Ottawa Business Journal: Recent Episodes
Ottawa Business Journal
The Ottawa Business Journal is the leading source of business news and information Canada's national capital region. CEOs and business leaders turn to OBJ for the business news they can't find anywhere else – unique and relevant content tailored to business managers, owners, professionals and executives.
With a number of media platforms available to reach our audience, Ottawa Business Journal has something for every advertiser. OBJ's scope includes its monthly newsmagazine, the largest business news website in Ottawa, OBJToday daily e-newsletter, active social media channels, a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos, multimedia industry projects and some of Ottawa's premier business events.
strategy, and how startup entrepreneurs can navigate disruption by integrating AI to solve meaningful real-world challenges.Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:17 Introducing Matt Milton 08:35 Sponsor Segment25:04 Closing and What’s Ahead at OBJFor more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
The narrative surrounding the Canadian tech sector often focuses on boom-and-bust cycles, brain drain, or the historical demise of past giants. But the numbers tell a different story.Driven by evolutionary waves from telecommunications to software-as-a-service, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, the national technology ecosystem has quietly produced remarkable long-term enterprise value.New research shows that Ottawa tech unicorns have produced at least one billion-dollar firm every single decade, making it the highest per-capita producer of unicorns in the country. Moreso, local tech ventures account for a staggering three-quarters of all-time wealth creation in Canadian tech history, driving $1.4 trillion in wealth over the past 36 years.In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran celebrates Ottawa Innovation Week by speaking with tech veteran Sasha Gera, chief operating officer of HealWell AI. Gera shares his research and insights from his newly launched ledger, Unicorn North, highlighting how Ottawa stacks up against other major Canadian cities and why it remains the most productive, distraction-free destination for building sustainable, hundred-year companies.Chapters: 00:00 Intro02:22 Introducing Sasha Gera14:45 Sponsor Segment17:57 Innovation Week25:15 Closing and What’s Ahead at OBJFor more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Canada is responding to a critical political and economic imperative to modernize its armed forces and better defend national interests. As the country looks to strengthen its domestic defence and security sectors, the University of Ottawa is mobilizing to support this domestic industrial evolution. As a top-ranked research-intensive university, uOttawa is uniquely industry-ready, offering specialized expertise across 10 faculties in defence-relevant fields.In this bonus episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran sits down with two leaders from the university to discuss how they are bridging the gap between academic research and high-impact industry collaboration. The conversation features Caroline Cao, the Dean of uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering, and Muralee Murugesu, Associate Vice-President of Innovation, Partnerships and Entrepreneurship.The discussion highlights how uOttawa is currently leading the charge in critical technological frontiers, including AI, cyber security, and photonics. The episode explores the university's vision of researchers and private sector partners working together to meet today’s defence and security challenges.Chapters00:00 Intro01:15 Introducing Dean Caroline Cao and AVP Muralee Murugesu18:35 Sponsor overview19:20 Closing and What’s Ahead at OBJFor more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5How is your organization currently navigating the shift toward increased federal investment in defence and security technology?
that precarious gap between initial startup and sustainable growth, appears to be widening. While early funding often comes from family and friends, angel investors play a critical role in bridging this gap.In Ottawa, the Capital Angel Network (CAN) has anchored the local angel investor ecosystem since 2010. Despite a downturn in venture capital nationally, CAN bucked the trend in 2025, recording its second-biggest year in history. With a membership that includes individual angels, venture capital firms, family offices, and accelerators, CAN invested approximately $8 million in 2025 alone.In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Suzanne Grant, the executive director of the Capital Angel Network. They discuss current deal flow trends, the impact of AI on investments, and how global economic shifts are impacting a founder's ability to raise initial funds.For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/
Ottawa’s AI scene is evolving. Early momentum was created by companies such as Solink, founded by Mike Matta, which applied computer vision to retail analytics, and Ranovus, led by Hany Mussad, which develops the optical hardware necessary for high-capacity AI data centres. Subsequent growth was driven by firms such as MindBridge, co-founded by Solon Angel and Eli Fathi, and BluWave-ai, led by Devashish Paul, which targeted specific industrial applications in financial auditing and energy grid management.A new AI player is garnering international attention. Backboard.io is developing a memory-native API designed to manage long-term context in large language models. In January 2026, the company closed a pre-seed funding round led by Mistral Venture Partners, with participation from N49P, Garage Capital, and Developer Capital.In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks to Rob Imbeault, the founder and CEO of Backboard.io. Having already co-founded tech unicorn Assent, Imbeault is now in the CEO seat and predicting big things to come.For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
For many business owners, the world of carbon offsets can feel abstract, complex, and disconnected from the bottom line. Canada’s Forest Trust Corporation is helping to change that sentiment. Based in Ottawa and founded by well-known entrepreneur and philanthropist Gary Zed, CFTC offers turnkey, customizable nature-based solutions that are practical and measurable.In fall 2025, CFTC partnered with the City of Ottawa on a campaign called “Let’s Get Growing!” In this podcast, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks to Zed about how other local business owners can join the campaign to help reforest Ottawa.
In the fast-paced tech sector, the prevailing question is this: who is the next big thing? In Ottawa, that distinction is determined, in part, by an awards program.In late fall 2025, the Ottawa Business Journal and Ottawa Board of Trade organized the Best Ottawa Business Awards. One of the highlights of that awards program is called #NextBigThing.With the guidance of Invest Ottawa and RBC, three #NextBigThing recipients are recognized. In 2025, the honourees were Compose Health, Downpay and TACTIQL.In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Nick Quain, vice-president of venture and entrepreneurship at Invest Ottawa, about the three recipient companies and his outlook for 2026.For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
AI is transforming industries and reshaping communities. This episode of Techopia Live takes viewers inside TechTuesday for a closer look at What AI Tinkering Reveals About the Future of Tech Innovation. Hosted by Riaz Sidi, the episode explores how a grassroots movement of builders and experimenters is influencing the trajectory of artificial intelligence in Ottawa and across Canada.The episode features Hai Nghiem, CEO and Co-founder of AGI Ventures Canada, and highlights the work of AGI Ventures Canada (formerly AI Tinkerers Ottawa), an emerging community of more than 1,550 developers and innovators advancing AI through meetups, hackathons, rapid prototyping, and collaborative experimentation. Their initiatives include monthly AI hackathons, AI solution development for clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to fast-growing startups, and a six-week AI Accelerator delivered in partnership with Mistral VC that brings founders to San Francisco to connect with YC alumni, investors, and global AI networks.The discussion examines how small-scale experimentation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a practical builder-driven mindset are producing real-world breakthroughs and shaping the next phase of digital transformation.The session concludes with a fireside chat featuring moderator Veronica Farmer, Hai Nghiem, and Rami Alhamad, Co-Founder and CEO of Alma and an investor in the AGI Ventures Canada AI Accelerator. Their conversation explores how community-powered experimentation, hands-on innovation, and early-stage AI development are influencing the future of the sector.Additional interviews with TechTuesday attendees, including Andree Paige (The NEXT PaiGE), Suzanne Cyr (The Ottawa Education Group), Matthew Jerabek (Algonquin College), and Linda Kerbs (Nokia), capture the momentum, questions, and opportunities emerging across Ottawa’s AI ecosystem.This episode illustrates how innovation is increasingly emerging at the edges in community-led spaces, where people come together to tinker, test, connect, and build.For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
D.Fidus, a designer of complex embedded components for sectors like aerospace and autonomous vehicles, will retain its local headquarters and executive team. The partnership offers the capital to scale the 200-person company’s already rapid revenue growth while preserving its culture, emphasizing that operations remain unchanged ‒ just with deeper pockets for future innovation.In this special episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with Scott Turnbull, chief technology officer of Fidus Systems, about the company’s new majority owner and what it might mean for its future.Looking for more information on Techopia?Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/
Hub350). They shared insights on strategic planning, smart city initiatives, and programs that connected industry, academia, and government to strengthen Ottawa’s tech ecosystem.The episode also included interviews with Vicki Coughey (Fidus Systems Inc.), Shawn OReilly (Teldio), and Shoma Sinha (Carleton University), highlighting Canada North’s thriving community of over 700 companies generating $17 billion in GDP and 60,000 jobs and demonstrating how collaboration is positioning Ottawa as a globally competitive tech hub.This conversation offered entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers a front-row view of how Ottawa and Kanata North are shaping the future of innovation.For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Techopia Live was on location at the 10th annual SaaS North Conference in Ottawa, where the city’s tech and business leaders gathered for an energizing two-day conference focused on Future-Proofing SaaS in the Age of AI.Hosted by Riaz Sidi, the event featured conversations with founders, investors, and innovators shaping Ottawa’s tech scene, including: Mark Stephenson (Cube Business Media Inc.), Sacha Gera (Healwell AI), Liz Ellwood (Sidi.io), Sara Rykov (Metcove), John Nelson (Carleton University), and Artem Abramov (EL8).From investor panels and startup showcases to real-time AI demos, the conference highlighted how Canadian founders are leveraging AI, building lean teams, and redefining the future of software.For more on Canada’s SaaS and tech ecosystem, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Top global tech clusters have strong connections between private sector companies and universities, facilitating the conduct and commercialization of research, the transfer of knowledge, and the sourcing of talent. This vision is taking another step forward with the University of Ottawa’s expanding Kanata North campus.Not only has the campus moved to a larger space at 350 Legget Dr., but other university departments are increasingly delivering programs in Kanata North.In this special episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Sean Geddes, the Director of Innovation and Partnerships for Kanata North. Special guests include Gregory Richards from the Telfer School of Management, which is launching a Digital Enterprise Centre, Paul Grenon from the uOttawa Professional Development Institute, which is launching a speakers series focused on government innovation, and Garrick Apollon from the uOttawa Faculty of Law, which is launching Startup Legal Clinics in Kanata North.For more on Ottawa’s entrepreneurial and tech scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
The future of money is digital, and it’s already here.In this episode of Techopia Live, we’re at TechTuesday exploring From Cash to Code: Finance at a Crossroads. Hosted by Riaz Sidi, this discussion dives into how digital currencies, stablecoins, and open banking are transforming the way money moves and how Canada’s financial system is adapting to this global fintech revolution.Moderated by Joshua Seerattan, Senior Investment Analyst at Wesley Clover International, the panel features Alex Vronces (Useful Digressions) and Marie-Chantal Leduc (Tetra Trust Company). Together, they share insights on fintech innovation, digital assets, and the future of banking, from regulation and infrastructure to business adoption and investment opportunities.The episode also includes additional interviews with attendees and community members, including Laura Walsh (Techstars), Dominic Scaletta (Myticas Consulting), and Thusha Agampodi (Fullscript).Whether you’re a founder, investor, or policymaker, this conversation reveals what’s at stake as Canada navigates the shift from traditional finance to digital financial ecosystems and how Ottawa is helping drive the next wave of fintech innovation.For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Solon Angel, the godfather of AI in Ottawa and beyond, is rapidly scaling his latest venture by embracing the full potential of artificial intelligence.Angel’s latest venture, Remitian, has put AI at the centre of everything it does, from code development and operations to marketing. Remitian serves as a masterclass in building an AI-first business from the ground up.Founded in November 2023, Remitian is already shaking up the accounting world by offering hassle-free tax remittance solutions to firms, streamlining submissions for their clients.Angel, who is now working out of Miami while maintaining a footing in Ottawa, also discusses the dynamics of operating a cross-border business.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Angel about why Remitian might be his next home run.For more on Ottawa’s entrepreneurial and tech scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
McDougall LLP, who specializes in business law. Kells, who served in Canada’s infantry for nearly 15 years, including time in Afghanistan, reflects on the economic potential of new defence procurement and what entrepreneurs should consider when contemplating doing business with the military.The podcast dissects the new defence policy and identifies the specific business openings created by this massive modernization effort. This is essential viewing for Ottawa entrepreneurs and tech leaders seeking to understand how their companies can capitalize on the biggest defence tech boom in Canadian history.For more on Ottawa’s entrepreneurial and tech scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5#defence #canada #ottawa #ottawatech #canadianbusiness #militarytech
Techopia Live was on location at TechTuesday for a thought-provoking panel exploring Pulse Check: Technology’s Role in Healthcare Innovation. Moderated by Wesley Clover International’s Veronica Farmer, the session brought together Ottawa-based leaders who are reimagining how patient-centred care is delivered, scaled, and supported by technology.The conversation featured Bruce Ford of Celestra Health Systems, Danielle Manley of Carleton University’s School of Nursing, Kara Kitts of The Ottawa Hospital, and Kenneth Lawless of the Ottawa Health Innovation Hub. Together, they shared how smart diagnostics, AI-driven decision-making, hospital innovation labs, and cross-sector partnerships are reshaping healthcare in Ottawa and beyond.From embedding AI competencies in medical education to building a $300-million advanced medical research facility, panellists highlighted both the opportunities and challenges of integrating technology into front-line care. Their perspectives showcased how collaboration between research, technology, and healthcare delivery is creating the foundation for the next generation of patient care.For more on Ottawa’s entrepreneurial and tech scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Every tech startup founder faces the same hurdle: funding. It's incredibly tough to grow a tech company when intense research and development come long before a paying customer. But what if there were a proven way to inject significant private capital into Ottawa's tech ecosystem?A dedicated group of Ottawa business leaders, Canada Flow Through Shares, thinks they have the answer. They're pushing for a tax policy inspired by Canada's mining industry, which has successfully used flow-through shares for decades to raise hundreds of millions. This innovative approach allows investors to directly deduct qualifying company expenses, making tech startups a far more attractive investment.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with David Perry, the driving force behind Canada Flow Through Shares. David explains how this model has supercharged investment in other sectors and countries, and outlines the crucial next steps for getting this powerful policy into the federal budget. Don't miss this essential discussion on how flow-through shares could fundamentally transform tech funding in Canada's capital.Looking for more Techopia?📰 Visit: https://obj.ca/techopia📧 Sign up for the weekly Techopia newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Ongoing infrastructure improvement and property development are based on an underlying assumption: that Ottawa and Eastern Ontario can continue to rely on a reliable and environmentally friendly supply of electrical power. Is that a safe assumption?Following the launch of City Building 2025 magazine, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Bryce Conrad, President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa, about this assumption.What is Hydro Ottawa doing to build a modern and more resilient electric grid in the face of increasingly severe climate events?What projects are getting investment from Hydro Ottawa to ensure increased green energy?How can Hydro Ottawa prepare for increased energy demand triggered by electric vehicles and AI?These questions and more are answered in this special podcast to launch City Building 2025 magazine. The theme for this year’s magazine is “Projects in the Pipeline.” The magazine looks at major development projects that are planned or springing up in six areas of Ottawa and Eastern Ontario.To read the digital edition of City Building 2025, visit https://issuu.com/greatrivermedia/docs/city_building_2025?fr=xKAE9_zMzMw
Ottawa’s entrepreneurs, founders and investors gathered on June 12 for AccelerateOTT, the flagship event of Ottawa Innovation Week, organized by Invest Ottawa.The one-day conference brought together many of the city’s founders for a day of keynotes, networking, and critical conversations about scaling, resilience, and the road to global impact. The theme? “Legends in the Making.”In this episode of Techopia Live, Riaz Sidi hits the floor at AccelerateOTT to speak with notable leaders from Ottawa’s tech ecosystem, including Sonya Shorey (Invest Ottawa), Nick Quain (Invest Ottawa), Fahim Sheikh (Trellis Corporation), Erin Kelly (Advanced Symbolics), Firass Sleiman (Connectit Rogers), Michelle Scarborough (Thrive Venture Fund BDC Capital), and Mary Yazdani (reasonX). From bootstrapped journeys to venture-backed success stories, this episode highlights the spirit of innovation shaping Ottawa’s economy.Hot topics included:– The path from founder to legend– How Ottawa can scale and compete globally– Building a thriving tech ecosystem rooted in community– AI adoption in Canada vs. the U.S.Whether you’re a startup founder, an investor, or just curious about the next big thing coming out of Ottawa, this episode is for you.Looking for more Techopia?📰 Visit: https://obj.ca/techopia📧 Sign up for the weekly Techopia newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5🔔 Subscribe for more Techopia Live episodes and Ottawa tech news.
