Last Friday marked a major milestone for tech in BC as the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Industry, announced that four BC accelerators and incubators would receive up to $31.4 million in funding under the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program (CAIP).

The four accelerators and incubators receiving funding are the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre Society (WWCCS), HIGHLINE, formerly GrowLab Ventures Inc, and the BCTIA.

For the BCTIA, the $10.4M CAIP funding, along with matching industry support, will make possible the opening of a 26,000 square-foot Innovation Hub. 

The BCTIA Innovation Hub is the first open innovation space in Vancouver, a place where entrepreneurs and companies serious about growth will be super-charged with opportunities to connect with major customers, investors, and partners in an environment that is all about building BC's next generation of companies.

More than 25 local companies collaborated to create a space that is uniquely BC. The Hub is a showcase of BC's best, from Beetlewood to Bocci lights; from carpentry to coffee; and from telecom to tech, it's a place built by the community for the community.

The Hub includes hot-desking, private offices and developer benches for rent, industry collaboration spaces, a prototype lab, video recording room and the fastest Internet anywhere.

"Through the support of the Government of Canada and the industry, the BCTIA Innovation Hub has moved from a dream to a reality. The Hub is an open, collaborative place where entrepreneurs and business leaders will make connections, grow companies and create jobs for British Columbia and Canada." - Bill Tam, President & CEO, BCTIA

To view the official news release from the Government of Canada, click here.

Content by The City of Surrey

Championship - Pitch to Win $10,000

On January 28th, 2015, forty clean technology companies from across the Greater Vancouver region will come together at the newly built LEED-Gold Surrey City Hall Atrium for a one day pitch-based competition for the title of Greater Vancouver’s Clean Technology Champion.

The first-ever Greater Vancouver Clean Technology Championship lets local companies demonstrate their technology to regional and international clean technology buyers and investors.

WINNER TAKES ALL - THE STAKES

Championship/Exhibitor Cost: $150 + GST

Register for the Championship Today - Only 30 competition spaces left; Closing Date: December 19, 2014
Learn more about the Championship.

Expo

Alongside the championship, be one of 40 companies showcasing their technology to the potential buyers, investors, municipal staff and the public.

Your company can benefit from participating in the Greater Vancouver Clean Technology Expo and Championship through:

Come check out the Expo for free!

Powerhaus Workshop Series

A series of workshops will be hosted by some of the region’s top movers and shakers. Hear about some of the resources that are available to clean technology companies in the region. Learn more about the Powerhaus Workshop series.

REGISTER to attend a free workshop - space is limited

See the detailed event schedule for more information.

Interested in checking out the 2015 Greater Vancouver Clean Technology Expo & Championship?
General admission is free!

Tweet to us at #CLEANTECHCHAMPIONSHIP

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Event Details

Location: Surrey City Hall 13450 104 Ave
Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Event Date: January 28, 2015

Contact
Stephen Wu, Economic Investment Strategist
swu@surrey.ca l 604-591-4333

For more information, please visit www.surrey.ca/cleantechchampionship.

The Consulate General of Canada in Seattle supported the event as an organizing partner. The Consulate continues to be an advocate for programs that help connect startups and entrepreneurs from BC with potential investors, mentors, partners and resources in the Seattle and Portland, OR markets.

For details on the full list of finalists, including forum winner Kirkland Analytics (Spokane, WA) visit http://washingtontechnology.org/firstlookforum/. Tech companies from BC that would like to learn more about how the Trade Commissioner Service in Seattle can support your business development activities in the Pacific Northwest should reach out to Troy DeFrank.

Troy DeFrank
Trade Commissioner – Tech Sector
Consulate　General　of Canada - Seattle
O: (206) 770-4076
troy.defrank@international.gc.ca

On November 25, 2014, five entrepreneurs accepted the six:forty challenge and shared their stories in just six minutes and forty seconds (20 slides/20 seconds). Each entrepreneur took a unique approach to their presentations, entertaining the audience with tales from childhood, lessons learned through failed ventures and thought-provoking questions about the very nature of entrepreneurship.

Unfortunately our scheduled sixth presenter, Mr. Richard Eaton, Co-Founder and Partner with Berlineaton, was fogged in in Victoria and unable to attend, but that didn't dampen the spirits of the five remaining presenters, nor did it lessen the impact of the advice they shared.

Dr. Alexandra Greenhill, Co-Founder & CEO at mybesthelper, gave an interactive presentation on how to determine whether or not you were born an entrepreneur. Do you get in trouble for trying to make things better? Are you restless and action-oriented?  These were some of the questions posed to see if there were secret entrepreneurs hiding in the audience.

Adam Lorant, VP of Marketing & Product Management at PHEMI Health Systems, spoke about his positive experiences using local technology and encouraged everyone in the room to try, buy, and support local startups. Adam reminded us all that with the help of a large community, a company can go much further than they ever could alone.

Also presenting at six:forty were John Bromley, Founder & CEO - Chimp, Tanis Jorge, Co-Founder & COO - Trulioo, and Arnold Leung, Founder & CEO - Appnovation.  While each presentation was different, the common threads of working hard, following your passion, and finding the right people who share your passion rang true for each of our speakers.  Important lessons all for the six:forty audience that included everyone from students to executives at some of BC's largest tech companies.

Thank you to all of our speakers for sharing their stories, and to BDO Canada and the EPRA for being our generous event partners! Big thanks also to our food and beverage sponsors: Vera's Burgers, Steamworks Brewery, and Happy Water; for providing the delicious burgers and thirst-quenching drinks.

