merge magazine june 2011
DESCRIPTION
Network Hub of EdmontonTRANSCRIPT
1VOLUME 2 // ISSUE 2 // JUNE 2011
5
EDITOR IN CHIEFSherree Elm
ASSISTING EDITORKristen Wagner
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Carrie Mayhew
PHOTOGRAPHYLarissa MackNicole Ashley
WEBCam Linke
FRONT COVER
Chris LaBossiere and Don Riep Photo by Larissa Mack
CONTRIBUTORS
Megan Sarrazin, Lisa Babiuk, Kristen Wagner, Jen Hardes, Danielle Paradis, Teresa Fisher, Lindsay Holman, Sarah Kmiech, Devon Bryce, Krista D. Ball, Paula Kirman, Vance Ternowski, Jon Squires
SPECIAL THANKS
Sherwood Park Toyota, Coventry Homes, Ken Bautista, Next Gen, Culina Mutart, Edmonton Humane Society, Utopia Music Festival
INQUIRES & [email protected]
DISTRIBUTION: 30,000
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Copyright © 2011 Merge Magazine.All rights reserved.
B U S I N E S S
06 // RAISING THE DOMAIN
08 // FOOSH
10 // CATALYST THEATRE
12 // EAT LOCAL FIRST
N O W
14 // CITY OF CHAMPIONS
A W A R E N E S S
16 // EDMONTON HUMANE SOCIETY
N E T W O R K S
19 // FACEBOOK VS. LINKEDIN
F E AT U R E
20 // YARDSTICK SOFTWARE
24 // ART WITH PURPOSE
26 // ACCELERATORS
28 // MAKE IT: HANDMADE REVOLUTION
30 // FAILURE IS ALWAYS AN OPTION
R E V I E W
32 // CAPTAIN TRACTOR
34 // ELM CAFE
36 // CREDO COFFEE
38 // FIND YOUR NICHE
E V E N T S
40 // INSPIRATION AND INNOVATION: TEDX EDMONTON
41 // NEXTGEN MONTH
42 // NEXTFEST 2011
43 // CORPORATE CHALLENGE
C A L E N D A R
44 // EVENT CALENDAR
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C O N T E N T
What are entrepreneurs? Unstoppable. Relentless. Passionate. Creative innovators who
aren’t afraid to start, fail and try again. Entrepreneurs transform ideas into products and bold
new companies. They create jobs in every industry, in every sector, profit and non-profit.
As you’ll learn in this issue of Merge, these qualities are what allow entrepreneurs to
propel Edmonton into the new economy. I’m an entrepreneur myself, co-founding two
tech companies including Rocketfuel Games, an educational games startup; as well as
the next gen organizations artsScene Edmonton and Startup Edmonton.
So, as this month’s guest editor (with the help of my Startup co-chairs Sam Jenkins
and Cam Linke), I knew this would be a great opportunity to shine the spotlight on the
entrepreneurial individuals working to create, innovate and drive change right here in our
hometown—like Chris LaBossiere and Don Riep, co-founders of Yardstick Software,
one of Alberta’s fastest growing companies; and Catalyst Theatre’s Eva Cairns, who’s
leading one of the city’s most innovative arts companies. Stories like theirs define how
Edmonton’s creative entrepreneur ecosystem is evolving, and why it’s such an exciting
time to be a next gen-er in Edmonton.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to start something.
Ken Bautista
GUEST EDITOR: KEN BAUTISTA
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I D E A S
Think about how much time you spend online. Whether you like
to market your business or Tweet about how a crumb shaped
like a pigeon inspired you to take more walks in the park, most
of us use some sort of social media tool on a regular basis. Just
this morning, I watched a video posted on Facebook of a friend’s
baby. She just sat there. Forty-one seconds passed and the
baby did nothing. But I was compelled to watch every second.
Why? Because like most of society, I like to feel connected to
those around me. So what if you could get rewarded for the time
you spend on social media sites? What if all your online action
earned you money?
Unlike other social media sites, Empire Avenue allows people to
invest in your profile by purchasing shares. “It’s a social media
site where you can invest in virtually anyone on the social web,”
says Dups. Members can meet new people and increase their
network, creating a deeper connection that is more personal
than a “follower” and less intrusive than a “friend.” “You’re
much more likely to connect to someone who is not in your
friendship circle and hence, find those valuable connections,”
says Dups. “Empire Avenue fits into the system between Twitter
and Facebook, spanning the gap between the completely
anonymous to the completely vetted.”
Dups describes the company as a network helping create
networks, thereby becoming a hub for other social media sites.
Empire Avenue will review your data and scores and match
you with people who have similar interests. “We evaluate your
audience, interaction, activity and engagements in each of the
social networks [like Twitter and Facebook] that you connect to
us, then give you a unified share price,” Dups says. The bonus is
that you get rewarded for all your daily online actions with Eaves,
a virtual currency that enables you to invest and purchase more
people, therefore increasing your own share value. Call it the
stock market of social media.
Part game, part tool and part social network, Dups and his
team have made Empire Avenue an easy and interactive site for
users. Members can easily look at their entire network and see
what their current share price is; that is, the combined scores
from all their social media sites, plus the number of people
purchasing them. And as with the stock market, members can
see their shares rise or drop. This concept has appealed to
mass audiences worldwide. “The game itself is appealing and
engaging,” says Dups. He also states that those using the site
often become more effective users of social media. “Suddenly
they know how to manage their sites in ways they weren’t aware
of before.”
Named after a road in St. John’s, NL, the idea of Empire Avenue
resulted from a discussion on Karl Marx’s Das Kapital. Dups and
two of his friends, Niall Brown and Dr. Michael Mannion, thought
about Marx’s belief that everything we do has value. The idea
struck a chord with the trio. Each logging around eight hours a
day on social media sites themselves, they saw an opportunity
before them. “We thought that the content we produced online
was becoming more and more valuable,” says Dups. “We
started to see this ‘economy’ through the lens of a virtual market
and social game.” And so, with a new idea in mind, they decided
to create one.
After tons of thorough research in 2009 and a successful launch
to friends and family in early 2010, the trio introduced Empire
Avenue to the public in July of the same year. Not even a full year
later, the company has expanded to reach over 150 countries
worldwide. “We’ve seen people connect across the world, we’ve
seen people get jobs, create relationships, create networks,” says
Dups. “These successes are beyond anything we imagined from
creating a social game based on real life actions.”
Part of Empire Avenue’s success stems from the passion of its
team. Whether it’s about a journey to a new city, filing income
taxes or Charlie Sheen’s virtual shares skyrocketing since his
recent antics, you can find Dups regularly blogging on the
company’s website. Throw in a comical YouTube instructional
video starring Dups and Empire Avenue’s VP of Marketing Tom
Ohle, and you get a well-rounded team that‘s both hard-working
and entertaining.
“We’ve created a very viable community that is continuing
to grow…and have met some of the most interesting and
most connected people,” says Dups. “The team is great, the
community even greater and we’re going to have a great deal
of fun with it all.” Only time will tell if their shares remain high.
B U S I N E S S
The New Avenue for
Online Social Media
STORY: LISA BABIUKPHOTO: NICOLE ASHLEY
Fun. Engaging. Valuable. These words describe unique Edmonton-based company Empire Avenue, a social media exchange that is taking online networking to a whole new level of play. Some call it a game, but to CEO and self-proclaimed coffee boy Duleepa “Dups” Wijayawardhana, Empire Avenue is an experience.
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STORY: DANIELLE PARADIS // PHOTO: PATRICK ZUBIRI
Maybe you’ve seen a bright orange marquee on Whyte Avenue,
advertising audio and apparel. That’s Foosh, a store that sells an array
of items, from records to shoes, to watches, and of course clothing.
Foosh began twelve years ago, when Justin Der started a
clothing line, and Rob Clarke a record label. They then united
their two initiatives under the Foosh banner, becoming co-
owners of the company.
“The store came after we actually started the company out of
our basement,” Clarke says. “We were making clothing and
dealing with distribution of records… and trying to do everything
while working our day jobs. Then we decided we didn’t want to
do our day jobs anymore.”
“We pulled it all together to do something in the marketplace
that wasn’t being done,” Clarke says. “We were doing the
music, and the clothing, and the art.” In addition to selling
merchandise, Foosh also sells tickets and promotes music
events and DJs locally, which expands their network and
deepens their relationships with customers, as they become
more involved in all aspects of customers’ lives.
You may be wondering what a “Foosh” is—I was. Clarke
explains, “Foosh was just the name we went with when we
started the clothing line back in the early ’90s. It’s my business
partner’s nickname…Foosh comes from Fu-Schnickens, which
is an old-school hip hop trio.”
The owners have their hands in everything that is fun in
Edmonton. They are DJs and music lovers. They throw events.
They have fashion shows. Overall they are just creative and
know how to entertain. The Foosh brand is ubiquitous among
the partiers, the movers and the shakers of Edmonton.
The Foosh store had a leg up over competitors in its early
stage, as Der and Clarke were both well-known as local DJs.
In addition, the Foosh brand was already being sold in Calgary,
Edmonton, and several other Canadian cities. Der and Clarke
were already interacting with their customers during the day
and night, pressing records, selling and consigning goods,
and meeting people through DJing and the events they help to
organize. Opening the store provided consumers with a place to
go, as many of them were already familiar with the product.
“The people who knew us trusted us,” Clarke says. “Once we
had a storefront we could draw on those people.” The scope of
Foosh’s extensive network means the company doesn’t have
to spend on advertising. They promote their company through
Facebook, Twitter and word of mouth.
Attracting customers was easy, but the dollars-and-cents part
of the business equation was a challenge for Der and Clarke.
“It was hard to get into the business side because we come
from different backgrounds,” Clarke says. “We do the business
as a second nature because we understand the product and
the customer, but doing bookkeeping, and doing budgets and
dealing with distribution to the store was different than when we
were making the product. [The accounting side of the business]
was really hard.”
They are still more creative than business-minded, but now that
they have weathered a recession, Clarke knows they have learned
the value of understanding the inner-workings of the business
down to the structure of budgeting and payroll, although the
strength of the business remains the duo’s creativity.
The recession was a hard time all over Edmonton. Manufacturers were cutting back distribution and shops were closing, but Foosh survived. “I think that we can always survive as long as we understand our customers down to the eye-level,” says Clarke. “Justin and I are always in the shop and we create within the store. We see everybody and they tell us [what’s wrong]. We’re not a large corporation who looks at the numbers and tries to figure out why we are down 10 per cent from last year. We see it
real time. It allows us to make products as things happen.”
Foosh is active in the arts community, employing clothing
designers, photographers, bloggers, DJs and artists. “That
creative buzz keeps us going,” says Clarke. “That’s more
important than even the business itself—us being able to
express ourselves.”
I’d be remiss to not mention the records. Vinyl is a passion of
Clarke’s and even though it makes up only five per cent of the
sales, he is going to keep that passion going. Records are
distributed through treehouserecords.ca.
Clarke wants to see Edmonton going the way of other cities he
has visited by developing independent shops and boutiques.
He emphasizes that the development of the independent retail
sector rests in the hands of the consumer. “When you spend a
dollar you are voting with that dollar,” he says. “When you spend
money at Wal-Mart you are saying ‘I want this to exist.’”
Clarke speaks a friendly but poignant reminder to Edmontonians
to vote wisely with their money, and support the local independent
stores that keep the City of Champions original and creative.
// www.foosh.ca
FUN. PASSIONATE.LOCAL.
“THAT CREATIVE BUZZ KEEPS US GOING”
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“To really do that takes a lot of resilience, commitment and
vision. I can tell you the path so far has not always been easy,
but when I am supporting artists who have such big visions and
who are so relentlessly determined it makes all the difference.