Techopia Live was on location at TechTuesday for a compelling panel discussion exploring the realities of fast-growing companies, featuring local leaders recognized by the 2024 Deloitte Canada Technology Fast 50™ and Companies-to-Watch awards. Held in partnership with Deloitte and moderated by Wesley Clover International’s Veronica Farmer, the session offered rare insights into the pressures, pivots, and strategies behind rapid business growth.The conversation brought together three Ottawa-based tech leaders who shared the growing pains behind the headlines: Brad Crepeau of FoodCycler / Food Cycle Science, Pierce Ujjainwalla of Knak, and Kailin Noivo of Noibu. Together, they discussed what it really takes to lead through uncertainty, scale operations, and maintain momentum in competitive markets—all while staying true to their vision and values.Riaz Sidi, Techopia Live Correspondent, also spoke with attendees throughout the event, including Arianna Farley of Deloitte Canada, Angella Goran of Tapango Technologies Inc., and Ruth Ayalew and Diya Praveen of Youth Ottawa.For more on Ottawa’s entrepreneurial and tech scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Techopia Live was on location at the 2025 Ottawa Bootstrap Awards, held during Tech Tuesday at the Brookstreet Hotel, celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of local businesses that have grown through self-funding and minimal outside investment. The Annual Ottawa Network Bootstrap Awards recognize early-stage companies across all industries, both for-profit and non-profit, that have demonstrated innovation, sustainability, marketing excellence, and community impact through bootstrapping.This inspiring event highlighted the stories of resilient entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges, pivoted strategically, and built successful ventures with limited resources. The awards also fostered connections within Ottawa’s entrepreneurial community, encouraging collaboration and continued growth.Riaz Sidi, Techopia Live Correspondent, spoke with several winners and attendees about their journeys and the value of perseverance, smart financial management, and community support, including Diana Birsan (Downplay), Erika Poupart (Neuralign International), Karl Payeur (Downplay), Michael Nelson (Tactiqal), and Salah Masad (GCP).For more on Ottawa’s entrepreneurial and tech scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Techopia Live was on location for April's TechTuesday, focusing on climate action as Earth Day 2025 approaches. The event spotlighted Planetary Technologies and their groundbreaking ocean-based carbon removal solutions. Planetary Technologies was recognized as a Top 20 finalist in the prestigious $100M Carbon Removal XPRIZE.The event featured a presentation by Mike Kelland, CEO of Planetary Technologies, detailing their innovative approaches and vision for a sustainable future. Following the presentation, Veronica Farmer, VP of Marketing at Wesley Clover International, moderated a fireside chat between Mike Kelland and Jack Gulas, Managing Director of Improving and an early investor in Planetary Technologies.Reflecting on their past experience building a software company, Mike and Jack discussed their transition to addressing climate change through clean technology. The conversation explored the potential of investing in climate-focused innovation from both ethical and business perspectives.Riaz Sidi, Techopia Live Correspondent, also interviewed several attendees, including Mike Kelland (Planetary Technologies), Tiffani Westerman (WCS North America), Sal Masad (Green Carbon Products), Sergey Poltev (CapitalTek), Lindy Ledohowski (RBCx), and Devashish Paul (BluWave-ai).Looking for more information on Techopia? Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector. You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/
It’s a familiar story in Ottawa’s tech sector. An immigrant entrepreneur, brimming with technical prowess, settles in the city, scales a startup and achieves business success.This is the story of Sergey Poltev. Born in Russia, Poltev started fixing computers at the age of 12. A few short years later, along with some teenage friends, he launched an Internet cafe and computer gaming shop. Business was booming, until the Russian mafia came calling, causing Poltev to reconsider his future. He sold his share of the business, using the money to travel and study in the U.S.Eventually, Poltev found himself in Ottawa, and established an IT services company that is known today as CapitalTek. Twenty years later, the managed service provider and cybersecurity consultant counts dozens of local businesses and non-profit organizations as his customers. Poltev’s “keep it simple” approach has won him accolades, including a Forty Under 40 award from OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade and, more recently, a “MSP Titans of Industry” award.In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Poltev about his entrepreneurial journey, the consolidation of the MSPs and how CapitalTek is staying relevant to customers. Also, Poltev does a hacker show-and-tell to demonstrate some of the hardware that is used to crack into business IT systems and smartphones.Looking for more information on Techopia?Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/
Techopia Live was on location for the special International Women's Day 2025 edition of TechTuesday, hosted by Wesley Clover International in collaboration with L-SPARK, Capital Angel Network, and SheBoot.The monthly event celebrated women in technology as founders and angel investors, featuring startup pitches and a panel discussion. Four startups, Atorvia, I.Liv Performance, Quip Medical, and Sonaro, pitched their innovative solutions to a panel of investors and advisors, including Elza Seregelyi (L-SPARK), Suzanne Grant (Capital Angel Network), and Dr. Lindy Ledohowski (RBCx). The audience voted for their fan favorite, and the best pitch received a $10,000 cash prize.Veronica Farmer of Wesley Clover International moderated a panel featuring angel investors Megan Paterson (COO, Kinaxis), Coreen Bouchard (Founder, PureLogic IT Solutions), and Seema Aurora (Tech Angel Investor & Founder, TAG HR), who shared their experiences and insights.Veronica also interviewed several attendees, including Suzanne Grant (Capital Angel Network), Julia Elvidge (SheBoot), Coreen Bouchard (PureLogic IT), Karina Gasbarrino (Sonaro), and Yoobin Lee (Quip Medical), to gather their input.Looking for more information on Techopia?Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/
Techopia Live was on location for February’s TechTuesday, hosted by Wesley Clover Corp.The monthly event brought together tech and political leaders for an engaging discussion on the intersection of humans and AI in sales, featuring insights from industry leaders at the forefront of innovation.The panel, moderated by Veronica Farmer of Wesley Clover, included Rose Cain of Visier, Marcelo Bursztein of NovaceneAI, and Morgan Donaldson of Fullscript. The discussion focused on how and why the human element remains relevant in customer-facing roles, and how to balance it with the advantages of AI.Veronica also interviewed several attendees to gather their input, including Jon Chatburn of Growth Guide, Rose Cain of Visier, Alan Coady of Fidus Systems, Morgan Donaldson of Fullscript, and Marcelo Bursztein of NovaceneAI.Looking for more information on Techopia?Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Plantaform is beginning the new year with a bang. The Gatineau-based company, which aims to “revolutionize smart indoor gardening,” just kickstarted its U.S. expansion by exhibiting at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. At CES, Plantaform won three major awards, including Best of Innovation in the food and agritech category.The company will also be featured in CBC’s Dragon’s Den in February, plus showcase its device at Costco locations, including some in the Ottawa area.Founded in 2020, Plataform leveraged technology from NASA to build an egg-shaped consumer device suitable for kitchen countertops to grow fruits and vegetables using fog.In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Plantaform cofounder and CEO Alberto Aguilar about how 2025 might be a milestone year for the tech company.Note: For local viewers and listeners, Plantaform will be Costco at these locations: Kanata (Jan. 21 to Feb. 2), Gloucester (Feb. 4-16) and Nepean (Feb. 18 to March 2).
There is a global race to embrace AI. Countries and regions are making investments and mapping out strategies to accelerate AI adoption.Amidst this flurry of activity, something more grassroots is happening in Ottawa. A volunteer-run organization called AI Tinkerers Ottawa, established in late 2023, has surged to 800 members.This isn’t just a group of AI enthusiasts. On the contrary, only “high technical, active builders” are welcome at regular monthly meetings held at Bayview Yards.In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with the co-founder of AI Tinkerers Ottawa, Hai Nghiem. Nghiem shares the backstory of the local group, what it's trying to achieve and also shares some early details on his own AI venture, Cats with Bats.
TiE Ottawa held its annual conference at Carleton University’s Richcraft Hall at Carleton University on Nov. 8.Hundreds attended to explore the theme of “Disruptive Entrepreneurship: AI and Emerging Technologies.” The conference boasted an impressive line-up of speakers, including Mike Potter of Rewind, Peter O’Blenis of DistillerSR, John Findlay of LemonadeLXP, Kenton White of askpolly and many others. Invest Ottawa’s Sonya Shorey engaged in a fireside chat with Laura Fox of Streetlife Ventures, and futurist Michael Chase delivered a keynote dubbed “AI: Welcome to the Future.”Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe also presented the Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards.Techopia Live correspondent Riaz Sidi was on location interviewing TiECON attendees. His guests included conference organizer Bharat Rhuda of TiE Ottawa, Manu Sharma of the Ottawa Community Foundation, John Nelson of Carleton University Innovation Hub and Jennifer Francis of SheBoot.This episode of Techopia Live is brought to you by the University of Ottawa Faculty of Engineering. Learn more here: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-engineering/Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular news updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
AI was front and centre at SaaS North 2024, which took over the Rogers Centre in Ottawa on Nov. 13-14. Attendees contemplated how AI is disrupting the tech sector, specifically how it’s enabling many SaaS companies to add functionality and experiment with new go-to-market strategies.Techopia Live correspondent Riaz Sidi was on location at SaaS North, speaking with many high-profile attendees. His guests included Aydin Mirzaee of Fellow.app, Danielle Graham of The Firehood, local tech executive Sacha Gera, Kayla Isabelle of Startup Canada, Mark Stephenson of SaaS North, Priya Bhaloo of TagHR, Patrick White of L-Spark and Karine Bah Tahé of Oasis Learning AI.This episode of Techopia Live is brought to you by the University of Ottawa Faculty of Engineering. Learn more here: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-engineering/Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular news updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
The biggest tech event of the year rolled into Ottawa on Nov. 13. SaaS North, a two-day conference, attracted hundreds of tech leaders from across Canada and beyond to hear from keynote speakers such as digital marketing legend Neil Patel, Tealbook founder Stephany Lapierre, Certn founder Andrew Mcleod and many others.The conference, which is co-produced by L-Spark, delivered a “notoriously tactical agenda” and took a deep dive into SaaS sector. Hot topics included growth strategies, mergers and acquisitions activity, company valuations and the “disruptive tsunami” of artificial intelligence.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran visited SaaS North to speak with Susan Richards of numbercrunch and Nick Quain of Invest Ottawa. The wide-ranging discussion explored the impact of SaaS North conference on Ottawa, how the SaaS business model is holding up, and how SaaS players are rushing to embrace AI.Are you an entrepreneur or business owner working in Ottawa's tech sector? If so, check out these resources from numbercrunch: https://www.numbercrunch.ca/resources/Looking for more on Techopia?Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular news updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Techopia Live was on the road for November’s TechTuesday, organized by Wesley Clover Corp. The monthly event brought together tech and political leaders for an engaging discussion on Kanata North’s role in fostering Ottawa’s growth as a global tech hub.The panel, moderated by Veronica Farmer of Wesley Clover, included Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Councillor Cathy Curry, Stephen Willis of Stantec and Kelly Daize of the Kanata North Business Association.The panel discussed the city’s progress as a global tech centre, the vision for Canada’s largest technology park and policies that can encourage innovation and economic development.Techopia Live host Riaz Sidi interviewed several attendees to gather their input. The interviewees included Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Mary Yazdani of Robosafety, Ranjith Mathew of Ntangledstate Inc., Kelly Daize of Kanata North Business Association, Roula Eid of Fingerprint Leadership, and Nathalie Guthrie of Cengn.Looking for more information on Techopia?Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular news updates on Ottawa’s technology sector.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
If you study the history of the most successful tech centres in the United States ‒ think about places such as Silicon Valley, Boston and North Carolina ‒ that have a common element. In all these places, entrepreneurship and innovation were built on the foundations of universities and colleges.This collaboration between the private sector and post-secondary institutions provides many advantages, including a pipeline for talent, research and development and a culture of entrepreneurship.This same strategy is at work in Ottawa, especially in Kanata North, where the University of Ottawa recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of its west-end campus.Over the five years, uOttawa has doubled the size of its campus in Kanata, struck more than 60 research and development collaborations and dramatically increased the number of co-op students working in the technology park.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Sean Geddes, the director of innovation and partnership in Kanata North.For more information about uOttawa, please visit https://obj.ca/company/uottawa/.
