Season 5 episode 8: This episode features a conversation with Ryan Starks, the new executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity; Brad Bonham, the state’s first entrepreneur-in-residence; and Pete Codella, managing director of business services at the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.  

The Economic Opportunity office facilitates fiscal opportunities for all Utahns by assisting entrepreneurs, retaining and recruiting businesses, and bringing high-paying jobs to Utah. In January 2023, Gov. Spencer Cox appointed Ryan Starks as the new executive director of his Economic Opportunity office. The governor also named Brad Bonham as the state’s first entrepreneur-in-residence.  

Starks shared his thoughts when Gov. Cox asked him to take the position as the executive director, Bonham discusses the governor’s approach to economic opportunity and the desire for Utah to be known as the startup state, and the office’s mission–to be stewards of the world's best economy and quality of life–and the facts supporting that claim. 

Bonham discusses what the term entrepreneur-in-residence means and his goals for the position, Starks explains how the state’s five targeted industries programs fuel economic opportunity, and the duo discusses what it means to future-proof Utah’s economy. They also discuss the challenges of economic prosperity, how the office strategically supports business expansion in rural areas of the state, and much more.