Ottawa business journal 20160314

Seeking a strategy @techopiaOTT

Clean-tech CEOs support call for federal task force to work with industry on national development plan > PAGES 12-13

March 14, 2016 Vol. 19, NO. 10

THE TENANT’S ADVANTAGE

613.688.7200 For daily business news visit obj.ca

Finding our focus

It’s time for Canada’s tech clusters to band together and build on country’s strengths, Jeffrey Dale writes. > PAGES 6-7

Raising the bar

The Minto Group, led by chair Roger Greenberg, has earned its second consecutive green builder award.

Zed Filmworks partner Robert Menzies has brought productions to the capital featuring big-name actors such as Michael Keaton. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

Film industry eyes starring role in city

> PAGE 15

Ottawa an emerging force in Canada’s production scene though not a top player yet

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Hollywood North? Hardly, but the National Capital Region is carving a niche as an alternative to film hubs like Toronto > PAGES 4-5

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2016 NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN!

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A cool place in a hot market

Kanata North stakes its claim in Software-as-a-Service

K

anata North has a long and storied history as a pillar of the Canadian telecommunications industry. It remains the hotbed of telecom innovation in Canada.

But serious tech gets done here in many market verticals. A highgrowth industry that’s writing a whole new chapter in the annals of Ottawa’s tech sector is Software-asa-Service (SaaS).

According to the Economic Impact Study and Market Gap Analysis recently completed for the Kanata North Business Association

by Doyletech Corp., the majority of tech companies in Kanata North are not working in telecom. Their focus is business and consumer software.

A growing number of these are in the SaaS space.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

A GREAT TIME TO BE IN SAAS

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Why wouldn’t they be? It’s a great time to be a Canadian company in the SaaS market.

According to market research firm IDC, it’s an industry that’s growing five times faster than traditional software and expected to reach US$112.8 billion in sales by 2019. Small business and large enterprises alike are turning to SaaS to tap into the power of Big Data, and reduce their IT costs and headaches.

The benefits run both ways.

SaaS vendors can build big export businesses and tap into global markets fast at a low cost, relative to the traditional software distribution model. It’s an opportunity with an ROI that’s attractive to investors.

That’s been the case for The Better Software Company, which has eager investors lining up at its door.

BUILDING BETTER SOFTWARE IN KANATA NORTH The Better Software Company offers a fully integrated software

Left: Steve Cody, The Better Software Company. Right: Tyler Eyamie, Fusebill.

“There is a sense of coolness to Kanata North with the new generation of companies that are pitching their tents here.” solution to help small business owners improve and simplify how they run their businesses.

The company is a graduate of L-SPARK, Canada’s only Incubator and Accelerator program dedicated to enterprise SaaS. In less than a year, The Better Software Company has grown from four to 80 staff and secured more than US$2 million in seed financing.

But why build the business in Kanata North?

Founder and CEO Steve Cody said the team considered downtown, but a number of factors kept them in Kanata North. These included parking accessibility and avoiding the rush-hour grind,

as well as far more flexible lease options to expand as a tenant of the Kanata Research Park.

A GREAT LOCATION, EVEN GREATER TALENT He also cited the local support networks for growing tech companies, such as Wesley Clover’s popular Tech Tuesday events, and the scenic appeal of being on the edge of green space and next door to the Marshes Golf Club. Most of all, it came down to talent.

“We realized that most of the people we wanted to hire were located in the west end of Ottawa,” Cody said.

A deep pool of talented people, flexible and affordable real estate, and access to likeminded peers also made Kanata North a natural home for Fusebill.

With its SaaS billing automation platform for businesses, Fusebill has already secured more than 100 customers worldwide and expects to almost triple its headcount this year.

“There are so many little things about working out of Kanata North that fit with the culture we want to create at Fusebill, to grow it into a large company,” said CEO Tyler Eyamie.

INCUBATING, ACCELERATING A NEW GENERATION OF COOL COMPANIES But why did L-SPARK, Canada’s only dedicated enterprise SaaS Incubator and Accelerator, decide to set up shop in Kanata North?

“You want to be where the action is and there is a great wealth of companies here,” said Patrick White, Acting Managing Director of L-SPARK. From billion-dollar multinational Mitel Networks to Ericsson’s world-class wireless lab and a host of up-and-comers, “there is just so much knowledge, expertise, interaction and collaboration condensed into such a small area.”

With an advisory board and selection committee that includes big names in enterprise IT and leading venture capitalists, it should come as no surprise that L-SPARK has welcomed 19 strong startups into the portfolio in less than two years.

Cody believes Kanata North is only starting to lever its strengths as a leader in the SaaS space.

“There is a sense of coolness to Kanata North with the new generation of companies that are pitching their tents here,” he said.

FIND OUT MORE AT www.serioustechliveshere.com

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Doing business across the Ottawa River Avoid getting caught between Ontario and Quebec law

T

he National Capital Region is a complex place to do business. Federal contractors must navigate a web of procurement rules. Quebec and Ontario businesses that cross the river find themselves faced with a radically different legal system.

It can make for a sticky situation should a dispute arise between parties.

The differences between Ontario and Quebec arise from the distinct origins of their respective legal systems. Quebec law is based on the Napoleonic Civil Code.

Ontario and the rest of Canada uses common law, in which a system of rules have evolved, and continues to evolve, based on precedent. In addition, courts in one province are not quick to take jurisdiction over a case or ruling made in the other.

HARD TO ENFORCE ONE PROVINCE’S RULING IN THE OTHER

A HIT TO THE POCKET BOOK

TRIPPING OVER ONTARIO LAW Another procedural weapon is the requirement that out-of-province businesses register with the Ontario government before carrying on operations here, under the Business Names Act and Corporations Information Act. Filing the paperwork to meet this requirement is straightforward, but it’s often neglected. Those same Acts prohibit a non-compliant

company from maintaining a Court proceeding until the delinquency is fixed.

“This could have large repercussions on the Quebec company’s lawsuit, especially in construction lien claims, defamation claims and other specialized regimes that are subject to strict timelines,” said Collings.

WOOD STONE & TILE INC. V. EZEKIEL Take the recent case of World Stone & Tile Inc. v. Ezekiel. In this case, both parties were Ontario companies, but the same regulatory requirements apply.

A contractor, “Wood Stone & Tile,” completed and failed to obtain payment for a scope of work agreed upon under contract. It placed a lien on the property owner. The owner counterclaimed for deficiencies against the individual contractor.

The contractor attempted to have the claim against him personally dismissed, on the basis that it was a corporation that did all of the work.

“The Court refused to do so, because the contractor had knowingly failed to register his business name properly, and had

misled the property owner,” said Collings. “As a result, the contractor was left with a personal judgment against him.”

KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GETTING INTO The best defence is a good offense: Understand how things work differently on the other side of the river.

“Ensure you have crossed every legal ‘T’ and dotted every ‘I’ required by the law in each province,” Collings said.

Collings has a wide-ranging litigation practice in the Ottawa Valley.

For more information, please contact him at (613) 696-1318 or jcollings@lmrlawyers.com

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“But Ontario businesses do have some procedural weapons at their

disposal, should they be the target of a lawsuit from a Quebec-based company,” Collings added.

One relates to recouping legal fees. In Ontario litigation, the successful party is generally entitled to an Order for payment of part of its legal fees. But it can be difficult to collect from a Quebec company. In appropriate circumstances, the courts allow Ontario Defendants to seek an Order that a Quebec Plaintiff deposit security for costs with the Court.

“This means that the Quebec Plaintiff may need to come up with a substantial sum of money for deposit before proceeding with the claim, which may make it think twice,” said Collings.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

For example, let’s say an Ontario company enters into a contract with a Quebec company for services to be rendered in Ontario. That Quebec company fails to deliver on the contract and the Ontario company takes it to court – in Ontario. Even if the Ontario company obtains a favourable ruling, it may face difficulty enforcing that judgment in Quebec.

This same difficulty could arise in other legal cases, such as a defamation action.

All common law provinces have reciprocal enforcement legislation that allows for registration and quick enforcement. But because of Quebec’s different legal system, an entirely new legal proceeding may have to be started regarding the same case.

“This means you have to essentially start again from scratch, an expensive and costly delay,” said Jonathan Collings, a Litigation Associate with Low Murchison Radnoff LLP who practices in construction litigation, defamation and income tax law. “The same applies for the enforcement in Ontario of a Quebec judgment.”

ENTERTAINMENT Stepping up on the world stage It might not be Hollywood North, but Ottawa is starting to make a name for itself among film producers looking for a cheaper alternative to Toronto and Vancouver, industry observers say

BY DAVID SALI david@obj.ca

W

hen the horror film February debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, few but the most dedicated cinephiles would have known about its close link to the National Capital Region.

Starring Emma Roberts and Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka, February was filmed in Canada, but not in the production hotbeds of Toronto or Vancouver. It was shot in the dead of winter just south of Ottawa, mostly on the Ontario Agricultural College’s Kemptville campus.

Produced by local residents Robert Menzies of Zed Filmworks and Alphonse Ghossein of Go Insane Films, February was the first film ever financed and made in the Ottawa area to be officially selected for TIFF. “That we can produce a film in this city that has a market value around the world, I take a lot of pride in that, and I think all of the crew and all of the local cast take pride in that,” says Mr. Menzies, who owns Zed Filmworks with partners Curtis Crawford and Don Osborne.

February was just one of several local film productions in the past few years to feature high-profile Hollywood actors, following others such as Penthouse North (2013), which starred two-time Oscar nominee Michael Keaton, and the 2011

film Sacrifice with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Christian Slater. Mr. Menzies was a producer of both projects.

