First things first… happy 2016! Welcome to the first co+Lab Buzz of the year; we guarantee, it’ll be 100% new year’s resolution proof. If the notion of resolutions makes you super cranky, this issue is guaranteed to bring you joy as you catch up with stories of co+Lab’s community. If you don’t already know, co+Lab Buzz is a regular column that features news on members of our coworking space.
Markus Willard
A big congratulations to proud parents Markus and Lisa on the birth of their baby boy Elijah James, born January 20th! We all wish you health, love and joy as you grow your wonderful little family.
Donnie Ungaro
“It has been an exciting time for me personally and professionally. After a long selection process, I was honored to be chosen as the new Executive Director of the Kelowna Innovation Society that will manage the public space in the new Okanagan Centre for Innovation. I will be working to support and promote Accelerate Okanagan and the Okanagan Tech community in our new state of the art building downtown, to be completed November of this year. I am also working on ways to bridge gap between technology, arts and culture, as well as encourage everyone, not just tech workers to come enjoy and collaborate in the new building.
I was also fortunate to have just returned from the #BCTECH Summit in Vancouver. I am proud to say that the Okanagan is making some waves and other communities are looking to us as a model of success. The greater part was the amount of positive collisions, conversations and the collaborativeness of all attendees. I spend time with centres from Kamloops, Vancouver and the Island and everyone is open to share and help each other. It’s an exciting time for Kelowna and the Okanagan.
If this is how 2016 is starting, we are in for an outstanding year.”
Mike Straus
“I recently started experimenting with offering PR services, which is a fun and challenging new realm. I’ve also been hard at work on a big re-branding campaign. My new website is almost ready, and I couldn’t be more excited. Brand Gesture Marketing is a whole new adventure that I’m looking forward to taking.
The biggest change? Brand Gesture isn’t just a marketing firm – it’s a support resource for entrepreneurs who are determined to make it, no matter what. There’s going to be some fun and educational workshops, some free tools to help you boost your business, and a whole slew of in-depth and fun-to-read articles that talk about everything from creating a memorable buyer experience to choosing the right target market to learning how to embrace the inevitable changes that your business will encounter. Best yet, it’s all written in a fun, casual way that lays everything on the table, plain and simple, without any jargon or buzzwords.”
Tom Maxwell
“Big start to the year for me. I’ve been “promoted” to head of customer success for Practice Ignition which is very exciting. I’m headed out to Toronto to spend 2 weeks with Intuit (quickbooks) and then on to London, England for Xerocon.”
Troy Assaly
“Not sure whether to give credit to the record snow, the US exchange rate, or my recent website upgrades… but the good news is my Whistler vacation rental website is achieving record numbers this season.
Hold on… it just dawned on me that this increased business also coordinated with my co+Lab membership. Hmmm.
So, although my main business is in Whistler, I actually live in Vernon. And although most photos you will see of me online show me in ski gear, I actually spend many hours in the office working on websites.
The Whistler business started long ago and just keeps on ticking along. Over the years, I’ve learned how to do everything from hosting to web video and all the logistical details in between. SEO has played a big role in the ongoing success, especially now, with competitors like Airbnb.
Over the past decade, I’ve also completed website specialty contract work for key clients. Not programming so much, but site conversions to WordPress, CRM & Newsletters, Lead Generation, Online Invoicing & Payments.
For 2016 my goals are to build up website consulting business at AboutWebsites.ca, get to know more of the folks at co+Lab, and ski as much powder as possible.”
Jules Galloway
“Hey Everyone! We are hitting the ground running this year and already three quarters into January, it’s going to be a year to remember! We are working on some super-amazing projects, some of the most exciting to hit the Okanagan in decades, and evolve are doing all the things we do best from finding our Clients new homes for their businesses to checking out the coolest furniture that will work for their specific needs, we are also working on a couple of ‘Design Only’ projects as well as a couple of full ‘Design Build’ projects for the year… How much excitement crammed into one fabulous company! Time for change, come and talk to any one of our team, we’ll show you how we’re different!”
