What Is Startup Cedar? Quick Answer
Startup Cedar is a free entrepreneurship hub in Cedar City run by Southern Utah University's Business Center with Southwest Technical College and The Nucleus Institute. It opened on August 25, 2025, and on October 8, 2026, SUU published its first-year numbers (July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026): 112 startups supported, 1,076 counseling sessions for 172 people, $1,492,142 in participant-reported revenue, $219,580 in startup funding secured, 127 jobs created and 6,803 event attendees. Founders in Cedar City and Iron County can get one-on-one counseling, use a free maker space with 3D printers and laser engravers, and compete for seed money through the Hive Accelerator and the State Bank Business Challenge.
| First-year result (July 2025 to June 2026) | Number |
|---|---|
| Startups supported | 112 |
| Counseling sessions | 1,076 (172 individuals) |
| Participant-reported revenue | $1,492,142 |
| Startup funding secured | $219,580 |
| Jobs created | 127 |
| Event attendees | 6,803 |
What Founders Get
"Startup Cedar creates one place where entrepreneurs are able to receive real, tangible support," said Joni Anderson, executive director of the SUU Business Center, in the university's announcement. In practice that means:
- Counseling: one-on-one sessions on business plans, pricing, funding and operations. The 1,076 sessions in year one work out to about six per client.
- The Business & Innovation Center: free access to 3D printers, laser engravers, a digital media studio and meeting space in Cedar City.
- The Hive Accelerator: seed funding plus a six-month intensive for selected startups.
- Competitions and events: the annual State Bank Business Challenge, an annual Makeathon, and two major speaker series. The program will also host the ISBCom 2027 conference at SUU on May 1-2, 2027.
- Technology commercialization: a new faculty fellowship, held by Dr. Prosenjit Chatterjee, to help turn campus research into companies.
The announcement's example is Rich Carlson, founder of Canyons & Crags, who used the center's equipment and counseling to cut his per-unit production cost from about $25 to $14.80 and to shrink an engraving step from nearly three minutes to 23 seconds. Those are the kinds of small manufacturing fixes that decide whether a side project in a garage becomes a business with payroll.
Why Cedar City
Cedar City was named the nation's top small city to start a business in 2024 and has stayed near the top of those rankings in 2025 and 2026, according to SUU. The city has a few structural advantages for founders: lower rents than St. George, a university and a technical college within a mile of each other, I-15 freight access, and a growing base of outdoor, aerospace and manufacturing employers. SUU was also selected by NASA in August to run a statewide aerospace workforce hub. The gap Startup Cedar fills is the stretch between an idea and a bank-ready business, where a founder needs equipment, a prototype and someone to check the numbers before taking on debt.
For St. George-area founders, the nearest equivalents are the Utah Tech business programs and the Small Business Development Center, and the networking groups in our Southern Utah business networking guide. Our business startup guide covers licensing, the Utah OneStop registration and local requirements across Washington and Iron counties.
How to Get Involved
Startup Cedar's programs are listed at suu.edu/startup. The SUU Business Center is the point of contact for counseling, and the Business & Innovation Center in Cedar City is open to the public for maker-space use. Founders who want to pitch should watch for the State Bank Business Challenge and Hive Accelerator application windows, which the program announces through its site and SUU's news page. Campus and community events are on our Cedar City events page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Startup Cedar?
A free entrepreneurship support program in Cedar City, Utah, launched August 25, 2025, by Southern Utah University, Southwest Technical College and The Nucleus Institute. It offers business counseling, a maker space, an accelerator with seed funding, and competitions.
How many businesses has Startup Cedar helped?
In its first year, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, the program reported 112 startups supported, 1,076 counseling sessions, 127 jobs created, $219,580 in startup funding secured and $1,492,142 in participant-reported revenue.
Is the Business & Innovation Center in Cedar City free?
Yes. SUU says the center offers free access to 3D printers, laser engravers, a digital media studio and collaborative meeting space.
Source: Southern Utah University, "Startup Cedar Helps Local Entrepreneurs Generate Nearly $1.5 Million" (Oct. 8, 2026). Photo courtesy of Southern Utah University.
