Value of a Neighbour, Community, and a Culture of Connectedness
On Monday, we had the pleasure of hosting “ICE Series 5: Best Practices in Building Innovative Communities and Collaborative Research Parks – from Waterloo to Alberta”. One resounding theme was that research parks are more than just buildings – they are communities which foster innovation through collaboration with neighbours of entrepreneurs and researchers. .
While typical neighbours borrow a cup of sugar, or offer advice on how to teach your kids to drive a car – in the tech community your entrepreneurial neighbour can share a laptop power supply, and offer advice on how to grow your company over coffee and at no charge. If your office is at a research park or other innovation centre – this can be a common occurrence, and a way to grow your business “just by being present”.
Great leaders have said ‘surround yourself’ with the community you want to be part of. The chemical engineer in me would call it ‘learning by osmosis’. When your neighbours can be your role models or share the lessons they have learned- this can help move an entire community forward and build culture. In fact, conferences like Inventures bring everyone together every year – to make this happen for all Alberta tech entrepreneurs. To quote one of our most quotable and experienced entrepreneurs, Wayne “I come to Inventures to meet people it would otherwise take me months to connect with”.
Here’s to a connected community, everyone – for all of Alberta’s tech entrepreneurs!
P.S. TechAB-C’s – Our Directory has 15 companies under “J” and “K” alone, including:
– Kinetisense(Medicine Hat): 2022 ASTech Award Winner – produces 3D motion capture software to assess body movements for improvement in therapy and performance athletics.
– Jobber(Edmonton): 2023 Best Places to Work in Canada Award – rapid growth company providing operations management software for home service businesses.
