THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE KANATA NORTH BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
Inside the labs of Kanata North:
Fall 2019
BUILDING A DIGITAL IDENTITY
EXPERIENCE BROOKSTREET MORE THAN JUST A HOTEL • 276 Four-Diamond Guest Rooms & Suites • Extensive Meeting & Conference Facilities
• Award Winning Restaurant
• Full Service Spa
• Live Jazz 7 Nights A Week
• Gym, Hot Tubs, Indoor & Outdoor Pools
• B Café Featuring Starbucks Coffee BROOKSTREET HOTEL
525 Legget Drive | Kanata, ON | brookstreet.com
DISCOVER THE MARSHES 2 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
OTTAWA’S LEADING PUBLIC GOLF CLUB • Winter Golf Academy
• World Class Practice Facilities
• Southern Style Dining
• 18 Hole Championship Golf Course
• Indoor Golf Simulator
• Live Music
• 9 Hole Executive Course
• Junior Golf Academy
• Weddings & Events
THE MARSHES GOLF CLUB
320 Terry Fox Drive | Kanata, ON | www.marshesgolfclub.com
welcome
AN ENVIRONMENT OF BOUNDLESS OPPORTUNITY Hello again Kanata Networkers,
Sincerely, Jamie Petten Executive director Kanata North Business Association
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 3
After several months away, I am thrilled to be returning to Canada’s largest technology park! As I return from maternity leave, I am eager to contribute to improving our community and creating an impact that will make my children proud. As I hand over the reins to my husband to take over as primary caregiver, I feel grateful for how far we’ve come as a society that embraces this reversal of traditional parental roles. I consider how I will do it all and trust I will have the same strength and courage to lean in as I did before the baby arrived. But most of all, I am confident in the support I will receive from family, friends and colleagues to make it happen. That is perhaps the greatest takeaway from my time away. Nothing of great substance and meaning can be accomplished alone. Over the course of my maternity leave, partners, mentors, board members, teammates and
confidantes have gathered to support KNBA. These leaders have guided and pushed our community to accomplish great things over the past year. Our organization’s achievements are theirs. Leading the charge have been the dynamic KNBA team; Veronica, Deborah, Vanessa, Alycia and our summer student Neikko. Collectively, they’ve taken several of our flagship events to new heights, increasing opportunities for KNBA members and raising the profile of the park. Close to 3,000 attendees and more than 90 exhibitors packed the Brookstreet Hotel earlier this year for the largest-ever Discover TechNATA career and technology expo. More recently, two events reinforced Kanata North’s reputation as Canada’s autonomous vehicle capital. In August, some 350 workers from 40 companies in the tech park travelled through the Marshes Golf Course in autonomous pods in a pilot project that could be part of Kanata North’s transportation infrastructure in the years to come. That set the stage for the Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Canada conference a few weeks later, which attracted automotive and technology heavyweights including Ford, General Motors and Uber as well as local firms such as Irdeto, Flex and BlackBerry QNX. All of these major milestones could not have been met without the tremendous leadership of our outgoing chair, Amy MacLeod. Her vision and unwavering commitment towards progress have been invaluable and will have a lasting impact on our business community for years to come. As a business association, we are here to foster an environment of boundless opportunity. An environment where businesses can innovate, scale leading-edge technologies and thrive. The founding leaders of this community envisioned an environment ripe for innovation, one with which we all are a part of today. It is our time now to decide the vision and path forward. What do we want for our future in Kanata North? For our children, our companies and our community? I am focused in this next phase on continued collaboration, improved transit and infrastructure, attracting top level talent to Canada’s largest technology park and supporting the needs of our world class companies here in Kanata North. I look forward to seeing you at our AGM on Nov. 21, 2019 at the Marshes Golf Course.
what’s inside
CONTENTS “We’re bigger than we’ve ever been and we’re just doing very well on all fronts.” – Fidus technology director Scott Turnbull. Read the full story on page nine.
6
WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S NEXT Upcoming events and key dates
8
FORTY YEARS IN TECH Insights from former Tundra and Zarlink engineer Sue Dyer
8
WHAT 5G MEANS FOR KANATA NORTH Insights from Nokia
10 WHERE WE WORK How a core group of technicians built an enduring corporate culture in a Teron Road testing facility 12 WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON Going behind the scenes with L-Spark’s startups 14 WHERE WE LIVE LUNA Crêpes & Café owners thrive in ‘wonderful’ Kanata North community 16 TECHNOVATION Tech heavy hitters tackle industry gender gap
4 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE KANATA NORTH BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
Inside the labs of Kanata North:
Fall 2019
BUILDING A DIGITAL IDENTITY
The Kanata Networker is the official publication of the Kanata North Business Association. Learn more at kanatanorthba.ca
17 AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES CAV Canada cements Kanata North’s reputation as Canada’s autonomous vehicle capital 17 BUSINESS BRIEFING News from Canada’s largest tech park 18 OUT OF OFFICE L-Spark’s Erin Blaskie after-hours ascent
JOIN US FOR
THURS, OCTOBER 17, 2019 12-4 PM @ COMMUNITY HUB (behind 400 March Road) Come and enjoy lunch and outdoor activities with food trucks, live music, local beer favourites and more! Presented by
THE OTTAWA NETWORK, ONFE JA OTTAWA, COLLAB SPACE
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 5
In partnership with local vendors and
what’s new - what’s next?
