Startup Guide Salt Lake
7 min read
alt Lake is a region known for world-class ski resorts and breathtaking natural beauty. It’s also one of the US’s largest tech hubs, often referred to as Silicon Slopes. Major tech companies including Adobe and Intel/Micron Flash Technologies have offices here, and the city is making a name for itself as a supportive home for new ventures.
In 2019, Inc. rated Salt Lake City as one of the two hottest startup hubs in the country, along with Austin, Texas. In the same year, Forbes ranked it as one of the top five best cities for tech jobs. To learn more about Salt Lake’s quickly growing ecosystem, check out Startup Guide Salt Lake.
So where do all these exciting new ventures work from? Salt Lake has some innovative and original coworking spaces that are ideal places to put the hours in, meet like-minded people and attend industry events. With locations in former churches, wagon factories and more, these are some of the region’s most inspiring coworking spaces.
📍370 S 300 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Church & State cofounders Ron Heffernan and Thomas Lee, both entrepreneurs and startup investors, initially wanted a physical space for their own companies to grow and mature. The idea evolved into a workspace for entrepreneurs and like-minded people to work and build a community together. Ron and Thomas found a historical church in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City and turned it into a space where people could build their businesses, learn from one another and receive the support that startups often need.
Church & State is a nonprofit business center, but more importantly, it’s a place for collaboration and creativity. Team meetings, networking and investing happen regularly in the incubator space, and many successful businesses have gotten their start with Church & State.
It’s a modern and comfortable place with offices and desk spaces, as well as a large chapel hall where up to 400 people can gather for events. The chapel area is furnished with a unique mix of stained glass and industrial elements. There’s a full kitchen for event food preparation, a gym and lots of natural light in areas designated for coworking. Offices and desk spaces are available to rent on a monthly basis, with 24/7 access. Additionally, there are common areas, desk spaces and meeting rooms available at no extra cost and on a drop-in basis.
📍7984 S 1300 E, Sandy, UT 84094
Salt Mine Productive Workspace, often known simply as Salt Mine, is designed with productivity in mind. For years, Salt Lake lacked the physical office and coworking space to support the growing startup community. David Edmunds, the founder of Salt Mine, saw a need and an opportunity to create a coworking hub to bring people together. The location draws people from downtown Salt Lake City to Park City, and David considers its regional draw and central location to be the space’s special sauce.
Salt Mine helps entrepreneurs, freelancers and startups to be productive. “We’re not doing our best work when we’re in silos,” says David. "When you work in collaboration, you have true productivity.”
The workspace relied on peer-reviewed research to determine what makes people most productive, including the mix of private and public areas, music types, decibel and temperature levels, and even the appropriate height of desks for ergonomic elbow angles and body positioning. “We’ve considered holistic well-being,” explains David. "You’ll find things here that you won’t find elsewhere, like a wellness program that offers a gym membership next door, a medical program in the plaza and dental and vision coverage."
As a key meeting hub and with the fastest fiber internet this side of the Wasatch Front, Salt Mine is a great place for the whole community to come and collaborate.
📍150 S State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Impact Hub Salt Lake is housed in an old wagon-manufacturing plant that was built in 1903. Much of the original architecture has been preserved: hardwood floors, lacquered pillars and an open floor plan with a mezzanine. As in Impact Hubs throughout the world, the minimal design is purposeful, made to provide a casual, comfortable and beautiful alternative to more corporate-feeling coworking spaces.
“[There are] five coworking spaces within three city blocks of us, which is an indication of not only the growth of our city but also the demand for adaptable work environments,” says the director of Impact Hub Salt Lake, Heidi Gress. “It's important to select a space that is best for you and your company’s goals."
Although the global brand, which is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, was founded in 2005, Impact Hub Salt Lake didn’t open its doors until 2013. Since then, it has strived to be active in the community and meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including ensuring that the building has LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Members have access to networking and social events as well as entry to all Impact Hubs across five continents.
📍10 West Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Industrious believes that flexible office space should cater to more than millennials and startups. At locations across the country, it offers professional work environments for mature clientele. “We’ve created a space for people to feel creative, inspired and productive,” says Lindsay Dunsmore, the Utah, Colorado and Arizona area manager for Industrious. “We take care of the little details so our clients can do their best work.”
The office provides amenities such as daily breakfast, twice-a-week happy hour, a fully stocked cafe and a rooftop where community events are hosted. Industrious aims to offer an elevated experience for clients beyond what they could get in their own office. The emphasis is on private office space combined with a community vibe to promote networking among a diverse set of companies. There are only ten slots for coworkers, and Industrious doesn’t offer day passes.
“We find that clients want a professional workspace with a hospitality touch,” says Kristen McCann, the community manager at the Salt Lake City location. Industrious Clift Building is located at the heart of downtown and comprises two stories of a historical building erected in 1909.
[Read more: 6 shining coworking spaces in LA.]
📍159 West Broadway #200, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Mustard-colored chairs, large windows, pillars clad in reclaimed wood adjacent to exposed brickwork, and a pop of natural greenery here and there all make up the stylized design of Work Hive, the oldest coworking space in Utah. The space is located in the historical Broadway Lofts building in downtown Salt Lake City, built in 1901 as the J.G. McDonald Chocolate Company; it relocated here in April 2019 after six years in the Crane Building.
The space includes private offices, dedicated desks, three conference rooms, three phone rooms, a kitchen and a lounge area. In addition to all the amenities of a modern office, members have access to bike storage, printers and visitor parking, and there are plenty of restaurants and shops within walking distance.
📍90 S 400 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
At Gateway 1 WeWork, you’re greeted by plush Prussian blue couches and hardwood floors complemented by varnished bookshelves and exposed ductwork. What makes this coworking space special is its, as the old adage goes, location, location, location. Sited at The Gateway – a retail, entertainment and office complex that bridges downtown Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front – there is a plethora of shopping and dining options in the neighborhood. The bright, open space has inspiring views of beautiful cityscapes and mountain peaks.
“We entered the Utah market [in the summer of 2018] and have since opened four locations. The first was in Lehi in July 2019, followed by three in Salt Lake City,” says WeWork community director Ryan Smith. “That's almost a combined forty thousand square meters of floor space in Utah.”
He explains that the offices are home to a range of professionals: from one-person startups to a Fortune 500 enterprise. He also highlights the charm of WeWork: “One of the great things is that once you’re a member, you can access any WeWork in the world,” explains Ryan. “It’s a great perk for those whose jobs require travel.”
Original content by Aaron Gerry, Emily Fonnesbeck and Steven Rodas.
Repackaging by Hazel Boydell.
All photos: Startup Guide Salt Lake
Want to know more about Salt Lake’s startup scene? For more in-depth information about the coworking spaces above, as well as the best startups, universities, programs, investors and key experts, order a copy of Startup Guide Salt Lake.
