Utah is widely known for its culture of business growth and energy for entrepreneurship. The campus of BYU is no exception to this culture and is proving to be an incubator for hatching future entrepreneurs.
iHUB, the innovation hub of Utah, is located on Freedom Boulevard in Provo, just two blocks from BYU campus.
Founder of iHUB, the BYU Marriott School of Business adjunct professor and serial entrepreneur, Corbin Church, said the location of the hub is completely intentional because “Utah County breeds entrepreneurship."
The nonprofit organization was created to guide aspiring entrepreneurs as they launch startup businesses in Utah County.
“Before iHUB, I spent over a year trying to figure it out alone. Since joining, everything’s changed,” Nic Blosil, a BYU graduate in business management, said.
Blosil is also a founding partner of the Dental Property Group, a Utah based real estate company group for Dental Support Organizations.
He spent months researching independently with little progress until he found the support he needed at iHUB.
It was there he finally found the resources he needed, while surrounded by a handful of others with the same goals.
iHUB was founded by Church in April 2024 with the mission to guide new startups and help entrepreneurs navigate the early challenges of business development.
“We've got this mentality in Utah of serving that doesn't exist elsewhere," Church said. "I'm capitalizing on students who are accustomed to serving their neighbor and tapping into their entrepreneurial spirit.”
For many BYU business students and graduates pursuing entrepreneurship, iHUB provides the support needed to chart their course.
That was the case for Will Rogers, who is now a founder of VXnta, an AI company that began by automating pest control services.
“The energy [there] is real,” Rodgers said after officially starting his business this past April.
iHUB currently partners with more than 300 mentors and provides intellectual properties (IP) help, legal, accounting, development, AI specialists and weekly networking services.
One of its newest initiatives is ASE (Aspiring Student Entrepreneurs) for students to connect with experienced founders and mentors with untouched business ideas.
The ideas are sitting on the shelf yet to be built, so students have the opportunity to use that as the starting ground for their business career take-off.
Rogers credited Church for providing crucial mentorship in this process.
“He has built something truly meaningful for entrepreneurs in Utah Valley,” Rodgers said.
iHUB’s slogan is “turning dreams into reality,” a phrase that reflects Church’s motivation for founding the hub after his successful business career.
“I’ve built this to say thank you,” Church said. “I find far more happiness watching others find success, it means everything to me.”
Another BYU business student, Josh Curtis, launched Pocket Vending, a startup that digitizes the vending and snack experience, thanks to connections made through iHUB.
“It’s the environment there, they believed in me and wanted me to succeed," Curtis said. "No one will turn you away if you are willing to work hard.”
He discovered iHUB through a BYU class Church taught for more than 10 years.
After visiting the hub, Curtis was paired with a mentor and given tools to validate his idea, formally register his business and start the LLC process.
Curtis said the last year of his business journey “would have taken a lot longer and would’ve been a lot more difficult,” without the help of BYU and iHUB combined.
Young founders, business students and entrepreneurs are offered the resources and community needed to launch their ventures at iHUB.
“This place is divine,” said Church. “It has been guided by God since the beginning.”