We need to be able to keep our best artists here, and support
them, to ensure the dynamic balance of emerging, established
and senior artists that provides a healthy ecology.”
Catalyst Theatre is one of the top local theatres that is both creating
and exporting original works. Cairns explains that the success of
the organization is definitely a team effort. “We have two resident
artists, Jonathan Christenson [writer, director, composer] and Bretta
Gerecke [designer of sets, lights, costumes and props], who have
worked together as a team on every Catalyst show for the past
thirteen years,” she says.
“This long partnership has allowed for the evolution of a particular
and very recognizable aesthetic. Jonathan and Bretta are not
afraid of being very big and bold in their choices and they do not
fear failure. They are also relentless perfectionists and very hard
workers. We made a strategic choice five years ago to commit to
fewer productions but put a lot of focus into each production. So
our output is limited but hopefully each work has a big impact.”
Catalyst’s recent strategies have worked in its favour, in
particular by appealing to a wider audience. “Our work seems to
effectively bridge a range of audiences—from teens to seniors
and newcomers to theatre as much as experienced theatre-
goers,” Cairns explains. “The very particular look and sound
of our work is a draw, and audiences seem, for the most part,
very willing to dive in and engage with us. I think we provide a
great balance between the highly unusual and the accessible.
With recent productions we tell well-known stories but in a very
surprising way. Generally our subject matter focuses on big,
universal emotions such as love and loss.”
As for what is next in terms of Catalyst’s productions, eager
theatre-goers will have to wait and see. “Jonathan, Bretta, and
I are spending a lot of time these days on that question!” Cairns
says. “We have a lot of ideas in the hopper. We haven’t made a
final decision yet but we hope audiences will take the next leap
of faith with us as they have in the past couple of years.”
C atalyst was founded
in 1977 as a social
action theatre
company. Its mandate changed
in 1996 to focus on the creation
of new works, and since 2006
the company has prioritized the
development of one large-scale
production every second year,
along with the touring of each production. Since 1997, Catalyst has
toured its productions across Canada and the United Kingdom,
Australia, and the United States.
Some of the company’s past productions include Frankenstein
and Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of
Edgar Allan Poe. Hunchback, an interpretation of Victor Hugo’s
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, was commissioned by the
Citadel and won rave reviews from both critics and audiences.
One of the people behind this cutting-edge theatre company
is Eva Cairns. Cairns has been the Managing Producer at
Catalyst since 2006. “I started in an interim capacity and then
never left,” she says. “I loved the big vision of the company and
the courageous spirits of the artists. The people I work with
every day are caring, committed and really good to each other.
I have an exceptional working relationship with Artistic Director
Jonathan Christenson. It is a very personal environment. So far it
has been very challenging but I have been fortunate to also see
many rewards and results for all the work.”
Cairns grew up overseas and settled in Edmonton in 1999 after
moving around the country. “Edmonton provides committed
audiences and great media support for theatre,” she says. “The
work produced in Edmonton is very influenced by the two major
training programs [at the U of A and Grant MacEwan] as well as
by the Fringe.”
However, she also notes the challenges of working in theatre
in the city. “A big challenge for our artistic community is that
we are relatively isolated. This means that both practitioners
and audiences do not benefit from the exposure and stimulus
of outside work the way they would be in larger centres. We
have to work a lot harder to get ‘on the radar’ nationally with
audiences, colleagues and the media.”
Cairns also believes that, despite the challenges the city presents,
local artists have a lot of potential to develop Edmonton’s creative
power. “We believe that Edmonton artists can stand among the
best anywhere if we make choices that support ambition and
excellence,” she says.
“We believe that Edmonton artists can stand among the best anywhere if we make choices that support ambition and excellence.”
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STORY: KRISTA D. BALL
Did you know that the typical North American meal travels 2400
kilometres to reach your plate? Or that out of every dollar spent
globally on food, 73 cents goes to transportation? It’s a sobering
fact that Edmonton is situated in the midst of an agriculturally-
rich area, and yet most of the food on our plates is imported.
Local restaurateur Jessie Radies feels this is “fundamentally
wrong,” and her new business, Eat Local First, aims to tackle
the issue.
It all started when Radies began sourcing local food for her
restaurant, The Blue Pear. She said it was a challenge for
restaurants such as hers to acquire local produce from sources
other than farmers’ markets.
As a busy mom, Radies also wanted a way to provide fresh,
local food to her family without making a large time investment.
She wanted to create a business she could use herself as a
mom, as well as from the restaurant perspective.
So, in 2010, Eat Local First was born.
Eat Local First has been delivering fresh local food to many
Edmonton, St. Albert, and Sherwood Park homes for the
last year. Radies is proud to bring local farmers, local food
producers, and conscientious consumers together.
Currently, Eat Local First offers over 800 food products from
over 65 Alberta food producers and growers. The system itself
is easy to use. Customers register at www.eatlocalfirst.com and
simply browse for groceries. Unlike some food delivery groups,
you don’t need to worry about getting items that you may not
like or don’t want.
Then, the groceries are either delivered to your home for a small
fee (provided you live within the delivery areas), or they can be
picked up from the warehouse. You don’t even have to be at
home for delivery—the groceries arrive in a cooler, protecting
them from the elements.
Radies says there is a large misconception that eating local in
Alberta means meat and seasonal vegetables. “Our local food
system is more than just cows,” she says. “We have cakes,
breads, sauces, and greenhouses.”
Also, Radies says that Eat Local First is not about getting
customers to give up their favourite global foods, such as oranges
or coffee. The company isn’t about promoting a 100-mile diet.
Rather, its focus is on supporting the local businesses that are
involved in all forms of food production—everyone from coffee
grinders to pork producers to artisan bread bakers.
There are many studies that show eating locally-produced foods
are good for the economy. Having a local food system that is
profitable is important to Radies. She believes there is huge
potential for economic growth for our rural producers and small
urban businesses, which is why Eat Local First offers many
different kinds of local foods, such as preserves, dressings and
sauces, along with the standard local meats and vegetables.
A challenge consumers face when trying to convert to a local
diet is that locally-produced food can sometimes be more
expensive than imported foods. However, Radies points out the
benefits of including some local food in a family’s diet. The most
obvious benefit is the quality and freshness of the food: “The
hamburger from us will taste different then the hamburger from
the grocery store.”
There are also benefits to both the community and our farmers.
Every time there is a frost in Florida or a freak snowfall in California,
we endure $5 heads of limp lettuce for several months. Local
greenhouses can help buffer food shortages when import crops
are destroyed, keeping food prices reasonable.
Radies points out that local eating keeps more money in our
local economy. When purchasing from a local food producer,
about $45 out of $100 stays in the community, compared to
around $13 at a chain grocery store. More money is always
good for local business growth.
And, most importantly, as a mom, Radies says her children are
huge fans of eating locally. They get excited every week when
the cooler arrives, hunting through it to see what goodies are
included. They dig into the vegetables and are not only excited
to see the different variety, but also to taste them. What could be
better than a child wanting to sink their teeth into a carrot grown
just down the road?
Eat Local First is a home delivery service for local food that
commenced year round operations in April of 2010.
This program gives 75% of revenues back to the local independent
farmers and producers throughout Alberta and 1% in credit to
not-for-profit partners to address food security issues within
low-income families.
Currently Eat Local First has over 65 farmers and producers
supplying local food on a weekly basis and has contributed over
$450,000 in revenue back to our suppliers, farmers and producers.
www.eatlocalfirst.com
Eat Local First LIVE LOCAL, EAT LOCAL
culinafamily.ca
14 15
Through the years, one brand has stuck with Edmonton—
the “City of Champions.” Outside of sports, I think it provides a
worthy summary of a new vision of Edmonton as a city of creative
entrepreneurs. In the quest to be a champion, one hustles, fails,
tries again, overcomes adversity, and drives forward with a will to
win and succeed. Sounds like an entrepreneur to me.
Welcome to the new City of Champions.
It’s amazing what happens to this city when it gets fired up about
something.
Playoffs, sporting events, cultural festivals, elections—all of these
bring out a fierce passion in the community.
But like our short summers, these times come and go, and with
them our sense of identity. Like other next gen-ers who have been
lucky enough to visit and work in other thriving cities like New
York, Vancouver and San Francisco, I struggled with this question:
why stay in Edmonton?
We now live in an interconnected knowledge economy shaped by
creative industries, information technology and globalization. What
I’ve come to realize is that it’s not about the rankings, the civic
pride, the quality of life, or the stuff I can do in whatever city I live
in—it’s about the people. It’s about the opportunity to co-exist in
a community of smart, creative, entrepreneurial people who also
dream big and hustle to make things happen.
That’s what fires me up about Edmonton right now.
A solid grassroots community of next generation entrepreneurs
is forming and mobilizing from the bottom up. We’re expressing
what’s important to us, how we want to live our lives, how we
want to engage with each other and the world. It’s amazing what
happens when you put a little vision out there, mixed with some
hustle and a whole lot of commitment. People come out of the
woodwork wanting to get involved.
Since starting artsScene Edmonton and Startup Edmonton
a few years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to meet amazing
local engineers, designers, scientists, artists, creators and
entrepreneurs, and I am often surprised at the work that’s
happening right here in our city and beyond. There’s someone
and something new to discover every day.
I call it a revolution. It’s being led by smart entrepreneurs who are
building on our past, re-investing existing wealth, harnessing the
experience of the city’s business leaders, and establishing a new
pipeline where the renewable resource is creativity. This is how we
diversify. This is how we create new wealth to invest back into the
community. This is how Edmonton wins in the new economy.
But the stakes are high. We don’t have decades to put together
roadmaps and strategies. Cities around the world are already
investing millions of dollars and resources to attract and retain
a new generation of connected young people who are building
their futures.
N O W
Invent new jobs. Smart, connected people are the
key. Without them, new ideas and approaches can’t
be formed. We have top post-secondary educational
institutions and talented engineers, designers,
programmers, scientists and creators. The key is
forming new startups from teams of smart people who
want to invent new jobs instead of finding jobs.
Don’t wait, start now. Recession or not, there’s never
been a better time to start something new. Time and
resources will always be limited. It’s about maximizing
what you have so you can act. If you want to make a
difference, you need to think big and dream big from
day one. Leadership is needed to transform ideas into
products, and take companies from startup to scale.
Create, build and share. There’s a time for strategizing,
and then there’s a time for doing. Build startups and
products you’re passionate about, and solve real
customer problems. Share your experience with other
creative entrepreneurs. Share networks, technologies,
resources, space. Give back as much feedback as
you get to invest into the community.
Dominate niche markets. Unless you have a stockpile
of cash, mass market wins are tough to come by. But in
the new economy, small is the new big. You can directly
connect with customers and markets anywhere in the
world online and through app stores. Dominate niche
markets by creating products that customers will buy
and use.
Startups can come from anywhere. Startups come
from creative entrepreneurs who aren’t defined
by social status, ethnicity, or education. Instead,
creative entrepreneurs and their startups are defined
by hustle, passion and an unrelenting ability to find
solutions to problems.
Let’s be a great city, not a big city. It’s easy to get
caught up in the rankings game, constantly comparing
ourselves to other thriving cities. We can’t pretend to
be something we’re not. It’s easy to think that if we
only attracted more head offices, more big brands,
more venture capital, we’d stake our claim on the
world stage. But that’s just not the case. Because, in
the new economy it’s not about being big—it’s about
being great.
CITY OF CHAMPIONS 2.0 THE ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION
STORY: KEN BAUTISTA
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Proof goes a long way. Get your products in front
of customers and users early and often. Are you
actually solving problems? Is what you’re creating
worth paying for? Find ways to get small wins along
the way as you go from idea to startup to scale.
Proven traction (small and large) goes a long way
with customers and investors.
