Three Utah Conferences in Utah Next Week Will Examine Business, Growth, Life Sciences, Technology, and the Capital Behind Each

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

✅ Utah Business will hold its fourth annual FORWARD conference on November 10th in Salt Lake City, examining the infrastructure, leadership and growth challenges confronting Utah businesses.

✅ BioUtah will present the Utah Life Sciences Summit on Veterans Day, November 11th, featuring discussions of mergers and acquisitions, federal regulation, artificial intelligence and financing.

✅ The Nucleus Institute will stage n^Boost on November 13th at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, focusing on founders, investors and the path to building successful companies.

✅ Executives from PACS Group and Kelso Industries offer particularly revealing perspectives following major financial transactions recently examined by Utah Money Watch.

✅ Additionally, two other Salt Lake City gatherings are worth considering: This afternoon's The Salt Collection and Friday's Breakfast Palooza; and yes, I'll be attending all 5 events.

5 November 2026 — SALT LAKE CITY and OREM, Utah — Three conferences scheduled over four days next week will examine different sides of the same question: What does it take to create, finance and sustain a successful Utah business?

On Tuesday, 10 November 2026, Utah Business will present its fourth annual FORWARD conference, bringing executives, entrepreneurs and public-sector leaders to the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek.

On Wednesday, 11 November 2026 (Veterans Day), BioUtah will host its Utah Life Sciences Summit at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. The all-day program will bring researchers, medical-technology executives, regulators and investors together around one of Utah's most economically consequential industries.

On Friday, 13 November 2026, The Nucleus Institute will present n^Boost, convening founders, investors and experienced operators at Utah Valley University's Scott C. Keller Business Building in Orem.

Different organizers, different audiences, but closely related questions across all three events:
🟣 What constrains growth?
🟣 Where does the money come from?
🟣 Who controls it?
🟣 And what becomes of the wealth created when successful companies scale?

"How Much Growth Can Utah Sustain?"

That's the title of the 9:40am FORWARD discussion I've put at the top of my agenda for Tuesday.

Its participants include
🟠 Ryan Dalling of Geneva Rock Products,
🟠 Lisa Romney of Rocky Mountain Power,
🟠 Jamie Barnes of the Utah Department of Natural Resources,
🟠 With the discussion led by Brigham Tomco, Staff Writer of the Deseret News.

This discussion will consider such topics ranging from the needs and restraints of
🔶  Land,
🔶  Electricity,
🔶  Water,
🔶  Construction capacity, and
🔶  Regulatory approvals,
viewed through the lenses of
▪️ higher costs and
▪️ delayed projects,
challenges that may lead to realizations that certain investments may no longer make economic sense.

FORWARD's agenda also includes sessions on reinvention, artificial intelligence and organizational leadership, plus a luncheon exercise led by Clint Betts and Lindsey Ivie of Silicon Slopes.

Attendees will work through an actual problem facing a Start School startup.

Two Companies, But Two Very Different, Yet Successful, Capital Stories

Two speakers, one at FORWARD and another at n^Boost, offer unusually concrete examples of what happens when young businesses become major enterprises.

At FORWARD, Josh Jergensen, president and chief operating officer of Salt Lake City-headquartered PACS Group (NYSE: PACS), will discuss scaling a national post-acute healthcare business.

In its 3 November 2026 earnings announcement, PACS reported
✔️ $1.5 billion in third-quarter revenue,
✔️ 398 healthcare operations across 21 states, and
✔️ $403.8 million deployed on acquisitions during the first nine months of 2026.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: PACS launched in 2013 with two "nursing homes" in the greater San Diego, California area. Since then it has acquired nearly 400 different Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) across 21 states.}

As Utah Money Watch reported on 13 October 2026, co-founders Jason Murray and Mark Hancock also generated more than $725 million in combined gross proceeds through sales of personally owned PACS shares, while retaining substantial equity holdings.

The pair also lead PV3 Enterprises (a Utah-based, self-funded private equity firm), which announced several weeks ago that it had entered the largest ever philanthropic and commercial partnership with Brigham Young University Athletics. {AUTHOR'S NOTE: The commitment size was not disclosed.}

Conversely, at n^Boost, Steven Nicholson, co-founder and chairman of Draper, Utah-based Kelso Industries, is scheduled to explain how the company grew from zero to more than $1 billion in annual revenue ... in five years.

That presentation follows a transaction examined by Utah Money Watch on 21 September 2026 where Peterson Partners raised a $510 million continuation vehicle centered on Kelso, with more than $450 million committed by NorthSands Capital.

The funding vehicle allows investors to extend ownership and potentially provide both liquidity and capital for further expansion, but it was not a straightforward $510 million cash infusion into Kelso.

Kelso's roughly 40 acquisitions since its formation across the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services markets offer a useful counterpoint to PACS:
🔴  Different industries, but
🔴  Familiar challenges:
▪️ Deploying capital,
▪️ Integrating businesses, and preserving both
▪️ Culture and
▪️ Performance at scale.

The Life Sciences Summit: Where Regulation Meets Capital

Of the three events, BioUtah's Life Sciences Summit may offer the most concentrated discussion of how science becomes commercial enterprise, and how regulatory decisions shape the economics of getting there.

