MicroFund, Major Impact

Jen Wright, Marketing & Communications

From gumballs to volleyballs, and from churning butter to building community, the Wildcat MicroFund helps Utah’s everyday entrepreneurs bring their dreams to life.

The Wildcat MicroFund started small in 2018, focused on helping Weber State students, faculty and staff get funding for their business ideas. With support from America First Credit Union, it’s grown into a statewide program that has helped hundreds of Utah small businesses.

The MicroFund was conceived within the John B. Goddard School of Business & Economics. Brandon Stoddard, director of the Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center; James Taylor, director of the Technology Commercialization Office and Office of Sponsored Projects; and their former colleague Patrick Thomas wanted to expand support for entrepreneurs.

The trio worked to create the MicroFund as a lower rung of funding — grants range up to $3,000 — to help early-stage entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground.

“We are geared toward the everyday entrepreneur, the people in your community who need funding that’s not available through traditional banking, and need expert guidance to help them flesh out an idea and to launch and grow their business,” said Catherine Holbrook Clark, who has managed the MicroFund since 2021.

While money is always helpful, it’s the MicroFund process that may be most valuable. Applicants advance through several stages: filling out the application, creating a business plan, building a pitch deck, and, finally, making their pitch to judges who award the grants.

Everyone who meets the minimal participation criteria in their application is paired with a mentor — usually someone from a local Small Business Development Center — who helps them with the other pieces. At each stage, applicants submit their work and receive feedback until they get the green light to advance.

“This process helps the entrepreneur hone in on, ‘This is what I’m selling. This is whom I’m selling it to. Here’s why I’m pricing it this way,’” Holbrook Clark said. “A lot of entrepreneurs start a business and get ahead of that step.”

She encourages MicroFund applicants to take advantage of the mentoring and resources available. “I think some people approach this thinking, ‘I just want to get the money. And I want to go through this process as fast as I can,’” she said. “But believing in the process is incredibly helpful and beneficial for their business. We are trying to set people up to succeed.”

Student Startup: Outdoor Volleyball Club

Brothers Dalton and Jackson Kohl, both juniors at Weber State, take their roles as ambassadors for the Weber Entrepreneurs club seriously — so seriously that they are already running their own business, with help from the Wildcat MicroFund.

“We both submitted ideas to the MicroFund and agreed that whatever got picked, we would go in on together,” said Jackson, 23, a business administration and psychology dual major. “Dalton’s idea got more traction, so we went that way.”

Business administration major Dalton, 26, pitched his vision for the Outdoor Volleyball Club. “We both grew up playing volleyball, and we love outdoor grass volleyball,” he said. “But there aren’t many organizations in Utah that set up leagues and tournaments.”

His successful pitch was rewarded with a $3,000 MicroFund grant in August 2023, and they used it to buy equipment for 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 tournaments they’re organizing across the state.

“Our plan is to continue to apply for the MicroFund to grow our tournaments and do some marketing,” Dalton said. MicroFund applicants can receive grants three times, for a total of up to $9,000.

The brothers see a lot of potential in their startup.

“When you grow up playing sports but don’t go on to play in college, it’s hard to find that competitive outlet,” Jackson said. “This will help fill that gap.”

With the Utah High School Activities Association adding boys volleyball to its sanctioned sports for the 2023–24 school year, Dalton anticipates interest will continue to grow. “Our eventual goal is to have tournaments across Utah every weekend,” he said.

The MicroFund application process has been an excellent learning experience, they said. “There are a lot more opportunities out there to help you start a business than you think,” Jackson said. “There is free money, and resources and people who can help.”

Dalton added the mentorship was a huge benefit. “In class, we learn and talk about hypotheticals: what could happen, what we could do,” he said. “But this has been a hands-on experience of all the things we’re learning.”

Butter by Baylee: Mountain Born Creamery

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people started new hobbies. Baylee Sorenson conceived a new business.

By June 2021, the former medical benefits insurance professional and mother of two young kids had a new career: making and selling small-batch premium butter.

“Really good dairy and dairy products should be locally and regionally based,” said Sorenson, 33. Originally from Erda, Utah, she has lived in Ogden since 2019 and rents a small commercial kitchen space there. “We want to make butter and eventually other dairy products, and do it Utah-style.”

That means sourcing cream from Utah dairies and using a small churn — purchased with a grant from the Wildcat MicroFund in early 2021 — to turn it into butter. She kneads and presses it by hand, experiments with recipes to create seasonal flavors, and sells products at local farmers markets, neighborhood shops and through the creamery website.

“Farmers markets are the best,” Sorenson said. “I love meeting my customers face to face, along with all of the other people who are out there making and doing incredible things with their own ideas.”

Owning a small business is also exhausting. “The biggest challenge is the mental game you play with yourself,” she said. “There are so many ups and downs to having your own business.”

Balancing business with motherhood — her children are 4 and 7 — adds to the challenge. “Sometimes it feels impossible,” Sorenson said. “But I think about things like: ‘What am I modeling for my daughter and son? Am I demonstrating what my core values are to both of them?’”

