business in vancouver's forty under 40 2011

SPONSORED BY:

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION

DEPARTMENT: 102 EAST 4TH AVENUE, VANCOUVER, B.C. V5T 1G2.

Business in Vancouver Issue 1057

December 27, 2011–January 2, 2012 • Issue 1157 $2.00 • $79.95 annually • [email protected]

YOUR SOURCE OF REGIONAL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SINCE 1989 www.biv.com • 604-688-2398

SPECTRUM OF SUCCESS

This year’s winners represent an array of businesses but they all have one focus: an unstoppable desire to be the best in their field

Subscriber details

Fasken Martineau is pleased to join Business in Vancouver in celebrating the achievements of the winners of the 2011 BIV Forty Under 40 Awards.

These inspiring professionals are leading the way through their contributions and their commitment to our business community. With their leadership, expertise and innovative ideas, these corporate go-getters, entrepreneurs and not-for-profi t leaders are bringing their talents to their offi ces, to their companies and to their business communities at large. As more and more baby boomers reach retirement age, the accomplishments and ambitions of these business and community leaders under the age of 40 will continue to inspire others in the formative years of their careers.

As Vancouver’s leading law fi rm, Fasken Martineau recognizes that highly motivated professionals who are passionate about their work are key to the success of any organization.

Furthermore, we know that recognizing the accomplishments of these individuals encourages them, and inspires others, to continuously strive to attain greater goals and accomplishments.

This is why Fasken Martineau rolled out an initiative called “Emerging Executives”. The initiative is designed to propel emerging leaders both within our fi rm and in the business community into business leadership positions sooner rather than later. Those who win a BIV Forty Under 40 Award are clearly among our business leaders today, and we’re pleased to know that the future of BC’s business community is in good hands.

On behalf of Fasken Martineau, I congratulate the winners and commend the achievements of all business professionals who are paving the way in Vancouver, across our province, and internationally. Well done!

Congratulations!

Sponsor’s Message

William Westeringh

Daily news to your inbox.

Sign up at www.biv.com

Andrea Baxter—15

Neil Belenkie—12

Matt Breech—21

Doug Burgoyne—6

Erin Chutter—21

Janice Cheam—3

Ryan Dalziel—24

Joel DeYoung—16

Robin Dhir—25

Jennifer Duff—6

Feras Elkhalil—19

Sarah Evans—8

Matt Fraser—25

Michael Gokturk—19

Anita Huberman—4

Georald Ingborg—3

Stephen Jagger—22

Chris Kennedy—7

Amielle Lake—9

Val Litwin—4

Tim Meyer—30

Robert Napoli—20

Taleeb Noormohamed—26

Dave Notte—9

Jason Pleym—28

Brian Postlewait—28

Kody Sabourin—5

Julien Sellgren—15

Rebecca Shields—23

Nathan Slee —7

James Smerdon—8

Benjamin Sparrow—10

Diana Stirling—17

Dave Van Belle —13

Kyle Vucko—14

Tyler Weiss—5

Bob Wells—16

Mike Winterfield—12

Jason Zanatta—30

Joshua Zoshi—10

WINNERS

Business in Vancouver is published by BIV Media Limited Partnership at 102 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5T 1G2. Telephone-604-688-2398; fax: 604-688-1963; e-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. New subscriptions are $79.95 for one year, $135.00 for two years, $189.00 for three years. Payment required with order. Monthly debit available. All prices are subject to 5% Goods and Services Tax. GST #131471674. Copyright 2006. Articles may not be reprinted without permission from the publisher. Reprint info: Veera Irani 604-608-5115.

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO: 40069240. REGISTRATION NO: 8876. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Department: 102 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5T 1G2. E-mail: [email protected]

US POSTMASTER: Business in Vancouver (USPS 009-409) is published weekly by BIV Media Limited Partnership. Our U.S. subscription rate is $95.95 Canadian per year. Payment required with order.

C/O US Agent–Transborder Mail: 4708 Caldwell Rd E., Edgewood, WA 98372-9221. Periodicals postage paid at Puyallup, WA. and at additional mailing offices.

US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Business In Vancouver, c/o Transborder Mail, PO Box 6016, Federal Way, WA 98063-6016

Retail distribution by Globe Distribution Services.

Daily news updates: www.biv.com

Register to subscribe to both daily news alerts and weekly previews of Business in Vancouver.We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program towards our mailing costs. PAP Registration No. 11064.

Guiding principles Reading the bios of our Forty under 40 winners, I am

always curious to see the responses to the question that, for me, usually results in the most interesting les-sons: What is the advice you would give the younger you?

What stands out in this year’s content is how positive many winners are in terms of their guidance.

“Even when you encounter your worst days, you’ll look back and know you made the right choice,” said Janice Cheam. Julien Sellgren wants to tell his younger self, “Keep it up. The hard work will pay off one day.”

But for some, hard work is not enough. Several people point out the importance of passion being part of the pursuit.

“Make sure you are passionate about the company you are going to start,” said Doug Burgoyne. “It will consume your thoughts.”

Kyle Vucko has the same line of thinking: “When times get really tough, only the most passionate will be successful.”

There is also the point of surrounding yourself with mentors. Nathan Slee would tell his younger self to “get outside advice early and often. Find people you trust who will ask the hard questions.” And Mike Winterfield sees the value in asking advice “from people that have suc-ceeded doing what you want to do.”

But perhaps Tyler Weiss has the best advice for all: “Get some rest. Calm down. It’s all right. All your friends are here.”

Well said, Tyler, and congratulations. Now everyone, get some rest.

— Baila Lazarus, news features editor, Business in Vancouver

All photography by Dominic Schaefer except for Amielle Lake, Dave Van Belle and Diana StirlingPhoto shoot location: Vancouver Convention Centre Photo manipulation by Dominic Schaefer & Randall Pearsall

BIV 2011 FORTY UNDER 40 December 27, 2011–January 2, 2012 Business in Vancouver2

When Georald Ingborg was really young, he

already knew he wanted to be a business lawyer.

“I knew even before the end of high school,” said the fast-rising partner in the Vancouver office of leading international business law firm Fasken Martineau.

Ingborg is the firm’s top rainmaker under 40 in Vancouver, involved in some of its largest financing and merger and acquisitions deals for both Canadian and internation-al clients.

He earned a bachelor of commerce degree at the University of British Columbia and graduated in law at the University of Victoria in 1997.

“I consider the first success of my career was getting hired on at a major downtown law firm,” said Ingborg, who spent a

Janice Cheam’s entre-preneurial endeavours

began somewhat by accident.

A few years ago, the 28-year-old was about to finish business school and pitch her resumé into the working world when she was encouraged to start a venture of her own.

That encouragement came from a career-path interviewer who praised an early business plan Cheam and some friends had developed during school for an energy-sav-ing device.

“That was exactly the right validation at the right time I needed to con-sider an alternative path to my career,” said Cheam.

Today, that device has been transformed into the PowerTab, an in-home digital display that tells customers how much electricity they’re using at any given time.

The PowerTab has

couple of years in Vancou-ver and two more in the firm’s London, U.K., office before returning here. Then he made partner at age 33.

“It had been a longtime goal, and to make it at a fairly early age compara-tively was a great achieve-ment. By being that young, when you become a partner, the expectations clearly change. So there was a fair bit of pressure.”

Ingborg said he thrives on the intensity of his cor-porate finance practice.

“I think better as some-thing gets more intense and stressful.”

One major deal was advising BHP Billiton Canada on its acquisition of Athabasca Potash for $331 million.

To meet the challenges of global business, he said he makes himself available all day, every day.

“Foreign clients really ap-preciate knowing they can call me on my cell literally

become the flagship prod-uct designed by Cheam’s company, Energy Aware Technology Inc.

Cheam, president and CEO of Energy Aware, said the BC Technology Industry Association in 2009 named the Gastown-based venture the most promising startup of the year.

The idea for the com-pany was formulated during business school after a friend of Cheam’s attended a UN confer-ence on climate change in Montreal.

The friend returned to relay to Cheam and others the concerns about climate change that were voiced at the conference, and the team decided to look into inventing a device that could help conserve energy and protect the environment.

“We didn’t know what the product was but we knew what it had to do,” she said.

For the next two years,

Georald IngborgPartner, Fasken MartineauAge: 39

Janice CheamPresident and CEO, Energy Aware TechnologyAge: 28

“[Making partner] had

been a longtime goal,

and to make it at a fairly

early age comparatively

was a great achievement”

Birthplace: New Westminster

Where do you live now: Vancouver

Highest level of education: B.Comm., marketing, UBC

Car or chosen mode of transport: Preferred – motorcycle; actual – bicycle

Currently reading: Blankets, a graphic novel by Craig Thompson

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Cinemetropolis by Blue Scholars

Favourite local restaurant: Campagnolo

Profession you would most like to try: Culinary chef

Mentor: My sister AdelineToughest business or

professional decision: Having to decide to abandon our first product right before we were about to commercialize it for what we hoped would turn into a bigger opportunity [it did]

Advice you would give the younger you: You’re not going to regret this, because even when you encounter your worst days, you’ll look back and know you made the right choice

What’s left to do: Get PowerTab displays into B.C. homes

Cheam dedicated herself to building the prod-uct that would become the cornerstone of her company.

So far, the company has

sold its product to custom-ers in Australia, Europe and North America.

“If you want to start your business, you have to decide that this is

what you want to do, and at the early stages the biggest barrier to that is yourself.”

Birthplace: New WestminsterWhere do you live now: North VancouverHighest level of education: LLB from the University of Victoria Car or chosen mode of transport: TaxiCurrently reading: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling with my two eldest daughters

and anything about Star Wars with my two younger sonsLast CD bought or music downloaded: Some Guns ‘n Roses songsFavourite local restaurant: Joey’sProfession you would most like to try: GreenskeeperMentor: My parentsToughest business or professional decision: Returning to Vancouver from

London, EnglandAdvice you would give the younger you: You really should stop smokingWhat’s left to do: A hole in one while playing golf

“We didn’t know what the product was but we knew what it had to do”

at any hour because the deals come in at very strange times and they’re very time-sensitive.”

Balancing the work de-mands, Ingborg is devoted to his wife and four young children, and volunteers with the CNIB and the Ju-venile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Business in Vancouver December 27, 2011–January 2, 2012 BIV 2011 FORTY UNDER 40 3

Sponsor’s Message

Anita Huberman’s position as CEO of the

business lobby organiza-tion for B.C.’s second most populous city gives her a lot of influence.

She oversees eight staff, 400 volunteers and a budget of nearly $1 million.

Huberman has been a Surrey Board of Trade employee since she gradu-ated from Simon Fraser University with a bachelor of arts in communications in 1996.

Since ascending to become CEO in 2007, Huberman has showed initiative by creating new awards programs such as the annual Surrey Women in Business awards.

She also embarked on the board of trade’s first trade mission to a foreign country when she joined 80 Surrey business people on a trip to China in 2007.

As the first south Asian woman to head a Canadian municipality’s board of trade, Huberman

followed up the China trip with a trade mission to India along with 25 busi-ness people in April.

That trip facilitated seven memorandums of understanding to be signed so far. She is plan-ning a trade mission next year to Brazil.

“The solid international trade portfolio has been

one of my greatest ac-complishments,” she said.

“I also helped build an international trade centre. I went to consulate offices and created relationships that no one has had in the board of trade and chamber industry in B.C. Those relationships re-sulted in a formal letter of understanding to partner together in different trade opportunities.”

Under Huberman’s

Anita HubermanCEO, Surrey Board of TradeAge: 38

Birthplace: Hinton, AlbertaWhere do you live now: SurreyHighest level of education: BA in

communications at Simon Fraser University

Car or chosen mode of transport: Mazda 3 hatchback

Currently reading: Steve Jobs: A Biographyby Walter Isaacson

Last CD bought or music downloaded:Rolling in the Deep by Adele

Favourite local restaurant: Villa Verdi Ristorante, Surrey

Profession you would most like to try: TV broadcaster

Mentor: My momToughest business or professional decision:

Applying to be CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade. Why? Being a young woman in a senior position, some people judge you by age or other companies that you have worked for. I’ve worked with the Surrey Board of Trade since I was 19 and am very familiar with the ins and outs of our industry

Advice you would give the younger you:Things are not always as they seem – there are five or more sides to every issue. Your work ethic is so important – customer service, research, taking initiative and surrounding yourself with people who you can get ideas from

What’s left to do: Start my own business one day and be an entrepreneur

“The solid international trade portfolio has

been one of my greatest accomplishments”

Val Litwin has always been up for trying

something new.After co-founding the

non-profit Kindness Crew Society and raising the profile of a social move-ment dedicated to acts of kindness, Litwin switched course to co-found Blo Blow Dry Bar.

Even for Litwin, that was a “radical” switch.

“I went from being a

Val LitwinVice-president of franchise operations, Nurse Next DoorAge: 34

brand communications guy into hardcore, full-on operations,” he said.

“And that meant juggling 21-year-old kids – 75 of them – and they show up with their emotional problems at work, they show up hungover, all that crazy stuff that comes with operations.”

But the shift didn’t phase Litwin. He threw his energies into Blo,

helping drive the success that saw the company expand to 13 locations in three years and receive 400 franchise requests.

Litwin’s latest transi-tion saw him become vice-president of franchise operations for Nurse Next Door this year.

“Here I am now in the field of health care, which I have no experience in but connects so deeply in a lot of ways to the Kindness

Crew because it’s about compassion and caring for others and volunteerism,” he said.

What has driven Lit-win’s career path to date?

“There have been those themes of service all the way through working with teams and making people feel great, whether

“But I think what’s probably been the

biggest theme is carpe diem – just go for

it, let’s try something new today”

Birthplace: VictoriaWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: BA in English literature, U.Vic.Car or chosen mode of transport: Truck or skateboardCurrently reading: Pompeii by Robert Harris and

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa YoganandaLast CD bought or music downloaded: Beirut, The Rip TideFavourite local restaurant: RangoliProfession you would most like to try: Professional surferMentor: Judy Brooks, co-founder of Blo Blow Dry BarToughest business or professional decision: Moving from

brand/marketing into operations Advice you would give the younger you: Never worry about

WHAT you do – worry about HOW you do itWhat’s left to do: The question of “what’s next?” doesn’t

matter so much as to me as “with whom?” My goal has always been to seek out and work with fun, smart, hard-working people. It used to be hair with Blo, now it’s home care with Nurse Next Door – as long as I can be hyped on the people and the mission, I’m stoked

it be with a random act of kindness or great hair,” he said. “But I think what’s probably been the biggest theme is carpe diem – just go for it, let’s try some-thing new today.”

stewardship, the board of trade has grown from 1,200 members to 1,500. She has also embarked on programs to make those members more active.