“The city has been a great place to film,” he says. “The industry continues to get stronger and stronger every year in Ottawa.”

After spending years as a producer in Mexico, the United States and Europe, Mr. Menzies returned to his hometown because he wanted to raise his family here and because he felt the nation’s capital was a “very viable place” to make movies.

The city’s crews can match up with anyone’s, he says, adding Ottawa is an ideal location for movies with budgets of between $1 million and $10 million because filmmakers get more bang for their buck than in places like Toronto where labour and other production costs are higher.

“That is an area where Ottawa can really excel,” he says. “The better we are at that budget level, the busier Ottawa will be because the bigger centres like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have a harder time dealing with what they would consider a smaller budget. They’re set up for big budgets. We have a real niche, not to compete with Toronto or Montreal, but to really increase the pie for all of us.”

Mr. Osborne agrees, adding the region’s diversity of architecture, natural surroundings and, yes, even weather – Ottawa’s frigid winter was one of the

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Robert Menzies of Zed Filmworks says the movie business is on the rise. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

stars of February, for example – makes it a convincing stand-in for many locations.

“Ottawa is still kind of considered undiscovered,” he says. “If you stand in the centre of Ottawa, you could drive 30 minutes one direction and you’re in a complete rural setting and drive 15, 20 minutes in the next and you’re in a mountainous region in Gatineau and

you’ve got all kinds of parks and hills.

Except for maybe Los Angeles, I think we could pass for just about any city anywhere.”

Overall, they say, the film business is one of the capital’s most overlooked industries, directly employing hundreds of people and generating millions of dollars in economic spinoffs for sectors such as hospitality and tourism.

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“That we can produce a film in this city that has a market value around the world, I take a lot of pride in that, and I think all of the crew and all of the local cast take pride in that.”

– ROBERT MENZIES, PRODUCER AT ZED FILMWORKS

Bruce Harvey, head of the Ottawa Film Office, says the number of shooting days in the capital region has been steadily rising over the past few years and he expects that trend to continue.

He says the falling loonie has helped offset most of the impact of last year’s cut in the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit to 21.5 per cent of qualifying expenditures from 25 per cent. Under provincial rules, producers that shoot in the Ottawa region and use Ontario crew members can also benefit from higher tax credits than in Toronto, giving filmmakers another incentive to set up their cameras here.

“We’re seeing growth already this year that seems to be indicating a very strong year,” Mr. Harvey says. “In the drama side, some of the key companies are really maturing right now.”

Still, some prominent industry figures say that growth is being stunted by jurisdictional red tape.

Governments on both sides of the Ottawa River need to eliminate barriers that are impeding efforts to market the region and promote Ottawa-Gatineau as a film production centre, says Michael Dobbin of Quiet Revolution Pictures.

Mr. Dobbin says he often partners with European producers who can’t understand why they have to deal with film commissioners from two different cities, Ottawa and Gatineau, as well as various levels of government to get projects approved.

“There has traditionally been a dysfunctional lack of leadership in this region,” he says. “(The film industry) is a huge employer and a huge economic engine. I think the two provinces and the two cities should be much more willing to work together proactively.”

Mr. Dobbin also says the futile effort to build a sound stage in Ottawa is an example of local governments failing the industry. The city chose a Toronto studio, Cinespace, to construct a facility in 2012 after issuing a request for proposals, but the company ultimately backed out of the deal. Plans to negotiate with other potential private-sector partners went

nowhere, meaning Ottawa still lacks one of the key components of a major film production hub.

“I do believe we have to have a (sound stage) here if we really want to be a competitor,” says Ken Stewart, an executive producer at Ottawa-based GAPC Entertainment.

Mr. Harvey, who works out of an office at Invest Ottawa with one other fulltime employee, agrees Ottawa needs to become more “film-friendly.”

He notes that the city is looking at creating a new film bylaw that could include measures such as lifting onstreet parking bans for production crews, for example, or relaxing noise restrictions during shooting. Such changes, he says, are long overdue.

A lack of qualified labour also limits the region’s potential, observers say.

Ottawa has between 200 and 250 crew workers, about the same number of people that typically staff a single big-

Think Ahead.

budget Hollywood production.

Mr. Harvey says he hopes a recent spike in the number of independent producers in the city will provide a training ground for new talent. He also believes it’s vital for Ottawa to lure a television series that shoots in the city day in and day out as another way for local crew members to gain valuable experience, especially for positions such as assistant directors and production managers.

Despite some obvious hurdles, the

industry’s future in Ottawa looks bright, insiders say.

“The good thing is there’s growth, there’s opportunity, but the challenge is going to be how to sustain that,” Mr. Stewart says. “If we don’t, it will be a flash in the pan. It always takes time, but there’s a lot of things right now that are looking very positive. If there is a time for us here in Ottawa to really push an agenda forward and work at it to grow the industry … now is the time. We’ve all got to be on the bandwagon.”

FILM AND TV IN OTTAWA 2013: Permits issued (filming and parking): 340 Filming days: 990 Production spending in Ottawa: $21.5 million 2014: Permits issued (filming and parking): 227 Filming days: 771 Production spending in Ottawa: $13.3 million 2015: Permits issued (filming and parking): 262 Filming days: 1,121 Production spending in Ottawa: $16.3 million 2016 (YTD) Permits issued (filming and parking): 36 Filming days: 168 Production spending in Ottawa: $7.9 million Figures do not include animation projects, corporate, sports and broadcaster in-house productions or any independent film that does not shoot on public property.

Source: Ottawa Film Office

Think Ahead.

Left to Right: MNP – Doug McLarty, Regional ExitSmartTM Leader, Startup Canada – Victoria Lennox, Co-founder and CEO, MNP – Gordon Wright, Senior Manager

long Learn how to think Partners in Growth, Allies in Innovation ing your business. term when structur As a cutting-edge business, you need growth strategies that are as innovative as you are. MNP has the expertise, knowledge and people to help you plan ahead while taking advantage of grants, tax credits and market know-how, right now. When it comes to opportunities to drive technology further, we help you create the future. As the fastest-growing national accounting and business consulting firm in Canada, MNP is proud to partner with Startup Canada, an organization of entrepreneurs working together to build an environment and culture for entrepreneurial growth and success.

Watch the video at techopia.ca/mnp

Contact Doug McLarty, FCPA, FCA, CFP, TEP, ICD.D at 613.691.4222 or doug.mclarty@mnp.ca

Left to Right: MNP – Doug McLarty, Regional ExitSmartTM Leader, Startup Canada – Victoria Lennox, Co-founder and CEO, MNP – Gor

As a cutting-edge business, you need growth strategies that are as innovative as you are. MNP has the expertise, knowledge and people to help you plan ahead while taking advantage of grants, tax credits and market know-how, right now. When it comes to opportunities to drive technology further, we help you create the future. As the fastest-growing national accounting and business consulting firm in Canada, MNP is proud to partner with Startup Canada, an organization of entrepreneurs working together to build an environment and culture for entrepreneurial growth and success.

Contact Doug McLarty, FCPA, FCA, CFP, TEP, ICD.D at 613.691.4222 or doug.mclarty@mnp.ca

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

Partners in Growth, Allies in Innovation

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COMMENTARY Great River Media 250 City Centre Ave., Suite 500 Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 6K7 obj.ca TELEPHONE Phone: 613-238-1818 Sales Fax: 613-248-4564 News Fax: No faxes, email editor@obj.ca PUBLISHER Michael Curran, 238-1818 ext. 228 publisher@obj.ca CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Terry Tyo, 238-1818 ext. 268 terry@greatriver.ca EDITOR, PRINT CONTENT David Sali, 238-1818 ext. 269 david@greatriver.ca EDITOR, ONLINE CONTENT Tom Pechloff, 238-1818 ext. 291 editor@obj.ca COPY EDITOR Krystle Kung ADVERTISING SALES General Inquiries, 238-1818 ext. 286 sales@obj.ca Wendy Baily, 238-1818 ext. 244 wbaily@obj.ca Carlo Lombard, 238-1818 ext. 230 carlo@obj.ca Alison Stewart, 238-1818 ext. 226 alison@obj.ca SPECIAL PROJECTS Nikki DesLauriers, 238-1818 ext. 240 nikki@obj.ca MARKETING & SALES CO-ORDINATOR Cristha Sinden, 238-1818 ext. 222 cristha@greatriver.ca CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tanya Connolly-Holmes, 238-1818 ext. 253 creative@obj.ca ART DEPARTMENT Regan VanDusen, 238-1818 ext. 254 regan@greatriver.ca

Regaining our innovative edge Canada’s most innovative tech regions need to stop competing against each other and help develop a unified strategy for growth, Jeffrey Dale writes

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

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ne of Canada’s most distinguished former public servants recently gave a speech on the state of innovation in this country that was both inspirational and depressing.

Kevin Lynch, a former Clerk of the Privy Council under Stephen Harper, delivered the annual Dick, Ruth and Judy Bell Lecture at Carleton University on March 1. His topic was “Can Canada Become an Innovation Nation – and Why Does it Matter?”

Mr. Lynch has the experience and background to bring both a national and international perspective to this topic. Not only did he provide advice to the prime minister, he was also deputy minister for Industry Canada under John Manley, Canada’s executive director at the International Monetary Fund and a chair of the University of Waterloo’s board of governors. Currently he is vicechair of the BMO Financial Group and a visiting lecturer around the world.

Mr. Lynch offered a great perspective on what companies and countries around the world are doing to become innovation leaders.

For example, exporting innovative products is critical to Canada’s economic growth and survival. Yet even though Canada likes to think of itself as an exporting nation, we are in fact very insular in our global outlook. Mr. Lynch noted that only 11 per cent of Ontario businesses export, and if you remove the companies that export only to the United States, that number drops to one per cent.

