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Keith Ippel keynotes PitchFest3 and #WeAreYQQ Party on Sept 27

September 13, 2018 by Leif Jason

What is PitchFest3?

Throughout the year Vancouver Island entrepreneurs and creatives pitch for help to grow their businesses at 12+ LIFT business development workshops. Every year LIFT invites up to six of these entrepreneurs to pitch at the annual PitchFest event. This is the only annual pitch event that showcases the Islands local, grassroots businesses.

This year’s event features a keynote by Keith Ippel, founder and CEO of global startup school Spring Activator. Spring has a mission to help entrepreneurs change the world through their businesses. That’s a great fit with the LIFT ethos of Island businesses helping each other grow businesses and sustainable local economies.

Who’s pitching?

So much of the startup focus is on “tech.” But while technology is sexy, most Island entrepreneurs are actually working on building businesses in almost every imaginable sector. This year’s PitchFest3 lineup is reflective of this diversity:
Yarrow Willard of Wild Rose College of Natural Healing, Kyrle Symons of Prisym Renewable Developments, Jessica Dorzinsky of Fully Alive, Amie Webster of Motif Music, Sean Elliott of Tap Bike Solutions, and Ryks Davies of Ryks Davies Music.

Who’s judging?

Joining Keith Ippel as PitchFest3 judges are Ramon Ramirez of BDC and Sue Finneron (top Hyundai dealership in Canada in 2016). As well as giving feedback to the pitchers, Keith, Ramon, and Sue’s knowledge of business will inspire participants to up their own business game.

What’s a #WeAreYQQ Party?

LIFT is famous for its parties. Founder Hans Peter Meyer (aka HPM) is no fan of traditional business networking and mixer events. That’s why he asks the #WeAreYQQPartyCrew to make LIFT events more inviting, more useful, and way more fun than your Dad’s business networking event. The result: #WeAreYQQ Parties are considered by some to be the best business mixers on the Island, perhaps anywhere. A big claim. Here’s how that shakes out for September 27.

Music with DJ em.ash. Professional dance instructor Jennifer Walsh, helping participants get their groove on. Social media games with prizes from LIFT member businesses.

Get 50% off tickets when you buy now

Typically over 100 Island entrepreneurs show up for LIFT special events. Often they’re sold out. Use the READERS code to get 50% off.

It’s fun. And your business deserves to connect with the liveliest entrepreneur community on the Island.

I repeat: Do not miss out. Get your tickets now.

[picatic-sell-tickets event=203740 title=no description=no theme_options=ptw-light][/picatic-sell-tickets]

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Hans Peter Meyer
Founder and CEO, LIFT and the Vancouver Island Local Business Directory
250-792-1408 / hpm@liftstartups.ca

LIFT news: BizOnDeck sells out. More LIFT VIP benefits. #hustlethehelp

October 18, 2017 by Leif Jason

This morning there was only one ticket left for this evening’s BizOnDeck workshop. That’s because BizOnDeck is the Island’s most dynamic business development workshop series. Wish you were with us? Join LIFT, then check this link and put yourself on the LIFT VIP-only wait list. Who knows? You may get to grow your business with us this evening if someone drops out.

No surprises. Entrepreneurs want to grow their businesses. That’s it.

I’m not surprised that we’re sold out this evening. Entrepreneurs love our workshops because they’re focused on one thing: helping businesses grow. And they get lots of opportunities to do that at a BizOnDeck.

Established businesses – like Investors Group, Presley & Partners, Finneron Hyundai, and more – like our workshops because they’re getting to work with growth-oriented young entrepreneurs. They’re meeting tomorrow’s business leaders today. That’s good for growth into the future.

This evening we’ve got two young entrepreneurs pitching for help to grow their startups. Kyrle Symons of Prisym Renewable Developments and Lauren Dean of New Leaf Marketing. They need to hear from you.

