A week of business development courses and networking opportunities is on the slate for Prince George firms, especially the ones looking to change and adapt for future success. It is Innovation Week from Nov. 25 to 29, presented by the Innovation Central Society.
The list of events includes a mentor panel followed by a Startup Drinks mixer at 7 p.m. at the Copper Pig in partnership with Startup Prince George, both on opening day. In the days after that, a venture acceleration meeting will be held, a focus session on growing capital, a coffee chat on Nov. 26 from 8 a.m. until noon at Zoe's Coffeeshop, and another "Growing Capital" seminar to close the week out.
Some of the special guests coming to lead these discussions include Randy Thompson of VA Angels, Kirk Hamilton of the BC Innovation Council, Ean Jackson and Al Werenko, both of New Ventures BC and Prince George's own Will Cadell of SparkGeo leading the public sessions.
It's the first time ICS has arranged a set of different business development and innovation stimulation events all in one window.
"It's a chance to get our name out there, even though we've been active in the community for some time now," said ICS's Marja Sheare. "ICS is here to help businesses be the best they can be, but we need to be known in the broader business community, in the general public, to be successful at that."
"Being able to bring in this business development talent is hugely valuable," said ICS's board chair Sean Simmons, whose business, Goldstream Publishing and its anchor publication Angler's Atlas, is a Prince George start-up that has relied heavily on both traditional and technology-based modes of marketing and delivering their products.
"When I was just starting up, I had to travel to Vancouver to source the kind of advice I needed to operate a business and build it on sustainable ground. That takes trustworthy advice and feedback. We have that coming here to us, and we are a city that's ready to embrace innovation," Simmons said.
Several of the events require pre-registration, and some are emphasized for members of the ICS community. That is an open invitation, said Sheare, so contacting ICS to take part in the various sessions is encouraged.
Two of the events, the Startup Drinks and the Coffee Chat sessions, are open to the public with no need to register in advance.
