Patrick Shannon
InnoNative
Haida Owned and Operated Graduate
Innovator and Entrepreneur With a Vision for Future Generations
According to Bill Drayton, Founder and CEO of Ashoka, “[s]ocial entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”
Though the fishing industry is a great metaphor for this point, the impact that social entrepreneurs have can extend far beyond a single industry. This is the case for Patrick Shannon, Haida Owned and Operated graduate, whose work is not only impacting the industries he specializes in through his creative work, but also shaping future generations in communities across Northwest B.C.
Patrick Shannon is a professional creative and social entrepreneur from Skidegate on Haida Gwaii, B.C.
Patrick’s areas of expertise span photography; graphic and web design; and video production. Patrick specializes in filmmaking, photography, and graphic design with a focus on celebrating and tackling issues that are both urban and rural. Through his work, Patrick is a storyteller of Haida ancestry, finding inspiration from his cultural upbringing. In addition to being an artist, Patrick took the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills through the Haida Owned and Operated Program in which he learned how to turn his passion for web design, videography, and photography into a successful business” (Haida Gwaii Observer, 2015, Patrick Shannon named B.C.’s Young Aboriginal Entrepreneur of the Year). Patrick kick started his entrepreneurial career shortly after, and has been abundantly successful with his ventures ever since.
Patrick’s areas of expertise span photography; graphic and web design; and video production. Patrick specializes in filmmaking, photography, and graphic design with a focus on celebrating and tackling issues that are both urban and rural. Through his work, Patrick is a storyteller of Haida ancestry, finding inspiration from his cultural upbringing. In addition to being an artist, Patrick took the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills through the Haida Owned and Operated Program in which he learned how to turn his passion for web design, videography, and photography into a successful business” (Haida Gwaii Observer, 2015, Patrick Shannon named B.C.’s Young Aboriginal Entrepreneur of the Year). Patrick kick started his entrepreneurial career shortly after, and has been abundantly successful with his ventures ever since.
Patrick combined over a decade of experience in the Vancouver film, television, and design industries with his entrepreneurial vision to create EVIL Patrick by Design, a multimedia production studio and creative agency based on Haida Gwaii. In 2015, Patrick’s hard work was recognized when won an award open to over 200 000 Aboriginal People: the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at BC Aboriginal Business Awards.
When describing what it meant to receive this award in an interview, Patrick credited his mentor, Erica Ryan-Gagne for nominating him for the award and helping him continue to develop as an entrepreneur. Patrick also described that “[t]his award is putting what we do, all our services, in front of the top business leaders in B.C., which can’t do anything but help.”
Patrick’s approach to winning the award; looking to use this success to impact others demonstrates the attributes of a true community leader. Patrick also described in his interview the importance of Erica’s mentorship to reaching success at this level and noted, “I think this is what we would like to do for other people.”
As of January 2017, Patrick has phased out his business EVIL Patrick by Design in favour of InnoNative, a high-end First Nations multimedia creative agency, which he cofounded with fellow social entrepreneur Yolanda Clatworthy. InnoNative specializes in crafting quality products and services based on the needs of clients. InnoNative is passionate about each project and client, and has served clients including the Vancouver Canucks, Parks Canada, and the Council of the Haida Nation.
In addition to his work with InnoNative, Patrick and Yolanda cofounded social enterprise the Xaayda Hub on Haida Gwaii. Before ceasing operations in 2016, the Xaayda Hub was a space that provided members with a place to collaborate and build connections with other individuals passionate about supporting the movement towards new, innovative, and sustainable enterprise on Haida Gwaii.
Patrick and Yolanda describe that they created the Xaayda Hub because as young professionals, they saw local talent all around them in the community, but people were working in isolation because of a lack of infrastructure. Patrick and Yolanda came up with the solution to build a space enabling the collaboration so aspiring entrepreneurs, artists, doctors, and community members with all kinds of talents could turn their passion and ideas into prosperity through a community for idea-sharing, a space to learn from others, technology, and a space to gain inspiration. Patrick and Yolanda went far and above fulfilling this vision by providing a top class space for members of the community, including access to resource such as an open concept design with intent to spark creativity and build connections; a location by the beach for added inspiration; access to fast internet; beautiful desks and work spaces; coffee; a mailing address for members; printing; a lounge; and even email updates about weekly events.
Patrick and Yolanda’s impact as social entrepreneurs doesn’t stop there, in addition to cofounding the Xaayda Hub, the pair also worked with fellow community leader Lisa Mueller to spend ten days visiting communities for their project Youth 2 Youth Nation. Through Youth 2 Youth Nation, the trio captured voices and stories on film, which they combined into a film that was shared in Terrace, B.C. in 2015. The mission of Youth 2 Youth Nation was to provide youth with a platform on which to share their stories and aspirations, covering critical issues such as whether youth in communities were seeing change happen and what they saw as the way forward and how this change would be impacted.
Moreover, Patrick has mentored youth initiatives on Haida Gwaii through his work. Through his work, Patrick has mentored youth through events such as the Haida Gwaii Youth Assembly and filmmaking workshops for students. In fact, you can watch this video Patrick helped created as part of Team Media for the Haida Gwaii Youth Assembly, which is a gathering of Haida Nation youth to provide meaningful opportunities to youth in the community and discuss important issues.
Patrick’s impact on communities throughout Northern B.C. has been astronomical since his graduation from the ACE Program. Steve Jobs once said, “people with passion can change the world for the better.” Patrick’s aim to keep storytelling alive through combining tradition with modern art forms and his work to provide forthcoming generations with the tools necessary to create new economies have resulted in inspired change impacting the lives of many for years to come. This past fall, InnoNative was reorganized around Patrick working with a team of contractors to provide products and services to meet each client’s needs. Since reorganizing the business, InnoNative has done extremely well. InnoNative posted record revenues after reorganization, and the business is on pace to post record revenue again in 2017.
In 2016, Patrick also began instructing a web & social media course in the Haida Owned and Operated Program as well as the NW-ACE and LD-ACE programs, sharing his expertise with entrepreneurs working to turn their passion into a sustainable business. We at ACE congratulate Patrick for his work and are honoured to have the opportunity to work alongside Patrick in helping provide tools and resources for up-and-coming entrepreneurs during their journey.
Interested in learning more about Patrick’s creative work? Visit the InnoNative Website.
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