This past year has been an enormous one for FinTech in Utah Valley. Galileo, Finicity, Acima, and Divvy all have been acquired for roughly $6 billion. Fintech and tech companies as a whole are increasingly choosing Utah and Salt Lake City specifically as the basecamp to establish their operations. The Utah Center for Financial Services (UCFS) was recently featured in an article about financial [...]
It often seems like team meetings result in some voices being heard, while others are completely overlooked. Similarly, sometimes credit is misassigned to someone who didn't actually offer up the idea. The phenomenon is a concern to many, and particularly women and people of color. However, the use of amplification, publicly endorsing someone's idea while giving credit to that person, can give underrepresented voices [...]
The seventh annual Sorenson Impact Summit with SOCAP Global took place May 25 through May 27. The summit featured three days of inspirational conversations around innovations in impact investing, building equitable entrepreneur ecosystems, the future of higher education, and using data to drive impact. This year, the summit gathered virtually, with the objective of delivering a more inclusive and accessible summit. For three days, [...]
On Friday, June 2, University of Utah experts and health researchers came together to discuss how scientists and others mobilized to learn more about COVID-19 and to combat the epidemic. University of Utah scientists discussed their research and addressed the numerous unanswered questions emerging from the COVID-19 crisis. Two of the experts who spoke during the event were Taylor Randall, dean of the David [...]
University Venture Fund II has joined lead investor Christian Angermayer’s re.Mind Capital, an SPV sponsored by Peter Thiel, German entrepreneur Tim Sievers, and with investment advice from local investor LDD (Lead Dog Development) in closing a $10 million financing round for Blackrock Neurotech, the world’s leading platform for brain-computer interface (BCI) technology and manufacturing. “The impact Blackrock is making through BCI technology is transformative,” [...]
Poets & Quants has named the Eccles School's Jonathan Brogaard to its annual 40 Under 40 Professors list. Brogaard, a professor of Finance, currently teaches Advanced Finance in the Executive MBA program. "I get pretty excited about teaching. It is a lot of fun, and I hope that comes across to the students," Brogaard said. "It is probably corny to say, but the process [...]
It has long been known that credit cards encourage spending — but no one knows exactly why. New research from Sachin Banker, assistant professor of Marketing, helps shed some light. “You’re basically feeling more reward when you shop with credit cards,” he said. “We don’t see that with cash. It was actually a very stark difference.” Get the full story in The Wall Street [...]
A heart attack made Jonathan Frostick re-evaluate his life priorities, and while recovering, the British man wrote a now-viral post on LinkedIn where he vowed to find a better work-life balance. We become so attached to our job identity that we will work long, arduous hours to protect it, Eccles School Professor of Management Glen Kreiner told New York Times. “Sometimes, that’s why it [...]
Women of color are driving small-business growth during the pandemic. But many are missing out on help such as the Payroll Protection Plan offered by the federal government, despite having applied. “All of us in economics and strategy are predicting an enormous surge in economic activity due to pent-up demand,” said Lyda Bigelow, associate professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the [...]
Congratulations to both the undergraduate and graduate teams for their respective 2nd place wins in the national Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Case Competition. A total of 11 undergraduate and 11 graduate teams participated in the national competition, which was held virtually. The student teams analyzed ethical issues surrounding a tech company preparing for an IPO. They had a few weeks to prepare the case. [...]