To handle it all, she reminds herself to slow down and not everything will be perfect.

“You can’t be an entrepreneur and just work 40-hour weeks. It doesn’t happen that way. So you have to step away and be good with that. Am I going to be rich tomorrow? No. But am I setting myself up to have a good business five years from now? Yes, I think so.”

Norma’s Familia Nueva: Oaxaca en Utah

Norma Carver felt alone when she first arrived in Utah in 2008. But 16 years later, she’s brought together a vibrant community of her own — and for many others.

Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, she had been living in Wisconsin with family until she got married and moved to Kaysville. Today, Carver, 42, is the founder and executive director of Oaxaca en Utah, a nonprofit organization that celebrates the diversity and traditions of her original home.

As she traveled around Utah for her photography business, Carver met people from Oaxaca and other Mexican states, and from other countries. She began to think about ways to bring people together and came up with the idea to celebrate La Guelaguetza, an Oaxacan festival.

“It’s a beautiful event when the diverse people of Oaxaca come together and bring their food, textiles, beautiful dresses, music, everything to share with the whole community,” Carver said.

Her first La Guelaguetza in Utah was held in 2020 for 30 close friends. In 2021, they opened it to the public at a park near Carver’s home, and about 550 people attended. “That gave us the opportunity to think bigger for the next year,” she said. They began fundraising by selling food and holding raffles.

Carver also began the process to formalize her organization by registering with the state as a nonprofit in early 2022, with the help of Flor Lopez, program manager at the Suazo Business Center, a business resource center for Latino/Hispanic and other underserved communities. And La Guelaguetza kept growing: In July 2022, it drew more than 7,000 people. And, in 2023, 15,000 attended the daylong festival.

As La Guelaguetza has grown, so has Oaxaca en Utah. The organization welcomes people from all cultures: Some of its 35–40 regular volunteers come from Oaxaca and other parts of Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and Guatemala. “We love to have everybody come and embrace our culture and be part of who we are,” Carver said.

Oaxaca en Utah is often asked to give cultural presentations across the state. It also receives invitations to participate in community events and parades, and to lead Dia de los Muertos celebrations — which is what led Carver to the Wildcat MicroFund.

When organizing a 2023 celebration at Myers Mortuary in Ogden, Carver wanted to make it as authentic as possible. “We already have beautiful, colorful outfits,” she said. “But I wanted to do all the outfits in black and white, which is the traditional way.” Enrique Garcia, an employee at WSU, pointed her toward the MicroFund, and Carver’s successful pitch allowed the organization to purchase clothing from Mexican artists.

“I went to Oaxaca in October for vacation and was able to meet the people who made these outfits,” Carver said. “I’m grateful for them because they put in so much effort and work to make them special. And we really appreciate the MicroFund for making it possible.”

Looking forward, Carver hopes to find a home for Oaxaca en Utah. “We’re looking for sponsors, people who can help us build a cultural museum, where all the props and outfits are on display, and where people can come and have workshops about art, food, dialects, customs,” she said. “I have big dreams, and everything is possible if you work hard yourself and also work as a team.”

Quarters for Kyle: KL Vending Services

Kyle Lewis’ excitement and drive are obvious every time he speaks. They’re also helping power him into largely uncharted territories.

Kyle, 34, has a neurodevelopmental disorder and autism. After years of working in kitchens at restaurants like Wendy’s, Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse, he became the first person in Utah to take advantage of a state program that helps people with disabilities attain self-employment — and he’s getting his business off the ground with a boost from a Wildcat MicroFund grant.

KL Vending Services, LLC, began in April 2023. Kyle runs the business along with his mother, Lisa, and a job coach, Jory Cross. They focus on quarter-operated machines that vend gum, candy and toys.

“The reason we came up with vending is because Kyle loves keys,” Lisa said. “Ever since he was a kid, he’s carried around a big set of keys.”

Sure enough, when asked if he carries the keys to his vending machines, Kyle answers with an emphatic “Yes!” and produces a jangling set of keys hanging from a lanyard around his neck.

By the end of 2023, he had installed machines at four different businesses in Ogden and surrounding towns. “We want to stay local and support and work with local businesses,” Lisa said.

KL Vending Services received $2,000 from the MicroFund in October 2023, allowing them to pay off a loan that helped purchase their first two machines, as well as buy three others. Brad Lewis, Kyle’s father, appreciates how supportive the MicroFund has been. “They were so excited about this idea and wanted it to succeed,” he said.

While Lisa manages the books, Kyle and Cross handle the vending work. Cross is a job coach at the Ogden office of Community Options, a national nonprofit that supports people with disabilities. He spends four hours a week with Kyle collecting money and restocking machines, and also meeting with local businesses to find new locations.

“I want to help grow this the way Kyle wants, and it’s been going very well,” Cross said. “This is all about Kyle — he is what will make this business grow.”

Kyle is also happy with how it’s going: “I like being the boss,” he said. “I want to have a great business.”