Can’t make it? We have other options to help you grow

Our events are energizing, focused – and fun. But it’s not possible for everyone to make every workshop we host. That’s why we built options to “hustle the help” online (“hustle the help” is an idea I borrowed from Canadian rockstar entrepreneur Dan Martell; see the short video below). LIFT VIPs (LIFT members) have access to our “hustle the help” Slack channel. It means you can network (and grow your business) even when you can’t make an event. Another one of the business-growth benefits of being a LIFT member.

Is your business generating online reviews? We will help!

Another member important way to grow your business is by getting online reviews and testimonials. Our BizOnDeck workshop on November 6 will feature Liz Wootton’s Human Nature Development on deck. We’ll also spend part of the workshop making a different kind of shift happen for LIFT VIPs: we’ll spend part of our time generating online testimonials and reviews for member businesses. For an example of what your business will get from the workshop, see LIFT reviews on Google maps and our Facebook page. Powerful online marketing stuff!

Thanks to LIFT VIPs Leif Jason of Mastermynde Strategy and Pieter Vorster of Pod Creative for suggesting we spend some time on this.

BizOnDeck is just the tip of the LIFT mountain of benefits

My job at LIFT is connecting your business with opportunities to grow. If you’re wanting to know more about the business benefits of being a LIFT VIP, give me a call at 250-792-1408, join us for a LIFT Power Lunch (every week in either the Nanaimo, P/QB, Campbell River, or the Comox Valley) – or visit our “Join us!” website. With over $4K in perks and business development benefits, we’ve got lots of cool stuff happening. I’ll be heading to San Francisco to see how we can connect our members with cool stuff happening there. Watch for it!

hpm

ps. If you like to have fun … there are only 4 “earliest bird” tickets left for Festive Cheer on November 24 (this is our entrepreneur “holiday party” and fundraiser for EDAS: Everybody Deserves A Smile). I strongly encourage you to get your ticket before they’re gone at weareyqqparty.ca

pps. Here’s the Dan Martell video clip I mentioned. Enjoy!

The Amy Criss Report on #WeAreYQQ Winter Party, featuring Dr. Sean Wise

February 3, 2017 by Leif Jason

[ 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.
-hpm ]

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.

Take a look at what’s coming up via the online events listings at https://liftstartup.wpengine.com/events/.

In the meantime: Think Bigger! Think Brighter. LIFT!

by Amy Criss
@amycriss88 on Twitter and Instagram

There are $1000s of reasons to subscribe to LIFT. This month we’ve added 3 more.

December 14, 2016 by Leif Jason

There are $1000s of reasons to subscribe to our LIFT marketing and business development packages. This month we’ve added three more.

If you’re one of the next five to subscribe this month you’ll get a short video with social media video star Kayla McDonald Video Productions.
You’ll have access to free LIFT VIP tickets for our January 25 #WeAreYQQ Winter Party (these are free to LIFT VIPs – sponsors, partners, subscribers – until December 31).
And, as a LIFT VIP you get a 15% discount on the February 2017 Costa Rica Women’s Wellness Retreat, thanks to Cleo Tetrault, RMT and Panacea Massage Therapy.

LIFT VIP Cleo Tetrault of Panacea Massage Therapy and her sister have been running these winter women’s wellness retreats for several years. From their website: “Our 2017 InnerYOUth retreat is a 6-day transformational wellness retreat for women in beautiful lake Arenal in Costa Rica. The retreat includes wellness coaching, recovery strategies and adventure to help you bring out those youthful qualities we believe you embody.”

FMI about the retreat see the Panacea site.

Not getting LIFT subscriber benefits yet?

We can fix that super easy. Contact me via our subscriber form here. Or call me at 250-792-1408. You’ll get the LIFT VIP discount for the 2017 Costa Rica Women’s Wellness Retreat. If you’re among the first five, you’ll get a free short video thanks to Kayla McDonald Video Productions. You’ll also get access to free tickets for #WeAreYQQ Winter Party. And, you’ll get access to $1000s of other values already available to LIFT VIPs at http://joinusatlift.ca.

hpm
For LIFT Comox Valley
@hanspetermeyer on Instagram and Twitter

What’s up in May! Lotsa shift

May 2, 2016 by Leif Jason

April was fun! May looks even better – because even more Comox Valley entrepreneurs and business owners are getting on board the collaboration train. That means more businesses attending workshops and events, more business people like you putting your smarts to work to help other create success – at the same as they’re upgrading their path to success. It’s not about competing with each other to grow this Comox Valley economy; it’s about finding ways we can support each other to think BIGger about our markets and opportunities.

