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Rising tech start up Porter wins the Built in Kamloops Competition, receives the opportunity of a lifetime.

(Vancouver, B.C.-July 7th, 2017) – Fending off stiff competition from 40 different companies in 8 different countries, Vancouver’s concierge platform Porter has won the Built in Kamloops competition, setting the stage to push BC’s tech industry to new heights and rapidly expand what it means to have a personal concierge in the palm of your hand.

Porter is a tech-enabled concierge platform that assists companies and working professionals in taking care of their day-to-day tasks such as dog walking, grocery shopping, couriering documents and storage solutions.

With over 10 years of experience in the Canadian eCommerce industry, working for companies like Clearly.ca and ShoeMe.ca, founder and CEO Jonathan Natavio got the idea to start Porter after noticing that office managers and executive assistants were always swamped with menial tasks such as grocery shopping and assembling furniture that took time away from vital projects. This meant that often fellow employees (Jonathan included) would often be press ganged into completing such mundane errands. Thinking that there would be a solution out there, he looked for an app or service that solve these issues and instantly realized that the entire industry is extremely fragmented and frustrating. The company officially launched in 2016, first as a personal concierge platform helping working professionals with errands and tasks. Today, Porter has grown into a tech-enabled full-service concierge platform providing services for businesses such as office cleaning, lunch delivery and furniture assembly.

By winning the Built in Kamloops competition, held in partnership with the City of Kamloops, Venture Kamloops, Tourism Kamloops and Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, Jonathan has received the opportunity of a lifetime to continue to expand Porter with a 6 month intensive package that includes $10,000 cash, accommodations, business coaching and mentorship, a new office and much more.

Built in Kamloops in a contest run by Kamloops Innovation, a non-profit society that supports and serves the community of technology entrepreneurs in the Central Interior region of British Columbia and is a BCIC Acceleration Network partner. They proudly operate with support from British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC), National Research Council (NRC-IRAP) and Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust (SIDIT). Companies

“This is a great opportunity for Porter to not only test our platform in a new market, but also receive mentorship in a proven Venture Acceleration Program to really accelerate our startup,” says Jonathan, “we’re thrilled to be a part of the vibrant Kamloops tech industry and contribute to the community.”

Jonathan has just started his 6-month residency in Kamloops where he will be matched with an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Kamloops Innovation working on accelerating his business and exploring all that Kamloops has to offer. Follow Jonathan’s journey in Kamloops at builtinkamloops.ca.

For more information about Porter, please check out www.summonporter.ca and for any inquiries or to schedule an interview with Jonathan Natavio, please contact:

Lilian Sue
Publicist
In Retrospect Writing Services
Lilians_1312@hotmail.com
604-518-6832