Fair showcases 34 Utah-based startup companies

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Utah startup companies came together Feb. 12 in the Wilkinson Center to offer internship and full-time positions for students of business and technical majors.

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The BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology organized the Utah Start-up Market Place fair at BYU that gathered 33 start-up companies that are looking forward to hire BYU students. Photo by Veronica Destro.

The Utah Startup Marketplace is a unique career fair put on by the BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. Wednesday marled  the sixth time the fair has taken place. Thirty-four startup companies from around Utah gathered in the Wilkinson Center, while the ultimate goal of hiring students.

Jeff Brown, director of the Rollins Center said the fair is for a specific audience, and it provides students the opportunity to talk directly with company CEOs and founders — a rare occurrence for many students.

“Students get to meet these Utah-based companies’ CEOs and to talk to them,” Brown said.

Future House Publishing, a publishing company that recently moved to Lindon, was represented at the fair and is currently looking to hire five to 10 students. Adam Sidwell, the owner of the company, is a BYU alumnus. Sidwell said he came to the fair because he is looking for BYU students to work for him.

“I know how BYU students are like, and we want them on my team,” Sidwell said.

Brown contacted BYU professors who believe in entrepreneurship and innovation previously to have them invite their students for the event. He also contacted on campus clubs and organizations that deal with business, mathematics and engineering.

David Sifuentes, a junior studying chemical engineering, heard about the fair through an entrepreneurship lecture and got a job offer.

“They offered me a technical job, and I will keep looking around (the booths) and see if I’m interested in other positions,” Sifuentes said.

According to Brown, most of the companies that attended were satisfied with the results of the fair.

“They felt like they found applicable talent for their companies,” Brown said.

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