[ Amy Criss is a Social Media Intern with LIFT. You’ll find her posts on Twitter and on Instagram. This is her first blog post for us.
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Lead + Inspire. Fuel Talent. #WeAreYQQ Winter Party
How incredible.
On January 25, 2017 I was part of #WeAreYQQ Winter Party. This was a two-part fundraising event for Startup Comox Valley, hosted by LIFT. The first part happened at NIC’s Stan Hagen Theatre. The headliner: Dr. Sean Wise venture capitalist, university professor, entrepreneur guru, past Dragons Den Advisor, and Startup Canada Fellow. He was on Vancouver Island as part of a tour he’s doing of startup communities in Canada, organized by Startup Canada.
Part 1: Dr. Sean Wise at NIC
7PM: the show starts. Bob Wells, aka @ComoxValleyBob on Twitter, gave a quick intro about Startup Canada and Startup Comox Valley. Then Sean Wise took the stage.
Dr. Wise gave the room such motivation! The world of building a business has changed. We now know the steps to success. “If you don’t know how to do something – Google it.” If you really want to grow a business he offered the “100 Steps to Success” pathway. He invited everyone to hand him a business card so that he and his team can help Comox Valley entrepreneurs start their businesses right. “If you … would like more information, please visit us online (www.100Steps2Startup.com) or send us an email (sales@100Steps2Startup.com). We’d love to hear from you.”
He was so right: there is no better time than now to be your own boss, start you own wave. And if by chance the wave takes awhile or crashes, dust off your surf board and hit the next one! The time is now. The Internet has made anything available. Don’t be lazy, work hard!
Part 2: The After Party
Our next stop was Prime Chop House in Courtenay. Talk about a wave. They had the lounge prepared for a crew full of zest to arrive, but there were about 70 in the wave that arrived!
The atmosphere was fantastic! DJ Adil kept the vibes going with some awesome jams. Quickly after the group was settled, a few guest speaks by Leif Jason and Vivian Vaillant uplifted and motivated the gang even more. Throw in a couple networking games by Leanne Zdebiak-Eni and Annie L Danko, and boom! a room full of new friends exchanging names, numbers and businesses.
One thing that Dr. Sean Wise emphasized for those who are just starting out their journey: Join your entrepreneur community, find a mentor. That is exactly what LIFT Comox Valley accomplished at this after party.
Being a LIFT Social Media Intern
I feel so incredibly lucky to have had #WeAreYQQ Winter Party as my first engagement with LIFT. I know friends who are involved. But I had no idea it was this big. To discover that there is a unique group of individuals whose common goal is to “LIFT” the local economy and support entrepreneurs is astounding.
I’ll be reporting on lots more LIFT events over the coming weeks and months. Search for the #WeAreYQQ tag and you’ll find my posts, and posts about lots of makers, creatives, and entrepreneurs who are “making shift happen” in our communities.