article

vancouver's tech hurdle

] Vancouver is awash in startups with several poised to go public, transforming British Columbia’s economy as they grow. But for Canada’s lifestyle capital to emerge as a world-class tech hub it needs to figure out how to persuade top executives to actually move there (because hey, Silicon Valley has mountains and ocean too)
]

] Along with the local expansion of Microsoft, Amazon and Sony Digital Works, the tech industry (loosely defined by the B.C. government to include video games, animation and digital entertainment) is transforming British Columbia’s economic capital: The sector is estimated to occupy almost 40 per cent of downtown Vancouver commercial real estate and employed 86,800 people provincewide in 2013
] It is B.C.’s third largest sector(pdf), behind financial services/real estate and construction.
] Vancouver was ranked the world’s ninth most active startup ecosystem in a 2012 survey (just behind Toronto, whose population is greater than the entire province of B.C.) and
] B.C. attracted close to 30 per cent of venture capital (VC) invested in Canada last year.
] A lack of good jobs since the recession is also a factor. The tech industry in B.C., driven by Vancouver’s startups, is generating about 250 new companies each year, and growing at an annual clip of over 6 per cent, according to the Vancouver Economic Commission.

] Constraints on growth could compel companies to prematurely sell or move, a chronic situation in Canada.
] Coaxing top executives to a world-class tech hub in the making is proving to be a challenge – and not just because of Vancouver’s high housing prices. “Our ability to attract those sorts of individuals [to Vancouver] … those are the pinch points right now,” says Bill Tam, president of the B.C. Technology Industry Association (BCTIA).

] Vision Critical Communications Inc.( Andrew Reid, son Angus Reid pollster)
] POF online dating site (sold $ 575M ),
] online eye wear retailer Coastal Contacts ( sold for $430-million )
] including social media management firm Hootsuite Media Inc.,
] online retailer Cymax Stores
] Slack - is based in San Francisco but B.C.-born founder Stewart Butterfield works in Vancouver along with a development team. In 18 months, Slack has amassed 300,000 paid users and raised $340-million (U.S.) from Silicon Valley’s top venture capitalists, valuing the company at $2.8-billion.
] shoes.com - Much of the team behind Coastal Contacts, including chief executive officer Roger Hardy, is now building footwear e-tailer Shoes.com, which is on track to top $300-million (Canadian) in revenue this year.
] builddirect.com - BuildDirect.com Technologies Inc., whose software platform and logistics system allows customers to order construction materials to their door quickly and inexpensively. CEO Jeff Booth predicts an impending tweak to BuildDirect’s platform could increase revenue tenfold, to $1-billion.
]Avigilon Corp., a high-definition surveillance technology maker.
] In what passed for a huge deal, Vancouver-based picture-sharing service Flickr, co-founded by Slack’s Mr. Butterfield, sold to Yahoo in 2005 for about $25-million (U.S.).

Details Photos Edit more

ID: 4844

NAME: vancouvers-tech-hurdle

DESCRIPTION: by __ @ theglobeandmail.com($) - attracting top level talent is one of the problems facing this growing BC industry.

AUTHOR: article.author/s

EDITOR: article.editor/s

PUBLISHER: article.publisher/s

STATUS: Write

PRIORITY: -5

OWNER ID: 75

Content Photos Edit more