WHAT’S NEXT‌
ESAX FIRESIDE CHAT
WHAT’S NEW‌
TĂœV SĂœD OPEN HOUSE
Oct. 2, 2019 TĂœV SĂœD is hosting an Oktoberfest open house celebration and BBQ and is inviting members of our business
community to visit the company’s new labs and facilities in Kanata North. The event will include a tour of the facility and a presentation on its services. Visit our events calendar for more details.
WORLD OF POUTINE COMING TO KANATA AT THE COMMUNITY HUB!
Oct. 24-27 (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) An exciting new foodie experience is coming to the heart of the Kanata North tech park. The 2019 World of Poutine Championship will be held at the Community Hub over four days from Thursday to Sunday. Ottawa’s top food trucks will battle it out to take home the title of the “2019 Poutine Champion!� It will be a family friendly event featuring a kids fun zone, face painting, live music, beer garden, best poutine competition, feature foodies and more! Check our events calendar for details.
8LI XLIQI JSV 8)(\/EREXE MW -+2-8) 7peaker applications GPSWIH Sept. 30 ERH [I [MPP FI ERRSYRGMRK XLI WIPIGXMSR JSV SYV EYHMXMSRW WSSR If you know someone who would make the perfect TEDxKanata speaker GSRXEGX YW ERH [EXGL JSV HIXEMPW SR TEDxKanata.com/speakers.
talk
CEO
SERIES
CEO TALK WITH THE 2018 CEO OF THE YEAR, BRUCE LINTON Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Brookstreet Hotel Bruce’s experience as a founder, CEO and board member across a variety of enterprises influenced the positive start of Canopy Growth, which to date has enjoyed market support for capital raises of over $6 billion.
CULTURALLY COMPETENT INTERVIEWING SKILLS FOR MANAGERS
6 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
INVEST OTTAWA MISSION TO MUNICH AND TU-AUTOMOTIVE EUROPE Oct. 28 – Nov. 1, 2019 Invest Ottawa has planned a connected and autonomous vehicles-focused trade mission to Munich the week of Oct. 28 in partnership with BC Tech. Chosen companies will attend TU-Automotive Europe, Europe’s largest gathering of telematics, autonomous car, mobility and other automotive technology executives and decision makers with more than 600 attendees. The conference will be followed by B2B meetings with automotive manufacturers in Germany.
Oct. 16 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Hire Immigrants Ottawa, in collaboration with the Kanata North Business Association, invites you to a complimentary professional development training. This session is designed to equip employers, people with hiring responsibilities and HR professionals with practical skills, tips, strategies and tools needed to identify and address communication style.
Oct. 16 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Are you a small business owner looking for resources to grow? Join the eSAX Fireside Chat featuring an exceptional panel of women entrepreneurs including Erin Blaskie, Angella Goran, Fiona Gilligan and Terri Storey. Moderated by Sueling Ching, guests will include Mayor Jim Watson and MC Dylan Black.
TECHTOBERFEST IS BACK!
Oct. 17 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Join us and our friends at KRP Properties, the Ottawa Network for Education / JA Ottawa, Collab Space and The Ottawa Network for a unique networking opportunity connecting Ottawa’s thriving entrepreneurial community of technology, small business and youth. Join us at the Community Hub in Kanata for our outdoor event with German inspired flavours, food trucks and beer! We’ll have music, games and fun for all members and visitors, and will be collecting donations of non-perishable food items in support of the Kanata Food Cupboard.
CENGN SUMMIT
Nov. 13 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Brookstreet Hotel A full-day event bringing together multinationals, small and mediumsized enterprises, government and academia to showcase their leadership in information and communication technologies and next-generation networking. For more details, visit https://cengnsummit.ca.
SPONSORED CONTENT
Popular Senators Soirée gala returns Nov. 23 Safari-themed evening offers opportunity to rub shoulders with Senators players, network with business leaders, and support kids in the community
L
It’s an opportunity the players enjoy and a role they take seriously, says Weir – but don’t just take it from him. Retired Sens right winger Chris Neil says he and his fellow players, active or otherwise, all love this chance to give back. “We’re blessed to play in a community that treats us unbelievably,” Neil says. “To be able to give back in that community and touch kids’ lives is awesome. As a child, you have role models and people you look up to; people you follow and idolize,” he adds. “As a hockey player ... you’ve always got to take the time to talk to kids and give back.” With a lot of hard work, and a little bit of luck, Weir, Neil and the entire Senators organization are optimistic that the team will pick up a victory against the Rangers on Nov. 22 and a crucial fundraising win at the Senators Soirée the following evening. “There are a lot of kids that need some help,” Weir says. “This event goes a long way toward reaching them. It’s a win for guests from many perspectives, but it’s also a win for so many kids across the region.”
