When Joz had his first day at co+Lab we knew that he was going to be a great fit. Always eager to engage in conversation, share his ideas, or play a quick game of foosball, Joz is a person you need to meet.
Hailing from Holland, one of the first things he shared with us was a package of stroopwafel. (If you’re unfamiliar with stroopwafel, do yourself a favour and introduce yourself to them. Coffee time will never be the same.) This strategy proved to be quite effective, as Joz has become a fast friend of co+lab and our community. Let’s take a couple minutes to ask him a few questions to get to know him a bit better.
K: First off, who are you and what do you do?
J: I’m Joz Barendregt. I am a research associate for Gygga Innoventures BV. I analyze and manage a good overview of a country or segment in the market. Based on this we, Gygga Innoventures can consult and provide several products that operate as our subsidiaries products.
We are based in the Netherlands and we see potential in expanding our consultancy and products to the beautiful Canada.
K: When and why did you enter your field?
J: I started working for Gygga in September 2016, but since 2012 I have worked on several projects. I have always liked working with Gygga and since I moved to Kelowna we have collaborated our interests and together we are going to start creating new business opportunities in British Columbia and the rest of Canada.
K: You’re originally from Holland. What made you choose Kelowna to live in?
J: It was a combination of different factors that made me decide to move to Kelowna.
BC has over 1400 food-processing businesses, and exports over $2.5 billion in agrifoods products to 135 countries worldwide. And now that Kelowna is becoming a center for technology I see business opportunities to combine technology and agriculture.
Also, my wife grew up in Kelowna and it made it a win-win situation for us to move to Kelowna.
K: What’s your favourite part of life in the Okanagan Valley?
J: My favourite part of life in the Okanagan Valley is the peace it has. Coming from Rotterdam and now having the ability to look up and not just see infrastructure and architecture is giving me the daily peace, I think everyone needs to really thrive.
K: What has coworking done for your productivity? Has the foosball cut into your work time?
J: For quite some time I could work from home and be productive, but at some point I started to feel isolated. A place like Co+Lab is the perfect solution to get out of isolation and be productive even when you hit that dip in your day.
K: If you had a friend looking to start their own business or become a remote worker, would you point them towards coworking at a place like co+Lab? Why?
J: Yes, I would. It is an inviting place to work from and can be a great start to build a network from. Shane and Kodie have been welcoming me very warm and helped me starting up.
If you’d like to reach out to Joz, he can be reached via email at [email protected], by telephone at 778-583-6375, or at one of his usual hotdesk spots in co+Lab.
