THRESHOLDIMPACT VENTURE MENTORING SERVICE 2018–19 ANNUAL REPORT

THRESHOLDIMPACT

VENTURE MENTORING SERVICE

2 018 –19 A N N UA L R E P O R T

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

WHAT IS THRESHOLDIMPACT VENTURE MENTORING SERVICE? The UAlberta ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service (VMS) is a program that has been developed to support, inspire, and empower UAlberta entrepreneurs (alumni, faculty, students or staff) by engaging them with teams of experienced Mentors. Our Mentors freely give their time, talent and knowledge to help entrepreneurs so that they, in turn, are better prepared to continue growing their venture.

Our mentorship program pairs seasoned Mentors with high growth ventures that are looking to scale their operations. We are proud that our ventures come from a variety of sectors such as software, advertising, retail food, transportation, health and wellness, clothing and apparel, agriculture, and more.

1,416

program volunteer hours

If you want to learn more, please contact us at vms@ualberta.ca

TABLE OF CONTENTS + VISION To develop, inspire and empower the University of Alberta entrepreneurial community.

+ MISSION

To create and sustain world-class mentorship experiences and networks for entrepreneurs and Mentors.

+ CORE VALUES

VMS is built upon a foundation of core values that are enduring and exemplified by VMS management, the Board of Advisors, Mentors, and entrepreneurs. These are: + Mentorship is a combination of teaching, advising and coaching + An attitude of meaningful engagement, humility and the pursuit of lifelong learning + Embracing diversity of experience and opinion in our community + Relationships based on trust, respect and confidentiality + Mutual giving leading to value for all

3 Message from the Chair 4 Welcome from the VMS office 5 Our Mentors 8 First to complete the entrepreneurial cycle (Pogo) 9 A word from our sponsor 0 Firsts in the Cannabis industry 1 (GreenGreen, Big Bliss, G2V, Token) 4 First in parenthood and 1 entrepreneurship (Frettable and Unbelts)

On the cover: G2V Optics lighting system that hacks plants to grow better.

PHOTGRAPHY: JOHN ULAN (ULAN PHOTOGRAPHY) DESIGN: STUDIO X DESIGN INC.

2

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

FROM OUR CHAIR

In 2018-2019, the UAlberta ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service experienced many firsts.

Within VMS, entrepreneurs continue pursuing new opportunities and are ascending to new heights. This speaks both to the passion and hard work of our entrepreneurs and also the contributions and strength of our excellent volunteer Mentors.

This Annual Report highlights and celebrates the successes achieved

by VMS entrepreneurs who have asked for mentorship, guidance, and support as they take risks and advance down the always-challenging path of entrepreneurship.

From our humble beginnings in late 2013, to where our program is now, we have always strived to stay true to our North Star: providing the highest quality mentorship opportunities to help entrepreneurs develop and progress as they mature in their entrepreneurial endeavours. As we enter our seventh year of the program, we continue to gain interest from the key business leaders and successful entrepreneurs in our city who want to give back to the UAlberta community and support the growth of entrepreneurial talent in Edmonton and Alberta.

Because of that unwavering line of sight, the word is now ‘out’ about the value of VMS! We are at a tipping point for future expansion, and to this end our program has focused resources towards growth which will allow us to meet increasing demand for high-quality mentorship. We are always refining our processes and systems, further engaging our Mentor community, adding new program resources, and building deeper community partnerships.

To our dedicated Mentors: I want to thank you sincerely, for sharing your valuable expertise and time with UAlberta entrepreneurs, and for building an extremely strong and

engaged community, in which I’m honored to be a member; the Mentors who volunteer for all the VMS teams, participate in the Mentor engagement team and serve on the VMS advisory board are the lifeblood of our program.

To our hardworking, passionate VMS entrepreneurs: it’s truly a pleasure and a privilege to be able to work with you all as a Mentor; I encourage you to continue taking full advantage of all that this program has to offer to get the most value from your Mentors and the wider VMS community. To our great VMS team: thank you so much for your ongoing hard work, it’s very much appreciated by all the entrepreneurs and Mentors! To our amazing donors and fantastic industry partners, including the University of Alberta’s Alumni Relations/Advancement team: we thank you for your incredible support - together, we have built the foundations of a very strong program over the past six years, and we’re just getting started!

