It is my pleasure to present the Venture Kamloops 2017 Annual Report. Those of us that are fortunate enough to call the Kamloops area home know what a great community we have, and the entire Venture Kamloops organization – staff, leadership and Board of Directors – is dedicated to ensuring that Kamloops continues to be a dynamic community, with sustainable economic growth opportunities...
Read MoreRunning a business is hard work. Every day in business brings new challenges and adventures. But, with every challenge that is met and hurdle that is overcome, a business moves toward success. Our goal at Venture Kamloops is to help business reach success. Whether we’re dealing with an entrepreneur going into business for the first time, or an established business that is expandings...
Read MoreThe team at Venture Kamloops come from a variety of backgrounds working with various associations, organizations, and businesses. The team works to provide the most up-to-date information to those interested in starting their business in Kamloops or expanding operations into the city. Contact us for a confidential, non-obligation consultation to discover how we can work for you.
Meet Our Staff Meet Our BoardIn 2017, Venture Kamloops worked to generate employee recruitment and retention strategies and to elaborate on and confirm the employment forecast from the 2015 Venture Kamloops Labour Market Study.
The Start Here program, launched in 2015, was originally designed to help entrepreneurs through the start-up phase of their business until they have completed a comprehensive business plan.
VK Inside Track is both a strategy and a marketing campaign grounded in thorough market research that is targeting real estate developers, primarily in the lower mainland.
Following the enormous success of the inaugural LinkUp event in 2016, LinkUp 2017 was held in November.
Each year in the annual report, we highlight the partnerships we’ve built with other business organizations in the city. 2017 was no different. During the year, we partnered with Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, BDC, Community Futures, and Kamloops Innovation to hold the second annual LinkUp event. In addition to that signature event, we met with partner organizations over 125 times during the year as we continually seek to ensure that the service offerings of our organizations meet the needs of Kamloops business.
Venture Kamloops has working agreements in place with the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association, the Northshore Business Improvement Association, the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures Thompson Country and the KIB Development Corporation. In addition to those agreements we continue to expand our relationships with Kamloops Innovation, The Open Door Group and others.
We believe strong partnerships between support organizations are at the core of a vital business community and we’re proud of our relationships with our Kamloops partners.
Note: This number includes strategic items marked as ONGOING. This includes items where there is no intended completion date, but substantial progress has been made.
Source: statscan.gc.ca
Source: statscan.gc.ca
Source: www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/
All housing numbers obtained from www.kamloops.ca/building/pdfs/2016/december.pdf
MLS® Activity Reports - Average Price is for single-detached units in Kamloops only.
Source: www.kamloops.ca/building/pdfs/2016/december.pdf
Source: www.kamloops.ca/development/pdfs/16-DES-AnnualReport.pdf
Date | Event | Location |
---|---|---|
January 16 | Chinese Consulate Spring Festival | Vancouver |
February 1 | Risk Management Seminar | TRU |
February 3 | Chinese Delegation Tour | Kamloops |
February 6 | BCEDA Minister’s Dinner | Vancouver |
February 10 | BCIC Regional Innovation Opportunities | KIC |
February 16 | Urban Development Institute Presentation | Kamloops |
February 28 | KCBIA Trade show | Kamloops |
March 7 | RBC Roundtable - Youth Employment | Kamloops |
March 8 | NSBIA AGM | Kamloops |
March 14 | BC Tech Summit | Vancouver |
March 16 | BC Trade & Investment Rep Presentations | Kelowna |
March 17 | UDI Okanagan Luncheon | Kamloops |
Date | Event | Location |
---|---|---|
April 4 | KEG Conference | Kamloops |
May 30 | Presentation to Kamloops City Council | Kamloops |
June 5 | KamPlan Café | Kamloops |
June 11 – 14 | BCEDA Economic summit | Victoria |
June 15 | Labour Market Partnership Presentation | Kamloops |
June 22 | International Markets Presentation - First Nations Marketing Summit | Kamloops |
Date | Event | Location |