OBJ360 CONTENT STUDIO
When you attend an event such as the Senators Soirée, you’re helping the Ottawa Senators Foundation support many crucial initiatives in the community: Social Recreation The Foundation aims to topple barriers like registration fees and equipment costs, making it easier for children to get involved in summer camp, sports, after-school programs, and more. SENS Rinks The Foundation funds 15 SENS Rinks, which provide accessible recreation and sport opportunities to kids across the region. Education The Foundation has invested in educational initiatives directed towards youth, teens and young adults, such as bursaries and scholarships. Physical and Mental Wellness The Foundation supports charitable organizations focused on meeting the needs of families with children and youth suffering from various forms of mental health illnesses. Roger Neilson House The Foundation is an ardent supporter of Roger Neilson House, a pediatric respite and palliative care home for children.
ATTEND THE SENATORS SOIRÉE When: Saturday, Nov. 23 Where: Canadian Tire Centre Tickets: http://bit.ly/Sens-Soiree
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 7
ess than 24 hours after the Ottawa Senators face off against the New York Rangers on home ice next month, the Canadian Tire Centre will be transformed into a safari-themed venue for one of the most popular fundraising galas of the year. Scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23, the Ferguslea Properties Senators Soirée presented by Bell is one of the biggest black-tie galas on Ottawa’s social calendar and features incredible entertainment, delicious food and drink, an auction, networking opportunities and the chance to meet Ottawa Senators players and executives. Even more worthy of emphasis is the fact that it’s the Ottawa Senators Foundation’s biggest fundraising event of the year. The Foundation, which supports child and youth activities that enable physical and mental wellness through social recreation and education programs, would simply not be able to operate on the same scale without this event. Last year, the Soirée raised more than $300,000, which in combination with other fundraising activities, allowed the Foundation
to help roughly 60,000 children in the Ottawa area. Brad Weir, the Foundation’s director of marketing communications and community investments, says he’s hopeful that this year’s safari-themed event will generate similar success. “We strive to make every year better than the last,” Weir says. “Thanks to the support of our players, sponsors and guests, last year was one of our best. Hopefully this year we can raise even more because the number of children in our community who need our support continues to grow.” The Senators Soirée is a great opportunity for community-minded citizens and hockey fans to give back. It also provides an unbeatable chance to get acquainted with the entire team, which Weir believes is particularly important during the current chapter of the team’s story. “We have a lot of youth on our team; a lot of players that people don’t know.” Weir says of the current Senators roster. “This is a great chance for those guys to be able to meet the fans, and make a significant impact in our community.”
HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS FOUNDATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE
profile
‘You can do it – persevere and don’t let the naysayers get you down’ Former Mitel and Tundra Semiconductor engineer Sue Dyer reflects on industry’s evolution over four decades By Lisa Thibodeau
L
ooking back on her nearly 40 years in the tech sector, Sue Dyer recognizes how difficult it can be for women to make a name for themselves in a predominantly male industry. Dyer got her start in engineering at
Sue Dyer worked at Tundra Semiconductor, Zarlink and other tech firms before joining PwC. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON IBM in the United States in the 1980s before moving to the U.K. for more than a decade to pursue her passion of designing integrated circuits. She eventually moved
8 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
5G: Better, faster, stronger T he world has been running on 4G networks for the last nine years, but lately it looks like we are moving in a faster direction. 5G is the newest generation of cellular network technology that has significantly faster upload and download speeds. The use of 5G will enable our city and most importantly the Kanata North Tech Park to work more efficiently and will continue to create many more jobs in tech. The federal government recently announced a multimillion-dollar deal with Nokia, which has a considerable presence in Kanata North, to begin 5G research in Canada. The Kanata North Business Association sat down with Nima
Kasbiy, a software engineer at Nokia, to explore the significance of this nextgeneration technology.
KNBA: What are your thoughts on the federal government working alongside Nokia to research 5G? KASBIY: 5G technology will completely revolutionize the way the world interacts with technology. It’s much more than just a new cellular network framework. It means much faster service can be provided to many more people. 5G will also be used on a much broader scale, such as in the automotive industry – allowing cars to communicate with other cars and infrastructure and ultimately providing us with safer roads.
to Canada to join Ottawa’s tech sector in the early 2000s and has remained in the region ever since. While she loves working in tech, she says it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “The thing about being a woman and going into engineering is you have to realize there are always going to be people out there that don’t believe you have the capability because you’re a woman,” she says, adding that she has had her share of run-ins with disagreeable bosses and colleagues. She first noticed the underrepresentation in the industry back when she was pursuing her master’s degree and she was one of three women in a class of 103. She encountered similar imbalances throughout her career at Mitel, Tundra Semiconductor and Deloitte. Being one of the few women in the workplace never deterred Dyer, but drove her to continue to work hard and exceed expectations – taking on many managerial roles over the years. Rob Hilkes worked alongside Dyer at Tundra and remembers her congenial approach to managing a team.
“Sue doesn’t have an ego … she’s just very much a team player,” says Hilkes, who worked closely with her on a consortium project where he says her talents were instrumental. “That was an opportunity where you could see her interpersonal skills and leadership skills shine.” As Dyer approaches her fourth decade in the business and nearly 15th year in her current role as a senior manager at consulting firm PwC, she is encouraged by the number of women who are interested in the STEM industry today and the initiatives workplaces are making to incorporate them. “I think women are saying, ‘You know what? I can do this,’” says Dyer. “Maybe it’s because people my age are saying, ‘You can do it – persevere and don’t let the naysayers get you down.’” While Dyer concedes that working in technology is hard work, she credits it with giving her the foundational tools to build a successful career and branch out into new areas. “There are things that will try to impede you,” she adds. “But you just have to be really focused and dedicated.”
