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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: It's Vancouver's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
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[00:34] SPEAKER_00: Purchase tickets online and save 30% now through September 21 at Cambridge House dot com.
[00:42] SPEAKER_02: Hello everyone, I'm Angela Faye, hub builder and co-host of British Columbia's podcast.
[00:48] SPEAKER_02: Part of the Canada's podcast network, your source for great insights from entrepreneurs
[00:53] SPEAKER_02: from across Canada.
[00:54] SPEAKER_02: We talked entrepreneurs who are making it happen here so you can listen, discover and engage.
[01:00] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Canada's podcast today.
[01:02] SPEAKER_01: I am speaking to Ragwag Gopell, one of the most recognizable names in the British Columbia
[01:07] SPEAKER_01: tech sector.
[01:08] SPEAKER_01: Some people don't know this yet, but he's a serial entrepreneur who has extensive experience
[01:13] SPEAKER_01: growing and selling businesses.
[01:16] SPEAKER_01: Ragwag was instrumental in the creation and management of successful programs for technology
[01:21] SPEAKER_01: companies at all stages of growth and the driving force behind the development of the Okanagan's
[01:26] SPEAKER_01: tech sector into 1.6 billion economic contributor.
[01:31] SPEAKER_01: Obviously, some self-specific experience because he's a graduate in New Zealand Central Institute
[01:35] SPEAKER_01: of Technology and Information Technology.
[01:38] SPEAKER_01: And Ragwag has also received degrees in computer science from Australia's Collier McMillan
[01:43] SPEAKER_01: School and the University of the South Pacific.
[01:45] SPEAKER_01: Bring a little bit more closer to home.
[01:47] SPEAKER_01: He's also been an entrepreneur of residents at Okanagan College School of Business and
[01:52] SPEAKER_01: serves on the boards of multiple organizations, including the University of British Columbia,
[01:57] SPEAKER_01: India, Canada Innovation Council, Women's Enterprise Center, the Central Okanagan Economic
[02:04] SPEAKER_01: Development and the Province of BC's Emerging Economy Task Force.
[02:09] SPEAKER_01: So wow, awesome.
[02:10] SPEAKER_01: We're so excited to have you, Ragwag.
[02:12] SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
[02:12] SPEAKER_03: Good morning and I'm very happy to be here.
[02:15] SPEAKER_01: One of our kids is at Canada's podcast is get to know entrepreneurs from across Canada
[02:20] SPEAKER_01: and we're pleased to have you.
[02:22] SPEAKER_01: But if one of the things that we know people want to hear about is a little bit more about
[02:26] SPEAKER_01: you personally.
[02:27] SPEAKER_01: So give us an idea, Ragwag, what kind of gets you kick started in the morning and what
[02:33] SPEAKER_01: is the thing that sort of juices you every morning?
[02:37] SPEAKER_03: You know, just the fact that when I started my own business as a very young entrepreneur
[02:43] SPEAKER_03: at the age of 20 with almost no resources and support and having to grow their business
[02:50] SPEAKER_03: almost saying 100ly with my business partner, what I realized when I got to a point where
[02:57] SPEAKER_03: I could do it back, this has become a passion for me to go all day every day and try and
[03:04] SPEAKER_03: help that type of entrepreneur that I was 41 years ago.
[03:08] SPEAKER_03: We have at least an opportunity to get the business up the ground in a much, hopefully
[03:15] SPEAKER_03: much easier way.
[03:16] SPEAKER_03: So that's the passion that what kind of gets me up every day and I'm looking forward
[03:20] SPEAKER_03: to going to the office and hopefully getting some opportunity to talk to a few of these
[03:25] SPEAKER_03: individuals but most of trying to find the right kind of resources and connections for
[03:31] SPEAKER_03: them to help out.
[03:32] SPEAKER_01: Very good.
[03:33] SPEAKER_01: We're going to talk a little bit about NFAPC a little bit later but you are a recent
[03:38] SPEAKER_01: recently moved to Vancouver, right from the Okaname?
[03:42] SPEAKER_03: That's true, yeah.
[03:42] SPEAKER_03: So I moved to Klona in the Okaname area about 41 years ago from Fiji as a young immigrant.
[03:52] SPEAKER_03: So I've been there for 41 years, grew up in business and I'll arrange my family over
[03:58] SPEAKER_03: there and in six months ago I was lucky enough to be hired as the president and CEO of 8BC
[04:06] SPEAKER_03: which made me move to Vancouver.
