I understand that he poured a lot of money into the Las Vegas startup ecosystem in an attempt to mimic the success of Silicon Valley and had borrowed some concepts from what was happening in with Silicon Slopes.
I got the impression that he was a lone Atlas pushing a rock up a hill in Vegas, and the startup ecosystem he envisioned never really caught on. It doesn't surprise me that he moved to Utah at the end. They seemed to be accomplishing what he had been trying to do alone.
I didn't like the way Utah was moving though, and I left right before he got there.
I lived in Provo. I saw John Curtis run several large businesses out, and most relocated north. Then he became a representative for the whole region.
I feel that he is a deeply corrupt individual who makes backdoor deals with his buddies. I also don't trust the judges there.
I went to the FBI with evidence of some of the corruption I uncovered, but was told point blank that corruption in Utah was so deeply entrenched that there was very little they could do about it.
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good people there. There are also some very convincing liars and slick talking con artists. (There is a reason why Utah is home to so many sales based companies)
I started to feel like there was no room to breathe there. Real estate prices were skyrocketing, and I couldn't see a path forward for several of my projects that required large spaces.
There was a huge influx of venture capital that was supporting these inflated prices on real estate and talent, but I never wanted to go that route, so I was priced out.
I fund everything I do with family money, and keep 100% ownership.
TL;DR: It's hard to get ahead when you feel the game is rigged.
I got the impression that he was a lone Atlas pushing a rock up a hill in Vegas, and the startup ecosystem he envisioned never really caught on. It doesn't surprise me that he moved to Utah at the end. They seemed to be accomplishing what he had been trying to do alone.
I didn't like the way Utah was moving though, and I left right before he got there.