Healthcare can also benefit from 5G with speed-ups in the transmission of large files such as MRIs.
big tech hub, it will definitely benefit its expansion and development and continue to push Ottawa into the growing list of cities to be taken seriously when it comes to technology.
KNBA: Some consider Ottawa to be behind in technology compared to other capital cities such as London and Tokyo. Is Canada’s capital moving in the right direction with 5G? KASBIY: Definitely, 5G is already starting to roll out in a lot of the global technological hubs. Canada and specifically Ottawa starting to make moves towards 5G will definitely benefit our capital in many ways, both technologically and economically. KNBA: Do you think the Kanata North tech park will benefit from 5G? KASBIY: The emergence of 5G has already and will continue to create many more job opportunities in R&D and testing. And with Kanata North being such a
KNBA: With the use of 5G also comes concerns about health risks such as radiation exposure. Are there ways to protect our health while using technology? KASBIY: While it’s true that 5G will increase the amount of radio waves and electromagnetic radiation around us, the radio waves emitted by 5G are far less energetic than higher frequency waves such as UV rays, X-rays and Gamma rays that we are also exposed to quite often. With that being said, it’s very important to invest in the research of potential health risks. Original article written by Neikko Burrell.
Fidus helps other companies design and build projects using its existing components like the Mantyss system.
Scott Turnbull (left) and Pat Gurtler (right) are looking to use Fidus’ technologies to advance the company into the AV sector. PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON
Relevance through reinvention 5G, autonomous vehicles open new opportunities for Fidus By Lisa Thibodeau
S
verification and chip packaging design,” says Pat Gurtler, director of research and development. “We are also looking at getting into those expanding networks like 5G and autonomous vehicles.”
f l o ra l d e s i g n s
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 9
everal years after putting down roots in Kanata North, electronic product developer Fidus is forging into several new markets and looking to further expand its local headcount. The business, which launched in Ottawa in 2001 following the shutdown of Cadence, designs and builds electronic products focusing on hardware, software and FPGA circuit boards. The team can build products from scratch or use some of Fidus’ own designs – such as the Mantyss daughter card – as a base for the project. This system streamlines the design process, and helps clients get their products to market faster. “Companies either don’t have the manpower or the technical capabilities,
so they outsource all or some of a project to us,” says Scott Turnbull, director of technology. “We can then leverage our design into their design and we can cut that process time in half.” Fidus builds complex systems for medical applications, defence applications and even consumer goods. Over the past few years, however, the company has tried to broaden its client base and shift its focus. Fidus used to be heavily involved in the communications sector, but as the market started to change, so did its business strategy. The company has tried to balance its focus, says Turnbull, pointing to their developments in software as an example. In order to stay relevant in the fastpaced tech space, Fidus is hoping to do this again. “We have started expanding into
The team moved to Kanata North just over four years ago and is thriving in the tech park environment. Its Terry Fox Road location makes the company even more accessible to clients, but also compelling to new hires, says Turnbull, who foresees the company – which currently has some 70 staff – continuing to grow in the near future. “We’re in a really awesome time in Fidus history,” he says. “We’re bigger than we’ve ever been and we’re just doing very well on all fronts.”
where we work
Stephen Tippet and Martin Lee have worked at the Teron Road lab for years, running product quality tests on everything from telecom equipment to consumer goods. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON
Tech talent powers Kanata F North testing lab through ownership changes
10 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
By Lisa Thibodeau
Nortel-built facility enters new markets with TÜV SÜD
or countless companies in Kanata North and around the world, one of the first steps to bringing high-tech products to market – everything from telecommunications gear to aerospace components – has long been a testing lab on Teron Road. The exterior signage, as well as the facility operator, has changed several times over the past two decades. But there’s been a constant during that
same time period: A core group of skilled technicians who have been with the testing lab since its early days and helped it evolve and remain a worldclass facility. “We support each other,” says test technician Martin Lee. “The people are very important in making this business operate – it’s not just a bunch of machines that get the work done.” Inside its walls, skilled workers put products developed by other companies
– such as fibre optics and consumer goods including laptop displays – through a series of rigorous tests on vibration tables, radiation vaults and in temperature-controlled chambers. Many of the products tested at the facility may be transported over rough terrain, or exposed to extremely high or low temperatures, says Peter Connolly, an account executive at TÜV SÜD. By pushing products to their breaking points, TÜV SÜD is helping clients identify any weaknesses in order to make them better suited to withstand use, he adds.
