Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Qualtrics, Ancestry, Chatbooks, Cotopaxi and Lifetime Products are big Utah success stories.
- These companies started in basements and garages and ended up transforming industries globally.
- They embody Utah's entrepreneurial spirit, growing locally while impacting the world significantly.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns have always been builders. It's in our bones. From settlers shaping towns out of sagebrush to tech founders wiring ideas from basement offices in Provo, we've never waited for permission — we just get to work.
But the rest of the world doesn't always know the names behind the scenes — those who traded comfort for vision; who built quietly, passionately, until one day they weren't so quiet anymore.
Here are five companies that started right here in Utah — and went on to change their industries. Some started in garages, others around kitchen tables, but all of them prove one thing: Utah builds.
1. Qualtrics – Provo
From a father-son basement project to an $8-billion global company.
It started in a basement — just a professor and his son trying to make academic research easier. But what they built was much bigger. Qualtrics quietly evolved from a survey tool into a revolutionary platform for experience management, helping companies like Microsoft, Under Armour and JetBlue understand what their customers, employees and users truly feel.
By the time SAP acquired it for $8 billion in 2018, Qualtrics had redefined an entire category — and it did so without ever leaving Utah.
The most impressive stat is that Qualtrics turned down a traditional Silicon Valley path and chose to grow in Provo. There, it hired thousands of people and helped put Utah County's "Silicon Slopes" on the map.
2. Ancestry – Lehi
Helping over 40 million people discover who they are — and where they come from.
Utah is no stranger to genealogy, but Ancestry transformed it from a niche hobby into a global phenomenon. With cutting-edge DNA testing and the world's most extensive collection of historical records, this Lehi-based company has helped people across the globe reunite with lost family, uncover their roots and even solve mysteries generations in the making.
What started as a small publishing company in the 1980s is now a tech-driven storytelling machine valued at over $4.7 billion.
The most heartstring-pulling detail is that countless adoptees have reunited with biological family members through Ancestry's DNA services. It's tech, yes, but it's deeply human.
3. Chatbooks – Provo
Because a mom wanted an easier way to save her kids' memories.
When Vanessa Quigley realized she had thousands of photos of her kids on her phone — but no photo albums — she and her husband built the solution themselves. What started as a small, scrappy idea grew into a beloved brand that's helped millions of families turn digital photos into tangible memories.
Chatbooks is more than a photo app. It's a love letter to moms everywhere, who are trying to hold on to the little things before they die.
Most relatable moment: Their viral "Real Mom" ads struck a chord with millions of women — funny, honest and refreshingly real. It's a Utah-grown brand that feels like home.
4. Cotopaxi – Salt Lake City
Do-good gear with a mission baked into every stitch.
You can spot a Cotopaxi backpack from across the airport — bright, bold, unmistakable. But it's not just about looking good. Cotopaxi was founded with a social mission: to fight extreme poverty. Every purchase helps fund education, health and livelihoods for underserved communities around the world.
This B Corp started in Salt Lake City, proving that building a business and making a difference don't have to be separate goals.
The most Utah-like detail is that Cotopaxi is named after a volcano in Ecuador — but it breathes a blend of mountain adventure and heart-forward service that's so core to Utah culture.
5. Lifetime Products – Clearfield
Started in a garage. Now it's in backyards across the country.
In 1986, a dad in Clearfield wanted to build a better basketball hoop for his family. So he did. That first homemade hoop turned into Lifetime Products — now one of the largest manufacturers of basketball equipment, folding tables, kayaks and outdoor furniture in the world.
Still headquartered in Utah, Lifetime is a rare gem: a massive, globally recognized brand that never outgrew its roots.
The most jaw-dropping stat is that the company's Clearfield facility is over 2.6 million square feet — and still growing.
Utah: We build quietly, but powerfully
Behind all of these companies is a story of perseverance, risk, long nights and deep faith in something not yet visible.
They didn't need to move to San Francisco or chase clout on the coasts. They built where they were planted. And they didn't just build businesses — they built legacies.
So the next time someone asks, "What's in Utah, anyway?" — you'll know exactly what to say.
We're a land of builders. And we always have been.
