When we think about the local economy, we tend to think about numbers. The media reports on the unemployment rate, retail vacancy rate and the gross domestic product, which leaves us with feelings of comfort or discomfort.
These numbers rarely tell the whole story. Behind them, we can see what our local economy is really all about — everyday people doing some really amazing things.
Every day, 370,000 citizens in the capital region make the local economy tick. They buy a cup of coffee on the way to work, visit the dentist on the weekend or drop off their children at daycare. This everyday behaviour is what constitutes “local commerce.” We need to take into account where this money that circulates locally comes from. Of course, we’re not referring to the Canadian Mint; rather, the entrepreneur making a product, delivering a service and bringing new money into the community.
Entrepreneurs are vital to the community because they take risks that most of us would not take. They create wealth that combats rising costs and create jobs that diversify our tax base.
Greater Victoria is fortunate. We have abundant assets that keep and attract talented people: Canada’s best climate, year-round outdoor activities, constantly improving cycling infrastructure, stunning green spaces, awesome restaurants and a vibrant music scene — to name a few. The convergence of talented people creates a more entrepreneurial spirit as they compete for their respective place in the community. It’s no surprise that renowned thought-leader Richard Florida named Victoria the Second Most Creative City in Canada (behind only Ottawa).
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This combination of entrepreneurial spirit and quality of place creates the perfect environment for ideas to take off.
Our community’s quality of life attracted software innovator Edwin Braun and his film special-effects company CEBAS Visual Technologies — if you’ve watched a Hollywood blockbuster movie such as The Avengers, you’ve seen Braun’s work. Now, Braun is applying his innovative mind to new technologies and spinoff opportunities (his latest one is Deetectee Microsystems Inc., a company that recently patented its Single Burst Optical Recognition technology for applications across a number of industries from healthcare to smartphones).
Our community also has locally grown innovators such as Andrew Wilkinson, founder and CEO of MetaLab, a design firm with multiple offerings, including software products such as Flow — a task and project management tool, and BallPark — a time-tracking and online-invoicing system. Wilkinson is one of those entrepreneurs in the community who pays it forward. Entrepreneurs Leif Baradoy and Peter Locke of Kiind, a local startup that is changing the online gift card industry, were proud recipients of MetaLab’s Design Capital initiative, a program that Wilkinson created to help fellow innovators succeed.
High-tech isn’t the only sector where local entrepreneurs shine.
Andrew Paine and Rene Gauthier at Sitka have worked tirelessly for more than 10 years to expand from building surfboards in a garage to constantly evolving clothing and product lines that feature dozens of artists’ work in their Victoria and Vancouver locations as well as through online sales and distributors abroad.
Paul Underhill of Groove Nutrition created a product to aid in his battle with cystic fibrosis. He and co-founder Steve Hughes are growing their flagship product Rumble, an energy and meal-replacement drink, across Canada and the U.S.
Marie Hutchinson and Harold Aune founded Whitehall Rowing & Sail in 1987 and were the first to produce sculling boats that feature slide-seat rowing systems. Now, with customers all over the world, they continue to innovate.
Their newest invention is a sliding-seat attachment for a stand-up paddleboard that lets the user convert the board to a row boat.
Ray Brougham at Prototype Equipment Design, a local machine shop, is constantly finding new ways to service the marine and ship-repair sector and bring new innovative services, such as annodization, to the region. Brougham doesn’t just create jobs; he enables his employees to grow quality careers.
As a community, we are faced with a beautiful and complex entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is in all of our best interests to ensure that this ecosystem is nurtured by reducing the barriers for these innovators to take their ideas to the marketplace.
At the Greater Victoria Development Agency, the region’s economic development office, we meet with dozens of entrepreneurs each year. Some of these entrepreneurs have never started or operated a business before. Some have grown multiple companies and are just looking for the next opportunity to apply their passion and skill. Either way, as a community, we should help them create jobs for local (and future) citizens. We can do this by ensuring they have access to capital, creating government procedures that are responsive to the needs of business, growing talented people out of local post-secondary institutions, and by fostering a culture that is open to people with diverse backgrounds and new approaches to solving old problems.
Dallas Gislason is the economic development officer of the Greater Victoria Development Agency.