A NEW CHAPTER
TÜV SÜD may be new to Ottawa, having taken over the facility in 2018, but many of its Kanata employees have deep roots in the local tech sector. Several previously worked for Nortel, which built the Teron Road location in 1999. The facility has since changed hands four times, keeping employees such as lab manager Stephen Tippett engaged with cutting-edge technology and a strong workplace culture. “Pretty much everybody stayed on board,” he says, estimating that about 80 per cent of the roughly 15 employees have been with the facility since “the early days.” A portion of the Nortel team remained when the facility was acquired by C-MAC, a Canadian electronic testing facility based out of Sherbrooke, Que. Other workers, such as Lee, left during ownership changes but found their way back. Lee returned in 2003 and has remained ever since, in large part
Power and safety engineer Suthan Kuhanesan uses a lightning surge generator during the safety certification process. taking the existing staff with it. Tippett and Lee continued their work certifying products through another acquisition by Singapore-based Flextronics in 2008.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Mark Bamford prepares to perform a temperature test in one of TÜV SÜD’s many thermal chambers. because of the culture within the facility. The facility continued building and testing products but changed hands again in 2003 when it was bought by Solectron,
When Flextronics outgrew the facility and moved up the road, it opened the door to TÜV SÜD to enter the Kanata North market. Throughout the changes in ownership, the lab’s employees maintained the client relationships built over the years. “The lab is scaled and equipped and accredited in a way that aligns with the things these companies need,” says Tippet, who credits the Kanata tech park’s close-knit community for keeping employees and customers engaged throughout the years. “It’s the perfect size and shape for
Nokia, Ciena, Ericsson – those (firms) still have a lot of Nortel DNA in them because they acquired products from the breakup of the company.” TÜV SÜD is finishing a full renovation of the space. While Nortel spared no expense in future-proofing the building – its largest lab has been used nearly every day since its inception in 1999 – there are new additions being made to further update it. The company is expanding its work in wireless and Bluetooth connectivity testing to prepare for advancements in autonomous vehicles. The company purchased new wireless and radio frequency testing equipment, turning it into a tier-one wireless testing laboratory. “Having new industries in the marketplace is pretty exciting,” says Lee. “Bringing in new customers, testing cars … there’s a lot of industries here in Ottawa and we’re hoping we can help them all.” A new lab is also being built to allow for more testing of smaller products. While the larger lab often deals with month-long tests for large telecom or aerospace equipment, the new space turns around tests much quicker, allowing products to get to market faster. While the products being tested within the facility may be constantly evolving, its longtime employees say there has been a sense of consistency in other areas of their work. “There is an overarching culture here,” Tippet says. “We’ve been owned by different companies, from different countries and different cultures, but what we do has always remained the same.”
Leading Ottawa Employment Lawyers
• Severance Pay • Human Rights
For Employers & Employees CALL: 613-366-3063
• Wrongful Dismissal • Employment Contracts
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 11
EmploymentLawyer.ca
what we’re geeking out on
Meet the next generation of L-Spark startups An inside look at the algorithms, software code and other innovations being developed in Kanata North
12 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
T
here is a new cohort of companies emerging from Kanata North’s L-Spark looking to make their mark in Ottawa tech. The SaaS accelerator program helps entrepreneurs launch their businesses by providing them with the necessary connections and support to get their products to market. L-Spark is powered by Wesley Clover, the investment management and holding company backed by local tech titan Terry Matthews that’s produced success stories such as Solink, Solace and ProntoForms. It’s helping to produce a new generation of startups that are bringing new technologies to market and making names for themselves. “MyDoma, Neurovine and Bluink are incredibly different companies when it comes to the tech they are building,” says L-Spark marketing director Erin Blaskie. “They show the diversity that exists in startup and tech, which is critical to our long-term growth and success as a country.” Here’s a closer look at some of these local startups to watch and an inside glimpse at the technology they’re developing: Bluink founder Steve Borza built the eID-Me app in hopes of creating a safer online experience for users. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON
Sarah Daniele created MyDoma Studio to make it easier for interior designers to connect with their clients. PHOTO SUBMITTED.
MYDOMA STUDIO
When Sarah Daniele recognized the lack of proper management software for interior designers, she set out to build her own. Daniele teamed up with her business partner and husband, Tom Martineau, to develop MyDoma Studio, a software platform that gives interior designers the tools to track projects, source products and build mood boards all on one platform. Users can fully integrate the software with their own systems and even connect to outside platforms such as Facebook and QuickBooks to make it easier to connect with clients. “We had to look at all the different types of technologies and languages to scale it up – who was going to host it, and what software could support the system,” she says. Daniele and Martineau worked on the software for nearly two years, taking the project from beta to a fully functioning product in 2016. The duo used open-source frameworks Ember and Node to develop the project, learning many lessons along the way. “If I did it again, I would do it faster, and listen less to all of the feedback which caused us to lose sight of our vision a bit along the way,” she says. “Things don’t need to be perfect, if they’re perfect you’re too late.”
BLUINK
UP THE BOX AND MAKE CONCUSSIONS VISIBLE USING REAL-TIME BRAIN DATA TO GUIDE THAT RECOVERY PROCESS.” - Ashleigh Kennedy, founder of Neurovine is working with patients dealing with concussions to help make the recovery process faster and easier. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON
the attacks that people do today on passwords are eliminated with this technology,” he says, adding that it can also verify the identity of individuals at airports, hospitals and post offices. Users can also set a login range through GPS settings, blocking the ability to use the facial recognition or login software outside of a certain distance from their home or workplace,
giving them complete control over their personal information.