[04:10] SPEAKER_03: So I'm very happy to be now moved from one of the best places to live in the world to almost
[04:17] SPEAKER_03: you know, the second or almost equally the best place to live in British Columbia and
[04:21] SPEAKER_03: the world as well.
[04:22] SPEAKER_03: So I feel myself very, very lucky.
[04:25] SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
[04:26] SPEAKER_01: Now I just got to go back to that initial question.
[04:29] SPEAKER_01: 41 years ago when you immigrated from Fiji, what was the attraction to Canada?
[04:33] SPEAKER_03: A couple of things.
[04:34] SPEAKER_03: You know, born raised and educated in Fiji and happened to take computer science as my
[04:42] SPEAKER_03: education because I was just kind of a little bit sort of left out of the norm thinking.
[04:49] SPEAKER_03: It was very new and I thought, okay, I'll just write it out.
[04:51] SPEAKER_03: So I got that education but there was really no opportunities back home in that specific
[04:59] SPEAKER_03: area at that time.
[05:01] SPEAKER_03: My brother was in Colona and he said, if you want to come to Canada I'm pretty sure based
[05:06] SPEAKER_03: on your computer science education then background you'll have a much better chance of building
[05:12] SPEAKER_03: a career.
[05:13] SPEAKER_03: So that was the attraction.
[05:15] SPEAKER_01: Fast forward 40 years to today.
[05:18] SPEAKER_01: If you were to give advice to immigrants that we're looking at Canada as a possible relocation
[05:23] SPEAKER_01: destination, what would you say with a, you know, who would thrive here?
[05:28] SPEAKER_03: You know, anybody that has a good work effect, you know, has a little bit of a, you know,
[05:34] SPEAKER_03: professional background, this is a country of opportunity.
[05:38] SPEAKER_03: This is a country that gives opportunity for everybody.
[05:42] SPEAKER_03: Amazing, friendly people that are willing to help you get where you want to go.
[05:47] SPEAKER_03: So I don't think there's any other country in the world like Canada that embraces and
[05:52] SPEAKER_03: helps immigrants or anybody, any new commas to this country.
[05:58] SPEAKER_03: So I was very, very lucky that I got that opportunity to come to this amazing country.
[06:03] SPEAKER_01: Fantastic.
[06:04] SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously you are a mentor for many, many people but is there anybody that you can
[06:09] SPEAKER_01: cite who is a mentor for you?
[06:12] SPEAKER_03: You know, I was very lucky in my life.
[06:14] SPEAKER_03: There's two or three individuals that, you know, groomed me.
[06:18] SPEAKER_03: I was my mentor.
[06:19] SPEAKER_03: I always looked upon them.
[06:20] SPEAKER_03: I always reached out to them.
[06:22] SPEAKER_03: And I continually do.
[06:24] SPEAKER_03: So, you know, my first business partner in Colona, when I arrived, 41 years ago,
[06:29] SPEAKER_03: I didn't know him from anything, just, you know, met by chance, you know, became the co-founders
[06:35] SPEAKER_03: of the first software company in Colona.
[06:39] SPEAKER_03: And grew their business so let, and they've done a lot of business together.
[06:44] SPEAKER_03: And he continues to be my lifelong friend, but my mentor, amazing individual.
[06:49] SPEAKER_03: His name is Mike Schleppey.
[06:50] SPEAKER_03: He is a CPA by Trade.
[06:53] SPEAKER_03: Amazing experience, but just a great human being that gives out so freely.
[06:59] SPEAKER_03: And I think that why or how I've sort of kind of molded my life to be out there and trying
[07:06] SPEAKER_03: to help people.
[07:07] SPEAKER_01: Very good.
[07:08] SPEAKER_01: It's a very local home.
[07:09] SPEAKER_01: Is there anybody on a global scale that you kind of, you know, listen to as far as their
[07:14] SPEAKER_01: advice or sort of great things or great stories on a global scale?
[07:20] SPEAKER_03: You know, I was saying 35, 40 years ago when I was doubling into the space growing my software
[07:27] SPEAKER_03: company, Microsoft, you know, Bill Gates, who was sort of the idol and that kind of became
[07:33] SPEAKER_03: somebody that I followed very, very closely and followed what he was doing.
