Full On Lighting principals, from left: Jason Kereluk, Sean Bourquin, Iris Gillies, Scott Macdonald.
FULL ON LIGHTING Four-person startup designs and manufactures a one-beam, high-tech bicycle light that creates “unmatched vision” for night riders.
Sector: Technology, manufacturing, recreation.
Just over a decade ago, Sean Bourquin was sitting in the offices of First Light Technologies, the Victoria company he founded, talking with a colleague about their shared passion for biking. More specifically, about bike lights for night riding. “Man, bike lights suck,” Bourquin recalls saying. “We would joke at that time that our mission was unsucking solar lighting because solar lighting sucks, too. So now we were having a similar conversation about these bike lights.” Bourquin did something about it. The 2012 Douglas 10 to Watch winner (for First Light) left that company a couple of years ago and launched Full On Lighting, a four-person business that has designed, manufactured and sold around 1,000 high-tech bike lights since January 2025. The MB6 High Performance Light, which retails for $495, is seen as a one-light solution to the twolights policy of other mountain bike lights. This isn’t the standard high-intensity, singularly directed spotlight strapped to the rider’s helmet paired with a handlebar-affixed light bouncing light out in different directions as the bike moves along a trail. Rather, the MB6 is a singular, lightweight bike light attached to the helmet, where it fills the rider’s entire field of view, using technology that automatically controls brightness
Principals: Sean Bourquin Scott Macdonald Iris Gillies Jason Kereluk
and the shape of the beam cast. “I thought, ‘Oh, this has got to be on your head.’ Your body’s a great shock absorber. You’re up higher, so it projects better, and it’s where you’re looking,” says Bourquin. “What we create for people is unmatched vision.” This optical design — the ultra-wide beam — is one of the MB6’s two “pillars.” The second pillar is smart controls, with four settings that range from the low-light “manual hangout” to the highest-intensity “active light control,” a setting that will regulate itself, in effect — “the faster you go, the brighter it is.” It not only makes for a safer experience, but the dimmer output at slower speeds saves on battery power. Design is done in house, parts sourced both locally and from other parts of Canada and the U.S., and assembled back at Full On Lighting’s Langford offices. While mountain and trail biking is the MB6’s primary market now, it’s also applicable to other activities, from off-road motorbiking to snowmobiling and backcountry skiing. There’s even commercial-market potential — search and rescue, ski-lift maintenance and mine site security personnel have used it. The future looks bright for this “unsucked” smart bike light.
Employees: Four Unique selling proposition: The best night ride of your life, guaranteed. We allow people to ride faster, safer and have more fun. Target audience/ market: Outdoor enthusiasts. Website: fullonlighting.com
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