Videos of our presenters will be available soon, but in the meantime you can check out photos from the event above, or by visiting our Flickr album.

For more information on our upcoming events, be sure to check out our Events Calendar.

...And the start of a new chapter.

Looking around at all the boxes in the office, it’s finally hit home.  Today is moving day for the BCTIA. 
 
We're moving into the new BCTIA Innovation Hub ("the Hub" as we like to call it) at 887 Great Northern Way. 
 
It's hard to believe that we've been at our soon-to-be 'old' office for 10 years.  A lot has changed in the tech industry in that time.  We've seen thousands of new companies formed, and together BC tech has grown to be one of the most vibrant tech ecosystems anywhere. 
 
We feel privileged to have been part of that. 
 
At the same time, we're excited about starting the next chapter for BCTIA and the BC tech community.  In December, we'll be officially unveiling the new Hub.  It’s the first open innovation space in Vancouver – a place where entrepreneurs and companies can super-charge their growth with opportunities to connect with major customers, investors and partners in an environment that is all about building the next generation of anchor companies in BC
 
In many cities around the world, innovation and tech hubs are typically located far outside the downtown core. The Hub is truly unique in being right in the heart of Vancouver.  It’s next door to the Centre for Digital Media, a block away from the new Emily Carr campus, and is surrounded by fast growing companies like Hootsuite, whose HQ is just down the street.
 
The BCTIA Innovation Hub is designed as a showcase of BC's best.  More than 25 local companies came together to create a space that is uniquely BC.  It features industry collaboration spaces, a prototyping lab, video recording room, and the fastest Internet anywhere.
 
It’s a terrific space - built by the community for the community.  A real testament to the belief that we can make BC the best place to grow a tech company.
 
On December 10th, we’re hosting an open house to celebrate the space and the holidays -- it's called “Ho Ho @ the Hub” and I hope we see you there.

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RSVP now for Ho Ho @ The Hub. It's a free event with entry by donation of a new, unwrapped toy or $10 cash donation to charity. Space is limited, click here to register.  Ho Ho @ The Hub December 10th | 5pm-8pm BCTIA Innovation Hub 887 Great Northern Way

Last month we launched the 2014 British Columbia Technology Report Card in cooperation with KPMG. The report card outlined that the BC technology industry was reaping the benefits of past investments but is still facing significant challenges to becoming globally competitive.

Recently, D&B Cloud Innovation Centre took some key information from the report card and made a great infographic featuring stats on revenue, tech worker salaries, employment growth, and other KPIs for the BC tech industry.

Check out the awesome infographic by D&B or download a copy here; and don't forget to share!

Click to visit D&B Cloud Innovation Center's website.

It hasn't even been a week, but we think it's safe to say... we're in love.

After months of working to bring the dream to life, our team moved into The Hub on Monday and already it's proving to be pretty awesome.

In case you missed it, the Government of Canada recently announced that the BCTIA would receive up to $10.4M in funding under the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program (CAIP).  This funding, along with matching industry support, has made it possible for us to open the all new BCTIA Innovation Hub.

As the first open collaboration space in Vancouver, The Hub features a variety of resources, tools, mentors and programming to help a company get to the next level. The Hub also provides growing tech companies with the opportunity to build their companies in The Hub, as tenants of the space.  Entrepreneurs can choose to rent desks, offices, or a combination of the two, on a monthly basis and with that receive all of the benefits of Centre4Growth programming, with added perks and additional opportunities. 

As a tenant of The Hub, entrepreneurs enjoy access to space, support, programs, and amenities such as:

We're setting up shop and getting ready to 'officially' open our doors, but if you'd like to check out The Hub first-hand, we're hosting our very first open house next Wednesday. 

There will be holiday treats and snacks for all to enjoy and an opportunity for the community to take a tour of the entire facility. Space is limited, so if you would like a chance to be one of the first people to see the BCTIA Innovation Hub, make sure to RSVP for Ho Ho @ The Hub now!

For more information about The Hub, click here.
For inquiries about the facilities, tenancy, and sponsorship, phone 604.683.6159.

BCTIA celebrates launch of Innovation Hub with Holiday Open House

Last night we celebrated the holidays (and our new digs!) by hosting Ho Ho @ The Hub, an open house inviting the community to take a tour and get acquainted with our shiny new Innovation Hub. Despite the cold, wind and rain, we welcomed 200 guests who were curious to see the space and find out more about what The Hub has to offer. 

In the spirit of the holidays, we encouraged attendees to bring new, unwrapped toys and cash donations to support local charities. Before long our tree and donation box were brimming with holiday cheer.  Overall, our generous guests donated close to $700 towards the Vancouver Food Bank and 100 toys for the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau.

Another exciting part of the evening was the announcement of the partnership between BCTIA and entrepreneurship@UBC, a unique program that delivers an unprecedented combination of education, venture creation, and seed funding to maximize the creation of commercial and social ventures, based at the University of British Columbia.

Working together, e@UBC and BCTIA will develop curriculum and programming to support tech companies from concept to commercialization.  BCTIA will also host entrepreneurs from e@UBC cohorts in The Hub to encourage collaboration and prepare them for a smooth transition to the Centre4Growth program to further grow their businesses.

BCTIA President & CEO, Bill Tam, also spoke about the potential of the area surrounding The Hub, on the Great Northern Way corridor. Many innovative organizations have already set up shop in the area, such as the Centre for Digital Media (CDM), Hootsuite, Mountain Equipment Co-op, and the new Emily Carr University, building a community for companies to connect with like-minded people and access resources. In addition, approximately 40 tech companies currently reside at 887 Great Northern Way, home of The Hub, making it one of the most densely populated tech buildings in the city.

