🚀 Introducing Ignite, your gateway to innovation

If you've been looking for an opportunity to get a new product market-ready, fast, or have been looking to envision what adjacent possibilities may be out there for your business, we have just the thing.

The Ignite program is a two-pronged approach, providing Chamber members with both practical outcomes and learning opportunities that support their growth and innovation initiatives. There are two streams of the program, the Innovation Primer Workshop Series and the Innovation Accelerator Program.

Business After Hours at Meticulon

📅 March 1, 2017    🕒 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm    📍 Meticulon

Social entrepreneurship isn't just about doing good, it's also about building a thriving business, one that disrupts industries and even has the potential to grow internationally. Meticulon has done that, and at our next Business After Hours they're going to teach you all about it.

Here you will network with some of Calgary's best and brightest professionals as you work together to complete the Meticulon Challenge, a 5-stage interactive sensory challenge where you learn first-hand about the Autism Advantage in action.

Come for the networking, and stay for the unique opportunity to learn how social entrepreneurship can revolutionize your business.

2017 Southern Alberta commercial tenant real estate forum

📅 March 14, 2017    🕒 7:30 am – 11:30 am    📍 St. Louis Hotel

The Calgary Chamber, Orange Group Commercial Real Estate, and McLeod Law have partnered to present this first-of-its-kind event aimed at helping businesses navigate the commercial real estate market in the current economic environment.

This jam-packed morning of expert advice takes a deep-dive approach into topics such as:

• Ways to profit from a weak economy
• Negotiating your lease renewal or finding new space
• Top landmines in almost every commercial lease
• Getting landlords to compete for your commercial business

Tips to grow your business

Digital tip: 5 cybersecurity tools your company should have

Smaller businesses are frequent targets for cyber crimes for a simple reason – they're easy targets. According to a recent Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 60% of cyber-attacks target SMBs.

But you don’t have to be passive. Here are five tools and services which small and medium business can use to protect themselves.

What we are reading...

• Elon Musk takes one customer's complaint on Twitter from idea to execution in 6 days
• 4 questions you should ask before going global
• How aligned is your organization?
• 5 tips on being a better leader during challenging times
• This Toronto startup uses A.I. to help lawyers predict trial outcomes

Member insights

Chamber Member: TransAlta

TransAlta is Canada's largest publicly traded generator and marketer of electricity and clean power. Their focus is to efficiently operate wind, hydro, solar, natural gas and coal facilities in order to provide customers with a reliable, low-cost source of power. 

With over 2000 employees in three countries working with four different types of fuel sources in nearly 70 facilities, TransAlta is dedicated to being a proud contributor to the communities in which their people work and live.

Members get exclusive discounts from Lundgren and Young Insurance

As a Calgary Chamber member you have the opportunity to access great discounts from Lundgren and Young Insurance. Take advantage of a 20% discount on automobile policies and 5% discount on homeowners policies.

Our members also get a dedicated broker, Air Miles Reward Miles, a 6 business hour response guarantee and four Calgary branches to serve you.

From our community partners

Terry O’Reilly: This I know – Marketing lessons from Under The Influence

📅 February 24, 2017  🕒 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm   📍 ATB Entrepreneur Centre

Later this month, our friends at the ATB Entrepreneur Centre are gearing up to host one of CBC Radio's great personalities to dig deep into the ins and outs of marketing and entrepreneurship: Terri O'Reilly. 

He'll be covering topics like:

• What business are you really in? It’s an age old marketing truism that what you sell and what people buy are always two different things.
• Storytelling in marketing—because if you don’t have a story, you don’t have a business.
• Your elevator pitch—can you sum up your company in one compelling, unforgettable line?

Community leaders