I want to thank Arden Tse, who has recently moved on from his leadership role within the VMS program. Arden took the VMS reigns from the original VMS manager, Dr. Ashlyn Bernier, and has served as Manager for the past three years, leading the continued

2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

growth of this program to help bring us to where we are today. Arden’s strong leadership and communication, innovative thinking and community development has positioned us well for future expansion. And, we’re still in great hands today, now with three very capable people within the VMS management team: Lazina McKenzie, a former VMS entrepreneur herself, recently joined us as the new VMS Manager and is off to a very strong start. Chris Doble recently stepped up as the Senior Lead and Debbie Keehn has recently moved into our program support role. Lazina, Chris and Debbie are doing great work!

I am honored to be a part of this team, and am very humbled by what we have accomplished together so far. I look forward to the VMS program continuing to grow, diversifying and being able to support excellent entrepreneurs as our impactful program continues to expand!

Dr. Ray Muzyka ‘90 BMedSc, ‘92 MD, ‘01 MBA (UWO) Chair, UAlberta ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service Board of Advisors

| ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

3

WELCOME FROM THE VMS OFFICE

I am excited to step into the role of leading the ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service. First, I want to thank the VMS Board of Advisors, the Office of Alumni Relations and the VMS team for welcoming me into the fold so quickly and wholeheartedly. The former VMS Manager, Arden Tse, left with a strong legacy intact after having grown a thriving mentorship program in our city.

I am pleased to see the growth of the program, both in the size and the breadth of the program offerings.

This speaks to the demand from entrepreneurs as they look to scale and grow their ventures. What it also speaks to though is the value that VMS brings.

What I already strongly know about VMS is that this is an agile and nimble program for entrepreneurs, built by a team of entrepreneurial thinkers.

What we want to highlight in this Annual Report are some of the brave firsts that our VMS entrepreneurs have led and engaged in. What this program hears, time and time again, is the value that our Mentors bring to supporting and guiding the ideas, innovations, and growth challenges that our entrepreneurs face.

Helping our entrepreneurs “Do Great Things” is impactful not only for individual businesses, but also for the greater community. This is what this

program aims to achieve!

This program would not have been able to offer the programming that it did in 2018/19 without the generous financial support from ATB, Ray Muzyka and Leona De Boer, Jim Yih, Dick Wilson and Tony Briggs. Thank you for powering VMS so we can continue to support entrepreneurial development. I look forward to meeting you, our VMS community! Thank you for the warm welcome.

LAZINA MCKENZIE Manager, ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

MEET THE VMS MANAGEMENT TEAM

4

Lazina Mckenzie (‘08 MBA)

Chris Doble

Debra Keehn

ThresholdImpact VMS Manager

ThresholdImpact VMS Senior Lead

ThresholdImpact VMS Program Support

I’ve always believed in a mentorship circle for personal and professional growth. The format of VMS, group mentorship, aligns perfectly with my values. Also, I strongly believe in the altruistic nature of the mentorship being provided to entrepreneurs aspiring to do great things. It’s inspiring to see what can happen when new thinking opens up for an entrepreneur.

It’s motivating to spend each day working with such talented, innovative, and positive people. I have a whole new appreciation for the art of coaching.

Seeing the impact of the right question dropped at exactly the right time is incredibly cool. I’m very proud of what the VMS community has been able to build for the community.

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

I’m a part of VMS because they say you’re a product of your environment and to surround yourself with the best. Epic things are happening in VMS!

OUR MENTORS

Our mentors are entrepreneurs, senior executives, and business professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Many of them are University of Alberta alumni, and all of them give generously of their time in support of our entrepreneurs. Their biographies can be found on our web site at www.ualberta.ca/vms.