We want to extend a big thank you to everyone who braved the weather to join us at our open house, and extend yet another thank you to our incredible partners and supporters whose dedication and hard work has made this whole thing possible!

To see more event photos, check out our Flickr album.
To learn more about The Hub, including tenancy, partnership and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.bctia.org/thehub.

Content provided by PaySavvy

With winter quickly approaching, office environments might get uncomfortable if the temperature is not set to the appropriate setting. PaySavvy recently published an article talking about how office temperature affects employee productivity levels. Read more below.

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Not so long ago, there was a belief held that a comfortable working environment sent employees into a complacent, satisfied stupor. Bosses were therefore encouraged to nudge the temperature down a few points in order to give workers a discomfited “edge.”

This theory has long since been abandoned by experts as findings (and, frankly, common sense) have shown the exact opposite to be true – the more comfortable someone feels at work, the more motivated they are to do a good job. According to a Globe and Mail article, a too-cold office could lead to more typing errors, more sick days taken and increased interruption to work.

More to the point, if your workers are having to go to the bathroom to run hot water over their icy hands, or going for multiple coffee breaks to warm up, they’re probably not at their most productive. Today, a basic axiom of working life is that a shared office – whether it’s composed of three or 300 people – should be an environment in which all employees are reasonably comfortable.

While a lot of HR teams will go the extra mile by providing free refreshments, break areas and elaborate parties, sometimes the trickiest issue in establishing and maintaining the right office temperature is as simple act of moving the needle on your thermostat.

To read the full article, click here.

The BCTIA has always been passionate about supporting local companies, and part of that includes encouraging BC-based companies to look for "home grown" solutions.  Over the past few years, we've focused a lot of attention on the "100 Mile Tech Diet" and the fostering of local adoption and support for companies in British Columbia.

With our recent move to the Innovation Hub, we are constantly reminded of the importance of buying locally. The Hub is a "Made in BC" showcase, featuring technology and art installations from more than 25 local tech companies and artisans. From Beetlewood to Bocci lights; from carpentry to coffee; and from telecom to tech, it's a place built by the community for the community.

Last week, LOCO launched Buy Local Week 2014 (Dec 1-7, 2014), an annual celebration of local businesses to promote the contributions that BC businesses make to our economy and our communities. The campaign provided an opportunity for consumers in BC to be aware of what's available in their community and highlighted BC-based businesses.

More and more organizations are looking for opportunities to partner with local companies, as there are large benefits and cost savings that come with these new collaborations, not to mention the incredible results and experiences that can be created. Below is an example of how two local companies came together to create incredible value for both organizations through a "buy local" partnership.

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If Earls restaurants are known for one thing, it’s world class customer service. In the last 32 years they’ve perfected it and made it an art form as they’ve spread across Canada and the US. But the web wasn’t telling that story.

Earls approached Domain7 to bring that magic to the web with a responsive website refresh. The Vancouver-based digital agency did much more than that: they partnered with Earls to completely reimagine how restaurants can manage and streamline their digital assets.

While the brand new earls.ca is beautiful (and blazing fast), there’s a robust technology platform below that makes it incredibly special and reaches right into the operational core of Earls.

Domain7’s deep research process uncovered inefficiencies for the thriving restaurant chain. With 63 locations across North America—each with its own frequently-changing menu—managing menu data was a full-time job at Earls. Literally. That data was being managed on four different disconnected systems—print menus, web menus, point of sale and training modules.

But in the cloud economy you should never ever need to duplicate, let alone quadruplicate, data entry. Domain7 architected and created a data repository with a connecting API that can provide all core operational systems with up-to-the-minute, centrally-stored food information: prices, descriptions, names, nutritional information, photography, and more.

It’s paving the way for a centrally managed set of content that whole company shares. In the future, any new digital projects will be able to simply "plug in" or digest content from the Content API—so data is only entered once and served to the website, print menus, point of sale, and training materials.

It also means that for the first time, Earls can offer a highly localized web experience.

Though Earls is a chain, each location has a distinct menu, interior, hours, amenities, job postings, social media channels, special events. The new earls.ca helps diners find the location nearest them and tells them exactly what they need to know—right down to the specific ingredients in each dish—and it remembers their preferred location when they visit the site again.

Since a whopping 50% of Earls’ web traffic comes from mobile devices (not including tablets!), that emphasis on localization gets a boost through mobile-first responsive UX. Every decision was made to simplify those split-second dining decisions made on sidewalks and in passenger seats.

And the new earls.ca gets that information to diners in milliseconds—literally. Earls’ content repository and API were built on Ruby on Rails, but the website is actually a standalone AngularJS build—making it lightning fast. It’s a tech choice that was only possible because of the dramatic shift approach to content management—AngularJS relies on a whole suite of API calls to maintain its speed.

This kind of technical innovation is only possible through a transparent partnership. "We really did attack this thing together. The Domain7 team won our trust really quickly with their empathetic mission and strategic approach. It made it easy to be open about our operational challenges so we could find smart solutions as a team," said Taili Coates, Earls Marketing Manager, Digital.

Altogether, it’s a smart, tech-driven approach that seamlessly enriches the real life, offline dining experience. Earls puts heart and soul into the restaurant experience. A website that takes care of diners and anticipates their needs—just like Earls does—is something to celebrate.