The 2026 Economic Report to the Governor counted
▪️ 1,581 life sciences establishments,
▪️ Nearly 40,000 direct employee jobs, and
▪️ $3.7 billion in wages during 2024 in Utah's Life Sciences ecosystem.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: Those figures exclude some additional Life Sciences employment outside the Report's narrower industry classifications.}

The Summit's published agenda lists an 8:35am town hall featuring Michelle Tarver, director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

An earlier Veterans Day tribute will be delivered by Chris Stewart, retired U.S. Congressman and former U.S. Air Force pilot.

For Utah Money Watch readers, the 9:25am discussion, Inside Utah's Recent Life Sciences Mergers & Acquisitions, may be especially compelling, as the lineup includes
🔷  David Bearss, Ph.D. of Halia Therapeutics,
🔷  Sunny Sanyal of Varex Imaging,
🔷  Rick Randall of Scientia Vascular, and
🔷  Shingo Ono of MC Dental Holdings America (Ultradent).

The agenda also puts artificial intelligence under scrutiny, including a morning discussion featuring representatives of Google Ventures and other technology organizations.

Meanwhile, Robert Spendlove, chief economist at Zions Bank, will deliver a late-morning economic outlook titled From Wall Street to the Wasatch.

Among other sessions I'm intrigued by is the National Security Considerations in Biotech discussion that features Thea Kendler of Mayer Brown.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've heard Kendler speak before, and she is super sharp.}

Additionally, and for transparency's sake, I am scheduled to participate at 2pm in the Summit's discussion, What Media Coverage Does for Your Company and How to Get It, alongside Catherine Bennett, executive editor of Utah Business, and Jennifer (Coltrin) Webb of ColtrinMethod PR, with Nate Gibby of BioUtah moderating.

Where the Next Generation of Growth Capital Comes From

The Friday program at n^Boost shifts the emphasis toward founders still building their companies, and the investors deciding which ventures warrant financial backing.

The Nucleus Institute is a state-created, nonprofit, quasi-public organization connecting researchers, businesses and investors.

Its ecosystem includes the Nucleus Fund, a $40 million state-backed evergreen investment fund focused on Utah deep-technology companies. Attending n^Boost, of course, does not guarantee access to that capital.

A particularly relevant 11:30am session (titled Inside the VC Partner Meeting), will bring together
🟥  Kat Kennedy of Kickstart,
🟥  Eric Hilton of Sorenson Capital, and
🟥  PT Ungvichian of Run Ventures,
for what I suspect will be a standing-room-only conversation.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here again, I've heard all three speak previously, and each is quite sharp. Should be a fun conversation.}

Another speaker, Paul Gu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ: UPST), will discuss his progression from college dropout to public-company leader.

n^Boost also offers 26 mentors and 15-minute individual conversations, which could prove more useful than any keynote to founders with specific financing or commercialization challenges.

One Executive Speaking/Presenting at All Three Conferences

An interesting connection runs through the three programs, as Dr. Bearss, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lehi, Utah-based Halia Therapeutics, is scheduled to speak at
▪️ FORWARD on Tuesday,
▪️ The Life Sciences Summit on Wednesday, and
▪️ At n^Boost on Friday.

At FORWARD, he'll participate in a morning Innovation track.

At the Summit, he'll discuss acquisitions and the practical challenges of building a life sciences company.

At n^Boost, he'll join Monte Deere of Kizik in a conversation about self-doubt and the challenges of entrepreneurship.

In other words, one executive, three settings, and a reminder that science, finance, management, and personal judgment are often inseparable.

Two More Business Gatherings Worth Considering, Starting Today

The Salt Collection: Relationships Behind the Deals

This afternoon, Thursday, November 5th, The Salt Collection will hold its sixth gathering from 4–6pm at The Vault in Salt Lake City. Organized by Maxwell Walters, the invitation-based event connects professionals in corporate finance, transaction advisory and executive services, many of whom help business owners navigate acquisitions, financing and other significant transactions.

I'll be attending because relationships like these often lead to interesting stories about Utah businesses, ownership changes and capital flows. Attendance is free, but space is limited and host approval is required. Registration and event details are available here.

Breakfast Palooza: Entrepreneurship and Connections

Tomorrow, Friday, November 6th, Breakfast Palooza will celebrate its third anniversary with Morph, a gathering running from 9am to 3pm at The Garden Place at Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. Hosted by Nathan Byrd and presented by Boss Strategy Global, the program combines entrepreneur networking, business discussions, entertainment and a mastermind experience focused on leadership and growth.

I'll also be attending this event, where the emphasis on relationships and entrepreneurship complements the more transaction-oriented Salt Collection gathering. Breakfast Palooza is a paid event and is reportedly nearing capacity. Ticket information and registration are available here.

A Jam-Packed, Nine-Day Schedule Offering Tons of Value

Depending upon where you fit in Utah's business ecosystem, I suspect you'll find at least one of these five events held between Salt Lake City and Orem will be well-worth your time.

Taken together, the conferences invite tougher questions than whether Utah is a good place to start a business, questions like:
⚫️ What limits growth?
⚫️ Who supplies the money?
⚫️ What does regulation cost?
⚫️ And who ultimately captures the value created?

As for me, all five will provide great value, but for different reasons.

I won't rehash each event here, but I will leave you with this:

If you see me at one or more of these events, please do say "Hello."

To me, it's the physical connection that is so crucial,
🔸 The handshake,
🔸 The "Bro hug," and even
🔸 The full-on abrazo.

Regardless, I hope to see you, connect, and/or catch-up.

David

Publisher's Note

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