Kootenay Founders Circle · Est. 2025
A private peer group for established Kootenay entrepreneurs running product-based and manufacturing businesses. Real conversations. Real growth.
Applications reviewed by founding members
Thank you — we'll be in touch within two weeks. In the meantime, feel free to reach out at hello@kootenayfounders.ca
We just don't have a room for them. Until now.
The Kootenay Founders Circle is a private peer group for established, owner-operated product and manufacturing businesses in the valley. We're not a networking event. We're not a workshop series. We're a small, trusted group of serious operators who learn from each other — honestly, without the noise.
Founded by two women entrepreneurs in Nelson — one in CPG, one in boat building — who looked around and realized the peer group they needed simply didn't exist. So they built it.
We keep the bar high because the conversations need to be real. Every criterion exists to protect the quality of the room — and the trust within it.
Your business is past early-stage survival. You're navigating real scale challenges — team, systems, capital, growth.
You live and operate in the Kootenay region. We meet in person, in each other's facilities, across the valley.
You make something — food, gear, boats, furniture, craft beverages, outdoor products. In-house manufacturing preferred.
The founder or CEO comes. No delegates. These conversations require the person who holds the actual weight.
You come to give as much as to take. You share openly, ask real questions, and engage with other members' challenges.
No direct competitors in the room. This keeps people honest and protects the candour that makes the group valuable.
One member brings a real, live problem. The group asks questions, challenges assumptions, and offers perspective.
A quick round-robin. Everyone shares one win and one thing they're wrestling with right now.
One member leads a topic: hiring, cash flow, pricing, retail strategy, operations, leadership.
Food, drinks, conversation. Unstructured time hosted at a member's business — you'll see inside the operation.
"We kept meeting incredible operators at the farmers market, at the Chamber events, in the grocery store — and thinking: why aren't we all in a room together? The Kootenays doesn't lack great entrepreneurs. It just lacks the structure for us to learn from each other."
— The Founding Members, Nelson BC
Between us, we run a consumer goods company and a boat building operation. Different products, completely different markets — but the same operational DNA. The same hiring headaches, the same cash flow seasons, the same "nobody warned me about this" moments.
What we found is that talking to other founders — especially ones outside our own industries — unlocked thinking we couldn't get anywhere else. That's what this group is for.
If you're building something real in the Kootenays, we want you in the room.
Yes — a small annual fee (details shared upon acceptance) covers operational costs and ensures members are committed. It's not about the money; it's about the signal.
Six times per year, approximately every 6–8 weeks. Meetings rotate between member businesses across the Kootenays.
Apply anyway and tell us your story. The revenue threshold is a guideline, not a hard gate — context matters.
Applications are reviewed by founding members. New members require a simple majority vote from existing members — we protect the room together.
No — we welcome any serious operator. The group was founded by women and champions diversity, but membership is open to all qualified applicants.
What's shared in the room stays in the room. All members sign a simple confidentiality agreement. This is non-negotiable and fundamental to how we operate.