 The Startup425 Accelerator is looking for mentors! The ideal mentor usually fits one of these categories:
- Professionals with experience in the startup and venture ecosystem as startup founders, builders, or investors.
- Experienced executives and/or service providers with deep expertise in a functional area relevant to launching a business (e.g. marketing, legal, finance, hiring & teambuilding).
- Successful small business entrepreneurs and operators who have founded one or more businesses or have substantial experience running a successful small business as an owner/operator (even if not the original founder).
S425 Accelerator sessions are held on Tuesday nights, 6-8pm PST over Zoom. The ask for mentors is to join one or more sessions for the full session duration and to provide feedback on founder practice pitches and participate in an open Q&A discussion. Each session is themed around a particular topic and functional area, like Legal, Funding, Growth, etc.
If you’re interested in learning more we’d love to hear from you at lreed@bellevuewa.gov.
 Struggling to find employees? Wish you had access to local talent?
Register for the free Eastside Virtual Job Fair on November 14th, from 10 am – 1 pm to access a wider pool of talent to fill our open positions. This event is a partnership between Eastside Cities and WorkSource – Seattle/King County. You will have the opportunity to view resumes and request appointments with job seekers prior to the event, to help you find the best candidates for your open positions. You will also receive access to candidates' resumes for 6-months after the event.
Space is limited so register today!
The final date to register for the job fair is October 25th.
You will be contacted within 2 weeks of your registration to confirm participation. A representative from WorkSource – Seattle/King County will work with you to create a dynamic virtual booth to attract the right job seekers. Please collect the following to be prepared for the booth:
· A web friendly version of your logo
· Photos or Images of your company
· Job listings to post on the site
· A brief description about your business
If you have any questions, please contact Christian Switzer at cswitzer@kirklandwa.gov
We look forward to seeing you on November 14th!
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The City of Kirkland is holding an Electric Landscaping Equipment Demo on November 14th! |
This event will connect local landscaping businesses with manufacturers that sell electric
landscaping equipment. We invite local landscape businesses, trade students, and any organization interested to come join and gain hands-on experience and education about using commercial electric equipment.
The City of Kirkland also intends to launch its electric leaf blower rebate program at this event which will offer rebates to landscaping businesses with Kirkland business licenses that purchase new electric leaf blowers.
When: November 14th, 2024
Time: 10:00AM - 2:00PM
Where: Juanita Beach Park (9703 NE Juanita Drive, Kirkland, WA 98034)
Learn more about Kirkland’s Electric Leaf Blower Initiative at kirklandwa.gov/leafblowers or reach out to mbinns@kirklandwa.gov for more information!
The City of Kirkland has FREE spill prevention and clean-up materials for your business on behalf of the Pollution Prevention Partnership. The Pollution Prevention Partnership is comprised of representatives from cities, counties, and health districts. Funding assistance is provided by the Department of Ecology and allows the program to provide free hands-on-assistance to Small Quantity Generators (typically small businesses and organizations), as well as spill prevention and clean-up materials, who wish to improve their practices by reducing impacts to human health and the environment.
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Spill Kits include protective gloves, goggles, absorbent materials, disposal bag, and directions on how to use the materials. |
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Secondary containment is used to store liquid containers and contain any leaks, drips, and spills. Containing leaks, drips, and spills before they flow onto the ground is important to prevent slips and falls, and pollution washing into nearby storm drains. We have secondary container for 5-gallon buckets and for 55-gallon drums. |
To quality for these materials, contact us to request a FREE Spill Kit or Site Visit.
More information on water quality programs can be found on the City of Kirkland’s Storm & Surface Water webpage.
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Many thanks to the 13 coffee shops that participated this year as part of the Eastside Bring Your Own Cup campaign!
The partnership participation helped to make the program a huge success, and made a valuable contribution to helping our community reduce waste from single use cups. The City of Kirkland’s solid waste team is currently working with the Cities of Bothell, Redmond, and Bellevue to analyze the waste diversion data from all 39 coffee partner locations. The BYOC program was partially funded by the King County Re+ City Grant, which supports cities delivering waste prevention, reuse, or recycling projects that help create a more circular economy.
If your business is interested in learning more about waste reduction and future partnerships with our solid waste team please contact us at recycle@kirklandwa.gov.
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 Did you know that you may be exposing yourself to toxic chemicals when you touch a cash register receipt? Bisphenols are chemicals that may be found in cash register receipts. Starting January 1, 2026, Bisphenol-container thermal paper will not be allowed for sale, manufacture, or distribution in Washington State. Although many businesses are switching to safer products, there are many ways you can reduce your customers and staff potential exposure:
- Avoid handing out receipts – ask customers if they need a receipt before printing
- Go paperless – encourage the use of digital e-receipts
- Switch to bisphenol-free receipt paper (BPA & BPS-free paper)
If your business is eligible, the City of Kirkland would like to assist your business in becoming bisphenol-free. Research what type of paper your business currently uses. If it is not bisphenol-free (BPA & BPS), the City is asking that you throw existing receipt paper away in trash and we will provide your business with ten (10) rolls of bisphenol-free paper. Do not dispose of the waste bisphenol paper in the recycling or compost, in the trash only. After you have used up the bisphenol-free paper the City provided, continue to purchase bisphenol-free paper.
This pilot program will be over on November 15, 2024. If you are interested in receiving 10-rolls of FREE BPA- & BPS-free paper and participating in the program, contact us HERE.
More information can be found on the City of Kirkland Storm and Surface water webpage (Business Pollution Prevention).
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Lake Washington Institute of Technology, BEA Environmental Inc., City of Kirkland, and Department of Ecology worked together to provide education to upcoming auto repair technicians.
During a regularly scheduled training class, Lake Washington Institute of Technology invited the other partners to spend an hour educating students on the hazards of chemicals, proper storage and disposal, and stormwater pollution prevention practices. The goal of the presentation was to give the students the information they need to protect themselves, their co-workers and customers, and the environment when employed in the auto repair world.
More information can be found on the City of Kirkland Business Pollution Prevention and the City of Kirkland’s Storm & Surface Water webpages.
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