Mr. Lynch also discussed the disruptive technology advances that will transform life, business and the global economy, based on a report from the McKinsey Global Institute. The report identifies 12 technologies that could drive massive economic transformations and disruptions in the coming years, including advanced oil and gas

exploration, cloud computing, mobile Internet technology, next-generation genomics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, energy storage, 3D printing and others.

Canada has strong potential in many of these areas, but we are not even close to being world leaders in any of them. Rather than concentrate our investments on sectors where we can dominate, we sprinkle money all over and end up achieving little. Mr. Lynch is a strong advocate of a national innovation strategy that will focus our public investments on a few disruptive technologies.

He also discussed the development of regional tech “clusters” to support such a strategy. Mr. Lynch is very involved in the Kitchener-Waterloo region (although he lives in Ottawa) and is very familiar with that cluster’s strengths. But he does not know as much about the strengths of other regions, especially Ottawa.

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Letters can be e-mailed to editor@obj.ca.

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Clusters are both geographic and industry focused because the idea was originally developed before we had instant and ubiquitous communications tools. While a cluster is still about industry and technology expertise, the concept of geography can be limiting, especially in a country as big as Canada.

If we are trying to promote one regional cluster as better than another, we are automatically creating competition among ourselves. But our real competition is not in Canada – it is in the United States, Europe, India and China. If our tech clusters waste precious time and resources competing with each other, we will never be ready to take on the world.

I don’t like to say the sky is falling, but just look at this country’s economic growth over the past decade. Overall, it has flatlined. Yes, Canada has some great companies, but the rest of the world is creating more and doing more and Canadian industry is quickly falling behind.

Now is the time to develop a national innovation strategy that concentrates on areas in which our businesses are ready to invest. To do this with any kind of impact on our economy, the country must focus its resources on where it can

Now is the time to develop a national innovation strategy that focuses our public investments on areas in which our businesses are ready to invest. To do this with any kind of impact on our economy, the country must focus its resources on where it can be a leader and not where it can only be a follower be a leader and not where it can only be a follower.

The last time Canada tried to develop a national innovation strategy a decade ago, it was all about “show” and not substance. Regional innovation workshops were held across the country with lots of speeches and discussions.

By the time the final national event was held in Toronto, the energy was gone.

The prime minister, who was supposed to attend in person, sent a video message instead, and I watched as many business leaders walked out of the room. The final “strategy” offered no clear direction. Ten

years later, we’re still waiting.

Mr. Lynch noted that developing a national innovation strategy is not easy for Canadians and our public service.

There is always another person or group we would like to get input from, another open consultation that might assist in clarifying a few points. We suffer from paralysis by analysis.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is a resourceful nation, not just a resource nation.

Not only does this country need to be resourceful, it needs to be decisive and extremely focused.

We have an abundance of natural energy sources, so perhaps our No. 1 focus should be on advanced oil and gas exploration. We once held a leadership position in genomics, so maybe we can regain that status. In the 1990s, we were one of the top research and business centres for telecommunications. Can we now assume a role as leaders in the fields of Internet of Things, cloud computing or mobile Internet technology? We could also look to the autonomous vehicle sector, tapping into Ontario’s strengths as the former top producer of vehicles in North America.

If we regain our focus, we have a chance to be global leaders in these fields.

Even if you’re not a fan of the new Liberal government, there is no denying there is new energy in Ottawa. Canada is once again being talked about on the world stage. Now is the time for this country to gain a global economic advantage by focusing on becoming an innovation leader in a few key technologies.

Jeffrey Dale is the president of Snowy Cloud and the former president of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

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Shenkman Arts Centre

Thank you for your support

A guide to untangling red tape

OrlĂŠans Economic Symposium helps business navigate government Bureaucracy.

I

t’s a confounding and bewildering entity for business owners everywhere.

From understanding federal tax filing requirements to obtaining a municipal permit, it sometimes seems like the entrepreneur and the bureaucrat are two species from different planets.

Board of Directors, OrlĂŠans Chamber of Commerce Lobby groups repeatedly call for a reduction in bureaucratic red tape. Governments regularly promise to do so. But what business owners really need is some practical, face-toface help to understand how to successfully work within the system, be it municipal, provincial or federal.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

That’s why the OrlÊans Chamber of Commerce is holding Ottawa’s first Economic Symposium where local business owners and public administrators from every level can talk shop.

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Whether you are an established business looking to expand, an independent contractor, startup, property developer or entrepreneur with an idea you want to get off the ground, this Symposium can help. Learn how to navigate through the complex dealings of government agencies for funding and support, and understand what will propel your business to the next level.

Speakers will cover everything from support for SMEs, grants, loans, doing business with the federal government, and exporting to foreign markets, to intellectual property and employment services.

Speakers include:

• Greg Fergus, Member of Parliament, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development • Marie-France Lalonde, Member of Provincial Parliament and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure

• Marc Pilloud, Program Officer, Regional Network and Intergovernmental Relations, CanExport at Global “Our goal is to Affairs Canada untangle red tape at all levels of government • Marc Yelle. Manager, Entrepreneurship Centre, bureaucracy, to help Business Development Bank of Canada grow your business,â€? • Lynne Groulx, Senior Business Advisor, Ontario’s said Amanda Smith, Co-Chair Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and of the Chamber’s Economic Infrastructure Development Committee. “The OrlĂŠans Chamber has developed • Caroline Landry, Regional Director, Office of Small great working relationships with and Medium Enterprises and Strategic Engagement, all levels of government, to make Public Works and Government Services Canada this community a great place • Blair Patacairk, Managing Director, Investment and to start and grow a successful Trade, Invest Ottawa business. We want to carry this over into an event that can benefit • Jean-Robert Sabourin, Employment Services business owners from across the Manager, Employment Ontario region.â€? • Adam M. Tracey, Lawyer, Patent and Trademark Agent, Nelligan O’Brien Payne The Symposium takes place on Thursday, March 31 at the • Closing remarks by Mayor Jim Watson Shenkman Arts Centre. It begins To learn more and to register, please visit with the OrlĂŠans Chamber’s http://www.orleanschamber.ca/pages/an-economic-symposium regular monthly networking Opportunities remain to sponsor the Symposium or exhibit. breakfast and continues until noon.

For more information, please contact Stella Ronan at the

Ticket Information Location: Shenkman Arts Centre , 253 Centrum Blvd., OrlĂŠans Date: Thursday, March 31 Time: 7:15am to 12 noon (9am to 12 noon if not attending breakfast) To Register: www.orleanschamber.ca/pages/an-economic-symposium

OrlĂŠans Chamber at 613-824-9137.

Chamber of Commerce members $25 covers Breakfast only $40 covers Breakfast and entire Symposium $25 covers Symposium only, no Breakfast Non-members $40 covers Breakfast only $60 covers Breakfast and entire Symposium morning $40 covers Symposium only, no breakfast HST is applicable to all fees

ANDREW LESLIE M.P. | dĂŠputĂŠ OrlĂŠans

613-834-1800 AndrewLeslieOrleans.ca

Marie-France Lalonde DĂŠputĂŠe | MPP Ottawa-OrlĂŠans 613-834-8679 mflalonde.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

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From garage band to philharmonic orchestra Decisive Technologies is a business built by its customers

I

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

t only makes sense that a vendor would want to sell you the products and services that are its bread and butter. In the enterprise IT infrastructure space, hardware vendors want to sell hardware, while cloud vendors want to sell, well, the cloud.

OBJ.CA

10

But what if a vendor didn’t force you to choose one or the other? Instead, it worked side-by-side with your team without bias, to assemble the best combination of onpremise and cloud IT infrastructure that meets the needs of your business.

That’s Decisive Technologies.

“We know the entire infrastructure stack,” said Joey Harrison, Executive VP of Sales.

“When we talk to customers, it’s not a single problem we’re addressing, it’s the entire picture.”

A FRESH TAKE ON IT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES In 2010, Mike Smith, Joey Harrison and Richard Losier set out to create a new kind IT infrastructure services company.

Why? Because they had each worked for the “other guys” and decided a fresh approach was long overdue.

They took over an established Ottawa brand, Decisive, and migrated it from a professional services firm to an IT infrastructure play. The next step was to assemble a specialized team of senior data centre managers, all of whom had experience working in the data centres of multinational enterprises.

BUILT TO LAST Decisive then invested in building its own private cloud, because it couldn’t find the kind of robust, flexible architecture it wanted from the typical cloud service provider. This soon morphed into a business all its own – BriteSky Technologies.

As its revenues and market reach has grown, Decisive has invested in the

processes and corporate structures necessary to support its long-term sustainability. It has achieved SOC 2 certification for its team, data centre and cloud, and brought on board its own inhouse counsel.

Decisive recently ranked as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in Ottawa, with three-year revenue growth of 164 per cent. Not bad in what is often viewed as a saturated market space.

GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE RESTS ON A GREAT TEAM “Do the right thing and do unto others have always been our guiding principles,” said Smith. “We don’t try to nickel and dime people, and we don’t try to be all things to them. We always say that we want to do ‘the meaningful work’ for our customers.”

Much of this rests with creating a workplace culture that serves to attract and retain the best in the industry. In fact, this 2015-16 Employees’ Choice Award winner has yet to lose a member of its team because they were poached by a competitor.

“You can’t blame anyone but yourself if someone decides to take a job somewhere else,” Smith said. “Management’s job is to make Decisive a great place to work.”

Happy employees make for outstanding customer service. Decisive takes a horizontal approach to managing its customer relationships. Whether its sales or technical services, customers always have more than one familiar face they can rely on.

