The Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business welcomed 20 founders into the award-winning Master of Business Creation (MBC) program starting spring 2024. They will be accelerating their startup companies in this rapidly growing program with help from personalized mentoring, applied curriculum, generous scholarships, access to grants and more.
The founders started 18 companies and are enrolling in MBC Online option, which is a virtual, flexible and part-time experience that spans three semesters. Some of the startups have more than one founder in the program.
The new founders joining the MBC program have already made progress establishing their companies and are looking to increase sales and attract investors, among other goals. See a complete listing of the startups and founders below.
“We are always impressed with the founders who join the MBC program and the potential of their startups,” said Paul Brown, co-director of the MBC program and a professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy. “We look forward to working with the new cohort and giving them all the resources, information and connections they need to reach their goals. We expect the program to help them reach their business and career potential.”
The application is now open to join the MBC Online and Full-Time programs in fall 2024, starting in August. The preferred application deadline is March 20 for priority scholarship consideration, and the general application deadline is June 15. Space and scholarships are limited, so early applications are encouraged. Apply and learn more here.
“We welcome anyone with a startup to explore what the MBC program offers and consider the ways we can help you improve your business plan, sharpen your revenue model and position your startup for long-term success,” Brown said. “We have many experienced professionals helping teach the lessons and providing one-one-one coaching for the startups in the program. The founders also learn a lot from each other as they trade ideas and expertise.”
The Eccles School created the MBC program to blend the best attributes of a top-tier business curriculum with a startup accelerator. The founders develop their startups during the program while taking classes from leading experts and receiving extensive resources and mentorship to help them address their immediate business needs.
The founders in the program are all entrepreneurs focused on creating a new business through applied curriculum, practicum labs and learning by doing.
The MBC program is one of the latest additions to the Eccles School entrepreneurship program, which is ranked among the top-10 in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Among other awards, it received the “Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation” award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers for 2024.
Krystal Christensen is one of the new founders in the MBC Online program from Riverton, Utah. She is the founder of Utah Medical Massage & Wellness, which offers therapeutic and medical massage as a form of complementary alternative medicine. Their therapists help patients by taking assessments, co-creating goals and developing customized plans to help people get out of pain and stay out of pain.
“My company is important to me because it allows me to help people in really meaningful ways,” Christensen said. “Now more than ever, people are turning to wholistic and sustainable methods to manage their health and wellness. It is the most rewarding thing to meet a person in pain and give them back a part of their life that brings them joy and fulfilment.”
She enrolled in the MBC program to gain the knowledge, tools, and mentorship to take her business to the next level.
“The MBC is unique because it is made for the creators – the people who love seeing something delightful and helpful come together,” she said. “It goes further than other programs because it allows founders the opportunity to not only learn about business, but to apply that toward something meaningful and that they are really passionate about.”
Christen chose the MBC Online format because of the flexibility it offers her to grow her business from anywhere and between her other commitments. “The online option allows me to work towards something exceptional and challenging while still tending to my personal, family and work needs,” she said.
Kory Fluckiger, of Woodruff, Utah, is another new founder in the MBC Online program. He is the co-founder of Space Gnome Studio, which provides game design, consulting, art production and development service for small, independent game studios. The company also focuses on educational games.
“The specific niche of educational games is sorely underserved when it comes to fun, great-looking titles,” Fluckiger said. “I am passionate about gamified education and want to raise the bar.”
He is a serial entrepreneur and joined the MBC program to fill some of the gaps he has in his experience.
“It is truly one-of-a-kind in education as the teachings, theories and techniques are put into immediate practice and application,” Fluckiger said. “I am not studying things to one day apply to a business. I am directly applying what I learn to my current business, have access to a great network, and have consultants on my business that I could never afford at this stage otherwise.”
Another founder joining the program, Sharon Salmon, of Park City, Utah, is the founder of High Top HR, a human resources consultancy agency, offering comprehensive people services tailored to individual’s and organization’s needs. From talent acquisition and performance management to employee training and development, High Top HR provides expert guidance and solutions to optimize a workforce.
“People are the heart and soul of an organization,” Salmon said. “There is a complex relationship between people, business needs and customers. I enjoy solving problems and helping each interchange of these complex relationships work better together.”
