Consortium of Entrepreneurs Join Forces to Create Startup Surrey

Network to build and strengthen Surrey’s business, innovation and startup communities

A group of progressive entrepreneurs are working together to establish a Startup Surrey chapter to build, strengthen and support the emerging business startup community in Surrey.

Startup Surrey will be supported by an ecosystem of prominent establishments such as the Surrey Board of Trade, Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association, the Health and Technology District, Startup Canada, Startup Vancouver and SFU Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection. Startup Surrey is one of over 50 communities as part of Startup Canada.

According to the latest available City of Surrey business statistics, there are more than 17,000 businesses in Surrey, with more than 2,600 new businesses in 2017, a 21 per cent increase from 2016.[i]

“Surrey is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada and by 2041, we will surpass Vancouver as the biggest city in British Columbia[ii],” says Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade. “Not only is the region growing at an accelerated rate, so are the number of businesses starting up in this city. Our goal in supporting Startup Surrey is to not only support future and existing entrepreneurs, but also to help them become one of the strongest startup communities in Canada.”

Startup Surrey will be a volunteer network of innovative business entrepreneurs with aligned interests and passions to foster collaboration, share inspirations and spark new ideas for success. Startup Surrey will host events, meetings, and facilitate initiatives that help emerging entrepreneurs learn best practices, develop skills, inspire creativity and grow their businesses.

Key founding entrepreneurs include: William Masih, CEO of Wellin5; Dogu Taskiran, CEO of Stambol Studios; Christina Chiu, CEO of Caren Care App; Sujoy Ghosh Hajra, CTO of Surrey’s NeuroTech Lab;

Careesa Liu, Co-Founder of the Surrey Collaborative Outreach and Research Experience (SCORE) program; and Brett Montrose, Founder of Streamline Athletes.

“It’s great to see this group of dynamic entrepreneurs collaborate and work together to create Startup Surrey,” says Rowena Rizzotti, Vice President of Healthcare and Innovations at the Health and Technology District. “We are excited to support this new venture to expand Surrey’s business community and create infinite future opportunities in this region.”

“Surrey is a vibrant and dynamic region and was ranked one of the world’s “seven most intelligent cities” in 2015 and 2016[iii],” says Elizabeth Model, CEO of the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association. “We encourage all business leaders as well as new and potential entrepreneurs to support and join this amazing network to innovate, collaborate and shape the future of Surrey’s economic development.”

Key details of Startup Surrey initiative will be finalized in the coming months. The group is encouraging all entrepreneurs and businesses in Surrey to be a part of this Startup Surrey network. Interested parties can visit www.StartupSurrey.org to become involved.

Story featured in Surrey Now Leader and Cloverdale Reporter.