The first-ever issue of Kingston Business Journal is off the press! A sister publication to Eastern Ontario Business Journal and Ottawa Business Journal, this new publication brings local business news coverage to Kingston, Ontario.In this podcast, host Michael Curran speaks with editor-in-chief Anne Howland to get a preview of the issue. Donna Gillespie, CEO of Kingston Economic Development, shares her thoughts on the evolution of the city’s business scene. Finally, Krista Marie LeClair, executive director of Kingston Accommodation Partners provides an update on the tourism industry, including plans for a new convention centre.A digital edition of the Kingston Business Journal can be viewed at www.obj.ca/kingston.
These are uncertain days for technology executives looking to secure venture capital. The sky-high valuations from the pandemic have tumbled and macroeconomic factors, ranging from high interest rates to runaway inflation, have cooled public and private investment markets.This dramatic change in venture capital is captured in a recent report from BDC Capital. The report indicates the number of VC-backed deals in 2023 dropped by 13 per cent, when compared to the previous year. Worse yet, when measured in dollars, venture capital is down 34 per cent compared to 2022.But it’s not all bad news in Canada’s tech sector. Many companies are pursuing deep tech ventures, including everything from artificial intelligence to quantum computing. This deep tech has big potential.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Sumita Banerjee and Thomas Park of BDC to explore venture capital trends and what BDC is doing to foster deep tech ventures.
In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran interviews Brian Kells, a corporate and securities lawyer from Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, discussing the role of AI in the tech sector and its legal ramifications.The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length.TECHOPIA: Brian, can you share a little bit about yourself and what you do at Perley?KELLS: I'm a lawyer at Perley-Robertson, practicing a broad range of corporate, and commercial securities laws, all different areas of law that are important to businesses in the Ottawa area. I've been practicing for about eight years now at Perley, and we're the largest independent firm in Ottawa. We have lawyers offering full-service scenarios, including employment law, intellectual property, commercial litigation, and real estate. Essentially, if you're a business in the Ottawa area, we're able to assist you.TECHOPIA: Brian, technology evolution flows in these big waves, these giant trends. There's a current wave, you might even call it a tsunami, that's artificial intelligence. Given your experience in corporate law, any general thoughts on where we're at in terms of AI these days?KELLS: Technology does go in waves, and this one in particular is pretty exciting. I think AI has the potential to be very transformative. Already, it's incredibly useful. You're able to go on ChatGPT or other AI providers, and already it's providing value to people and you're able to use it, but we're just at the start of it. I think ChatGPT 3.5, or whatever came out about a year and a half ago, and we know they're already working on more advanced models. If you look forward a little bit, what they're shooting for is artificial general intelligence. If that were to come about, then it's going to open up a whole new wave of opportunity for businesses.TECHOPIA: Brian, give us the dos and don'ts of AI?KELLS: Some of my dos might be a little bit on the cautious side as well, being a lawyer, but I'll just let you know some of the things I think about when I'm using it and when clients come to us for advice. One of the big things, and we've already advised a few clients on this, comes from the perspective of when you're partnering with an AI provider to help train their model. The way these artificial intelligence models work is that they rely on really large data sets that they turn through to train their model so that then they can work on it. Some of these companies have been approaching businesses that have data themselves to run the program on it and to train on it. Anytime you're talking about that, if you're a business that has a lot of data, you have to consider Canadian data privacy laws.For example, if you're an existing company with a large volume of personal information, customer information, spending habits, etc., you might want to partner with an AI company, like Amazon, Apple, or OpenAI, to bring their model in-house and to look at all of your data and then see if it can have any insights in that. We just have to keep in mind Canadian data privacy laws. The principal one is the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, which imposes several obligations on businesses that retain personal information and data. You have to make sure that what you're doing is going to comply with that.TECHOPIA: Brian, what are some of the don'ts when you think of AI?KELLS: One of the big don'ts involves copyright of data. As an example, let's consider the Ottawa Business Journal. It has 20, 30 or so years worth of articles that it has published. That might be really useful data for an artificial intelligence company to run its algorithm on it and to train on it. And as the owner, you would want to make sure that when you're handing that data over, you have the full rights to do that. What we're talking about really is the copyright that exists in some of those articles.
Are you a tech startup that is starving for cash? Or are you an established company that is doing innovative research? How would you like to receive tens of thousands of dollars or hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual recurring incentives from the federal government?In this episode of Techopia Live podcast, OBJ publisher Michael Curran interviews Matt Pearson, who helps lead EY’s tax incentive practice in Canada. Pearson has a Ph.D. in engineering physics, specializing in telecommunications. He is an inventor on 12 granted U.S. patents and an author of more than 50 published papers and conference presentations.
It’s precisely the time of year when work is winding down and even busy executives are shifting priorities to accommodate summer vacation.The question is, what’s the best way to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of work?Ottawa-based RVezy has an answer to that question: escape to the great outdoors. The online marketplace for recreational vehicle rentals has taken Canada by storm.Co-founded by Michael McNaught and Will Thompson in 2016, RVezy now lists 15,000 tent trailers and campers for rent. In its current stage of growth, RVezy is seizing the concept of “try before you buy” to build relationships with recreational dealers. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with McNaught about what the future holds for this promising local startup that some have predicted could become a unicorn.
More than 20 years after its founding, TrueContext Corp. has been acquired by U.S. private equity firm Battery Ventures in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $150 million.The change in ownership is a big milestone for its founder, Alvaro Pombo, a native of Colombia and former CIO of Newbridge Networks.Pombo founded TrueContext, formerly known as ProntoForms, in 2001 and led the company to a public listing on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2005. The Kanata-based software company gained customer traction with a low-code mobile solution aimed at field workers, who collect data in industries such as oil and gas.As its CEO, Pombo scaled TrueContext to about 135 employees and more than $20 million in annual revenues over two decades. However, its status as a publicly traded company with low trade volume started to create a “misalignment of objectives” between shareholders focused on short-term returns and those taking a longer-range view of the company’s success.That caused TrueContext executives to consider their alternatives.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Pombo about what led to the decision to sell TrueContext and what comes next with Battery Ventures. Pombo also talks about the challenges of operating a microcap public company.
What if you could disrupt one of the world’s oldest industries with IoT and artificial intelligence and significantly reduce its carbon footprint? Wouldn’t that be a game changer?That is precisely what Ottawa’s Giatec Scientific is doing.Now 14 years into its mission, Giatec has commercialized academic research into a complete suite of solutions for the world’s $800-billion concrete industry.Its two founders Pouria Ghods and Aali Alizadeh ‒ supported by advisors such as Debbie Weinstein and Jeff Westeinde ‒ are gaining traction in a very old world industry, signing on companies such as Lafarge. Giatec estimates its products are now used in 85 countries and 12,000 construction projects.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher speaks to Ghods about the company’s journey, its rise to 150 employees, its goal to create a complete digital solution for users of concrete and what comes next for this Giatec.
A who’s who from the Ottawa-Gatineau technology community came together on May 8 to celebrate the second annual Techopia-EY Insights magazine. More than 200 guests gathered at Queen St. Fare to get their hands on the first copies of the magazine. Themed “A new lens on Ottawa’s tech ecosystem,” the magazine included features that examined the state of the sector from many perspectives, including local serial entrepreneurs, tech leaders who have left Ottawa and executives working abroad for Ottawa-based companies. The magazine also included a listing of tech ecosystem players and listings of local tech firms from 11 different niches.A digital edition of the magazine can be found at https://techopiaeyinsights.ca.Interested in Ottawa’s tech scene? Be sure to visit www.obj.ca/techopia for regular news coverage.You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5
Join us for an engaging webinar on the transformative impact of acoustic pods in today's workplace environment.Acoustic pods have emerged as an innovative solution by providing focus-friendly spaces, flexibility for varied work types and environments that adapt to the needs of users. In this session, we will tap into the evolving needs of modern work, and how to revolutionize your workplace.Don’t miss this opportunity to discover the new era of workplace and the high-performing office as OBJ's Michael Curran chats with Burovision Ottawa’s president Gillian Oxley-Harper, and Framery’s Kendryn Hutt.What you will learn:What solutions are needed for the new era of workWho benefits from having acoustic pods and how to engineer a smarter office.Why having a space for privacy and acoustics is crucialWho should tune in:Productivity and procurement specialistsEmployers and organizational leadersHuman resource executives
If you’re looking to work for a local technology company, be warned, the job market has shifted. Only a few years ago, HR departments were clamouring for fresh recruits. That’s not necessarily the case today, when many tech firms are laying off staff and cutting costs.In this uncertain job market, the Kanata North Business Association organized its annual job fair, Discover Technata, attracting more than 30 exhibitors and securing 4,000 registered attendees.The participation from companies and job seekers suggests the tech job market cannot be painted with one brush. Some companies such as MDA Space, which is building satellites for a billion-dollar contract with Telesat, are aggressively recruiting in Ottawa and across the country.OBJ publisher Michael Curran visited the job fair to speak with organizers, exhibitors and attendees to get a sense of hiring trends. The podcast guests included KNBA chair Guy Levesque, uOttawa co-op team lead Chantal Yelle and MDA Space talent acquisition director David Mann.
With valuations down and a tight venture capital market, tech venture founders are looking for ways to stretch their working capital.In some cases, that means cutting expenses and laying off employees. In other instances, it means going back to early-stage investors for more money.The Capital Angel Network is answering this call in this challenging economic climate.With approximately 60 members, CAN says it’s staying committed to its portfolio companies with a significant increase in follow-on investments.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Suzanne Grant, executive director of CAN. Grant provides an update on the local angel scene, plus previews the upcoming National Angel Capital Organization Summit, which happens in Ottawa on May 7-8.
There is a misperception in the technology industry that startups can emerge from nowhere and achieve overnight success. While that can happen, it’s definitely the exception. It’s more common for success to emerge after a long period that is defined by setbacks and challenges.Alfred Jay’s entrepreneurial journey began back in 1998, the early days of the dot-com craze. Although early products such as CommunityZero attracted millions of users, Jay and his co-founder Philippe Dame came to the conclusion that a pivot was necessary. It was 2008, the financial crisis was taking hold and the co-founders believed their business model was flawed.That was the start of today’s Recollective, a qualitative online research platform that is used by some of the world’s most recognizable companies, including Mattel, Nikon, RBC and Michaels.The reset has paid off. Recollective revenues are up 400% in the past five years, headcount has increased from 24 employees in 2019 to 110 employees and the company boasts more than 2,000 customers.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran talks with Jay about this quarter century working in local tech. Also, Jay talks about why Recollective is finding such traction with its customers these days and what artificial intelligence might mean to market research in years to come.
Techopia Live is heading out to the Ottawa Valley. Based in Arnprior, Convergence Design Services dates back to the 1990s, but more recently the company has quietly doubled its revenues, ranking sixth on the Fastest Growing Companies in Eastern Ontario.Convergence is keeping pace in the ever-changing world of technology with projects in electric vehicles, robotics, AI, Smart IoT and space.Its president Ben Seaman joined Convergence in 2019 to succeed a retiring owner-operator, but his electronic design experience dates back to the telecom heyday with JDS Uniphase, followed by positions at Honeywell Aerospace and Curtiss-Wright Defence Solutions.Seaman says the promise of working with senior engineering talent at Convergence lured him back for a second stint with the company.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher speaks with Seaman about major projects underway at Convergence, the benefits of being based in Arnprior and the challenges of doubling revenues.