Money isn’t the main problem. It doesn’t take millions
in government spending and venture capital to create
a thriving industry cluster. Top-down money isn’t the
solution. A lack of good investable products and deals
is our problem. It just takes a little luck, hard work and
hustle to tackle the problem from the bottom up.
Fail fast, fail hard, start again. Entrepreneurs are
comfortable with failing. Everyone fails. As Steve
Blank, one of Silicon Valley’s leading minds on
entrepreneurship, puts it: “Startups are about the
search for a repeatable and scalable business
model.” You don’t know the answer, and sometimes
it just doesn’t work out, and that’s okay. The key is
being able to fail fast, learn from it, and move on. The
worst thing is taking years to figure out that maybe
your product just isn’t that good and that’s why no
one’s buying it.
Success breeds success. Edmonton has been quietly
outputting some of the most successful companies
in technology, engineering, arts, and design—all key
areas in the new economy. It’s about inspiring and
mentoring future generations of creative entrepreneurs
to follow in their footsteps.
Ken Bautista loves talking about startups, games and
learning, and his city. He’s the co-founder of Rocketfuel
Games, an award-winning producer of interactive
learning games played online and in the real world,
and the co-founder of next gen initiatives artsScene
Edmonton, Startup Edmonton, TEDxEdmonton,
The Edmonton Champions Project, and Flightpath
Ventures, all aimed at making Edmonton a hotbed for
creativity and entrepreneurship.
To compete, we need to mobilize people now who will
connect the dots, and who will create a new generation
of startups based on the following ten principles:
Cuddly kittens, delightful dogs, and even famished
potbelly pigs are just a few of the hundreds of animals
eligible for adoption at the Edmonton Humane Society.
Guinea pigs, ferrets, rabbits, birds, hedgehogs, and reptiles are
among the interesting residents that call the 47,000 square foot
building in northeast Edmonton their temporary home.
These animals are looking for loving people to give them a
permanent home. The Edmonton Humane Society is known
for being committed to helping homeless and abused animals
recover and re-enter compassionate and caring environments.
“Teaching people how to be responsible pet owners is one of
the biggest goals of the EHS,” says spokesperson Shawna
Randolph. “In learning proper pet care techniques, people learn
how to be empathetic towards an animal’s needs.”
Educating people in treating animals humanely and with dignity
is the chief mission of the EHS. Founded by Rosetta Graydon
in 1907, the Edmonton Humane Society, formerly known as the
Edmonton SPCA, is a not-for-profit animal welfare society. For
over 100 years EHS has dedicated its efforts to providing both
shelter and a voice for homeless and abused animals.
And animals can stay at the shelter as long as is necessary.
“There is no ticking clock on how long animals can stay,”
Randolph says. “If they are healthy and adoptable then they can
stay in the shelter,” she says. Animals are only euthanized if they
are deemed unhealthy, and the animal’s quality of life is expected
to be poor.
The EHS provides services for both animals and humans alike.
Caring for an animal is a fun and rewarding experience, but
there are times when frustration kicks in and pet owners are left
wondering what to do. This is where the EHS can lend a hand.
Not only does the staff work with the animals in the shelter,
but they also provide the public with tools to address any pet
behaviour issues that may arise. Proceeds from all programs go
directly back into the shelter.
With the variety of programs and services offered it is not hard
to see why the EHS is such an integral part of life in Edmonton.
The Society provides more than just a shelter—it’s a place that
provides relief to animals that are in need, and a place they can
temporarily call home until the right human owner comes along.
The EHS is a champion for animal rights and it belongs in the
City of Champions.
A WA R E N E S S
ANIMAL SERVICES OFFEREDEHS offers behaviour and training support with positive
reinforcement methods. These programs teach pet owners how
to encourage good behaviour so that both pet and owner can
co-exist happily. A variety of different classes are offered for
various types of pets, and both private and group sessions are
available. There are also demonstrations, workshops, seminars
and clinics offered on a variety of animal behaviour topics.
Katrina and Friends Dog Daycare is a place for pet owners
who want a safe and fun alternative to leaving their pets home
alone all day. Dog daycare helps keep dogs active, socialized,
stimulated and well-behaved. The balanced environment offers
healthy activity, exercise, and proper dog etiquette. The program
runs Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Muddy Paws Self-Serve Wash and Groom is a coin-operated
dog wash available for public use. Shampoo, conditioner, and
flea and tick treatment are all dispensed by Muddy Paws, and
towels and grooming tables are available. This service is perfect
for those who don’t want to mess up their houses while trying to
bathe their pets!
EHS’s Central Bark Off-Leash Club is a membership-only off-
leash dog park located at the Chappelle Centre for Animal Care.
It provides a safe and fun environment for dogs and their people
to play in a secure fenced area covering three acres of land.
Memberships range from daily drop-ins to annual passes.
PEOPLE SERVICES OFFEREDThe EHS is serious about having fun! So why not share your
child’s birthday with some furry friends? You can book birthday
parties for children that will be held in a privately reserved room.
Children can play games, make crafts and interact with animals.
Party schedules fill up fast, so booking well in advance is best.
Day camps are a great way to keep children occupied and
entertained during the summer months. Camp Sit. Stay! Play!
provides the possibility for children to interact with the animals
and to learn more about their world. With hands-on activities,
animal encounters and crafts, children will learn compassion and
caring through connecting and enriching experiences with the
EHS’s furry residents.
The EHS offers tours of their facility that will show you what goes
on behind the scenes at an animal shelter, a meet-and-greet
with the animals, and ways to meet the animals’ needs. The
facility tours can last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
A number of educational programs are also available. The Perfect
Match: Choosing the Right Pet is a presentation that helps
participants to decide on which type of pet would be right for
them, considering your lifestyle and the time, money, commitment
and care level that are required after bringing a pet home.
16
Edmonton Humane SocietySTORY: TERESA FISHER // PHOTO: LARISSA MACK
17
Animal Safety and Dog Bite Prevention helps dog owners how
to decipher the language of their pet. Participants will learn when
it’s safe to approach a dog, the safest way to pet a dog, and
what to do if approached by an unknown dog.
Pet University is a program that offers a series of hands-on
activities that will help reinforce skills and knowledge in pet
and animal care. This course offers a variety of topics including
veterinary care, grooming, costs of owning a pet, cruelty
prevention and overpopulation.
Volunteers are the backbone of the EHS, with around 700 people
currently volunteering and hundreds more waiting to join the animal
programs. While the EHS is not currently accepting volunteers for
the animal programs, they are accepting volunteers in the following
areas: fostering, corporate volunteering, school projects, alternative
measures, photography, the retail store and medical support
(registered AHTs). If one of the programs you are interested in is not
accepting new volunteers, please watch the website for updates
and information for when applications will be accepted.
VISIT THE HUMANE SOCIETY’S WEBSITE AT www.edmontonhumanesociety.com or call EHS for more information on any of its programs.
Shawna Randolp
19
N E T W O R K S
Emerging Business Leaders is primarily made up of young,
business-minded people, so they are quite familiar with
LinkedIn. Buchkowsky thinks LinkedIn is a great site for keeping
professional profiles up to date.
For those who aren’t familiar with LinkedIn, it is a professional
networking site, much like Facebook in that it allows users to
create a profile and connect with former and current classmates
and coworkers. The site launched in 2003 and has since grown
to over 100 million members in 200 countries. There are over
three million members in Canada alone.
Facebook is also utilized by many businesses and organizations.
Launched in 2004, the site now has over 600 million active users.
Groups can post information, photos and send messages to
members. These tools allow companies to get the word out, but
they aren’t as effective for recruiting as LinkedIn. In April 2011,
Facebook launched a new portal for advertisers to help develop
brand promotions and campaigns, such as those used for the
television shows True Blood and American Idol. For smaller
companies, nonprofits and the average individual there are still
free business and fan pages.
Despite the problems with Facebook, many groups find it
very effective for reaching out to the public. Jamey Hawtin,
vice-president of the Edmonton chapter of Junior Chamber
International says Facebook has “proven to be a very successful
tool for getting people to our events.” Hawtin uses Facebook a
great deal for JCI, which is a nonprofit organization that brings
young entrepreneurs and professionals together to empower
positive change both locally and internationally. The Edmonton
chapter has both a group page and fan page on Facebook,
although for Hawtin its primary use is for advertising events.
Hawtin points out that while online information is a great tool,
it isn’t the most important. “Social media is essential to any
business, group or person trying to make connections and
invaluable for promotion,” she explains, “but nothing beats face to
face networking. The best conversations happen when we meet.”
Because social media websites are inexpensive and
accessible, they’re a valuable tool for networking on
any level. Few people are without Facebook accounts
now, as the ubiquitous networking site has become one of the
main online communication tools. It gives users the chance
to connect with old friends or classmates and keep in touch
with family members. Other sites, such as LinkedIn, offer users
a more professionally-based platform to advertise their skills
while networking and building online communities.
Facebook’s popularity makes it an easy place for people
to catch-up with lost contacts and get to know new
acquaintances. But when using Facebook for networking,
particularly for work, users have to be careful to not get
distracted by apps and games.
As well, one of the greatest problems Facebook presents is
the temptation to over share. Inappropriate status updates and
pictures of people partying can cause negative reactions if your
boss, co-workers, or potential employers are on your “friends”
list. Talking about work politics online can easily get around the
office. Sites like failbook.com are rife with examples of errors in
judgment made on Facebook.
Will Buchkowsky is a co-founder of Emerging Business Leaders,
a networking organization for young professionals. He says that
employers often look up applicants’ Facebook pages to see how
they present themselves publicly. He notes that many people
forget that Facebook is a public site. LinkedIn, on the other
hand, is purely for professional networking.
Buchkowsky started Emerging Business Leaders two years
ago with a friend in order to meet new people and talk about
ideas. “I missed the interactions I had in school where I was
always meeting new people and finding new inspirations,” he
says. The group gets together monthly to hear a speaker and
discuss ideas. They’ve heard from business leaders like Mayor
Stephen Mandel and Steve Hogle of the Katz Group.
STORY: DEVON BRYCE
www.SPToyota.com
F E AT U R E
21
NO MATTER HOW MUCH FOCUS AND PLANNING GOES
INTO DEVELOPING A BUSINESS MODEL, FINDING
CLIENTS AND EXPANDING A PLATFORM, THERE IS NO
GUARANTEE THAT THE BUSINESS WILL FLOURISH.
BUT ONE LOCAL BUSINESS HAS BLOSSOMED INTO A
SUCCESSFUL CORPORATION THAT IS DOMINATING THE
TECH SCENE, DESPITE AN INITIAL LACK OF COMPANY
CREATING INTENT.
20
MEASURING SUCCESS WITH YARDSTICK
SOFTWARE.
STORY: MEGAN SARRAZIN // PHOTO: LARISSA MACK
Chris LaBossiere and Don Riep
23
Recently, the company underwent a bit of a facelift.
“This year we underwent a dramatic brand change, but more
importantly, a corporate re-invention of our business where we
have refined our target markets and product/service offering
to where it meets our company-wide goals and enables us to
deliver a better product and service to our customers to ensure
customer delight,” explains Riep.
They welcomed a new corporate website as well as developed
a more focused business model, a revamped brand and a
strengthened set of core values. These core values are what
truly set Yardstick apart.
“What sets Yardstick apart can really be summed up in a
statement: we are a strong service company, backed by a great
product,” says Riep. “Many people think of us as just a company
with great software, where in fact, we are a full-service company
that offers much more than just our platform,” he adds.
The software offered by Yardstick is no doubt a stand-alone
asset, but combined with the dedication and desire to produce
a client-specific entity, Yardstick has been able to soar above
the competition.
“Our customers come to us because we offer a start-to-finish
solution where we take care of everything, and where they can
continue to focus on their core business,” explains Riep.
