Southern Utah Economic Alliance

What Southern Utah Economic Alliance does

Southern Utah Economic Alliance (So.Utah) is a nonprofit regional economic development organization headquartered at 111 Tabernacle Street, St. George, Utah. Founded in 1995 as the Washington County Economic Development Corporation and rebranded in 2024 following an expansion of its mission to serve all five counties of Southern Utah (Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washington), So.Utah functions as the unified coordinating body for economic development across the region. It serves four primary stakeholder groups: businesses seeking expansion, relocation, or establishment; cities and counties pursuing sustainable development; site selection consultants evaluating the region for their clients; and investors and partners contributing to regional growth.

The organization's core offerings include free site selector services (workforce data, available sites, custom reports, and local connections), business expansion and relocation support with incentive navigation, community and economic development services for local governments, and downloadable regional economic profiles (general and aerospace-specific). Its sole proprietary digital product is SizeUp Small Business Insights, a free online market research tool launched in March 2025 that provides hyperlocal industry and demographic data. Supporting resources include the long-running What's Up Down South Economic Summit (hosted for over 27 years) and a Razuna-backed investor collateral database. The organization does not develop proprietary technology; its competitive advantage is grounded in institutional relationships and regional coordination rather than technology.

So.Utah operates on a public-private partnership funding model, with revenue derived from county government contributions, utility partners, educational institutions, and private sector investors. All services are provided free of charge. The organization is led by CEO Todd Brightwell (former COO of EDCUtah and co-founder of Advisors Consulting Services), Marketing and Research Director Nicholas Dall (founder of The Elevens Group), and Operations Manager Nicole Black. The organization is governed by an executive committee and board of directors comprising all five counties, four higher education institutions, regional utilities, financial institutions, healthcare providers, logistics operators, and development partners. So.Utah maintains strategic partnerships with the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO), EDCUtah, and the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA), enabling coordinated access to state-level incentives, workforce training grants, and post-performance tax rebates.

Name

Southern Utah Economic Alliance

Legal name

Southern Utah Economic Alliance

Website

https://soutah.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southern Utah Economic Alliance (So.Utah) is a nonprofit regional economic development organization that coordinates business expansion, site selection, and community development across five counties in Southern Utah. It provides free consulting, market research tools, and incentive navigation to businesses, cities, site selectors, and investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Infrastructure, Housing & Community Development (BPAGABAL)

Keywords

• Regional economic development
• Business expansion support
• Site selection services
• Investor outreach programs
• Community development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint George

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Public-Private Partnership Funding: So.Utah operates as a regional economic development organization funded through public and private sector partnerships. The organization receives support from county governments, municipal entities, and private investors to drive sustainable economic growth across Southern Utah.
2. Investor Program: The organization maintains an investor program where public entities, business leaders, and stakeholders contribute funding to support economic growth initiatives. Investors receive access to collateral databases and regional economic intelligence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Southern Utah Economic Alliance (So.Utah) is a regional economic development organization that unifies five Southern Utah counties (Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washington) to drive sustainable economic growth. It provides hands-on business expansion and relocation support, site selection services with workforce and site data, community and economic development services for local governments, and free market research tools for small businesses. The organization is funded through public-private partnerships with county governments, municipalities, and private investors.