---|---|---|
July 3 | One Belt, One Road Asian Trade Summit | Vancouver |
July 6 | Presentation to NSBIA Board | Kamloops |
July 16 | Kamloops Innovation Center Open House | Kamloops |
July 19 | Roundtable – Philippine Consul General | Kamloops |
August 3 - 31 | Kamloops Innovation Center Market Valuation Program | Kamloops |
September 11 | Community Futures AGM | Kamloops |
September 14 | Social Enterprise Workshop | Kamloops |
September 15 | 2017 Startup awards | Kamloops |
September 17 – 21 | 2017 IEDC Conference | Toronto |
September 25 | Presentation to Rotary Club of Kamloops | Kamloops |
September 26 | UDI Luncheon | Kamloops |
September 29 | BCIC Regional Innovation Opportunities | Nelson |
September 29 | People Republic of China Event | Vancouver |
Date | Event | Location |
---|---|---|
October 13 | UDI Development Fundamentals Seminars | Kelowna |
October 15 – 21 | BCEDA Training program | Richmond |
October 19 | Start Up Canada Livestream | Kamloops |
October 20 | BCIC Regional Innovation Opportunities | Surrey |
October 21 | Chamber Business Excellence Awards | Kamloops |
October 22 | BCMBA Games | TRU |
November 2 | TRU Speed Mentorship | TRU |
November 3 | BCIC Regional Innovation Opportunities | Kamloops |
November 15 | UDI Pacific | Vancouver |
November 17 | Transportation Master Plan Advisory Group | Kamloops |
November 23 | LinkUp | Kamloops |
November 24 | TRU Innovation Steering Committee | TRU |
December 13 | Community Health Action Committee | Kamloops |
It all started with a mountain bike. Thanks to the diverse recreation Kamloops offers, Wayne Cochran the founder of Axis sold his mountain bike as seed money for the start of the company.
Read More +
Far too often, people have fantastic ideas that are simply left to bounce around in their head and eventually fade away. I believe this unfortunate inaction is a result of people not knowing where to find the right support and guidance to help bring their idea to life.
Read More +
Venture Kamloops signature program, VK Venture Advisors has been supporting the entrepreneurial community and the economic development of Kamloops for the past 6 years. Participating entrepreneurs represent a wide variety of industries such as manufacturing, trades and technology, mining support and the retail/services sectors, all industries that make significant contributions to the local economy.
With over 55 Kamloops entrepreneurs through the program to date, generating 68 new full time equivalent jobs and numerous part time positions, it is not surprising that the VK Venture Advisor program has been cited as an example of a cornerstone program with a robust and successful business retention and expansion program.
The program is an excellent tool that engages local business and builds lasting connections within the community.
VK Venture Advisor Participants 2017
For the Year Ended December 31 | Budget | 2017 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|
Revenue | |||
City of Kamloops Economic development funding | $608,803 | $608,803 | $596,866 |
Donations in kind | - | $33,550 | $30,500 |
Government Grants | |||
Federal | $3,500 | $3,615 | $6,538 |
Provincial | - | $29,212 | $43,651 |
City of Kamloops developer attraction campaign | - | $37,500 | - |
Interest & other revenue | - | $5,545 | $4,870 |
$612,303 | $718,225 | $682,425 | |
Expenses | |||
Administrative | $267,191 | $298,987 | $303,365 |
Business Attraction | $227,058 | $231,658 | $148,295 |
Business Retention and Expansion | $112,332 | $108,232 | $198,339 |
$606,581 | $638,877 | $649,999 | |
Annual Deficit | $5,722 | $79,348 | $32,426 |
Accumulated Surplus, beginning of year | $104,299 | $104,299 | $71,873 |
Accumulated Surplus, end of year | $110,021 | $183,647 | $104,299 |
As at December 31 | 2017 | 2016 |
---|---|---|
Financial Assets | ||
Cash and cash equivalents | $231,844 | $138,935 |
Accounts Receivable | $2,183 | $4,517 |
$234,027 | $143,452 | |
Liabilities | ||
Accounts payable | $62,155 | $51,161 |
Deferred Revenue | - | $5,000 |
$62,155 | $56,161 | |
Net Financial Assets | $171,872 | $87,291 |
Non-financial assets | ||
Prepaid expenses | $4,989 | $6,844 |
Tangible capital assets | $6,786 | $10,164 |
$11,775 | $17,008 | |
Accumulated surplus | $183,647 | $104,299 |
Each month, Venture Kamloops compiles local economic data and delivers it to your inbox. Stay up-to-date with the most relevant information for business in Kamloops by subscribing the Venture Kamloops Economic Indicators Report.
Subscribe to the ReportTRU’s new $32 million Industrial Training and Technology Centre (ITTC) officially opened for learning.