[07:39] SPEAKER_03: And I continue to do so even now, all these philanthropic work.
[07:43] SPEAKER_03: So I'm kind of myself in a very small scale involved as well.
[07:47] SPEAKER_03: So I kind of look up to somebody like that just to kind of get a little bit of, you know,
[07:53] SPEAKER_03: passion or I think in light sort of, you know, my interest and thought.
[07:58] SPEAKER_03: So yeah, he's definitely one that I follow quite closely.
[08:02] SPEAKER_01: Fantastic.
[08:02] SPEAKER_01: I want to talk a little bit about the communities that you work because you've just recently,
[08:06] SPEAKER_01: you were so ingrained in Kelowna now you're in Vancouver.
[08:09] SPEAKER_01: I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity to talk about both communities.
[08:13] SPEAKER_01: Can you give me a sense of the vibe in Kelowna kind of culture of that particular community?
[08:20] SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
[08:21] SPEAKER_03: So, you know, it's a very interesting question because when I arrived, you know, 40, some 41 years ago,
[08:26] SPEAKER_03: it was a people who get mad at me when I said this, but a fairly sleepy town, you know,
[08:32] SPEAKER_03: the top, you know, when everybody that I talked to, then the few years that I was traveling
[08:36] SPEAKER_03: for my business, when I mentioned Kelowna, like they say, kind of look at me like you kind
[08:40] SPEAKER_03: of crazy having a software company in Kelowna number one.
[08:43] SPEAKER_03: Secondly, they all were talking about the retirees moving there.
[08:47] SPEAKER_03: That was sort of the talk generally.
[08:51] SPEAKER_03: Well, today it's a very thriving tech sector.
[08:55] SPEAKER_03: Roughly around 800 companies, about 14,000 people working in the innovation and tech space.
[09:04] SPEAKER_03: And about $1.7 billion of economic contributor through the region, which is far more than
[09:10] SPEAKER_03: tourism and agriculture combined, which over the last 100 years said we've culture and tourism
[09:15] SPEAKER_03: has been the bed bread and butter of that of the region.
[09:18] SPEAKER_03: So, it's a very vibrant community, a lot of innovation happening.
[09:23] SPEAKER_03: It's a calendar buzzing right now.
[09:26] SPEAKER_01: What do you think are the key pillars that were instrumental in building it up?
[09:32] SPEAKER_01: I'm going to jump to the word ecosystem because we've talked about that previously, but
[09:36] SPEAKER_01: what were the essential pieces that have evolved and changed and added to the community
[09:41] SPEAKER_01: that worked there 40 years ago when it was Sleepy Hicksville?
[09:46] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and again, it's a very good question.
[09:48] SPEAKER_03: It's a great model.
[09:49] SPEAKER_03: I mean, if you look at it, it's individuals.
[09:51] SPEAKER_03: So, what happened is 15 years ago, roughly, you know, probably started earlier than that,
[09:57] SPEAKER_03: but mainly over the last 15 years and most over the last 10 years, individuals basically
[10:02] SPEAKER_03: came together from different organizations and just said, hey, what can we do to elevate
[10:07] SPEAKER_03: this place, make this place a no place to come in and start your business and how can we
[10:13] SPEAKER_03: support that?
[10:14] SPEAKER_03: So, that collaboration started to happen and over the last 10 years, we'll see every individual
[10:21] SPEAKER_03: that can contribute to the ecosystem, but also every organization, whether it's the tourism
[10:27] SPEAKER_03: calona, with the city of calona, whether the economic development commission, community
[10:32] SPEAKER_03: features, Accelerator, Opanagan, which is Accelerator, Intubator, in town, the co-working spaces,
[10:39] SPEAKER_03: women's enterprise center, that's based over there.
[10:41] SPEAKER_03: All of these organizations started to kind of look at into a more holistic approach instead
[10:47] SPEAKER_03: of very siloed approach.
[10:48] SPEAKER_03: A lot of cities and towns have that all the individual organizations have very siloed
[10:55] SPEAKER_03: approach.
[10:55] SPEAKER_03: They kind of do their own thing.
[10:56] SPEAKER_03: In calona, everybody is kind of come together and say, how can we collectively make this place
[11:02] SPEAKER_03: a better place for people to live and businesses to thrive?