Product overview

The Southern Utah Economic Alliance operates as a regional economic development organization offering a portfolio of services rather than a single software product. The core offerings include: SizeUp Small Business Insights, a free market research tool enabling businesses to analyze competitors, benchmark performance, and understand customers; site selector services providing workforce data, available sites, and custom reports; business expansion and relocation support with incentive navigation; and community development services for local governments. Supporting resources include downloadable regional economic profiles (general and aerospace-specific) and the annual What's Up Down South Economic Summit. The organization also provides a collateral database accessible via Razuna for investor resources across its five-county region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SizeUp Small Business Insights A free online market research tool provided by So.Utah that gives entrepreneurs and businesses access to industry-specific, hyperlocal data. Enables users to analyze market conditions, benchmark performance against similar businesses, view demographic and spending data, and identify customers and suppliers.
• Site Selector Services Comprehensive site selection support including access to workforce data, available sites, custom data reports, site selector toolkits, and connections to local resources for companies and consultants evaluating locations in Southern Utah.
• Business Expansion and Relocation Support Hands-on support for businesses including expansion assistance, relocation guidance, incentive navigation, and connections to local resources throughout Southern Utah.
• Community and Economic Development Services for Local Governments Services for cities including data and research tools, project management guidance, economic development consultation, state-level coordination, and strategic introductions to site selectors, brokers, utilities, and education partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 10 in U.S. for economic momentum
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025UIPA works with local governments and private partners to bring infrastructure, incentives, and strategic planning to designated project areas. UIPA approved post-performance property tax rebates for companies like Hive Plastics (10% annual property tax liability for up to 25 years).
• Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024So.Utah works closely with GOEO to provide responsive support for expansion and relocation projects. The partnership includes access to workforce training grants, custom incentive packaging, and state-level coordination for qualifying projects.
• EDCUtahcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with EDCUtah for statewide economic development coordination, helping elevate business goals beyond local levels and connecting with statewide programs and resources.
• Washington CountycoreOthersWashington County is a founding member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Darren Prince serves as Executive Director of Economic Development for Washington County.
• Iron CountycoreOthersIron County is represented on the Executive Committee and Board. David Johnson serves as Director of Economic Development. Iron County includes key project areas like Iron Springs Project Area.
• Beaver CountycoreOthersBeaver County is represented on the Board of Directors. Matthew Sterzer serves as the economic development contact. Beaver County has rail-served industrial sites.
• Garfield CountycoreOthersGarfield County is represented on the Board. Kaden Figgins serves as the economic development contact. Garfield County is part of the five-county regional alliance.
• Kane CountycoreOthersKane County is represented on the Board. Kelly Stowell serves as Economic Development Director. Kane County is part of the five-county regional alliance.
• Southern Utah University (SUU)supportingOthersSUU is represented on the Board of Directors. As a major educational institution in the region, SUU provides workforce development and supports the growing labor pool.
• Dixie Technical CollegesupportingOthersDixie Technical College is represented on the Board of Directors, supporting workforce training and technical education for regional employers.
• Utah Tech UniversitysupportingOthersUtah Tech University is represented on the Board, contributing to regional higher education and workforce development.
• Southwest TechsupportingOthersSouthwest Tech is represented on the Board, supporting technical and vocational training for regional workforce needs.
• St. George Chamber of CommercesupportingOthersSt. George Chamber is represented on the Board, supporting business networking and regional economic advocacy.
• Dixie PowersupportingOthersDixie Power is represented on the Executive Committee, providing utility infrastructure coordination for economic development projects.
• Fort Pierce Business ParksupportingOthersFort Pierce Business Park is represented on the Executive Committee, contributing to industrial development and site availability.
• Tech RidgesupportingOthersTech Ridge is represented on the Executive Committee, providing technology and industrial development sites in St. George area.
• Intermountain HealthsupportingOthersIntermountain Health is represented on the Executive Committee, contributing healthcare sector partnership for regional quality of life and workforce considerations.
• Freeport WestsupportingOthersFreeport West is represented on the Executive Committee, supporting logistics and warehouse/distribution infrastructure development.
• BZIsupportingOthersBZI is represented on the Board of Directors, providing construction and development services for regional projects.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Idaho Department of Commerce: Idaho's primary state-level economic development agency with comparable business expansion, attraction, and rural community development programs; relevant Mountain West peer.
• Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED): State-level economic development office administering incentives and business attraction programs; comparable Sun Belt peer offering a competing tax/incentive environment for site selectors evaluating So.Utah.
• Arizona Commerce Authority: State-level economic development organization with a broader mandate and statewide scope than So.Utah; relevant comparable given overlapping Sun Belt geographies and similar incentive promotion activities.

Direct peers

• Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah): Statewide economic development corporation serving Utah; So.Utah's core partner and the most comparable organization given overlapping mission (business attraction, expansion, and site selection support) and shared leadership lineage (So.Utah CEO was previously EDCUtah COO).
• San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation: Regional EDC coordinating business attraction, expansion, and site selection across San Diego County and surrounding jurisdictions; comparable nonprofit/public-private partnership model and incentive packaging approach.
• Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC): Regional EDC serving the Phoenix metro (Maricopa County) and surrounding counties; highly comparable as a Sun Belt regional economic development organization pursuing business attraction in a fast-growing western metro.
• Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation: Regional EDC serving the Denver metro and surrounding counties; comparable regional collaboration model across multiple jurisdictions with data-driven site selection services.
• Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO): Utah's state-level economic development authority administering incentive funds, workforce training grants, and project coordination; a Core partner of So.Utah and operates an overlapping mission of business attraction and expansion across the entire state.
• Greater Houston Partnership: Regional EDC for the Houston region coordinating across multiple counties; comparable scale and Sun Belt business attraction focus aligned with So.Utah's regional competitive set.
• Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA): State-created logistics and economic development authority operating in designated project areas within So.Utah's five-county footprint; core partner providing post-performance property tax rebates and infrastructure planning for industrial projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SoUtahEA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soutah-economic-alliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Utah Economic Alliance