Guide to the Tech Startup Community in Victoria, BC

I moved to Victoria, BC in 2009 and it took me quite a while to really ‘plug in’ to the community. I’ve listed out the key resources, events and locations that I wish I had had back then.

The Town Square (Slack)

First things first: the Slack community. This is one of the key communities where a lot of the tech workers in town hang out. Sign-up is available by filling out a form.

• YYJTech Slack Channel

Tech Job Boards in Victoria, BC

There are two main job boards in town, one focused on startups, which is free to post on, and the other focused on larger, more established tech companies.

• Vic Startup Jobs on Github
• The ViaTEC Job Board

Two job aggregators to look at include BC Technology’s provincial tech portal and listings on Indeed.

Hiring Events in Victoria, BC

There are a few, key hiring related events to watch out for. In the Spring, check out ViaTEC’s annual celebration of Victoria Tech, and BattleSnake’s main event.

• ViaTEC’s Discover Tectoria (February)
• BattleSnake’s Main Event (March)

BattleSnake started out as a side event from local tech company SendWithUs/Dyspatch, and due to it’s popularity and success, spun out as an independent company in 2019.

In the Fall, UVic puts on a large hiring fair with good participation from tech community. It’s one of the key events that co-op students can use to network with employers when searching for a placement.

• Startup Slam (September)
• UVic’s Hiring Fair (October)

Victoria, BC Co-Working Spaces

There are a few key “tech” co-working spaces in town, similar in feel to a WeWork. You can also checkout a larger list here which has more in-depth listings.

• Space Station (517 Fort St)
• Watershed (1112 Fort St)
• Club Kwench (843 Fort St)
• The Dock (722 Cormorant), focused on companies doing impact work
• Digital Desks (810 Humbolt St.), the premium option, comes with concierge, pool/hot tub access apparently a masseuse

More traditional “virtual business offices” include:

• Raincoast Business Center (1027 Pandora Ave)
• Regus (1321 Blanshard, in the Atrium building)
• Limbic Media at (2-740 Discovery Street)

Key Tech Offices in Town

• 1515 Douglas Street. This is the “new Atrium” building, and houses a collection of larger tech companies.
• Owen Matthews has a number of buildings in town which house both his investment portfolio companies, but are also available for rent. These include 838. Fort St (check out the helicopter in the middle of the lobby), 1019 Fort St (above Picnic Too) and 1124 Vancouver St.
• ViaTEC is a members organization that describes itself as the face of Technology in Victoria. Their main building is 777 Fort Street, which includes an open lobby area for drop-in working, several conference rooms available hourly and offices for rent upstairs.

Coffee Hangouts

• Habit / The Atrium Building
• Discovery Coffee (Blanchard)
• Union Pacific
• Picnic

That’s it! Ping me if you have questions about the tech community not covered here.