Content by Futurpreneur

Futurpreneur Canada (formerly the Canadian Youth Business Foundation) announced today that Vancouver is Canada’s most entrepreneurial Canadian city for 2014, based on the number events held there during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Global Entrepreneurship Week took place from November 17-23, across the globe, with Futurpreneur Canada as the Canadian host for the sixth consecutive year. For the past two years, Ottawa has hosted more events than any other city in Canada, this year Ottawa took on challengers to earn the Most Entrepreneurial Canadian City title.

“Global Entrepreneurship Week is an important occasion to celebrate the ingenuity, creativity, and economic contributions of Vancouver’s world-class entrepreneurs,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Vancouver’s recognition as the Most Entrepreneurial City in Canada is exciting validation of our dynamic and innovation-driven economy, and all of the leaders and small businesses who are powering its growth with new job creation and investment.”

Each year, Global Entrepreneurship Week connects more than 7.5 million people in 150 countries with potential collaborators, mentors and investors through local, national and global activities, introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities to start their own businesses. With over 500 events hosted this year in communities all across Canada, the number of young people looking to discover entrepreneurial opportunities is on the rise.

“We are thrilled that Vancouver has been named the Most Entrepreneurial City in Canada! Vancouver is thriving with start-up energy and we feel incredibly honoured to be supporting entrepreneurs throughout this city and the province,” says Jill Earthy, Regional Director for Futurpreneur Canada in BC. “None of this would be possible without the collaborative nature of the many support organizations that come together to create a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in BC.”

This year, Futurpreneur Canada saw more than 500 events registered in celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Vancouver set an impressive record by hosting 85 of these events during the week and an additional 29 in the surrounding weeks. We hope to see this number grow in the coming years as Global Entrepreneurship Week continues to ignite a national discussion about how entrepreneurs, governments, businesses and academic institutions can work together to make business ownership a more attractive career option for young people.

“We were delighted to hear of Vancouver’s designation as Canada’s Most Entrepreneurial City. This announcement marks the end of the extraordinarily successful Global Entrepreneurship Week in Canada and Start Up Week in Vancouver,” says Ian McKay, CEO, Vancouver Economic Commission. “Vancouver is a globally recognised city for smart talent, smart capital and 21st century business continues to be validated.”

To view the full article, click here.

Siaras is an exciting new high tech company innovating in the rapidly growing cloud space. Headquartered in Silicon Valley but with all research and development conducted in Burnaby, Siaras was founded in May 2013 and is currently in trials with carriers in Asia and Europe. Siaras exited stealth mode at the OpenStack Summit in Paris last month and has enjoyed considerable industry attention since its launch.

Sig Left, Co-founder and CTO of Siaras,
presenting at the OpenStack Summit in Paris

Siaras was founded by industry veterans with a sterling track record in high tech startups. In fact, the founding team was instrumental in the sale of an earlier startup to Redback Networks in what is still the sixth largest acquisition ever of a venture-backed startup.

With about 25 employees, most of whom are BC-based engineers, we're always on the lookout for top notch talent. We prefer engineers comfortable in flat, informal, free-wheeling (even irreverent) environments. Roughly half of our engineers prefer standup desks for reasons that we still struggling to understand. But the choice is all yours. We even have hammocks for those so inclined.

The Siaras team and their happy dog celebrate the holidays with a
Christmas tree and a traditional Festivus pole.

Looking forward to 2015, the Siaras cloudScape platform will enter general availability and we expect to commence revenue shipments. Often referred to as an "orchestrator of orchestrators," cloudScape is well positioned in a market exhibiting growth not unlike that seen in that last high tech bubble but appears to be much more sustainable.

For more information about Siaras, visit www.siaras.com/.
If you'd like us to shine the spotlight on your company, email communications@bctia.org today!

From celebrating entrepreneurial successes at the Technology Impact Awards to launching the new BCTIA Innovation Hub, 2014 has been an incredible year of prosperity, opportunity, and growth... and we’re just getting warmed up.

Before we kick off your Year in Review, we need to start by saying a big “THANK YOU!” to our community and the people in our network. We saw a dream that our organization has had for years become a reality in 2014, and we couldn't have done it without the support and encouragement of so many wonderful tech companies, entrepreneurs, organizations, associations, professional service firms and everyone in between. As the doors to The Hub opened, it started a ball rolling that will only gain momentum in the coming year.

Some highlights from 2014:

And most recently, we welcomed our first tenant to The Hub, Vonigo, and we’re looking forward to welcoming more friendly faces and growing tech companies in early 2015.

This is just a snippet of what has happened throughout the year. Feel free to read more on our blog and in our news section. If you’re a visual person, like we are, you’ll love looking back on 2014 through our Flickr page, and we also encourage you to check out our Tech in BC infographic– or download it here.

What was your favorite tech moment of 2014? Share it with us on twitter @bctia using hashtag #techin2014.

Connecting hiring companies to qualified talent

At the pilot TalentFX event, 12 top tier tech companies met with 12 hand-selected 2014 Sauder MBA graduates looking to enter the fields of product marketing, product management, project management, and business analysis.

The format of TalentFX is simple, but very intimidating: candidates are each given 3 minutes on stage to share their skills and experience, then answer follow-up questions from the moderator in front of an audience of recruiters and peers.  Presentations are followed by a mingling session where hiring companies have an opportunity to spend one-on-one time with candidates of interest.

