This announcement is long overdue but at least two of you will be happy.
Brother Canada was kind enough to sponsor our Small Business Week contest and have provided Techvibes with two Brother Colour Multi-Function Centers (valued at $350 each) to give away. In order to enter the contest, all you had to do was comment on one of the following Small Biz profile blog posts:
And the winners are... Jess Sloss and Rory Hansen. I'll be in touch to coordinate delivery and/or pickup.
Thanks to everyone who entered.
Brother International Corporation (Canada) Ltd. markets a range of business machine products known for their originality and creativity. A Japanese... [more]
The Financial Post reported yesterday that Toronto's MaRS project has been put on hold. The $300-million Medical and Related Sciences complex in Toronto's hospital district had been billed as an innovation centre for early-stage companies in the science and technology sector. MaRS developed Phase I of the project on its own however for the second phase it leased the land to a development company that is responsible for building and renting the space.
Hence the problem - many of the potential tenants for the building are dependent on venture capital funding, a market that has all but dried up as wealthy investors refuse to part with cash on risky investments.
MaRS received $70-million in funding from the Ontario government and another $20-million from the federal government but it has been largely funded by the private sector. The company's board of directors reads like a who's who of Toronto's elite, including Royal Bank chief executive Gord Nixon, First Marathon Inc. founder Lawrence Bloomberg and Roy-L Capital chief executive Joseph Rotman.
MaRS connects the communities of science, business and capital and fosters collaboration among them. This happens physically through location of... [more]
Vancouver's Lat49 announced today that it has partnered with Topix - a top three online newspaper destination behind only the New York Times and USA Today (comScore, July 2008). Topix adds yet another premium site to the lat49 publisher network which has grown significantly in the last couple months thanks to partnerships with HotPads.com, ZipLocal, HomeZilla, and the Travel Ad Network.
“Topix has the widest hyper-local footprint on the Net,” said Keith Ippel, President and COO of lat49. “Their content is targeted, yet spans news, events, sports, travel, and real estate—all of our major verticals. We’re pleased to be able to offer Topix even more ways to monetize their content.”
"Interactive local content is integral to Topix" says David Galvan, VP of Business Development. "Lat49 gives us a way to further engage our users by offering advertising as content within our local maps. Their focus on relevant advertising, branding through local, is a perfect fit with both our audience and our business model."
Topix's 6 million unique visitors per month will help put Lat49's mapvertising solutions on the map.
Lat49 was developed by Vancouver-based IDELIX Software Inc., a company that specializes in technologies for visualizing, presenting, and... [more]
Topix is the leading news community on the Web, connecting people to the information and discussions that matter to them in every U.S. town and... [more]
On Tuesday November 18th, the British Columbia Technology Industries Association (BCTIA) hosts their next techforum event and this time around the speaker is Jason Cohenour, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seirra Wireless.
Leading a technology company is not for the faint of heart. It’s a cyclone of glory days, financial losses, restructuring, redirection and new found success.
On November 18, you will hear how Jason Cohenour, President and Chief Executive Officer - Sierra Wireless has survived the storm and set the stage for continued growth and profitability.
This luncheon event takes place at the Sutton Place Hotel and gets underway at 11:30am - be sure to pre-register.
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]
Kodak Graphics Communications, winners of BCTIA’s 2008 Excellence in Product Innovation, attended IMPACT, a BCTIA event held Thursday evening at the Vancouver Hyatt, to demonstrate how they wee able to change the way LCD screens are made. Kodak’s tech consists of using a Thermal Color Filter (TCF), which does not employ chemicals, takes less space and takes the entire process digital, saving 30 percent of the manufacturing cost per panel. The process works by using a laser to selectively transfer colorant to a substrate (the base of the filter). The end result is a cheaper and more environmentally friendly process for creating LCD color filters. A prototype of the TCF technology has been in use with an Asian customer since 2006, with commercialization of the product scheduled for 2009.
Eran Elizur, GM of Industrial Imaging Solutions at Kodak Graphic Communications (located in Burnaby and formerly known as Creo). Elizur said that Kodak was at first taken aback by Creo’s “dog-friendly,” new media culture, but in fact Kodack is new assimilating Creo’s culture in its continued move from a film-based old economy company to a digital imaging company. Elizur added that one of the things the Graphic Communications Group enables through their direct approach is getting close to the customer and thus getting direct input into where to best put their efforts to drive innovation forward.
