A Port Coquitlam mom whose business helps people move to new cities is herself flying off to a new city after winning a pitch contest for high-tech startups run by women.
"It's exciting," said Lori Crump, whose online business Base (www.baseyourself.com and @baseyourself) helps professionals with relocation assistance.
Crump herself has moved to Ireland, Australia and Indonesia to work but has never been to New York, where she'll be given VIP treatment and a chance to network with other businesses that could help her achieve her goals.
The Vinetta Project (www.vinettaproject.com/vinettaproject-canada.stringly.com), a start-up accelerator for women, chose Crump for its 2015 Innovation Challenge and in May is hosting Crump and three other Canadian entrepreneurs.
It was while Crump was facing a move to San Francisco with her husband and baby that she realized there was a gap in service for people needing relocation assistance.
"There was so little help," she said, "and I was surprised at how little there was online."
Crump brought her idea to TriCelerate, a Coquitlam startup accelerator for high tech businesses, and met Eli Hini, also a Port Coquitlam resident, who is developing a platform for Base. When it is fully functional, it will help people get information such as personalized to-do lists, documentation - such as how to a get a driver's licence - budgeting tools and cost of living comparisons as well as details on schools and neighbourhoods.
The goal is to help people plan and track their move, and Crump has made connections with ambassadors in cities along the west coast for those who need temporary accommodations and other support.
This is a service not typically available to smaller businesses looking to hire from out of town. "They don't have the tools they could pass on to their employees," Crump said.
To help her develop her business, Crump got initial funding from FutureCanada, a non-profit that helps young entrepreneurs get launched, and took a seven-week course on marketing and business plan development called Kick offered by Spring.is and available in Coquitlam starting March 23.
Now, thanks to The Vinetta Project, she'll soon be off to the east coast to see about developing contacts there.
More information about TriCelerate and Kick is available at www.triccelerate.ca and @TriCelerate
@dstrandbergTC
