SW Washington Startups Get an Incubator at TheVIC

We're excited to share that Portland Business Journal has featured TheVIC as the new home of North Bank Innovations' coworking and incubator space. This coverage highlights how TheVIC is quickly becoming a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in Southwest Washington.

Full Article

North Bank Innovations is moving into the massive Vancouver Innovation Center and opening a coworking and incubator space to support SW Washington tech startups.

North Bank is a Clark County nonprofit that hosts founder and startup events. It was founded in 2017 by tech strategist Dave Barcos. The group features a monthly founder coffee and the VanTechy meetup. In recent years, Barcos started hosting a founder conversation that featured young entrepreneurs and their journeys.

North Bank is taking over about 1,200 square feet in a building on the southeast corner of the innovation center, known as The Vic. The space is attached to an additional 30,000 square feet that startups can grow into if needed, said Barcos.

The Vic is a redevelopment of the former HP campus in Vancouver. The site is 179 acres. The full master plan calls for commercial and residential development, and the existing buildings, which total 700,000 square feet, are light industrial and office space. Other tenants include SVI Electronics and IND Inc.

Providing space for design, manufacturing and hardware companies is the long-term goal and an added benefit, said Barcos. He expects the incubator will house hardware startups in addition to software. He wants to see tech founders sit with entrepreneurs from other service sectors such as health care or accounting firms.

Barcos has been a fixture at events around the region as he's worked toward a more permanent, structured presence for Southwest Washington founders for years. He recently teamed with retired Intel executive, and Southwest Washington resident, Christopher Croteau, who helped push the nonprofit to reality.

Barcos and Croteau are fundraising for the new incubator and North Bank Innovation's programming. The owners of The Vic are providing the initial coworking space, said Barcos. While the coworking aspect will generate revenue from members, the duo are also seeking corporate sponsorships to help fund operations.

They are also talking to the city of Vancouver and Washington legislators.

"Clark County sits in the middle of nowhere, Portland thinks Olympia takes care of us and Olympia thinks Portland takes care of us," said Croteau. "And right now we are in full growth mode and the rest of Portland and Oregon are really struggling. They're going to be looking here for help."

"I think the opportunity to lead with some of Washington's strengths to create something really exceptional here, I think is going to help the region in a broader way."

Momentum around the Southwest Washington tech community has been growing, especially since the pandemic, said Barcos. The group's community has grown in the last 18 months, from around 400 participants who receive event news to about 1,400 currently.

"There's so much talent and so much innovation in Vancouver and in Clark County and unfortunately, we kept hearing the same exact story that they're all driving south to Portland to get access to resources, to get access to organizations that can help them," said Croteau, who is resident adviser for North Bank Innovations.

Barcos sees the coworking space to include seven or eight companies that have a product in market or a minimum viable product. He expects to attract companies that might need a little help with traction or figuring out a pivot.

Depending on community needs he could see the North Bank Innovation Incubator add a full accelerator to the mix. But, to start the space will be a place for founders to work and gather around like-minded people. Barcos and Croteau are enlisting other founders that are exited or further along as entrepreneurs-in-residence.

Barcos noted that North Bank Innovations is focused on Southwest Washington founders but is also part of the regional ecosystem. This gives Washington founders an avenue that isn't Oregon focused.

"There is no throwing rocks or anything," he said. "We want to collaborate," he said, adding that he is already working toward a coworking day with Oregon Entrepreneurs Network in the space.

"There is no us-versus-them at all. It's really about what we can bring new to the party."

Source: Portland Business Journal

Leasing Information

For details about available spaces at The VIC, contact:

**Office Space:**
Tamara Fuller, CCIM

503-946-4832

tamara.fuller@capacitycommercial.com

**Industrial Space:**
Mark Childs, SIOR

503-542-4350

markc@capacitycommercial.com