Companies participating in TalentFX include:

Absolute Software Avigilon BCJobs.ca BuildDirect Electronic Arts Global Relay Hootsuite Mobify Plenty of Fish Sage Visier Vision Critical

To view pictures from TalentFX, click here.

Darren Butterworth, seasoned recruiter at Mobify and moderator of the event, remarked that the event was a big success. "BCTIA and Sauder brought recent MBA grads with real-life work experience for us to meet.  Unique events like this, that give employers opportunities to meet with several qualified candidates at once, are a real time-saver and contribute immensely to the success of our business.  I can't wait for the next one."

Camila Louzada, Manager of Talent Programs at BCTIA, connects with recruiters from Hootsuite and Absolute.

Rodrigo Porto, Manager, MBA Career Services at UBC pointed out that "The event was an innovative way to connect talent professionals with the tech community, adding a personal touch and colour commentary to the usually cold, black & white resumes. We look forward to supporting and partnering with BCTIA for future initiatives likes this! Kudos on an amazing job!!!" TalentFX is an initiative of BCTIA's new TechTalentBC programming, and is committed to alleviating the talent gap by connecting the tech industry to highly qualified and on-demand candidates. With the recent opening of The Hub, we had a beautiful open space to host this event. Stay tuned for many more to come.

So, as a toast to the new year, we congratulate the UBC MBA Grad class of 2014 and we can't wait to hear about your new jobs!

To participate in future Talent initiatives as a hiring company, or in providing qualified candidates, please contact Camila Louzada, Manager of Talent Programs at BCTIA, at clouzada@bctia.org.

As published in The Globe and Mail
Guest Column by Eamonn Percy, Principal - The Percy Group

"We are what we repeatedly do, therefore, Excellence is not an act but a habit" - Artistole

Are customer service levels dropping while service expectations are rising? Are companies like Amazon, Uber and Starbucks permanently setting a high bar for all product and service providers?

These questions were going through my mind lately, after I had endured a number of exceptionally poor customer service experiences from traditional companies. I thought, with waves of disruptive innovation rolling through the economy, fuelled by technology and new business models, certainly traditional businesses would be making service the cornerstone of their growth strategy in order to stay competitive. Apparently not!

In one example, I had called a local, mid-sized, reputable home services company for an estimate on a job. The owner had been advertising heavily in the local market, and seemed genuinely interested in differentiating based on customer service. I called and, after several attempts, spoke with someone who took my contact information, though could not book an estimate. Several days later, an estimator called me and we arranged a time and date to meet to review the work. On that agreed date he arrived unannounced two hours before the agreed time, while I was in a meeting. He looked decidedly unhappy to be doing the estimate at all, and proceeded to tell me what he thought I needed, not what I had wanted. He departed, and sent me a quotation several days later, with my name was spelled wrong, and I have not heard from him since. Zero follow up. The owner of the company continues to invest heavily in lead generation, but if my experience is typical, he needs to be investing just as heavily on how to close the sale.

Service expectations are high these days, largely driven by massively expanding options from low-cost, technology-enabled global companies that can be competitive on price, selection and service. Traditional businesses are at significant risk of losing ground as the knowledge driven consumer and new business models, enabled by mobility, cloud technology and m-commerce, compete for discretionary spending. Some companies understand this new paradigm, have adapted and are now reaping the rewards. For instance, CarMax, the largest used-vehicle retailer in the U.S., uses a fixed price, no commission sales person model, knowing the consumer is informed and service hungry. This approach is enabling Carmax to expand rapidly to a total of 133 stores, after adding 13 new locations in 2013, giving it an 18 per cent per annum unit sales growth.

If I was coaching the owner of the business in my example, here are the seven things I would suggest:

1. Put some of your advertising budget towards training staff on customer service, sales, and closing.
2. Convert leads to sales by ensuring follow up calls until you get a Yes or No. If no, ask why?
3. Reinforce your brand advertising with better execution, to build long-term customer relationships.
4. Compete on service excellence, not price, since you can’t buy everything online, yet.
5. Explain to your staff the unique value of face-to-face customer interaction, and how to leverage it.
6. Use mystery shoppers, customer calls, and follow up surveys to get feedback.
7. Embrace technology and innovation and get ahead of the curve, since your customers already have.

The majority of businesses in Canada, both big and small, regional and national, strive for and achieve exemplary levels of service excellence.

Many small businesses set standards for service within their domain. However, there are still business leaders that maintain the status quo, oblivious to the significant risk status quo poses to long term viability.

Don’t do it. Instead, use customer service excellence as the cornerstone to building a high growth business, particularly in this age of technological, demographic and economic change.

What would you advise business owners to do in order to build a great customer service culture? Let me know on Twitter at @EamonnPercy.

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Eamonn Percy is the principal of The Percy Group, a business advisory and capital firm focused on helping business leaders of mid-sized companies accelerate the growth of sales and profit. Subscribe to his newsletter at www.percygroup.ca.

To read the full article online, click here.

Packed with talent and unafraid to strut in blue wigs, the team at the D&B Cloud Innovation Center knows exactly what "culture" and "passion" is all about. With the recent acquisition last spring, their team has more than doubled and are creating huge impact on a global Big Data problem. We are excited to see this local company grow and look forward to seeing more exciting developments in the near future! Read on to learn more about D&B Cloud Innovation Center.

1. Describe your company and your primary product(s) and/or service(s).

Dun & Bradstreet is the world's leading source of commercial information and insight on businesses. At the D&B Cloud Innovation Center we build awesome, cloud-based analytics software for D&B’s global customer base, right here in Vancouver. We have a mandate for innovation within a 173 year-old company and the world’s largest business database at our fingertips—some 235 million business records, from across 200 countries, updated 5 million times a day. We’re developing software to transform and modernize the way we process, analyze and deliver that data, starting with D&B’S flagship credit decisioning product, DNBi.