“Becoming a process-oriented company and a destination employer have really served to drive our growth and our reputation,” Smith said. “Our customers know we’re good guys who will work with them to get the job done right.”

HOW CAN DECISIVE HELP YOUR BUSINESS? Local businesses to multinationals have turned to Decisive for truly flexible solutions that blend the best of the cloud and on-premise architecture. To learn more, please visit www.decisive.ca or call 613-836-3700.

Free Small Change app invites Ottawa to save money, do good in the community C

anadians have their eyes on their bank accounts – whether trying to stick to a budget, save to meet a big goal, or simply just make ends meet. But according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, only 46 per cent of Canadians have a budget.

A new free app launched by United Way Ottawa will help. Small Change makes it easy for people to save money, have fun while doing it and do good in the community.

Similar to a fitness tracking app, Small Change helps users set savings goals and change their spending habits to reach those goals – like making lunch instead of buying it, or biking to work instead of driving. Each time a user tracks savings through the app, TD will donate $1 – up to a total of $50,000 – to support Ottawa financial education programs through United Way. The app also offers up quick, useful financial tips from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.

“When we look around, we see that people and their smartphones are seldom parted. They are the go-to gadgets to communicate, make purchases, pay bills and do banking,” said Jane Rooney, Canada’s Financial Literacy Leader.

“Small Change is about making it easy for people to strengthen their financial knowledge, while also coming together to do good for others.”

negotiations with creditors and educational workshops to hundreds of people struggling with challenges such as insufficient income and growing debt.

“With this app we’re helping find new ways to make financial education more meaningful for people, while strengthening the communities where we work, live and play,” said Linda MacKay, SVP, Personal Savings and Investing, TD Canada Trust.

Last year United Way helped empower more than 2,500 people in Ottawa to make better financial decisions – and this app is a creative way to continue that important work.

“United Way is committed to helping vulnerable people in our community access crisis supports like financial and budget counselling to help them get their life on track,” said Michael Allen, President and CEO, United Way Ottawa.

“If you are interested in finding new ways to save for an important goal – Small Change will help you do just that, while making a difference in the lives of some of Ottawa’s most in need.”

The app was created by United Way Ottawa, in collaboration with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and with the support of TD

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

Funds raised will go to Ottawa’s EBO Financial Education Centre, which provides vital supports to those in need. It offers budget counselling,

Each time a user taps the app to track savings TD Bank Group will donate $1 – up to a total of $50K – to support financial education programs in Ottawa.

11 OBJ.CA

Download the Small Change app for free on any Android or Apple device.

Learn more at smallchangeapp.ca.

TECHNOLOGY Clean-tech execs call for national growth strategy Time for feds to step up and offer more support to rapidly expanding industry before Canada falls further behind, local CEOs say

BY DAVID SALI david@obj.ca

W

hen Kevin Loiselle needed a partner to help finance the installation of his company’s water management and sanitation systems, he had to jet across the Atlantic to find one.

The CEO of Kanata’s Clearford Water Systems turned to Signina Capital, an asset management company in Zurich that specializes in water and sewage projects, because no fund in Canada would invest in his firm’s clean technology.

Thanks to Signina, his growing enterprise now has access to a

YOU

$100-million fund from which its customers – most of which right now are Ontario municipalities – can borrow money to cover the construction and operation costs of its Clearford One system and repay the loan over a 30-year period. If the system doesn’t work, the client doesn’t pay.

Mr. Loiselle says the pay-forperformance model is the only sure way to convince budget-conscious municipalities to overcome the initial “sticker shock” and adopt multimilliondollar technology that doesn’t have an extensive track record.

“These big-priced items that are meant to last a generation or two, you don’t want to make a mistake in purchasing one that doesn’t end up

working,” he explains.

But even though Canada is considered a world leader in the cleantech sector, he says the country’s most innovative firms often have to look abroad for much-needed cash to finance such models, as well as fund more research and demonstration projects.

“We couldn’t find that kind of support here in Canada, and that’s a pity,” he says. “Everywhere you go in the world, people are racing into this sector and Canada is already a significant player and, in many cases, leader. It’s difficult to maintain that position if you’re not going to be supported.”

Mr. Loiselle was reacting to a recent call from a British Columbia-based group of clean-tech investors and

Clearford CEO Kevin Loiselle had to look beyond Canada’s borders to land financing for his Kanata-based firm. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

entrepreneurs for more government support to develop the sector.

The B.C. Cleantech CEO Alliance wrote Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in late February, urging the federal government to invest billions of dollars in loan guarantees and venture capital

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“I’m sure there’s much more Canada can do. I don’t think we have to come up with anything unique. There’s enough ideas out there. We just have to figure out what works best for us as a country.”

– BILL CROSSLAND, CEO OF OTTAWA’S THERMAL ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

we have to come up with anything unique. There’s enough ideas out there.

We just have to figure out what works best for us as a country.”

Analytica president and CEO Celine Bak, who has extensively researched the sector, says the federal Liberals need to work together with a host of partners, including industry, non-governmental organizations and environmental groups, “to make sure that we build approaches that are in synch with Canadian priorities. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Her organization is a leader of the Canadian Clean Technology Innovation Network, an alliance of environmental groups, NGOs and private companies that is pushing for more co-operation between industry and government to

promote clean-tech initiatives.

“We’ve got a long list, and many things to do,” she says.

Mr. Loiselle says one of Clearford’s fastest-growing markets is India, where various government incentives encourage private corporations to invest heavily in clean-tech projects. Canada, he says, should be doing the same to ensure the industry reaches its full potential and helps lead the way toward a more diversified economy.

“I can’t imagine we’re the only company in the clean-tech sector that has experienced the difficulty of getting their new technology adopted the first time,” he says. “There should be a real focus on funding the development of these companies and the technologies that they’re creating.”

Construction Dispute Gridlock Is Relief in Sight?

By David Contant

In March 2014, the Ontario government announced an independent analysis of the current construction lien regime, in order to modernize the Construction Lien Act. Those involved in the construction industry believe the existing Act does not protect contractors, subcontractors or suppliers from payment delays.

Overrule financial doubt

Our experience tells us that construction litigation to secure payment can be a costly and drawn-out process. These delays can prove fatal to smaller contractors, subcontractors, or suppliers.

Efficiencies must be found.

With a verdict of clarity

Among other things, certain stakeholders have advocated for a common framework that establishes progress and milestone payments to contractors.

On April 8, Collins Barrow Ottawa’s Cynthia Runolfson will share her financial expertise at the 25th Annual Institute of Family Law. As a senior manager with the firm’s financial advisory services and litigation support team, Cynthia will shed insight and clarity on the complex calculations required to meet Federal Child Support Guidelines.

Learn more about Collins Barrow’s comprehensive audit, tax and advisory solutions.

Clarity is in your corner.

Cynthia Runolfson, CPA, CA, CBV, CFF Senior Manager, Financial Advisory Services and Litigation Support cyrunolfson@collinsbarrow.com 613.768.7604

Others have advocated for the right to refer the dispute to commercial arbitration, as opposed to proceeding through the courts.

The results of the Review are not yet known, but any progress made towards breaking the construction lien gridlock will surely be seen as a welcome change.

Read more at Nelligan.ca

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

13 OBJ.CA

funding as well as launch a task force of political and industry leaders to devise a national strategy for clean-tech investment and development.

For Clearford’s chief executive and many other clean-tech CEOs in Ottawa, such measures can’t come soon enough.

Mr. Loiselle, who tapped into another Swiss venture capital fund when he needed equity, says he can’t understand why Canadian investors have been so slow to jump on the clean-tech bandwagon.

“It would have been nice to have a fund like that here,” he says. “There’s a lot of money on the sidelines (in Canada) looking for a home to make a decent return. I would like to think that once we prove this concept that we will have large Canadian pension funds, for example, taking an interest in getting the kind of return that we can offer.”

The global market for clean technology has expanded to more than $1 trillion over the past 10 years, the B.C. alliance says, noting that exports from the Canadian sector are now similar in value to those of forestry, mining and livestock.

In the National Capital Region alone, the sector employs about 4,600 people at more than 240 companies, according to Invest Ottawa. A recent study from the Kanata North BIA singled out clean-tech as an “area with robust growth potential.”

Yet according to research from Ottawabased Analytica Advisors, Canada’s share of the world clean-tech market has plummeted by 41 per cent since 2005.

The country fell from 14th to 19th in total market share between 2008 and 2015, while competitors such as the United States, China, Germany, Singapore and Israel gained ground thanks to an influx of public and private-sector investment in new technologies.

It’s time to reverse that trend, says Bill Crossland, CEO of Ottawa’s Thermal Energy International.

“I think we do need a national policy and a national plan,” says Mr. Crossland, whose company employs about 15 people in the capital and a total of 50 worldwide. “We have fallen behind a lot of other countries over the last few years.

As a small Canadian company that sells our products in a number of countries around the world, we do notice that there’s much more support in terms of energy efficiency and carbon reductions in other countries than there is in Canada.”

Countries throughout Europe offer incentives such as tax breaks or government loans to encourage industry to adopt more energy-efficient technologies, a strategy he’d like to see adopted in Canada as well. “(Companies) pay back the loan through the (energy) savings, and the government gets the money back again that they can recycle and give to someone else,” Mr. Crossland says. “I’m sure there’s much more Canada can do. I don’t think

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP Success all in the family for Gabriel Pizza

April 21, 2016 // SHAW CENTRE

BY TOM PECHLOFF tom@obj.ca

We are proud to announce the Finalists for the Businesswoman of the Year Awards.

