Raghwa Gopal

WHAT’S HAPPENING INTECH?

TECHNOLOGY IS A FUNDAMENTAL

DRIVER OF GROWTHEVERY SECTOR – NOT JUST THE ‘TECH SECTOR’

Fin Tech

Aviation and Aerospace

E-Health and Life Sciences

Information and Communication Tech

Agri-Tech

Ed-Tech

Advanced Manufacturing

Gaming, Animation and Film

IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO BUILDA BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY FROM YOUR COUCH…IN THE OKANAGAN

TECH SECTOR WAGES IN BC ARE75% MORE THAN THE PROVINCIAL AVERAGE

THERE ARE 106,000 TECHJOBS IN BC

THATS MORE THAN FORESTRY,MINING, OIL ANDGAS… COMBINED!

OKANAGAN TECH SECTOR• $1.67 Billion Economic Impact

• 12,474 in the Tech Workforce

• 55% of tech workforce is under the age of 35

• 693 Technology Companies

• Fastest growing sector in the Okanagan (around

15% per year)

• New 110,000 sq. ft. Innovation Centre

• Monumental acquisitions: Club Penguin ($350M),

QHR ($170M), Immersive Media ($100M),

Vineyard Network ($28M), RackForce ($33M)

OURMISSIONTo give new and growing technology-

driven businesses the mentorship,

connections, and community they

need to thrive.

ENTREPRENEURS

TECHNOLOGY

COMMUNITY

FUNDERS

PARTNERS

PATRONS

THE AO WAY

PROGRAM DELIVERY COMMUNITY BUILDING

• Business acceleration

• Training & mentorship

• Access to capital

• Go to market strategy

• Connecting & networking

• Events & activities

• Talent attraction & retention

• Community engagement

Established in 2011 as a non-profit, Accelerate Okanagan accomplishes it’s mission

using a two-pronged focus on mentorship programs and community building.

• New Year Kick Off

• OKGNtech LIVE

• Funding and Support

• Entrepreneurs Unplugged

COMMUNITY BUILDING

Major Events Entrepreneur Led Events

• Vernon Geek Beers

• Penticton Techbrew

• Startup Drinks

• Sales Meetup

• MAD Nights

• Gaming and Animation

Coffees

• devKL

• Okanagan Project

Management Group

• Secret Meeting of the

Satoshi Okanagan

IDEAPRODUCT VALIDATION

MARKET VALIDATION

MARKET PENETRATION

MARKET EXPANSION

EXIT OR ANCHOR

• Pre-revenue

• Wantrepreneurs

• Employees of other

companies

• No investment yet

• Testing the water

PRODUCT/MARKET VALIDATION• Early adopter customers

• 1-5 Employees

• Pre-revenue - $500k

approx.revenue

• Friends / Family / Angel – Up to

approx. $300k raised

MARKET PENETRATION/ EXPANSION

• Dominating market segment

• Scaling to multiple segments

• 5-50 employees

• $500k - $10M approx.

revenue

• Angel/VC Seed, Series A

MARKET EXPANSION/ EXIT OR ANCHOR• Dominating multiple segments

• Global markets

• 30 – 100 employees and beyond

• $5M approx. revenue and

beyond

• VC - Series A, B and beyond

IDEA

VENTURE GROWTH LIFECYCLE

IDEAPRODUCT VALIDATION

MARKET VALIDATION

MARKET PENETRATION

MARKET EXPANSION

EXIT OR ANCHOR

• Pre-Acceleration• Early stage entrepreneurs and career

changers• Eight weekly classroom sessions• Tools and resources to accelerate

their ideas to the next level• Access to experts through

workshops• Lean business fundamentals

• Early stage startups• 6-12 month structured curriculum• Weekly one-on-one mentorship

between founder and EIR• Business model development and

Market Validation Training• Access to curated resources, events,

and networking opportunities• Curated resources, events, and

community

• Customized advisory program• 6 month commitment• Tailored scope of work• Bi-weekly meeting between

founder and EIR• Market Validation Training• Curated resources, events,

and community

• Rapid growth stage companies• 6 month program• Project focused• EIR team works with CEO and leadership

team• Focus on scalable customer, operations,

and capital processes• Access to curated resources, events, and

community• Peer-to-peer roundtables

CONTINUOUS ACCELERATIONPROGRAMS

More recently we developed an Access to Capital program which is aimed at improving

education, access, and community for the capital ecosystem in the Okanagan. It is a multi-faceted

initiative with three key areas of focus:

PUBLIC EDUCATION• Events on diverse topics

around access to capital

• Education is aimed at

entrepreneurs and investors

MENTORSHIP• Private EIR training for 10

companies per year

• Key topics include:

• the capital raise process

• valuation

• due diligence

• and pitch practice

INVESTOR/ENTREPRENEUR MATCHMAKING• A highly curated, private approach

to creating meaningful interactions

between investors and

entrepreneurs.

ACCESS TO CAPITAL

AO EIRS

Fraser Campbell Larry Smith

WarrenHouston

AlisonYesilcimen

Drew Shaw

Scott MacFarlane

Ted Gross

Michele Leeners

Accelerate Okanagan works with a

team of Subject Matter Experts

(SMX) to increase the breadth of

knowledge companies on our

continuous acceleration programs

have access to. These individuals

are experts in their field and have a

range of skills with both business

and technical focus. From experts in

software development, to

marketing, to finance, you’ll never

have to google “how much equity

is too much equity”, ever again.

BUT WHAT DO THEY REALLYNEED?Accelerate Okanagan mentorship programs provide strategic and tactical support to

support entrepreneurs with a diverse set of needs to help them grow their companies.

BUSINESS NEEDS

• Customer acquisition / retention

• Operational excellence / how to run a

company

• Capital acquisition / management

PERSONAL NEEDS

• Accountability

• A plan

• Mentorship

• Community

• Curated tools / time

efficiency

IDEA

GROWTH STAGE

STARTUPS

ANCHOR/EXIT

AO CLIENTS &ALUMNI

• Job board with 60-80 jobs posted at any given time

• Technical and non-technical skill sets

• Range of entry level to C-suite

• Co-op, short -term, long term, contract

• Community Members can post their resume in the resume bank for free!

JOB BOARD AND RESUME BANK

contact@accelerateokanagan.com

@AccelerateOK

Accelerate Okanagan

/AccelerateOkanagan