This commitment to client satisfaction has come as a result
of the dedicated team behind Yardstick. According to Riep,
Yardstick’s success is largely due to the hardworking team.
“We have a skilled and energetic team of 16 Yardstickers that
all love what they do, and it shows in our company’s success,”
says Riep.
The company makes a point of hiring people that are a good fit
for the company, and also have the skills needed to move the
company into the future.
“OUR CULTURE AT YARDSTICK IS IMPORTANT TO US, AND WE TRY AND MAINTAIN THIS CULTURE WITH PEOPLE THAT WORK WELL IN IT. OUR CULTURE SHOWS IN EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE, AND EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.”
“Our culture at Yardstick is important to us, and we try and
maintain this culture with people that work well in it. Our culture
shows in everything that we are, and everything that we do. It’s
obvious from our office and surroundings. It shows in our core
values, and most importantly, it shows in our team,” says Riep.
The company’s ability to adapt to change has also aided in its
successes. Riep notes that the team is constantly reevaluating
its strengths, weaknesses, core values and overall focus to
“continue to be an industry-leading platform.”
Yardstick Software began in President and co-founder
Don Riep’s basement as he and Chris LaBossiere, co-founder
and CEO, prepared to write their private pilot exams.
In this process, it became evident to the pair that an online
study tool was needed that could compete with traditional
textbook prep materials. Out of this frustration, Yardstick
Software was born.
“In 2004, Chris and I met while training to be private pilots
[in Edmonton], and found there was a need for a good test
preparation tool for the Transport Canada exam,” says Riep. “It
was then that we decided that we would create and launch a
small online test prep site for Canadian pilots.”
The project’s inception came just a few years after the Sept.
11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and the aviation industry was still
trying to recover from the consequent turmoil. As a result, there
was not a whole lot of money to be made in the company’s
initial stages.
Facing this challenge, the duo put their thinking caps on
and discovered something that would change their business
model forever.
“Although it was initially meant to be a hobby site, what we
realized is that we didn’t just have a test prep site for pilots, but
we had an online testing engine that could be used for other
industries,” says Riep.
This realization has ultimately led the Yardstick team to be
recognized as one of Alberta Venture magazine’s Fast 50
every year since 2006. They were also named one of Profit
magazine’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies in 2010.
After the duo had created a solid plan for growth, LaBossiere
quickly began pursuing other markets while Riep was hard at work
building various features to satisfy those markets. Their dedication
to the project enabled them to hire additional personnel.
At this point, it was time to fasten the seatbelts and prepare
for take off, as the company was just getting started and was
about to grow at a breakneck pace.
What began with only a handful of projects has expanded to
serve over 350 independent sites for “test preparation, online
training, high-stakes exams and academic testing,” according
to Riep.
Yardstick works with various groups, from government to
educators to other associations and organizations, to “set
standards of their separate industries through online testing and
training,” says Tracey Hill, Director of Media and Communications.
Since the company’s humble beginnings in 2004, the business
has evolved significantly into a powerhouse ready and eager to
serve clients. Despite a long list of accomplishments, there is
still more to come on the horizon.
Yardstick will be zeroing in on the key markets of certification
and licensure, e-learning solutions for associations and
corporations, academic exam solutions and government
training and testing.
“These markets are where our services and platform excel, and
where we drive our sales and marketing efforts,” says Riep.
There is also a division of Yardstick called “Yardstick Ventures,”
which focuses on partnerships with content experts in
commercializing their content and Yardstick also owns and
operates sites for particular industries—an example being the
safety industry, as Riep points out.
Although the company has had a fruitful seven years, there is
no slowing down for Yardstick. The company will continue to
project their view into the future and will continue to evolve with
the demands of their clientele.
Riep expresses a desire for Yardstick to remain focused on the
future. “I believe, too often, that companies are too focused on
running the business that they are today, and don’t take a step
out of operating the company, looking ahead, and predicting
and preparing for what lies ahead, whether that is opportunity,
or potential disaster.”
// www. yardsticksoftware.com
22
24 25
The word “design” can be interpreted in many different
ways. For the creatively challenged, the term may best
be represented through squiggly doodles on a Post-It.
But to our city’s best designers, the definition is so much more.
You don’t have to be creative to appreciate great design. Look
around you—everything you see was impacted by design. From
the office you work in, to the phone you can never seem to put
down, to the apps you are constantly downloading—none of
these things would exist without design. But does Edmonton
have what it takes to be a creative centre for product design?
To answer this question, I enlist the help of the city’s best
product designers. Designer and University of Alberta professor
Tim Antoniuk has had a variety of experiences as an Edmonton
designer. He was first an Industrial Design graduate from the U
of A; then he worked as a partner and designer for Hothouse
Design Studio, an innovative furnishings company that reached
international success; and finally, he returned to where it all
began, the U of A, where he currently teaches in the Industrial
Design program.
As a firm believer in the idea that people do not have to look
much further than their own backyard for inspiration, Antoniuk
remained in Edmonton even at the height of his company’s
success. “A lot of people said we should move to New York [or a
similar big centre], but we felt our surroundings provided enough
creative influences,” he says.
Antoniuk reminds his Industrial Design students to remain
grounded and realize that regardless of where they live, they
have the ability to set trends and help create massive change in
our future. “The era of designing strictly to make something look
good is far behind us,” says Antoniuk. “There is a big movement
toward designing in a socially and environmentally aware and
conscious manner that considers the well-being of people today
and of future generations.”
So where does Edmonton fit in? Though threatened by the
abundance of larger design centers, Edmonton is still capable
of becoming a leader in Service Design. According to Antoniuk,
this field does not require the highly complex and integrated
manufacturing hub that our city lacks. What our city can offer,
and offer tremendously well, is the education obtained through
programs such as Industrial Design at the University of Alberta.
“Having this thorough knowledge will help Edmonton designers
continue evolving in their research and design methodologies,” says
Antoniuk. “Essentially, this will result in the creative and exploratory
sensibility needed to positively impact the human condition.”
Former co-director of the University of Alberta’s Student Design
Association, Jordan Tomnuk, agrees. “Having programs like these
helps promote local [student] designers within the community, and
influences others using local design talent,” he says.
With a love for both the fine arts and the ability to design
products that affect the lives of others, Tomnuk transitioned
into industrial design so he could create products that were
both aesthetically pleasing and functional. Declaring himself a
product of his environment, Tomnuk believes his experiences in
Edmonton have made his designs and methods unique in the
international scene. “The talent that Edmonton has is huge,”
Tomnuk says. “Once you immerse yourself in this community,
you realize the vast potential within.” Living in Edmonton has
also motivated Tomnuk to utilize the resources around him,
resulting in high-quality, environmentally-conscious products that
help sustain our local economy.
The efforts of Edmonton’s design talents are not unnoticed
locally. But in a world filled with bigger and better design centres
and manufacturers, how can our city showcase its design
talents more effectively?
Let’s start with oil. Since Edmonton is widely recognized for its
role in the oil industry, other sectors, such as design, can often
be overshadowed. Looking at other economic endeavours that
could profit from Edmonton’s creative community might help
dispel the notion that Edmonton only has a few tangible benefits
to offer the rest of the world.
Though Edmonton hasn’t quite become a landmark for product
design, numerous local organizations such as MADE (Media
Art & Design Exposed) and artsScene Edmonton are helping
promote the city’s creative community and gain exposure
for local design talent. With the assistance of other local
businesses and government funding, organizations such as
these can continue increasing Edmonton’s economic activity on
a greater international scale. By having the resources needed
to implement the ideas and talents of our local designers,
Edmonton will have a place alongside Vancouver and Toronto as
one of Canada’s creative capitals.
After all, our city has provided a diverse array of successes in
the design field. Natalie Kruch recently found success with her
debut Balloona stool for the international furniture distributor
Umbra. Ben King has taken his talents to the field of medicine,
where his innovative designs and 3D models have helped expose
surgeons to a new and unique way to improve patient health and
well-being. And Todd Cherniawsky moved on to become one
of Hollywood’s greatest production designers, art directing for
blockbusters such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, and set
designing for movies like The Hulk and Armageddon. With such
a range of success stories, one can only speculate where design
will take Edmonton talents next.
DESIGNING EDMONTON’S FUTURE
STORY: LISA BABIUK
26
EVERY DAY IN OUR CITY, BRILLIANT
IDEAS ARE CREATED OUT OF THIN
AIR BY INSPIRING ENTREPRENEURS.
Sometimes, entrepreneurs act on an idea, and try to start
something new, innovative or different. Unfortunately the idea
itself, regardless of its genius, is never enough to guarantee
any degree of success.
We’re constantly reminded of this challenge. According to Industry
Canada, only 70 per cent of small businesses survive the first five
years after launching. There are literally hundreds of economic
factors plotting against the success of the budding entrepreneur.
Starting a new business venture is not easy. Once an entrepreneur
has a kernel of an idea, success requires a combination of time,
capital, people and connections. That’s why founders frequently
look to outside help to enable growth, create stability and develop
a foundation for success.
In today’s technology-charged marketplace, entrepreneurs
need to act quickly, and either succeed or fail, in order to
move onto the next opportunity. Today, entrepreneurs can
find support, guidance and funding from seed accelerators,
highly intensive programs that give support to founders and
their startups through space, investment, education and
mentorship—all within short, six-to-12-month windows.
Seed accelerators generally are unique through several different
components:
COMMUNITY, generated by a series of companies
joining the program at the same time. This community of
founders moves through the program simultaneously, all
located in the same office space, promoting collaboration
between ventures.
EQUITY INVESTMENT, providing the founders
with seed capital in order to dedicate themselves to their
individual startups and product development.
ACCELERATOR SUCCESSES IN OTHER TECH CITIES
MENTORSHIP and CONNECTIONS, which
give founders access to investors and other entrepreneurs, in
order to facilitate the rapid nature of accelerated growth.
THE CASE FOR AN ACCELERATOR IN EDMONTONMany elements make Edmonton an ideal city to support a new
accelerator program. There are several ingredients that make
cities like Edmonton successful, specifically in the field of tech
entrepreneurship.
Richard Florida, the best-selling author of The Rise of the
Creative Class, has studied how certain cities and regions are
able to champion cultures of successful entrepreneurs. He
argues that there are three elements that make a creative city:
talent, tolerance and technology, all of which Edmonton has
ready access to.
TALENTEdmonton has an endless supply of talented, educated and
skilled people—the first building block required for overall
success. With several major post-secondary institutions, we
have the capacity to produce highly-educated talent. These
people are the founders who take the first step in coming up
with ideas that can change the world.
TOLERANCE AND DIVERSITYOver the past century, Edmonton has grown into a wide-ranging
economy of both white- and blue-collar capabilities. As the
gateway to the North, our resource-rich economy has provided
us with the capital needed to build industries that will support
the next 100 years.
TECHNOLOGYIn Richard Florida’s Three Ts, technology represents the
infrastructure required to fuel an entrepreneurial culture. In the
case of accelerating the startup process for Edmonton-based
companies, this infrastructure includes a government that
makes it easy for entrepreneurs to be successful.
DO ACCELERATORS REALLY WORK?There is considerable debate around the successful nature of
accelerator and seed funding programs. The purpose of an
accelerator is to enable a startup to bridge that gap between
the idea and its viability.
Successful accelerators are more about the community and
the people in it than the funding provided to founders. The
mentorship is what gives entrepreneurs the tools and the
sounding board in order to get an idea to the stage that requires
serious capital
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT FOR EDMONTON TODAY?In many ways, Edmonton needs to transform itself, and the
city’s entrepreneurs should be the ones to do that. This city
needs to evolve past being dependant on certain economic
sectors, and it needs more people who make jobs, rather
than those who fill them. We need that next generation of
entrepreneurs to start businesses, and stay in Edmonton
to continue to invest in this city through job and business
creation, volunteerism and philanthropy.