Professional

Deborah Bourchier Managing Partner GGFL

Entrepreneur

Margo Crawford

President, CEO and founder Business Sherpa Group

Company

Katherine Cooligan

Regional Managing Partner Borden, Ladner, Gervais

Natalie Raffoul

Managing Partner Clancy + Brion Raffoul

Caroline Etter

G

abriel Pizza is the 2016 recipient of CAFE Ottawa’s Family Enterprise of the Year Award.

The Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise handed out the award during a gala dinner on March 6 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

The sold-out inaugural event drew almost 200 people representing a range of businesses from restaurants to car dealers. CAFE Ottawa president Danielle Walsh said she hopes “The Arnie Vered Dinner: Honouring Families in Business” becomes an annual event.

Ms. Walsh said her group had been thinking about organizing a dinner for a while and was inspired by the success of a similar event run by CAFE’s Halifax chapter. Its annual dinner attracted 60 people in its first year and now boasts an attendance of more than 600 for its lobster meal.

“Ottawa, we’re much bigger,” said Ms.

Dale Morris

Executive Director Power Law

President/Owner Ascribe Inc.

Walsh. “We should be able to achieve something similar if we slowly start and if we find the right person to build that event around.”

Mr. Vered was that person, she said, because he was always a strong supporter of CAFE Ottawa.

Mr. Vered, who was president of Arnon Corporation, a family-run property development firm, died in 2014 after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

The evening also featured a fireside chat with Minto Group chair Roger Greenberg, who knows a thing or two about running a family business. His uncle, Irving Greenberg, founded Minto in 1955. Roger started working there in 1985 and took over as CEO six years later.

Mr. Greenberg took questions from the audience and spoke about the importance of communication, professionalizing the family business and having clear governance structures.

Gabriel Pizza now advances to the national awards, where a winner will be announced at CAFE Canada’s national symposium on May 17 in Calgary.

and

present:

Mayor’s Breakfast Series A unique opportunity to enjoy breakfast with His Worship Mayor Jim Watson and hear from business and community leaders about issues critical to Ottawa.

Guest Speaker: Dianne Craig, CEO of Ford Canada

Jackie King

Senior Vice President Hill and Knowlton

Shana Levin

Vice President Broadway Across Canada

Natasha Morano

Vice President Economic Club of Canada

Who will be this year’s recipients in the Professional, Entrepreneur and Company categories? Join us on April 21st and find out.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

Thursday, April 7, 2016 Location: Ottawa City Hall Registration: 7:00 am Buffet breakfast: 7:30 am Presentation: 8:00 am

Prize Draw

Airfare for two anywhere Porter flies

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS: $35.00 + HST (Members) $50.00 + HST (Non-Members) CORPORATE TABLES OF 8 WITH SIGNAGE: $245 + HST (Members) $350 + HST (Non-Members) Register online at www.ottawachamber.ca

Tickets on sale now at thebyas.ca!

Event Partners

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14 Powered by Ottawa Business Events

E-mail info@ottawabusinessevents.ca to receive weekly updates on all our events.

FOR THE RECORD People on the move Jo-Anne Poirier has been appointed to the board of directors of Calian Technologies. Ms. Poirier has more than 35 years of executive leadership experience with organizations such as the Regional Municipality of OttawaCarleton, the City of Gloucester and MBNA Canada Bank, where she was first vice-president of business development.

Michael Burrows has joined LiquidGym, a company specializing in physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. Mr. Burrows will head up the company’s marketing and business development efforts and its expansion in Canada. He has 35 years of sales and marketing experience internationally, having worked in Europe, the Americas and Pacific Rim countries.

Low Murchison Radnoff LLP welcomed Paul Lepsoe and John McFarlane to the firm. Mr. McFarlane joins the firm as counsel and will continue his work in both business law and estates and

succession planning.

Mr. Lepsoe will be part of the firm’s litigation practice group, focusing on commercial litigation and work before administrative tribunals. He will continue to serve as a part-time or deputy judge of the Small Claims Court in Ottawa.

environmental, energy efficiency and overall image of the industry.

Paul W. Braunovan has joined the partnership of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP. Mr. Braunovan has been with the firm’s intellectual property department for 10 years, specializing in trademark prosecution and opposition, trademark litigation and Internet domain name disputes.

Blushes, an Ottawa salon, won three top awards at the 2016 Canadian Hairdresser Magazine Mirror Awards.

The business took home the top awards for men’s cut and style and contemporary classic for Dorothy Tsang and for editorial hairstylist of the year for Silas Tsang.

Peter Cronyn, a partner at Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP, was recognized by Benchmark Canada as a Local Litigation Star. The national list identifies lawyers who have displayed the ability to consistently handle complex, highstakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.

Hats off

AFO pub-April-May-June 2016-v1.pdf

The Minto Group was awarded the Ontario Green Builder of the Year award for 2015 by EnerQuality, the second consecutive year the company has earned that distinction. The award recognizes builders that raise the bar for the rest of the industry through leadership in improving the

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AVOUR UITFUL ENDE FR g’ brilliance pays off UOttawa prof’s ‘biohackin

CONNECTING TECH

IN OTTAWA

VOL. 1, ISSUE 4

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

FAB FOUR st

Kanata’s hotte tech subsectors PAGES 3-5

ON THE GROgWkey

FRUITFUL ENDEAVOUR UOttawa prof’s ‘biohacking’ brilliance pays off

Incubators playin roles for startups PAGES 8-9

CLIENT CHAd’sSEtips CEO Paul Emon for sales success PAGE 15

FRUITFUL R ENDEAVOttaOU wa prof’s

University of off ‘biohacking’ brilliance pays

CONNECTING TECH IN OTTAWA

VOL. 1, ISSUE 4

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

FAB FOUR

Kanata’s hottest tech subsectors PAGES 3-5

ON THE GROW

Incubators playing key roles for startups PAGES 8-9

CLIENT CHASE

FRUITFUL ENDEAVOUR

University of Ottawa prof’s ‘biohacking’ brilliance pays off

CEO Paul Emond’s tips for sales success PAGE 15

“If you’re changing the world, you’re working on important things. You’re excited to get up in the morning.”

– LARRY PAGE, CEO OF GOOGLE

Left to Right: MNP – Doug McLarty, Regional ExitSmartTM Leader, Startup Canada – Victoria Lennox, Co-founder and CEO, MNP – Gordon Wright, Senior Manager

Partners in Growth, Allies in Innovation

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

As a cutting-edge business, you need growth strategies that are as innovative as you are. MNP has the expertise, knowledge and people to help you plan ahead while taking advantage of grants, tax credits and market know-how, right now. When it comes to opportunities to drive technology further, we help you create the future. As the fastest-growing national accounting and business consulting firm in Canada, MNP is proud to partner with Startup Canada, an organization of entrepreneurs working together to build an environment and culture for entrepreneurial growth and success.

TECHOPIA.CA

02

Contact Doug McLarty, FCPA, FCA, CFP, TEP, ICD.D at 613.691.4222 or doug.mclarty@mnp.ca

SYSTEM UPDATE

Subscribe to TECHOPIA’s weekly e-mail newsletter at techopia.ca

KANATA’S BRIGHTEST LIGHTS These companies are leading the way in area’s highest-performing sectors

BY LUCY SCRENCI

Last month, the Kanata North BIA released a report on the area’s technology ecosystem outlining the sector’s impact on the overall economy. Not surprisingly, the study found that tech is a major driver of growth in Kanata North, directly or indirectly employing 26,000 of the area’s 30,000 workers and generating more than $6 billion in annual economic activity.

The BIA’s study looked at 10 subsectors of the tech industry and assessed their individual impact on the overall ecosystem. TECHOPIA has zeroed in on four of those subsectors, profiling a leading company in each one. Here are TECHOPIA’s subsectors to watch in Kanata North.

NUMBER OF WORKERS

SOFTWARE

REVENUES

$

576.6M PRODUCTIVITY BASED ON SALES-PER-EMPLOYEE

$

209K

I do think that Kanata is actually very interesting to go to social networking events now, because when you ask people what they do, it’s no longer, ‘What part of telecom do you work on?’ It’s, ‘What is your tech company?’ I’m talking to people who are doing aviation systems to people who’ve got gaming applications to people who are trying to figure out the next trend on consumer behaviour.

EXPORT RATIO

95%

The defence and aerospace sector in Kanata employs more than 1,400 people and generates in excess of half a billion dollars in annual revenues.

One of its leaders is Neptec Design Group. Though the previous Conservative government cut funding to Canada’s space program, that hasn’t slowed Neptec’s growth. The producer of elaborate sensors and robotics technologies for the space market has been extremely successful in securing contracts with international space agencies.

Neptec founder and chairman Paul Nephin says Neptec has developed numerous sensors for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, supporting roughly 40 of NASA’s space missions. In addition, Neptec staff have racked up 30,000 hours or more in Mission Control at NASA. Nephin says the company, which employs about 100 people in Kanata and another 10 in the United States and England, will likely see at least a 30 per cent increase in revenues in 2016, thanks mainly to a rise in exports.

Most recently, Neptec collaborated with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.

“We developed a sophisticated metrology system to align X-ray telescopes on orbit,” says Nephin. The technology will allow scientists to better distinguish black holes and other objects that normally appear blurry.

Neptec’s long history has allowed it to refine its proprietary and in-demand technology, which has also been spun off for use in terrestrial applications. Its sister company, Neptec Technologies, builds sensors for the mining and construction industries.

“We’ve been developing the expertise and intellectual property for 25 years,” says Nephin.

That track record keeps Neptec busy.

The company is planning to develop a lunar lander sensor for the European Space Agency and to collaborate with

03 TECHOPIA.CA

revolutionary steps that make them work better” – will become a dominant industry in Kanata “because we get how to do big stuff like that.”