What’s up for May?

We’re still focused on helping Matthew Black and Anotiv Team in their bid to represent Canada and the Comox Valley at Global Finals in Knoxville. We raised money in April, and we’ll keep doing that in May. We’re committing 50% of the first month from every new Champion subscriber to this bid. There are more good reasons to become a #WeAreYQQ Champion, but I think this is the coolest. Join us here.

We’re also putting the Anotiv Team “on deck” today, Monday May 2 to help them get more exposure, more support in their bid to represent our region. Sharing the bill is Luciano Rollin and Aero Art Screen Printing. Want to help business grow? We’ve still got a couple of seats. Sign up now.

On May 9 it’s the third in Nazaneen Dizai’s Social Media for Professionals and Business series, this time focused on Pinterest. Only 5 seats left. Register here.

Note: If you’re a #WeAreYQQ Champion you get one workshop or event no charge per month, but you’ll have to register early as there are a limited number of seats for all these events.

May 18 we’re going to be workshopping two more Comox Valley businesses. More details coming soon, but for now know that local food entrepreneur Nancy Farey and Dr. David Milanovich are wanting to grow their businesses BIGger – and you can help make that happen.

May 27 it’s the second #WeAreYQQ lunch time Show & Tell at the White Whale. This time we’ve got Leif Jason showing what he does with SEO and online marketing. Details and registration coming soon on our events page..

June 1 we’re doing our first ever collaboration with the creative entrepreneurs at CVCollective. This is part of the Elevate the Arts Festival that rocks downtown Courtenay June 1-4. CVC will lead with Comox Valley Voices: a panel of local creatives and entrepreneurs who are living local while serving bigger markets. (You may have noticed a theme for us at Team #WeAreYQQ; we like it when people “punch above their weight” – and we want to help make that shift happen!) We’ll follow Comox Valley Voices with another #WeAreYQQ After Party – at Gladstone Brewing. We’re ticketing these events “by donation,” all proceeds going to feed more Elevate the Arts community economic development activities. Fun! FMI about Elevate the Arts Festival see elevatethearts.com

Work locally, think BIGger!

About this theme… One of my mentors, Jayesh Parmar, is working hard on creating YVR’s next billion dollar company with Picatic. You can read about that here. That’s cool, and I’m doing my small part on the Picatic team to make that shift happen.

I love working with Jay. But I don’t have that kind of ambition or energy. However, I do take his advice to heart: Whatever you’re doing, think BIGger! If you think the Comox Valley is your market, think Vancouver Island. If Vancouver Island is your market, think BC. If BC is your market, think Canada, North America, the world. And, at the same time, respect and feed your community, the businesses that feed your local economy.

The #WeAreYQQ Project is about helping Comox Valley businesses get better and bigger at what we’re doing. Our focus: grassroots collaborations, punching above our weight. Your business is an important part of the mix. Sign up for a workshop or event. Join us as a #WeAreYQQ Champion (cool and useful perks!). Whatever. We’re growing businesses, making shift happen, and you’re invited to play.

C’mon peeps: Let’s get this shift done!

hpm

ps. A reminder: we’re dedicating 50% of first month subscriptions from every new subscriber in May to helping Anotiv Team get to Global Finals. The first 30 new subscribers get a $10 gift card to Atlas Cafe, and you’re entered to win new subscriber prizes – like a $100 gift card to Atlas Cafe or a $400-700 travel voucher for two from Pacific Coastal Airlines. It’s a good time to join the team!

pps. We get to do because of support from some great Comox Valley businesses and individuals. See the (always growing) list of #WeAreYQQ Solution Sponsors, Community Partners, Champions, and Ambassadors below.

