Kamloops Innovation Centre Impacts Alumni

By Morgan Whiteford

The Kamloops Innovation Centre (KIC) is a non-profit organization that fosters entrepreneurs in tech start-ups through a collaborative work environment in Kamloops B.C. Since its inception, KIC has been home to over 20 TRU Alumni through start-up ventures. KIC began with four founders that helped secure the government funding for the Centre, one of which was TRU Alumnus, Dan Erikson.

“There’s never a better time to start making a business out of your idea,” said Erikson.

Board room at KIC

When you walk into the Kamloops Innovation Centre (KIC) there’s an overwhelming sense of creativity. KIC is located at 348 Tranquille Road and if you get the chance to take a visit, it is well worth your time. Not only are the people doing innovative work but the building itself is innovative. The KIC is trying to promote a collaborative work environment for its resident businesses. The office boasts both individual work stations as well as collaborative workspace for all of the employees to work in partnership and pool resources.

“They (the founders) saw the opportunity to transform Kamloops into the community that they wanted to live in,” said Lincoln Smith, Executive Director.

By creating an open working environment KIC promotes sharing and cooperating with different technology companies. KIC wants to provide exciting and interesting jobs for people who are interested in forging their own career paths. Smith said that usually the entrepreneurs start hiring more people after the first year.

Dan Erikson graduated from TRU’s Natural Resource Science Program in 2001 and is now the founder and CEO of Truvian Labs. Truvian Labs specializes in mapping software; Erikson had worked in the industry and saw that there was a need to do something with this line of work. Truvian Labs happens to be comprised of all TRU Alumni from different fields of study including marketing, natural resource science, microbiology and computer science.

Dan Erikson of Truvian Labs

Erikson’s favorite thing about working at KIC is the atmosphere.

“30-50 like-minded people with zero politics”, said Erikson. When asked what he would like to tell his fellow alumni and new graduates he said, “There’s never a better time to start making a business out of your idea.”

The Kamloops Innovation Centre has made it possible for numerous TRU Alumni to start their own companies and work for tech start-ups.

Tyler Eastman graduated from the bachelor of Computing Science program in 2008; he started a company called Spire. Spire is an asset management and human safety tracking company.

“It’s an exciting company on the cutting edge of wearing safety,” said Eastman. Eastman also employs, Alex Bruce, a 2010 TRU graduate from the Bachelor of Computing Science program. Bruce found out about KIC when he was interviewed for his position with Spire.

According to Eastman, working at KIC makes it easier to get through issues when working on projects for their company. Currently Spire is in the process of partnering with Truvian Labs.

“This will save us months of development time. The proximity of the company allows for more flexibility in how we approach integration between our products,” said Eastman.

Aras Balali Moghaddam graduated from TRU in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in computer science. He then went on to do his masters at the University of Victoria. “There were definitely several very passionate and supportive professors at TRU that have inspired me; every single one of them would make the whole four years’ worth it,” said Moghaddam.

Moghaddam works as a freelance mobile web developer. Currently he has two clients Hookflash and Arrow, he met Arrow through KIC. He found out about the Kamloops Innovation Centre on the Internet and said that through his experience at KIC he has met many knowledgeable and motivated people.

“I was able to join others in efforts to celebrate technology and ‘maker culture’ in Kamloops. For instance, after talking to several others at maker events sponsored by KIC; myself and a few others have set out to create the first makerspace in Kamloops called Modlab,” said Moghaddam.

“It is inspiring to be around people who set out to create something new and work everyday toward their goal.”

It has clear that the KIC has made a significant impact on a plethora of TRU alumni and friends. Not only does the Kamloops Innovation Centre host networking and start up events around the city, it is actively involved with the TRU Mentorship program. It has been a huge influence for the start-up community and will continue to do so moving forward.