This year has been incredible! Between launching The Hubspace and throwing our first Tech Week, we've been busy trying to provide more value and resources to our clients and the entrepreneurial community. Here are some of the highlights of last year.
Dr. Sean Wise, the host of The Naked Entrepreneur on OWN Canada, will be in Prince George on January 24th. He believes that now is the perfect time to dream big, follow your passion and create your own path to success, and will talk about why now is the best time to be an entrepreneur. Dr. Wise’s talk is being presented by Innovation Central, in collaboration with Startup Canada, and will be held at the Hubspace downtown. “We are excited that Dr. Wise is able to visit Prince George and share with our entrepreneurial community his enthusiasm for starting businesses now” said Matt Hutcheon, Executive Director of Innovation Central. “The money required to start a business can be significantly less than it traditionally has been, launch can happen more quickly, and global markets are available from anywhere. In many ways, entrepreneurship has never been more accessible than it is now, [...]
The newly-elected Board of Directors for Innovation Central Society (ICS), the region’s technology accelerator, has the organization poised for growth in the upcoming year. The new Board Chair is Will Cadell, CEO of Sparkgeo, a local web mapping company which serves a worldwide clientele from its head office in Prince George. ”There’s this crazy idea that you need to be in a big city to do technology. Really, it’s the reverse. The great thing about tech is that you can literally do it from anywhere. Here in PG we are in the same timezone as the biggest technology hub on Earth and have much better quality of life and cost profiles. I joined ICS to underline that places like PG are PERFECT for tech. We just need to demonstrate our advantage and encourage more people to give tech a go. That’s where Innovation Central comes in!” “Sparkgeo is a great [...]
This week has been proclaimed Technology & Innovation Week in Prince George by Mayor Lyn Hall, and there are a number of events happening to showcase and celebrate innovative ideas and businesses in Prince George. “Prince George is home to a lot of great innovation and new ideas, from start-up companies with innovative ideas, to mature companies who are creating new technologies for their industry”, explains Matt Hutcheon, Executive Director of Innovation Central Society. “We have a lot of cool people doing cool things, and this week’s events are aimed at raising awareness about them, as well as planting the seeds for how others can undertake their own innovative ideas using tools and resources we have in the community. The technology sector in British Columbia now generates $23 billion dollars in annual revenues, and provides more employment than forestry, mining and oil & gas combined, and Prince George is growing [...]
Innovation Central Society is helping businesses scale and grow in the City of Prince George. Weak financial literacy is one of the single biggest reasons why small businesses don’t succeed. According to Intuit Canada, 44 per cent of small business owners have below average financial literacy skills and only 18 per cent could be considered above average. Without the technical know-how or the support to aid them, the odds are stacked against entrepreneurs who want to succeed and grow. Join us for a free 1-hour networking and learning session with financial experts. Find out the pitfalls to avoid and how companies can protect and plan for growth in their business. This is a session explaining the financial implications of growth of a business, tools and techniques to analyze and plan for growth, and the best times and best reasons to grow a business. Session Overview: This is a basic session explaining the terms and [...]
The City of Prince George is helping to bring a world-renowned economist to Prince George for a free workshop on building community prosperity. On May 30, economist and author Michael Shuman will present Local Economy Solutions, a workshop about economic development and how cities can prevent money from leaving the community. The free half-day event was organized by Simon Fraser’s Certificate Program for Community Economic Development in partnership with the City of Prince George, Integris Credit Union, and the Innovation Central Society. It will be held at the Hubspace, 1299 Third Ave. from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. Residents can register at https://localeconomysolution_princegeorge.eventbrite.ca. The event is free, but registration is required. Michael Shuman will present a “local living economies” approach to economic development that focuses on building up local businesses and inviting community participation. As part of the workshop, he will guide participants through a “leakage analysis” of the community to find [...]
Shauna Harper will be proudly representing Prince George in Canada’s capital this week, meeting with Members of Parliament, Parliamentary Standing Committees and Ministers at Startup Canada Day on the Hill. Startup Canada Day on the Hill is the largest annual gathering of entrepreneurs, innovators, anchor companies, investors, industry leaders, media personalities and government decision makers to raise the bar in building Canada as an innovative, entrepreneurial nation. Shauna Harper will attend to provide direct input into the Government of Canada’s Innovation Agenda on behalf of Startup Prince George. “If Canada is to become a centre of global innovation and a leader in the digital economy, Canadians must start thinking and acting like innovators.” said Harper, “ It’s time to create a new Canadian dream wherein entrepreneurship is a core value and competency of every Canadian.” “It’s time to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of every Canadian in every community across Canada,” [...]
Innovation Central Society (ICS) announced today the appointment of Mr. Matt Hutcheon as Executive Director. “We are very excited to have Matt lead the organization.” said Sean Simmons, Board Chair. “He has more than 20 years experience in sharing his expertise with businesses, organizations and leaders, and Matt has already spearheaded a new strategic plan for Innovation Central Society, envisioning a new focus and direction for the organization which includes the operation of the new Hubspace. He has demonstrated a clear passion for the organization while serving as Program Manager for the last 7 months.” Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Hutcheon moved to Prince George in May 2014. After relocating to Prince George, Matt became the Director, Northern BC for Conterra Advisory Services, providing financial management services to businesses and First Nations in B.C.. His previous experience includes being CEO of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce, where he [...]
Innovation Central Society (ICS) is proud to announce the opening of the HUBSPACE, located at 1299 Third Ave (on the corner of Quebec St.). What is the HUBSPACE? The HUBSPACE is 5500 sq. ft. of open space concept style that will house everything from freelancers, independent contractors, solopreneurs and multi-staffed start-ups. There will be events and community gatherings as well as services available for early stage companies, non-profits, community groups, and social enterprises. The goal of the HUBSPACE is to build an innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial community in Prince George. “Experience has proven that collaborative hub spaces work very differently than traditional office spaces,” says board chair, Sean Simmons. “The HUBSPACE is designed to facilitate the growth of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. From the way it is designed, to the events we are going to host, it is all intended to increase collaboration opportunities, and vibrant working environment [...]
Community comes together to raise awareness about importance of computer science education by participating in the global Hour of Code campaign November 30, 2015 (Prince George) - Over 100 Prince George students will participate in the largest province-wide Codecreate youth coding event on Saturday, December 12 to celebrate the Hour of Code, a grassroots global computer science and digital literacy awareness campaign aimed to encourage students around the world to try computer programming from December 7 to 13. The students and teachers of Prince George will be among tens of millions of people around the world to take part in the largest youth coding event in the province and the largest global computer science-learning event in history. The Innovation Central Society (ICS) is hosting Codecreate in Prince George to provide an opportunity for local students to gain exposure to computer programming and to inspire them to consider a career in [...]
