24 Sep 2008
Prosperity Council of Waterloo Region: Task Force on Creative Enterprise
Earlier today, a much heralded conference took on the heady task of defining the future cultural landscape of the Waterloo area. Called “Creative Dimensions in Prosperity”, it was a major milestone for the Prosperity Council of Waterloo Region which is an initiative of Communitech, Canada’s Technology Triangle and the Chambers of Kitchener/Waterloo and Cambridge. Over the last few decades, the Waterloo area has, quietly but spectacularly, taken a quantum leap in economic stature and quality of life by: leading the charge with a world class technology cluster with companies like Google, RIM, COM DEV, Open Text, Descartes, Dalsa, Desire2Learn, MKS and Christie Digital; investing heavily in post-secondary education at University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Guelph and Conestoga College, not to mention the new life sciences campus and major research parks in Waterloo and Guelph; delivering over $300 million in capital spending on healthcare (which was admittedly catch up for past under-investment), including the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre, St. Mary’s Regional Cardiac Centre and Mental Health Centre and development of major public institutions such as Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, The Centre for International Governance Innovation and […]
18 Sep 2008
Digital Policy #2: Taxing Talent Down the (Brain) Drain
The knowledge based economy is all about businesses finding, motivating and retaining the very best talent. And the quest for top talent goes way beyond the lofty C-suite and includes top developers, product managers, sales people, marketers — i.e. pretty well everyone in a knowledge-based company. I personally view building talented teams as the number one determinant of business success Technology startups tend to use stock-based compensation, mostly Employee Stock Option Plans, most liberally in part as a way to level the playing field in competing with larger companies in the talent search and in part because the “lift” in value as startups grow from zero to exit can be quite significant. With that in mind, it is ironic that stock options were originally adopted as a key strategy in the Silicon Valley employed to leverage equity in cash-strapped startups and because of their tax efficiency. Today in the US, and even more so in Canada, they can also be a real headache as people negotiate the tax maze of CRA and IRS. The labyrinth of unfair taxation problems relating to stock options is unbelievably complex, and more importantly, potentially punitive. And, […]
8 Sep 2008
Kitchener Gets Unhinged – Not Just Another Waterloo Conspiracy
Back in May, we provided a sneak preview of Waterloo Region’s newest performing arts organization, Flush Ink Performing Arts in Gotham in Kitchener: Waterloo Area Arts Truly Striving for World Stature. In just over a week, Flush Ink will take the wraps off their true piece de resistance by launching Unhinged – Kitchener’s Festival of Site-Specific Theatre, September 18-27, 2008. As a founding Board member, a long time fan of the fabulous work of Artistic Director Paddy Bentley-Gillard and a sponsor through Verdexus I couldn’t be more excited by the cutting edge work that will soon envelop downtown Kitchener. There is a rich smorgasbord of 7 ( technically 8 ) plays, all in interesting locations: Copy Protection Dead Cat Bounce Nonna’s Party Quantum Entanglement The Sculpture Matilda the 10th Undertow Rock ‘Em Dead Below is the first commercial, that should give you some of the unique flavour you’ll savour with Unhinged. [kaltura-widget wid=”h715vas16g” size=”large” /] All jokes about the rivalry between Kitchener and Waterloo aside, the Waterloo Region is now producing top, international calibre artistic fare. Make sure you are among the “early adopter” of this new wave of performing arts in our region and […]
3 Sep 2008
Digital Policy #1: Why Bill C-61 Is a Bad Idea for Canada’s Digital Economy
As we approach a Canadian Federal Election, the long simmering issue of proposed Bill C-61 copyright “reform” (often known as Canada’s even more onerous Digital Millenium Copyright Act, patterned after its US counterpart) has surfaced as a potentially big election issue, at least among those who participate in our digital economy. This is the first in a series of posts around public policy for the digital age. A recent blog post by my colleague Alec Saunders, “Why I will be voting against Stephen Harper’s Conservatives when an election is called”, reminded me of some of the key reasons why this represents such bad public policy. In Alec’s words, “Bill C-61 would make most ordinary Canadian families into criminals”, because the law’s focus is so askew that ordinary consumer actions would create infringement. Furthermore, the law as drafted gives too much power to the industry to levy fines in ways that short change our cherished judicial process. Alec isn’t alone. A good example of the grassroots protest is the Facebook Group, “Fair Copyright for Canada”, created by noted Canadian internet legal authority Michael Geist. Notably, this group has grown quickly to 92 […]
2 Sep 2008
Public Policy for the Digital Age
With the imminent federal election call in Canada, it seems timely to start a discussion on public policy principles that our governments (federal and provincial) should be considering. From the context of the information technology industry (web, mobile, digital media, etc.), why is this important? Firstly, as more and more traditional manufacturing jobs migrate to the Pearl River Delta, the knowledge-based industries, given the right macroeconomic environment, could well be one of our best job growth options. By “macroeconomic environment”, we are referring to the complex web of legislation providing fair regulation, securities legislation and tax code that better encourages the growth of a globally competitive IT industry. Secondly, it should be noted that the Silicon Valley, where most of the IT industry originated, has not historically been that engaged with government, policy or lobbying. In fact, many in the technology industry have proudly worn the badge of libertarianism, erroneously believing they represent a future that has transcended the need for government intervention or regulation. In fact, all the time, these people may have been simply living in a sheltered world created, ironically and in large measure, by big government […]
31 Aug 2008
How to Get Rich Quick With a Startup?