For example, she trans-formed government advo-cacy from being a single team covering all issues

to having seven separate teams that include 400 volunteers.

Outside of work she is a director of the Surrey Foundation, which raises money to give to not-for-profit organizations.


Kody Sabourin is hooked on the

impossible.Working his way up

California’s visual ef-fects (VFX) food chain, Sabourin was always after the hardest work, the most complicated shots.

“It seemed a couple of times a year, I was doing the hardest thing I had ever done,” he said. “Once that rush had worn off, then I was looking for the next thing that was impossible.”

That’s the force Sabourin continues to bring to creative agency and pro-duction studio Goldtooth Creative Agency Inc. – the company he founded in Vancouver in 2008 with longtime friend and audio guru Tyler Weiss. A key company focus is produ-cing videogame trailers.

Over the past three years, the company’s rev-enues have shot up to over $5 million as its staff has expanded to approximate-ly 65 from 10. Part of that growth is driven by the company’s unique struc-ture, which shaves off time and costs by integrating the offerings of a creative agency and a full-service production studio.

Kody SabourinCo-founder, president and creative director, Goldtooth Creative AgencyAge: 34

Goldtooth’s work includes videogame trail-ers for Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Human Revolu-tion, Activision’s Proto-type and Electronic Arts Inc.’s NBA Live ’10, Fight Night and Need for Speed.

But much of the com-pany’s growth comes from the talents and drive of its founders.

From the company’s earliest days, Sabourin’s love of the impossible had Goldtooth taking on

projects nobody else in town would touch, due to their truncated deadlines.

“People thought we were crazy and we kind of were,” he said. “But that was the fun part.”

“It seemed a couple of times a year, I was doing the hardest

thing I had ever done; once that rush had worn off, then

I was looking for the next thing that was impossible”

Birthplace: Moose Jaw, SaskatchewanWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Master in digital arts from

the Centre for Digital Imaging & SoundCar or chosen mode of transport: Harley Night TrainCurrently reading: Power vs. Force: The Hidden

Determinants of Human Behaviour by David R. HawkinsLast CD bought or music downloaded: The Black Keys,

BrothersFavourite local restaurant: Chill Winston patio in the

summerProfession you would most like to try: Rock starToughest business or professional decision: That will

likely happen tomorrowAdvice you would give the younger you: Get everything in

writing, always. Learn as much as you can on human behaviour and how the brain operates. Study the best forms of improving your communication techniques. Find the help you need immediately and delegate as much responsibility as you can to those you can trust. Put all your effort into helping advance the careers of your team, and give them a great place to work

What’s left to do: Create our own intellectual property, starting with feature films and music albums. Then bring peace to Earth. Then fall into an eternal state of bliss and ecstasy

Besides taking on gruel-ling challenges, Sabourin said Goldtooth has built its reputation by achiev-ing and surpassing clients’ quality expectations on key projects – even when it’s required extra work on Goldtooth’s own dime.

“We can say, ‘This is something that’s going to attract attention so let’s

invest some of our own time and money into it and make sure it’s great,” he said.

Sabourin said that’s the great freedom he and Weiss have found in running their own com-pany – eluding the budget restrictions that constrain quality.

A drummer with a dream of going pro, Tyler

Weiss has played coun-try bars in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and “on the boats” in Miami, and

Tyler WeissCo-founder, vice-president and audio director, Goldtooth Creative AgencyAge: 32

launched hip-hop group Fluent in Taiwan.

But it wasn’t until Weiss re-connected with childhood friend and artist Kody Sabourin that

a new dream emerged: producing film and other creative work together.

The result is Goldtooth Creative Agency Inc., a creative agency and production studio that has expanded to 65 staff from 10 since its 2008 launch. The company is particularly known for its videogame trailers.

Weiss, who studied music at the University of Saskatchewan and sound engineering at Record-ing Arts Canada, drives all things audio for the company.

Business partner Sabourin said Weiss’ diverse musical skill set made him an ideal partner.

“I hadn’t seen anybody with so many different skill sets,” Sabourin said.

“I hadn’t seen anybody like him from the music side. He can play anything.”

Even with lots of talent in their court, Weiss says growing Goldtooth

Birthplace: Moose Jaw, SaskatchewanWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education (degree achieved and subject):

Bachelor of education in music, University of Saskatchewan

Car or chosen mode of transport: 1979 Harley Davidson. It’s a chopper, baby

Currently reading: Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and Rock ‘N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood by Peter Biskind

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Beck, MutationsFavourite local restaurant: Alibi RoomProfession you would most like to try: ButcherMentor: My parents; my business partner’s step-brother,

three-time Juno Award-winner Kevin Churko; and musician and composer Dane Deviller, whom I write music with for various Goldtooth projects

Toughest business or professional decision: To put it all on the line and start the company. Stepping out of your comfort zone and into the unknown can be intimidating

Advice you would give the younger you: Get organized. Have confidence in yourself. Know what the plan is and stick to it. Get some rest. Calm down. It’s all right. All your friends are here

What’s left to do: Start working hard on our own intellectual property and do what do we came here to do

confronted both partners with their lack of business experience.

“It’s two artists that started a company and now we’re expected to be business people – in one day,” Weiss said.

But he said Goldtooth set itself apart with a busi-ness model that marries a creative agency and a pro-duction studio, creating time and cost efficiencies for clients. He added that drive and long hours have

“It’s two artists that started a company and now we’re

expected to be businesspeople – in one day”

propelled the company to its current $5 million in annual revenues.

“We had to be very hun-gry,” he said.


Sponsor’s Message

Step aside profit, the No. 1 goal in Jennifer

Duff ’s business is to see her clients get healthy.

The 33-year-old Univer-sity of British Columbia-trained nurse was recently named Providence Health Care’s director of mental health, leading a program that handles 85% of the most severe mental-health emergency patients in Vancouver.

“I never thought I would be doing what I’m doing at the age I’m doing it,” Duff said.

Her decision to get into the public health-care business was driven by a passion for tangible results.

Duff joined Providence in 2006 on a contract basis after spending a few years as a registered nurse at Penticton Regional Hos-pital and the BC Women’s Hospital.

She quickly excelled at her job, and in 2007 was named operations leader of the general surgery and orthopedic nursing units at St. Paul’s Hospital.

A year later, she became the operations leader for the maternity services and

Jennifer DuffDirector, mental health, Providence Health CareAge: 33

neonatal intensive-care unit.

While there, Duff man-aged an operating budget in excess of $7 million,

and managed to signifi-cantly reduce overtime expenditures and sick time among employees.

Although the public

sector has a reputation for moving slowly, Duff said her job is anything but.

“In my view it’s highly complex, often chaotic, and if you’re not just as motivated as somebody who works in the private sector we don’t get things done,” she said. “I’m driven by being fiscally responsible and providing

“I never thought I would be doing what

I’m doing at the age I’m doing it”

Birthplace: TorontoWhere do you live now:

VancouverHighest level of education:

Master of health administration, UBC

Car or chosen mode of transport: #44 bus or I walk

Currently reading: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Matthew Barber

Favourite local restaurant: Cork & Fin in Gastown

Profession you would most like to try: Professional sommelier

Mentor: Too many to name them all, Mary Proctor and Marni Escaf

Toughest business or professional decision: Implementing a strategy that challenged the status quo and was not supported by the majority. I guess that’s why I am a leader

Advice you would give the younger you: There are no limits and the possibilities are infinite

What’s left to do: Everything… limitless

Doug BurgoyneCo-founder and president, FrogboxAge: 38

Self-described as a “con-servative entrepreneur,”

Doug Burgoyne didn’t just dream up a great idea; he systematically crunched it out.

Twice a month, Bur-goyne and business partner Trevor McCaw would meet for beer at Benny’s Bagels and dish about businesses they liked.

“We said, ‘What are the characteristics of the

businesses we like? Let’s work backward,’” Bur-goyne recounted.

The partners realized they both wanted to build a simple business with a great brand in an industry with a dismal reputation for customer service.

Their pick?The moving industry.

“Our goal was to go over the top on customer service and create a clean,

fresh, hopefully environ-mentally friendly brand,” said Burgoyne, who has an MBA and an earlier career in sales and marketing.

The result was Frogbox Inc., a company that rents out eco-friendly plastic moving boxes.

Co-founding the com-pany in June 2008, Bur-goyne helped it expand to 19 locations across Canada and the U.S.

A key growth catalyst for the company was

Frogbox’s January 2011 appearance on CBC’s Dragons’ Den – a move that resulted in a financing deal and national demand for franchises of the brand.

“You cannot buy that sort of advertising,” said Burgoyne, noting that he watched every episode of the show online to prepare.

Burgoyne’s chal-lenge this year has been controlling company growth – and building brand-protection into his

“We said, ‘What are the characteristics of the

businesses we like? Let’s work backwards’”

Birthplace: Etobicoke, OntarioWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: MBA, Richard Ivey School of

BusinessCar or chosen mode of transport: Lexus RX400H hybridCurrently reading: In the Plex by Steven LevyLast CD bought or music downloaded: Coldplay, ParadiseFavourite local restaurant: Go Fish – I know it’s a trailer and

you have to sit outside, but it’s awesomeProfession you would most like to try: Professional mountain

bikerMentor: I try to emulate qualities of Chip Wilson; marketing

guru Seth Godin; and Dragons’ Den dragons and Frogbox investors Brett Wilson and Jim Treliving

Toughest business or professional decision: The decision to leave a well-paying job in a recession to do a startup in an industry we had to create

Advice you would give the younger you: Make sure you are passionate about the company you are going to start because it will consume your thoughts

What’s left to do: We are just getting started

franchise agreements with, for example, a requirement that franchisees maintain a strong customer service rating.

“They’ve got control of your most prized asset.”

Burgoyne plans to ex-pand Frogbox into 120 cit-ies in five years. As to other entrepreneurial ventures, Burgoyne said he expects Frogbox to be his sole focus for the near future.

“I will say: I’ll never go back to a corporate job.”

the best care I can provide.”


Now Open in Calgary!

Chris Kennedy oversees nearly 1,100 staff and a

$62 million budget as the head of West Vancouver’s largest employer: West Vancouver School Dis-trict (WVSD).

His rapid rise in school administration has seen him bounce early in his career from being a class-room teacher to be a high school vice-principal and, soon afterward, an ele-mentary school principal.

Macleans featured him as one of the 100 people to watch in the new millennium.

“By the time I was 30 years old, I was principal of Riverside Secondary

Chris KennedyCEO and superintendent of schools, West Vancouver School DistrictAge: 38

School in Coquitlam,” he said. “I understand that I’m now the youngest school district super-intendent in the country.”

WVSD lured Kennedy from his post at River-side in the fall of 2007, when he was 34 years old. He became assistant superintendent.

Two years later, the superintendent an-nounced he was retiring and the school district held a competition for the job.

Part of the process in-cluded the district giving each candidate a ques-tion one hour before the interview.

Long known for be-ing an avid technology

advocate, Kennedy put the question out on Twitter and waited for input from followers.

“That modelled the changing way we’re col-lecting information and made the case that they should care less about what I know than if I can find the very best informa-tion and make sense of it for our community,” he said.

Kennedy has coached high school basketball, bringing Richmond’s Hugh McRoberts Second-ary School’s team to the No. 4 rank in the province in 1998.

Outside work, he is active as a speaker at events hosted by other school districts or TEDx-UBC. He and his wife have four childen.

“I understand that I’m now the youngest school

district superintendent in the country”

Birthplace: VancouverWhere do you live now:

RichmondHighest level of education:

MA in educational leadership from San Diego State University

Car or chosen mode of transport: Buick Enclave

Currently reading: What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly

Last CD bought or music downloaded: So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon

Favourite local restaurant: White Spot

Profession you would most like to try: College basketball coach

Mentor: My wife Toughest business or

professional decision: Leaving Coquitlam to work in West Vancouver

Advice you would give the younger you: Make sure you are taking the time to enjoy what you are doing now

What’s left to do: Find balance between work and home

Nathan Slee co-founded, grew and sold the

25-employee Credilogic for $12 million to Kansas-based QC Holdings Inc. in October.

He wrote the initial ver-sions of the Internet-based payday loan company’s initial software in 1999 and he grew the company with help from three silent principals.

Growth was steady and a sale to QC was imminent when the global economic meltdown took hold in October 2008. QC got cold feet, leaving Slee and his team to focus on organic growth.

QC’s interest renewed in late 2010 and Slee was able to close the sale despite recently turbulent equity markets.

Nathan Slee Director of strategy development, QC Holdings Age: 35

“It absolutely had a déja vu feel to it. We were thrilled that we were able to pull this deal off in this environment,” said Slee.

One good thing about being forced to wait to sell the company is that he likely was able to negotiate a better price than a few years ago.

Credilogic generated more than $7 million in 2011, up from $5.5 million in 2010 sales. In the year that ended in September 2008, the company only had about $4.5 million in revenue, Slee said.

“Our success wasn’t all that complicated. It was effective marketing. We’ve been a longtime user of Google Adwords,” Slee said.

Outside work, Slee has held roles as a mentor

of the Canadian Youth Business Foundation and the British Columbia Innovation Council New Ventures Competition.

He was also president of the Vancouver-Fairview BC Liberal Party riding association, a member of the community affairs committee at the Vancou-ver Board of Trade and a small-claims mediator at the Provincial Court of British Columbia.