The D&B Cloud Innovation Center was founded in April 2014, following the acquisition of Vancouver-based cloud analytics startup, Indicee. You can learn more about the Center by watching our welcome video.

2. How many employees currently work at your company?

Our team has grown rapidly over the last 8 months. The end of 2014 saw our team double, and this month we're welcoming 16 new hires, including our very first co-op students to the Center. For anyone interested in joining us, check out our careers page.

3. Where are you located?

We’re currently on the 17th floor of the Bentall 1 Tower in Downtown Vancouver, but will be moving to a brand new, custom-designed office later this year. Located in the heart of Vancouver, the new space will have a wraparound sundeck, several socializing and multi-function spaces, and access to private lockers, bicycle lock-up, and parking. The best in shopping, dining, transit, and assorted other leisure activities will sit just outside our brand new doors. We can’t wait!

4. Describe the culture at your company. 

At the D&B Cloud Innovation Center we talk a lot about being a family. Our culture is about more than video games and free drinks (although we have those too), but about transparency, mutual respect, a shared sense of fun and opportunity, and a passion for what we do. We’re working on solving a truly global Big Data problem and the sense of being a part of something bigger than just what goes on inside our offices is truly uniting.

5. What does your leadership team (and company as a whole) do to support/grow that culture? 

Our managers and team leads don’t hide in offices with closed doors. Everyone has the freedom to work when they are at their best and we approach challenges as a team. We huddle on a regular basis to discuss progress and celebrate milestones, and we pride ourselves on team communication and transparency.

We have an established Ministry of Fun (self explanatory!) and a Ministry of Learning program, designed by our Team Leads to facilitate knowledge sharing internally. Of course, as a part of a global team, we’re also reaping the benefits of working directly with D&B partners and business leaders from all around the world.

6. When your employees talk about your company, what do they brag about?

If you ask anyone in the office about why they work here, they generally start by saying it’s because of the amazing people they work alongside everyday. We have all the benefits you’d expect from a modern technology company—free drinks, regular social events, and an Xbox—but it’s our fantastically talented and nice people that set us apart.

Next, we talk about the leading-edge technology we are working with to develop solutions for our global customer base. We’re building a new generation of cloud-based, globally-consistent products for D&B, on top of the world’s largest commercial database, in an agile way.

And finally, we talk about all the perks of working like a startup but with the backing of a worldwide team. As a product team within D&B, we have the freedom to innovate, the opportunity to work with product leaders and thought leaders around the world, to educate, debate and inspire businesses using cloud computing, and to solve a true Big Data challenge.

In short: we brag about our team, our tech, and the opportunity we have to make a global impact with our work.

7. Describe your most recent achievement, milestone, reason for bragging rights. 

Following our acquisition in April, our team has grown rapidly and has more than doubled in size in just 8 months. The Center is a global hub for product innovation and excellence in cloud computing. As well as sending team members to work in D&B offices in Texas, New Jersey, England, and Ireland, we host many international team members here in Vancouver. Our overworked cappuccino machine never stops and is often surrounded by people with multiple passports and accents.

We were also the top fundraising team at last year’s TechPong event, where we totally rocked the blue wigs and sweatbands combo!

8. What kinds of roles are you hiring for?

For more information, visit our careers page.

9. What kinds of people are you looking for?

We’re looking for smart, talented, passionate and nice people—software engineers, cloud operations, QA experts, and more. Learn more on our careers page.
             
10. What is your company goal for the coming year?

2015 is going to be an incredibly exciting year for us as we unveil our first release of the next-generation, cloud-based DNBi product, to drive better business insight for organizations around the world.

We are also moving in to our brand new, sexy office space. It’s going to be all Mad Men meets Star Trek meets Wallpaper Magazine. Watch this space!

***

For more information about D&B Cloud Innovation Center, visit www.dnbcloud.com or follow @dnb_cloud on Twitter!

Before you check out the article, did you know that on January 13th, the BCTIA is hosting an open mic meetup called Unplugged: How to Hack a Billion Dollars, featuring Matt Barrie, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of Freelancer.com?  Freelancer.com is the world's largest freelancing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace and they're changing the world, once project at a time. This event is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn how to grow and scale their business from someone who has disrupted their industry and built a billion dollar company in just four years. Tickets are only $10 and include pizza and two drink tickets.

Nik Badminton recently wrote an article highlighting how Freelancer.com has the changed the lives of many people in the business ecosystem. A beautifully crafted infographic has also been created to reveal the 2014 statistics of the positive change.

Click here for more details on Unplugged: How to Hack a Billion Dollars.

***

Written by Nikolas Badminton, as published on Huffington Post

Freelancer.com believes that every time a project is posted and subsequently delivered that lives are changed. In some cases, it's as simple as making a project budget go a little further, getting a concept proven or some amazing design work delivered. In other cases, the projects posted and the work delivered by freelancers help feed their families, spend more time with friends, travel the world or liberate themselves from restrictive 9­-to­-5 jobs. 'Changed Lives' is even a key metric that gets tracked internally.

A review of their 2014 data has found that 74% their users are Millennials (people aged between 18 and 34 years old). This group of employers and freelancers is key in shaping and building the world that we all live in. It's no real surprise as Millennials are generally confident, enterprising, resourceful and have great hopes and drive to make the world a better place.

