The Eastside's tech reach is stretching beyond places like Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland.
The SnoValley Innovation Center (SVIC), a mentoring and job-matching effort that started about four years ago, is looking to support entrepreneurs of all sorts in Snoqualmie Valley cities such as North Bend and Snoqualmie.
Tad Haas, president of the SVIC, said the area has a growing high-tech presence, as well as companies using innovation in industries like outdoor recreation and fitness. The goal is to keep local talent from fleeing to traditional tech hubs near Seattle.
"There is a serious, high number of people that are in the (Snoqualmie) Valley who are tech- and entrepreneur-minded, who leave the valley to go to their day jobs in Bellevue and Seattle etcetera, who we believe can be assets in the Snoqualmie Valley," Haas said.
The Snoqualmie Valley is already home to both high-tech and retail companies. Fall City-based project delivery company Edison365, where Haas is an executive vice president, offers software focused on project delivery. Ramsey Gear, meanwhile, makes beer-carrying gear and travel bags and is based in North Bend. Water sports equipment maker HO Sports is based in Snoqualmie.
SVIC began with in-person business forums where local entrepreneurs could meet with business experts in the area. When the Covid-19 pandemic made that impossible, the center began hosting online forums on Fridays to provide a similar mentorship experience.
There is no fee to join, and SVIC functions as a nonprofit with grants and donations from local businesses. Haas said all board members and participants are volunteers.
The SVIC is looking to get back to live events moving forward, and the organization has a physical space near the North Bend Umpqua Bank branch. Umpqua opened the space, a community room, seven years ago, and SVIC has been using it since the organization formed in 2018. Umpqua is a sponsor of the program, along with the SnoValley Chamber of Commerce.
The physical space functions mostly as a meeting space for entrepreneurs to work and network, but Haas said eventually it could become more of a lab.
SVIC also launched a job board site last year, and it works with local schools like Mount Si High School and Pacific Lutheran University to provide internships and projects with local companies. Haas said SVIC isn't just for software entrepreneurs trying to boost their startup. For example, the center helped a yoga studio learn how to market its business and pivot during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mentors that help with the program include a variety of experienced business leaders. In addition to Haas, Rob Wotton, a vice president at Umpqua Bank, is heavily involved with SVIC as director of strategic partnerships. Kevin Mayo, chief financial officer and chief information officer at Snohomish-based meal prep company Dream Dinners, and Nir Arad, senior research scientist at the publicly traded artificial intelligence company Nvidia, also serve as mentors for SVIC.
"We want to help foster startup businesses and encourage new ideas in a way that helps to supplement what the chamber is doing without competing with the chamber," Wotton said. "If you have an existing business, and you're a chamber member, and you're struggling with something to get unstuck, that's where the innovation center comes along."