Shawn Abbott Baerach Anderson Launa Aspeslet Linda Banister Sharon Bell Dave Bellous Mark Benning Robert Bhatia Bea Bohm-Meyer Scott Boyer David Bridges Charlene Butler Ken Cantor Teruel Carrasco Jeff Clark Don Cummings Dave Damer Nick Darby Chris Davey Terri Davis Lindsay Dodd Nic Donohoe

Darrel Ewaschuk Angela Fong Lorena Forster Terry Freeman Kashmir Gill Geoff Gregson Lynn Hamilton Brian Hesje Shaheel Hooda Don Howden Ashley Janssen Cory Janssen Shenaz Jeraj Bruce Johnson April Jones Dilip Kembhavi Ted Kouri Blaine LaBonte Marguerite LeBlanc Launa Linaker Stuart Lomas Ian MacGillivray

OUR ENTREPRENEURS

Roberta MacGillivray Cam MacMillan Paul McElhone Scott McLaughlan Mark McRae Tony Melnychuk Brian Menges Chris Micetich Kristina Milke Craig Milne Ray Muzyka, MBA Blaine Mytruk Ross Nairne Brad Nichol Tom Ogaranko Dana Paniccia Jen Panteluk Rob Parks Ernie Pasemko Carolyn Patton Shauna Perry Debbie Pietrusik

9

Number of networking events last year

John Pinsent Kyle Powell Genevieve Primus Ian Reynolds John Rogers Margot Ross-Graham Doug Sadler Alfred Sorensen Chantelle Svensen-Lewis Tom Viinikka Chris Vilcsak Catherine Vu Vince Waldon Dick Wilson Jim Yih Scott Young Greg Zeschuk

VMS ventures are affiliated with UAlberta and come from a variety of industries and stages of growth. They are all scalable businesses run by coachable entrepreneurs dedicated to expanding their ventures and becoming strong business leaders.

LOGOS REPRESENT VENTURES THAT PARTICIPATED IN VMS IN 2018-19 FISCAL YEAR.

Dana Janssen ‘07 BCom Ashley Janssen ‘06 BA

Fouad El-Masri ‘12 BA Nikki Leonardis ‘12 BA

2013

+9 = 9 Ventures

Claire Theaker-Brown ‘08 BA

Denis Vincent ‘85 BMedSc, ‘87 MD

James Kwan ‘10 BCom Kieran Ryan ‘08 BCom

2014

+11, -8 = 12 Ventures

2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

Uzair Ahmed ‘07 BSc(ChemEng) Asem Alsaadi ‘13 BSc(ChemEng)

2015

+8, -4 = 16 Ventures | ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

5

MEET THE VMS BOARD OF ADVISORS

WHAT’S YOUR WHY?

DR. RAY MUZYKA ‘90 BMedSc, ‘92 MD CHAIR Entrepreneurship can be lonely, challenging, and difficult to see the best path forward.

VMS provides new viewpoints and diverse perspectives by having Mentors ask the right questions. I wish I had been able to participate in a program like VMS when I was an early stage entrepreneur. Founding the program after I retired from BioWare/EA and serving as a volunteer Mentor and Advisory Board Chair since then is part of my effort to meaningfully support the next generation of entrepreneurs!

BLAINE LABONTE ‘93 BSc MENTOR REPRESENTATIVE Building a stronger entrepreneur in turn builds a stronger community.

Edmonton and Alberta have always been good at building business; we’ll do it again even bigger and better.

LORENA FORSTER ‘87 BA(Hons), ‘98 MBA MENTOR REPRESENTATIVE I’m a lifelong learner and I learn something at each VMS Mentor meeting! The caliber of Mentors is fantastic and I find it very energizing to be connected to the start up community in greater Edmonton.

BRITTANY ANDERSON ‘12 BCom ENTREPRENEUR REPRESENTATIVE I believe in life long learning, and so when I was given a chance to learn and interact with VMS at the board level, I applied. I’m so happy to be given the chance to give back to a program, and a school, that has given me so much.

