A meeting tonight calls on investors or potential investors to work together to boost local business in the north.
There are a wide range of ways a person can obtain money to boost their business, or their idea for a startup. Those people look to options like traditional banks, credit unions, niche lenders like Canadian Western Bank and Business Development Bank of Canada, granting agencies, levels of government, and individuals.
These individuals have an established basket of money and the know-how to take on an investment arrangement with an upstart venture.
Anyone could theoretically do that, but there is a community of people who have a track record of success in business and/or experience providing their money in partnerships with other people's businesses. This is the group of people VA Angels is interested in meeting with in Prince George.
VA Angels is one of the largest private equity investment groups in Canada with more than $38.7 million invested in 130 companies and five chapters in Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Winnipeg, and Phoenix.
Owner and CEO Randy Thompson is coming to Prince George this evening to see if Prince George should perhaps be the next chapter. He is looking to hear from potential leader/mentor investors and he is interested in meeting with the business community about what their investment needs are.
In a discussion entitled Intro To Private Investing: Beneath The Pitch, the event will also feature the City of Prince George's Business Development Officer, Bahar Afshar; the CEO of Climate Change Disruptors, Pilar Portela; and a panel of local entrepreneurs discussing their needs.
"There are already incredible business ideas here, a lot of them are already up and running but they're struggling to get to the next level, or they haven't quite gotten off the ground yet. They could really use some seasoned perspectives, a mentor, someone who can steer them in the right direction, and sometimes they need actual financial investment," said Kim Scofield, a Prince George business consultant and tech analyst working with VA Angels in northern B.C. She sees the investment group as a filler of certain gaps between the services of helpful agencies like Innovation Central Society, the Community Futures Development Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, and the pre-established lenders of the region.
"This is not about setting up a Shark Tank or Dragon's Den," Schofield said. "It's about getting a group of business problem solvers together as a resource for the up-and-coming entrepreneurs of the area. If you play baseball all your life, you probably might become a baseball coach, but if you have done business all your life, this is a chance to coach the beginners in business and even be part of investing in them sometimes, if that's what you both want."
The introduction to VA Angels happens today at Northern Lights Estate Winery.
Doors open to appetizers and drinks at 5:30 p.m., then the speakers begin at 6 p.m. and the panel discussion right after that. Tickets are $30 available at the eventbrite.ca website, searchable by VA Angels or under the Prince George Events heading.
Schofield said the meeting was for anyone even thinking about being in either of these camps: the potential investor and the aspiring entrepreneur. The hardest part of any endeavor was not knowing what you don't know, and meetings like this can be a stimulating opportunity to discover what new paths of thought might be available, and that might unlock opportunities for your business or, conversely, your investment portfolio. And all of it local.