The road to entrepreneurship was a winding one for Adam Miron.While he was a biology student at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Adam got involved in politics with the Liberal Party.It was the early 2000s and Stephane Dion was the Liberal leader. He asked Miron to come to Ottawa to work for the party.For the better part of a decade, Miron immersed himself in politics, then media with iPolitics and then some political consulting. He developed a keen interest in the intersection of public policy and market opportunities.That expertise served him well in 2013, when his brother-in-law Sebastien St. Louis presented Miron with a big idea: seize the opportunity presented by the legalization of medical marijuana.That was the beginning of Hexo Corp., a Gatineau-based producer of marijuana that, at its height, had a billion-dollar valuation and more than 1,000 employees.Miron’s involvement with Hexo ended in February 2022, when he resigned from the board to let new executives operate the company. With Hexo in his rearview mirror and other entrepreneurial pursuits concluding, Miron says he is feeling unencumbered these days.That’s good news for Invest Ottawa, which secured Miron as its co-chair in June 2023. He is now helping the city’s lead economic development agency as it transitions to a new CEO.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks to Miron about his passion for advising young entrepreneurs and what he is excited about at Invest Ottawa.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, many local technology companies have struggled with how to deal with hybrid and remote work, often referred to as the “new normal” in today’s workplace. There are so many conflicting opinions on how to maintain productivity and engagement in this shifting work environment.In this episode of Techopia Live, correspondent Riaz Sidi visits TechTuesday, a monthly event organized by the Wesley Clover Foundation.The February event was devoted to “The New Normal: Navigating Culture, Preferences and the Office.” Featured speakers in this episode include panelists Mary Clement of Ross Video, Amber Pate of Kinaxis, Heather Tyrie of Fullscript, plus Kanata MP Jenna Sudds and City of Ottawa councillor Cathy Curry.Check out future TechTuesday events here: https://www.wesleyclover.com/events/techtuesday/
When you think of internet service provider options for Ottawa, you’ll inevitably think of the big national companies that dominate this space, notably Bell and Rogers. What many people fail to realize is that local providers still exist.Way back in the 1990s, in the early days of the Internet, these local providers were essential. Most early adopters turned to these local ISPs to access the web and email.All these years later, one local ISP is still thriving. Storm Internet Services was launched in 1996 to serve Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Today, Storm has approximately 9,000 residential and 1,000 commercial customers, offering DSL, fibre, wireless, cable connectivity, and IPTV.Storm has offices in Ottawa, Perth, and Chesterville, with local support and call centre staff.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Storm chairman and CEO Birket Foster about how this longstanding local ISP continues to thrive and how upcoming CRTC decisions could open up new opportunities.
Finding a winning idea in the technology sector is really hard. Identifying a concept, understanding market fit, doing the research, and securing clients is a daunting task for Canadian entrepreneurs, let alone new immigrants to the country.Mary Yazdani’s technology career dates back 20 years to her native Iran, where she earned a master’s degree in systems networking and telecommunications. In November 2016, Yazdani moved to Canada and only a few years later, she established herself as an award-winning entrepreneur, including an Immigrant Entrepreneur Award from the City of Ottawa in 2021 and a Forty Under 40 in 2023.At GenesisLink Consulting Services, which she founded in 2000, Yazdani spends much of her time consulting with new and established entrepreneurs on sales, marketing, R&D, human resources, and strategy. She is particularly passionate about helping immigrant entrepreneurs from Brazil, Portugal, India, Egypt, and other countries.In this episode of Techopia Live, the publisher of the Ottawa Business Journal speaks with Yazdani about her growing business ventures, her business model, and what might come next in her entrepreneurial journey.
Experience has taught rehabilitation counselor and Performance Plus Rehabilitative Care founder Linda Simpson that employers love hiring people with disabilities.Especially when they have trustworthy guidance on the best way to do it.That said, keeping up with standards and regulations isn't easy, especially for small employers operating on a shoestring budget.Since Linda is a small business owner herself who understands how to keep a business alive through turmoil and change, she brings a unique perspective and skill set to the table - it makes her the ideal resource for employers large and small.Today she'll be chatting with OBJ's Mike Curran about the accessibility standards employers need to know in 2024.What you'll learn:An overview of new accessibility standards for education and trainingWhere employers should focus their effortsHow the team at Performance Plus Rehabilitative Care can helpWho should attend:Small business ownersCEOsHuman resource executives#disability #inclusion #disabilitypride #disabilityawareness #employment #humanresources #training
If you believe that innovation only happens inside semiconductor chips and software, think again.Two social entrepreneurs from Ottawa are determined to improve food security, especially for Indigenous communities in Canada’s North, through innovation in agriculture.Back in 2015, Corey Ellis and Alida Burke co-founded The Growcer and created a food system solution that allows “anyone anywhere to grow food locally.”Years later, they are perfecting hardware, education and distribution to help The Growcer flourish. The company has sold approximately 85 of its growing systems, which range in price from $250,000 to $350,000, and employs about 30 people, most based in Ottawa.Ellis and Burke say they are most proud about growing 10 million servings of vegetables through their systems in 2023.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran talks to Ellis and Burke about their ambitious growth plans, including a lease plan to make the units more accessible for buyers who can’t make an upfront capital purchase.
The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence in 2023 was the innovation story of the year. It dominated news headlines as well as boardroom discussions. How will AI disrupt existing industries? How can it be used to increase efficiency? What are the broader implications of AI?In this bonus episode of Techopia Live, Michael Curran of Ottawa Business Journal and Susan Richards of numbercrunch explore what AI could mean to Ottawa’s technology sector. Plus, two local companies that are staking their futures on AI explain their opportunities and future plans. Special guests include Patrick Tan, CEO of Esprit-ai, and Orchid Jahanshahi, a vice-president at NuEnergy.ai.
OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Perley-Robertson Hill & McDougall partner Dirk Bouwer about legal trends that are relevant to executives in the technology sector.
Wesley Clover International occupies a unique role in Ottawa’s technology ecosystem. It’s more than a company. It’s a foundation upon which dozens of technology startups have launched and scaled.Wesley Clover was founded by Sir Terry Matthews, the city’s greatest tech icon. After 51 years leading the local tech scene, Matthews is still hands-on with the company and its portfolio. He is supported by a team of executives, including Ben Morris, vice-president of technology strategies.Morris grew up in Kanata in the shadow of the community’s technology office towers. Today, he has a diverse job that varies almost daily. On behalf of Wesley Clover portfolio companies, Morris deals with banks, investors, prospective clients and generally solves problems to help the portfolio thrive.In this episode of Techopia Live, Morris speaks with Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran to provide an inside look at Wesley Clover and the tech trends that will shape the sector in 2024.
This year’s SAAS NORTH 2023 conference, held Nov. 15 at the Shaw Centre, attracted more than 1,000 attendees. Known as a hub for Canadian SaaS founders and their teams, the event heard from key players in the Ottawa community like Solon Angel, Kyle Braatz, Julia Elvidge and Sacha Gera.To join in on the fun, Techopia Live host Riaz Sidi took viewers to the event with him, getting reaction and highlights from heavy-hitting Ottawa leaders Urooj Qureshi, founder and CEO of Impactor App; Jennifer Francis, founder of SheBoot; Janeffer Gangji, founder of Exemplify Talent; and, Joanne Kiskis, vice-president of marketing at Polymath.
Supervising your employees while they’re at work is tough on its own. Being concerned about what they do outside the office makes it even tougher.But wait, is that really an employer’s business in the first place? The answer? Yes, when your reputation is at stake. Knowing how to determine if you're at risk depends on the employee, their role and what actually happened.Join us as Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran learns from Emond Harnden employment lawyers Sarah Lapointe and Fabienne Lajoie what you need to know about disciplining employees for off-duty conduct.
Techopia Live host Riaz Sidi visited SAAS NORTH 2023 conference, a two-day conference that attracted more than 1,000 attendees from around Canada, the U.S. and beyond on Nov. 15 at the Shaw Centre. At the event, Sidi spoke with several key participants ‒ including Veronica Farmer of Wesley Clover, Solon Angel of FreshFounders, Andrew Lemoine of Autocorp.ai, Aydin Mirzaee of Fellow and Mark Stephenson of Cube Business Media ‒ to get their reaction to the conference and its highlights. Check out their conversations here, and stay tuned for more coverage.
Entrepreneurs make the world a better place. They solve big problems and innovate to find solutions that no one has ever considered. In doing so, entrepreneurs create jobs, wealth and even, on occasion, help address social issues.This episode of Techopia Live features the person who is leading the charge for entrepreneurs across Canada, Kayla Isabelle, CEO of Startup Canada.Kayla Isabelle is an Ottawa Business Journal and Ottawa Board of Trade Forty Under 40 recipient from 2022 and a Globe and Mail 2023 Changemaker.Kayla Isabelle joined Startup Canada in 2019 and gradually moved up the ranks. Today she manages an Ottawa-based team that supports more than 135,000 entrepreneurs across Canada, through its online program and cross-country tour.While Kayla Isabelle remains bullish on entrepreneurship in Canada, she says there are also troubling trends in this post-pandemic period.
Eastern Ontario is home to many businesses involved in the agriculture sector. From growers and producers, to transport and processing, it’s a sector that generates tens of billions of dollars each year in Ontario.With this issue of Eastern Ontario Business Journal, we focus on agriculture, “agrifood” and agritech. Our special section, Lay of the Land, gives an overview of the industry in the region, introduces some of the major players, and examines how traditional farming is melding with technology to create exciting new possibilities.In a podcast to complement the report, host Phil Gaudreau talks with two special guests to get their views on the state of the industry, the labour challenge, and what the future might look like.Check out the special report in the Eastern Ontario Business Journal.
Keeping up with employment case law isn’t easy, but it is important, especially when it comes to making sure your employment contracts are enforceable.Employers should be reviewing employment contracts regularly, particularly in light of a few recent decisions handed down by the Court of Appeal for Ontario.Emond Harnden LLP partner Paul Lalonde and associate Zoriana Priadka join us to review three notable cases touching on the issue of employment contracts.They’ll explain the key points, how to know if it’s time to take action, and how to avoid introducing additional risks when renegotiating employment contracts.Join OBJ's Michael Curran as he leads this discussion about mitigating your risks in an ever-evolving employment law landscape.
Fellow is joining the war on useless and inefficient meetings.Earlier this year, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke told employees to purge their work calendars of all recurring meetings with more than two people. Lutke suggested that too much time was being wasted in ineffective meetings, resulting in lower productivity for Shopify.Aydin Mirzaee, a co-founder of Fellow and business colleague of Lukte, is responding to the rally call against useless meetings.This fall, Fellow unveiled a new feature set that helps managers limit inefficient meetings, including a calculator to reveal the true cost of group meetings.The new feature set works with Google Calendar and lets administrators impose guidelines on employees who are setting meetings. For example, it can restrict the number of employees invited to a meeting. It can also recommend excluding an employee who has too many meetings in a given period of time.Mirzaee says new data suggests that, in a post-pandemic business world, managers are now spending 14.5 hours, an increase from 9.4 hours in 2019."While meetings are often cited as a huge source of productivity drain, this isn't about declaring an all-out ban on meetings. It's about proactively redefining an organization's meeting culture and changing the way meetings are conducted to boost productivity and reduce cost waste," says Mirazee.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Mirzaee to get his insights into how organizations can encourage productive and efficient meetings.Read more about Fellow here: https://obj.ca/company/fellow/
Area X.O. has been called Invest Ottawa’s “moonshot” project. On Sept. 27, the campus and its technology were on full display at an event called the Canadian Smart Mobility Demo Day.The event was planned by Invest Ottawa, along with Transport Canada and FedDev Ontario, to demonstrate smart mobility technology, autonomous vehicles and drones. It was attended by more than 1,200 entrepreneurs, developers and public sector officials who were all keen to witness and discuss the future of this technology segment.Reporting for Ottawa Business Journal, Techopia Live correspondent Riaz Sidi spoke with Michael Tremblay of Invest Ottawa, Luke Corbeth of IndroRobotics, Steve Magirias of Drone Delivery Canada, Jordan Wallace of GPS Ontario, and Fahed Hassanat of Sensor Cortek. For coverage of Invest Ottawa’s Area X.O, click here.
At a time when consumers are looking to save money given rising inflation, Ottawa-based Nuvyyo is providing TV watchers with a chance to cut the cord.Nuvyyo has unveiled a new version of its flagship device, called Tablo, that is capable of receiving over-the-air TV signals and digitally recording shows.Nuvyyo is now owned by E.W. Scripps Company, a Cincinnati-based broadcasting organization that acquired it for just under US$14 million in January 2022. That new ownership, which adds considerable marketing resources, and the new device could be a game changer for Nuvyyo.The latest Tablo will retail for just less than US$100 and be sold directly to consumers at www.tablotv.com and BestBuy.com.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran talks to Nuvyyo CEO Grant Hall about the “most ambitious project” in the firm’s history.