Without the mentorship from VMS, Yardly wouldn’t have experienced the exponential growth it has had over the past 4 years. We still made lots of mistakes, but the advice we got from our Mentors helped us minimize our failures and learn faster.

Sheldon Zhang ‘12 BSc(ElecEng) & Terry Song ‘10 MEng | Yardly

LOGOS REPRESENT VENTURES THAT PARTICIPATED IN VMS IN 2018-19 FISCAL YEAR.

Tim Gourlay ‘09 BCom Brittany Anderson ‘12 BCom Rob Davy

Amir Reshef ‘10 BSc, ‘13 MBA, ‘14 JD Ashvin Singh ‘11 BCom

Jason Rolfe ‘96 BCom Pamela Rolfe

Drew Currah ‘11 BCom

Christopher Lerohl ‘09 BSc(ElecEng), ‘12 MEng, ‘12 MBA Ray Ma ‘09 LLM

Justine Barber ‘06 BCom

Jonathan Williams ‘12 BSc(CivEng) Diane Williams

Terry Song ‘10 MEng Sheldon Zhang ‘12 BSc(ElecEng)

Michael Taschuk ‘00 BSc(EngPhys), PhD Ryan Tucker ‘09 BSc(EngPhys), PhD

Nick Kazakoff ‘13 BDes Brendan Gallagher ‘13 BDes

2016

+8, -7 = 17 Ventures 6

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

Scott Swiston ‘17 AUB Beau Taylor ‘17 AUB

Alex Rossol ‘10 BSc Nathaniel Rossol ‘07 BSc CmpE, ‘10 MSc, ‘15 PhD

2017

+9, -4 = 22 Ventures

SEAN PRICE ‘95 BCom AVP, ALUMNI RELATIONS I believe in the VMS program.

It provides support for U of A grads to launch their ventures, to impact our economy, and to build our community.

TONY BRIGGS ‘95 BSc(Hons) EXEC PROFESSOR, ALBERTA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS VMS helps to foster a culture of entrepreneurship at the U of A through new experiences and learning opportunities.

Through the VMS program I’ve been able to tap into an amazing network of Edmonton’s business leaders to help propel the growth of my company.

The VMS office is also incredibly easy to work with, making it a low-stress program to participate in.

ASHLEY JANSSEN ‘06 BA ENTREPRENEUR REPRESENTATIVE

KRISTINA MILKE ‘94 BCom MET/VBA LIAISON, VICE CHAIR

I know the incredible benefit we have received, and continue to receive, as entrepreneurs in the program and I wanted to be able to help other entrepreneurs in the same way as a Mentor.

Being on both sides of the table, and having been involved with VMS almost from the beginning, gives me a unique perspective that I am privileged to share as a board member to help the program as it evolves.

When I initially joined VMS, I was humbled to be considered a person with enough wealth of knowledge that was worth sharing. I was hooked immediately. Now, with the variety of volunteer roles I’ve gladly accepted, I would also say that the impact of the ThresholdImpact VMS program to the Edmonton business community is such a positive experience for all stakeholders it is hard to NOT be a zealous advocate for the work that is done.

Justine Barber ‘06 BCom | Poppy Barley

Blaine Bertsch ‘96 BDes, ‘07 MDes

Adam Simmons Luke Butterworth ’18 MBA

Myrna Bittner ‘91 BA, ‘93 MBA Dean Bittner ‘88 BEd

Jill Provencal ‘04 BA, ‘08 BEd

Greg Burlet ‘11 BSc(Special), ‘15MSc

Kam Nemec ‘12 BA, ‘17 MBA

Lorna Mutegyeki ‘09 BSc(Spec)

Kyle Richeloff ‘16 BSc, Chris Fletcher

Chad Mielke ‘04 BSc(MiningEng)

Selene Yuen ‘97 BDes

Tara Dragon ‘00 BCom

Nathan Kawulka ‘07 BA

Peter Lau ‘99 BCom

Keenan Pascal ‘08 BCom

Sean Collins ‘09 BCom

2018

+12, -6 = 28 Ventures

2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

| ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

7

MEET THE VMS MENTOR ENGAGEMENT TEAM

WHAT’S YOUR WHY?