“We were thrilled

that we were able to

pull this deal off in

this environment”

Birthplace: Ottawa Where do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Bachelor of commerce,

entrepreneurship, University of VictoriaCar or chosen mode of transport: Mercedes B200Currently reading: Guards! Guards! by Terry PratchettLast CD bought or music downloaded: 20 Odd Years by Buck 65Favourite local restaurant: RangoliProfession you would most like to try: Middle East negotiatorMentor: Henk VeldhuisToughest business or professional decision: Selling

Credilogic. After 11 consecutive years of growth, choosing to sell an asset that had never decreased in value was a difficult decision to make

Advice you would give the younger you: Get outside advice early and often. Find people you trust who will ask the hard questions. That, and always wear a face mask when you play hockey

What’s left to do: Help my wife, Merel Veldhuis, get her name on this list. The vision she has for her profession is far more innovative and ambitious than mine, and I look forward to helping her achieve it


Sponsor’s Message James SmerdonDirector, retail and strategic planning, Colliers InternationalAge: 38

James Smerdon is one of Western Canada’s most

influential advisers to the owners, managers, develop-ers and planners of retail and commercial land.

He founded the con-sulting company Urban Eco Consultants with former Forty under 40 Andrew Ramlo soon after Smerdon completed a geography degree at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

The two contracted their services to the Urban Fu-tures Institute, where they did demographic forecast-ing, and then to Hudema Consulting, where their work had more of a retail focus.

Smerdon joined Colliers International in 2007 as an independent contractor after spending seven years at Hudema.

“Every project we do is for someone who has a ques-tion about the value of their site and how to add value. It’s usually about monetary value, through rezoning or adaptation of the use,” he said.

His clients include major retailers (Mountain

Equipment Co-op), con-struction firms (Bouygues), investment property owners (Morguard) and neighbourhood developers (Brookfield Residential, Genstar).

His influence is also felt on projects in Alberta and

Saskatchewan. Smerdon is sought by

organizations such as the International Council of Shopping Centres to speak at its events. Media also seek him out regularly for thoughts about retail and development issues.

Outside work, he is active fundraising for

“Every project we do is for someone who has a question

about the value of their site and how to add value”

Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan


Highest level of education: BA in urban and economic geography at UBC

Car or chosen mode of transport: Subaru Impreza WRX and a Suzuki SV650 motorcycle

Currently reading: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Backspacer by Pearl Jam

Favourite local restaurant: Nicli Antica Pizzeria

Profession you would most like to try: Author or fly fishing guide

Toughest business or professional decision: Voting out an original business partner

Advice you would give the younger you: Take more risks. Falls hurt less when you’re younger

What’s left to do: Continue to build Colliers’ consulting business both domestically and abroad

Sarah Evans played a key role helping her com-

pany navigate through the global economic downturn soon after she helped sell US$700 million in real es-tate in a single day in 2006.

The project was the 38-storey Trump Tower

Sarah EvansManaging director, S&P Destination PropertiesAge: 35

Waikiki, which had 464 condominium units that could be operated as a hotel.

“That was the largest one-day sales success in the history of the U.S. as far as we’ve heard,” she said.

Those pre-sales took place at the top of the mar-ket, but closing the deals took place during the depths of the economic downturn.

“What was going on across North America was that projects in similar cir-cumstances were closing 30% to 40% of the units,” she said. “We closed over 80%.”

Evans started her real estate career at Intrawest Corp. – the firm that her father, John Evans, helped build from being a startup. Her father left Intrawest long before his daughter started working at the company as a development manager.

During Evans’ seven years at Intrawest, she put together several deals, including as a large project in Mammoth Lakes, Cali-fornia. There, she helped create the village centre along with commercial and retail development.

“Starting in the develop-ment side of the real estate business and touching the construction side helped when I went into sales and marketing. I drew on that experience,” she said.

During the period of 2008 through 2010, Evans was brought into the sen-ior management team to work with developers and buyers to manage closings and the challenges associ-ated with a depressed real estate market.

Outside work, she has volunteered for organiza-tions such as the Dr. Peter Centre and Arts Um-brella to help fundraising efforts.

“What was going on

across North America

was that projects in

similar circumstances

were closing 30% to

40% of the units. We

closed over 80%”

Birthplace: North VancouverWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: BA in urban systems, McGill

UniversityCar or chosen mode of transport: Audi WagonCurrently reading: The Help by Kathryn StockettLast CD bought or music downloaded: xx by the xx and 21 by

AdeleFavourite local restaurant: It all depends on what I’m in the

mood for, but Rodney’s is always funProfession you would most like to try: Restaurant critic or

professional pesto chefMentor: Professionally, I have picked up bits and pieces

from many along the way; personally, my momToughest business or professional decision: To leave

Intrawest in 2004 and move home to Vancouver without knowing what was next

Advice you would give the younger you: Be enthusiastic, don’t take yourself too seriously, and believe

What’s left to do: If I knew that, the journey wouldn’t be as much fun

the Parkinson Society of British Columbia for events such as its annual Superwalk.

Smerdon has lived with Parkinson’s Disease since symptoms first arose when he was 30 years old.

Many know the de-generative brain disease because it is the one which

has afflicted actor Michael J. Fox.

“Right now I function through effective medica-tion, but it’s like walking a tightrope. I can never quite get the right balance,” he said.


EO Vancouver Chapter

Entrepreneurs’ Organization

EO is a worldwide network of experienced entrepreneurs committed to personal and business enrichment as well as entrepreneurial mentorship and education. If you are the founder, co-founder, owner or controlling shareholder of a business with annual gross sales exceeding (US) $1 million, you qualify for EO.

EO delivers a wealth of local and international benefits, programs and services to its membership including peer support through local monthly Forum groups, networking, exclusive learning events, and international programs. EO is an international network of over 8,000 entrepreneurs with chapters in 120 cities and 40 countries around the world. EO Vancouver Chapter is the premiere network for peer-to-peer interaction among Vancouver’s entrepreneurial community.

For membership criteria and information please visit our website at

www.eonetwork.org/Vancouver.EO Vancouver Administration Office 604.685.4888

Dave Notte founded Wolfgang Commer-

cial Painters in 2004 and has grown the company to $3.4 million in 2010. His year-round, seven-employee business swells to a field staff of more than 100 during the summer.

The company consist-ently grows about 50% per year, and has been on Business in Vancouver’s Fastest Growing Compan-ies list for the past three years.

“Our biggest growth was in 2009, just after the recession. We essentially doubled in size because we took a risk. Rather than retreating like 95% of construction-related firms did – hunkering

Dave NotteCEO and founder, Wolfgang Commercial PaintersAge: 39

down, laying off people and not spending a dime on marketing, we did the opposite,” Notte said.

Notte began his career at College Pro Painters. He started the commercial painting division of Col-lege Pro and then decided to start his own company.

Wolfgang does not paint individual houses. Instead, it focuses largely on the commercial painting sector with almost all of its work contracted to

property managers. The only residential

work it does is for multi-unit highrises or town home complexes.

“We’re considering geo-graphic expansion but, in the short term, we’re look-ing at adding additional services. We would do any service that a property

manager would want us to do – carpet installa-tion, window cleaning or maintenance,” he said.

Outside work, Notte chairs the EO Accelerator Program, which mentors young entrepreneurs. He is also a mentor in that program and has been for the past three years.

He previously mentored at Big Brothers and is currently a coach of his daughter’s soccer team.

“Our biggest growth was in 2009, just

after the recession. … Rather than

retreating like 95% of construction-

related firms did – hunkering down,

laying off people and not spending a

dime on marketing, we did the opposite”

Birthplace: North VancouverWhere do you live now: North Vancouver Highest level of education: BA in philosophy

from the University of British ColumbiaCar or chosen mode of transport: Lincoln

MKTCurrently reading: Rework by Jason Fried

and David Heinemeier HanssonLast CD bought or music downloaded: Blood

Guts Bruises Cuts by the DudesFavourite local restaurant: BIN 941Profession you would most like to

try: Captain of deep-sea fishing chartersMentor: Hugh Magee, chairman, GWIL

Industries Inc. Toughest business or professional

decision: Tripling our marketing spend, hiring more staff and tightening our margins when the recession hit in 2008. It was a calculated risk that paid off

Advice you would give the younger you: Understand your values. Decisions are easier when your values are clear

What’s left to do: Lots. I’m just getting started

A competitive swimmer for 12 years and now a

marathon runner, Amielle Lake’s drive has propelled her startup, Tagga Media Inc., to grow 800% in 2010.

“I have a hard time hear-ing no,” she said. “I don’t give up very easily.”

Lake left a corporate communications role in the mining industry to launch software company Tagga in 2008. Tagga has created a platform that leverages mobile market-ing technologies to drive companies’ success.

Why the focus on mobile?

“All you have to do is look around; we’re all completely connected to our phones,” Lake said.

Under Lake’s leadership,

Amielle LakeFounder and CEO, Tagga MediaAge: 31

Tagga has grown to a staff of 14 with offices in Vancouver, Chicago, New York and Toronto. Key to that growth, Lake said, has been finding the right talent to take the company forward.

“The most important thing is hiring a kick-ass team and building a company with people far brighter and more experi-enced and better than you are,” she said.

Lake said the company has proven its busi-ness model is now in a position to start scaling its operations.

“It’s that really exciting growth stage,” she said.

“So [the focus is] get-ting customers, wowing them, shortening the time before they buy again and expanding how you sell to

them through channels so it’s expedited.”

Lake said while the pace of the entrepreneurial life has been break-neck thus far, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Would I do it again? Over and over and over again.”

“Would I do it again? Over

and over and over again”

Birthplace: TorontoWhere do you live now: On an airplane or Vancouver Highest level of education: MBA, University of NorthamptonCar or chosen mode of transport: Running shoes, my road

bike and my Rav4Currently reading: East of Eden by John SteinbeckLast CD bought or music downloaded: Nights Like These by

the GrizzFavourite local restaurant: Bandidas Taqueria and La Casita.

I love MexicanProfession you would most like to try: A novelist. Though it’s

hard to imagine a better job then the one I have nowMentor: I have three incredibly special and supportive

mentors: Penny Wilson, president and founder of Nognz; Eric Savics, owner of Tantalus Vineyards; and Gary Tauss, chairman of Tagga and founder of TollBridge Technologies, Inc.

Toughest business or professional decision: Letting go of a team player because they are not performing but are great for the company culture

Advice you would give the younger you: Do your best. Be patient. Be coachable. Make sure you never compromise your ability to think clearly

What’s left to do: Grow like crazy. Deliver a stellar return to all stakeholders – then stop, breathe, and do it all over again


Sponsor’s Message

Congratulations!

Johnny MichelManaging Director

CBC British Columbia

Ben Sparrow was dood-ling on a train in China

when he had his Eureka moment.

He had been ruminat-ing on problems related to desalination when he had a counterintuitive flash of insight: desalination could be accomplished by mak-ing saltwater saltier.

Evaporate saltwater to make it more dense, he realized, and you could

Benjamin SparrowFounder and CEO, Saltworks Technologies Age: 34

stream it past regular saltwater – separated by a special membrane – and salt ions from the more concentrated water would be pulled into the less salty water, creating voltage. That voltage would then pull salt ions out of a third stream of water, creating fresh water.

Back home, he went to work on his invention and built a prototype in his living room. On a May long

Birthplace: Chester, U.K.Where do you live now: East Vancouver Highest level of education: MBA, management of

technology, SFU. Professional mechanical engineerCar or chosen mode of transport: 1982 Datsun 280ZX with a

folding bicycle inside Currently reading: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest

HemingwayLast CD bought or music downloaded: The Suburbs, Arcade

FireFavourite local restaurant: Choon Ha Choo Dong Profession you would most like to try: None, I love my job Mentor: Dad and BC Hydro construction management staffToughest business or professional decision: When and where

to patent Saltworks’ inventionsAdvice you would give the younger you: Block out the noise

and deliver What’s left to do: Build water machines that help those in

crisis

When Ben Sparrow came to Joshua Zoshi

in 2008 to tell him about a new desalination process he had just invented, Zoshi never questioned it would work.

As former MBA class-mate at Simon Fraser University, Zoshi knew what Sparrow was capable of. Convincing corporate investors like Cenovus Energy and Teck Re-sources Ltd. to invest in a game-changing technol-ogy developed by two young men in their early 30s was a different story.

“Since I had worked with Ben previously, there was confidence in the technol-ogy,” Zoshi said. “I knew that it was a big idea and the two of us would have a lot of work to do to turn the idea into an actual venture.”

Born in Singapore and raised in Hong Kong, Zos-hi came to Vancouver in 1989 with his parents. He grew up in North Vancou-ver, earned a BA degree in electrical engineering

Joshua ZoshiPresident and COO, Saltworks TechnologiesAge: 35

at SFU, and several years later went back to SFU to get an MBA, with a spe-cialization in management

of technology.It was there that he met

Sparrow. In 2008, when Sparrow asked him to join him in starting a new company, Zoshi was work-ing with corporate cus-tomers to develop business

and project management software.

The two young men quit their jobs and started Saltworks Technologies Inc. They entered the New Ventures BC competition and won, which gave them

“I knew that it was a big idea and the two of us would have a

lot of work to do to turn the idea into an actual venture”

Birthplace: SingaporeWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: MBA

(management of technology specialization), SFU

Car or chosen mode of transport: Honda Civic

Currently reading: Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Codes and Keys by Death Cab for Cutie

Favourite local restaurant: Cartel food truck

Profession you would most like to try: I love what I’m doing right now. I should mention that materials engineering and studying animals have always fascinated me. I also hope to one day be involved in animal conservation

Mentor: My fatherToughest business or professional decision:

When and how to engage new marketsAdvice you would give the younger you:

Embrace risk and don’t sweat the small stuff

What’s left to do: Build a world-class water technology business that helps those in need

weekend in 2008, Sparrow successfully removed salt from saltwater using his Thermo-Ionic process.

“I decided the next day I’d quit my job,” said Sparrow, who had been working for Plutonic Power as director of projects.

Prior to working for Plu-tonic, Sparrow had worked for BC Hydro rebuilding large hydroelectric turbines

– a job he got after earning

a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Alberta.

He later earned an MBA from SFU, where he met Joshua Zoshi.

In 2008, the duo formed Saltworks Technologies Inc. Now the company employs 22 people, has 20 patents and is generating revenue. Cenovus Energy and Teck Resources Ltd. have both invested in the

company.Although Sparrow

believes there is potential for Saltworks’ technology to be used in arid regions of the world to make drink-ing water from saltwater, the company is currently focusing on industrial applications.

