Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council

The Basin Business Blender
The Basin Business Blender: A 3-part skill development, networking and collaboration event for manufacturing and technology businesses.*EVENT POSTER HERE!*Those of us lucky enough to call the Columbia Basin home know that starting and growing a successful technology or manufacturing business takes more than just hanging up a shingle. Opportunities for networking and collaboration, access to resources and skill development opportunities, and a collective regional vision that supports our entrepreneurs and businesses are all part of making it happen here. Join KRIC and CBT’s Manufacturing and Technology Sector (MATS) Initiative on Thursday, June 6 for this 3-part event for business. PART 1 - Workshop (1-5 pm) The event begins with a hands-on marketing workshop, Breakthrough Branding: Doing Business in the Basin. Business owners and entrepreneurs will work with management consultant and keynote speaker Jim Bottomley to ultimately answer the question, “what business am I really in?” Participants will learn how to:- better develop marketplace positioning and branding strategies;- forge marketing partnerships; and- determine target focus. For a more detailed workshop description, and to register, click here. PART 2 - Networking Event (5-7 pm)Following the workshop is a public networking event, complete with appetizers and cash bar. This is a great opportunity to connect with other businesses and support organizations in the area. Appetizers and a cash bar will be available.The networking event is free, however registration is requested to estimate catering. For more information, or to register, click here. PART 3 - Keynote (7-9 pm)The evening’s keynote, Rallying Regional Innovation: Forging Future Success in the Columbia Basin, will be delivered in the Lecture Theatre by one of Canada's leading Cluster experts, Jim Bottomley. Jim is a consultant and futurist who helps develop a community’s capacity for future success, and has made the case for more than 250,000 audience members that we are entering a whole new economy, The Age of Innovation. His keynote will explore ways to develop regional entrepreneurship, including business attraction and retention, and will showcase the foundations for Cluster success, including issues related to the attraction of skilled labour and investment, the connection to branding a region, and strategies to overcome barriers.Jim will also provide insight into trend convergence, examining how technical, economic, social, demographic and trends in consumer behaviour are combining to affect the Columbia Basin's future.For more information, or to register, click here. The keynote and preceding networking event will be of high-value for entrepreneurs, business owners and managers, municipal officials, economic development organizations, and anyone with an interest in our region’s economic strategies. When: Thursday, June 6. Workshop from 1-5 pm. Networking from 5-7pm. Keynote starts at 7 pm.Where: Lecture Theatre, College of the Rockies, CranbrookCost: The ½ day workshop, including a complimentary ticket for the networking event and keynote, is $40.00. The networking event and keynote only, including appetizers and one beverage, is $15.00. This event is made possible as part of the 2-year CBT MATS initiative, with additional support from BCIC. Manufacturing and Technology Sector Initiative (MATS) is a two- year Columbia Basin Trust initiative supporting economic diversification and development in the Columbia Basin, with a focus on the manufacturing and technology sectors. Delivered in partnership by Kootenay Association of Science and Technology (KAST) and Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council (KRIC), MATS focuses on the development, retention and expansion of Basin manufacturing and technology businesses.
We dig science. And technology.
We're also into innovation, entrepreneurship, small business and economic development.KRIC is one of nine Provincial science and technology councils funded by BCIC (the British Columbia Innovation Council). We are a non-profit society that provides programming and events targeted at businesses, communities, students and educators related to science, technology and innovation.KRIC is lead by a 7-person, volunteer Board of Directors. Learn more about us here.
CBT's MATS Initiative
MATS is a two-year Columbia Basin Trust initiative supporting economic diversification and development in the Columbia Basin, with a focus on the manufacturing and technology sectors. Delivered in partnership by Kootenay Association of Science and Technology (KAST) and Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council (KRIC), MATS focuses on the development, retention and expansion of Basin manufacturing and technology businesses. MATS activities will include:Conferences, workshops and networking events.Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Initiative aimed at gaining data and shedding light on current sector strategies for the retention and expansion of Basin businesses.Virtual incubator where businesses can find mentors and track their progress through business development in an online setting.Peer mentoring groups designed specifically to help entrepreneurs address the issues and barriers they experience in building and developing their businesses.For more information contact KAST’s Executive Director, Kelvin Saldern, at kel@kast.com or KRIC’s Executive Director, Larry Sparks, at info@kric.ca.
Coaching can help you see the forest through the trees
From support in developing your business idea, identifying your target market, and creating a business and marketing plan, to growth and expansion, human resources, and succession planning, KRIC’s Business Coaching Program provides a unique opportunity to East Kootenay entrepreneurs. Our coaches have extensive experience that is available for free and gives you access to customised, confidential and impartial business guidance. Your coach can be a sounding board for that new idea, a confidant and mentor as you overcome a certain challenge, or another set of eyes on a developing plan.Click here to learn more about the program, and our coaches.

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Welcome to the Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council

Dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation as well as the development of science and technology in the East Kootenay, the Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council (KRIC) is a non profit society that provides programming and events targeted at businesses, communities and students/educators involved in science, technology and innovation.

The Basin Business Blender

A skill development, networking and collaboration event for manufacturing and technology businesses

Those of us lucky enough to call the Columbia Basin home know that starting and growing a successful business takes more than just hanging up a shingle.

Opportunities for networking and collaboration, access to resources and skill development opportunities, and a collective regional vision that supports our entrepreneurs and businesses are all part of making it happen here.

Join KRIC and Columbia Basin Trust's Manufacturing and Technology Sector (MATS) Initiative on Thursday, June 6 for this 3-part event for businesses.

Beginning with a hands-on marketing workshop, Breakthrough Branding: Doing Business in the Basin, from 1-5 pm, business owners and entrepreneurs will work with management consultant Jim Bottomley to ultimately answer the question, “what business am I really in?”

The workshop is followed by a public networking event, complete with appetizers and cash bar, from 5-7 pm. This is a great opportunity to connect with other businesses and support organizations in the area.

At 7 pm, the evening’s keynote, Rallying Regional Innovation: Forging Future Success in the Columbia Basin, will be delivered in the Lecture Theatre by Jim Bottomley.

Jim is a consultant and futurist who helps develop a community’s capacity for future success, and has made the case for more than 250,000 audience members that we are entering a whole new economy, The Age of Innovation.

The cost of the workshop is $40, and includes the networking event, 1 drink ticket and admission to the evening keynote. The keynote is $15, and includes the networking event and 1 drink ticket. There is no charge to attend the networking event, however registration is requested in order to help estimate catering.

Click on the link for each component above for registration.

Business Coaching Program

KRIC's Business Coaches offer free support to regional innovators, business owners and entrepreneurs in knowledge-based industries.

Your coach can be a sounding board for that new idea, a confidant and mentor as you overcome a certain challenge, or another set of eyes on a developing plan. Click here to learn more about our coaching program.