NEUROVINE
Ashleigh Kennedy and her husband Matthew are on a mission to help patients recover from concussions with their software Neurovine. Using portable EEG headsets, users can perform a brain scan, analyze their
data and upload it securely to the app to better understand their injury. From there, the software reads the scan and offers the user insights into how they are exerting their brain, warning them when they are straining the injury. “We are always surprised at how little support patients receive between physician visits,” she says. “Once you’re diagnosed with a concussion you really are left to your own devices to try and recover.” The software was inspired by Kennedy’s father, who played in the CFL for many years. Watching him and his friends suffer from the effects of concussions fueled her passion to find a solution. “We are trying to open up the box and make concussions visible using real-time brain data to guide that recovery process,” she says, adding that the software cleans up and tracks the brain scan through an algorithm, making it simple for anyone to read and understand the results.
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 13
The team at Bluink are trying to make it safer than ever for people to log into websites, shop online and even hop on a flight. With its eID-Me software, users create a digital version of their identity right on their phone. The app uses a range of facial recognition systems and barcode readers to digitally store a user’s driver’s license, health card and passport in the system. The app also helps users stay safe online, says CEO Steve Borza. The app can generate, store and encrypt strong passwords, automating the entire login process. The app can connect with websites such as DropBox through a one-time use code, sharing only the information needed to log into any given site. “The login process is un-phishable, there’s no middleman access … all of
“WE ARE TRYING TO OPEN
where we live
14 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
LUNA Crêpes & Café co-owner Cigdem Gulen, with some of the March Road eatery’s tasty wares. PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON
LUNA Crêpes & Café owners forging deep community bonds
Kanata North ‘the perfect location’ for growing business
By Paula Roy
O
wners Cigdem and Ammar Gulen may have taken a circuitous route to the hospitality industry, but it has been a rewarding journey for them. Since purchasing their March Road eatery, LUNA Crêpes & Café, in early 2015, the business has grown steadily. So much so, in fact, that they’ve recently opened a second location in the
spacious outdoor patio will be the next project, says Cigdem. Another hurdle which has clearly been successfully overcome, based on the cafe’s popularity all day long, was to overhaul the menu and switch from commercially prepared products to dishes now made completely from scratch. From their acclaimed sweet and savoury crêpes to waffles, panini, omelettes, house-made gelato and more, the Gulens based their offerings on what they themselves like to eat. “Serving up top-quality food is important to us because we view the café as an extension of our home,” says Cigdem. “We want to share our love of good food and offer people a happy place in which they can relax and enjoy themselves. It’s nice to see our tables and couches filled with high school students on a break, groups of parents chatting over coffee or lunch and businesspeople having informal meetings.” Perhaps their biggest challenge was to generate awareness that the business had changed ownership and was being operated in a distinctly different manner. “We knew it would be hard to change people’s prior perceptions, but we were pleasantly surprised,” she says. “People told us they saw an honest, hard-working family trying to turn the business around and they wanted to find out what we were doing here. Many of those early supporters have become cherished friends.”
“WE FEEL SO VERY GRATEFUL TO BE PART OF SUCH A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY HERE IN KANATA NORTH.” – LUNA Crêpes & Café co-owner Cigdem Gulen
A ‘WONDERFUL COMMUNITY’
Cigdem admits those new friends have been extra-important to the Gulen family in recent months, ever since Ammar started treatments for cancer. “I cannot believe how warm and
supportive our customers have been; they help us out in so many different ways when we need a hand. We feel so very grateful to be part of such a wonderful community here in Kanata North.” With the opening of their second location, the couple is happy to be able to offer additional possibilities for employment to newcomers from Turkey who have fled due to the political turmoil there. “Once Ammar completes his cancer treatments and regains his health, we would certainly consider additional locations to provide more jobs,” says Cigdem. LUNA received the 2017 Restaurant Fast Serve Award from the West Ottawa Board of Trade (now part of the Ottawa Board of Trade), an achievement that likely stems in part from the Gulen’s constant search for new inspiration. “We love going to Chelsea and Old Montreal, as they remind us of the European influences in our native Istanbul. Rather than simply following the Ottawa trends, we want to see what’s happening around the world. “We’re so pleased to be in Kanata North – it’s close to downtown but developing all the time as more restaurants, cafes, retail shops and other services open their doors,” says Cigdem. “I love that our family can eat, shop, go to school, work and live all within just a few kilometres, while also having access to safe, convenient transit, beautiful outdoor spaces, a public library and year-round recreation opportunities. It’s the perfect location for us and for LUNA.”