“The vast majority of desalination is actually needed in industry,” Spar-row said.

the startup capital to start hiring engineers.

Zoshi said the biggest challenge has been decid-ing how and when to move out of the R&D stage to commercialization. Saltworks has attracted a number of large corpor-ate investors. Saltworks desalination projects are expected to be approved soon in Alberta and Australia.

“The vast majority of desalination is actually needed in industry”


VANCOUVER CALGARY TORONTO OTTAWA MONTRÉAL QUÉBEC CITY LONDON PARIS JOHANNESBURG

What a bunch of overachievers...But seriously – congratulations to the winners of the 2011 BIV Forty Under 40 Awards! Fasken Martineau looks forward to seeing what you achieve next.

We advise both young and established business leaders in our community, and our lawyers achieve great things for their clients. Think of us when you make your next move. We'd love to help.


Sponsor’s Message

A lot of what Neil Belenkie does in his

life is born of sharing his knowledge and using it to make life easier and more efficient for other people – and their businesses.

In April 2010, Belenkie, CEO and co-founder of the GrowthPoint Group (GPG) established the company to fill a gap he and his partner saw in the consulting world.

Belenkie, who views consulting as a great way to grow a business, saw the opportunity to help businesses that lack the resources and expertise to execute a great consulting plan by executing it on their behalf.

In its first year of busi-ness, GPG grew from a concept to a bricks-and-mortar business success-fully supporting offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Romania and earning more than $450,000.

Belenkie’s role at

Neil BelenkieCEO, GrowthPoint GroupAge: 39

GrowthPoint encompasses all aspects of day-to-day operations along with supporting the business functionality of GPG’s clients’ HR, marketing, sales, recruitment and technology.

“I’m hard-wired to try and solve every problem I ever get a chance to hear about,” he said.

One of GPG’s biggest successes was creating and leading Kamloop’s Mibroc Construction and De-velopment’s organization-al development to focus on customer experience.

Nine months later, Mibroc was recognized as one of the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies in B.C.

Beyond business accol-ades, Belenkie is a volun-teer fireman, a mentor and an avid networker.

TRIPE, a local network-ing event for business lead-ers, was started because Belenkie was constantly meeting interesting people and making introductions, which he still does, but

“I’m hard-wired to try and solve every problem

I ever get a chance to hear about”

Birthplace: Toronto Where do you live now: Belcarra, B.C.Highest level of education: BA, University

of CalgaryCar or chosen mode of transport: Pickup

truck (I live in the sticks...)Currently reading: Worth Dying For by Lee

ChildLast CD bought or music downloaded: Jack

Johnson, In Between Dreams (for my kids)

Favourite local restaurant: ChambarProfession you would most like to try:

Competitive sailor in the Volvo Ocean Race around the world

Mentor: I listen and learn from everyone. My kids teach me important lessons every day

Toughest business or professional decision: The decision to start a company rather than be an employee

Advice you would give the younger you: Surround yourself with great people and everything is possible

Since his days running an illicit bar out of his

dorm room, Mike Winter-field’s entrepreneurial streak has propelled his career.

Despite early plans to launch his own business, a summer job got Winter-field got hooked on a different kind of perform-ance-driven milieu: the recruitment industry.

“What I saw was people who were kind of run-ning their own business within a business,” he said. “I loved the fact that if I could work harder, if I could do anything to outperform – then I would get recognized for that.”

Outperform he did, landing 14 job promotions in the space of 16 years with the same company – now Randstad Canada Group. Winterfield has risen to president of Randstad Professionals, one of the company’s four divisions.

To climb as fast as he did, Winterfield said he constantly kept his eye on the next goal.

“I would go to my manager and say, ‘This is what I would like to do

Mike WinterfieldPresident, Randstad ProfessionalsAge: 35

next, what do I have to do to earn that?’ And then I would do it.”

But with every step up the ladder came new chal-lenges – notably a 2009 job that involved merging three engineering recruit-ment companies into one.

That merger, Winterfield said, shifted every element of employees’ lives – from the physical office in which they worked, to IT systems to compensation structures.

“I was so completely naïve to how complicated that would be,” he said.

“My greatest fear at some points, quite honestly, was that virtually everybody was going to quit.”

But Winterfield rose to the challenge, creating a new merged company that was greater than the sum of its parts. Winterfield said that while shifting roles so often has kept him on his toes, he enjoys each new twist.

“I do get bored easily, so I don’t like maintaining,” he sad. “I like growing.”

“I would go to my

manager and say, ‘This

is what I would like to

do next, what do I have

to do to earn that?’And

then I would do it”

Birthplace: Whitby, OntarioWhere do you live now: North Vancouver and TorontoHighest level of education: B.Sc. in biology and psychology from Queen’s

University and post-graduate courses Car or chosen mode of transport: Walking. I have been able to get back and

forth to work this way for 12 out of the last 13 years and I love it – on the way to work I get my priorities straight for the day, and on the way home I have time to decompress

Currently reading: Onward by Howard Schultz. I made a goal over 10 years ago to read a new book every month that improves my knowledge (business, investing, philosophy, history, etc.) and I have stuck to it

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Wil, By DecemberFavourite local restaurant: Ensemble Profession you would most like to try: I would probably start a new company

doing something like developing residential propertiesMentor: My dad Toughest business or professional decision: Merging three engineering

recruitment companies into one – and trying to do this during a recession and in a way that the new company was more than the sum of the original parts

Advice you would give the younger you: Be clear on what you want, ask advice from people that have succeeded doing what you want to do, ask anyone that has control over the decision what they expect and then do it – even the stuff you don’t like

What’s left to do: Lots. From a business standpoint, Randstad is already Canada’s largest recruitment company but there’s still a lot we need to do to grow our market share and be “the” household name in Canadian recruitment

saw a way of streamlining the process.

“If there is something unique that I have brought to the table, it’s being able to cultivate a vision but also being able to share that vision and get other people to jump on board,” said Belenkie.


Revenue at Abbotsford’s Van Belle Nurseries

has increased more than fivefold to $9 million since Abbotsford-raised Dave Van Belle joined the com-pany as a sales representa-tive in 1995.

Van Belle became general manager in 2000, when sales were approxi-mately one-third what they are now. He has been president and CEO for the last two years, steadily growing annual revenue from approximately $7 million despite a tough economic environment.

Two-thirds of Van Belle Nurseries’ sales are wholesale orders to retail garden centres, while the rest comes from selling starter plants to whole-salers mostly in Eastern Canada, such as Sheridan Nurseries.

The company’s success comes in part from Van Belle’s devotion to lean

Dave Van Belle President and CEO, Van Belle NurseriesAge: 32

manufacturing concepts. He believes it is a mixed

blessing to have about 100 employees.

The good news is that the company is successful enough to need so many workers. Van Belle’s never-ending desire, however, is to get the same productiv-ity from half as many staff.

“Lean manufacturing is a way to get more productiv-ity out of different people. You can work smarter, not necessarily harder, but you work more intel-ligently and you delegate responsibility as far as you can so you can make do with fewer managers and supervisors. You empower people,” he said.

Van Belle completed two bachelor degrees at Iowa’s Dordt College before returning to Abbotsford.

The father of four, whose wife is expecting a fifth child soon, is active with his church and with Dordt College’s alumni associa-tion outside work.

“My goal is to double sales in five years and to have a self-managed company where they don’t need me on a daily basis for anything. I’m about halfway there,” he said.

“My goal is to double sales in five

years and to have a self-managed

company where they don’t need

me on a daily basis for anything.

I’m about halfway there”

Birthplace: Bowmanville, OntarioWhere do you live now: Abbotsford, B.C.Highest level of education: BA in business

administration and a BA in plant science, Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa

Car or chosen mode of transport: Toyota RAV4

Currently reading: Aftershock by David Weidemer and Driving Excellence by Mark Aesch

Last CD bought or music downloaded:Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve

Favourite local restaurant: No restaurant can beat my wife’s cooking

Profession you would most like to try:Rock star, U.S. president, evangelist, philanthropist

Mentor: My fatherToughest business or professional decision:

Decisions around family relationships in the business

Advice you would give the younger you:Make sure you have the right people in the right roles

What’s left to do: Too much to list: convert the world to free markets and Christianity


Business in Vancouver in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants are pleased to

announce that nominations are open for the second annual BC CFO of the Year Awards to be held in May of next year.

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN!

Finalists will be chosen based on leadership in finance, contribution to strategic decision making and growth as well as overall performance and execution. The award finalists will be featured in a special

edition of Business in Vancouver and the winners will be announced at the gala reception to be held soon thereafter.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to nominate someone for this highly prestigious award!

Nomination deadline:

February 17, 2012

Special BIV edition and

gala awards reception:

May 2012

For more information and to submit a

nomination package, please visit

www.biv.com/events

Sponsored by:

Kyle Vucko co-founded Vancouver-based

online suit-retailer Indo-chino in 2007 when he was a 22-year-old, third-year commerce student at the University of Victoria.

He and co-founder Heikal Gani have since grown the venture to more than $10 million in revenue and more than 50 employees thanks in part to landing about $5 mil-lion in angel investment funding from movers and shakers such as Abe Books CEO Hannes Blum, W Media Ventures CEO Boris Wertz and former Yahoo! Inc. president Jeff Mallett.

Vucko moved to Shang-hai, China, soon after founding Indochino but he kept the official head office of the venture in Vancouver even though, in the early days, there were no employees based here.

That changed in early

Kyle VuckoCEO and co-founder, IndochinoAge: 26

2010 when Vucko returned to Vancouver and went on a hiring spree. The company now has 22 staff in Vancouver and more than 30 employees in China. It also contracts

manufacturers who have hundreds of employees.

“You can’t have a Canadian company and not have staff in Canada,” Vucko said.

“Investors aren’t going to invest in a company like that, typically. If you’re Baidu.com and you’re listed publicly, they might.

“But, I personally would be hesitant about sending $1 million to China unless you’ve really got some-thing established.”

Vucko had extra-cur-ricular leadership roles such as president of UVic’s commerce student society in the lead-up to launch-ing Indochino.

He has also taken steps to share his success, donating nearly $300,000 worth of clothing to char-itable organizations.

To fuel future sales by helping customers over-come the fear of ordering via the Internet, he has done things such as launch

“You can’t have a Canadian company and

not have staff in Canada. Investors aren’t

going to invest in a company like that”

Birthplace: VancouverWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: High school – I have almost

completed a bachelor of commerce at the University of Victoria

Car or chosen mode of transport: Walking – I love that everything within downtown Vancouver is, at most, a 20-minute walk away

Currently reading: Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly by John Kay

Last CD bought or music downloaded: The soundtrack from the movie Drive

Favourite local restaurant: Twisted Fork Bistro Profession you would most like to try: Teacher, politician and

professional writerMentor: My many mentors include those on my board and

angel investors Toughest business or professional decision: Deciding to keep

the company in Vancouver. When you have a growing global apparel company, you are presented with many opportunities to move to amazing cities. Getting clear on making Vancouver both the home for the company and myself was important and big

Advice you would give the younger you: Focus on passion first and opportunity second. Growing a business is one of the hardest things on the planet, and when the times get really tough, only the most passionate will be successful

What’s left to do: More every day. We see a bigger, more meaningful company as we grow, and I am excited about where this will go

pop-up locations, such as one in Vancouver in November.

Customers were able to touch fabric samples and ensure that they were measured accurately.

“I’m a pretty simple guy,” Vucko said. “I work a ton. I visit my family in Victoria on a fairly regular basis, and there’s not much else.”


helijet.com | 1.800.665.4354

PEACE OF MIND INCLUDED WITH ALL RESERVATIONS.No worries no extra fees, plus carbon neutral.

$149FROM

Book early

Downtown Victoria | Downtown Vancouver | Richmond/YVR

Co-authoring two best-selling books, co-host-

ing your own television series and appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show could have someone thinking they had done it all.

Not so for Andrea Baxter.

The co-founder of the Smart Cookies, a money-mentoring group comprised of four women focused on making finan-cial information interest-ing and engaging to young women, hasn’t let success slow her down.

The brand made $1 mil-lion in its first year.

While still managing the company’s day-to-day operations, securing sponsorship and global partnerships with the likes of American Express, Baxter found time to start her own company, Brat-face Marketing.

Having honed her skills in Vancouver’s market-ing scene, with senior positions at 1-800-GOT-JUNK and Blast Radius, she wasn’t ready to go back

Andrea BaxterFounder and principal, Bratface Marketing, and co-founder, Smart CookiesAge: 34

and work for another com-pany after the whirlwind of Smart Cookies.

“I’ve learned a lot in terms of what it takes to run a business on my own,” said Baxter.

Her goal is to take the

business international and she has already started actively courting a New York clientele.

Bratface is just Baxter and one other employee for now, but it allows her the flexibility she needs

to focus on her other commitments.

Baxter volunteers frequently and is active with organizations such as the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, offering business mentorships to

“I certainly wouldn’t

be where I am if I

had not had certain

mentors in my life”

Birthplace: St. John’s, NewfoundlandWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Diploma

in marketing management (communications) from BCIT

Car or chosen mode of transport: Audi A4 Currently reading: 740 Park by Michael

GrossLast CD bought or music downloaded:

Florence & the MachineFavourite local restaurant: Il GiardinoProfession you would most like to try:

SurgeonMentor: My father for business, my

mother because she does it all and my grandmother because she is a survivor in every sense of the word

Toughest business or professional decision: Going out on my own, giving up the security of a full-time salary and health benefits

Advice you would give the younger you: Don’t be afraid of risks, don’t settle for anything and like the work you do

What’s left to do: Move to New York City, get married and have babies

Julien Sellgren is all about perseverance,

so much so that last Christmas he and his team pulled several all-nighters to solve one tech problem for a single customer.

That extra effort eventu-ally led to a major sale for the company and steered it into an entirely new market.

“One little bit of effort on one deal can translate into a huge win for the com-pany, and I don’t think anyone else would have done that on their own,” explained the 39-year-old Sellgren. “It required the founder, the technology leader of the company, leading by example and pulling an all-nighter with the team.”

That company was Metalogix Software, which he co-founded in 2001 and directed through

Julien SellgrenCo-founder, Metalogix SoftwareAge: 39

the development of four generations of software products for the Microsoft SharePoint eco-system.

