Jason Cohenour, the President and CEO of Sierra Wireless, was on hand at the BCTIA's Techforum luncheon (held at the Sutton Place hotel in downtown Vancouver) to explain why his company is "Hell-Bent on Success". Having weathered many economic storms on the way to the Vancouver-based company's current prosperity.
Cohenour outlined the steps Sierra Wireless took to ensure success even when the economy varied wildly around them. He broke down the Sierra Wireless story begining with the company's first product, the Pocket Plus, which was a do-it-all modem that was a technological marvel but sold precisely zero products. The company retooled the Pocket Plus into a mobile modem for police, which did sell and put the company back on track. The tech bubble, starting in 1998, meant the company could and did go for an IPO, because as Cohenour said "we could, because anybody could."
The stock and valuation of the company fluctuated, and once the tech bubble burst Sierra Wireless lost customers, since some of their corporate customers ceased to exist. But Sierra was operating from a position of strength financially, so they weathered the storm and introduced the Aircard, still one of their biggest successes. They also made key alliances with big carriers in the States like Verizon, as well as selling modules to Palm.
The key lessons learned were to be first to market with key new technologies for big customers, always be in the M and A hunt for targets that improve position, and never forget who the boss is in the value chain. Sierra Wireless charged too much, Cohenour said, and lost Verizon as a customer, which he said would never happen again. When the customer responsible for 40 percent of your business asks for something, he said, there's only one right answer.
Diversification is also important, he said, but it requires over-investment in both the new and the old business. And the most important lesson is to be "laser focused on execution in the core business."
Sierra's new plan is the "invasion of China, Inc", and has opened a new R&D office in China to take advantage of innovation in Asia. Sierra has launched a new line of USB products and is now pursuing vertical market OEM.
Cohenour emphasized the importance of observing the ecosystem around you and responding properly, as well as timing cash raising in capital markets. Sierra was able to go to the capital markets "when they stll existed," Cohenour joked, in October 2007 right before the economy took a sour turn.
Cohenour said the next step for wireless is machine to machine, as well as "unmanned" applications, such as teller machines, parking meters, all the way to machines monitoring oilhead drills. "You have to spend to get to these markets," but once you're there you can become the dominant player, he said.
Sierra Wireless modems and software connect people all over the world with mobile broadband networks that keep them in touch, informed, and... [more]
As the largest and most influential association representing BC's technology industry, BC TIA is dedicated to fostering growth and development in... [more]
The 24th Angel Forum, held at the SFU Harbour Centre, is a chance for investors and start-ups to meet, pitch and network. But it's also a chance for a look at the venture capital space as a whole.
2008 is (not surprisingly) being termed an "interesting time", given the continued credit crisis and the skittish nature of the American investment landscape. But the upside for new businesses is that inputs cost less, there's a wider choice of labour at a cheaper price, and companies can develop their product with less pressure from competitors.
Randy Garg, the Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Price Waterhouse Coopers, gave his traditional address to the Angel Forum at the opening ceremony with a summary of the current venture funding climate.
VC funding is down 33 percent YTD in Canada from the same time in 2008, thanks to the ongoing financial crisis affecting world markets. US investment has flattened, and foreign VC investment is down to 27 percent, down from 41 percent in 2007.
Investment in internet ventures is down, but cleantech investments are on the rise. Life sciences investments are also up, but are more capital intensive and take longer to get off the ground. Technology investment is down primarily due to the continued financial uncertainty in the United States.
THe US IPO market is at its lowest point in 30 years, with only 5 IPOS in the United States, and only one in Canada. Garg said consolidation would be the model for smaller companies in the immediate future, due to the weakness in the M and A market after the debt that financed it dried up in the credit crisis.
But not every company has stopped buying, though surprisingly Google and Cisco have pulled back from their usual pace of acquisition. Microsoft and Oracle are still buying companies, though they are picking and choosing smaller firms.
In terms of BC business, the province is up slightly at $79 million invested in 17 companies, and Yaletown Ventures recently closed a 65 million round focused on cleantech and IT. But while BC is the 3rd highest area of investment in Canada, it's only 16th in North America, trailing behind Maryland.
The world in which you do business is one we understand well. That's why we customize what we do to incorporate all the services, products and... [more]
Bits Republic presented its case for data mobilization at the 24th Angel Forum held at SFU Harbour Centre on Monday. Their mission is to make one's information accessible anywhere in the world, as well as acessible online and off. As such, they introduced the My Own Bits (MOB) platform, which not only hosts documents but also alerts clents to changes in those documents, and also have access to their documents even when they aren't on the Internet. Bits Republic also stressed the end-to-end nature of their security solution, with documents encrypted before thye leave the computer or origin. The document is also hosted by Bits Republic, but they can't sThe MOBS platform has been established and is (according to Bits Republic) ready for implementation, and the company is now ready to begin tackling different markets with targeted products.
MOB-PS is targeted at professional firms such as lawyers, and would cost $1,000 a year. MOB-BR is aimed at creating data rooms for virtual Mergers and Acquisitions. Finally, Bits Republic has created MOB-EMR, which targets the medical market and would cost $1,200 a year.
