Win Jeanfreau on Utah's Best-Kept Secret: Capital and Help for Small Business

By Win Jeanfreau, Serial Entrepreneur · October 28, 2026

In 2014, when I was directing the Small Business Development Center at Utah Valley University, I told the Daily Herald, "Utah Valley has an extraordinary resource that nobody knows about." More than a decade later, I'd say the same thing about the whole state. Utah has real money and real expertise available to small businesses, much of it free or close to it, and too many owners never ask for it.

I'm Win Jeanfreau, a serial entrepreneur. I've started 12 companies and sold 8 over more than 30 years, and from 2013 to 2018 I ran UVU's SBDC, Executive Education, and Business Resource Center. I've sat on both sides of the table: the owner who needs capital, and the advisor helping owners get ready for it. Here's what I'd want every Utah owner to know right now.

The news: the last round of USBCI money is open

On October 21, the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) announced that the Utah Small Business Credit Initiative has moved into its third and final funding tranche. The first two tranches put $44.8 million into Utah small businesses. Tranche 3 adds another $24.2 million.

The program is funded through the U.S. Treasury's State Small Business Credit Initiative, and it doesn't write checks to businesses. It works through enrolled lenders: banks, credit unions, CDFIs, nonprofit lenders, and economic development organizations. According to GOED's program page, there are two main tools:

GOED also notes that the program doesn't refinance existing debt, and every loan still has to pass the lender's own underwriting. This is not free money. It's easier money, for owners who show up prepared.

Why good programs go unused

When I ran the SBDC, our Orem center hit its annual metrics by mid-year, a record in the 35-year history of the Utah SBDC network. The help was there for anyone who walked in. The hard part, then and now, is that too many owners never know to walk in. That's why I called it a resource nobody knows about.

I see three reasons owners miss programs like USBCI:

  1. They assume "government program" means a grant with a mountain of paperwork. USBCI runs through your local lender. You apply at the bank or credit union, the way you would for any business loan.
  2. They think they won't qualify. CAP exists specifically for businesses with thin collateral, short histories, or limited equity. Those are the owners who most need to ask.
  3. They wait until they're desperate. The worst time to borrow is when you need the money next week. Lenders fund plans, not emergencies.

Capital is a tool, not a strategy

Before you call a lender, answer one question honestly: what is the limiting factor to growth in my business?

Addressing limiting factors to growth has been the center of my work with owners for years. If the constraint is equipment that can't keep up with orders, a loan may be exactly right. If the constraint is that you can't collect what customers already owe you, borrowing just feeds the problem. If it's sales, more capital buys you more inventory sitting on the shelf.

Borrowed money has to pay its way, the same rule I apply to technology and every other investment. Write down what the loan will fix, how much it will save or earn, and how long it will take to show up in your numbers. If you can't fill in those blanks, you're not ready to borrow. You're ready to plan.

Get capital-ready before you ask

GOED lists what lenders typically want: a business plan that explains the use of funds, financial projections that show repayment, recent business and personal tax returns, collateral for LPP loans, and credit history. None of that is exotic. All of it takes time to do well.

This is where Utah's other best-kept secret comes in. The Utah SBDC offers free, confidential, one-on-one consulting through 10 centers hosted by colleges and universities across the state. Its consultants help with business plans, financial projections, cash flow, and loan packaging. By the network's own count, it served 3,526 clients in 2025 and helped infuse $95.9 million in capital into Utah businesses.

GOED also funds a USBCI Technical Assistance program with low-cost legal, accounting, and financial advisory help for very small businesses (fewer than 10 employees) and for businesses owned by people facing economic, social, or geographic barriers to credit.

Here's the sequence I'd follow:

  1. Name the constraint. One sentence: what's holding growth back?
  2. Put a number on it. What does the constraint cost you each month?
  3. Build the case with free help. Book an SBDC consultant and work through the plan and projections together. Bring your last two years of financials.
  4. Pick a lender from the list. GOED publishes its directory of enrolled LPP and CAP lenders. Call one and ask about a USBCI-backed loan by name.
  5. Set a lead measure. Decide in advance what you'll track weekly to prove the money is working, whether that's units shipped, jobs quoted, or days to collect.

Don't wait for the last dollar

GOED's program pages say the LPP and CAP programs run through 2030, but this is the final tranche of funding. When it's deployed, it's deployed. If capital really is your limiting factor, the time to get ready is now, not when you read that the money is gone.

Over the years I've learned that opportunity is cheap and resources decide. Utah has put real resources on the table. The owners who benefit won't be the ones with the best idea. They'll be the ones who did the homework and made the call.

If you've used the SBDC, SCORE, or a USBCI lender, I'd like to hear what worked. And if you haven't, what's stopping you?

Related reading: How Small Businesses Can Make Technology Pay Its Way and Lessons from 40 Years of Starting Companies. More about Win Jeanfreau.

About the author: Win Jeanfreau is a serial entrepreneur based in American Fork, Utah.