Sellgren sold the com-pany to a private equity firm in 2008, but stayed on as CTO until May of this year.

His passion for technol-ogy and computers dates back many years, but Sellgren said it was his dad who encouraged him to enrol in UBC’s computer science co-op program in the early 1990s.

Toward the end of his formal education, Sellgren had already started a company of his own and was taking support calls during mid-term exams.

“I would get paged in the middle of class and have to run out and answer support questions. It was stressful, but I did get a bug for the business side

of technology,” he said.In 1996, he co-founded

Mindquake Software and led the company through the first Internet boom.

Unfortunately, the dot-

com bubble burst at the beginning of the last dec-ade and took Mindquake with it.

But Sellgren, never one to give up, took his lumps,

dusted himself off and found a new idea to trans-form into a company.

“The biggest lesson I learned was that deter-mination pays off.”

Birthplace: TorontoWhere do you live now:


Bachelor of computer science, UBC

Car or chosen mode of transport: Sailing on Kiva, my Finngulf 41

Currently reading: Re-reading South by Ernest Shackleton – the greatest survival story of all time

Last CD bought or music downloaded: An acoustic version of Down Under by Colin Hay

Favourite local restaurant: VJ’s. Best lamb ever

Profession you would most like to try: Architecture/real estate development

Mentor: Never had one in business. I made a lot of mistakes along the way

Toughest business or professional decision: Selling my company. It changed everything

Advice you would give the younger you: Keep it up. The hard work will pay off one day

What’s left to do: Do it all over again

fledgling companies.“Being in an entrepre-

neurial world like Van-couver, there are so many people out there willing to help out, regardless of what level you are at,” Baxter said.

“I certainly wouldn’t be where I am if I had not had certain mentors in my life.”

“The biggest lesson I learned was that determination pays off”


Joel DeYoung knows all about jumping into the

deep end. By age 10, he was already

programming. By 22, he’d finished graduate school with a master’s degree focused on computer graphics. By the time he first worked on a video game, The Simpsons: Road Rage for Radical Entertainment, he was leading the team.

“I look back on it now and think how naïve we were about how much of the game we were trying to get done in the amount of time we had and how little experience I had in the technical aspects of making a game,” he said.

“But we just did it. And we made a very successful game.”

After nearly nine years at Radical, DeYoung de-cided to pursue a long-held entrepreneurial dream.

Joel DeYoungFounder and director of technology, Hothead GamesAge: 37

Along with some former colleagues, DeYoung launched Hothead Games, a digitally focused video game company, in 2006.

The company kicked off by partnering with the Seattle-based creators of a web comic called Penny Arcade to produce a game version. The company has followed it up with a range of games, includ-ing its original creation, DeathSpank. Since launch, Hothead has grown to 50 employees from five and achieved over $10 million in total revenue.

DeYoung counts his technical skills and his people skills as key at-tributes that have driven company success. He said he’s convinced that only people that are having fun can make fun games – so he works to create that environment for his staff.

“It is, at the end of the day, software develop-ment – so sometimes there’s hard-to-resolve bugs, sometimes there’s crunch times where we’ve got to work extra hard to get stuff done,” he said.

“But I try to help people keep perspective: we’re not curing cancer here, we’re making video games.”

“But I try to help people

keep perspective:

we’re not curing

cancer here, we’re

making video games”

Birthplace: Valdosta, Georgia, United States

Where do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: M.Sc. in

computer science from UBCCar or chosen mode of transport: My bike,

or when I need a car I use Modo, the Car Co-op

Currently reading: The Legacy by David Suzuki

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Cory Hawthorne, The King of the Broken Hearts

Favourite local restaurant: Il GiardinoProfession you would most like to try: Either

transit bus driver or meteorologistMentor: In business, Ian Wilkinson. He co-

founded Radical Entertainment, where I started my career. A few years after starting Hothead, we brought him on as our CEO

Toughest business or professional decision: Completely changing our product lineup to follow changing market opportunities

Advice you would give the younger you: Time is a precious resource. No matter how cool the choices are in front of you, you can’t do them all

What’s left to do: Finish raising our two kids and getting my pilot’s licence

If your mom or girlfriend keeps telling you that you

are wasting your life play-ing video games, invoke the name of Bob Wells.

Co-founder of Vancou-ver Island’s My Tech Guys, Wells has no formal educa-tion in computer technol-ogy. He credits the many hours spent playing video games for the intuition he developed when it comes to fixing computers.

“If you are on the fore-front of computer gaming, you’re trying out the latest

Bob WellsPresident and founder, My Tech GuysAge: 37

hardware, your computer’s always crashing, and you’re having to know lots about IP addresses and network bandwidth,” Wells said.

After spending some time in Africa, Wells returned to Canada and studied theatre educa-tion at the University of Victoria but didn’t finish his degree before landing a job with the Ministry of Education doing fine arts education curriculum development.

Living in Salmon Arm in 2007, he started Silicon Garden, which did website development and com-puter training. He then moved to Victoria, worked for a number of dot-com companies as a contractor, and ended up as the head of Shaw Cable’s Internet department.

After that, he moved to the Comox Valley to teach computer repair at a private college, and in 2006, he and Scott Swanson decided to start a computer sales and service company that made house calls. Wells said customers like the model of friendly, helpful computer guys who will come and fix your computer when you need it fixed.

“A lot of our clientele are seniors,” Wells said.

The company has grown steadily, with a 50% increase in business in the third year and a 100% increase in the fourth. The company now employs 12 people, has opened a second store, and is mak-ing annual sales of $1.8 million.

“If you are on the

forefront of computer

gaming, you’re trying

out the latest hardware,

your computer’s always

crashing, and you’re

having to know lots

about IP addresses and

network bandwidth”

Birthplace: North VancouverWhere do you live now: Courtenay, B.C.Highest level of education: Certified high ropes instructor;

and Okanagan University College: second year, psychology and political science

Car or chosen mode of transport: Nissan S-Cargo Currently reading: The Sailing Bible by Evans, Manley and

SmithLast CD bought or music downloaded: The Lazy Song by

Bruno Mars Favourite local restaurant: Saigon Noodle HouseProfession you would most like to try: Youth counsellorMentor: Dirk Kiy, founder of Pinnacle Youth Works and

author of Less is More: Sprinting the Human RaceToughest business or professional decision: Quit my sweet

job at Shaw Cable in Victoria and move to the Comox Valley

Advice you would give the younger you: Don’t let bad situations (and employees) linger, like a Band-Aid. It is best to be quick and move on, as the perceived pain of change is always less than the reality


Put a child in need in your seat!sports, concerts, theater, attractions…indoors & outdoors

If you can’t use your tickets, then give them to us and we will send a child in need to the event, and issue you a tax receipt.

Since 2004, Kids Up Front has provided more than 210,000 life-changing experiences to at-risk children across Greater Vancouver.

To donate your ticket and provide a child with a lifetime experience, call 604.266.KIDS(5437) or visit us at:

kidsupfrontvancouver.com

Change a Child’s Life

Give them an experience they won’t forget

...with Kids Up Front

The BIV Media Group is proud to help!

ETHICSTENACITYRIGOURANALYTICS

CFA VANCOUVER34TH ANNUAL FORECAST DINNER34th Annual Forecast DinnerThursday, January 26, 2012Fairmont Waterfront Hotel4:30 pm – 9:00 pm

2012 PanelistsDr. Gary Shilling, Author and President, A. Gary Shilling Inc.

David Fisher, CFA, Executive Vice President, PIMCO

Hanif Mamdani, Head of Alternative Investments, RBC Global Asset Management

Tickets $135.00Tables of 10 $1,350.00

For more information and ticketswww.cfavancouver.com or call 604.985.9889

CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANTGeorge Wilson-Tagoe, BSc., CGA

For more information visit: www.wilson-tagoe.com

AUDIT

TAX

ADVISORY

Suite 1000–355 Burrard St. Vancouver Ph: 604-608-6156

Commitment to Excellence

Two hours after the birth of her first child and

still in her hospital bed, Diana Stirling signed papers to incorporate a second business.

“At that point we just didn’t believe that anything stopped for busi-ness,” said Stirling of her entrepreneurial ventures with business partner Shannon Ward.

It was 2006. Already Stirling had helped grow the duo’s first business

– marketing and design company OnTrack Media

– to 13 employees and over $1 million in annual rev-enues. The incorporation documents would launch a second company: Insider Trading Group, which provides affinity programs.

But while Stirling had planned her trajectory carefully, with an earlier sales and marketing career driving her entrepreneur-ial success, she became dissatisfied with trad-itional business success in 2007 – as did Ward.

“It was basically making us miserable at that point.”

Both pregnant, the duo invented their own triple bottom line: finances, freedom and fulfilment. They applied the concept to their businesses, honing in on their most profitable revenue streams, mov-ing to contractors for more accountable labour and creating a virtual office through early forms of cloud-computing technology.

“We completely tore down that business and re-built it based on a different model,” Stirling said.

After rebuilding the businesses through the

Diana StirlingFounder, OnTrack Media and Insider Trading GroupOwner, LocoLanding Adventure ParkAge: 36

recession, Stirling said they’re now back up to their former strength – but built on a model that has created more time and flexibility. The business partners call the concept

“pretirement living” and now run a blog and do speaking engagements on the topic.

Stirling said her two ventures, along with family business LocoLan-ding Adventure Park in the Okanagan, now have 35 staff and revenues of

“over seven figures.”“I’m loving what I’m do-

ing,” she said. “I’m loving building businesses, but I’m building them in a way that gives me and my family freedom and fulfil-ment and the ability to do things that really seemed impossible before.”

“I’m loving building businesses, but I’m building them in a way

that gives me and my family freedom and fulfilment and the

ability to do things that really seemed impossible before”

Birthplace: CalgaryWhere do you live now: PentictonHighest level of education: B.Comm., marketing and HR, SFUCar or chosen mode of transport: In the past year – boat,

plane, train, RV, topless jeep, Acura and my feetCurrently reading: Always rereading The 4-Hour Workweek:

Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss, and the latest by Seth Godin

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Kings of Convenience, Boat Behind

Favourite local restaurant: Sushi, from anywhere at anytimeProfession you would most like to try: I’m living itMentor: For business, Judy Brooks; for Pretirement Living

concept and blog, my business partner, Shannon WardToughest business or professional decision: Tear down our

design business that was based on a traditional model after we realized it was slowly strangling the life out of us, to rebuild it with a Pretirement-based business model

Advice you would give the younger you: Value time more than money

What’s left to do: Everything and anything


Tickets available now online at www.biv.com/events

SPONSORED BY:

Join us to celebrate the winners of our top Forty under 40 and

hear their success stories. BIV has celebrated BC’s up and coming

business stars for more than 20 years. This year, come join us for

our networking reception and awards dinner. Rub shoulders with

our winners and meet up with winners from previous years.

Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Location: The Fairmont Waterfront Hotel

Event Sponsorship contact Kerry MacDonald at 604.608.5137


Feras Elkhalil counts a rough patch, living

off credit and failing to make it in commercial real estate, as a key driver of his success.

When Elkhalil took a friend’s advice and dived

Feras ElkhalilFounder, president and CEO, West Pacific Consulting GroupAge: 36

into recruiting in 2000, he said those early hard knocks propelled him forward.

“I had the will and the experience of living on nothing, trying to get every last bit of that deal,”

he said. “It wasn’t an even playing ground for [my colleagues] because I was hungrier. I was always hungry – first one in the office, last one to leave.”

Elkhalil quickly proved his recruiting abilities at technology recruiter TEKsystems, where he was named the company’s top recruiter in Canada every week for 10 straight months, and then the company’s top account manager every month for 12 months.

But with entrepreneur-ialism in his blood and a dissatisfaction with working under corporate red tape, Elkhalil decided to break out on his own in 2002, launching technol-ogy recruiting company West Pacific Consulting Group.

Since the launch, the company has grown to 30 full-time employees and 250 consultants and is on track to achieve $32 mil-lion in revenues this year.

Elkhalil said his company is looking to redefine the recruitment experience by focusing on long-term client relation-ships. He said WPCG takes a portfolio approach to clients’ staffing needs – meaning the company can, for example, offer a com-mission discount during a

client’s budget crunch and negotiate a higher com-mission for a later hire.

“You don’t really have to always worry about the bottom line,” he said.

Elkhalil said he’s working to grow WPCG’s revenues to $100 million within the next seven to 10 years, and plans to expand across Western Canada.

“I had the will and the

experience of living

on nothing, trying

to get every last

bit of that deal”

Birthplace: Benghazi, LibyaWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Diploma in marketing

management, BC Institute of TechnologyCar or chosen mode of transport: 2011 BMW 550i x-driveCurrently reading: Leadership From the Inside Out by Kevin

CashmanLast CD bought or music downloaded: Jay-Z, the Blueprint 3Favourite local restaurant: Without question, Vij’sProfession you would most like to try: I’ve always had an

interest in international trade, and have thought that trying my hand as a commodities broker would be very interesting

Mentor: My personal coach, Rosemary Prinz, has been a strong professional mentor to me for several years. I have also always looked up to my father, Ali Elkhalil, as a role model and mentor who motivated me to pursue my business ventures and dreams

Toughest business or professional decision: Easily the most difficult business decision I’ve had to make was to buy out my friend and business partner of eight years

Advice you would give the younger you: Always keep your eye on all parts of the business operation; don’t ignore important facets of the business to focus on another. Stay in touch with the teams that keep the business together. Build a business slowly and patiently - don’t let hubris be born from your successes

What’s left to do: From a personal perspective, I’m looking forward to helping raise my newborn boy Holt and grow a loving family with my wife Christyn. On the business side, we still need to expand WPCG’s footprint by opening regional offices throughout Western Canada. The goal our entire team is striving for is to push our annual revenues to the $100 million mark

Less than two years ago, Michael Gokturk took

the company he founded in 2005 public, then lost control.

The company was Versa-pay, which went public in January 2010.

“I started realizing that my ability to innovate and drive innovation forward was being stifled by a board,” he said. “I lost control of my own company.”

Gokturk left Versapay and started Payfirma Corporation, which pro-vides a range of electronic payment processing and e-commerce services, including a new mobile-payment system that turns iPhones, iPads or BlackBerrys into credit card readers.