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 15
Bayshore Shopping Centre. The Turkish-born couple emigrated from their homeland in 2001 and worked in the television and communications industries in Canada and the United States for several years. The decision to settle permanently in Ottawa came about when their eldest child was in grade 3. “We found it challenging to be constantly applying for U.S. work permits, plus we wanted our daughter to start French immersion in grade 4, so we decided to return to Ottawa, where we had lived briefly before,” says Cigdem. Relocating to a new city wasn’t enough for these eager entrepreneurs; they also chose to change their career paths. “We both felt it was time to do something else and knew that running a café would not just be about making money, it would be about making people happy,” she says. The fact that they were able to find the ideal location in Kanata North is something Cigdem attributes to destiny. “We live nearby; I was out for a walk one day and noticed this business for sale. I saw that this is a nice area with lots of people working and living nearby so felt it would be ideal for a café focusing on breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch.” There were several challenges that the Gulens had to overcome once they took ownership of the cafe. Changing the interior decor and furniture was perhaps one of the easier ones and they have effectively created a space that is cheerful and welcoming. They budgeted to update the premises in stages and the
TOP: The teams gather together one last time where the girls pitch their apps to a panel of judges, hoping to take the top prize. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER FRANCIS BELOW RIGHT: Lucy Bojilova, a long time mentor at Technovation, introduced the program to Ericsson when she joined the company in 2017. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON
16 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
Kanata North tech leaders tackle industry gender gap Technovation attracts support from Ericsson, Ciena, You.i TV and others By Lisa Thibodeau
M
anagers and executives from several Kanata North companies have teamed up with global tech education nonprofit Technovation in an effort to get more young women
interested in pursuing technology careers. The program invites female high school students to participate in a three-month competition while being mentored by some of the top women in Ottawa tech. Teams are tasked with planning, designing and pitching a
mobile app startup as a way to inspire and teach girls about the industry. Host companies also provide teaching material to the teams, with lectures on how to debug code as a common theme. The program was brought to Ottawa in 2015 by Jennifer Francis, a principal at Cafe Noir Consulting who also sits on
the boards of both Invest Ottawa and the Capital Angels Network. “Technovation gets girls engaged in the technology and development side in (an) ... environment that makes it easier for them to ask questions, learn to code and gets them past the view that it is only for boys,” says Francis, adding that with the support from companies including Ericsson, Ciena, You.i TV, IBM, Shopify and L-Spark nearly 700 girls in the capital have taken part in the program. Lucy Bojilova is an R&D manager at Ericsson and has been a mentor for the program since its inception. She was introduced to Technovation while working at IBM, and loved the experience so much that she brought the initiative with her to Ericsson. “We have a big pool of tech companies here in Kanata and we should be ... bringing these girls here to showcase the opportunities that exist,” she says. The well-documented underrepresentation of women in tech is something Bojilova says she has seen throughout her career, making efforts to inspire girls to pursue a career in the sector something she finds easy to become passionate about. “We are behind, but by fostering and creating excitement with programs like Technovation, we will be able to make a change,” she says. Ciena has also been a sponsor of Technovation for the last two years, hosting some of the events at its sprawling Kanata North labs. Marie Fiala, the company’s director of portfolio marketing, heard about the program from Francis and thought it was the perfect complement to the company’s diversity initiatives. “Ciena really supports women in the workplace and the promotion of careers for young girls,” she says. “We were really impressed with the program and the amount of engagement and enthusiasm the young girls have.” Fiala adds that being able to show girls that tech is a viable career path for women leaves all of those involved with an overwhelming sense of pride. She says she is looking forward to working closely with Technovation in the future, hoping to further Ciena’s involvement by joining the mentorship program and working with the groups more one-on-one.
CAV Canada puts Kanata North’s autonomous vehicle prowess on display Ford, GM and Uber among global heavyweights at growing AV summit By Elizabeth Howell
R
epresentatives from some of the world’s largest auto manufacturers and technology companies descended on the Brookstreet Hotel in early September for a growing annual conference that’s helping to cement Kanata North’s global reputation as Canada’s autonomous vehicle capital. Speakers from Ford, General Motors and Uber joined Kanata-based executives from firms such as Irdeto, Flex and BlackBerry QNX to explore the rapidly developing connected and autonomous vehicle sector and shine a spotlight on the growing ecosystem in Kanata North. The region is home to an estimated 90 companies working on this next generation of vehicle technology, said Sonya Shorey, Invest Ottawa’s vicepresident of strategy, marketing and communications, in an opening speech at the two-day Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) Conference. “I’m incredibly excited to explore new partnerships with the companies today,” Shorey said.
Kanata companies are working in multiple fields of autonomous driving tech, including research, software, design, security, connectivity, sensors, I.T. solutions, wireless and mobile technologies, noted Veronica Farmer, Kanata North BA’s director of operations. Finished cars can even be tested locally. Two years after Canada’s first on-road test of a self-driving car down Legget Drive, Kanata North tech workers recently took several autonomous pods for a spin around the Marshes Golf Club. Several speakers also praised the arrival of the Ottawa L5 test facility, a new 16-kilometre track in the city’s south end meant to run autonomous cars yearround – including Ottawa’s harsh winter climate. Tours of the facility were available to delegates, and it was such a popular choice that people were waitlisted.
AUTO MANUFACTURERS
The first day of the conference included keynotes from two companies with an Ontario presence: Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.
Ford is rapidly scaling up its Kanata presence with 100 new local hires in the last year alone and plans to lease some 40,000 square feet in a new west-end office development. Ottawa native Rahul Singh – Ford’s head of autonomous vehicle software development – outlined several trends for the local industry to consider, including opportunities for new disruptive technologies to eliminate current pain points, such as the time wasted bringing a vehicle to a garage for routine servicing. Instead of requiring the vehicle’s owner to drive the car to a servicing center, future cars could do it themselves. “Maybe do it at 3 a.m., when there’s not a lot of traffic,” he said. “Payments are automated. Then it can come back home, park itself, charge itself in the wall, maybe even give energy back to the grid.” Other panels at the conference addressed matters such as government planning and regulations, the socioeconomic impacts of CAVs, autonomous vehicle technology and business planning in the CAV era. The annual conference was cohosted by the Kanata North Business Association, Invest Ottawa and Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE). This year, it was expected to surpass its previous attendance mark of 350 attendees.