This is part of our call to action for The Edmonton Champions
Project, an entrepreneur-led initiative that will see us invest
in 500 creative entrepreneurs over the next 5 years; and the
launch of Flightpath Ventures, Edmonton’s new tech startup
accelerator.
Our city needs an ecosystem that attracts and supports
successes and failures. Flightpath is our answer for software
and media startups, but I anticipate other programs to launch
in other creative and innovation sectors.
Accelerators help our city be competitive on a global scale, and
create those success stories that Edmontonians can be proud
to talk about.
Sam Jenkins is an organizer behind the Edmonton
Champions Project and a co-founder of Flightpath
Ventures, Edmonton’s first startup accelerator. He
is also currently serving as the President of Fringe
Theatre Adventures, which could be considered
Canada’s original theatre accelerator.
Accelerators are being set up all across the continent, and around the world. There are over 100 accelerators in North America, supporting the growth of thousands of tech startups. These are a few examples of accelerator programs from around the world that have spawned both major successes and quiet failures.
TECHSTARS TECHSTARS.ORGOne of the most popular accelerators in North America, TechStars was established in 2006. Since inception, 81 companies have moved through the TechStars program, in Boulder, Boston, Seattle and New York City. A total of 359 jobs have been created, over $42 million in venture capital has been invested, and 70 of the 81 companies are still active.
Y COMBINATOR YCOMBINATOR.COMSince 2005, Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator has funded over 300 startups, including several recognizable tech companies, including Reddit, Wufoo, Disqus, Dropbox, Posterous and Bump.
500 STARTUPS 500STARTUPS.COMLaunched by serial entrepreneur and startup celebrity Dave McClure, 500 Startups is focused on giving startups a leg-up in terms of user experience, and as a component of their program, provides expertise for participating companies.
STARTUP BOOTCAMP STARTUPBOOTCAMP.DKStartup Bootcamp is the most prominent accelerator in Europe, with installations in Madrid, Copenhagen, Dublin, Berlin and London.
27
28 29
STORY: LINDSAY HOLMAN
Is it possible to make a living as an artist? Jenna and Chandler
Herbut, co-founders of Make It! The Handmade Revolution, think
so. While a natural divide seems to exist between business and
art, the siblings whole-heartedly believe that with a little effort,
business-savvy artists can easily make a living with their passions.
“Some designers, at first, just have it as a hobby they’re doing.
They really love it, but they don’t find it feasible to do full-time,”
says Jenna.
Becoming guarded about artistic endeavours, as well as lacking in
entrepreneurial and networking skills can be obstacles on the road
to success for artists. “Artists don’t always start out as the best
salespeople. It’s hard to be good at the marketing side of things,
[both] sales and the creative part,” says Chandler.
Jenna and Chandler are both designers themselves, and are
fortunate enough to have studied business at the university level.
“We are very much into the marketing and business side of things.
We love art and we love the whole DIY creative side, so it’s kind of
cool to merge the two together and create something,” says Jenna.
It was their love and understanding of both art and business that
led to the creation of Make It! The Handmade Revolution in the
summer of 2008. The event is a craft sale, but it is meant to reach
a younger demographic than traditional craft sales do. “It’s like a
craft sale, but cooler,” says Jenna. “We just wanted to create a
really cool show that all of our friends would want to come to, but
also that was really designer- and artisan-friendly.”
Chandler says that Make It! is like a mullet: “Craft sale in the front,
and party in the back.” With the addition of music, a bar, and hip
handmade products, Make It! has become the craft sale for the
next generation.
The event began in Edmonton in 2008 and showcased local
talent. It soon expanded to Vancouver and Calgary, and now
hosts vendors from all over Canada and the United States.
Make It! runs twice a year in all three cities, although Jenna
and Chandler note that they will be discontinuing their Calgary
show and focusing more on Vancouver and Edmonton. The
siblings consider Edmonton to be more of an “arts” city. “As far
as marketing to the masses, we find Edmonton is really great
because there are a lot of independent thinkers.”
From jewelry and vintage items to handbags and paper crafts,
Make It! provides an alternative to everyday, mass-produced gift
ideas. Chandler and Jenna feel that purchasing handmade gifts
not only helps local artists and artisans, but also adds a personal
touch. “Even if you’re not creating yourself, at least you made the
effort to go somewhere and engage someone who is. That magic
rubs off on the product,” says Jenna.
Make It! is an example of how artists and artisans can become
successful in the cutthroat world of business. “[Make It!] gives them
an avenue to make money doing what they love. You could have
a passion and make something awesome, but if you don’t have
somewhere to sell it you’re not going to make any money at it.
We’ve seen a lot of designers make it their career,” says Chandler.
Essentially, exposure is key. Although some artists find it difficult to
share their work before it is perfected, it is important for them to
get out there and show the world what they can do. “I’m sure a lot
of them have follow-ups with galleries and stores. A whole lot of
store buyers come to seek out new talent, and so it’s kind of cool
for a store buyer from Whyte Avenue to find stuff that no one else
is carrying,” adds Jenna.
Today’s artist not only needs to showcase their work, but also
must become somewhat familiar with the industry. Chandler and
Jenna cannot stress enough the importance of marketing and
social media when it comes to being successful in the business
world. “Try and learn as much as you can about business, talk to
other entrepreneurs, and network like crazy,” says Jenna. Events
like Make It! offer a place for artists to do all these things.
Jenna and Chandler note that more and more people are
seeking out handmade and “artist- and artisan-friendly” items
over store-bought. “The people that come to our events are
educated and understand why they’re buying handmade,”
says Chandler. Buying straight from the creator of a product
is a positive experience in itself. It is not just the product that
is appealing, however. Jenna says that people love to hear
the stories and passion behind the product.
Make It! has fostered the development of a tight-knit community
of artists and entrepreneurs, but support in the artistic community
has reached new heights with the help of modern technology.
Online communities such as Etsy.com are increasingly important.
Etsy.com is a community of artists and consumers that, like Make
It!, provides a choice: it enables people to make a living by making
things. Kickstarter.com, another notable site, enables people to
fund a vast variety of creative projects.
The handmade movement proves that art and business are not
mutually exclusive. While the modern-day artist does need to
possess some business sense, it is clear that many consumers
are keen to buy unique items over taking a trip to their local mall.
With a little effort, and the utilization of artistic communities, both
online and in-person, gone are the days of the starving artist.
Make It! The Handmade Revolution will return to Edmonton once
again Nov. 17-20, 2011.
// www. makeitproductions.com
31
Imagine a grizzled war veteran trapped behind enemy lines
with his platoon of fresh young recruits. They are surrounded
on all sides, and the situation is hopeless. One of the recruits
falls to the ground, ready to call it quits, when the veteran
shakes him by the collar, and tells him in no uncertain terms that
“Failure is not an option!”
Failure has always been part of life. If there can be success, then
of course there is the possibility of not succeeding. But failure
is seen as something undesirable, something we should try to
avoid. Failure has come so far as a negative occurrence that even
the word “fail” itself is used to show mockery and disdain when
someone doesn’t accomplish a goal. In fact, the word is now a
noun as well as a verb. It rolls off the tongue like a frequently used
curse word, and it hurts just as much as any insult.
In the world of business, however, failure is definitely an option,
and it’s not always a bad one.
Whether you are a real estate agent, a gourmet chef, a police
officer, a piano player, a sanitation engineer, or any kind of
employee, businessman or entrepreneur, there is one thing you
have in common with anyone in any other profession: the capacity
for failure. Every career requires action, and every action can
potentially be done wrong. It can start right from the top, during
the creation of a product or the idea for a new service. It can be
simple or complicated. But the real trick to a successful business
startup, according to Startup Edmonton’s Cam Linke, is to find
these problems early on and remedy them quickly.
“It starts like a science experiment. It’s a whole bunch of guesses,
and you’re hoping that they either hit, or you learn from it,” Linke
says. “The smaller and quicker you can make these guesses the
better. The quicker you can fail and learn that nobody in the area
wants your product, the quicker you can get to the right answer.”
The goal of Startup Edmonton is to bring together local
entrepreneurs, and promote the growth of efficient startup
companies, as well as encourage the growth of a whole
startup community. Linke and Ken Bautista are co-founders of
the organization.
There are many factors that affect the success of a business, and
it is impossible to account for all of them. For many companies,
failure is tied into an error in judgment or a miscalculation in what
the buying public is interested in spending money on. There is
no way to know anything about a company’s chance at success
before it exists.
The idea of a startup is to lay down ground rules for the company
based on some very intangible things. While it is important to
approach a startup venture with a general timeline and some basic
goals, sometimes these goals are inaccurate or unrealistic. “Early
on, people make big decisions,” says Linke. “They’re going to raise
money here, and they’re going to have this many customers by
this time, and as soon as they walk out the door the statement is
basically useless, because they haven’t talked to anybody yet. They
haven’t figured out what people are going to buy.”
“WITH LITTLE STEPS, THERE IS NO DEAD END... WHEN THERE IS NO DEAD END, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW COMPANY TO BLOSSOM INTO A SUCCESSFUL ONE IS ALWAYS PRESENT.”
Pride also throws a monkey wrench into the success of many
companies. Without realizing and accepting their problems,
entrepreneurs do not adjust their startups to match the market
or make decisions that will benefit their future success. While it
shows belief in the company and a desire to succeed, this kind
of pride has the exact opposite effect that the entrepreneurs
want. “Sometimes companies are four or five year [old] startups
and they’re doing the same thing the whole way, when really you
should be a startup for maybe a year,” Linke says. “At that point,
if you’re not getting any traction, you have to figure out how to
tweak that.”
Fortunately, there is a way for entrepreneurs to help their company
grow. According to Linke, the trick is to catch problems early on.
“It’s about getting people to fail quickly and figure out whether
their idea is right or wrong as quickly as possible,” he says.
All parts of the business should be monitored and their success
carefully gauged. If the product is not appealing to customers,
then an adjustment is necessary. If a program is difficult for
a group of people to understand and use, then they will
undoubtedly stop using that program. But it is these small failures
that need to be acknowledged and modified. “The more you can
break it down, the easier it is to avoid hitting a dead end where
you say ‘Wow, this is terrible and it’s not working,’” Linke says.
“With little steps, there is no dead end.” And when there is no
dead end, the opportunity for a new company to blossom into a
successful one is always present.
Of course, the true test of a company’s strength and ability to
adapt is its reception among customers. The product will be a
success or failure based on how well it reaches the people it was
intended for, whether or not the company deems it successful.
As always, it comes down to whether or not people will shell out
their hard-earned dollars. “It’s about finding that first customer
and getting feedback,” Linke says. “If someone is willing to pay
money for it, then you know you’re on the right track.”
PETS in the Park
STORY: VANCE TERNOWSKI
IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS, FAILURE IS DEFINITELY AN OPTION, AND IT’S NOT ALWAYS A BAD ONE.
30
STORY: JON SQUIRES // PHOTO: NICOLE ASHLEY
In the province so devoted to the cult of Nickelback, it is refreshing
to experience music of a different genre performed by talented
and passionate musicians. Local bands F&M and Captain Tractor
pulled off a show on May 13 that was indeed refreshing.
The show opened with F&M, a local, internationally touring
folk rock band fronted by Ryan and Rebecca Anderson. I’ve
seen a wide variety of opening acts over the years, both as a
spectator and musician, and it is not uncommon for me to wish
I had stayed home until the main act. But this was not one of
those times. F&M combined great musicianship with haunting,
beautiful melodies, and a unique stage presence, making for a
show that was soothing yet captivating. Equally as delightful as
the live show is their newest release Sincerely F&M, which is a
must-have for any fan of folk music.
