As ‘Unicorns’ Emerge, Utah Makes a Case for Tech Entrepreneurs<br />“With no outside funding, there’s no lifeline and you have to figure it out on your own.”<br />One reason for the growth, said Mark Gorenberg, a venture capitalist with Zetta Venture Partners in San Francisco, is the emphasis<br />that some start-ups have placed on data analytics — a growing field that has helped put the state on the map.<br />Last month, for example, several founders worked until 3 a.m. at Mr. Smith’s home, organizing a January conference meant to coincide with the Sundance Film Festival in Utah — an effort to create a tech<br />and entertainment conference similar to the annual South by Southwest festival in Austin, Tex.<br />“Founders viewed their companies like they’re building the family business or a farm — they’re building them to keep,” said Ryan Smith, the founder of Qualtrics, a data analytics company<br />that focuses on surveys and other research for corporate and academic clients.<br />Mr. Smith’s father, Scott, started Qualtrics in 2002 to help businesses measure customer<br />and client satisfaction; the younger Mr. Smith joined the nascent company while an undergraduate at Brigham Young University after doctors diagnosed cancer in his father (who has since recovered).
