Entrepreneurs Say It’s Easier To Do Business In Wyoming

The business community is bullish on Wyoming as the state sees more startups and venture capital deals—even without counting the recent data center boom. “Things are easier to do in Wyoming versus the rest of the world,” said one business owner who relocated here. At a crowded entrepreneurship conference in Riverton, Gov. Mark Gordon predicted “incredible boom times,” noting that Wyoming invented the modern LLC and has pioneered digital banking and AI-era regulations that are national models. “Virtually anyone can approach any of our leaders,” he said, an advantage larger innovation hubs cannot match.

The most concrete signal comes from the Wyoming Venture Capital “deal flow” report. In 2019, the Wyoming Business Council program tracked 12 venture-style deals. By 2024, there were twice as many. Last year, when Microsoft rolled out its gBeta Wyoming accelerator program, there were 35 deals. “We added 11 deals to last year, which is almost as many as we had in 2019,” said Investments Director Bert Adam. Since inception in 2020, gBETA alumni have created more than 230 jobs, raised $42.7 million in follow-on funding, and brought $58 to Wyoming for every $1 invested by Microsoft.

Sam Seeton, founder of Infinite Outdoors, moved his company from Colorado to Casper. “We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the Wyoming ecosystem,” he said, highlighting open access to programs at the Business Council, Department of Workforce Services, and the university. “You just get better attention to help you grow a lot quicker,” he said. “Whereas in Colorado, you might not even qualify for those things.”

One big challenge remains: angel investors. Power Theory’s Luke Macy found startup funding from the Kickstart Grant Program ($5,000 to $50,000) but said there is a “chasm” after accelerator phase. “That just almost doesn’t exist,” he said of the $50,000 to $200,000 funding range. Blossom Ko Lumley of Startup Wyoming prepared a report finding weak “ground conditions” for growth-oriented companies, including capital gaps and difficulty hiring specialized talent.

Estate Scribe founder Tyler Bass has committed to finding investors who actively want to place bets on smaller towns. He has raised $250,000 and said Wyoming has been “fantastic.” “Everybody has been, ‘Oh yeah, let’s grab coffee. Yes, let’s jump on a Zoom meeting.’” Manufacturing Works Director Rocky Case said manufacturing has reached 6.5% of gross state product, with momentum expected to continue. Brian Gross, who has built factories worldwide, said Wyoming is always among his top choices. “Any business filing, almost everything is online,” he said. “If I have a problem I can’t solve in Wyoming, I can easily go to whatever state office and meet a person who will walk me through the issue.”

Gaps are still real, but founders increasingly say Wyoming is not just where they want their business to be—it is the right place.