Following a talented band such as F&M is not easy task, but
Captain Tractor, a group that is celebrating the release of their
eighth album, Famous Last Words, proved more than capable.
With driving rhythms and energetic stage presence, Captain
Tractor was a decided change of pace. As a native of an Irish-
influenced city on the east coast I am often skeptical of bands
who too freely describe their sound as “Celtic.” But there was no
mistaking what defined Captain Tractor—this band does Celtic
and they do it well. The show was undeniably fun—more like an
east coast kitchen party than a concert.
Although every musician on stage held his own behind the
microphone, Chris Wynters proved to be the vocal stronghold of
the band. Wynters’ shone vocally on “Memory Street,” a sad and
nostalgic song off their newest album. The band also displayed
great stage presence, charming the audience between songs
with their wit and clever storytelling.
Every musician had impressive control over his or her instrument,
and the harmonies were phenomenal. Drummer Jules Mounteer
and bassist Jon Nordstrom held down the rhythm in solid fashion.
Scott Phillips, while displaying strong vocals, also proved to be
a great guitarist and mandolin player. With a solid foundation
in place, Shannon Johnson and Jason Kodie did some catchy
decorating with the fiddle and accordion.
Following the show I was anxious to spend some time listening
to my new CD. Just like the show, the recording did not
disappoint. The tracks were well-recorded and every instrument
was tasteful and not overplayed. The album is playful at times
and serious at others, but there is no mistaking its sincerity and
devotion to simply having a good time.
Captain Tractor is the most entertaining band I have seen in
a long time. Paired with a band like F&M, the band put on a
dynamic show that proved to be the breath of fresh air the music
scene so desperately needs. If you are looking for something
relaxing yet intriguing, be sure to check out F&M. On the other
hand, if you want to let loose and dance away some stress,
Captain Tractor is a band you will not want to miss.
R E V I E W S
32
www.youtube.com/coventryhomes
www.coventry-homes.com
34
Everyone expects to find a certain standard of quality in the food
and atmosphere when they visit a restaurant. There is a general
consensus on how crisp the lettuce should be, how ripe the
tomatoes should taste, how soft the bread should feel and of
course how fresh and flavourful the meat is. But just how much
further do we go beyond this universal culinary checklist?
What about the other attributes in an eatery that are so easy
to overlook? Do we take the time to find out where the food is
sourced? Do we ever stop to take note of just how satisfied we
were by the meal that we ate?
These are questions that are easily answered at Elm Café,
located in downtown Edmonton. Elm Café creator and owner
Nate Box truly cares about the customer’s eating experience,
and everything surrounding it.
“Edmonton has a huge potential and need for more unique
boutique shops. The city has the potential and the desire, and
people want to support something really great,” explains Box.
“People are searching out a quality product instead of a quantity
product.”
And a quality product is just what Elm Café customers get.
With most of its food items sourced locally and seasonally, the
menu at the little coffee and sandwich shop changes daily. This
variety creates something gives both hungry customers and Box
himself something new to look forward to every day.
“I couldn’t imagine owning a place where everyday I cooked the
exact same thing … that bores the hell out of me,” Box says.
The “skeleton menu” consists of muffins, soup, salad, hot and
cold sandwiches and dessert, but the individual items are far
from generic.
On Monday you may have the pleasure of eating an apple
blackberry muffin with a curried tuna, chevre cheese and spinach
sandwich. Then on Tuesday the menu could offer you a white
chocolate blueberry muffin and a savory sun-dried tomato hummus,
feta, basil, peppers and cucumber veggie sandwich.
There are always new taste experiences happening at Elm Café,
and they can be found via the café’s Twitter feed at @elmcafe.
The ingredients Box uses in his café creations are very carefully
thought out, and he speaks highly of the relationships he has
formed through the food purchasing process. He gets his
protein from Four Whistle Farms in Millet, AB. Pork comes from
Irving Farm Fresh, an hour southeast of Edmonton. He gets his
herbs from the Morinville Greenhouses. The coffee is from 49th
Parallel Coffee Roasters based in Vancouver, and his bread is
from the Italian Centre downtown.
Running out of only 195 square feet, Elm Café may be small,
but it more than makes up for its limited space by serving the
fresh food and coffee customers crave, and providing a cozy
community atmosphere at the same time. Even more impressive is the vast quantities of food the tiny café
can produce. The staff can easily cater office lunches. Groups
of eight to 40 people are easy to accommodate—the staff once
catered a wedding with 200 guests.
Box is quick to point out that Elm Café would never be what it
is today if not for the help and support of his friends and family.
“This place would have never happened without my wife … and
my family is behind me 110 per cent … and friends. This place
honestly would not have opened without them,” Box says.
He goes on to explain how his friends and family would take any
spare moments they had to come over and help get the café
off the ground. Through building counter tops, hammering out
the front deck, pouring concrete, wiring lights or picking paint
colours, the path to Elm Café’s opening one year ago was not
traveled only by Box. “This place isn’t just me; it’s not mine and mine alone,” Box said.
Sometimes it can be too easy to skip past the reasons why we do
what we do, or like what we like. It’s time to take a look into what
makes our choices. The reasons to choose Elm Café are easy:
community-driven ownership, quality food and great coffee.
// Visit Nate Box and his staff at Elm Café at 100 – 10140 117
St. to find out just how quaint this little café is. www.elmcafe.ca
STORY: SARAH KMIECH
www.youtube.com/coventryhomes
www.coventry-homes.com
STORY: DANIELLE PARADIS // PHOTO: LARISSA MACK
As I walk into Credo Coffee on 104 Street, I am greeted by
a large mural of latte art set in sepia tones. Everything in the
coffee shop is a mélange of earth tones and beautiful beige and
black—an elegant design that would make Coco Chanel proud.
Bright orange bags of coffee beans sit at the back of the café,
drawing the eye with their vibrant colour.
Credo is a small coffee shop, a well-lit nook beside Lit and Fiji
tanning salon. General Manager Geoff Linden had the help of a
designer and an architect in the creation of his café, but for the
most part the design of the café is a plan 15 years in the making.
Credo is a café run by a man with a family, but Linden is
not running a family-style business. Linden started out as a
journeyman cabinet maker, and after raising a family—he has
two boys aged 18 and 21—he opened Credo in June 2009. For
him, it was a dream-turned-reality. He’d always been interested
in good coffee and was dissatisfied that it was so difficult to
come by in Edmonton.
“It’s about passion,” says Linden of the creation of great java.
“When we travel we always try to find local coffee shops and
restaurants. We find it captures the flavor of the city that we are
in a little better than the usual stops that people make.”
Checking out the local fare of other cities led Linden to cafes
such as Café Artigano in Vancouver, which was a big inspiration
for Linden while he was creating Credo. “Just knowing what was
available was a good inspiration. The flavor of the coffee is the
focus,” says Linden.
Linden doesn’t describe the process of finding the perfect coffee
bean as difficult; rather, he states that he found it interesting. A
combination of internet research and at-home sampling led Linden
to Intellegencia, a small Chicago-based company that runs a few
cafes under its own name, and distributes its coffee for use in other
cafes. “They are looking for the best coffee in the world and they
visit each [coffee] farm,” says Linden. “They build relationships with
the farmers to create something better year after year, and it shows
in their coffee.”
Linden has made me a latte and I hesitate to dip into it and spoil
the beautiful heart-shaped pattern that is resting on the foam—
Credo does beautiful latte art—but a cursory sip tells me everything
I need to know. The latte is the perfect temperature—between
60 and 70 degrees Celsius—so that it is immediately drinkable.
There’s no sign of scorch on the milk or the espresso and it goes
down so smooth and creamy that there is no need for sugar.
Of course, if you really want to know what the coffee is like you
need to try it yourself. “The latte art shows that everything has
been done correctly,” Linden tells me. “The milk has to be steamed
correctly and the coffee should be good. You can pour latte art in
a bad coffee, unfortunately, but it is one more step for us to test
the quality of the coffee.”
As for the location of Credo, Linden selected 104 Street as it was in
the process of becoming the lively downtown community it is today.
“I’m getting to know a lot of the business owners and people who
work downtown, and that’s what’s important,” says Linden. “There’s
this feeling [with the businesses] that we’re all in it together.”
It’s mid-afternoon, yet the seats in Credo rarely stay empty for
long. I ask Linden what it’s like to compete in the Edmonton
coffee market—which seems glutted with franchised café concepts
that have indoctrinated people into the cult of the Venti, but Linden
doesn’t seem concerned with the competition. He has no plans
to branch out his coffee shops and take over the java world. “That
was one of the things we mentioned when we first started. At most
I would [only want] a second location,” says Linden.
The name Credo comes has origins in Middle English and Latin.
It literally means “believe”—and the word is apt, given the passion
and perseverance Linden has put into his craft and his coffee.
36
www.youtube.com/coventryhomes
www.coventry-homes.com
STORY: KRISTEN WAGNER // PHOTO: JOHN AHN
After moving into their new downtown location in January 2011,
the folks at Niche Restaurant and Bistro Bar encountered one
very tiny problem.
“The size of the kitchen itself is still an ongoing challenge,” says
chef Nathan Saurette. “The dining room is small too.”
Other than space constraints, Niche’s honeymoon period has
been appropriately idyllic.
“The location is great, everything is great,” says Saurette. “[The only
negative] is just the square footage of the kitchen. It’s a little small.”
But fortunately, Niche has been able to take that difficulty and
make it work in their favour.
“It’s a small menu,” says Saurette of the selection of gourmet
dishes Niche offers to its food-savvy customers. “We have a
really small kitchen, and that reflects on the small menu.”
But the limitations presented by the small cooking space
and menu have also helped the restaurant to become more
environmentally-conscious.
“[The small kitchen and small menu] keep wastage down,”
Saurette says. “The last place I worked at, which will go
unnamed, had an enormous menu. We had five different fish
selections, main courses, and a lot of it we couldn’t keep fresh.
A lot of it hit the garbage. A lot. And here, with the small menu,
there’s zero wastage, very little wastage, just because we have
so few items on the menu. They’re moving.”
“When you have five fish entrees in a big restaurant, you have to
have 30 orders on hand,” he explains. “Some nights we wouldn’t
sell any of the fish. You’d still have to have 30 orders sitting
around, but nobody orders them. They don’t last too long.”
Niche had the policy of waste reduction thrust upon them, but
it still ties in well with the environmentally-conscious, locally-
produced theme of the menu. As any advocate of the 100-mile
diet will tell you, eating food from your region reduces your
carbon footprint, as goods don’t have to travel as far to reach
your plate.
“It’s an Alberta-regional sort of menu. Not exclusively, but it’s
kind of a starting point for the menu itself,” Saurette says. “We
use a lot of local ingredients, all local meats.”
Slight changes will also be made to the menu as the seasons
change. Side dishes, including soups and salads, will change to
spotlight fruits and vegetables in season. Niche is currently in the
process of switching over to its summer menu.
For Saurette, an Edmonton native, opening a restaurant locally
just makes sense. He graduated from NAIT’s Culinary Arts
program, and has worked for the past 16 years in a number of
local restaurants.
“Edmonton is where I’m from,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to
operate out of Edmonton because you’re used to the clientele
of Edmonton. It’s easy to source all the produce products. You
know where all the good stuff is.”
Saurette’s knowledge of local food is evident in the menu,
which he created himself. Featured entrees include Spring
Creek braised beef cheeks in a wild mushroom cream with egg
noodles; and Alberta whitefish, oven roasted and served on
spinach salad.
The roasted tomato and white bean soup is a well-loved starter,
popular simply because “it’s delicious,” says Saurette.
As for appetizers, Niche’s cheese sampler is a favourite for
sharing among groups—it includes Canadian white cheddar,
double cream brie, smoked gouda and Danish blue cheese.