After years of delays, Ottawa-based Telesat has struck a multibillion-dollar deal that should pave the way for its much-anticipated new network of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites.
Just days ago, Telesat announced that it was pulling out of its agreement with Thales Alenia Space and instead going with Canadian aerospace firm MDA, which will build 198 advanced satellites. The change, expected to result in US$2 billion in capital cost savings, means Telesat can proceed with the project.
In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with the president and CEO of Telesat, Dan Goldberg. A past recipient of the OBJ-Ottawa Board of Trade CEO of the Year award, Goldberg discusses what the deal will mean to Telesat customers and the economic impact on Ottawa-Gatineau, which should see hundreds of new jobs.
Invest Ottawa always takes a lead role in local economic development, especially when it comes to the technology sector.
The organization hit some important milestones in 2023: the tenth anniversary of Invest Ottawa’s founding, the sixth anniversary of Bayview Yards and the graduation of 10 more companies from the IO Accelerator program.
The leader of Invest Ottawa is Michael Tremblay, who took the helm in 2017 after a successful career at technology companies such as Microsoft, SAP, JDSU, EDS and Digital Equipment Corporation.
In the episode of Techopia Live with Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran, Tremblay delves into the inner workings of Invest Ottawa, including how the organization is adapting to a changing economic climate, an update in the organization’s strategic plan, what comes next for Area X.O and a national expansion for SheBoot.
You can read more OBJ coverage of Invest Ottawa on obj.ca.
In this bonus episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with Jennifer Teoh, associate partner at EY in Ottawa and Forty Under 40 recipient in 2020. Jennifer works with CFOs and specializes in ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting. Jennifer says that non-financial reporting data such as ESG is quickly becoming a differentiator for companies, which increasingly need to have quantifiable metrics around their ESG initiatives.
Also featured in this episode is Heather Ward, the CEO and co-founder of Hyperion Global Energy. Hyperion says it has developed a groundbreaking carbon recycling system that transforms waste carbon emissions into mineral feedstocks at industrial scale. Ward provides an update on Hyperion and speaks about Ottawa’s growing cleantech sector.
Thanks to the pandemic, it took three years for Fidus Systems to celebrate its 20th anniversary. But CEO Alan Coady says the wait was well worth it. The Kanata-based company recently threw an anniversary bash, gathering most of its employees to mark five years of rapid growth. Coinciding with Coady’s appointment as CEO, the company’s headcount – including contractors – has increased from about 40 to 200 employees since Coady took the helm.
Fidus specializes in electronic product development, typically partnering with clients to provide design solutions. Building on its two decades of technology know-how, Fidus now works with the “world’s most advanced technology companies” including Ciena, Cisco, Ericsson, Google, Microsoft and Tesla. In total, Fidus has completed more than 1,000 projects for its clients.
In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Coady about what is driving growth at Fidus and how the company will continue to leverage artificial intelligence to improve its technology services.
E-commerce experienced incredible highs during the pandemic followed by the lows that followed the health crisis. This topsy-turvy period has caused leaders at e-commerce companies to rightsize their businesses and adjust to “normalized adoption rates” of their customers. In Ottawa, companies such as Shopify, Noibu and Rewind are working to find the way forward.
In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran talks with Rick Watson, who spent more than 20 years in e-commerce sector entrepreneurship. These days, Watson is based in New York City and operates RMW Commerce Consulting.
Watson shares his perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing Shopify, especially when it comes to continuing innovation, staying strategically focused and moving upstream to secure Fortune 500 clients.
It's a common refrain in Ottawa’s technology sector: You can work in the local sector for decades and still be surprised that you don’t know all the success stories. This is the case JSI Telecom, a company founded in 1979 that has developed a global reputation for helping law enforcement, intelligence agencies and security organizations analyze data. JSI has more than 400 employees working around the world in offices near Washington, Frankfurt and Sydney.
Just days ago, an external CEO took the helm of the family enterprise. Sacha Gera, a veteran of the local tech sector, who has worked for Nortel, Nokia, CGI, BlackBerry and Calian, is the new CEO, appointed to take the company to the next level, including fully exploring the potential of emerging artificial intelligence technology.
Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Gera in this episode of Techopia Live.
You might think the financial and operational success of your technology venture is based on things like sales, marketing, admin, research and development, and you would be partially correct.
However, something that’s often forgotten is mental fitness of leaders in those companies – the people who are making daily decisions that impact the company and its team.
Techopia Live is going to the movies! In this episode, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with one of the original employees at Research in Motion (RIM). Matthias Wandel started working at RIM in Waterloo in 1993, years before the company made its breakthrough into mobile messaging and played an important role in developing smartphones.With the launch of the critically acclaimed movie BlackBerry, Wandel takes us on a journey of the early days at RIM and provides a fact check on the movie’s dramatization of handheld device’s development.Join Techopia Live as Wandel contemplates what business lessons can be drawn from the demise of BlackBerry handheld devices.
Angel investing plays a critical role in the life cycle of early stage technology companies. In Ottawa, that role is largely filled by an organization called the Capital Angel Network.One of the top five most active angel groups in Canada, the Capital Angel Network was founded in 2009 and now has more than 40 members. Since inception, the Capital Angel Network has invested more than $65 million in local startups.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with two of the Capital Angel Network leaders, Suzanne Grant and Jennifer Francis. Together, they discuss the opportunity created by a down investment market, the types of companies that should consider angel investing, and how the group is pushing for more diversity in its investments.For more information on the Capital Angel Network, click here: linktr.ee/capitalangels
With widespread remote work being a relatively recent development in Canadian workplaces, employers are facing new challenges.One in particular is the inability to directly supervise employees and the increased trust that must accordingly be placed in them, something that is not without risk.
Transportation and logistics companies have benefited from the widespread changes brought about by the pandemic. The shift to e-commerce over the past two years might have slowed down as health restrictions were lifted, but there is no turning back online ordering. Look no further than your average residential street and the number of trucks doing deliveries. Also, the shift to onshoring of manufacturing means that raw materials are being shipped more frequently by road, water and air. Eastern Ontario is already demonstrating that it's poised to become a transportation and logistics hub thanks to several advantages. With Hwy. 401 ‒ Canada’s busiest highway ‒ the shipping corridor of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the deep water port at Johnstown, air links and proximity to the U.S. border, more large warehouses are being erected and associated transportation companies are flourishing. These new companies are increasingly sophisticated, harnessing modern technology like robotics and sensors to track inventory and shipping.In this special podcast, the Eastern Ontario Business Journal’s Michael Curran turns spotlight to three transportation and logistics companies are evolving and expanding. Podcast guests include Ben Poirier from Minimax Express Inc., Jesse Mitchell from Strader-Ferris International and Jordi Wills from Wills Transfer Ltd.The podcast is complemented by a special report in Eastern Ontario Business Journal that can be found here: www.eobj.ca.
Thousands of job seekers converged at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on March 28 to meet face-to-face with local technology companies who are hiring. The event, called Discover Technata, has become the largest technology recruitment event in Ottawa, this year attracting approximately 4,000 people and 40 companies.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Amanda Gordon of Kanata North Business Association and Amy MacLeod of MDA, an international space mission partner, robotics and satellite systems company with an office in Kanata.The discussion focused on the topsy-turvy technology recruitment scene with some local companies starving for talent and others shedding jobs.For more information on the tech sector in Kanata, visit the OBJ website here: https://obj.ca/company/kanata-north-business-association/
In this special episode of Techopia Live, we'll be diving into the world of artificial intelligence, a rapidly growing field that is transforming the way we interact with technology.AI is being used in a wide range of industries, from healthcare and finance to transportation and entertainment, and has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work.Joining us today is the University of Ottawa's Dr. Herna Viktor, one of the AI thought leaders in Ottawa who will be sharing their insights and perspectives on the latest developments in this exciting field.By the way, this intro was written by ChatGPT!
Invest Ottawa, the city’s lead economic development agency, recently celebrated a big milestone, its 10th anniversary. At its home, Bayview Yards, and virtually, Invest Ottawa delivers a wide range of programs to new entrepreneurs and established businesses. Select companies are invited into accelerator and scale-up programs.In the episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Nick Quain, vice-president of venture for Invest Ottawa. Three award-winning companies ‒ Ekidna Sensing, LearnExperts and Trellis ‒ that benefited from Invest Ottawa programs are featured. Quain shares his take on why these companies could be the next big thing in technology in Ottawa.
We know that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) can help foster a more productive workplace and create a place where your employees can thrive.But a recent Gallagher survey found that 60 percent of employers still lack a clearly articulated EDI strategy — and by that we mean more than a sentence or two in a policy book.With so many approaches to EDI training available, it’s understandable for employers to feel overwhelmed about knowing where to start.If you want your team to benefit from diversity training but still have questions, this webinar is for you.PMC Training has brought on diversity trainer Lalith Gunaratne, who believes a “compassion first” approach is the best way to create a safe space where constructive conversations can happen.
A career in the technology sector offers many advantages -- innovation, global markets, a fast-paced and dynamic work environment. For all its allure, one problem persists in the technology sector, including at a local level. It’s the lack of gender equity in the tech labour force. Experts estimate that women make up less than 30 per cent of technology workers and that percentage isn’t rising fast enough.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran turns to two local experts in gender equity with very different experiences. Thusha Agombi graduated with an engineering degree more than 20 years ago, spending most of her career working in Ottawa. Charlotte Karam is a researcher and academic who specializes in inclusive human resource systems. She is also the director of the executive MBA program at the Telfer School of Management.In recognition of International Women’s Day 2023, Techopia Live turns its attention to gender equity in the local technology sector.
Are you ready to don a suit of armour, brandish medieval weapons, explore dungeons and slay dragons? If so, be sure to check out Ottawa-based mobile gaming developer Northern Forge Studios. The studio recently caught the attention of serial entrepreneur Jason Flick, who was looking for new projects after vacating the CEO chair at You.i TV. Flick, a Pokémon GO enthusiast, stumbled across Northern Forge game Orna, a GPS role-playing game. Flick was shocked to learn the game’s developer was located in his hometown. Now a co-founder at Northern Forge, Flick is drawing on his entrepreneurial savvy to scale the company. So far, so good. Orna has been downloaded more than 2.3 million times and has more games coming online. In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran interviews Flick about his newfound passion for mobile gaming.
Have you ever wondered about the future of technology?More specifically about the future of wireless telecommunications networks that are more and more pervasive in our everyday lives?We’re not simply talking about smartphones – think about GPS, or autonomous vehicles.OBJ’s Michael Curran sat down with Halim Yanıkömeroğlu, a professor of Systems and Computer Engineering at Carleton University to talk about what the future of wireless connectivity could like for Ottawa and beyond.
Getting your house in order on the legal front is essential when building a successful technology company. In this bonus episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Conor Cronin, a corporate and securities lawyer at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP. Cronin shares his thoughts on technology trends for 2023 as they pertain to legal matters.
Network administration, especially when it comes to security, is getting ever more complicated. That’s especially true when you consider powerful trends such as machine learning and the exponential traffic spike coming from 5G. What are network admins to do?Enter Kanata-based Corsa Security, which specializes in network security virtualization. Corsa helps large enterprises and security providers, deploy, scale and optimize virtual firewalls.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Carolyn Raab, the co-founder and chief product officer of Corsa. She provides the latest on Corsa, including its success, its challenges and what comes next the company as its hits 10 years in business.
What do Canada and Sweden have in common? (Besides the fact they won’t face each other in the World Cup.) Swedish-based global tech design company Syntronic is building its presence in Canada, more specifically Ottawa. Since arriving in Canada, Syntronic has grown its workforce to approximately 550 employees, many of them located in Kanata.This fall, Syntronic continued its growth by acquiring Stittsville-based manufacturing company Lloyd Douglas Solutions. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. This marks the second local acquisition for Syntronic, which previously purchased DragonWave’s operations in 2022.In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran talks with Syntronic’s senior vice-president, Darrell Wellington, who is based in Kanata. Wellington, who has worked for more than 20 years in the local technology industry for companies such as MOSAID and BlackBerry, says Syntonic is having a big impact on Ottawa and its technology sector.
The pandemic was hard on everybody. From a business perspective, however, few were harder hit than hospitality and tourism operators.People weren’t going out. Events were cancelled. And, as things came roaring back earlier this year, a large number of workers had left the sector.On this week’s Eastern Ontario Business Journal podcast, Phil Gaudreau explores how tourism recovery is looking in eastern Ontario today and what’s in store for 2023. He’s joined by Emilie Williams of Tulips and Maple Catering, Claudia Van Wijk of OWL Rafting, and Ryan Gilbertson of the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association. Be sure to like and subscribe to be notified of future videos from the Ottawa Business Journal!
As the jingle goes, good things groooow in Ontario.
As it turns out, good things are made in Ontario too! Maybe you drove to work in an Ontario made car today. When you stopped to blow your nose – ‘tis the season, right? – you might have used a tissue made right here in Ontario. As you sat in your office chair…guess what, eastern Ontario makes furniture too.
