Owner-Operator
Game Quest
Age: 30
Passion and drive towards a goal can be as effective in small business as formal education. Kelsy Polnik will tell you he is a college dropout with no professional credentials, but he has the most important one of all: bona fide entrepreneur. He lives his own education every day, and it is paying off for the community as well as his young family.
Ask any kid in town and they will tell you all about Game Quest. “His store provides a safe family environment which has partnered with other local businesses to provide our community with fun local events,” said one supporter. “His business is the only one of its kind in all of Northern B.C., which has helped bring business to the local downtown area from surrounding communities.”
Game Quest is the city’s headquarters to play video games from first-generation titles of yesteryear to today’s cutting edge. You can play them, trade them, sell them, buy them, and talk about them all in one location.
“Kelsy has been able to rally the participation and support of the entire gaming community in Prince George: video gamers and board gamers alike,” said another supporter. “He started his company from scratch, having saved his own money and supplies for years, in order to make his dream come true.”
When his business model hit a bylaw snag, he figured it out (1,200 signatures and a City Council speech later). He needed to move to a larger location in the first two years, but he negotiated that hurdle (40 customers showed up to help him move!).
He also works for AiMHi at night to add extra support to his young family.
Game Quest’s success has meant innovative employment opportunities, downtown economic activity, partnerships with other gamer businesses and community organizations, and the enhancement of events like Northern FanCon and Summerfest. Kelsy Polnik’s business vision is certainly playing well in Prince George society.
Presented by the Prince George Chamber Of Commerce
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