MARTELLO TECHNOLOGIES CEO BRUCE LINTON

DEFENCE, SECURITY AND AEROSPACE

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

Roughly 10 per cent of Kanata’s tech workforce is employed in the software sector, which brings in $576.6 million in annual revenues. Not surprisingly, software providers took up the most spots on the Ottawa Business Journal’s roundup of fastest-growing companies last year.

At the top of that list was Martello Technologies, maker of fault and performance management software for unified communications systems.

Founded in 2009, the company has already achieved a number of major milestones, raising $3 million in funding in 2014 and acquiring French software firm Netvitesse the same year. The firm now has nearly 30 employees, 22 of them in Ottawa.

Martello CEO Bruce Linton credits the company’s software-as-a-service model for allowing it to support a high volume of clients. Martello serves 2,000 customers in 18 countries.

Linton believes that software companies are able to flourish in Kanata because of an influx of “people who understand very complicated, technically advanced large systems.

“The resource pool is terrific, there’s many layers of years of experience, so if you want some junior people, some intermediate people and some senior people, they happen to all be here.”

This range of talent will allow the software sector to continue to gain traction, says Linton.

He predicts that software defined networking – “systems that progressively work better because they identify the

2,757

NETWORKING IN KANATA: NOW VERSUS 15 YEARS AGO

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – HENRY FORD

the International Space Station on a multi-purpose sensor.

While Nephin is keen to keep expanding the company’s international reach, he looks forward to seeing what plans the federal Liberals have in store to boost support for the aerospace industry.

“We’re hopeful with the new government that they’ll have better insights by making investments in space and be a little bit more progressive in funding the space agency,” he said.

ON KANATA RECOVERING FROM ITS LULL IN TECH

NUMBER OF WORKERS

I think over the last five years or so, things haven’t been rosy and companies have had it a little tougher in prior years. I have seen some things starting to pick up now … and I think in general the area is starting to boom.

1,425 REVENUES

$

566.5M PRODUCTIVITY BASED ON SALES-PER-EMPLOYEE

$

398K

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

PAUL NEPHIN, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF NEPTEC

TECHOPIA.CA

04

EXPORT RATIO

60%

KANATA’S LEGACY OF TALENT PULLS IN MAJOR CORPORATIONS

MANUFACTURING, ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS DESIGN With more than 1,100 employees and annual revenues of $343.5 million, this sector boasts a diverse group of companies.

A standout is Pleora Technologies, a provider of video interfaces that has led the way in defining global standards for video delivery over Ethernet.

Founder and CEO George Chamberlain recognized back in 2000 the potential that the Ethernet posed for video networks.

“At that time it was done using proprietary networks, proprietary hardware and software and cabling,” says Pleora president Harry Page.

“George Chamberlain saw how broadly deployed the Ethernet was becoming. It was becoming the global standard, and he believed that there was a need to develop technology to take advantage of that.”

Chamberlain’s work informed the basis of the Gigabit Ethernet GigE Vision standard. One hundred and sixty companies from around the world participate in the standards body, and Pleora continues to co-chair the committee that was created in 2003.

The breakthrough made setting up inspection systems much more accessible, Page explains.

“It allowed these video applications to be managed like an Ethernet network, to allow for broadcasting and multicasting, so it’s built on a lot of the advantages that Ethernet had that weren’t available in the old inherent legacy technologies.”

Pleora’s technology was originally developed for factory automatic applications, particularly for the quality control inspection of electronics such as circuit boards.

“It really was kind of the emergence of what we call ‘intelligent imaging,’ so that’s taking in a high-quality image and using that as a basis to make a decision,” says Page, whose company employs 62 people.

The technology is now pervasive, used for inspection systems in the transportation, medical and military sectors, and Pleora’s interfaces can

There were 25,000 employees in the Ottawa area after their companies went through their downturn; it put a lot of very talented people on the market.

So there’s a wealth of talent here, and in fact that’s one reason why Huawei came to Ottawa. Ciena is building the largest facility that’s been built in the area in a long time.

PLEORA PRESIDENT HARRY PAGE

“I think as a company, if you can get those two things right — having a clear direction on what you are trying to do and bringing in great people who can execute on Follow TECHOPIA on Twitter @techopiaOTT or like us at Facebook.com/techopiaOTT the stuff — then you can do pretty well.” – MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO OF FACEBOOK

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THE STATE OF THE CLEANTECH SECTOR IN KANATA AND EMERGING COMPANIES NUMBER OF WORKERS

1,122 REVENUES

$

343.5M PRODUCTIVITY BASED ON SALES-PER-EMPLOYEE

$

307K EXPORT RATIO

80%

96 REVENUES

$

18.6M PRODUCTIVITY BASED ON SALES-PER-EMPLOYEE

$

194K EXPORT RATIO

CLEARFORD PRESIDENT AND CEO KEVIN LOISELLE

60% 05 TECHOPIA.CA

Although the clean-tech sector in Kanata is represented by fewer than 100 employees and produces a comparatively small $18.6 million in annual revenues, the sector was singled out for its growth potential in the technology industry study.

One promising company is Clearford Water Systems, which has refined a proprietary water management and sanitation turnkey solution. Its packaged systems are cost-effective and require less maintenance than conventional sewers, according to Clearford president and CEO Kevin Loiselle.

Normally, sewage systems pose various engineering issues. Pipes need to be built at a particular slope and they need to be able to deal with peak usage, while manholes are required to remove blockages caused by trash and other debris, resulting in very high maintenance costs.

Clearford’s technology allows for treatment of sewage right at the source, placing less of a burden on pipe networks and the treatment plant.

Treatment facilities are accordingly built smaller and simpler, significantly reducing costs.

Loiselle points out that de-centralized treatment plants make more financial sense for less developed areas.

“These systems for small towns and peri-urban systems make a lot more sense than trying to pipe them to central locations – it’s a 10th of the price in some cases.”

Clearford has also instituted a “pay-for-performance” delivery model whereby it designs, finances, builds and operates the system and customers pay back the company on a monthly basis.

Loiselle hopes the model will change the mindset of municipalities and developers looking to replace or install water infrastructure.

“You could get very good high-tech solutions that may appear to be more expensive on the purchase, but when you look at the lifecycle costs of them they’re actually significantly cheaper.”

Clearford One systems have been installed outside of Canada in Peru and Columbia, and a facility was also recently set up in Kemptville. The company, which has 15 employees in Kanata and 50 worldwide, is also installing a system in India this month.

NUMBER OF WORKERS

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

be embedded into existing imaging systems.

The firm has about 120 customers around the globe, Page says. It generates roughly half of its revenue is in North America, with the other half split between Europe, India and the AsiaPacific region.

In addition to having a strong channel partners in most major countries in Asia, Pleora also provides video interfaces to three-quarters of the world’s top 10 X-ray panel manufacturers.

The company also maintains a strong presence at international conferences and trade shows for embedded technology, photonics and vision.

CLEAN TECH

I happen to think it’s a huge growth sector, and that we do have a presence here in Kanata. We don’t have the kind of support and presence that high technology has … but I think we have some very interesting companies here in Ottawa, in general, and many of them in Kanata, specifically.

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Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall helps PageCloud create a sensible IP strategy

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PageCloud is not the next WordPress.

In fact, the team behind this Ottawa startup has no desire to be the “next” anything when it comes to shaking up the content management system (CMS) market.

Why? Because it has developed a better, and profoundly different, way to build personal and professional websites.

“Every CMS on the planet is trying to make it easy for the average user to change things, but with cookie cutter templates, that only allow little things to be changed in some places,” said PageCloud founder and CEO Craig Fitzpatrick. “What we offer is true creative freedom that’s never before existed.”

What makes PageCloud so special? A true “what you see is what you get” platform that makes building websites as easy as drag and drop.

Users can add photos, text, videos and other elements

to web pages using dragand-drop movements and keyboard shortcuts.

Think of it as taking the same intuitive user experience and creative freedom common to the best desktop publishing applications, and applying it to web design.

Comparing PageCloud to WordPress, or to any other conventional CMS, is like comparing an HD flatscreen TV to an old tube TV, Fitzpatrick said.

Wooing investors, customers alike He spent three years hammering out the base code for PageCloud as a parttime hobby, before realizing he could turn his own frustration with conventional web design tools into a business.

After a first round of seed-financing raised at home, PageCloud secured a second round in early 2015 from a group of Silicon

Valley investors. A third round followed last summer.

PageCloud has raised $6.2 million in total to date and is now working on a Series A venture capital round.

The PageCloud team has grown to 18. In the six months leading up to its launch last Nov. 30, it achieved cash-flow break even and enjoyed a hugely successful pre-sale, signing up 14,000+ customers in 100 countries. PageCloud also made a splash as a finalist in the TechCrunch Disrupt 2015 battlefield competition in New York.

Creating real business value Key to it all has been ensuring that PageCloud’s secret sauce – its intellectual property (IP) – is suitably protected. For that, Fitzpatrick and his team rely on fullservice business law firm Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall.

“As a small company, you

are under attack on so many fronts,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Taking steps to protect your IP is an often underused tool that can be used to create real business value.”

It’s also a primary means of defending a tech startup’s competitive differentiator, added Perley-Robertson patent specialist Adrian O’Donnell.

“To build and protect their brand, startups must put in place a strategy that may include patents, trade-marks, trade secrets and other forms of protection,” he said. “It’s a matter of understanding what information to disclose and when, in a manner that best fits the needs of a startup on a budget.”

For example, O’Donnell worked with PageCloud to protect 20 of the company’s key inventions, with only two patent filings.

