic Development at the Grand America Hotel. Sequoia was an original investor in numerous successful digital startups, including Google, YouTube, Cisco, Oracle and Apple.

Goguen offered an outsider's perspective on Utah for potential investment opportunities.

"Folks like us are starting to take more interest in a state like Utah because we're always interested in being shareholders in what will eventually be the most valuable companies, especially in technology wherever they germinate," he said. "We're noticing more and more interest in companies coming out of a place like Utah."

Goguen suggested that Utah create more "interconnectivity" among local venture capitalists and those on the West Coast and California's Silicon Valley. He said developing a more integrated state-to-state regional network could help Utah grow its business and technology base in a more timely fashion.

"The more interaction we can have, the better sharing of ideas and the earlier we'll find out about good companies to get involved in," Goguen said.

The private event, attended by venture capitalists from across the state and the country, was a chance to discuss Utah's current entrepreneurial and capital fund strengths, capital availability in Utah, and the state's image in venture capital investment circles, Gov. Gary Herbert said.

"There are some perceptions (about Utah) that are not equal with reality," Herbert said. "That comes with some misunderstanding and not really knowing the people of Utah or what we're doing here currently."

The governor said the state is trying to raise its profile within the business world so companies will consider Utah for expansion or other economic development.

"We learned that we have some work to do when it comes to marketing the state of Utah," he said. "But we lead the nation in (Small Business Administration) loans … we have this entrepreneurial spirit that's alive and gestating out there, so we just need to provide opportunities for an outlet for more (capital investment)."