Patrons can wash it all down with a decadent flourless brownie,
served with salted caramel and lemon honey whip cream.
With a local menu of innovative takes on comfort foods created
by a local chef, Niche has certainly found its niche in downtown
Edmonton. Whether you crave something environmentally friendly,
ethical, exotic, comforting, gourmet or just plain inexpensive,
Niche will fit the bill.
// www. experienceniche.ca
38
www.youtube.com/coventryhomes
www.coventry-homes.com
“We sold out in less than three hours.” Ken Bautista sounds
awed and excited as he talks about ticket sales for the
upcoming TEDx Edmonton lectures. This year’s theme is “Seeds
of Innovation,” and the speakers were chosen for their passion
and ability to transform what organizers call the “seeds of new
ideas into bold new works, companies, and products.”
TED—which stands for Technology Entertainment Design—is
a non-profit group operating under the tagline “Ideas Worth
Spreading.” The annual TED Talks started in 1984 out of Long
Beach, CA and Edinburgh, Scotland, in order to bring together
fine minds from a variety of fields. Presenters are challenged to
give an exciting talk in 18 minutes or less.
Three years ago, around the time the TED Talks began to be
posted online, TEDx was developed to allow smaller communities
to organize their own TED-style events. Organizers are able to
put a local slant on the event and address needs specific to the
community. There are now over 1,000 TED events of all different
sizes around the world.
For Bautista, chair of TEDx Edmonton and curator of the
speaker line up, it is important to draw out the impressive
people who live and study in Edmonton. “This city is a hotbed of
creativity and entrepreneurship,” he says.
In 2010, artsScene Edmonton applied and received licensing
to do a TEDx session in the city. The event consisted of what
Bautista calls “One hundred great minds from every industry
in the room and as the audience.” The conference heard from
talented Edmontonians like Shawna Pandya, who works on
using smart phones for disaster response; novelist and alternate
reality games pioneer Sean Stewart; and the head of Bullfrog
Power Theresa Howland, who is key to the implementation
of green power through wind in Canada. The conference also
heard from Cameron Herold, an entrepreneur with the company
1-800-GOT-JUNK, based in BC. Herold’s talk on “Raising Kids
to be Entrepreneurs” was chosen by TED to be a featured video
on their main web site.
To keep the audience inspired throughout the year, Edmonton
organizers started TEDTalks@Lunch. On the last Wednesday of
every month, the former art gallery space in Enterprise Square
fills up between noon and 1 p.m. While the cost is free, space is
limited and those interested are asked to register. The audience
eats their lunch while watching a selected TEDTalk video
presentation and then join in a group discussion about the topic.
Adding an element of surprise, the topic of the talk is kept secret
until the viewing.
After the success of the first TEDx Edmonton, interest in this year’s
event has grown. Tickets went on sale March16, two months
before the speakers were even announced. The excitement over
TEDx Edmonton means not only are the tickets gone, but the
waiting list is almost twice the size of the ticket-holding audience.
The organizers are currently working on ensuring the event will be
webcast live for the people unable to attend.
As always, the talks will range in scope. Jessie Radies, founder
of Live Local Alberta and Eat Local First will speak on the same
stage as the champion of micro-finance in developing countries
Sheetal Mehta Walsh. University of Alberta graduates Todd
Babiak and the Studio General Manager of BioWare Aaryn Flynn
will both be there. The line-up also includes storyteller Minister
Faust, technology entrepreneur with a social conscience Veer
Gidwaney, and green material researcher Laura McIlveen.
There is such a high demand for the event in Edmonton that
the organizers were granted license to put on another TEDx
Edmonton, which will be held in fall 2012 and will focus on
education. Bautista says the interest in learning is high both from
an individual perspective and across industry. There is so much
more than post-secondary education for adults. Training and
inspiration aren’t just for teachers, asserts Bautista, “because
learning is for everyone.”
Bautista believes that TEDx isn’t a one-way experience, with
the audience sitting passively listening to a speaker. “The best
[speakers] cause people to think,” he explains. “It isn’t just that
the speaker is passionate, but it’s in how the audience responds
and how the talk is really a catalyst to get the conversation
going.” The speakers are chosen, in part, to highlight how
Edmonton has nurtured so many creative and inspirational
people, while remaining quiet. “We want to show off how neat
the people coming out of Edmonton are, how it’s really a city to
be proud of,” Bautista explains.
This year’s TEDx Edmonton begins June 11 in Zeidler Hall at the
Citadel Theatre. For more information, check out
// www.TEDxEdmonton.com.
STORY: DEVON BRYCE // PHOTO 3TENSTORY: KRISTEN WAGNER // PHOTO: MICHEL FEIST
June was recently declared Next Gen month in Edmonton. But
what is Next Gen exactly?
“Next Gen is an Initiative of the City of Edmonton that involves
volunteers from the community and the City of Edmonton,” says
Next Gen Initiative Coordinator Christine Causing. “Our mission
is create Edmonton as a vibrant, welcoming city shaped by the
lives and leadership of the next generation, ages 18 to 40.”
“Next Gen aims to understand, solicit input and develop focused
and practical recommendations for action about how Edmonton
can be more attractive to the next generation and how it can
keep them here.”
Next Gen began as a task force created by City Council more
than five years ago, and became an initiative four years ago. This
means it’s time for an upgrade.
This year, Next Gen is remodeling itself with a new logo and
a new website. “With this new identity and through our new
website, we want to inform, engage and empower people in
our city,” Causing says. “We wish to continue to be that hub for
connecting people, places, community and ideas together.”
Networking is an important part of being a next gen-er, and
networking forms the foundation of Next Gen Month.
“The idea of Next Gen month is to help promote and work with
other organizations that engage next gen-er’s in our city,” says
Causing. “We’ve partnered with a number of community groups
to showcase all the great events taking place in June. We have a
new calendar of events on our website created by ShareEdmonton
which promotes all the events that volunteer groups are hosting
throughout the month of June and in the future.”
E V E N T S
4140
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STORY: TERESA FISHER
Celebrating its 20th year from May 27 to June 11, the Edmonton
and Area Corporate Challenge Games is “Where Work Comes
to Play.”
The two-week event hosts over 175 companies, 18,000
employees and 1,900 volunteers, participating in Olympic-
style competitions. Over 20 sports and recreation events
are represented, including badminton, volleyball, basketball,
horseshoes and lawn-bowling.
Since its inception in 1992, the Corporate Challenge provides
a platform for businesses to foster employee interaction,
teamwork, morale, pride, health and wellness. By offering a
range of different sporting events, the Corporate Challenge has
sports for everyone, from the athletically-inclined to the more
sedentary office worker of a lesser fitness level.
“Teamwork, active living and social interaction are just some
of the benefits that teams participating in the Challenge look
forward to,” says Liane Cournoyer, Executive Director of TNT
Event Planning, and Games Manager. By allowing companies
both large and small to come together and participate, the
Challenge aims to help break through any barriers that may
exist between employees.
The teamwork and camaraderie that participating in the
Challenge provides extends beyond the two weeks of the
event, Cournoyer explains. “People who were once just voices
on the phone, faces passed in the halls or names at the end of
an email are suddenly your volleyball or basketball teammates,”
she says. “The connections that sports activities ignite often turn
into friendships that go beyond the workplace.”
Not only do the games promote a more enjoyable workplace,
they also encourage health and wellness among employees.
“Promoting a healthier lifestyle is important to many organizations
as it not only allows for teamwork, but it also allows for companies
to keep up the health and wellness of their employees, which in
turn benefits both the employer and employees,” says Cournoyer.
Many past and current participants in the Corporate Challenge find
that it gives them and their coworkers/teammates a unique sense
of spirit and togetherness when they gather together in a social
environment and have fun through organized friendly competition.
An important part of the Challenge is the dragon boat racing
event, which takes place on June 19 at Telford Lake, a week
after the rest of the Games. The race is hosted by the Edmonton
Dragon Boat Racing Club, and this is the third year it has
been a part of the Corporate Challenge. “With over 150 teams
participating, the Corporate Challenge Dragon Boat Racing
Festival is the largest in western Canada,” says Colleen De Roy,
Executive Director of the EDBRC.
So what is dragon boat racing exactly? It’s a spirited 20-person
team effort led by the rhythm of a drum to synchronize the
team’s paddle strokes as they race head to head against other
teams on the river. This event, unlike the others in the Corporate
Challenge, is open to anyone in the public over age 18. Friends
and family of Challenge participants can also take part in this
event. Contact the team’s Challenge co-ordinator to find out the
team’s policy.
“The reason the dragon boat race is being held one week after
the games is due to its popularity,” says De Roy. In previous years,
there were conflicts with other events in the Challenge, and teams
participating in the dragon boat races as well as other events were
concerned with not being able to take part in both.
With both the Edmonton and Area Corporate Challenge and the
Dragon Boat Racing event, organizations both big and small are
sure to have fun getting together in a relaxed, fun, and healthy
environment. If you and your coworkers are interested in either
event please visit their websites at:
www.corporatechallenge.ab.ca www.edmontondragonboat.com
Edmonton will come alive with the talents of young emerging artists
during Nextfest. From June 2 – 12, the visual art, theatre, dance,
and music of the next generation of the city’s artistic community,
primarily people under the age of 30, will take the spotlight.
Steve Pirot has been Nextfest’s Festival Director since 2001. He
describes the festival as the love of his life.
“Being a springtime event with hundreds of young, creative
Edmontonians showing their stuff for ten days, it is an easy
festival to fall in love with,” he says. “On the surface, the festival
is very, very sexy. But looking past the surface into the heart
of the Festival as I have been doing for ten years, you know
that Nextfest isn’t just a pretty face. Nextfest’s highly principled
philosophy is rooted in creation, community, and development.”
Nextfest’s roots date back to the mid-1990s, when Bradley Moss
was working as an artistic associate at Theatre Network. Moss
was directed to create a reading series for young playwrights.
“Bradley went further than that,” Pirot explains. “He created a
multi-disciplinary arts festival dedicated to the expressive voice of
the next generation with fully realized productions of new plays,
dance, music acts, and visual art exhibitions.”
“The purpose of the festival was to foster and celebrate the young
artists of Edmonton through a professionally supported platform
that would showcase their work while simultaneously providing a
common ground for those artists to meet, collaborate, and learn
from one another,” Pirot adds. “In the most grandiose terms,
Nextfest attends to the curated development of the future of the
professional arts community in Edmonton.”
Nextfest takes place at a variety of locations, mostly in and
around the downtown area. The festival hub is the Roxy Theatre,
at the intersection of 124 Street and 107 Avenue, with The Living
Room Playhouse just north of Oliver Square as a secondary
venue. However, Nextfest’s boundaries are being expanded this
year. “This year we are making a strong push into the Alberta
Avenue area with venues like the Avenue Theatre and the Old
Cycle Building,” says Pirot.
One of the defining aspects of Nextfest is how it is programmed.
“Festival programming is primarily organized around the different
art forms featured in the festival, and each program has its own
curator,” says Pirot. “Curation is based mostly on a submission
process dependent upon the needs and timelines of that
particular artistic practice.”
Nextfest is a production of the Nextfest Arts Company, a not-
for-profit corporation that is responsible for the content of the
festival. “Each year The Nextfest Arts Company is comprised of
hundreds of young artists of every stripe that conspire to make
the sexiest festival in town,” Pirot says.
As well, the festival is presented by Theatre Network as the
culminating event of its subscriber season. Pirot explains that “as
the presenter, Theatre Network provides the primary venue, sells
tickets and passes, and conscripts all the volunteers needed
to run front-of-house, concessions, drive shuttles, and attend
to artist hospitality.” He adds that because “attendance is more
important to us than box office revenue,” the pricing of festival
passes is deliberately inexpensive.
