Valley nonprofit looks to help new businesses innovate

April 22, 2022

When Rob Wotton and Tad Haas get to shopping ideas about how they can help businesses, it can be hard to keep up.

For much of the past five years, and even more strongly in the past two, the duo have been spending their time and energy — and occasionally their own money — in an effort to further exploration and growth for businesses in the Snoqualmie Valley.

They serve as the brains behind the SnoValley Innovation Center, a youthful nonprofit that has been working to foster connections and build a thriving startup community in an area they say is ripe with opportunity.

“We are one of the most educated communities in the state and we have this wealth of knowledge and resources,” Wotton said.

“Someone may be an engineer and they may know how to build something that’s really innovative, but where they’re struggling is on the marketing piece or the finance piece,” Haas said. “We’re just there to help fill in the gaps so they have the resources to be more successful.”

The innovation center’s goals are all based on the principles that networking as well as trial and error can foster a better informed and more successful business community.

While the SnoValley Chamber helps businesses currently in operation, the innovation center is hoping to provide free resources for those looking to jump-start a new business or product.

The group’s most visible work so far is its weekly Friday meet-ups, which typically draw a handful of visitors each week. The meet-up brings together innovators from varying industries to share ideas and help young or start-up businesses get off the ground.

“It’s this network of people bringing their knowledge to the table for others,” Haas said. “We work with some new businesses that are stuck and we try to get them unstuck.”