She expects the MBC program to help her grow and scale her company and overcome many business challenges.
“I am great at helping others, but I needed the MBC program to scale my business into a long-term sustainable practice, to help more people and organizations,” Salmon said. “The fact that this program functions similarly to an incubator but does not take a portion of our business is beyond valuable. They intend to help us, not to put their interests above ours. It feels more wholistic and puts the full responsibility on us to own our success.”
She was also attracted to the low cost of the MBC program. “There is no other master’s program in the U.S. from a reputable university that is affordable,” Salmon said.
Learn more about the Master of Business Creation program and apply at eccles.utah.edu/mbc.
MBC Online Founders Spring 2024
Here are the startups and founders that enrolled in MBC Online program starting spring 2024 (in alphabetical order by company):
- 7th House Tattoos – (Leith Strachan, of Magna, Utah) – Tattoo studio.
- Delos Industries (Cameron Van Waggoner, of Provo, Utah) – Light-gauge, steel-framing manufacturing. Panelized construction company building homes in the developing world.
- Dune Automotive/ Pro Auto Films (Zachary Hale, of Murray, Utah) – Car detailing and customizing.
- Helios Fitness & Wellness (Ari Weinstein, of Heber City, Utah) – High-end wellness facility.
- High Top HR (Sharon Salmon, of Park City, Utah) – Fractional human resources business. People operations consulting and coaching.
- Honu Medical (Bruno Silva, of Saratoga Springs, Utah) – Proactive medical clinic to address heart disease and diabetes.
- Intellition (Annie Davis, of Salt Lake City) – Autonomous drone solutions for ski resorts.
- Mahalo Car Share (Zully Davila Ameneno, of Spanish Fork, Utah) – Car rental services in Laie, Hawaii. With hourly and daily rates, they provide a convenient way to reserve a vehicle online, giving you the freedom to pick up and go anywhere.
- McClain Youth Foundation (Shanrika and Munir McClain, of Coto de Caza, California) – Youth athletic foundation.
- Muscle Works Chiropractic (Kyler Mahoney, of Layton, Utah) – Novel chiropractic care through a specialized muscle-activation technique, delivering results for optimal performance and wellness.
- Ovation Health (Eric Danielson, of Bountiful, Utah) – Providing onsite health services for employers with an emphasis in musculoskeletal health care. Onsite employer-based chiropractic and physical therapy services.
- Space Gnome Studio (Kory Fluckiger, of Woodruff, Utah) – Full-service art production studio. A contract game design, development and art production studio.
- Utah Medical Massage & Wellness (Krystal Christensen, of Riverton, Utah) – Medical massage and wellness business. They provide complimentary orthopedic medicine to help people optimize wellness, manage pain and rehabilitate after injury or surgery.
- Wasatch Optimal Wellness Clinic, WOW Clinic – (G. Bryant Salmon and Benjamin Fogg, Heber City, Utah) – Outdoor-sports-oriented Heber wellness clinic.
- We Rock DM (Tricia Ulberg, Spicewood, Texas) – Austin-based website design and digital marketing agency.
- What if Jewelry (Brie Wahlstrom, of Centerville, Utah) – Sustainable custom jewelry.
- Yesui (Tsenduren “Cindy” Tumnee, of Lehi, Utah) – Small business connecting the Mongolian community.
- TBD (Aleksander “Alek” Hender, of Layton, Utah) – Lifestyle clothing company.
About the David Eccles School of Business
The Eccles School is synonymous with “doing.” The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers nine undergraduate majors, four MBAs, eight other graduate programs, a Ph.D. in five areas and executive education curricula. The School is also home to 12 institutes, centers and initiatives that deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.
About the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute
The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is a nationally ranked hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Utah and an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business. The first programs were offered in 2001, through the vision and support of Pierre Lassonde, an alumnus of the Eccles School and successful mining entrepreneur. The institute now provides opportunities for thousands of students to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation. Programs include workshops, networking events, business-plan competitions, startup support, innovation programs, graduate seminars, scholarships, community outreach and more. All programs are open to students from any academic major or background. The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute also manages Lassonde Studios, a five-story innovation space and housing facility for all students. Learn more at Lassonde.Utah.edu.
