8/9/2019 The Silicon Vineyard Tech Commercialization Primer

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From TechVibes -http://www.techvibes.com/blog/the-okanagan-valley-a-tech-commercialization-primer

By Scott Valentine

Major Players

The Okanagan Science and Technology Council (OSTEC) is the region's lead not-for-profit tech boster. According to OSTEC's most recent financial statements, thatorganization spent a little less than $500,000 last year - up about a third from 2007 - with 40% of that going direct to marketing and promotions. OSTEC likesto talk-up the GigaCenter (note goofy American spelling), which has the reputation of being one of the safest and greenest data centre locations in the world.

Tween social network Club Penguin became the local tech diva after being acquired by Disney in 2007. CP still advertises a few jobs out of Kelowna but has beendescribed to me by several local players as "A closed shop." That's a damn shame, in my opinion. Kitchener Waterloo is-what-it-is because RIM and the people who

built that company have heavily re-invested in the KW region, both financiallyand by personally reaching out to the emerging tech community. Great tech communities grow from the inside out.

Schools, Research Facilities and Transfer Agents

UBC Okanagan offers an undergrad degree in Computer Sciences and has a good reputation for its various Engineering and Environmental Sciences offerings, but there's nary an MBA in sight, though Okanagan College is trying to pick up the slack with a BBA degree. The local UBC University Industry Liasion Office (UILO) shares resources with the Vancouver campus, with a claimed output of 7 new spin-offcompanies and $5.8 million in royalties and liquidated equity for the 2007/2008period.

The privately-run Centre for Arts and Technology in Kelowna offers progams in Digital Media Design and 3D Game Animation, but instructs mostly on PC-based software, thereby earning my regional nomination for the WTF Were You Thinking? award.

Incubators and Skills Development

The Okanagan Research and Innovation Centre (ORIC) manages high-tech business incubators aimed primarily at nurturing start-ups and sustaining existing high-growth technology companies. ORIC has a good rep in the area among area entrepreneurs for the organization's strong online resource library, reasonable rates, invo

lvement in the budding OkanaganMentors.com effort, and it's close associations with the NRC in Penticton and Centre of Excellence in Kelowna. On first blush, I'd put ORIC's capabilities after just four years of operation on-par with, or better than, several other regional incubators of longer tenure and much greater funding. Kudos to Peter Haubrich and his team.

People With Money

The Okanagan Innovation Fund (OIF) uses a Private Equity Fund as its investmentvehicle of choice. Preferred investments are post beta, showing evidence of commercialization and in the early private equity stages. OIF has made about 16-plusinvestments, each in the $100,000 to $250,000 range, since 2005. Some of the companies in OIF's portfolio include SignaLink Technologies, Wear Air Oxygen and W

aveteq. Last year, OIF announced a partnership with the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust (SIDIT) but it's been pretty quiet since then - no news releases on the site, anyway.

8/9/2019 The Silicon Vineyard Tech Commercialization Primer

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The Okanagan Partnership looks at the bigger economic development and sustainability picture for the region but has information technologies in its vision. Theusual provincial players, such as WINBC and New Media BC, have some footprint, as well.

There's Angel money around - often dripping with Alberta oil - but access seems

to work on a who-you-know model. The local Angel network, OKAngels.org, requiressponsorship to get in the door. They hold events once a month, or so, claiming20 or 30 Angels in attendance at each session. I've sent a request off to attendthe next session in the hope of sourcing some up-and-coming Okanagan emerging techs to profile for you.

Community Events

OSTEC runs a series of pay-for-play education and networking events you can findon their calendar. There's also a nice looking South Okanagan High-Tech Roundtable Event at the Penticton Chamber of Commerce Board Room on Wednesday, October7th, from 16:00-18:00 that I'm going to check out.

Unfortunately, there's a complete lack of demo/bar camps in the area. To me, these type of informal gatherings are the front lobby and public market of of any great tech community. Maybe there's a local entrepreneur who wants to take the bull by the horns and organize something similar to a TechWing event like Reg Cheramay runs in Edmonton, or the very hip Tech Lounge event out of CTI in Calgary -- it needs doing. I'll volunteer to MC the first event and cover it for TechVibes.

Who's Next?

Element Four has a gizmo that makes fresh, potable water out of thin air, whichis wicked cool and hits a sweet, timely spot in the market. Quantech Software ma

kes top-of-the-line dealership management software and draws rave reviews for it's customer support. Vineyard Networks' online network monitoring and managementsolutions have drawn Health Canada's business and maybe some dough from New Ventures BC as one of the province's 10 Best New Business Ideas -- we'll find out September 24th.

Summary

- The Silicon Vineyard is a nascent but quite promising tech community. It'd benice to see an MBA program in the region and Club Penguin needs to become a morevisible and proactive corporate citizen for the area to truly blossom. ORIC ison track to becoming a world-class tech incubator;- The VC scene is smallish, reserved and a bit long in the tooth. An iNovia or any other outfit of that ilk could swoop in here and take over the whole scene pretty easily, but who's courting them?;- Local tech entrepreneurs will be well-served to organize their own, informal events to meet and explore opportunities outside of the mold of traditional, institutionally-driven tutelage;- Oh, and an area surrounded by so many beautiful lakes needs a few more waterfront patios :)