SOLUTION SPONSORS
Comox Valley Record, Finneron Hyundai, hanspetermeyer.com, Mastermynde Strategy, Sure Copy Courtenay – and now 98.9 The GOAT!

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Atlas Cafe, Hansen & Hansen Painting, Island Word, My Tech Guys, Ron Pogue Photography, McKinnon Photography

CHAMPIONS & AMBASSADORS
Eatmore Sprouts, Sonya Marie Jenssen, David Frisch, Red Toque Creative, Lil Worker Safety Gear, Jace Pierson, Mike Templeton, Steve Morgan, Lucky Village Enterprises, Ivan’s Truffles, Studio IPF, Kayla McDonald Productions, Modern Rocket Media, Rattan Plus Home & Patio, Ben-zion Eni, Brooke Ferguson, Pacific Coastal Airlines, Speedibin Composters, Aero Art, Ansley and Company, and John Bonner Photography.

Rob Kelly’s #WeAreYQQ Report on Tech & Media: Spring 2016

March 1, 2016 by Leif Jason

This is my first report on the Comox Valley’s tech and media sector for the #WeAreYQQ Project. Three to four times a year I will be reporting on how local tech and media individuals and companies are succeeding and winning. Reports will be posted to this blog, and to local print publications whenever possible. If you’ve got news, please Tweet me @robkelly63.

Congratulations to Brent Craven at Craven Studios. Brent is a video creative who recently worked as director of photography and editor on Our Voices, Our Stories documentary, about the former St. Michael’s Residential School in Alert Bay. The film recently won best short form documentary at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco.

Brent is now editing Wine Guys, a six-part TV series coming out in 2016. You can see Brent’s video on former Comox Valley Record columnist Ralph Shaw at

Sarah Clark’s Future Perfect is a short form animated film company focusing on commercial clients. She recently completed a project for tech start-up Appreciado, the first project she’s done that almost exclusively uses hand drawn animation. Follow Sarah on Twitter @futureperfectTV.

Here’s what Future Perfect did for Vancouver advertising and design firm, St. Bernadine Mission:

Audio Xcellence is a DJ service that’s recently added a 20-foot indoors/outdoors screen to the existing 1,600 watt sound system, giving Audio Xcellence the ability to deliver “big picture, big sound”. Owner Russell Ball says that their special Halloween screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Courtenay Legion raised funds for the Care-A-Van homeless project.

Leif Jason at Mastermynde Strategy provides a wide range of professional expertise in marketing, eCommerce, web strategy, and more. He has recently developed an online calendar of Comox Valley events that’s crowd-sourced, and community-curated. A of the key to the success of this community calendar are curators, people with a passion for specific event sectors (e.g. food, sports, music, business, etc). If you’re interested in being a calendar curator please contact Leif directly via mastermynde.com or Tweet him @mastermynde A draft is posted at weareyqqcommunitycalendar.ca (see the dropdown menu at “Categories” for all listings). One of Leif’s passions is seeing community organizations using online resources effectively. For example, he’s been working with the Rotary Club of Comox to help merge multiple websites and use social media more consistently.

As for yours truly, Rob Kelly at Modern Rocket Media in Comox, I’m a corporate video writer, producer, and director. I’ve recently produced a fundraising video for the Richmond Hospital Foundation, telling the story of a long-time doctor in the community and the changes he’s seen in health needs over the years. I’ve also produced a short-form historical documentary for the Labour Heritage Centre of BC about the tragic history of asbestos and its impact on BC workers. Here’s a short I made for WorkSafeBC:

I’m currently working on a video series about dairy farm safety for new and young workers, shooting some of the footage locally – at Viewfield Farm in Courtenay.

Got tech or media news? Let’s get it in front of people. Send me a Tweet @robkelly63. Or email me at rob <at> modern-rocket <dot> com.

by Rob Kelly
on Twitter @robkelly63