I asked Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.com to weigh in on this:

"In 2014, I spoke at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs's Alliance Summit (G20YEA) where I said that entrepreneurship is the way forward for youth unemployment. Our statistics show that Millennials are at the forefront of taking risks and becoming entrepreneurs by being connected to the internet. Freelancer.com facilitates them to also make a change in their own lives, and make an impact in communities, by helping them start their own business or find work wherever they choose to be."

A deeper dive into the data from 2014 shows that there are four project categories in four areas that impact many parts of our lives every day...

1. We Build Our Cities

Engineering-­related projects have risen greatly during 2014. Civil Engineering - ­ the discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment (like roads, bridges, parks etc.) ­ - has risen by over 136% from 2013. Building Architecture is also up by over 89% this year accompanied by Mechanical Engineering, which is up 80%, and CAD/CAMDesign which follows closely behind at 73%. Larger scale engineering projects are estimated to look to Freelancer.com in the upcoming year.

2. We Build Our Businesses

Employers ­ - entrepreneurs and SMEs on the site are super-­charging their businesses by implementing eCommerce platforms like Shopify, whose projects on Freelancer.com increased by over 93% during 2014. In addition, they are still looking to outsource business processes with Accounting up by 84% and Recruitment also up by 71%. Marketing and design are also popular across the platform, and we see Brochure Design up 71%. These and other business­-related projects are expected to skyrocket in 2015.

3. We Make Great Homes

Everyone wants their home to look and feel great. To express ourselves, we create amazing environment to live in, host our friends and to build our families. Part of that expression is to create unique items. Furniture Design tops home­-related projects at over 132% increase with Interior Design and Home Design up 77% and 71% respectively. It also seems like people want to bring moreMusic into their lives with that category up by 51%. The collaborative economy will continue to connect more than just businesses. People will do more for other people.

4. We Tell Stories

Social media and content have been strong performers throughout 2014 so it is no surprise to see the creative side of people being represented on Freelancer.com. Pinterest was one of the biggest performers of the year with a whopping 394% increase in projects. Social media platforms are expected to slug it out to assume a position of dominance on 2015.

In addition, Creative Design shoots up 254% and Creative Writing also showing a strong increase at 157%. We all love to tell stories and they say a picture tells a thousand words. So it is also no surprise that Photography is up by over 135% in 2014. We expect that more and more of this work will be coming to Freelancer.com as the world gets more creative and the Maker Movement builds steam.

There is even a snazzy infographic for this as well - click here to download.

2015 has began and it's going to be a very exciting year. Freelancer.com is starting the year with over 14 million registered users, the world's largest freelancing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and projects. It has had great momentum since 2009 and is about to go into overdrive.

Note: Data relates to projects posted between January 1st and December 31st, 2014, compared with the same period in 2013.

To view the original article, click here.

On Tuesday, January 13th, the BCTIA launched an exciting new event series called Unplugged: Thought Leaders Unscripted. To kick off the series, we invited Matt Barrie, CEO and Chairman of Freelancer.com, to share his tips, tricks and 'secret recipe' on "How to Hack a Billion Dollars". This was also the first community event of 2015 hosted at The Hub, so it was exciting for our team to be able to host so many new faces and show off our sweet new digs.

With a background in computer science and engineering, and having spent much of his life growing tech companies and expanding into new markets, Matt had a wealth of advice to offer the close to 100 attendees at Unplugged, an audience that ranged from executives and tech founders to developers and freelancers.

Barrie founded Freelancer.com in 2009, and in November 2013 he floated Freelancer Limited (ASX:FLN) on the Australian Securities Exchange, opening at an AU$1.1 billion (US: $1.03 billion) market capitalization -- the third biggest opening ever on the exchange (for a listing greater than a seed-stage listing). His "overnight success" led Matt to be named "the most influential person in technology in Australia" by Smart Company in 2014, and he won consecutive Silver Stevies at the International Business Awards in 2013 and 2014 for CEO and Executive of the Year, respectively.  To learn more about Matt Barrie, visit Freelancer.com.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to kickoff Unplugged, and if you missed out, don't worry -- there will be more coming up in 2015!  We'd also like to extend a special 'thank you' to Matt Barrie for entertaining our audience, the team at Freelancer.com for their help, and to Red Truck Beer and Happy Water for their continued support (and delicious beverages!)

For more information about our upcoming events, and to find out what's happening at The Hub, be sure to check out our Events Calendar.

About Unplugged:
Unplugged is an intimate and interactive event designed to bring thought leaders together with the tech community and encourage the asking of questions, sharing of ideas and building of networks. Offered several times per year, Unplugged is an informal opportunity to meet leaders in the tech industry and find inspiration in their stories. If you know a thought leader who would be great for Unplugged, please email us at communications@bctia.org.

When John Carter, Co-Founder of Vonigo, came for a tour of the BCTIA Innovation Hub, he immediately saw the potential as a place to drive the continued growth of his tech company.

"We wanted to find a place where our team could access all of the resources it needed, and where the ability to collaborate with other tech companies was not only possible, but encouraged."

With employees working remotely, it was important to John that he have access to flexible office hours and ultra high-speed internet, but in terms of further expanding his business, The Hub offered unparalleled access to expert coaches, business opportunities, resources & more.

Designed for teams of up to 15 people, and with over 150 individual desks and offices available, The Hub offers early-stage tech companies the opportunity to simply show up and plug in. In other words, you can focus on your business while we focus on details like furniture, security, printers and copiers, filtered water and locally roasted coffee, to name a few.

