UTFC Invests $350K in Fast-Growing Rocky Mountain Community Directories; Phone Directory Business Has Produced More Than $1 Million in Sales in First Year

Business Wire, Oct 13, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY -- UTFC Financing Solutions, LLC today announced a $350,000 investment in Rocky Mountain Community Directories, a Utah County startup that produces phone directories focused on suburban communities in Colorado.

The Orem, Utah-based firm (www.rockydir.com) offers consumers targeted listings in close proximity to their homes and offers companies an advertising channel they may not have been able to previously afford. In its first year in the publishing business, the firm has distributed three directories for Denver suburbs and produced more than $1 million in advertising sales.

"This company is led by hard-working, hungry managers with integrity and solid character," said UTFC CEO Steve Grizzell. "They have found a niche in a very profitable industry with room for new competition."

Rocky Mountain Community Directories co-founders Rob Crawley and Mike Sego, who have five more directories in production, will use the funding to produce three additional books, which would have taken an extra 12 to 18 months to fund through operations.

"With the funding from Steve Grizzell and UTFC, we can reach our economy of scale more quickly," said Sego. "In order to be profitable in our industry and to meet our growth requirements for the future, we must become an even more efficient organization. With this investment we are able to reach that level where our ability to produce products can outweigh our cost. We are excited for the opportunity to leverage Steve's skills in addition to his resources."

The firm, which was named "Best One Year Company" by the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum earlier this year, is improving on the ideas of its larger competitors, said Crawley.

"Their pricing is restrictive to small businesses," he said. "We offer a more affordable alternative that is just as effective."

The cover of each community's book features a painting from a local artist. The directories include community information from chambers of commerce, coupons, restaurant menu guides and reverse listings that allow users to determine who belongs to the unfamiliar number on their caller ID.

In an industry where establishing a new directory can be difficult with increased competition, Rocky Mountain's first directories, distributed in July and August, saw great acceptance and success, said Crawley. "An independent research firm also found widespread acceptance of our directories from users in the initial areas."

"The printed yellow pages industry is a great business," said John Richards, longtime yellow pages veteran and now a faculty member at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management. "I think Rocky Mountain Community Directories is poised for success."

UTFC Financing Solutions, LLC is a small business investment company (SBIC) in Salt Lake City that fills a unique niche in the market, providing the needed capital to start and grow businesses. It specializes in funding new businesses with little operating history and provides up to $500,000 in subordinated debt to startup companies in and around Utah. Read more at www.utfc.biz.