From planes and trains to boats, from concrete to cables, and from cameras to screens, on this very special edition of the Eastern Ontario Business Journal podcast, host Phil Gaudreau looks at some of the stuff made and built in Eastern Ontario as well as the recently released magazine of the same name. He's joined by JP Giroux of the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium, Patrick Tallon of Tulmar Safety Systems and Daniel Liao of St Lawrence College.
Educators: make sure you check out the STUFF Student Activity Guide available at stuffmadeandbuilt.ca.
Kyle Braatz is on a mission to change health care. That’s a lofty goal, but the company he leads and co-founded is growing in leaps and bounds with revenues exceeding $600 million. In September, Braatz was named the 2022 CEO of the Year by Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade.
Over almost 12 years, Braatz has taken the company from an idea he and business partners Brad Dyment and Chris Wise hashed out in his living room to a multinational enterprise that provides nutritional supplements and other natural health-care products as well as treatment plans to more than five million patients.
Now with 900 employees, about 300 located in Ottawa, Fullscript raised US$240 million in equity financing – the biggest such funding haul in the nation’s capital since the dot-com boom in the early 2000s – and acquired one of its biggest competitors.
[CKEBLOCK]adslotposition1_content_embed[/CKEBLOCK] There is no stopping the University of Ottawa alumnus, who is the 23rd recipient of CEO of the Year, joining a who’s who of local business executives, including Shopify co-founder Tobi Lütke, Calian Group’s Kevin Ford and Kinaxis CEO John Sicard.
CEO of the Year is sponsored by Boyden, a specialist in executive recruitment with offices in Ottawa.
For more about Braatz, read this profile in Ottawa Business Journal: https://obj.ca/article/local/fullscript-co-founder-kyle-braatz-named-ottawas-2022-ceo-year
Canada has a long and successful history in mining. While some might think the industry’s best days are behind it, experts say a convergence of factors ‒ economic, geopolitical and environmental ‒ could mean mining is poised for unprecedented growth in Canada.
This growth is critical to Canadian manufacturers, including Ottawa’s own technology sector, because these minerals are key components in electronics hardware.
In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Pierre Gratton, the president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada. Also, Peter Nicholson, president of the Foundation WCPD, talks about a joint event planned with the mining association on Nov. 3 at Hub350 in Kanata. More information about that event here.
Under normal business circumstances, growth is kind of what we expect.
You open a business and, assuming you know what you’re doing, you keep introducing new products or improving your existing ones, money gets made, bills get paid. Simple, right?
OK, maybe not so simple. Especially during a pandemic.
But there are a few businesses in eastern Ontario that have enjoyed significant success during the past two years.
In this month's edition of the EOBJ Podcast, host Phil Gaudreau speaks to Anne Howland, editor of the EOBJ, about the Fastest Growing Companies 2022 competition. He also speaks to three top 10 finalists: Sarah Cadorette with Plan A Kingston and Quinte, John Witherspoon from HFI Pyrotechnics, and Kathrine Christensen of Marble Rock Developers. To meet the full top ten, check out our other video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-7DZXcky2I
Congratulations to all of our FGC 2022 winners!
Be sure to LIKE this video and SUBCRIBE to be notified of future episodes and videos from the OBJ!
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of bikini lines? If you’re part of Ottawa’s tech scene, you might think of an up-and-coming startup that’s quite literally turning heads with its products. Founded in 2016, Bushbalm specializes in “advanced skin care products” that can be used after waxing bikini line areas. Its first big break came in 2020, when Bushbalm appeared on Dragons’ Den and gained lots of media attention. That momentum continues today with Bushbalm ranking first on OBJ’s 2022 Fastest Growing Companies list with three-year revenue growth of 5,570 per cent.
In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Bushbalm CEO David Gaylord about his entrepreneurial journey, the Dragons’ Den pitch, how the startup is using marketing automation to drive its sales and what’s next for the Ottawa-based startup.
In this post-pandemic world of work-from-everywhere, IT services are quickly changing. Still, many businesses take these services for granted, things like cloud computing, cybersecurity and network monitoring. This lack of attention can be a big mistake, sometimes even crippling company operations. In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher speaks with Mitchell Carkner, CEO at Decisive Group Inc.
Mitchell, a Forty Under 40 recipient from 2022, has a background that includes almost a decade in the Canadian Armed Forces, many more years at IBM and a two-year stint as the CEO of Decisive Group.
Decisive positions itself as a “digital transformation” partner for public and private sector organizations, specializing in IT planning, cloud storage, data centres and increasingly cybersecurity.
With work-from-everywhere, Mitchell says there are more network endpoints making IT security more complicated and systems more vulnerable to “bad actors.” Decisive says hiring experts in cybersecurity is becoming more difficult, creating growth opportunities for the Ottawa-based firm, which now boasts approximately 75 employees.
One of Ottawa’s most iconic technology companies is changing its brand after 37 years and boldly looking to the future. Christa Quarles, who has spent two years as CEO, is championing a new corporate brand that better reflects its wide software portfolio, which ranges from CorelDraw to products such as Parallels, which helps users run Windows on a Mac computer. The new corporate name, a variation on “all you do,” could also help with future acquisitions. Quarles says the company will remain committed to Ottawa – it’s hiring right now – but is also embracing the freedom of remote work. Quarles says Alludo is embracing the future of work and looking to create software that facilitates that.
The cost of housing increased dramatically through the pandemic.
Politicians of all stripes are proposing a wide variety of remedies to the problem, and the most common one is: build more houses. Ontario's Housing Affordability Task Force and the main Ontario political parties all seem to agree we need 1.5 million new homes by 2031.
In this month's EOBJ podcast, Phil Gaudreau gets into how they came up with that number, whether we can actually build that many homes, and why this topic matters with help from Prof. Mike Moffatt of Western University and the Smart Prosperity Institute; Ian Arthur, CEO of nidus3D; and Andy Cockburn, carpenter and president of the Lanark-Leeds Homebuilders Association.
Be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to be notified when new episodes are available.
Smart Prosperity Institute report: https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/1.5MillionMoreHomes
Noibu is one of Ottawa’s hottest e-commerce companies. In the 2022 Fastest Growing Companies competition, Noibu reported three-year revenue growth of 1,721 per cent, grabbing second spot in the top-10 ranking. Noibu, which specializes in finding technical bugs in e-commerce sites, continues to gain momentum.
In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran gets the inside story on Noibu with co-founder and CTO Filip Slatinac. The tech exec shares the company’s origin story, explains how Noibu is helping clients and teases what’s next.
After many months of sky-high valuations for privately-held technology companies, record-setting venture capital deals and bullish stock markets, the winds of change are blowing across the technology sector landscape.
Some technology stocks have tumbled in value and there are signs that venture capitalists will become more stingy with new and follow-on financings.
While many of these shifts are industry wide, Ottawa’s tech sector is not immune to changing economic conditions, as evidenced by the recent Shopify layoffs.
If you’re the founder or CFO of a local tech company, what risks should you consider and what actions should you take?
In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Susan Richards, the managing partner of Numbercrunch Inc., and Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau, CEO of Welbi, about financial strategies for changing economic times.
Kinaxis is bucking a downward trend for global technology firms. As others lag, Kinaxis has just opened a multi-million dollar headquarters in Kanata and has also posted record financial results, upping its guidance for investors. Kinaxis CEO John Sicard speaks with Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran in this episode of Techopia Live podcast.
Canada's unemployment rate dipped below five per cent earlier this year, the lowest it has been since a time when bell bottom pants were all the rage, walkmans played cassette tapes, and a Trudeau was prime minister — just not the current guy.
There are signs that things are changing, however. Recent layoffs at companies like Shopify and hints of a recession have affected the hiring situation for a lot of the big players. Yet there remain significant challenges in hiring in many industries and at many small businesses.
Today on the Eastern Ontario Business Journal Podcast, Phil Gaudreau speaks to experts from the DiscoverAbility Network (Ontario Chamber of Commerce), Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, and City of Cornwall. They offer up valuable tools, programs and incentives for employers looking to hire.
Be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to stay up to date on the latest videos from the Ottawa Business Journal and Eastern Ontario Business Journal.
Microsoft 365 and Teams have become essential to most companies, especially given the reality of remote work. So what happens when these platforms become unstable or don't work? Enter Martello Technologies, longtime specialist in monitoring and debugging IT networks. The Ottawa-based software maker, publicly traded on the TSX Venture exchange, is undergoing a pivot to grow its client base and revenues. Martello CEO John Proctor speaks with Techopia Live host Michael Curran in this episode.
High-speed internet access? Doesn’t everyone have that? Well, not if you live in some of the more rural or remote regions of our province. This edition of the Eastern Ontario Business Journal Podcast takes a look at the sometimes thorny issue of connectivity with guests Jim Pine from the Eastern Ontario Regional Network; Joe Hickey, CEO of Rock Networks; and Richard Allen on behalf of Frontenac County.
The discussion examines what governments of all stripes are doing — or should be doing — to improve rural internet access in Eastern Ontario, what some of the challenges are in getting powerful internet connections out to the countryside, and how the pandemic has changed that conversation in the past two years.
The “right to disconnect” is an issue that has gained prominence over the last few years, especially since the pandemic resulted in many employees working from home for extended periods of time.
The Ontario government’s Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, 2021, amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to require employers with 25 or more employees to have written policies in place on disconnecting from work. The initial deadline to put these policies in place was June 2, 2022. While these policies have been commonly described as “right to disconnect” policies, they do not create a freestanding “right to disconnect.”
Join Neil Dzuba and Patrick Twagirayezu as they host a webinar alongside OBJ's Michael Curran about the “right to disconnect” and the Bill 27 requirement to implement disconnecting from work policies.
Calian Group CEO Kevin Ford has set a bold goal. Through organic growth and acquisitions, the company wants to achieve $1 billion in annual revenues. Achieving that goal will depend on a series of successful acquisitions. Remarkably, Calian acquired 11 companies during the pandemic. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ's Michael Curran and EY's Warren Tomlin co-host to ask Calian's CEO about his M&A playbook.
The deck is stacked against technology startups. Success is an unsure bet. To boost their odds of success, some startups join incubators and accelerators, programs that can speed the pace of growth and overcome common hurdles. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with Leo Lax and Stef Reid of L-SPARK, the SaaS accelerator based in Kanata. Lax talks about how corporate accelerator programs are becoming more central to its mission, specifically with companies such as BlackBerry and Calian Group.
When bootstrapped tech entrepreneurs need to take the next step in their development, who do they turn to? In Ottawa, there is a group of early-stage investors who are willing to test assumptions, provide capital and offer guidance. That group is the Capital Angel Network. OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with its executive director, Suzanne Grant in this episode of Techopia Live.
Ottawa has a multicultural technology sector workforce, including immigrants from around the world. When Russian tanks started to roll into the Ukraine weeks ago, a number of tech sector leaders, especially those with Ukrainian roots, jumped into action. Watching a mass exodus of Ukrainian refugees, these volunteers wondered if Ottawa could provide a safe haven for people fleeing the war-torn country. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with two volunteers from UkrainetoCanada.org, Kostyantyn Khomutov and Olga Davidson.
It is the perennial question for emerging technology firms. What is the right path to grow revenues and scale? For Trellis the right path was a $1.5-million seed funding round to accelerate growth. For Lightship Security there was a different path. Lightship recently agreed to be acquired by a Spanish cybersecurity firm that does business in 70 countries. Two Ottawa-based companies. Two very different growth strategies. OBJ OBJ publisher Michael Curran and Numbercrunch co-founder Susan Richards co-host this lively discussion about growth strategies for technology companies.
It’s a trap that many founders fall into. They’re so focused on research and development or building out a product that they fail to properly organize their new business venture. Important documents like shareholder agreements get misplaced. They also fail to track and protect valuable intellectual property. Two female founders from Ottawa have a possible solution. It’s called Fortress.Legal. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Natalie Raffoul about the SaaS startup.
In this episode of Talking Tourism, Mark Sutcliffe chats with Mark Goudie about the importance of Lansdowne to Ottawa's tourism sector and how the community space has become Ottawa premiere meeting place for sports, festivals and business events. Talking Tourism is sponsored by Ottawa Tourism: https://ottawatourism.ca/en
Ottawa-based BluMetric is riding high these days on a green wave. That's true from an environmental engineering perspective and when it comes to the company's financial results. The cleantech firm ended its fiscal 2021 with sales growth of 24 per cent, leading to record revenue and a record EBITDA of $5.3 million. The strong financials allowed BluMetric to post a top-50 performance on the TSX Venture exchange. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with the CEO of BluMetric, Scott McFabe, about how his team plans to leverage the improved financial performance into new opportunities and growth potential.
What changing COVID rules mean for employment policies? How must employers react? And if COVID-19 policies need updating, what key changes must be made? Finding the right answers doesn’t have to be complicated. Emond Harnden LLP, one of Ottawa’s leading labour and employment law firms, is here to guide employers through these critical updates.
During the pandemic, many businesses and consumers have experienced problems related to an ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips. That “chipset famine” is manifesting itself in a shortage of automobiles, computers, smartphones and other devices. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with a technology sector veteran with more than 30 years of experience in semiconductors. This episode features a discussion with the president and CEO of CMC Microsystems, Gordon Harling.
