Business Matters

It’s no secret that the financial market has been volatile lately, and it’s prompting people to look for the best options to save their money. “Many are feeling really nervous, scared and kind of at odds with themselves,” says Johnstone. “They don’t know what to do or how long it’s going to last.” Luckily, there are some low-risk options for members to save money. These include things such as Term...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by James Grieve, owner of Catalyst Strategies Consulting . Grieve is a lifelong learner and loves to provide value to his clients.  He’s also always had a passion for customer service, and the combination of his love of learning and desire to help businesses deliver a...

Brite Lounge opened in mid-June and is already receiving five-star reviews. The idea started over a cup of coffee with friends. A friend of Fasoli’s who was a dental assistant mentioned that she was whitening people’s teeth all the time. “I went back and did a little research on it, and found that this is a new and up-and-coming beauty procedure”, says Fasoli. Before Brite Lounge, the only place t...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Mike Koutsantonis, owner of Olympia Greek Taverna . Koutsantonis grew up in the restaurant business. His parents opened up the beloved Olympia Greek Taverna over 50 years ago, so the industry is in his blood. The family-owned and operated eatery has been an adorned...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Nathan Flavel, an Associate Broker at Sotheby’s International Realty and Owner and Executive Producer at the Kelowna Actors Studio . The inception of Kelowna’s Actor Studio was unconventional. “We started Actors Studio on a credit card, it was the craziest thing!”...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Jason and Carolina Lloyd from Tiki Time Tours .  Fun is the name of the game at Tiki Time Tours, whose bold tagline is “Every hour is happy hour”.  “We did a few different wine tours and I was like: why is it so boring ?” says Carolina. “It’s kind of boring from th...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Karl Reddick, a Wealth Advisor for Valley First in Kamloops. The topics at hand today are high-interest savings accounts, GICs and interest rates. With a high-interest savings account, you get a better interest rate compared to other savings accounts.  “That higher...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Mitch Carefoot, owner of Thick as Thieves . The company is the mastermind behind the popular local events AltiTunes, the Island Time Music Festival Series and the upcoming Denim on the Diamond music festival. About a decade ago, Carefoot and his business partner Ku...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Emirhan Kolburan from Okanagan Pasta Company Inc. Kolburan and his wife met in Turkey while they were classmates in the culinary arts. Both had a 45-minute car ride to school so they started carpooling together and eventually fell in love. After finishing school, t...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Andrew Greer, managing director of Purppl .  Purppl is helping organizations and people build sustainable business models that support long-term social impact models to solve community challenges including climate change, racial justice, poverty, economic inequalit...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Domenic Rampone, a sales representative at West Manufacturing Ltd . Rampone’s family has had connections to agriculture since they immigrated to Kelowna in 1893. Needless to say, he’s a bit of an agricultural expert – particularly when it comes to cherries. Did you...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Jason Peters from Valley First. Our guest is passionate about helping people understand the recent changes in interest rates across Canada. Peters is the Director of Wealth Management at all 14 Valley First locations and has a passion for supporting their members i...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Dave McElroy from Give Hope Wings . McElroy and Hope Air, which provides families from coast to coast with free flights and accommodations, came together in an interesting way.  McElroy was passionate about flying and wanted to raise money for charity on his expedi...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Rick Maddison of KelownaNow Streaming ! Maddison’s voice has previously appeared on KelownaNow on his podcast Homelessness in Kelowna , which aims to create awareness, educate and move our city forward – and now he’s got his very own show on KelownaNow Streaming. M...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Lindsay Partington, owner of Sip & Anchor and Lake Life Property Management . Partington is quite the entrepreneur. Not only is she the owner of Sip & Anchor, a luxury wine tour and boat charter company, but she also recently created her own business, Lake...

In this episode of Business Matters , presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union , host Rob Cupello is joined by Helen Goodwin, branch owner of the Valley First Penticton location to discuss mortgage rates and how homeowners and potential homebuyers can make the best financial decisions. Goodwin has been with Valley First for over 21 years, so she knows the ins and outs of th...