The Hub is located at 887 Great Northern Way, a building that is already home to Discovery Parks and the Generator, SFU Venture Labs, 1-800-Got-Junk, QLT, and many more. This close-knit building also hosts common amenities such as a fitness facility, secure bike lockers, and a cafeteria, and it also encourages companies within the building to meet one another and find potential partnership and client opportunities.

Vonigo was able to take advantage of that potential before even moving in, "as soon as we saw The Hub we knew it was the kind of place where we wanted to grow our company. The fact that we already serve several clients in the building was an added bonus." Carter added.

So, why land at The Hub?

Enjoy the advantages of 'walk down the hall' access to mentors, expert coaches, subject matter experts and professional services. Enjoy on-site workshops, peer groups and networking events, and the opportunity to create deeper connections while building your network both inside and outside the walls of The Hub.

Tired of hosting meetings in coffee shops?

Snuggling up to a tiny coffee shop table to present to a potential customer is less than ideal. Even if 'living' at The Hub isn't for you, you can still take advantage of meeting and event space for as little as $15/hour. The Hub offers space to accommodate meetings and events of various sizes, allowing you to rent professional looking meeting rooms to accommodate 2-20 people, or event space that can host up to 150 people for a standing reception.  The best part is that all rooms are equipped for video conferencing (you can also plug directly into the wall-mounted TVs) and your guests will be welcomed at reception instead of hoping they can spot you in a crowd.

Interested in learning more about life at The Hub?

Let us treat you to a cup of coffee and a tour! Whether you're ready to move in or simply wanting to know more, we're happy to take you on a tour of The Hub and answer your questions.  To book a tour, or to find out more about tenancy, contact Steve Thomson at 778.229.8963.

In the meantime, check out The Hub on our website, or view our Events Calendar to see what's coming up next!

This installment of Spotlight on Tech takes a closer look at ACL, the company that is transforming audit and risk management for its 14,000+ customers around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience, ACL continues to lead as one of BC's top tech companies. As a 2013 Technology Impact Awards Finalist and a Founding Partner of the BCTIA Innovation Hub, ACL is impacting the technology sector in more ways than one. 

Now on the lookout to expand their team, if after reading this article you're interested in learning more about ACL (and we know you will be!), they're hosting a Career Fair Open House on January 21, 2015. It's the ultimate opportunity to meet their incredible team, get to know their products and services, and learn more about their available job opportunities.

Without further ado... here's ACL!

1. Describe your company and your primary product(s) and/or service(s).
ACL is a Canadian headquartered software company, nominated as a BC Top Employer, that helps the world’s largest public and private companies stamp out fraud, operational waste and unethical business. You’ve seen the headlines; the growth opportunity ahead of us is amazing. With more than 14,000 customers globally, we take pride in our stability but like to think of ourselves as a 25 year old startup. Our new cloud products and our established analytics tools give us an edge, and we’re disrupting the entire industry by leading our auditors, risk and compliance professionals into the cloud and mobile.

2. How many employees currently work at your company? 246

3. Where are you located?
Our office is located in beautiful Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver. We’re close to the seawall for lunchtime runs and bike routes, making commuting easy. We offer bike storage, locker rooms and showers. We are steps away from Robson Street, providing many lunch options. We have our very own rooftop patio for summer BBQs, and free beer club on Fridays in our 7th floor lounge. Staff take a break from solving problems with a game of pool, darts or foosball. For gamers, we have XBox One, PS4 and Wii as well as online gaming groups.

4. Describe the culture at your company.
We have three core values at ACL: Customer Intensity, Disruptive Innovation and Authenticity. We have an entrepreneurial culture embedded with teamwork, accountability, the desire to be the best at what we do, sprinkled with fun and passion. To us, this means having a passion for continual improvement. It also means being an intense advocate for our customers. We are in a constant state of change as we strive to improve, automate the mundane, and deliver game-changing value. It means being real, being ourselves, listening and not being afraid to “put the moose on the table” to be open and honest. It can be chaotic sometimes, but we like things that way. Our social group organizes regular events and a few times a year we throw big parties to celebrate our accomplishments. We love to have fun, and past events have included a trip for the entire team to Whistler and renting out an old steel works mill for a huge launch party.

6. When your employees talk about your company, what do they brag about?
Ask anyone why they love ACL and they will say it’s the people and the culture. It is an amazing environment where everyone will support each other to get things done well, where we celebrate our successes, and foster learning from our mistakes. We invest in our staff by providing amazing compensation and benefits, opportunities for training, and support transfers to our global offices. It’s the kind of place that you want to go to when you wake up each morning. Meet some of our staff and see a day in the life at ACL Vancouver Headquarters in this video:

8. What kinds of roles are you hiring for?
With our growth plans, we are actively looking for staff in all areas including Software Development, Sales, IT, Tech Support, Consulting and Finance. Our current job openings in Vancouver and around the world are listed on our website, but we are hiring new roles on an ongoing basis.  Come and visit us at our Career Fair Open House on January 21 to learn more about ACL. For more info, visit our website at
http://www.acl.com/about-acl/careers/

9. What kinds of people are you looking for?
We are looking for rock stars only. Those that want to be the best and do the best. Those who are not afraid to push the boundaries and think outside of the box, but check their egos at the door. It is also mandatory that you have a great sense of humour, not take yourself too seriously, and are happy to support your teammates in getting the job done. Craft beer connoisseurs are welcome (but not required).