// Contact Theatre Network for tickets, passes, and schedule
information at (780) 453-2440. Theatre Network’s website is
www.attheroxy.com.
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C A L E N D A R
BUSINESS
PAYROLL ESSENTIALS FOR ACCOUNTING AND HR JUNE 1, 2011 // 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
GRANT MACEWAN UNIVERSITY
Payroll essentials course.
JCI JUNE TRAINING AND NETWORKING EVENT
JUNE 2, 2011 // 6:00 - 9:00 PM
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OFFICE
Junior Commerce International Event,
discussing “The Sales Effect.”
ACCC ANNUAL CONFERENCE
JUNE 5 -6 , 2011
SHAW CONFERENCE CENTRE
Annual conference for the Association of
Canadian Community Colleges
CSAE EDMONTON CHAPTER LUNCH SESSION JUNE 8, 2011 // 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
SHAW CONFERENCE CENTRE
Canadian Society of Association
Executives (CSAE) discusses “The
Healthy CEO.”
EXPERIENCE JUNIOR CHAMBER INTERNATIONAL
JUNE 16, 2011 // 5:30 PM
LEXUS OF EDMONTON
An opportunity to meet like-minded
individuals and learn how JCI can help
you be better.
NEXTGEN PECHA KUCHA NIGHT
JUNE 17, 2011 // 7:00 PM
ALBERTA AVIATION MUSEUM
Networking and discussion opportunity
for young designers.
THINKING QUALITATIVELY WORKSHOPJUNE 20 - 24, 2011
// 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Academic examination of approaches to
qualitative research.
RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IN DESTINATIONS
JUNE 27 - 29, 2011
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
5th International Conference hosted
by International Centre for Responsible
Tourism Canada.
SOCIAL
CORPORATE CHALLENGE
MAY 27 -JUNE 11, 2011
Olympic style sports events to build
goodwill among local corporations and
their employees.
INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
MAY 31- JUNE 4, 2011
ARDEN THEATRE, ST. ALBERT PLACE
Theatre performances and activities for
children.
DREAMSPEAKERS FILM FESTIVAL
JUNE 1- 4, 2011
Film festival for aboriginal filmmakers.
NEXTFEST
JUNE 2 - 12, 2011
ROXY THEATRE
Arts festival celebrating dance, theatre,
comedy and more.
STOLLERY HOSPITAL DREAMNIGHT AT THE ZOOJUNE 3, 2011
VALLEY ZOO
Kids with chronic illnesses can have the
zoo to themselves.
OLD STRATHCONA FARMERS’ MARKETJUNE 4, 11, 18, 25, 2011
// 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM
10310 - 83RD AVE.
Weekly market featuring local produce,
meat, crafts, etc.
THE SUMMIT SPORTS COLLECTIBLES SHOW JUNE 4 - 5, 2011 // 8:30 PM - 5:00 PM
MILLENNIUM PLACE
Sports collectibles show and autograph
signing.
HEART OF THE CITY FESTIVAL
JUNE 4 - 5, 2011 // 1:00 PM - 6:30 PM
GIOVANNI CABOTO PARK
Free music and art festival.
RUTHERFORD HOUSE FOUNDERS’ DAY TEAJUNE 5, 2011 // 12:00 AM - 4:00 PM
RUTHERFORD HOUSE
Formal ceremony celebrating Rutherford
House.
THE CARROT VISUAL ARTISTS’ COLLECTIVE June 8, 2011 // 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
CARROT CAFE
Artists’ collective featuring Lori Youngman .
SISTER GRAY
JUNE 9, 2011 // 9:00 PM
THE PAWN SHOP
Local band Sister Gray performs.
ESO: HOLLYWOOD’S RED CARPETJUNE 10 - 11, 2011 // 7:00 PM
WINSPEAR CENTER
ESO plays classics from the movies.
EDMONTON PRIDE FESTIVALJUNE 10 -19, 2011
Edmonton Pride Festival Society showcases
the diversity of the LGBT community.
AL FRESCO 104TH ST. BLOCK PARTYJUNE 11, 2011 // 5:00 PM
104TH STREET DOWNTOWN
Street festival showcasing businesses on
the 104th Street promenade.
WIN HOUSE WILD ROSES WOMEN’S RACEJUNE12, 2011
Half-marathon and 10K run/walk to celebrate
and encourage female empowerment.
EDMONTON STORY SLAMJUNE 15, 2011 // 7:30 PM
HAVEN SOCIAL CLUB
Opportunity to present a short story to
an audience.
IMPROVAGANZAJUNE 15 - 25, 2011
VARSCONA THEATRE
Improvised comedy festival.
UTOPIA MUSIC FESTIVALJUNE 17 -18, 2011
HAWRELAK PARK AMPHITHEATRE
Summer Solstice cultural celebration
featuring Ani DiFranco, Lights and others.
CHANGE ANYTHING: THE NEW SCIENCE OF PERSONAL SUCCESS JUNE 8, 2011 // 2:30 PM -4:30 PM
SHAW CONFERENCE CENTRE
Speakers’ Bureau of Alberta hosts talk by
author Joseph Grenny.
TEDx EDMONTON JUNE 11, 2011 // 10:00 AM
ZEIDLER HALL, CITADEL THEATRE
Presentations and networking for young
professionals in business and the arts.
SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY
JUNE 14, 2011 // 7:30 PM
WINSPEAR CENTRE
Notable Edmontonians are awarded for
their contributions..
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION WITH JEN BANKS
JUNE 15, 2011 // 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
WORLD TRADE CENTER, EDMONTON
Online professional speaks on how to
increase your online exposure.
BRIDGE SONGS: PROGRESSJUNE 17 - 19, 2011
CYCLE BUILDING AND STOLLERY
GALLERY
Music and Arts festival.
ROCK THE SQUAREJUNE 18, 2011 // 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
CHURCHILL SQUARE
Amateur rock music festival.
FORT EDMONTON FATHERS’ DAY BUFFETJUNE 19, 2011 // 6:30 PM
HOTEL SELKIRK, FORT EDMONTON PARK
Buffet Dinner
THE WORKS ART AND DESIGN FESTIVALJUNE 23-JULY 5, 2011
CHURCHILL SQUARE
Display of innovative and traditional art, as
well as workshops and seminars for artists.
HEAVISIDEJUNE 24, 2011 // 9:00 PM
HAVEN SOCIAL CLUB
Local band Heaviside performs with The
Apresnos and The Frank.
EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVALJUNE 24-JULY 3, 2011
A celebration of local, national and
international jazz talent.
AFRO-CARIBBEAN GOSPEL AWARD, DINNER AND DANCE NIGHTJUNE 25, 2011 // 6:00 PM
THE COAST EDMONTON PLAZA HOTEL
All faiths are welcome to join in this
celebration of God with dinner and dancing.
FUNDRAISER
ZUMBATHON TO END WOMEN’S CANCERS JUNE 4, 2011 // 12:30 PM - 4 PM
CHURCHILL SQUARE
Outdoor zumba party to benefit cancer.
LOOPS FOR TROOPS RACE
JUNE 5, 2011
CFB EDMONTON TRAINING FACILITY
Run in support of the Canadian military.
B U S I N E S S
S O C I A L
F U N D R A I S E R
S P O R T S
HAVE AN AWESOME
UPCOMING EVENT? LET US
KNOW. WE’LL PUBLISH IT IN
PRINT AND IN THE MERGE
ONLINE CALENDAR. FOR
MORE INFORMATION ON THE
FOLLOWING EVENTS GO TO
THE ONLINE CALENDAR AT:
WWW.MERGEMAG.CA
SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
JUNE // 2011
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WORLD PARTNERSHIP WALK TO DEFEAT POVERTYJUNE 5, 2011 // 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
LEGISLATURE GROUNDS
Annual event dedicated to raising funds
and awareness for global poverty.
WALK FOR ALS
JUNE 11, 2011 // 8:30 AM
HAWRELAK PARK
Walk to raise funds for Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).
RONA MS BIKE TOUR
JUNE 11 - 12, 2011
LEDUC TO CAMROSE
Pledge-based fundraising event allowing
participants to bike through the countryside.
TELUS WALK FOR DIABETES
JUNE 12, 2011 // 9:00 AM
EDMONTON GARRISON (NAMAO
FITNESS CENTRE)
Fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation of Canada.
HEEL ‘N’ WHEEL-A-THON
JUNE 12, 2011 // 9:00 AM
RUNDLE PARK
Walk, run or bike to raise funds for the
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
2011 YMCA GOLF CLASSIC
JUNE 15, 2011 // 2:00 PM
THE LINKS AT SPRUCE GROVE
Fundraising golf tournament for YMCA
Edmonton.
YEG FASHION SHOW
JUNE 17, 2011 // 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
MILNER LIBRARY THEATRE
Fashion benefit in support of City of
Edmonton housing and shelter programs.
RIDE FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS
JUNE 18, 2011 // 8:30 AM
ACHESON ROAD AND HIGHWAY 60
Motorcycle ride to benefit the Canadian
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
EASTER SEALS 24-HOUR RELAY
JUNE 18 -19, 2011
RUNDLE PARK
Activities and fundraising in support of
Easter Seals.
RUN FOR YOUR DAD
JUNE 19, 2011 // 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
EMILY MURPHY PARK
Fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke
Foundation.
CYCLE FOR AUTISM EDMONTON 2011
JUNE 19, 2011 // 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
GOLD BAR PARK
Collect pledges and ride your bike to
benefit the Autism Society of Edmonton
and Area.
SERVUS CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT
JUNE 20, 2011 // 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
LANCASTER PARK GOLF
Texas scramble golf tournament in support
of the Military Family Resource Centre.
SKYDIVE FOR AFRICA
JUNE 23, 2011 // 8:30 AM
EDEN NORTH DIVE SITE
Ainembabazi Children’s Project fundraiser
for development in Africa.
TEE UP FOR KIDNEY HEALTH
JUNE 25, 2011 // 6:30 AM
FORT IN VIEW GOLF CLUB,
FT. SASKATCHEWAN
Golf tournament to benefit the Kidney
Foundation of Canada.
PETS IN THE PARK
JUNE 26, 2011 // 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
HAWRELAK PARK
Fundraising and Awareness event for the
Edmonton Humane Society.
SPORTS
NORTHERN ALBERTA BODYBUILDING CHAMPIONSHIPSJUNE 4, 2011
SHOCTOR THEATRE, CITADEL
Bodybuilding Event.
EDMONTON FENCING CLUB: VETERAN’S CUPJUNE 11, 2011
EDMONTON FENCING CLUB
Fencing tournament.
VEGREVILLE KIDS OF STEEL TRY-A-TRI JUNE 11, 2011 // 7:30 PM
VEGREVILLE AQUATIC CENTRE
Triathlon Event.
MISSION 3 TRIATHLON
JUNE 11, 2011
HALFMOON LAKE RESORT,
SHERWOOD PARK
Triathlon Event.
EDMONTON AURORA SYNCHRO WATER SHOWJUNE 12, 2011 // 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
KINSMEN SPORT CENTRE
Synchronized swimming show.
ST. ALBERT KIDS OF STEEL TRIATHLON
JUNE 12, 2011
FOUNTAIN PARK RECREATION CENTRE
Triathlon Event.
HERSHEY’S TRACK AND FIELD GAMES
JUNE 18, 2011 // 9:00 AM
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA, FOOTE FIELD
Track and field games to introduce youth
to physical activity.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT JUNE 23, 2011
COUGAR CREEK GOLF RESORT
42nd annual golf tournament.
ALBERTA PROVINCIAL BODYBUILDING AND FIGURE CHAMPIONSHIPS JUNE 25, 2011
WINSPEAR CENTRE
Bodybuilding Event.
EVENTS CALENDER CONTINUED
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