A startup’s most powerful asset “I encounter many

entrepreneurs who think that just talking to a lawyer about IP is going to cost them money,” O’Donnell said. “But I consult with startups all the time with no obligation, to help them understand that value of investing in a sound strategy, and how the costs can be deferred over a timeframe that makes sense.”

For Fitzpatrick, cost must be weighed against value.

“As we grow, it’s really becoming evident how much value our patent portfolio has, to attract investors, generate positive press, protect our brand against competitors eager to crack our code, and as an asset we can someday monetize,” he said.

Is it time to talk strategy?

To learn more about how Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall can help develop an IP strategy for your business, please visit www.perlaw.ca.

TECH-FLIX

Updated local and national video posted weekdays at techopia.ca

HOW CAN KANATA NORTH IMPROVE? BIA study looks at gaps in regional innovation hotspot

BY CRAIG LORD

The Kanata North BIA commissioned Doyletech Corporation to perform a market gap analysis study alongside its economic impact study to assess what’s still missing in the local tech hub.

TECHOPIA sat down with BIA executive director Jenna Sudds to ask about the biggest gaps that emerged from that research. Here is an edited transcript of that interview.

TECHOPIA: What was the intent of the gap analysis study?

KNBIA: “The market gap analysis was really intended to give us a clear picture of where there were opportunities within the various subsectors. And then within each of those subsectors, they analyzed what the capacities and strengths were. We also did almost 40 interviews with various executives across Kanata North. It wasn’t strictly that we were looking at industry or private industry gaps; we also looked at softer things like transportation, retail, services, all of these. It was kind of the whole picture. We ended up breaking it down into private sector gaps and social infrastructure gaps. It made sense that they were very distinct, some very different issues. Some you expect the public sector to fill the need, like when you’re talking about roadways or public transportation.”

TECHOPIA: What were the main areas where they saw room for growth?

KNBIA: “One issue that came up again and

firms. I think people often think of Kanata as the land of large multinationals, but the

with business, and one of the questions of course that I’m delving into with them is ‘What are the issues they’re facing?’ And so now when you put in perspective that 75 per cent of these companies are fewer than 50 employees, when you hear an issue once, perhaps it’s unique to that company.

But you hear it three times, four times, you keep hearing it, it’s easier to equate that to a larger proportion of your businesses.

It gives us a bit more perspective as far as commonalities.”

JENNA SUDDS IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE KANATA NORTH BIA. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

TECHOPIA: When it comes to infrastructure concerns, what’s the approach to solving those problems?

KNBIA: “That’s an interesting point. For example, when it comes to LRT, obviously all parts of the city would be better off with LRT in place. Cognizant of the fact that this is provincial and federal money that is hopefully funding the current plans, the reality is that lobbying efforts need to be directed particularly to our MP. We’re fortunate in that we do have good relationships with both our MP (Karen McCrimmon) and our MPP (Jack MacLaren), and they’re certainly discussions that we keep pursuing. With the federal budget coming up, now is the time to be really vocal in these regards.”

TECHOPIA: What are the big challenges going to be for Kanata in the next few years?

KNBIA: “We need to really ensure the infrastructure is in place, and ensure that this is a place that is easy to get to, and that people are attracted to working and living here. I think one of the things that we have to offer is that work-life balance, having such a great community. If we aren’t able to improve our infrastructure and services in pace with the growth of employment, that’s certainly a concern for us moving forward and would make it a less attractive place to do business.”

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TECHOPIA: Were there any particular things that surprised you in the analysis?

KNBIA: “The numbers around size of

TECHOPIA: How does this new information change your strategies?

KNBIA: “I do a lot of meetings one-on-one

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

again was skill set: a lack of C++ coders, for example; a need for more cloud-service providers locally; software tools locally …

Although we have L-Spark, and it’s growing, historically it has felt like we’ve missed out and we’ve needed more incubator and accelerator activity. High tech-oriented retail stores, there’s nothing like that here.

Those were the top ones that came out.

And then there’s social infrastructure gaps: roadways, LRT, airport access; a need for more restaurants; a variety of housing. An executive club was one of the things that came up in more than a few interviews. The list goes on and on.”

data showed us that I think 75 per cent was actually 50 employees or less. So it’s really showing you the amount of activity happening here. It’s not just the big guys.”

“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.” — RICHARD P. FEYNMAN

TONY BAILETTI

DIRECTOR, CARLETON’S TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

FLEDGLING STARTUPS EAGER FOR HELP Entrepreneurs looking near and far for incubator, TECHOPIA.CA

08

accelerator programs Creating prototypes, finding clients, building revenue streams, getting to scale – starting a business isn’t easy. It can all be very daunting, especially to a new entrepreneur.

That’s where accelerators and

BY CRAIG LORD

incubators come to the rescue.

With plentiful business resources, mentors and a healthy knowledge base, these organizations are there to help both fledgling startups and established businesses hit their marks.

“It’s that old saying, ‘Children aren’t raised by just parents, it takes a village,’” says Patrick White, director of operations at L-SPARK, a Kanata-based incubator and accelerator for enterprise software startups. “It’s the same kind of thing with

The demand in Ottawa is huge.

The (incubators and accelerators) that are in place right now cannot cope with it.

The more we have the better ... I think that Ottawa has done a wonderful job.

We have Invest Ottawa, we have L-SPARK, we have Lead to Win. This is a major interorganizational commitment to make Ottawa a magnet to attract entrepreneurs.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Stay up to date with TECHOPIA’s calendar of events at techopia.ca

a company, it takes a whole community.

Someone is always going to be able to point to that company that was able to do it without any help” but often that’s not the full story, he says.

L-SPARK had 175 applicants for its second cohort and selected nine in total. But local companies looking for mentors and resources are not limited to programs in Ottawa only.

Take Zighra, for example. The online and mobile banking cyber security company ended up looking to London, England to find the accelerator best suited to its needs.

The company recently joined the Barclays Accelerator, which is sponsored by the British banking and financial service company. Yes, that Barclays, the marquee sponsor of soccer’s English Premier League.

Zighra beat out 700 other applicants from around the world to nab one of the 10 coveted spots in the latest cohort of the fintech-focused program. Barclays provides tools, equipment and facilities to help members get their services to market as well as mentors who offer companies advice on everything from networking to pitching.

“One of the reasons we went to (the London-based accelerator is) because it was sponsored by Barclays. It had a brand behind it,” says Vipin Menon, head of growth and partnerships at Zighra. “We wanted to expand into the Euro market, we wanted a beachhead.

Getting us into Barclays gets us into the hands of champions that can … take down the barriers of entry.”

Menon believes some accelerators can function as a sort of an “MBA 101,” which is great for first-time entrepreneurs but not so much for veteran company-builders. He believes that whether an incubator and accelerator is necessary to help a firm grow all depends on the company and its specific needs.

UNIVERSITY VS. INVESTORS Tony Bailetti, director of Carleton’s Technology Innovation Management master’s program and the school’s Lead to Win accelerator, sees such programs as “advanced courses” for budding entrepreneurs.

UBI Global, a Swedish benchmarking organization, recently ranked Lead to Win as the seventh-best university incubator and accelerator program in North America. The program has incubated startups since 2002, and companies from the five years leading up to 2014 that were part of Lead to Win generated more than $19.3 million in sales in 2014.

Bailetti draws a distinction between academic programs such as Lead to Win and industry-based services such as L-SPARK. “We all complement (each other, but L-SPARK is) run by investors, they take

equity,” he says. “The university, we don’t do this.”

But to Bailetti, there’s no competition between the two. In his eyes, there’s more than enough room for many more incubator and accelerator programs in the capital.

“The demand in Ottawa is huge,” he says. “The (incubators and accelerators) that are in place right now cannot cope with it. The more we have the better.”

One new entry into the field is the Founder Institute. The Silicon Valleybased organization is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs who maintain a day job but wish to explore their own business ideas in their off-hours. Codirector Stefan Celeski calls the Founder Institute an organization for “part-time entrepreneurs.”

While the group hasn’t officially confirmed it is setting up shop in the capital, Celeski says it will probably launch in the fall. White believes it will be an important addition to the Ottawa ecosystem.

“One of the issues is (L-SPARK is) only focused on enterprise (software-asa-service companies),” he says. “Tony (Bailetti) has done some great stuff with respect to the academic world. Startup Garage (at the University of Ottawa) is as well, but I think we need something in the middle. And Founder Institute is a great piece being added.”

White says he doesn’t see the Founder Institute as a competitor to L-SPARK.

Like Bailetti, he thinks there is a place for many different kinds of incubators and accelerators. He says some could focus on prototyping and validating, for example, while others could concentrate on how to scale a company and still others could emphasize client acquisition strategies.

“We’re not trying to compete against each other, we’re trying to elevate everything,” he says.

“I think there’s room for other players. It’s like a marriage. We give somebody a mentor two days a week.

That is a marriage. Not each incubator/ accelerator is going to be a perfect fit.

You have to go find out what else is out there and find out who is the perfect fit for you.”

And this is just the beginning when it comes to such programs in the Ottawa area. Invest Ottawa offers a host of services to help get new businesses on their feet, and the city is home to a number of other accelerators and incubators that are all aiming to improve the startup ecosystem.

“I think that Ottawa has done a wonderful job,” says Bailetti. “We have Invest Ottawa, we have L-SPARK, we have Lead to Win. This is a major inter-organizational commitment to make Ottawa a magnet to attract entrepreneurs.”

Get your applications ready.

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09 TECHOPIA.CA

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10 UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA PROF. ANDREW PELLING’S ‘CRAZY’ EXPERIMENTS ARE CHANGING THE WAY SCIENTISTS THINK ABOUT REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. PHOTO BY PETER THORNTON, UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA

“Like my new telephone, my computer works just fine, my calculator is perfect, but Lord, I miss my mind!”