Bookingcalendar.com, an online scheduling app, entreatied attendees at the 24th Angel Forum held at the SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver, to stop playing telephone tag and instead use their app to open up their appointment books BookingCalendar unlike other scheduling as, has its own API, and offers integration with Google Calendar, Quickbooks and other scheduling software. BookingCalendar also allows customers to make appointments, increasing efficiency while making the booking experience easier for both customers and businesses. And unlike an online calendar like Google Calendar, where a client can see all of your appointments, with Booking Calendar only relevant data to the client and business is displayed. Booking Calendar is currently earning revenue on a subscription model
We are a Canadian based company and work with companies from all over the world. BookingCalendar.com started the concept of online appointment and... [more]
People are being bombarded wiith information on a daily basis, to the point where we've become quite good at ignoring everything that the media can throw at us. The one exception to this rule is the phone, which no-one can resist answering. Wireless Image, which pitched at the 24th Angel Forum at the SFU Harbour Centre on Monday, aims to target jaded users by embedding branding information into ringtones. The company has also built in analytics which let companies know in detail what ringtone is being played, how loudly it was played and a time and date stamp to track when the ringto. The ringtones themselves are free, becaue users opt-in to the reporting being sent from the phone.
Coming soon to a mobile phone near you. The future of mobile advertising. [more]
Gary Symons, former CBC journalist and the CEO of Vericorder, was on hand at the 24th Angel Forum at the SFU Harbour Centre today promoting his vision of a truly portable, rugged and wireless field recorder for audio recording. Vericorder's product is a portable device that integrates with an ordinary cell phone, making it completely portable, and costs only $500, contrasting with expensive, bulky field kits currently in use that cost upwards of $5,000.
The device will also encrypt raw audio (using a system called TRAC, or True Audio Redoring) so it can't be tampered with avoiding legal problems. However, the device will be able to edit whil ein the field, as well as post audio. Besides broadcasters, Vericorder is targeting podcasters, freelancers, and citizen journalists with their basic recorder, priced at $250. The professional version will be available on the Blackberry and the iPhone through app stores.
VeriCorder Technology is dedicated to bringing trustworthy, advanced recording and editing technology to the “Smartphone” and PDA marketplace. [more]
Letsgofordinner.com, which presented at the 24th Angel Forum at the SFU Harbour Centre, aims to be the "Entertainment Book for the internet." The site is a mobile push application, which works by letting restaurants release coupons based on how busy or empty they are at a given moment. Members of letsgofordinner.com buy a membership card for $25 (half of which goes to charity) and then are notified of specials at restaurants that are part of the service. The advantage for restaurants is that they can fill seats (generally the biggest source of revenue loss in the business) while customers are able to save money on a meal without having to bring an unweidly coupon book.
Currently the site is set up to serve both Calgary and Vancouver. Letsgofordinner.com is asscoaited with local start-up incubator Bootup Labs.
Every day ... restaurants are offering 50% off their loyalty certificates exclusively to LetsGoForDinner.com and its members! How can we possibly... [more]
Calgary-based Ph03nix New Media, who created the runaway hit Curse of the Pharoah (released through Big Fish Games) was pitching TRZZonline.com, a "hip hop multiplayer online universe" at the 24th Angel Forum at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver. Jon Lam of Pho3nix termed hip-hop as the biggest cultural revolution in the last 20 years in terms of music, culture and entertainment, but as of yet there hasn't been a hip-hop based MMO, even though the MMO space is the fastest growing segment of the games market. The site will be aimed at a 13 to 18 year old demographic, and will include an education component through mini-games. The site will be browser-based and run in Flash, requiring no additioanl software installation. Lam referred to the site as a "chocolate vitamin," in that even in tough economic times, people still want to buy chocolate and the vitamin component comes through in the educational component.
Cambrian House's MJ Sikorsky was in attendance and led the investor-only disussion after Lam's presentation. Sikorsky invested $100K in Ph03nix New Media last week.
Our goal is to inspire the world to learn. But that inspiration must start with you. Be inspired. And let that inspiration flow through everything... [more]
InvestmentPitch, which presented at the 24th Angel Forum at the SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver on Monday, is an information services company which uses the internet to provide financial information from private and public companies to accredited investors and financial institutions.
Key business drivers that enable a service like InvestmentPitch are high speed broadband penetration, the internet's proven ability to build community, and the effectiveness of video as a way of delivering messaging (which is only expanding as time goes on).
By combining the proliferation of online video with the large number of public and private companies in North America that spend on average $100,000 annually on promotional activities.
Investment Pitch uses professionally produced videos in a social networking platform that targets the niche they need to reach by categorizing the videos by industry. The site will also boast forums to facilitate interaction, but the main driver is the video content which will bring investors to the site. Subscribers pay to see the videos, though investors would not pay to see the videos.
Co-founded by Barry Morgan and Joseph Nuyten, the company began operations in April 2007 and was formally incorporated as IPE InvestmentPitch... [more]
Transfer pricing is a $240 to $500 million global market, and Calgary-based CUFTanalytics aims to streamline the process for multinationals that up until now have hit major roadblocks in pursuing transfer pricing to facilitate inter-company loans. Transfer pricing is increasingly being audited and litigation activity is increasing, and tax legislation for transfer pricing is country-specific. Transfer pricing consultants charge from 40k to 100k for a single transaction. Essentially, companies face a high-cost solution that can't meet tight deadlines.
Enter the CUFTanalytics engine is an application engine which attempts to solve this problem. Using a web interface, CUFTanalytics automates the transfer pricing process, increasing the speed and efficiency of the transaction while giving a multinational a safely audit-able service.
CUFTanalytics already has alliances with Moody's and the Ceteris distribution channel, which reaches up to 1,000 multinationals.
