OGDEN -- After spending most of his young career in a secure government job, Landon Halverson is ready to be his own boss.

Having no experience and limited knowledge of business ownership, Halverson turned this year to the Junto Partners program, a relatively new approach to finding, developing and funding Utah's top entrepreneurial talent.

"Having set hours and a steady paycheck is convenient, but I recently found myself wanting something more," the 36-year-old Ogden resident said. "I don't think you can just learn entrepreneurship, but this is a good way to see if I have what it takes without investing years of my life."

Junto allows aspiring entrepreneurs to essentially compete for business startup funding. Greg Warnock, a top Utah venture capitalist and entrepreneur, created the program in 2004 as a way to attract "high-energy, young, fearless entrepreneurs" that may not have the financial means or experience to develop a successful business.

"There are a lot of people out there who have what it takes mentally: The ability to focus and concentrate, the willingness to work long hours, and a natural curiosity," Warnock said, "but they lack business experience and access to capital."

That's where Warnock and MarketStar Chairman Alan Hall, who joined the program as a sponsor in 2005, come in. Both have good track records as entrepreneurs and are actively involved in venture capital and other private business funding activities.

Warnock is managing director of vSpring Capital, a Salt Lake City-based venture capital fund with a portfolio of about $200 million. Hall is chairman of Ogden-based MarketStar Corp. and founder of Grow Utah Ventures, a relatively new venture fund in which Warnock is also an adviser.

Warnock and Hall provide the funding that comes at the end of the program. From a pool of about 35 students in two groups, Warnock selects five from each group whom he deems to have the most potential. Each "winner" receives $50,000 in seed money.

Warnock said Junto is meant to serve a talent pool that remains largely untapped by larger venture capital funds and other investors.

"No venture capital firm is going to fund a single entrepreneur with no track record," he said. "This is a completely different category."

The term "Junto," which means "together" in Spanish, comes from a group of the same name started by U.S. founding father Benjamin Franklin in 1727. Franklin and a group of friends would meet once a week to discuss modern topics, with the goal of mutual improvement.

The program is held once every year in late winter and early spring. In addition to a weekly four-hour meeting for seven weeks, participants must complete a variety of real-world assignments outside the classroom.

The students are currently designing service projects and organizing business networking events, for which they are expected to find sponsors on their own.

The students work in groups for the first few weeks, after which the competition becomes one-on-one.

"Junto is raw competition for dollars," Warnock said. "The curriculum is delivered as a more experiential approach. I'm not sure universities can provide the same experience."

Dustin Stanger, a 24-year-old senior majoring in finance at Weber State University and current Junto student, said the program complements his university studies.

"The hands-on projects make it sort of like an internship, but it's unique," he said. "The real-world experience is really helpful."

While there is no specific age requirement for Junto, participants typically range from their 20s to late 30s. Students are split into two groups, one that meets at Weber State and another in Salt Lake City.

Applications are taken in December and January for the class, which begins in February. There are no fees for course materials or tuition, and Warnock even brings dinner for everyone at the meetings.

However, admission into the program is competitive. Between 80 and 90 people applied for 35 spots this year.

At the end of the current session, Warnock said he and Hall will have invested more than $1.3 million in the program since its inception.

"The second year was significantly better than the first, and a lot of that was due to Alan joining on the sponsorship side," he said. "With his help, it just keeps getting better."

Funding from Junto has so far launched 15 companies. About a third of those have surpassed the $100,000 revenue mark. Another third are grossing up to $100,000, and the remainder are still in early development stages.

A survey of Utah entrepreneurs conducted by Warnock last year found the average startup business takes almost two years to become self-sustaining. That doesn't include the 60 percent of all startups that fail.

"You hear anecdotes about those that find success immediately, but in general, it takes at least several months to take it from a mental spark to a stable business that is bearing its own costs," he said.

Hall said the model Junto provides could help boost the overall local economy by introducing new talent into the market -- talent that may have otherwise gone undiscovered.

"It's another way to grow the economy in Utah," Hall said. "It's about developing entrepreneurs, not businesses."

While Junto students are excited about learning firsthand from one of Utah's top entrepreneurs, Warnock said he and Hall may benefit the most from the undiscovered talent they meet through the program.

"These really are special and unique people," he said of the students. "To have a mechanism that brings us all together is a real honor for us. It allows us to participate in the success they would have had anyway."