— AUTHOR UNKNOWN

BIOHACKING LEADS TO TED SPOTLIGHT UOttawa prof isn’t afraid to pursue ‘crazy’ ideas

BY STEPHEN KARMAZYN

Most people might not see how growing a human ear from an apple could be the key to disrupting the multibillion-dollar regenerative health sector.

Then again, most people aren’t Andrew Pelling.

The University of Ottawa professor and first Ottawa TED Fellow rose to prominence for his “biohacking” experiments that included carving an apple into the shape of an ear and growing human tissue on it. The cellulose structure of the apple became the “scaffolding” that supported the human skin.

Since then, the 37-year-old Canada Research Chair in biology and physics has performed trials on mice that have shown some promise, with blood vessels even growing into the apples.

That research eventually earned Pelling an appointment as a 2016 TED Fellow, one of only two Canadians and 21 people chosen worldwide.

At a recent event sponsored by HUB Ottawa, Pelling talked about his experience with TED as well as his research.

He said he is looking into expanding his “biophysical manipulation” lab into the

ByWard Market in the hope of becoming more connected to the community. He envisions people coming in and posing questions, suggesting ideas and otherwise turning his lab into more of an open-source facility.

This one of the many ways that Pelling believes his facility is different from the average university research unit.

“I made my whole lab an experiment from day one,” he says. “I’m young, I don’t want to run a traditional lab. Unlike many labs – and there’s nothing wrong with this – but many labs are focused on a specific disease or specific problem. Focusing on one problem … for 30 years of my life just scares the hell out of me.”

Pelling and his researchers aren’t afraid to try a bunch of “crazy” ideas, he says. Even if not all of them work, he adds, the process can lead to unexpected breakthroughs.

“We ask some pretty wild, crazy questions, or at least on the surface (they) seem kind of nuts, but we test and validate them with scientific rigour. What you end up doing is discovering all sorts of things that you never thought were possible. That’s led to some really cool innovations. We’ve spun out a company now. There’s all sorts of cool things going on.”

The company, called Spiderwort, sells biohacking material and open-sourced lab equipment to help people grow what Pelling and his team create, meaning customers can become biohackers from the comfort of their own kitchens.

Pelling wants to expand the mandate of his lab as far as he can.

“What the working hypothesis is, if you put a bunch of really creative, curious people in a space and give them resources to fail and try things, then great things will happen,” he says. “And that’s what’s been happening.”

Pelling hopes his research will lead to a disruption of the regenerative medicine business. Currently, replacing bone and skin often necessitates the use of cadavers or products derived from animals, a process that can prohibitively expensive.

Pelling says that a loonie-sized piece of biomaterial can cost US$1,000, whereas he and his lab can make the same product for a fraction of a penny growing the same material from plants.

“For once we may have decreased the cost of health care for material (that) is really deployable and accessible to anybody on the planet,” he says, noting the regenerative medicine sector is projected to be worth $67 billion by 2020, up from $16.4 billion in 2013.

Pelling has been something of a world traveller since his TED Fellow appointment. After returning from a TED Talk in Vancouver last month, he headed to Geneva for the Gathering for Open Science Hardware hosted by the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Pelling is loving his introduction to the TED network, noting he made valuable contacts in Vancouver.

“There’s definitely some payoff down the road. I’m not ready to announce anything (but) I think there’s some pretty interesting opportunities coming up.”

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

11 TECHOPIA.CA

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“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.”

— AUTHOR MICHAEL LEBOEUF

THE TECHOPIA PANEL INCLUDED (FROM LEFT) UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA ENGINEERING DEAN CLAUDE LAGUE, KLIPFOLIO FOUNDER ALLAN WILLE, SHAWN MINCOFF OF MNP LLP AND LORRAINE MASTERSMITH OF PERLEY-ROBERTSON, HILL & McDOUGALL LLP. PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON

TECHOPIA IS GOING ON TOUR! We’re getting offline and heading out to meet local tech companies and make real-life connections happen. Our first stop was Klipfolio, where founder and CEO Allan Wille sat with a panel of TECHOPIA partners – Lorraine Mastersmith of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP, Shawn Mincoff of MNP LLP and Claude Lague, dean of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering – to field questions about his 15-year run at the dashboard software company. Publisher Michael Curran moderated the session.

Here are few choice quotes from Wille.

THE FACETIOUS LABEL OF OVERNIGHT SUCCESS: “Most companies out there are not overnight successes. Most successes have been around for more than two years, more than five years in many cases, 10 years, right? I think that 15 years is definitely a long time, especially in software, but yeah, let’s still call it an overnight success, why not?”

THAT STARTUP HUSTLE: “It’s hard. It’s really hard. We started the company in 2001-2002, and there was not an angel or a VC anywhere that was going to invest in a pre-revenue startup. And I actually think that was a good thing … We had to either sell or not be in business. So it was a real harsh reality. I sold every deal in the company for maybe the first 10 years.

And I never want to do that again. It was a lot of work, really working with customers

to find out what they wanted.”

THE DRAW TO MARKET: “We would often sit around, the three founders, and we would say, ‘Well, should we go out and get some financing? Is the time right?’ And we were kidding ourselves. The time was not right. What was talking was this lack of success that we were facing. There’s a lot of companies that are in that same boat. And they will prematurely go out to market, even when they don’t have the growth metrics. They spend a heck of a lot of time spinning their wheels, and eventually they get themselves into a place where their name is synonymous with ‘don’t touch this company.’”

HIRING FOR A STARTUP VS. HIRING FOR AN SMB: “Then, it was a lot more of a discussion

of risk. With a company of three people, five people, six people: are you going to be around next year? Next month? Much of the hardship we didn’t share with our employees, but they must have known, ‘I am taking a risk here.’ You get the people that are inherently drawn to that, and

some of them aren’t with us anymore.

They loved the early stage company – that was their element … It’s a different set of people that are around today. But it’s a different company. You don’t have to sell the risk element as much as you sell the grand vision.”

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“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman — not the attitude of the prospect.”

— BUSINESSMAN AND PHILANTHROPIST W. CLEMENT STONE

THE STRAIGHT DOPE How to ramp up sales at your startup PAUL EMOND CEO, VERSATURE

BY PAUL EMOND

Paul Emond knows his stuff when it comes to sales.

The entrepreneur who launched his first tech business in 1993 is currently CEO of Versature, a cloud-based business phone solutions provider.

Emond has more than two decades of business expertise, mostly focused on management, sales and marketing.

In 2012, Versature was named Ottawa’s small business of the year by OBJ and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.

Here are some of his thoughts and tips on taking a tech startup from its first sale to a successful base of subscribers. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

TECHOPIA: How do you find your initial clients?

EMOND: Oh, it’s been a long time since I’ve done that (laughs). It’s about getting yourself out there, meeting people, inbound marketing, getting face-to-face with people. That’s the initial stuff. With the first 10 customers, you’ve got to get your feet on the street and get stuff done.

TECHOPIA: How do you grow your client base?

EMOND: The best thing to do is to business right now because you have to maintain that relationship down the chain of employees. I used to know every single one of my customers and I don’t anymore.

Making sure that the kind of relationship that I want my customers to have from a sales perspective goes down the line, goes down through my VP of sales, through my salespeople. We have a team of 10 now, so you have to make sure that the quality control is there. The important part is to make sure that these connections are happening.

TECHOPIA: Any last tips?

EMOND: Don’t go out on your own before you have at least 500 contacts on LinkedIn. Build your network to avoid spinning your wheels.

TECHOPIA: Any good sales stories?

EMOND: My biggest and most lucrative

15 TECHOPIA.CA

contract in my first business came as a result of talking up another salesperson waiting at reception with me before a big presentation. You never know where business will come from. Talk to anyone who will listen.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016

leverage those customers you’ve got for referrals, whether it’s industry referrals or companies in their space who maybe will you’re all three, that’s great, but that’s find the same kind of utility in whatever hard to find. you’ve given them. These days it’s all about inbound marketing and making TECHOPIA: What did you wish you knew sure you are able to get the ideas that starting out in relation to sales? you want out there into the world and let them know what it is you’ve got to offer.

EMOND: I hired my VP of sales recently and what he brought was a network of TECHOPIA: What advice do you have for people. That is really important when get to that level, but you can have entrepreneurs who are not as skilled on you a network like that even when you’re the sales side of the business? starting out. Let’s say you’re in school and you’re thinking of starting something.

EMOND: I would advise to find a partner I just started my own business and got (laughs). If you’re an engineer, you’re going, but really I would have been a lot really good at what you do but you can’t better off going to work somewhere for learn the sales side adequately. a little while, building my network, then I have a really good idea of what I’m going out on my own. good at and I have a really good idea of It’s hard to start out when you know what I’m not good at. The only way when nobody. If you have that network of you’re really small to get that kind of help people you’ve worked with or people you and expertise is to find a partner that’s know in the industry, then you’re a lot willing to invest the time and effort that better off. you are.

When you’re a little larger and you TECHOPIA: How does B2B sales change have some income and some excess versus B2C? cash, you can hire for those things.

At the beginning it’s pretty hard. At EMOND: B2B is all about relationships the beginning you need those three where B2C is more transactional. In B2B founders: the technical person, the you really have to build that relationship. salesperson and the operations guy. If That’s the problem with scaling my

I have a really good idea of what I’m good at and I have a really good idea of what I’m not good at. The only way when you’re really small to get that kind of help and expertise is to find a partner that’s willing to invest the time and effort that you are. At the beginning you need those three founders: the technical person, the salesperson and the operations guy.

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