KEN CANTOR Having Mentors in my own career has helped me to be successful. VMS is an opportunity to both pay it back and pay it forward while teaching me as much or more than I could hope to teach others.

CAM MACMILLAN ‘83 BA

CHRIS VILCSAK ‘85 BSc(MechEng), ‘97 MBA

Giving is a core personal value for me; VMS offers up the opportunity to exercise this value while connecting me to an amazingly talented network.

I’ve been lucky to have great Mentors on my entrepreneurship journey and I hope to provide the same role for others through the VMS program.

ROSS NAIRNE ‘09 MBA I want to give back to our university and community and I want to learn from the entrepreneurs as well.

With my VMS Mentors, I have been able to think bigger by avoiding the rabbit holes that used to distract me. I have more focus and the VMS program is helping me achieve my goals!

Peter Lau ‘99 BCom | Zenwire

FIRST TO COMPLETE THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CYCLE

KIERAN RYAN ‘08 BCom

POGO CARSHARE In 2014, Kieran Ryan (‘08 BCom) and James Kwan (‘10 BCom) launched Pogo CarShare, a car share company where users could rent a car on a short term basis. The idea of Pogo came early in 2014 after they noticed how little they were using their own vehicles but were paying the same as if they used it all the time. This realization was the birth of a first-ofits-kind service in Edmonton.

Early in their entrepreneurial journey, Kieran and James (now in Toronto) heard about VMS and decided they needed some guidance.

8

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

From the beginning to now, Kieran says that having access to Mentors has enabled him to have a sounding board for all the opportunities and challenges that he faced as Pogo grew. He says that spending time with smart people has been invaluable.

In 2018, when Pogo was approached

by Communauto, a Montreal-based carshare company, Kieran said he was ready to start talking acquisition. He already knew the team who owned Communauto and was ready to complete the entrepreneurial cycle - a first for a VMS company.

| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

About eight months later, Pogo was sold. Kieran now finds himself leading the Edmonton operations for Communauto.

He says that one of the biggest lessons has been around the pace of change around how people commute. For example, just a few short months after Pogo launched, Uber arrived in Edmonton. Trying to build a business, while competing with a behemoth, resulted in a lot of on-the-fly lessons.

What does the future hold for Kieran? He said that the transition to leading the Edmonton team of Communauto has been great.

Thinking forward though, he’s not sure what’s next but he does know that he’s an entrepreneur at heart.

9

Number of learning events last year

BEA BOHM-MEYER ‘88 BA(Spec) I volunteer my time with VMS because Ray asked me to! Truly though, I have had amazing Mentors in my life that have helped sculpt me as a person and as an entrepreneur. If I can do half as much for others, I’m all in. And, I love watching these entrepreneurs and Mentors contribute to our community.

It makes our city and province stronger.

WHY?

DAVID BRIDGES ‘05 BSc

CATHERINE VU ‘94 BCom

Three reasons. The structure of the VMS program and its focus on coaching is a model I believe in; I love to participate and practice as much as I can. Second, I like having the ability to give back to the U of A community.

Lastly, there’s so many brilliant people in and around VMS that I can’t help but learn something along the way.

I have always believed in the power of mentorship and have been fortunate enough to experience it throughout my career so I want to give back.

I have a huge love for the Edmonton community and love giving back wherever I can. Being a Mentor for VMS has been extremely rewarding as I learned so much from the entrepreneurs. Their passion for their venture ignite my passion for my own company.

I love witnessing the entrepreneurs growth, both personally and in their companies.

The VMS program has been essential to my growth as an entrepreneur. My Mentor team has served as a foundation through the evolution of our business and has fundamentally changed the way I deal with challenges and opportunities.

Blaine Bertsch ‘96 BDes, ‘07 MDes | Dryrun

ATB + VMS?

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR...