Elizur said that while Kodak is starting with displays, the entire gamut of print technology is also a candidate for innovation, and foresw a day when you could design a microchip on your computer and simply print the circuit and start using it. While such innovation isn’t possible at present, it is coming sooner than you’d think, he said.
As the largest and most influential association representing BC's technology industry, BC TIA is dedicated to fostering growth and development in... [more]
You might have known us as Creo; now we're Kodak Graphic Communications Canada. Even though our name has changed, we haven't. We're still the... [more]
One way to look at cloud computing is in layers. The lowest layer is the physical infrastructure, the computing power and Internet bandwidth that makes it all possible. An example of this layer is the 4WEB.ca data centre that I wrote about in September. Look one layer up, and you'll find the applications and services that add value to the infrastructure. An example of this layer is Edmonton's Nirix Technology.
Founded in 2001 by Steven and Stanford Hsu, Nirix provides IT utility services to other organizations. They make it possible for a business to completely outsource technology operations. The company has grown significantly since their runner-up finish at the VenturePrize business plan competition in 2007, and they’ve become a little more focused too. Their primary offerings are Managed Backup, which enables businesses to securely store their data on Nirix’s infrastructure, Managed Email (hosted Exchange), and Managed Office (hosted Microsoft Office).
Nirix is the only company in Edmonton providing this kind of service, so it's no surprise that most of their customers are shocked to find that they don't need to look across the border. About half of Nirix's customers are local, with the other half spread across Canada. When they started, Nirix spent a lot of time finding and educating customers. Now, customers increasingly come to Nirix. Steven told me that there are a number of advantages to being located in Edmonton; there's very little chance of natural disasters, but still good access to power and other services. Some organizations have policies that specify their data must be kept in Canada too.
Things have been going well for Nirix. The company is cash-flow positive and grew 40% in the last fiscal year. A few weeks ago, Nirix was named as a finalist in the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Owner of the Year Award for 2008.
Where does Nirix see this going? Steven says that ten years ago, a common question for businesses was “are you online?” but now, the question to ask is, “are you in the cloud?” Nirix thinks it can help businesses answer “yes” easily and cheaply. The company is looking to expand aggressively. They're looking for $2 million in funding to target specific markets and increase their staff from twelve employees to twenty. Nirix also intends to increase the capacity of their storage area network (SAN) to a whopping 800 TB. The SAN is a focus, Steven says, because “everything needs storage.” Isn’t that the truth!
I think a big challenge for Nirix going forward will be convincing customers to choose them over similar services offered by Amazon, Microsoft, or Google. Certainly Nirix has the local advantage and can offer personalized service and support, but it’ll be hard to compete with the prices that the big players should eventually be able to offer. Nirix will have to continue to improve their service offerings, to give customers something they can’t find elsewhere.
You can learn more about Nirix and the services they offer at http://www.nirix.com.
Nirix Technology is the next generation IT utility company or Utility Service Provider (USP). Founded in 2001, located in the heart of Edmonton,... [more]
I'm at the Under the Radar (UTR) conference at the Microsoft Campus in Mountainview this morning, watching lotsa presentations of really smart Mobile startups present their companies to the local VC and Angel Community, as well as mobile carrier reps and other developers. You can watch it stream live all day from CNET, if you're so inclined.
One of the companies presenting is Calgary's Mob4Hire, who announced it's new contract with the U.K. O2 Litmus Developer Network this morning at the conference. Mob4Hire is also newly listed on Motorolla's Fast Track Partner Page.
I first blogged about Mob4Hire crowd sourced mobile application testing business model last January, and it looks like the business is well on the way. Since then they've reached 1,300 registered handsets on 139 carriers in 58 countries worldwide, in addition to their developer network contracts.
Ok, coffee break ... my caffeine level is on 1/8th empty ... time to fill up and schmooze with the other UTR attendees!