“We’ve uncovered a massive greenfield market in Canada,” Gokturk said.

“People that have never

Michael GokturkCEO, Payfirma CorporationAge: 36

accepted credit cards be-fore: wedding photograph-ers, roofers, plumbers.”

The company also plans to launch an app that will allow people to cash and deposit cheques with their smartphones.

Born in Turkey, Gok-turk came to Canada when he was just two, and grew up in Calgary, Oakville and Texas (his father worked in the oil industry).

After his family moved back to Canada, Gokturk got an economics degree at the University of Calgary. He got a job as an investment adviser with PI Financial Corp. at the age of 22.

The firm eventually sent him to Vancouver, where he ended up doing a law degree by correspond-ence, then got promoted to investment banker taking companies public.

When Gokturk left PI Financial in 2005, one of PI’s founders wrote the

first cheque to help him start his own company.

Payfirma started with two employees, which has

“We’ve uncovered a massive greenfield market in Canada”

Birthplace: Istanbul, TurkeyWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Bachelor of

laws, University of LondonCurrently reading: Catalyst Code by David

Evans and Richard SchmalenseeLast CD bought or music downloaded: Good

Things by Aloe BlaccFavourite local restaurant: Oakville BistroProfession you would most like to try: My

current one – I wouldn’t trade the world for what I do

Mentor: Sam Jawad (president of Chase), David Shore (founder of Sterling Mercantile), John Eymann (founder of PI Financial Corp.)

Toughest business or professional decision: To leave a safe and secure career in investment banking at height of market to start my own company

Advice you would give the younger you: Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and with like-minded individuals (those who have walked in your shoes before)

What’s left to do: Everything. There’s a world of opportunity out there, it’s incumbent upon us to keep setting higher expectations and deliverables for ourselves

grown to close to 40, and is “on track to do over $2 million in revenue.”


Give the gift of BIV

[email protected] l 604-688-2398 l www.biv.com/subscribe

1 year - $39.952 years for one - $79.953 years for two - $135.00

Use promo code SANTA11 at www.biv.com/subscribe

Offer valid on new subscriptions or renewals only to January 9, 2012

list

» BIV LISTSNOW UPDATED WEEKLY and 33% bigger – our downloadable Book of Lists includes the most recent version of every list BIV compiles.

More than 80 lists are included in the electronic version of BIV’s Book of Lists featuring more

than 60 business sectors, 2,500 com-panies and 3,500 key contacts.

Are you just looking for specific industry information and con-tacts? Purchase one of our individu-al lists or directory databases cover-ing more than 50 business sectors.

www.biv.com/[email protected] | 604-688-2398

» SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE BIV subscribers receive a 10% discount on data product purchases. To receive your discount, place your order through Veera Irani at 604-608-5115 or at [email protected].

Contact us to purchase your database today!

Robert Napoli has helped finance dozens

of startup companies through roles as a senior investment manager at Vancity and as the head of the $60 million subordin-ated debt fund First West Capital, which is part of First West Credit Union.

He became president of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Vancouver about a year ago and has since helped grow that organization by 50 members to about 170 members. ACG Vancouver is now the go-to associa-tion for anyone involved in middle-market deal-making in Vancouver.

It launched its annual Dealmaker of the Year gala earlier this year.

Originally from

Robert NapoliVice-president and co-founder, First West Capital Age: 37

Australia, Napoli came to Vancouver as part of a per-sonal trip to see the world. He wound up falling in love with his future wife Kristen Napoli and a city where he would soon start to build contacts.

At Vancity, he provided senior, mezzanine and project financing ranging from $250,000 to $5 mil-lion each and was able to close 30 deals with a portfolio of $25 million in six years.

One example of those financings was a loan to Elastic Path Software Inc., which then had about 30 staff. It now has about 220 employees.

He left Vancity along with partner Kristi Miller to launch First West Cap-ital in October 2010.

“We’ve been running the fund for about a year now and we’ve closed nine transactions so far, worth about $13 million,” Napoli told Business in

Vancouver in October. “By the end of the year, we’re looking at doing a dozen transactions worth $15 million.”

“By the end of the year

we’re looking at doing

a dozen transactions

worth $15 million”

Birthplace: Melbourne, AustraliaWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Honours

degrees in law and commerce at Monash University in Australia

Car or chosen mode of transport: Dadmobile and a Trek 5000 bike

Currently reading: The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker

Last CD bought or music downloaded: The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

Favourite local restaurant: Umberto Menghi’s Il Giardino

Profession you would most like to try: ChefMentor: Bryan Mavrow, who is senior vice-

president of marketing at First West Credit Union

Toughest business or professional decision: Leaving Australia in 2003 to build a new professional network in Canada

Advice you would give the younger you: Don’t be afraid, be prepared

What’s left to do: Build the best subordinate debt group in western Canada, grow the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Vancouver into the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, and help build a new school at St. Augustine’s Parish


Erin Chutter has a yel-low sticky on her wall

that reads, “Want it more than sleep.”

The 37-year-old mining executive believes her suc-cess is due to an unwaver-ing persistence to succeed.

“One of the character traits I admire more and more in people is persis-tence,” she said. “It’s easy when things are going really well to take credit for things that would’ve happened anyway, but when you run into chal-lenges or see someone who has been persistent day in and day out … that’s something I really appreciate.”

These days, Chutter’s mining mettle is tested every day in Vancouver’s extremely competitive junior exploration sector, which is home to more than 800 companies.

When she’s not

Erin ChutterPresident and director, Puget Ventures Age: 37

volunteering in her community or raising her family, Chutter is downtown working with investors, bankers, colleagues and project partners to build Puget Ventures (TSX-V:PVS) into the world’s next cobalt producer.

But her career hasn’t always been about rocks.

Chutter started out as a strategic planning and communications consultant. She helped run political campaigns for the likes of former premier Gordon Campbell, and counted members of Van-couver’s natural resource sector among her clients.

Eventually, she got the mining bug and decided she wanted a company of her own.

Earlier this year, Chutter engineered a reverse-take-over deal that gave Puget a large cobalt deposit in Si-beria. The Russian govern-ment has also committed $400 million to help build the project.

Chutter said although building a junior

exploration company is tough work, it’s not all that different from running a political campaign.

“It’s very much like put-ting together a campaign; you need to put together strategy, attract and hire the right technical talent, inspire a team, get every-one working in the same direction and ask perfect strangers for money.”

“It’s easy when things

are going really well to

take credit … but when

you see someone who

has been persistent

day in and day out

… that’s something I

really appreciate”

Birthplace: Duncan, B.C.Where do you live now: VancouverCar or chosen mode of transport: These

days? 747 airplaneCurrently reading: Re-reading Barney’s

Version by Mordecai Richler – my favourite book

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Bad as Me by Tom Waits

Favourite local restaurant: Though there are so many good choices in Vancouver, probably Flying Tiger as it is a family birthday dinner favourite

Profession you would most like to try: Cannot imagine anything I’d love more than what I’m doing now

Mentor: Many good friends, young and old, have given me good advice and direction, but my husband, Geoff Chutter, counsels me from a place of great love, which is an added bonus

Toughest business or professional decision: Letting go of a transaction that wasn’t working out

Advice you would give the younger you: Strategic vision is great, but persistence gets you through the tough days

What’s left to do: Let’s see how far we can go!

With many consumers turning to natural and

organic products, Tall-Grass Distribution Ltd., founded in 1997 by best friends Matt Breech and Ben Banky was perfectly poised to take advantage

Matt BreechPresident and CEO, TallGrass DistributionAge: 37

of the burgeoning green revolution.

The importer, distribu-tor and manufacturer of natural and organic beauty products and supplements grew to have 45 employees in B.C. Alberta, Quebec and Ontario.

TallGrass grew 250% over the past five years and became one of the largest suppliers of natural prod-ucts to London Drugs and Save-On Foods.

Unforseen misfortune hit the company in 2008, when Banky, president and co-CEO of the com-pany, was murdered by an employee at the office Christmas party.

Despite his personal sor-row, Breech led his grief-stricken team through a very difficult period and managed to keep the Tall-Grass business growing.

“It was a challenge to buckle down and get our bearings, but we had to continue to build the com-pany and build the dream,” said Breech.

“We were determined to continue to grow and thrive. Anything else would be letting down Ben’s memory.”

Breech took on full re-sponsibility for TallGrass, implemented a new prod-uct development strategy, and lead the company to revenues of more than $6 million in 2010, with 20% growth so far in 2011.

Breech commented that

his attitude of the whole process being a journey is key.

“You have to enjoy build-ing an organization and take it one day at a time,” he said.

“It’s important when you have a visionary and leader that you can con-tinue their legacy, that’s a wonderful thing and you feel that person is with you every step of the way.”

“It’s important when

you have a visionary

and leader that you can

continue their legacy,

that’s a wonderful

thing and you feel that

person is with you

every step of the way”

Birthplace: TorontoWhere do you live now: Vancouver Highest level of education: BA honours history, UBCCar or chosen mode of transport: I don’t drive, never have. I

walk to work with my dog, MiloCurrently reading: Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and

Stephen DubnerLast CD bought or music downloaded: African disco

compilationFavourite local restaurant: ChambarProfession you would most like to try: Winemaker Mentor: My parents, Ben Banky and Ted TicknorToughest business or professional decision: The toughest

situation I’ve experienced in life and business was undoubtedly the tragic loss of my business partner Ben. And, of course, many tough decisions flowed from that

Advice you would give the younger you: Focus on profitability. Starting out, we didn’t have a clear plan for how our business was going to be profitable; and as Ted Ticknor always told us, making money is the hardest thing to learn how to do

What’s left to do: It seems appropriate to quote Ben Banky: “We believe we don’t succeed unless the people around us succeed, and the planet not only is not harmed but rather is improved by our work. Part of the fun of building a business is imagining what the future can look like and making that dream come true.” TallGrass is still a young company, and we are going to keep building that dream for many years to come


This is a unique

opportunity to position

your branding message

alongside an article

reaching the BIV

subscriber.

www.howtobook.ca

Advertising Deadline: December 19, 2011

Why the How-To Book is so useful:

■ Timely editorial topics

■ Informative business advice

■ Your full-page advertisement is opposite an editorial topic of your choice

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO TOPICAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

ships with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, CPA Australia and other organizations that have extended the global reach of CGAs.

What should you look for in a CGA?Ideally, you will work with the same accountant for many years. A long-term working relationship between you and your CGA can help you take an informed, consistent approach to personal, financial and business goals.Before deciding, you should meet with your prospective accountant. Are your needs compatible with the CGA’s character and personality? Make sure the CGA has experience in your industry.

How do you get the most from you CGA?There is no set fee structure for CGA firms. Firms base fees on the time required to perform the services you request and the quality of information you supply. Before your appointment, gather information about business or personal financial decisions under consideration so that you can ask the CGA specific questions. Be organized: Save yourself unnecessary fees by maintaining good financial records. Be open: CGAs are in the best pos-ition to advise you and serve your interests when they understand your goals and expectations. Be open to advice: CGAs have vast experience and can assist you with your problems and concerns. Their objective advice may directly improve your financial stability and cash flow. Keep your CGA informed of changes in your personal and professional life.

For more information, visit www.cga-bc.org.

hire a certified general accountant

To equip your business to navigate today’s turbulent financial waters, hire a certified general accountant (CGA) firm or employ a CGA as a member of your managerial team.

CGAs advise businesses throughout British Columbia and the world in industry, commerce, finance, government and public practice: in any sector where accounting and financial management are required. Their clients range from major corporations to entrepreneurs.In a recent survey, 92 per cent of B.C. residents polled said they trusted CGAs more than any other professional group.

Why hire a CGA?Anyone can call himself or herself an “accountant” even with little or no formal training, so it is important to use a designated accountant.

The Certified General Account-ants’ Association of B.C. is B.C.’s larg est accounting body. CGA was the first in B.C. to require members to take professional-development courses and to require public-practice firms to have professional liability insurance. CGA–BC has introduced a rules-and-standards course for all new graduates and an ongoing ethics requirement.All CGA public practitioners have mandatory practice reviews to ensure that they are meeting the profes-sion’s acknowledged standards.These three letters are awarded only those who have successfully completed the very demanding CGA program.

What can a CGA do for your business?A CGA can give you and your busi-ness the tools you need to stay pros-perous in any financial climate.

Your CGA can produce finan-cial statements to assist you with everyday decisions and can pro-vide payroll, tax and management-consulting and advisory services.

Your CGA can advise you on invest-ments and obtaining finance, as well as on personal inheritance, tax-form preparation (personal and business), estate-planning and retirement-planning.In times of crisis, your CGA can analyze problems in your business and help you improve profitability.As an employee or as a consultant, your CGA looks beyond the balance sheet to help your team find efficiencies, create opportunities and maximize value.

How do you find a CGA?You can search for your nearest CGA public-practice firm at www.cga-bc.org.Looking to recruit a CGA to your staff? Use the association’s online job board, www.CGAjobs.org, which allows employ-ers in B.C. to find information both about CGAs and about CGA students.The Partners in Employment

Program (PEP) connects employ-ers around the province with CGA–BC members and students.CGA–BC can also help employers connect with new graduates who wish to obtain employment and pursue the CGA designation. CGA–BC holds recruitment days on and off campus, allowing employers to interview a num-ber of students before deciding which to invite back for second interviews.“It’s a big time-saver,” says Dan Relihan, CGA and manager, recruit-ment and employment initiatives. “You don’t have to pre-screen resumés. You get all the first interviews done in three hours, not three weeks.”

You can find CGAs in Canada and around the world thanks to partner-6

Compelling editorial

■ An editorial line-up is available upon request, and will

include details of B.C.’s competitive advantages, compre-

hensive coverage of exciting developments in the prov-

ince and reasons for investment across all its regions.

Online options

■ All municipalities, cities and towns in B.C. will be provided

upon request with a PDF of the magazine, as well as their

own regional editorial/advertorial pages, with the option

to publish it on their website at no charge.

■ Additionally, a PDF and interactive version of the maga-

zine, where users can ‘turn the pages’ online, will be

placed online and clickable via www.biv.com , www.

edabc.com and www.investinbc.ca.

Comprehensive company directory

■ All EDABC members (as of January 1, 2012) will be listed in

the magazine directory.