ATB shares a common belief with VMS that entrepreneurs don’t have to go through their journey alone. Rather, they should feel supported and receive access to resources that help navigate their growth. The ATB Entrepreneur Center offers 360 degree support to entrepreneurs at all stages of business by providing access to educational workshops, financial and business experts, and a community space for networking. ATB’s partnership with VMS provides an opportunity to collaborate and work towards a common goal of helping Alberta’s entrepreneurs.

Through the partnership, ATB has had the opportunity to build relationships with Mentors and mentees in the program, in addition to hosting many of the venture meetings at the centre.

ATB looks forward to deepening our relationship with VMS by introducing more ATB experts to support mentees at each stage of their ventures’ growth, and co-hosting innovative workshops.

atb.com

Had it not been for VMS, I truly think I would have given up on my business dream. Launching a start-up, especially in a new space of innovation, is a really rough ride. It has also been an amazing experience. My Mentors have stood by me, helped me focus, and guided me into learning what I need to know to keep growing as an entrepreneur. As my experience grows, my confidence grows.

A special thank you to the late Hugh Wyatt. I miss you.

Dr. Denis Vincent ‘85 BMedSc, ‘87 MD | ezReferral

2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

| ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

9

FIRSTS IN THE CANADIAN CANNABIS INDUSTRY

JILL PROVENCAL ‘04 BA, ‘08 BEd

BIG BLISS BOTANICALS Jill Provencal, ‘04 BA, ‘08 BEd started developing and selling topical lotions and creams in 2010 through Big Bliss Botanicals. It was a passion of hers for many years. In 2013, she came up with the idea of infusing her topicals with cannabis but there was no legal framework in place at that time so she continued moving forward with her topicals business.

In 2018, she caught a major break by being the first non-cannabis infused topical to be sold in a licensed cannabis retailer. Due to regulatory changes, this status lasted only four months; licensed retailers were no longer able to sell topicals.

10

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

THE OPPORTUNITY

THE CHALLENGE

Based on a recent partnership with a larger cannabis company, and the short yet prosperous few months of sales through cannabis retailers, Jill is now on the early phase of building a production facility with her formulas. She is a first-mover in the cannabis-infused topical market and has the advantage of being a first-mover who has some brand recognition in this young industry.

Jill is waiting on Health Canada approval to start moving forward with a new build. Right now, there is no license in place and she and her new partner have a lot of capital tied up at the moment.

Through the many regulatory changes that are regularly occurring, Jill and her team are ensuring they are on top of the hurdles they need to step over.

| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

KEENAN PASCAL ‘08 BCom

TOKEN NATURALS While doing his MBA, Keenan Pascal ‘08 BCom and a friend with a chemical engineering background started experimenting with plant extractions. It wasn’t long before Keenan, a business student, saw that their pastime had real commercial potential. In late 2016, he registered the business and used an early injection of capital to start the new venture. While Keenan was waiting for Health Canada approval to build a production facility he started a small side business, called Token Bitters, that would work to improve the extraction process. The bitters company has taken on a life of its own and has grown exponentially.

THE OPPORTUNITY There are many opportunities right in front of Token Naturals, the biggest being the extraction facility that Keenan and his team are on the verge of building. Currently, they are in the planning and design phase.

THE CHALLENGE Regulatory changes in the cannabis industry are happening so quickly that it has been a challenge for Token Naturals to stay on top of all elements of the approval process. If they were to miss a step, the development of their production facility could be negatively impacted which could delay them from ultimately getting to production.

2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

| ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

11

FIRSTS IN THE CANADIAN CANNABIS INDUSTRY

KAM

NEMEC

‘12 BA, ‘17 MBA

12

GREEN GREEN

THE OPPORTUNITY

THE CHALLENGE

Kam Nemec ‘12 BA, ‘17 MBA, owner of Green Green, is building a mobile payment solution for licensed cannabis retailers. Basically, Green Green will help move money from the customer to a retailer. He’s starting his business in the US and is focusing on working the retailers and banks in Colorado, California, and Nevada.