Mob4hire is crowdsourced mobile application testing. [more]
When Calgary Technologies Inc. (CTI) launched the TechRev program last year the goal was to elevate the profile of Calgary’s Technology Sector by celebrating local successes. It can be hard for our Tech Companies to get the recognition they deserve, and all too often great success stories are obscured in the shadow of Alberta’s huge Oil & Gas Sector. While TechRev isn’t going to change the world, it is a great podium from which we spread the Tech Gospel. (amen brother)
The next TechRev event coming up on November 18th, 2009 will be spotlighting three Calgary companies and their experiences in CleanTech innovation. New Energy Corporation and Sustainable Energy Technologies are leading edge CleanTech solution developers while ENMAX is recognized as a pioneer in CleanTech development and deployment (check out each Company’s profile below).
This event is SOLD OUT but if you are a CleanTech Entrepreneur or an Investor who’s interested in CleanTech plays, you can call Pam Boytinck and get your name on the waiting list. Pam can be reached at 403- 284- 6417.
For more information and to sign up for the TechRev newsletter visit www.techrev.ca.
Presenting Company Bio’s:
Michael Carten, Founder and CEO,
Sustainable Energy Technologies
Sustainable Energy Technologies designs, manufactures and distributes advanced power inverters for grid connected solar power systems. The unique system design can be installed anywhere by anyone, increasing the energy yield from solar power systems while reducing the installed cost.
Clayton Bear, Founder, President and CEO,
New Energy Corporation Inc.
New Energy is a manufacturer of in-stream hydrokinetic power generation systems. The company's proprietary EnCurrent Turbine is an economical hydroelectric generating product that has an extremely small environmental footprint and can be used in a large variety of settings where traditional hydro plants are not practical.
Doug Sullivan, VP Distribution Services,
ENMAX Energy Corporation
As an industry leader with a history of deploying CleanTech solutions, ENMAX is committed to evaluating alternative energy technologies that have the potential to fundamentally change the way people consume energy. They are committed to providing environmentally responsible energy solutions to the communities they service and to improving their environmental performance as well.
Calgary Technologies Inc. (CTI) works with entrepreneurs to help them accelerate the success of their technology company, and looks for... [more]
Everybody wants to post video online nowadays but how's a small business on a tight budget able to to get started. Enter YoungCuts. YoungCuts offers businesses of any size an opportunity to acquire cost-effective high quality video to make their websites more compelling and increase site traffic.
YoungCuts helps companies do this with a coast-to-coast video production service that despite its low cost seems to deliver high quality video. YoungCuts has over 2,000 vetted videographers across the country that can service businesses on a hyper-local level. They have also standardized their video production process which alloes them to produce high-quality video productions fast for less that $1,000. So that company profile video you've been waiting to do isn't out of range.
YoungCuts are also experts on creating and distributing viral branded entertainment helping companies position themselves as experts in their fields. YoungCuts has been innovating distributed video productions since 2005 and has a client list that includes Pepsi, Air Canada, High Fidelity HDTV, Astral Media and Cellfish Media - check out some of their work like the piece below:
YoungCuts is a global network of the best young filmmakers and videographers. We are a complete production and distribution solution. Kick-start... [more]
Jon Lam of Calgary's Ph03nix New Media Inc. is taking smart people out for lunch and writing about it online at Lunch with Smart People. Great concept. Up first is Cambrian House's MJ Sikorsky at the Calgary Earl's Tin Palace. Be sure to check out the full lunch interview which kicks off with: "What do you think of the whole ’sky is falling’ VC view, and the Sequoia doom presentation?"
I had the chance to see Lam pitch a packed room at the Banff Venture Forum last month and he impressed with his pitch on their new online world that combines education with video games. Lam's goal is to become the "Club Penguin of learning" and referred to their planned hip hop online world as a "chocolate vitamin". The online world promises to offer games that are educational in nature to appeal to parents and teachers while engaging players with interactive tasks.
Ph03nix's track record to date is strong. They've made money with their Curse of the Pharaoh title which is available for sale on Big Fish Games with 750,000 downloads.
Lam with be out in Vancouver next week for the 24th Angel Forum. I have yet to receive an invitation for lunch.
Launched in 2006, Cambrian House began as a crowdsourcing community using a wisdom of crowds based approach to discover new business and technology... [more]
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]