[11:06] SPEAKER_03: So, I think that thinking, that process, I don't know how it came about, but they were
[11:10] SPEAKER_03: a number of community leaders that kind of said, hey, let's try this and they became a great
[11:16] SPEAKER_03: model.
[11:17] SPEAKER_03: So, today, if you're coming to calona and you're connecting with one individual or one
[11:22] SPEAKER_03: organization, you'll get connected to everybody, which is an amazing thing that happens over
[11:29] SPEAKER_03: there that I don't see happening in too many other places of their size.
[11:34] SPEAKER_01: Fantastic.
[11:35] SPEAKER_01: Do you have a favorite spot in calona, a beach or coffee shop at restaurants?
[11:41] SPEAKER_03: You know, the new innovations center right downtown.
[11:43] SPEAKER_03: For me, that's about, no matter what I do way I go, I always find, you know, they are
[11:49] SPEAKER_03: going to meet whether it's in the coffee shop or in the incubator, so that's my favorite
[11:55] SPEAKER_03: spot.
[11:55] SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: Let's jump to Vancouver now.
[11:58] SPEAKER_01: Have you lived in Vancouver before or is this the first time?
[12:01] SPEAKER_03: First time kind of living here, but being in calona, Vancouver, you know, one of the most
[12:07] SPEAKER_03: beautiful cities in the world.
[12:09] SPEAKER_03: So, I try to come here as often as I can.
[12:12] SPEAKER_03: So, mainly to visit and one of business meetings and stuff, but not to live.
[12:17] SPEAKER_03: So, this is sort of my first, first place.
[12:20] Speaker UNKNOWN:
[12:21] SPEAKER_01: And so, again, how about we ask that question again?
[12:24] SPEAKER_01: What differentiates the culture, for instance, between calona and Vancouver?
[12:28] SPEAKER_01: How would you describe Vancouver's vibe?
[12:31] SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, I'm so excited about the vibe that's here.
[12:36] SPEAKER_03: You know, there's news of, every day, you know, new companies, you know, brick brand,
[12:41] SPEAKER_03: world-renowned companies like Amazon, sending up shop in a big scale, you know, Microsoft
[12:48] SPEAKER_03: you know, roaming.
[12:49] SPEAKER_03: So, this is exciting news every day.
[12:52] SPEAKER_03: You know, new investments coming in yesterday, a clear local company.
[12:57] SPEAKER_03: I got $250 million US of investment in the business, which is like, I think, the largest
[13:04] SPEAKER_03: investment that a Canadian company or British Columbia company has had.
[13:08] SPEAKER_03: Like, every day, there's something new, something big that's coming.
[13:12] SPEAKER_03: And I just see a huge potential over the next 10 years.
[13:15] SPEAKER_03: I think Vancouver will be positioned very, very well as a tech hub, as a innovation hub,
[13:24] SPEAKER_03: as the place to be.
[13:27] SPEAKER_01: We, you know, we have a traditionally or historically a brand supernatural British Columbia.
[13:32] SPEAKER_01: You know, there's lots of places that are kind of jumping on, you know, supporting tech.
[13:37] SPEAKER_01: Do you, what's your vision for the next 10 years?
[13:41] SPEAKER_01: Because I got to say, I didn't create one for Cologne, it kind of happens.
[13:45] SPEAKER_01: So if you can dig into, that was vision for the next 10 years.
[13:49] SPEAKER_01: What would be the niche for Vancouver?
[13:51] SPEAKER_03: Well, there's a lot of things going to, you know, bubbling up and we're taking a lead on,
[13:57] SPEAKER_03: I think, in life sciences, Vancouver is always, you know, played a pretty integral role.
[14:04] SPEAKER_03: And I think we can elevate that to a world-level where we become the leading world-excellent
[14:10] SPEAKER_03: center for life sciences, artificial intelligence.
[14:14] SPEAKER_03: I think this is AI is growing here.
[14:17] SPEAKER_03: Brickley, there's some great companies here.
[14:20] SPEAKER_03: More companies are looking, studying to look at Vancouver as the place to be.
[14:24] SPEAKER_03: Because once you create a little bit of cluster and resources and all the companies want to,
[14:29] SPEAKER_03: you know, be part of the cluster.
[14:30] SPEAKER_03: And I think that's going to grow.
[14:33] SPEAKER_03: And I have very much confidence that we will become one of the world's leading AI centers.