It’s surprising how often an aspiring entrepreneur or young technology executive has tried to pitch me with that implicit proposition. And, guess what? When I hire executives, invest in a company or otherwise have to work on the same team, such “get rich quick” rhetoric suggests the best course is to steer well clear. The notion that a real business, with lasting value, could be built in a few months or years seemed to take hold, like much else, during the heady “tech bubble” days of the late 1990’s. I can recall one such aspiring entrepreneur telling me that “we should be able to flip this business in 18 to 24 months”. Why is such hubris a problem? For starters, it shows a healthy naivety around the amount of real work and time it takes to build a great business. Of course, there may be exceptions. Against the odds, some people winn the lottery. Likewise, in normal times, some seem to be able to build and cash out in record time. In my book, that’s largely serendipity. In addition, this short term perspective, almost always accompanies inexperience around the twists […]
21 Aug 2008
ARISE Fair Sun …
The reference to Romeo and Juliet was apt when last week I had the pleasure to meet with Ian MacLellan, of ARISE Technologies (TSX:APV) The Founder of ARISE, Ian is now Vice Chairman and Chief Technology Officer and I met him just after a great quarterly release to the public markets. Having worked tirelessly for close to 12 years, Ian is a living example of the qualities we recently outlined in a set of blog posts entitled “Entrepreneurial Toolkit”: Fearless Passion Don’t Drink Your Own Bathwater Embrace Change Taste the Cash Burn The Power of Two (or Three) First of all, rarely have I seen someone more passionate about a business vision than Ian. His company vision, almost a mantra, is to “take solar mainstream” and that hasn’t changed since Ian first explained ARISE to me many years ago. In fact, I believe it was the founding vision way back in 1996. Indeed, even the company name itself, shortened from “Appropriate Renewable Intelligent Sustainable Energy” is a passionate embrace of Ian’s vision. Having pioneered in the solar industry long before Green Technology was fashionable as it is today, particularly in […]
26 Sep 2008
Guest Post by David Craig: Stephen Harper Provides an Ironic Twist to Arts Investment
In an ironic turn of events, the same day as almost 150 very senior business, educational and municipal leaders in Waterloo Region rallied around dramatically enhanced arts and culture investment at the Task Force on Creative Enterprise, Stephen Harper was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying “that ordinary Canadians do not support nor care about art or artists in this country.”Not surprisingly for a country populated by extraordinary people, the response has been swift and and widespread. See the rapidly growing Facebook group Ordinary Canadians DO SUPPORT the Arts, Mr. Harper. You are dead wrong.It is fitting that our first, of many, guest posts, which follows directly, is a view from the front lines of theatre penned by David Craig, Artistic Director of Roseneath Theatre, Roseneath is a fabulous and, typical of Canadian arts organizations, undercapitalized, gem providing professional theatre for young audiences. I am volunteer Treasurer and Board member of Roseneath Theatre.Credit: Diana Hamblyn, FacebookCredit: Garnet Hertz (Facebook)