The #OKGNtech community is full of individuals and businesses ready and willing to support one another. Whether it’s providing advice, offering services or sharing stories, we all want to see the community grow. Keeping that collaborative mindset a top priority, we’ve designed Accelerate Okanagan’s membership to foster connection and entrepreneurial spirit.
Our membership model continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of our community. We’ve introduced new features, perks and discounts. With a variety of benefits available to you, your employees, and your business, there is no better way to get connected to the growing tech community than through our membership.
Recently, there have been so many new additions to our member offerings that we wanted to take some time to catch up with our Community Manager, Alex Goodhew.
How do you see membership supporting the community?
Our membership elevates the businesses in our community and increases access to support resources. Most members are local tech companies and support organizations, but we also have some from outside the region that are passionate about supporting the growth of the Okanagan. Our job board has been successful in helping with talent acquisition for companies, and our new perks platform introduces a way for members to promote their services and connect with organizations, which has been really exciting to see come to life.
Perks Platform
Member-to-Member Perks allow members to share and access perks offered by our partners and other Accelerate Okanagan members.
MORE ABOUT PERKSWhat’s been your favourite benefit that members are using?
Headshots! It’s been so much fun seeing our members sign up to get their photos taken every month by our in-house photographer. She stages and edits the headshots for members to use wherever they like—social pages, their website, or just to show their mom. It’s great and I love seeing all the new headshots being used around the community.
What other big updates are there to Accelerate Okanagan’s membership?
I mentioned the perks platform already, which was certainly a big update, but the other exciting update is Startup Basics: Market Validation Training. This program has evolved into a self-paced online learning tool for our members. You can go through the training on our website on your own time and take the first step in transforming an idea into a startup. We hope this will business test new ideas and products, sparking more entrepreneurial spirit!
Market Validation Training
Access a self-paced online program that teaches the foundations of building a business plan and developing a go-to-market strategy. This training guides the participant through transforming an idea into a startup.
LEARN THE BASICSIs there anything else making this an exciting time for membership?
There’s so much to take advantage of. We’re really trying to create solutions that help businesses in our community grow and succeed. From news promotions to discounted tickets on Accelerate Okanagan events, we’re really just looking for opportunities to make our community even better. I’ll list a few more though…
1. Job Board Posting
You can save on recruitment costs by becoming a member and posting as many standard jobs as you would like. You can also increase how often your job posting is noticed by receiving a discount on featured job postings!
2. Workspaces and Meeting Rooms
In both Vernon and Kelowna, we’ve created a welcoming and professional office space for our members to access discounted meeting room rentals and priority seating.
3. Mentorship and Coaching
Our in-house experts and programs are great resources for every stage of the entrepreneurial process. Our Executives-in-Residence all come from varied industries, but they’re all experts in their field. They can lend guidance and advice as you seek to grow your business.
What are some events you’re looking forward to this year?
The big event that I’m excited about is our OKGN Angel Summit Finale on Wednesday, March 16th. The companies and investors have been working so hard and I can’t wait to find out who’s going to take home the $150K investment! We’ve also introduced some new capital training events for entrepreneurs and our monthly Funding & Support webinar is always bringing in new speakers to share opportunities for helping businesses grow and succeed. Community members can stay in the loop by checking out of events calendar.