[14:38] SPEAKER_03: You know, AI and VR gaming has always been a strength, so that will continue to grow.
[14:44] SPEAKER_03: But one area that we are really taking a lead, very, very fastly, is in clean tech and sustainable.
[14:51] SPEAKER_03: Out of the world's top 100 clean tech companies,
[14:56] SPEAKER_03: 13 of them are based in Canada and out of that, 8 are based in British Columbia.
[15:00] SPEAKER_03: So definitely we're leaders in that already.
[15:03] Speaker UNKNOWN: We stick in.
[15:04] SPEAKER_03: And we want to, we don't want to sit on our laurels.
[15:09] SPEAKER_03: That we want to make sure that we continue to take a larger piece of that high and continue to grow
[15:16] SPEAKER_03: and become the place to be in terms of clean tech, sustainable companies, resources,
[15:23] SPEAKER_03: right here in British Columbia.
[15:26] SPEAKER_01: Well, in fantastic segue, straight into now your CEO of InnovateBC.
[15:31] SPEAKER_01: Tell us about the work that you do there.
[15:33] SPEAKER_01: And I appreciate you've only been in the role for a short time.
[15:36] SPEAKER_01: But we've got three fantastic visions, become a world excellence center for life sciences, clean tech and AI.
[15:42] SPEAKER_01: How can InnovateBC help?
[15:45] SPEAKER_03: So our mandate is to help support and and celebrate innovation in British Columbia,
[15:50] SPEAKER_03: in all the regions of British Columbia, in all sectors.
[15:54] SPEAKER_03: And the way we do it, it's pretty simple.
[15:58] SPEAKER_03: We take BC innovators and we support them by connecting them to funding and our resources.
[16:05] SPEAKER_03: And any other type of support that these innovators need.
[16:09] SPEAKER_03: So mentorship is a big part that we play.
[16:13] SPEAKER_03: We have in our BC acceleration network.
[16:16] SPEAKER_03: We have dozen agencies around the province that provide mentorship
[16:21] SPEAKER_03: to any new entrepreneur or business or entrepreneurs that are already in business.
[16:28] SPEAKER_03: But they need some help, some mentorships.
[16:30] SPEAKER_03: We provide that.
[16:32] SPEAKER_03: These are mentors that have done very, very well, have great experiences,
[16:38] SPEAKER_03: started in build businesses and have a huge role next.
[16:42] SPEAKER_03: And they continue to work with a lot of companies.
[16:45] SPEAKER_03: So they're fairly current and with the current trends,
[16:48] SPEAKER_03: what's happening in the region, but we're wide.
[16:52] SPEAKER_03: So these mentors sit down and help the burden on the premise.
[16:57] SPEAKER_03: So that's what we provide right now in a nutshell.
[17:00] SPEAKER_03: But this is a multitude of programs and funding that we provide as well.
[17:06] SPEAKER_01: I've had the privilege of interviewing some pretty dynamic entrepreneurs that maybe aren't based
[17:12] SPEAKER_01: in Vancouver, but are based right around the province.
[17:15] SPEAKER_01: Do you have any strategies coming or what's the best way for somebody who might be based in
[17:20] SPEAKER_01: Tafino or Prince George or an Enimo to connect with NFAPC?
[17:26] SPEAKER_03: It's very simple.
[17:28] SPEAKER_03: In all parts of the province, we have our network partners.
[17:32] SPEAKER_03: So in Enimo, we have Innovation Island.
[17:35] SPEAKER_03: So they, most of the time, any somebody in that region will connect directly with them.
[17:40] SPEAKER_03: And our partners will start to provide them with the support and mentorship that they need.
[17:46] SPEAKER_03: They are some regions.
[17:47] SPEAKER_03: So we have partners in southern British Columbia, in Kutney's,
[17:51] SPEAKER_03: in the central in Kalona, the Camelot Prince George,
[17:55] SPEAKER_03: in North and a lot here in British Columbia and Lower Mainland as well.
[18:00] SPEAKER_03: So most of the time, anybody's wanting or thinking of studying a business will connect with them.
[18:06] SPEAKER_01: Something we can do later is just kind of list who your partners are and will provide that as
[18:10] SPEAKER_01: part of our information post today's interview.
[18:13] SPEAKER_01: Has that absolutely.
[18:14] Speaker UNKNOWN:
[18:14] SPEAKER_03: I mean, we're very happy to do that.
