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v|100 peer selection
I received an email from Dennis Wood at v|Spring indicating that I’ve been selected as a semi-finalist in this year’s v|100 - along with about 500 other people. I made the cut last year…thanks for the props.
The 2008 list looks a lot more competitive than the 2007 list. Yes, you still have your academics, lawyers, government-types, self-promoters, etc but there are way more qualified people than not on the list. The list is a really good showing of the “who’s who” of Utah tech.Â
I stated before that I really wanted to nominate and vote for people who really fit the bill. The basic criteria are:
Individuals who are most likely to lead a successful venture as CEO or CTO in the next 5-7 years in IT or Biotech industries.
Additional considerations:
Individuals do not currently need to hold titles of CEO or CTO
Individuals need not have current involvement in a start-up
Individuals should have ties to Utah, but are not required to be a Utah resident
You have ten choices. Soooo who to vote for? I thought I would list everyone I voted for here but then I thought that might piss off some people. So I want to profile four of my ten picks:
Blaine Nielsen
Blaine is the new CEO at Doba. I think this is his first year on the list. I elected Blaine because he’s a smart dude. He also has to put up with Hanks shiz on a daily basis so that alone should be enough to get him a win.
Benoy Tamang
Benoy is the CEO at HookSell. Signs my paycheck = vote from Chris
Bill Kennedy
Bill is the CFO at Tomax. I used to work for Bill at another company and thought I better vote for him after all the crap I put him through (TreeHouse lawsuit, crazy tenants, a bunch of other stuff he knows nothing about, ahhh the memories!). Besides that, he’s a pretty dang smart CFO-type who has the capability to pull his nose out of spreadsheets and really figure out what’s going on.
Kimo Esplin
Kimo is the CFO at Huntsman. I met Kimo at Westminster when he served as a mentor in the Master Track program. The dude is ultra smart. I think if anyone in Utah has the capability to take a company from zero to one billion in the next five years its Kimo. So if you get a chance to hang out with Kimo - DO IT. You won’t be disappointed.
My other six nominees are all great people as well. Who could they be 
At any rate, best of luck!
The list was daunting, but there were a few on there who definitely deserve some recognition above the typical people who win it because of name familiarity.
Left by Russell on 02/12/2008@ Russ:
Agreed!
Left by Chris Knudsen on 02/12/2008Chris,
I was surprised when I found out I had been nominated. The idea of a lawyer making the list had not even crossed my mind. But please, do you have to lump us in with academics, government-types and self-promoters?
Left by Rand on 02/12/2008@ Rand:
You’re right. You are far superior than those mentioned. At least you own and operate your own business…right?
Left by Chris Knudsen on 02/13/2008Yes, but I will acknowledge that most attorneys - especially those in large firms - really do not operate a business. They often hire someone to operate it and are more employees with an ownership interest.
I once ran into a friend from lawschool who works very long hours at a “prestegious” firm. One day we were talking and he told me he would be terrified to have a shop like mine. I asked him why and his response was that while he worked long hours, all he had to worry about was legal work. He said he could never handle worrying about collections, advertising, hiring, etc. So there is a plus side to being ADD.
Left by Rand on 02/14/2008@ Rand:
That is really interesting. I think I might write more about that sometime. Its something I’ve thought about a lot over the years.
Left by Chris Knudsen on 02/15/2008