Advertising opportunities

■ Display ad positions will be available in a full range

of sizes to companies, organizations, municipalities,

towns and cities.

■ Municipalities, towns and cities which are EDABC

members and have purchased advertising space of

1/4 page or larger will be offered matching adverto-

rial to highlight their message.

Advertorial opportunity: Available to cities, towns, districts, regions and munici-

palities. (EDABC members)

■ Purchase a regular full page, 1/2 page or 1/4 page

display ad in full colour and receive equal advertorial

space.

W

Columbia Shuswap

FULL PAGE

1/4 PAGE

1/2 PAGE

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE

201

Business and investment across British Columbia

WHY YOU NEED TO ADVERTISE:

CALL TODAY!

Advertising Deadline: January 18, 2012

www.investinbc.ca

toll free at 1-800-208-2011 or email [email protected]

For more information please call Katherine Butler at 604-608-5158

Stephen Jagger has been an entrepreneur since

he and partner Michael Stephenson founded a web-hosting company near the height of the dot-com boom.

They now operate four businesses with a com-bined total of 92 workers.

Their web-hosting venture, by 2005, had morphed into becoming Ubertor, which helps real estate professionals build effective websites complete with videos and social media components.

The duo realized that a good business which would feed Ubertor would be if they could teach search engine optimiza-tion and other Internet marketing tips to real estate agents.

That was the genesis

Stephen JaggerPresident, UbertorAge: 33

behind Reachd.com – a venture that the two started in 2007. Clients for Reachd.com’s monthly training seminars now span a variety of sectors.

“In 2008, we started dabbling with the idea of offshoring or out-sourcing workers,” Jagger said of what led he and Stephenson to found OutsourcingThingsDone.com.

“Now, we lease labour from a Philippine office back to the North Amer-ican market. Ubertor is a client of the outsourcing business and uses the services of 10 workers.”

Jagger’s latest venture is something he describes as a payroll and schedul-ing software company that provides products for employers whose employ-ees are millennials – the Facebook generation.

Those workers want to be able to see their schedule, pay and other

work-related data via the Internet, and for that information to be continu-ally updated in real time.

Jagger often speaks about social media at real estate conferences, Entre-preneurs Organization (EO) events and at other expositions.

His status as a speaker was helped by his new book Sociable, which he wrote with Shane Gibson.

He is a director of the Vancouver College Alumni Association and was on the communica-tions committee of the Vancouver Board of Trade.

“We lease labour from

a Philippine office

back to the North

American market”

Birthplace: Hong KongWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Venture

program at BCITCar or chosen mode of transport: VolvoCurrently reading: The Lean Startup by Eric

RiesLast CD bought or music downloaded: Don’t

really download musicFavourite local restaurant: Q4 Al CentroProfession you would most like to try: Used-

car salesmanMentor: Big fan of Jimmy PattisonToughest business or professional decision:

Becoming comfortable public speakingAdvice you would give the younger you: Buy

more Vancouver real estateWhat’s left to do: Lots to do, but next is

the launch of PayrollHero.com


Rebecca Shields doesn’t remember a time in her

life where she wasn’t fund-raising or volunteering.

“I come from a family of volunteers. It was always in me to be active and involved.”

It would only make sense that her career path would follow suit, with progressive positions at the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society to the Deafblind Services Society of BC.

At the latter, where she spent eight years, Shields succeeded in initiating new contracts valuing $2.2 million annually, effectively increasing the capacity of the society by more than 625% in less than five years.

Now executive director of the Canadian Men-tal Health Association (CMHA), Vancouver-Burnaby branch, Shields has led the organization through difficult times.

“I came in a time of economic downturn and led the organization

Rebecca ShieldsExecutive director, Canadian Mental Health AssociationAge: 38

through a huge change-management process to revitalize the whole or-ganization and to rebuild capacity to better serve the population.”

The results have been significant. Shields spear-headed the CMHA win-ning a $400,000 annual contract from the Fraser Health Authority toward a new rehabilitation and recovery-focused program for the mentally ill in Burnaby.

With her fundraising background, she has expanded the CMHA’s fundraising program. Be-fore, it was heavily reliant on government contracts, but under Shields’ super-vision it has become more sustainable by seeking out various sources of funding.

Throughout her career, Shields has been a huge proponent of advocating for those who can’t do it for themselves.

She remembered some-thing someone once told her: “You never know who the one person is going to be to impact and change the world, and if we don’t offer everybody the poten-tial, we all lose out.

“I have an inherent belief that everyone should have the same opportunities, and if we are inclusive and accessible we raise all of our lifestyles and chances for a better life.”

“Everyone should have the same

opportunities, and if we are inclusive

and accessible we raise all of our

lifestyles and chances for a better life”

Birthplace: Toronto Where do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: Bachelor of

science in chemistry, UBCCar or chosen mode of transport: Random

– between walking to work, bus and car (Nissan Xtrail or 1984 VW camperized Westfalia)

Currently reading: The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Lady Gaga, Fleetwood Mac or 125 Kids Songs

Favourite local restaurant: Les Faux Bourgeois

Profession you would most like to try: Ice road truck driver

Mentor: Jennifer Johnstone, CEO of the Central City Foundation

Toughest business or professional decision: Choosing not to finish my M.Sc. to pursue a career in fundraising and non-profit management

Advice you would give the younger you: Get the best contact management software available – and actually use it

What’s left to do: We have a long way to go in building inclusive, caring and accessible communities. In B.C., we still have the highest child poverty rate across Canada. Stigma still prevents those from seeking treatment for mental illness, and there are significant gaps in services and resources for families. The social-profit community is working more collaboratively to address these issues, and I hope to continue my role as a leader and agent for positive social change


A showcase of companies in BC's LiffeSciences sector

GROWING CANADA’S BIO-ECONOMY

CALL TODAY AND RESERVE YOUR SPACE

JANUARY 16TH, 2012

GROWINGG CAN

LifeSciences British Columbia is very pleased to endorse Corporate Profiles, published by Business in Vancouver Magazines. Corporate Profiles will be printed in February 2012, in time for distribution at the annual BioPartnering North America; a leading bioscience partnering and investor conference held in Vancouver, B.C. February 26 to February 28, 2012.

Now in its 10th year of success, BPN 2012 will build on strong

relationships with such Asian powerhouses as China, Korea, Japan

and India to focus more clearly on the Pacific Rim. Vancouver is well

placed to be the crossroad where companies from around the world

can access new business opportunities. With strong support from trade

associations in Asia, Europe, North America, and elsewhere, together

with creative input from our Advisory Boards, BPN is being taken to

a higher level, and this year’s theme indicates this shift in emphasis:

Growing Life Science Business in the Pacific Rim.

■ CORPORATE PROFILES provides a full year

of outstanding marketing value

■ REACH A GLOBAL MARKET, encourage

new partners, investors and customers

Maximize your business

The Vancouver Board of TradeMembers’ Business Directory

Don’t miss out!Early bird deadline: December 31, 2011

Gain exposure to over 7,000 potential clients who use the directory

on a regular basis throughout the year

Have you booked your 2012/13 space?

Call today!

For more information on advertising,contact Katherine [email protected] / 604.688.2398

Over 120 Years of Board History

PUBLISHER:

“Connecting for Good”

Ryan Dalziel was called to the bar when he was

22 years old and made partner at Bull Housser Tupper five years later. What makes Dalziel stand out from the many other young legal partners in Vancouver is that the 29-year-old has tried eight cases in front of the Su-preme Court of Canada.

He was involved in the early stages of three of those cases, and some of them were initiated outside B.C. Very quickly he has become one of the most experienced Vancou-ver lawyers in Canada’s top court.

“I’m very privileged to have the chance to be involved in cases of not just local but national and public significance,” he said.

Ryan DalzielPartner, Bull, Housser & Tupper LLPAge: 29

After Dalziel completed law school in 2003, he worked as a judicial law clerk to justices William Esson and Mary Newbury of the BC Court of Ap-peal. He went on to do the same job for Justice Rosa-lie Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Many of the cases he has been involved with have surrounded hot-button issues. He was the lead lawyer for B.C. in the Supreme Court of Canada case determining that the federal government could not be liable for health-care costs incurred as a result of a tobacco-related disease.

He also successfully argued at the Supreme Court of Canada that granting aboriginal com-mercial fishing licences was not racist, but rather that it was an example of affirmative action that is not contrary to the right to equality in the Canadian Constitution.

Sometimes he has acted against First Na-tions groups. For example, he successfully had the

Supreme Court of Canada uphold Rio Tinto Alcan’s sale of $2 billion worth of power to BC Hydro despite opposition from an aboriginal tribal council.

“The nature of our role as advocates is to be able to represent both sides of any given problem,” he said.

Outside work, he sits on a legal advisory committee of the BC Civil Liberties Association.

“I’m very privileged to have the chance

to be involved in cases of not just local

but national and public significance”

Birthplace: VictoriaWhere do you live now:


BA in history and bachelor of laws at the University of British Columbia

Car or chosen mode of transport: Yellow Cab

Currently reading:American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur by William Manchester

Last CD bought or music downloaded:Pass. Virtually all recent downloads are embarrassing

Favourite local restaurant:Tojo’s

Profession you would most like to try: Film producer

Mentors: Too many great ones to single one out: in chronological order, George Burke, Justice Mary Newbury, Daniel Webster and Joseph Arvay

Toughest business or professional decision: To be a lawyer in the first place

Advice you would give the younger you: I still am the younger me

What’s left to do: A couple hundred cases


Canada Place is a Canadian icon and must-see while

Congratulations to Canada Place Board MemberRobin Dhir for being recognized as one ofBusiness in Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40.the experience starts herewww.canadaplace.ca

Canada Place is a Canadian Icon and home toInspirationally Canadian Experiences includingthe award winning Canada Day and Christmasat Canada Place.

Commercial real estate deals and news

Commercial real estate and business listings from across Western Canada

find locations at www.westerninvestor.com

Subscribe to Western Investor for $42 for 12 issues. Visit www.westerninvestor.com

www.westerninvestor.com 604-699-8500

Matt Fraser has grown Yyoga from a startup

to a seven-outlet chain of yoga studios with 350 staff and $8.5 million in revenue.

His involvement with the chain, which Terry McBride founded in 2008, stemmed largely from his

Matt FraserPresident and COO, YyogaAge: 38

passion for physical activity. He attended the Univer-

sity of Victoria on a rugby scholarship and then went to Whistler to become a ski instructor.

After working up to be the supervisor of the Whistler Blackcomb ski

school, he managed Whist-ler Blackcomb’s 1,400 beds of employee housing as well as a $3 million budget.

His MBA from the pres-tigious London Business School enabled him to get various jobs at Intrawest.

“I’ve been very lucky that I’ve been able to work with two amazing products, one being skiing and the other being yoga,” he said. “Both make people feel good.”

The other product that Fraser has worked with wasn’t as uplifting: junk.

1-800-GOT-JUNK lured Fraser to leave Intrawest in 2006 to manage all eight corporate locations and a $5 million budget. He also oversaw the junk removal company’s top 10 franchisees.

McBride lured Fraser to join Yyoga first as COO

and then promoted him to be both COO and president last year.

“It’s an amazing product. We have a simple vision here: to make the world a

better place,” he said. “Our clear plan is to have

20 locations across Canada within five years, and 50 locations within the next 10 years.”

“We have a simple vision here: to make the world a better place”

Birthplace: VancouverWhere do you live now: SquamishHighest level of education: MBA from London Business

SchoolCar or chosen mode of transport: Subaru OutbackCurrently reading: Freedom by Jonathan FranzenLast CD bought or music downloaded: Something Good Can

Work by Two Door Cinema ClubFavourite local restaurant: The Nest in SquamishProfession you would most like to try: Helicopter pilotMentor: My dad, John FraserToughest business or professional decision: Joining a startup

(YYoga) when we had a new mortgageAdvice you would give the younger you: Enjoy it all; it is

going to be amazingWhat’s left to do: So much more

Robin Dhir has quin-tupled Twin Brook

Developments’ annual pro-ject volume in the six years since he joined his father and became president of the family firm.

Six years ago, the company developed the 30-unit Twin Brook Estates project in Maple Ridge. Last year, the company was involved in a 150-unit project in India’s Punjab region, as well as a highrise residential project outside New Delhi.

“We’ve diversified from detached homes to multi-family developments and we’ve also expanded geo-graphically,” said Dhir.

Outside his day job, Dhir is a director of Canada Place Corp., an active member of the Indus Entrepreneurs and the co-chair and founder

Robin DhirPresident & COO, Twin Brook DevelopmentsAge: 39

of the annual A Night of Miracles gala dinner for the BC Children’s Hospital.

“It came about partly through frustration at the way South Asians are por-trayed [in news headlines],” he said. “Now, it is the only black-tie gala in the South Asian community.”

Dhir has been active in his community since he was a student at SFU, where he was elected as a student senator in the early 1990s.

He advises organizers of the Vancouver Internation-al Bhangra Celebration, is co-chair of the India Club’s CareerFest and is a founder and director of Genuine 5 – a group of business people who put on events that help fund children’s charities.

He joined Gillette Co.’s Duracell division after

university. While there, he achieved top ranking among 13 sales reps in Western Canada.

Kodak Canada Inc. recruited him in 2000 to

work in business develop-ment and he stayed there, as senior business develop-ment manager, until 2005.

“I’ve been headhunted at every job I’ve had.”

“I’ve been headhunted at every job I’ve had”

Birthplace: VancouverWhere do you live now: BurnabyHighest level of education: BBA from Simon

Fraser UniversityCar or chosen mode of transport: Lexus

EX350Currently reading: Leadership Sutras by

Debashis ChatterjeeLast CD bought or music downloaded:

Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5Favourite local restaurant: Glowbal, Hy’s

and the Vancouver ClubProfession you would most like to try:

LawyerMentor: My father, Narinder DhirToughest business or professional decision:

Deciding to move away from the corporate world working with large multinational companies to join the family business, where it was expected I would eventually take over

Advice you would give the younger you:Start taking risks early in life. Commit to lifelong learning as change is all around us and you always need to be prepared

What’s left to do: Develop a strategy to diversify the company into new areas of construction and development. Also, I want to be a role model for my children and raise them to be committed to giving back to the community they live in

Outside work, Fraser is a director of the Squamish Health Care Founda-tion and the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp.