Experts say that quantaum computing could arrive as soon as 2025. This evolution in computing will bring many benefits and some significant threats. Among those threats is the likelihood that quantum computing will break today's digital encryption. Quantropi, founded in Ottawa in 2018, is working to counteract the quantum threat. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Quantropi co-founder James Nguyen about the start-up, its solution and what to expect in 2022.
Techopia is making its own news. In this episode, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with EY Ottawa managing partner Warren Tomlin. Having cut his teeth at Corel in the 1990s, Tomlin shares his observations on the local tech sector and how Techopia and EY will support its growth.
When the Ottawa-based CEO of IMI wanted a better understanding of how his employees were doing, he set out to build Rhonda, an AI-powered digital persona that could check in with employees and monitor their satisfaction. Now Rudi Asseer is taking Rhonda to market as a SaaS solution that other companies can use to connect with employees and strengthen company culture.
It started as an informal group for rookie CEOs, including Tobias Lutke of Shopify, who would meet for coffee or drinks. Years later, the group known as Fresh Founders is gaining momentum in terms of members and financial resources. In 2022, Fresh Founders is considering focusing on more cities and creating a more formal structure. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Solon Angel, the founder of MindBridge and someone who is looking to play a bigger role in Fresh Founders.
In part two of an interview with Knak, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with Knak CEO Pierce Ujjainwalla about the Ottawa-based software company’s US$25-million venture capital raise from Insight Partners. Ujjainwalla talks about how the venture capital was secured and how it will be used to accelerate the company’s growth.
If you’re someone who thinks email marketing is a thing of the past, think again. Knak is an Ottawa-based software company that specializes in codeless email marketing and landing pages. Knak has 25 million reasons why email marketing is a technology product that is ripe for innovation. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with Knak CEO Pierce Ujjainwalla.
In this episode of Techopia Live, Alvaro Pombo reviews the financial fundamentals for Ottawa-based ProntoForms and shares pearls of wisdom on how to lead a growth-oriented micro-cap in the Canadian market. The 20-year CEO also explores the challenge of enterprise sales growing at scale and the values that ProntoForms holds at its core.
Alvaro Pombo has very deep roots in Ottawa’s technology sector. He was CIO of Newbridge Networks way back in 1999, when it was sold to Alcatel. Instead of staying with the buyer, Pombo reflected on his earlier career, when he helped ExxonMobil with IT automation for field workers. It was this experience that led to the founding of ProntoForms, where Pombo recently celebrated 20 years as its founder and CEO.
In May 2019, Paul Vallee made a bold move. He decided to sell a majority stake in Pythian to instead focus his considerable expertise and talents on a spinoff called Tehama. That startup specializes in something called “desktop as a service” and says it wants to be the technology platform for any work that happens with a keyboard and mouse. With a pandemic disrupting work and instantly creating millions of remote workers, Vallee says Tehama its market opportunity has grown one hundred fold.
Artificial intelligence is one of the most powerful technology trends in the world. When it comes to AI, Ottawa has a notable enterprise leading the way. Almost seven years ago, Solon Angel and a small team founded MindBridge AI. Think of it like anti-virus for financial statements. It’s product uses AI and machine learning to find errors in financials and sometimes fraud. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Solon Angel about the company’s history and its future.
Having held off raising capital for years, Ottawa-based startup Rewind landed a bonanza of cash in 2021, a total of US$80-million in venture capital. In this bonus episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Rewind CEO Mike Potter and the money raised, the expectations set and what comes next in 2022.
In this bonus episode of Techopia Live podcast, OBJ publisher Michael Curran dives into the backstory of one of Ottawa's hottest technology firms, Rewind. Co-founders Mike Potter and James Ciesielski share their beginnings in the technology sector and the origin story of Rewind.
When you think about high potential technology companies based in Ottawa, Assent Compliance is near the top of that list. In this episode of Techopia Live, Assent Compliance CEO Andrew Waitman gives an update the company that many say will become the city's next unicorn.
One of Ottawa's veteran technology sector CEOs reflects on the technology sector almost two years into a pandemic and gazes into the crystal ball to prognosticate about 2022. Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Assent Compliance CEO Andrew Waitman in this episode of Techopia Live podcast.
More companies are incorporating artificial intelligence into their business operations. Yet few executives consider how they will monitor or mitigate the potential biases and risks of AI. In this episode of Techopia Live host Sherry Aske speaks with Niraj Bhargava, CEO of NuEnergy.ai, an Ottawa-based company that helps its clients measure and manage trust in AI technology.
In this episode of Behind the Headlines podcast, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks to Paul Guindon, CEO of Commissionaires Ottawa Group, about an acquisition that creates a security powerhouse with nearly 5,000 local employees a more than $250 million in annual revenue. Also, Nelligan Law's Eytan Rip talks about the Ontario government's decision to extend the Worker Income Protection Benefit until July 2022.
More companies are incorporating artificial intelligence into their business operations. Yet few executives consider how they will monitor or mitigate the potential biases and risks of AI. In this episode of Techopia Live host Sherry Aske speaks with Niraj Bhargava, CEO of NuEnergy.ai, an Ottawa-based company that helps its clients measure and manage trust in AI technology.
In this episode of Talking Tourism, Mark Sutcliffe sits down with the RA Centre's Tosha Rhodenizer to hear about the latest initiatives happening at the legendary sports facility.
Learn how Algonquin helps companies such as Mercury Filmworks and Nokia find talent in this challenging labour market.
In this episode of Behind the Headlines podcast, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks to editor David Sali about the second largest commercial real estate deal in Ottawa history. Nelligan Law's Bryan Thaw provides more legal tips on investment properties. Plus, Mary Rowe, one of Canada's leading urban experts ponders the future of central business districts in a post-pandemic world.
Learning how to incorporate accessibility into a workplace not only expands companies’ labour pools, but also works to make employment an accessible, tangible possibility for all Canadians.
Right now, most companies understand the importance and value of data, but are simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it and lack a strategy for leveraging it effectively.
Ottawa start-up Creative Layer is launching with $3-million in funding behind it and a plan to capture an emerging sector within the product personalization market. In this episode of Techopia Live, host Sherry Aske speaks with Creative Layer CEO Nazim Ahmed, who is coming off an exit from Canvaspop.com.
In this episode of Behind the Headlines podcast, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks to editor David Sali about an avalanche of private investment in Ottawa's technology sector, Nelligan Law's Bryan Thaw give legal tips on investment properties and the Ottawa Board of Trade's Sueling Ching previews the 2021 Best Ottawa Business Awards virtual celebration.
When the pandemic hit, Ottawa-based Bandzoogle didn’t miss a beat. The online platform for musicians flipped its business model and added new tools to help artists engage with fans. In this episode of Techopia Live podcast, host Sherry Aske talks with Bandzoogle CEO Stacey Bedford to determine how the company has maintained 18 years of dominance as the number one website builder for musicians.
In this episode of Behind the Headlines podcast, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks to editor David Sali about a record setting US$240 million investment in Ottawa-based Fullscript. The company's CEO, Kyle Braatz, and its chief medical officer, Dr. Jeffrey Gladd, explore the possible impact of the massive venture capital deal. Finally, Malini Vijaykumar of Nelligan Law talks about the "right to disconnect" in the age of work from anywhere.
The talent shortage is particularly acute in the technology sector, which needs employees with highly specialized skills. Some Ottawa tech companies are recruiting foreign talent to help fill their needs. Warren Creates, an immigration law specialist from Perley-Robertson Hill & McDougall LLP, talks about how the pandemic impacted immigration and the right questions to ask before embracing this recruitment strategy.
In this episode of Behind the Headlines podcast, OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks to editor David Sali about how the pandemic and environmental goals might cause the federal government to reassess its downtown office portfoilio, Nelligan Law's Malini Vijaykumar provides an update on mandatory vacinne policies and WCPD's Peter Nicholson reports on major charitable gifts during the pandemic.
Less than five years ago, the co-founders of Wicket set out to disrupt an industry by launching an integrated platform to help associations manage their data. Fast forward to 2021, and the company has bootstrapped its way to the list of Ottawa's fastest growing companies and is rapidly expanding into the US market.
At a time when the competition for good employees is intense, Ottawa Business Journal speaks to the experts at Meldrum Horne and Associates to explore how company-sponsored retirement savings plans can forge a deeper connection with employees.
In this episode of the Behind the Headlines podcast, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with editor David Sali about Bruce Linton's plan to salvage Ruckify through a merger with Fat Llama, a U.K. rental platform. Also, part two of a discussion with Nelligan Law's Jim Anstey about how to mitigate the legal risks when employees work from home. Finally, Krista Kealey of the Ottawa International Airport Authority provides an update on local air travel.
In this episode of Behind the Headlines, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with editor David Sali about a sudden bounce back in venture capital, Nelligan Law's Jim Anstey discusses the legal risks of work from home and Millions.co co-founder Matt Whitteker lands a $10-million blow.
In this episode of Talking Tourism, Canadian Museum of Nature marketing officer John Swettenham sits down with Mark Sutcliffe to discuss how museums in the capital are continuing to evolve.
Got a tech talent issue? uOttawa's Faculty of Engineering is rapidly evolving to satisfy talent needs and boost innovation. Listen to this interview with Dean Jacques Beauvais about how the engineering school is partnering with private sector businesses.
Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran takes you behind the headlines to explore the largest ever residential real estate deal, election laws and the opening of the Nicol Building, the new home of Carleton University's business school. Guests include David Sali of OBJ, Denise Deschenes of Nelligan Law and Dana Brown, the dean of the Sprott School of Business.
OBJ publisher Michael Curran and Numbercrunch managing partner Susan Richards interview Devashish Paul, CEO of BluWave-ai, about his company's progress in India and plans for a future financing.
OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks with editor David Sali about how Ottawa was left off a top-10 list of Canadian cities getting venture capital, the local thinking on mandatory vaccines for employees and a newsmaker interview with longtime tech exec Leo Lax of L-SPARK. Also, Malini Vijaykumar of Nelligan Law provides some advice on how companies can approach mandatory vaccines.
Ottawa’s Lightship Technology is one of only three labs in Canada certified to test new technologies to make sure they are safe enough to embed in sensitive government networks. Its near real-time testing will have even more applications as it looks to ensure the safety of things such as driverless cars and medical devices.
Go behind the headlines with Ottawa Business Journal's editors and explore the top local business stories of the week. And read more Ottawa business news at https://www.obj.ca.
Between COVID-19 vaccine deliveries, the boom in online shopping and temporary shortages of common household goods, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust supply chains into the spotlight.
And that just might be good news for Ottawa startup RedLore.
Open configuration options Each year, billions of dollars worth of goods are damaged in transit when, for example, perishable items are kept at the wrong temperature or a warehouse forklift backs into a pallet.
RedLore is tackling this problem through sensors that monitor temperature, humidity levels, a shock from a fall as well as other metrics, and transmits that data back to a customer’s dashboard.
Listen to hear RedLore CEO Niek Van Dierdonck describe how the bootstrapped company got its start, landed a key logistics industry partner and recently received the “ultimate recognition” for its early success.
The same technology that generates video suggestions on Netflix and filters suspicious emails is now used by a broad range of businesses to improve customer conversion rates, automate labour-intensive processes and predict workflows. Once a buzzword mostly of interest to academics, machine learning is an increasingly mainstream technology used by law firms, accountants and in a range of tech sectors to accelerate business growth and gain a competitive advantage. Thanks to the University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute for supporting this webinar. Learn more about the opportunities they offer businesses by visiting https://pdinstitute.uottawa.ca.
Go behind the headlines with Ottawa Business Journal's editors and explore the top local business stories of the week. And read more Ottawa business news at www.obj.ca.
Ottawa-based software company Fullscript has become a near permanent feature on the city’s lists of fastest-growing companies - and this year, it's celebrating its tenth anniversary. In this episode of Techopia Live, CEO Kyle Braatz shares what’s contributed to the company’s rocketship-like growth, and his plan to make the business sustainable at a time when the healthcare industry his company serves is at a crossroads.
To help local executives plan for the return to the office, OBJ and Interactive Audio Visual teamed up to explore the tools every employer needs to safely return to a collaborative workspace.
Go behind the headlines with Ottawa Business Journal's editors and explore the top local business stories of the week. And read more Ottawa business news at www.obj.ca.
Ottawa-based software company AuditMap uses artificial intelligence to help clients identify and analyze potential risks. CEO Mathieu Lemay shares how the company has managed to re-energize internal audit reporting – and caught the attention of international firms in the process – in this episode of Techopia Live.
Go behind the headlines with Ottawa Business Journal's editors and explore the top local business stories of the week. And read more Ottawa business news at www.obj.ca.
Go behind the headlines with Ottawa Business Journal's editors and explore the top local business stories of the week. And read more Ottawa business news at www.obj.ca.
With a widespread vaccination rollout expected over the coming weeks, a return to the office and opportunities for in-person collaboration is finally in sight for businesses and their employees.
But pre-pandemic approaches to managing and equipping office space are no longer sufficient in 2021. Now is the time for companies to start planning how to safely and efficiently bring employees back to the workplace.