The US industry still deals in cash since there is little to no access to banking and payment processing. The US cannabis industry is a $14 billion market with roughly 25-30 million customers. In California alone there are over 1 million people who have a medical cannabis use card.

There are many regulatory and compliance challenges between state and federal laws in the US. Also, if Kam looks at supporting the newly-legalized cannabis industry in Canada, where the rules and regulations are changing rapidly, it is hard to know what structures and processes should be put in place to support his business.

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

RYAN TUCKER ‘09 BSc(EngPhys), PhD

G2V OPTICS In 2015, Michael Taschuk, ‘00 BSc(EngPhys), PhD felt that he wasn’t going to be able to continue his role as an engineering faculty member at the University of Alberta and be an entrepreneur. He enlisted the support and partnership of Ryan Tucker ‘09 BSc(EngPhys), PhD, and together they founded G2V Optics.

Michael and Ryan have a vision on how to help solve world hunger; by developing smart lights that hack plants to grow better - in any part of the world.

From inception to now, this vision has remained constant.

They want to be a leader in agricultural technology and have seen uptake in a variety of industries from aerospace, renewable energy, vegetable farmers to cannabis.

Michael and Ryan both say that there is a market opportunity right now with cannabis that they are poised to take advantage of.

MICHAEL TASCHUK ‘00 BSc(EngPhys), PhD

THE OPPORTUNITY With the legalization of cannabis, there are many companies that have capital to spend on new agricultural tech like what G2V has developed. Being able to refine their technology, while supporting an emerging industry, is a rare opportunity that Ryan and Michael could not turn down.

THE CHALLENGE Two key challenges they face in the emerging cannabis industry are 1) trying to adapt to the ever-changing regulatory standards for growing crops, and 2) showing the immediate value proposition to customers; the commercial track record for their technology just isn’t there yet.

2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

| ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

13

FIRSTS AS PARENTS AND ENTREPRENEURS

GREG BURLET ‘11 BSc(Special), ‘15MSc

FRETTABLE In early 2019, Greg Burlet, founder of Frettable, found out some very happy news. His wife was pregnant with their first child!

They had been planning this for some time but Greg wasn’t quite sure how he was going to manage growing a business and being a new father.

Long before his wife got pregnant, Greg turned to long time VMS Mentor, Dave Damer, who simply said, “there’s really no good time. Just have the kid.”

With that, Greg just jumped in to both starting a family and building some interesting partnership opportunities for his venture.

14

ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

He’s on the tail end of an angel investment round, which he secured in 2016 for Frettable, and his wife is about to go on maternity leave. Greg says the timing isn’t ideal but he has the flexibility to work on his own schedule and he has a great team around him to support this transition in his life.

Greg says that, as a founder, he is intrinsically motivated and it’s really hard to take off the entrepreneurial hat sometimes. He says that he is looking to do his best to continue growing a successful business and learning the ropes of being a first-time parent.

| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

CLAIRE THEAKER-BROWN

‘08 BA

UNBELTS When Claire Theaker-Brown launched belts in 2011, she was living between Shanghai and Edmonton. She recalls that being a very different time in life where she was focused on developing high quality belts (addressing “the gap” problem many women have with pants) while ensuring transparency and high standards in her supply chain.

Fast forward to 2014 when Claire found out she was pregnant with her first child. At that time, it was her and two part time staff members in Edmonton and Shanghai. She says that her VMS team helped her manage through this period of time, both personally and professionally.

In 2018, when Claire became pregnant with her second child, she remembers thinking that this time was going to be different. She had a team of five full time and three part time employees. When the baby arrived earlier this year, Claire said that it was the first time she was able to step back from her business and take time for her new baby and her growing family needs.

With her first child, she was still so integral to the success of the business that it was a challenge to balance business needs and family time. However, by the time her second child arrived, she had developed enough structure that she could take some time away and know that the business would continue moving forward.

2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT

| ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service

15

Know of a great entrepreneur who could benefit from mentorship?

780.492.6686 | vms@ualberta.ca | ualberta.ca/vms THRESHOLDIMPACT VENTURE MENTORING SERVICE