Sponsors:

Save the date!

Educated at both Princeton University

and Oxford University, Taleeb Noormohamed returned to his hometown in 2007 to be vice-president of strategy and partnerships with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (VANOC).

In that role, he raised more than $60 million and was responsible for management of all non-commercial revenue and business development initiatives.

Shareholders at Serebra Learning Corp. recruited him to turn their fledgling e-learning venture around.

“Serebra was really lost. It lost its way and wasn’t sure what it was going to be. It came down to, ‘Do we turn this around?’ or ‘Do we shut down?’” he said.

“At our annual general meeting last year, I told them my mandate was to

Taleeb NoormohamedPresident and CEO, Serebra Learning Age: 35

cut costs, increase revenue and bring in a deal that will show value. I said that within 18 months we would have a merger or acquisition, and so far we’re on track.”

Serebra was in nego-tiations for a merger with Bluedrop Inc. as of press time.

Noormohamed has a track record of bouncing between interesting jobs.

He had clearance to see top-secret documents when he worked as a senior adviser to Bob Rae when Rae was an independent adviser to the minister of public safety on questions related to the bombing of a 1985 Air India flight.

He also had that clear-ance when he was director of citizen engagement in the department of public safety.

After the Olympics, he led a comprehensive review of B.C.’s large-scale technology procurement contracts, valued at $2.2 billion, to determine what has worked and what requires improvement.

He is on the board of directors of Covenant House Vancouver as well as the West Vancouver Community Centre. Past charitable work includes being on the board of the Leukemia and Lymph-oma Society.

He also volunteers extensively within the Ismaili Muslim community.

“I said that within 18

months we would have

a merger or acquisition,

and so far we’re on track”

Birthplace: OttawaWhere do you live now: North VancouverHighest level of education: BA, Princeton

University; PhD candidate, Oxford University

Car or chosen mode of transport: Air Canada flights; my Porsche or on foot

Currently reading: Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Christmas by Michael Buble

Favourite local restaurant: Ki at the Shangri-La or James Street Cafe in Burnaby

Profession you would most like to try: Being an NHL general manager or a criminal defence attorney

Mentor: I’m lucky to have a few mentors. I also look to my parents for inspiration – they came to Canada with $300 and managed to raise a family, build a successful business and maintain a happy and healthy marriage

Toughest business or professional decision: Negotiating a merger that I knew was right for our shareholders but would result in members of my team – and me – losing jobs

Advice you would give the younger you: Do what you love and have fun doing it. Follow your passion, give it your all, and success will follow. As soon as you stop having fun, loving and being challenged by what you do, move on. Life is too short to be miserable at work all day long

What’s left to do: Personally, to spend more time with my parents and loved ones, get married and have kids; professionally, to build another profitable and successful business; and help to make politics and public service something that people see as being valuable by making it relevant and inspiring


Why I chose MacKay LLP

www.mackay.ca

Assurance | Taxation | Advisory

Gary Matthews Business Development Manager 1100—1177 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6E 4T5 (604) 687-4511

They know my business!


Born into a small-business family, Brian

Postlewait’s passion for helping people led him to the non-profit sector and eventually Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

But those entrepre-neurial roots still show through.

“I think it’s just in my blood,” he said with a laugh. “You just either know how to do it or you don’t – to get out and hustle.”

With a background in non-profit and community development work, Postle-wait became executive director of Christian non-profit Mission Possible in 2007.

“It was an organization in crisis in some ways, be-cause it didn’t have a clear sense of vision,” he said.

Brian PostlewaitExecutive director, Mission Possible Age: 38

With Postlewait at the helm, Mission Possible researched what the com-munity was missing and came up with a simple answer: jobs.

“We have a community in the Downtown Eastside that’s not over-challenged as it’s sometimes looked at; I really believe this is an under-challenged community,” he said. “It’s a neighbourhood that doesn’t know how to move forward and I think people are all the time looking for opportunities to find a foothold and improve their lives.”

In 2008, Mission Pos-sible found an opportun-ity to launch a graffiti-removal program as part of the City of Vancouver’s pre-Olympic cleanup ef-forts. That enterprise has expanded into a full-ser-vice maintenance business, on course to do $350,000 of work this year.

Postlewait also helped Mission Possible launch a hotel soap-recycling enterprise which employs at-risk women to recycle hotel soaps, which are then shipped worldwide to combat hygiene-related disease. Hotels pay a re-cycling fee for the service.

Between Mission Possible’s staff and its two social enterprises,

the organization has grown from 2.5 staff and $200,000 in revenues in 2007 to 35 employees and $900,000 this year.

“We did that through an economic downturn, so we’re pretty stoked about how we’ve journeyed this far.”

“You just either know how

to do it or you don’t – to

get out and hustle”

Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri


Highest level of education: MA in theology, Nazarene Theological Seminary

Car or chosen mode of transport: Dodge Grand Caravan – loaded with my kids and a Yellow Labrador

Currently reading: Getting Naked by Patrick Lencioni

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Janelle Monae, the ArchAndroid

Favourite local restaurant: The Whip

Profession you would most like to try: Rock star

Mentor: My friends who are surviving in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

Toughest business or professional decision: Moving my family across the continent from Washington, D.C., to Vancouver

Advice you would give the younger you: Try not to over-think it. Follow your heart and listen to your gut, and remember to feed your soul

What’s left to do: Create or find a job for every willing, ready and able Downtown Eastside resident

After completing college, Jason Pleym began

pounding the pavement searching for what was next. He knew he was interested in business, but even more he knew he had a huge affinity for food.

He considered going back to school to become a chef, but after speaking with some people in the industry he was told to he might be better suited to distribution.

Now president and owner of Two Rivers Specialty Meats, Pleym has planted himself firmly among the best of the best in Vancouver’s world-renowned food and restaurant scene.

Counting lauded res-taurants Cioppino’s and Bishop’s as loyal clients, Pleym’s three-year-old meat-supply business

Jason PleymPresident and owner, Two Rivers Specialty MeatsAge: 37

boasts sales of $4.5 mil-lion and 10% growth per month.

He started the company from scratch, with a table, a portable cooler and a fierce belief in and desire to spread the word about local and sustainably raised food.

His approach? To look at butchery from a more specialized view and to tailor cuts specifically for chefs and their needs.

The other crucial detail was to provide customers with information about the farm and how the product was raised.

“The educational or consultative approach to the sale is how we have differentiated ourselves in such a mature industry,” said Pleym.

Two Rivers now works with 75% of Vancouver Magazine’s Restaurant Award winners and in 2011, the company won the magazine’s distinction of supplier of the year.

“In terms of commodity product, a lot of people have the same thing, but we’ve been able to give chefs the ability to dif-ferentiate their menus and their product lineup and that has created some value.”

“The educational or consultative

approach to the sale is how we

have differentiated ourselves

in such a mature industry”

Birthplace: North VancouverWhere do you live now: North VancouverHighest level of education: Marketing

management diploma from BCITCar or chosen mode of transport: TruckCurrently reading: The Butcher’s Guide To

Well-Raised Meat by Joshua and Jessica Applestone and Alexandra Zissu

Last CD bought or music downloaded: The Dustin Bentall Outfit, Six Shooter

Favourite local restaurant: An impossible decision to make

Profession you would most like to try: ChefMentor: Don MillerdToughest business or professional decision:

Quitting my big-city job in Vancouver to move to small-town Golden, B.C., with my wife. We lived in a school bus and I worked as a rafting guide on the Kicking Horse River … time to ponder life and make some decisions.

Advice you would give the younger you: Rest when you can and learn the art of time management

What’s left to do: We’re just getting started


© 2011 Audi Canada. *Based on comparison between 2012 and 2011 A6 3.0 TFSI models. 2012 fuel consumptions of 11.3L city, 7.4L hwy/2011 fuel consumption 12L city, 8L hwy. Acceleration based on comparison between 2011 and 2012 A6 3.0 TFSI models. 2012 model: 0 –100km/h in 5.4 seconds. 2011 model: 0–100km/h in 5.9 seconds. †Base MSRP of a new and unregistered 2012 Audi A6 3.0 TFSI eight-speed quattro with Tiptronic transmission is $58,800. Selling price is $60,795 which includes $58,800 MSRP and $1,995 freight and PDI. License, insurance, registration, any dealer or other charges, options and applicable taxes are extra. Vehicle selection is subject to availability. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. See dealer for details. European models shown with optional equipment that may not be available at the time of purchase. “Audi”, “A6”, “Vorsprung durch Technik,” and the four rings emblem are registered trademarks of AUDI AG. To fi nd out more about Audi, visit your Audi dealer, call 1-800-FOR-AUDI or visit us at www.audi.ca

*

†


Jason Zanatta began his career in the textiles

business sweeping floors and stocking shelves at his family’s mattress company.

But it wasn’t long before he wanted in on the action himself.

At the age of 22, after graduating from the Brit-ish Columbia Institute of Technology with a marketing diploma, he partnered with his cousin and uncle to buy a small pillow-making company and transformed it into a profitable venture.

Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis a few years later, but he wouldn’t let the malady get in his way.

Instead, Zanatta perse-vered and transformed the venture into Novo Tex-tiles Co., a Surrey-based customized pillow, mat-tress and duvet company.

Since 2006, Novo has seen an average annual

Jason ZanattaPresident and managing partner, Novo TextilesAge: 31

growth rate of nearly 40%.Zanatta said breaking

into a well-worn industry such as textiles hasn’t been easy, but hard work and ingenuity has paid off.

“We’re young, we bring a fresh approach to a very old industry,” he said.

“We’re focusing more on the consumer’s different sleeping habits rather than a one-size-fits-all ap-proach. We’re customizing sleep.”

When he’s not working to develop his multimil-lion-dollar manufacturing business, Zanatta and his wife give back to the community through dona-tions to disease research foundations.

On top of that, he re-cently became a father.

But despite his success, Zanatta has no plans to leave the business. Instead, he wants to continue growing Novo into some-thing even bigger.

“My goal for the com-pany would be to continue to grow it, and continue

to supply everyone from independent retailers to national chains and see where it takes us from there,” he said. “I can’t see a time when I’m not going to enjoy it, I’m having fun.”

“We’re customizing sleep”

Birthplace: New Westminster

Where do you live now: Coquitlam

Highest level of education: Marketing communications diploma, British Columbia Institute of Technology

Car or chosen mode of transport: GMC Sierra

Currently reading: Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead by Neil Strauss

Last CD bought or music downloaded: Eureka by Mother Mother

Favourite local restaurant: Sip Resto Lounge

Profession you would most like to try: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Mentor: My dad Rick, uncle Nilo and cousin Troy

Toughest business or professional decision: Staying the course despite challenges with ulcerative colitis

Advice you would give the younger you: Look at adversity as an opportunity to learn and grow

What’s left to do: Incorporating renewable resources and recycling into home textiles manufacturing

Most communications staffers have degrees

in journalism, communi-cations or public relations. Tim Meyer has a PhD in particle physics from Stanford University.

It comes in handy when dealing with government, private industry or the press, because his job is to explain what goes on at TRIUMF, Canada’s na-tional particle and nuclear physics lab.

Explaining why scien-tists in Vancouver need $63 million to build a superconducting electron accelerator (the ARIEL) is one recent example.

Before coming to Vancouver to work at TRIUMF in 2007, Meyer worked for the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. He ar-rived in Vancouver around the time Canada’s NRU reactor began suffering a series of shutdowns, which curtailed the production of isotopes used in nuclear medicine and opened a door for TRIUMF.

“It was a really inter-esting time to join the laboratory,” Meyer said.

“We already work with isotopes. So if the nation is

Tim MeyerHead of strategic planning and communications, TRIUMF Age: 36

suffering the isotope ques-tion, who better to start taking a look at it?”

Although a lot of the work at TRIUMF is pure scientific research, some of the discoveries have commercial applications, and part of Meyer’s job is to liaise with the private sector.

“We see ourselves as halfway between pure business and pure univer-sity,” Meyer said, adding the lab also looks for international partnerships with labs and universities around the world.

One recent such partnership is with the

University of Manitoba and Japanese scientists.

“Last year, Japan put $4 million into a project at TRIUMF,” Meyer said.

“It’s a very elegant science project. Japan is saying,

‘The people in Canada are

“We see ourselves as halfway between

pure business and pure university”

Birthplace: Winfield, IllinoisWhere do you live now: VancouverHighest level of education: PhD, particle physics, Stanford

UniversityCar or chosen mode of transport: 2004 Toyota Prius, or my

own two feet in a pair of Ecco shoesCurrently reading: Gold by Isaac Asimov and Wealthy Barber

Returns by Dave ChiltonLast CD bought or music downloaded: Penguin by AviciiFavourite local restaurant: Moderne Burger on Broadway and

Go Fish on Granville IslandProfession you would most like to try: Ad executive at Nike

or park ranger, YosemiteMentors: Emilia Rathbun, Tim Flood, Patricia Burchat, Don

Shapero Toughest business or professional decision: Accepting the

offer to leave Washington, D.C., where my wife and I had settled, and where my wife had a career, to go to Canada to work with TRIUMF

Advice you would give the younger you: Listen to your wife, tell people what you want, and trust your instincts. Every time you think you are just waiting your turn to speak or contribute, you’re actually stalling

What’s left to do: Fulfil on the 10-year plan we created for TRIUMF, including another home run for commercialization and – what the heck – a Nobel Prize, too

really sophisticated and really capable – let’s work with them.’ It’s a big pat on the back for Canadian science.”


We see more than numbers.

We see more than jobs. We see careers.

L E A D E R S H I P | E F F I C I E N C Y | P R O D U C T I V I T Y | S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y | M A N A G I N G R I S K

If you want access to the largest pool of accounting professionals in B.C., look no further than CGAjobs.org. Whether you’re an HR professional looking to hire the best accountants or a CGA student looking for a rewarding career, CGAjobs.org is your hub. Using CGAjobs.org puts career opportunities in front of qualifi ed professionals to ensure you get what you need. Gain access to the breadth of knowledge and experience that a Certifi ed General Accountant adds. Get connected today. Go to CGAjobs.org.


business in vancouver's forty under 40 2011

Documents