At first glance, Utah’s growing tech industry can seem daunting and oversaturated to a new college graduate. But while the software and IT industry accounted for over 67,4000 jobs in 2023, Utah tech leaders are saying there’s still room for more, and the skills they’re looking for may surprise you.

A major driving force behind Utah’s exponential tech growth is nonprofit organization Silicon Slopes. Governed by a board of community leaders looking to empower Utah entrepreneurs, the nonprofit will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025. Abiding by core values of learning, connecting, and serving others, Silicon Slopes was born after its founders realized Utah’s tech community needed more talent, awareness, and capital. Today, it is driven by the goal of supporting Utah entrepreneurs with the tools they need while attracting incredible new talents to the state.

While engineers, programmers, and business-savvy employees are always essential to a successful tech business, Silicon Slopes CEO and co-founder Clint Betts is exploring a different perspective. When asked what he would advise students to study in preparation for Utah’s tech industry, Betts simply said, “Learn how to read and learn how to write.”

Upon first analysis, Betts’ advice seems hypocritical to the world’s recent focus: artificial intelligence (AI), a newer sector that’s top of mind for countless people and at the forefront of Betts’ thoughts.

“I think the progress, growth, and innovation happening there [in AI] is unprecedented. I think it’s probably more important than the internet.”

But Betts’ advice for future Utah tech employees to focus on refining humanities-based skills actually goes hand-in-hand with the common conversations taking place around AI. One thing Betts is sure about is the high value of skilled communicators in the coming years of Utah tech. He explained that, while he believes AI will replace the mundane aspects of humanity, “There’s going to be a premium on being able to communicate. If you can communicate and sell a vision, you’re going to be ahead more than becoming a programmer.”

One of the early iterations of Silicon Slopes, before officially becoming a 501(c) (3) nonprofit in 2015, boasts primarily written roots. Before navigating the world of event planning and hosting successful annual summits welcoming the likes of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and other tech titans, Betts wrote a blog called Beehive Startups that covered Utah tech achievements and created a rare community for empowering traditionally solo-operating entrepreneurs.

“No one could tell the stories of what was happening in the state of Utah in tech,” Betts explained. He added that in addition to the general lack of coverage before 2015 around Utah’s tech industry, “Tech people aren’t great at telling or describing or explaining what they do.”

While the Beehive Startups blog has taken shape into the bigger, shinier Silicon Slopes we know today, the Utah tech community Betts initially fostered has flourished and provides fantastic support for up-and-coming Utah entrepreneurs.

One of the contributors to the growth of Utah business is Utah Valley University (UVU). The university is the top producer of local entrepreneurs in the nation and the site of Silicon Slopes’ 2025 summit. Leading the university toward the future is President Astrid S. Tuminez. A seasoned academic with vast industry experience and a focus on workforce preparation, Tuminez echoed Betts’ sentiments on communication while discussing UVU’s MBA partnership with Silicon Slopes and the university’s Innovation Academy.

“The bottom line is that students learn to communicate, collaborate, and design a project, […] and they will be more prepared for the world of work,” Tuminez said.

With UVU’s emphasis on the values of exceptional care, exceptional accountability, and exceptional results, combined with Silicon Slopes’ mission to surround entrepreneurs with the community and resources they need to succeed, the duo produces well-rounded graduates in all disciplines who enter the workforce with relevant, real-world experience.

This partnership is an especially great resource for Utah Valley students looking to join the future of Utah’s tech industry. A former UVU student himself, Betts has high regard for the camaraderie that permeates universities in Utah Valley and beyond.

“I think universities are really great, because whenever you have a community [..] all striving in the same direction, something magical is going to happen there,” Betts said. “That’s the magic of a university.”

"We’re the best at community. I think Utah’s the entrepreneur capital of the world because of that." 

— Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts

Whether you’re choosing the “magic” of a university or pursuing your education in a different way that works best for you, Betts and other tech CEOs are emphasizing the importance of honing your craft and keeping your unique perspective rather than conforming. When answering the million-dollar question “What are Utah tech CEOs looking for in employees?” Betts shared that in addition to self-starters who can effectively communicate, leadership in tech is going to be discovered within “people who can think, create, innovate, and do things outside the box that even the CEO wouldn’t have thought of.”

Utah and its groundbreaking tech history has something that makes it an ideal place for Silicon Slopes and tech in general to expand. Like the connections that grew from the Beehive Startups blog into Silicon Slopes and the student support systems found in UVU classrooms and beyond, Utah has a sense of community that Betts is proud of.

“We’re the best at community,” he said. “I think Utah’s the entrepreneur capital of the world because of that.”