Go behind the headlines with Ottawa Business Journal's editors and explore the top local business stories of the week. And read more Ottawa business news at https://www.obj.ca.
For jobs that can be done remotely, there’s growing interest among some local employers in hiring skilled workers who live outside the National Capital Region. But that raises a host of new recruitment questions, such as how you assess the skills and cultural fit of a job applicant who you’ve never met in person. A team of local entrepreneurs are taking a step towards cracking that code by putting a new spin on the traditional hackathon model, helping tech employers identify and assess new talent.
Entrepreneur Pat Crosscombe credits a good idea and endless perseverance to the success of her Ottawa software company BoardSpace. About 10 years ago she set out to create a tool that would make board meetings less of an administrative hassle. Techopia host Sherry Aske speaks to BoardSpace founder about how she bootstrapped her venture, navigated the inevitable highs and lows of entrepreneurship and ensured she and her team had fun along the way.
In this week's episode Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran and editors Peter Kovessy and David Sali discuss changes in the C-suite at Shopify, how cottage sales are heating up and new carbon capture technology from Ottawa.
As the opioid crisis continues to take lives in big cities and small communities across Canada, a Kingston Ontario technology company has developed a rapid testing system to identify the lethal contaminants sometimes present in street drugs. A drug analysis system from Spectra Plasmonics identifies the unique chemical “fingerprints” of various substances found in a sample and can detect the presence of dangerous contaminants such as fentanyl. OBJ Regional correspondent Mark Van Dusen reports.
There is widespread hope that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will pave the way for employees to return to the office. However, it also raises new questions for employers. Can employees be forced to get vaccinated? How should organizations approach office reopenings? What are the risks to employers of permanently shifting to remote work even once the threat of the pandemic subsides? OBJ publisher Michael Curran gets expert advice from Emond Harnden LLP partner Raquel Chisholm. Listen for an in-depth discussion on vaccines in the workplace, the legal ramifications of permanently closing your office and tips for managing a virtual workplace.
OBJ publisher Michael Curran and Interactive Audio Visual president Ian Smith explore the concept of "Zoom fatigue" and why it's rampant in today's virtual meetings. With many individuals planning to spend time working remotely for the foreseeable future, virtual meetings are here to stay. Too many professionals are still making common mistakes and creating barriers to communicating effectively with clients, coworkers and suppliers. This can be avoided with the right tools and approach to virtual meetings.
When COVID-19 sidelined the in-seat food delivery app Stadiyum last year, developer GETIT Technologies returned to its playbook. In January, GETIT Technologies launched a new custom-mobile ordering platform called Getit Local that challenges competitors like Uber Eats and SkipTheDishes by operating without charging local restaurants the typical 30 to 35 per cent fee on delivery orders. Three months in, interest in the app suggests GETIT Technologies may have found a winning play here in Ottawa, as well as other markets.
Many businesses are looking to pivot, expand and capitalize on new opportunities. That requires capital. Join OBJ publisher Michael Curran, Vincent Hubert of American Express and Saleh Taebi of CanadaWheels for an interactive discussion about how one fast-growing Ottawa startup is expanding into the U.S. as well as expert advice on how business owners and managers can rethink their cash flow while increasing their resiliency through the pandemic.
Many employees have spent the better part of the last year under tremendous stress as they deal with disruption and isolation from traditional support networks. Employers have an opportunity to support the personal well-being of their employees by rethinking their approach to employee benefits – increasing employee health, productivity and retention. In this podcast, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks to Meldrum Horne partners Jamie Meldrum and Michael Horne about new ways employers can promote wellness at work.
COVID-19 has forced many businesses and their employees into new work arrangements. As the pandemic drags on, employers face new sets of questions and challenges. Some employees have grown accustomed to working from home and are not keen to return to the office. Others have packed their bags to work remotely from cottages or even further afield. Meanwhile, the rules around temporary layoffs continue to evolve amid the rollercoaster ride of business closures and re-openings.
Join OBJ publisher Michael Curran and Emond Harnden LLP partner Jock Climie for an interactive discussion about the implications for employers of these emerging issues, as well as practical takeaway strategies for running a business amid the pandemic.
Even amid the challenges brought about by COVID-19, a growing number of Ottawa retailers, restaurants and other main street businesses are finding ways to survive – and thrive – amid the pandemic. New revenue streams, a shift to online sales and better use of digital marketing are helping merchants engage customers in new ways while building more resilient businesses.
OBJ publisher Michael Curran and Invest Ottawa’s Paula Hopkins talk about how main street businesses are adapting, as well as practical tips and tools for merchants.
Ottawa startup Field Effect has quickly become a dominant player in the global cybersecurity market. It's their ability to offer solutions to small and medium-sized firms that's helped fuel their rapid expansion and has people increasingly referring to them as the Shopify of the cybersecurity industry.
With consumers keen to support merchants in their community, an Ottawa startup is helping retailers connect with those prospective customers. Airbrowz uses geofencing technology to notify individuals of special promotions and offerings from retailers in their immediate area. In the episode, Techopia talks to Airbrowz co-founder Micheal Burnatowski and lawyer Jessica Barrow of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP.
Join OBJ publisher Michael Curran and Linebox Studio founder and award-winning architect Andrew Reeves for an interactive discussion of the future of the office. The novelty of the mandated work-from-home model is wearing thin for many organizations and their employees. With widespread vaccinations only months away and teams eager for in-person collaboration, it’s essential for employers to rethink how they use their office space. What does the post-pandemic office look like? How can it accommodate a mix of remote and on-premise employees? How should employers use office space in 2021 and beyond?
Take a close look at any list of Ottawa’s hottest startups and you’ll see a common thread connecting many of them -- investments from the Capital Angel Network. Last year, the group invested $4.1 million in 20 companies, primarily in the National Capital Region. With a new year underway, what’s the angel investment outlook in Ottawa? What opportunities are investors looking for? And how can entrepreneurs position themselves to attract funding? Explore these questions with Nolan Beanlands of the Capital Angel Network and Susan Richards of numbercrunch.
In this week's episode Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran and editors Peter Kovessy and David Sali discuss how local businesses are dealing with the latest COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the booming business of cross-country skiing and finally a program aimed at giving immigrant entrepreneurs a helping hand.
In this week's episode Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran and editors Peter Kovessy and David Sali discuss how telecommuting seems to be heating up the Ottawa Valley's residential real estate market, a local startup that wants to become the Airbnb of self-storage and an iconic tech CEO gets a Lifetime Achievement Award.
a hub-and-spoke approach for offices, an agricultural startup from Cornwall that's sprouting up and the impact of tightening restrictions on restaurants and bars.
In this week's episode Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran and editors Peter Kovessy and David Sali discuss a hub-and-spoke approach for offices, an agricultural startup from Cornwall that's sprouting up and the impact of tightening restrictions on restaurants and bars.
OBJ explores the top local business stories of the week and what they mean for Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode OBJ publisher Michael Curran and editors Peter Kovessy and David Sali announce the 2020 CEO of the Year recipient, an apartment development that will demolish a burger joint and the retirement of an Ottawa retail icon.
OBJ explores the top local business stories of the week and what they mean for Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode OBJ publisher Michael Curran and editors Peter Kovessy and David Sali discuss how the City of Ottawa is helping restaurants weather the pandemic, the closing of an iconic fitness centre and a residential expansion of Holland Avenue development.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and what they mean for Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode: the release of the Ottawa Business Growth Survey, rules changes for meetings and conventions and a startup pursuing carbon capture technology.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and what they mean for Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode: an investment in Kemptville's main street might unleash boom, an Ottawa lab secures money for COVID-19 vaccine research and major residential project planned for Montreal Road in Vanier. Featured guests include OBJ's Michael Curran, Peter Kovessy and David Sali.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and what they mean for Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode: one of Ottawa-Gatineau's biggest attractions re-opens, a massive development planned for Cyrville Road area and rubber tire market provides a bit of business to local hotels.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and what they mean for Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode: Ottawa enters phase three of economic recovery, debating the effectiveness of COVID-19 waivers and a local retailer bravely opens a third location in the pandemic.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and discuss their significance on Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode: evidence of a red hot real estate market, a major airline looks to Spartan Bioscience to reassure its customers and a special look at what it means to be a black entrepreneur.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and discuss their significance on Ottawa's economy. In this week's episode: Amazon unveils big plans for Barrhaven, Solink lands big venture capital deal and Air Canada cutting flights at YOW.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and discuss their significance as Ottawa's economy looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this week's episode: the start of an office sublet trend, sobering report on Ottawa home prices and a successful wrap-up to www.OttawaStrongerTogether.ca.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and discuss their significance as Ottawa's economy looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this week's episode: big acquisition for Kinaxis, Syntronic sheds office space and Iversoft sharpens its focus. Recorded on Friday, June 19, 2020.
OBJ's editors explore the top local business stories of the week and discuss their significance as Ottawa's economy looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this week's episode: the reopening of Ottawa's economy, a massive business park planned for Barrhaven and a hot new startup making process on email marketing.
Ottawa Business Journal editorial team -- Michael Curran, Peter Kovessy and David Sali -- recap the top stories of the week ending May 29, 2020. In this episode: the resiliency of home pricing in Ottawa, accounting firms broaden their expertise into data and the redevelopment of community malls in Ottawa. Recorded May 29, 2020.
Join Michael Curran and Peter Kovessy from Ottawa Business Journal as they speak with Dr. Vijay Jog, a leader in guiding businesses through digital transformation. The trio explores how CFOs and financial leaders can build stronger, modern and agile companies. Learn the steps that can be taken today to thrive, both amid COVID-19 and beyond, in this live and interactive podcast. This podcast is sponsored by CRGroup.
Michael Curran speaks with OBJ editors David Sali and Peter Kovessy about some of the week’s biggest stories and how Ottawa’s business community is adapting to the ongoing economic challenges.
In this podcast episode Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks leaders from Ottawa's homebuilding industry. Featured guests include Brent Strachan from Minto Communities, Neil Malhotra of Claridge Homes and Fred Carmosino of Maple Leaf Custom Homes. Read related article at www.obj.ca.
In this Coping with COVID-19 podcast episode, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with J.D. Sharp, a partner at Emond Harnden – one of Ottawa’s leading labour and employment law firms – about what employers need to know as the economy reopens and employees start returning to work.
Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran with with OBJ editors -- Peter Kovessy and David Sali -- to recap the top stories of the week. In this episode: Ottawa's renowned Tulip Festival goes virtual and keeps its sponsors, employers consider recalling employees to work and contemplate health and safety issues related to the pandemic, a shutdown of live TV and move production causes a spike in demand with local animation studios. Recorded May 15, 2020.
In this bonus episode, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Devin Somppi of BriteSky, a sponsor of Coping With COVID-19. BriteSky is an Ottawa-based company that helps clients guard against security vulnerabilities. More info: https://www.britesky.ca/cybersecurity/britesky-fortress/
Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran with with OBJ editors -- Peter Kovessy and David Sali -- to recap the top stories of the week. In this episode: unemployment stats, Shopify quarterly results, pandemic impact on malls and a patriotic plan for Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Recorded May 8, 2020.
OBJ publisher Michael Curran talks to three of Ottawa's construction sector leaders: Danny Dillon, chair of the Ottawa Construction Association and CEO of Dilfo Mechanical, Ray Licari, president of Bassi Construction, and Ron Tomlinson, CEO of Tomlinson Group of Companies.
In this Coping With COVID-19 podcast episode, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with OBJ editors David Sali and Peter Kovessy about some of the month’s biggest stories and how Ottawa’s business community is adapting to the ongoing economic challenges.
In the latest Coping with COVID-19 podcast episode, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with a leading expert in workplace mental health, Dr. JianLi Wang, the director of the Work and Mental Health Research Unit at The Royal hospital in Ottawa. The interview provides advice to business owners and managers who should be on the lookout for signs of mental health issues during a crisis.
In the latest Coping with COVID-19 podcast episode, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran examines how an unprecedented disruption in local business activity will severely impact Ottawa's real estate sector, especially retail and office leases. The video panel discussion included three high-profile commercial real estate experts: Martin Aass of Cresa, Michael Church of Avison Young and Shawn Hamilton of CBRE. Visit www.obj.ca to read related article.
In the latest Coping with COVID-19 podcast episode, Ottawa Business Journal speaks with one Ottawa’s highest-profiles chief executives, David Ross of Ross Video. Much of the company’s products and services focus on video at live events, ranging from professional sports to major concert tours to international awards shows like the Oscars. Ross says much of the work for its approximately 830 employees has stopped, but the company has avoided layoffs. Ross, who was also the OBJ-Ottawa Board of Trade CEO of the Year in 2016, also shares some leadership lessons.
As part of its Coping With COVID-19 video series, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with an Ottawa-based entrepreneur who has captured the national spotlight thanks to his company's innovative DNA testing cube. Dr. Paul Lem of Spartan Bioscience talks about the long entrepreneurial journey that led this to his sudden and explosive growth.
In this Coping with COVID-19 podcast episode, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with three restaurateurs who have very different business concepts but have all been severely affected by the pandemic: Marc Lepine from Atelier, Joelle Parenteau from Wolf Down and Elias Theodossiou from EVOO and Mati. To read the related story, please visit www.obj.ca