Cannabis cluster emerges in Kanata North for one of Canada’s largest pot producers, solidifying its place in the sector. Momentum Law have also been an integral player in the development of cannabis retail in the city. The law firm works closely with individuals and businesses looking to explore the retail opportunities that come with legal marijuana, helping them navigate the rules and regulations surrounding the sale of the product.
With more encrypted data passing through networks every day, Corsa Technology has a way to make it easier to locate online threats. Under new CEO Eduardo Cervantes, Corsa shifted its strategic focus to deal with
Both Martello Technologies and Ruckify experienced a surge in popularity following Bruce Linton’s public departure from Canopy Growth. The former cannabis CEO sported a Martello t-shirt during his press tour, causing the software company’s shares to skyrocket by more than 200 per cent. Linton, the co-chairman of the communications company, announced he would be spending more time at Martello, attracting substantial interest to the Kanata company. Linton’s other venture Ruckify experienced similar fanfare. The product rental service was hit by the “Bruce effect,” with several propositions from venture capitalists looking to invest. While both companies have levelled out on the market, interest still lingers as the public waits to see what Linton will do next.
more online security needs in 2019. With the company’s new firewall system, companies are able to see 100 per cent of the encrypted traffic on their network, making it faster and more efficient to scan for threats. This new approach to cybersecurity is a step forward in an otherwise decades-old approach to online security software. Traditionally, firewalls would decrypt information before processing it through the system – a technique that left gaps in high-traffic network. Corsa uses a virtual network firewall which can process information faster, remove the need for any physical hardware and can scale up as the company grows.
FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 17
The cannabis business is continuing to grow in Kanata North as Gatineau-based HEXO opens a new office in Canada’s largest tech park. The packaged marijuana goods company will be joining the likes of Tweed, a Canadian marijuana producer, which moved to the tech park in early 2018 as well as a handful of other tech park businesses paving their way in the pot industry. March Networks announced in 2018 that it would be the video surveillance provider
Corsa takes new approach to online security
‘Bruce effect’ shines light on Kanata North companies
out of office
“I WENT OUT AND WAS REALLY NERVOUS, BUT I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.” – Erin Blaskie, on climbing natural rock in Utah for the first time
18 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
‘Carve out time in your schedule to do something you love’ Newfound passion for rockclimbing helps L-Spark’s Erin Blaskie spend time with family, beat stress By Alycia Douglass
W
ork hard, play hard – right? At least, that’s been Erin Blaskie’s approach to life these days. In her 9-5 grind, Blaskie serves as
director of marketing at L-Spark, where she works with SaaS and cloud startups. When she’s not helping scale Canada’s best in SaaS, Blaskie can be found literally climbing the walls – often clocking upwards of 20 hours a week at
her local climbing gym. She was first introduced to rock climbing through her daughter, who attended not one, but two birthday parties at Altitude Gym. While Blaskie initially opted out of climbing, she
says that seeing her daughter fearlessly navigate the wall was the driving force behind her first attempt. “I saw just how much confidence she was getting from climbing, but I didn’t try it that day,” says Blaskie. “We came back for another birthday party, and some of the other parents decided to climb … so I did, too. I got on the wall and loved it.” While Blaskie is admittedly not very competitive, she says that climbing has helped her break down some of her own personal barriers. Back in May, she traveled to Utah, where she climbed on natural rock for the first time. “It was the greatest challenge I’ve encountered (in the sport) so far,” says Blaskie. “I went out and was really nervous, but I loved every minute of it. I think it furthered my addiction to the sport.” Speaking of addiction to the sport, Blaskie isn’t the only rock climber in her household. In fact, Altitude Gym has become a common family gathering place for herself, her fiance and young daughter. “It helps that this is a sport that my whole family can do,” laughs Blaskie. “We can all climb. Because it’s such an individual sport, you can literally climb next to someone on the wall and be working very different difficulties and still have a great time.” While climbing has been a good source of quality time with family, Blaskie says it’s been even better for her overall mental health. Having previously struggled with burnout and depression, she says that having a space to release everyday stresses has helped her strike a better balance. “You have to carve out time in your schedule to do something you love,” says Blaskie. “Making that a priority has really changed my life for the better. I can come to the wall, and I can leave it all on the wall.” Having stumbled into the sport by chance, Blaskie remains grateful to have found her footing in a sport she can’t get enough of. “I never in a million years thought that this would be a sport I would be into,” says Blaskie. “But now that I’m into it, I can’t imagine my life without it.”
Kanata is home to the world’s most successful technology companies • Kanata North is the largest technology park in Canada, contributing some $13 billion to Canada’s GDP • Home to 500+ businesses • Major sectors: information and communications, technology and software; emerging sectors: defence, security and aerospace, life sciences, cleantech • Global companies, major research facilities including Cisco, Ciena, Ericsson and Nokia • Canadian leaders in global markets including Mitel, Nordion and BlackBerry QNX • Startups, investors and service providers
Let us connect you to Canada’s largest technology park Eric Dupuis, FALL 2019 KANATA NETWORKER 19
Account executive 613.238.1818 x273 eric@obj.ca
20 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2019