[18:16] SPEAKER_03: If they can't find them, it's, you know, we're very happy to, they can connect directly with
[18:23] SPEAKER_03: NFAPC and we'll find a partner for them to be able to help them out.
[18:27] SPEAKER_01: Now, just a little bit of fun, Ragua, if you weren't to see you, I'll benefit B.C.
[18:33] SPEAKER_01: What other career choice or job or I'm guessing entrepreneur, so would you?
[18:39] SPEAKER_01: That's always been on the back burner that you would love to pursue.
[18:42] SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's a very interesting question.
[18:45] SPEAKER_03: I would be CEO of a non-profit society that would be helping, you know,
[18:53] SPEAKER_03: mentor the students or new and young entrepreneurs.
[18:58] SPEAKER_03: Fantastic.
[18:59] SPEAKER_01: A little bit of fun now.
[19:00] SPEAKER_01: We're just going to do some rapid-fire questions so that we get to know kind of what makes you
[19:05] SPEAKER_01: tick and some resources that are in your mind that we can share with our listeners.
[19:09] SPEAKER_01: First of all, is there an essential book on your shelf that you think all entrepreneurs should
[19:15] SPEAKER_01: rate?
[19:17] SPEAKER_03: Good to great is a very nice book that has a lot of learnings.
[19:20] SPEAKER_03: It's a great fusion.
[19:22] SPEAKER_01: And are there any skills that you think a younger entrepreneur needs to have that there may
[19:29] SPEAKER_01: be being taught now, but that we redundant and about to hinder something that we can sort of
[19:34] SPEAKER_01: avoid. And equally, what is a new skill that you think everybody should pick up that will be
[19:40] SPEAKER_01: essential over the lifetime of their career?
[19:43] SPEAKER_03: I think the way, you know, we manage people and where the people will be working in any given
[19:50] SPEAKER_03: business, I think that mindset needs to change. We are so set on, you know, having people around
[19:55] SPEAKER_03: or a little bit of kind of out of office, but 10 years from now, it will be totally distributed
[20:00] SPEAKER_03: and you'll never see people, but you need to be able to adapt to manage and work in that particular
[20:06] SPEAKER_03: environment. So if people start to think about that and start to learn about that and adapt
[20:12] SPEAKER_03: slowly over the next few years, I think they'll have a much better time as opposed to sort of
[20:17] SPEAKER_03: having a cutoff and say, Polica, what has happened? How do I adapt to the new ways?
[20:23] SPEAKER_01: Is there an essential conference?
[20:27] SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to pick on BC first that you believe is a great resource for people to attend.
[20:34] SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, I couldn't say anything other than BC Tech Summit that we hold. You know, it's
[20:43] SPEAKER_03: a pretty general broad conference that brings students, brings a lot of entrepreneurs,
[20:52] SPEAKER_03: brings a lot of investors and brings a lot of international eyes and people in into British Columbia.
[20:58] SPEAKER_03: So that's a very good one. If you want to come and meet a lot of people, go all at one place
[21:03] SPEAKER_03: in very, very different sectors, etc. That would be the place to be.
[21:11] SPEAKER_01: How about on a national scale? Can you think of a conference that if you're looking at doing
[21:15] SPEAKER_01: business in Canada, what conference would be fantastic to go and meet a lot of people at the same time?
[21:22] SPEAKER_03: Well, there are a lot of very focused conferences for different types of businesses, so depending
[21:29] SPEAKER_03: on what you're business are. But if you're really looking at a place to go and meet a lot of people,
[21:35] SPEAKER_03: and a collision in Toronto is one that's massive. And what I find is you'll be able to
[21:41] SPEAKER_03: over the course of three or four days probably meet with everybody that you would want to meet,
[21:48] SPEAKER_03: not just nationally but internationally as well, because they draw a pretty decent crowd that
[21:56] SPEAKER_03: most of the people that you'd want to do business with or want to meet with, you'll be able to
[22:00] SPEAKER_03: meet all at one place. So that would be a very good one. Can you think of a particular, if it was
[22:07] SPEAKER_01: somebody moving to Vancouver? Now that we're jumping back to Vancouver, can you think of an
[22:11] SPEAKER_01: essential networking group that somebody could actually physically go out and meet people in person?
[22:17] SPEAKER_03: I'm feeling new here, so I'm still starting to find out who all the groups are, but there are
[22:22] SPEAKER_03: a number of meet-up groups, depending on, I mean if they are in sort of technology, there's a
[22:27] SPEAKER_03: tech meet-up group, the name escapes him, but I'll definitely be able to provide that.
[22:33] SPEAKER_03: So there's a number of the meet-up groups, if you're sorry, they were to google that,
[22:37] SPEAKER_03: they should be able to find the right one for the type of things that they're looking for.
[22:44] SPEAKER_01: Do you have an inspirational quote on your desk or on your wall that you can share?
[22:51] SPEAKER_03: You know, I've also had a great opportunity to mentor a lot of students at
[23:00] SPEAKER_03: Okenagon College and University of British Columbia, and a lot of new entrepreneurs in the Okenagon
[23:07] SPEAKER_03: region. So one thing that I keep telling them is that he can be smart, you can be doing a lot of
[23:15] SPEAKER_03: other things, but the one thing that you always need to keep in mind is you're growing your business,
[23:20] SPEAKER_03: nothing beats hard work. So just keep that in mind because that's the key ingredient that you need
[23:26] SPEAKER_03: to keep front-end center, whether that's what's going to make you successful. A lot of people come
[23:30] SPEAKER_03: in and say, I'm very smart, I've got this great idea, and things will just happen, but it's that hard
[23:35] SPEAKER_03: work, it's the perseverance, just to making sure that you stick with it no matter what's going
[23:41] SPEAKER_03: wrong or the kind of day that you're having just perseverance, you know, be coming back, and if
[23:47] SPEAKER_03: you believe in something, just stick to it. And the other one is I was always having a mentor,
[23:53] SPEAKER_03: always have them one person that you can always connect with, talk to, and run things by.
[24:00] SPEAKER_01: Robert, this is always a fun question for the Canada podcast crew. If you were stuck on a deserted
[24:05] SPEAKER_01: island, and now having grown up on the Fiji Nile, you're probably quite after this, but a tiny little
[24:11] SPEAKER_01: remote one that had no technology, luckily it had one phone booth where you could make a call at
[24:16] SPEAKER_01: some point. How long would you last on a remote desert island, and what would you do there?
[24:24] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think I probably could last a long time. I know the solitude actually would
[24:32] SPEAKER_03: be, you know, I would find that it has a positive thing as a positive thing, so I think I could last
[24:41] SPEAKER_03: there for a long time. I would not even use that phone booth to make the phone call, I just
[24:45] SPEAKER_03: I'd just go in the bushes and start to figure out where the the foods are, so I can have that
[24:52] SPEAKER_03: over the next few weeks, so few months, I was like, when don't play now do I get out of this?
[24:56] SPEAKER_01: I love it. It's more likely that somebody's going to go, where are they? We got to go get them
[25:01] SPEAKER_01: before you ever make the call. Yeah. It's like, what is the best way to for people to get a hold of
[25:07] SPEAKER_03: you post podcasts? Best ways to from our website, or just can email me.
[25:14] SPEAKER_01: Okay, and what's your email address? Let's just write that down quick.
[25:17] SPEAKER_01: I'm Bo Powell at innovatebc.ca. Okay, we'll put that in the on the vlog later. With
[25:24] SPEAKER_01: it's been an absolute pleasure having you on Canada's podcast. We're so excited you were able to
[25:28] SPEAKER_01: join us. Is there any last sentiment you'd love to leave that we haven't covered yet?
[25:32] SPEAKER_03: First of all, thank you for having me and the only thing that I would want to maybe conclude with is,
[25:39] SPEAKER_03: you know, we are living in the best part of the world and the opportunity is endless and we will
[25:44] SPEAKER_03: make Vancouver and British Columbia a world leader in tech and innovation over the next 10 years.
[25:50] SPEAKER_03: That's a promise. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
[25:55] SPEAKER_02: Hey there. Thanks for taking the time today to listen to British Columbia's podcast on the Canada's
[26:01] SPEAKER_02: podcast network. We hope you enjoyed the show today. Make sure you sign up for our newsletters
[26:05] SPEAKER_02: and write a review for us on iTunes. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn,
[26:12] SPEAKER_02: or at Canada'spodcast.com. You can check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country.
[26:18] SPEAKER_02: I'm Angela Faye. See you next time.
