From the trenches

TUFF Media is a performance marketing agency that specializes in managing digital advertising on social media and search engine platforms. We approach each client with a completely tailored strategy that properly aligns with their goals. “TUFF” comes from our proven strategies that focus on each client’s product/service and how to advertise them with a ROI. That way our client's marketing strategi...

Saywell Contracting was founded in 1998 by Sheldon Saywell, the year he was approached by a client who asked if he could tender the remediation of a “leaky condo.” Sheldon’s efforts were very successful, and in 1999 he undertook his first full remediation project. At that time, the “leaky condo” crisis was still unheard of on Vancouver Island and was just beginning to become public elsewhere. Sayw...

Since incorporation in 1992, the City of Langford has operated the City more like a business than a typical government. Everything that Council does and, by extension, everything in the way that staff are directed, is based on finding solutions rather than putting up barriers. Council believes economic growth is paramount to community sustainability and has always worked hand-in-hand with develope...

MazumaGo began as a marketplace for local services, but speaking with hundreds of business owners made Matthew Smith and his Co-Founders realize there was a bigger problem. Regardless of size, most businesses were still using cheques to send and receive payments. Their team kept asking, “Why is it so hard to send large payments online?” and decided to focus exclusively on digitizing business payme...

Jane is an online platform for health and wellness practitioners that makes it simple for them to book, chart, schedule, bill and get paid. Their platform considers all aspects of private practice users: admin staff, practitioners, patients booking online and business owners. Jane is a flexible and friendly platform, designed to modernize daily workflow while respecting each practitioner's unique...

HME began as a local medical equipment company, and during the past 30 years has grown to become one of the largest independent dealers of Mobility and Home Medical Equipment in BC. It was founded in 2012 by Robert Boscacci and Cameron Fleming. With over 100 staff operating out of over 45,000 square feet in Richmond, Surrey, and Victoria, HME is a proud Canadian-owned and operated local company. L...

JORDAN SCHLEY, Principal Jordan started his career in high school, working at his family grocery business, Quality Foods. After spending 10 plus years managing his first Quality Food store in Courtenay, he was promoted to VP of Store Operations for the South Island region. He later went on to opening numerous award-winning stores and managed various business aspects until it was sold. Jordan is an...

Chase has over 15 years of specialized private investment, finance, and technical expertise in the energy and infrastructure sectors. This includes 11 years at Macquarie, where he was responsible for sourcing and evaluating projects and investment opportunities, managing due diligence, transaction execution, and principal holdings on Macquarie and co-investment partners’ behalf. His background is...

Dr Dionne Laslo-Baker is a Canadian expert on the impacts of environmental toxins - especially in the food chain - on child health. A PhD medical researcher in the field of maternal-fetal toxicology, her doctorate focused on the effects of exposure to chemicals during pregnancy on fetal development. This led her on a life-long quest to provide her own family with healthy, non-harmful food, and the...

Helijet International is a Canadian-owned company and the world's largest scheduled helicopter airline carrying well over 2.4 million passengers in the past 33 years. In addition to its scheduled helicopter services, the company is the major service provider of dedicated medically equipped helicopters to BC Emergency Health Services. They also provides exclusive use helicopters and business turboj...

Tech is a tool for good in our lives, in our communities, and in our province. BC Tech is driven to make BC the best place to grow a tech company by helping firms grow and scale into anchors—the large companies that drive both BC’s tech sector and the economy. They do this by providing the place and the programs, and advocating for the policies that help the tech community, collaborate, learn, and...

Founded in 1994 by David Chard, Executive Director & Founder, Chard Development is an urban real estate development firm based in Vancouver, BC. From condominium homes to rental apartments to commercial spaces, they specialize in urban real estate projects in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria. At Chard Development, they believe in integrity, accountability and diversity. They foster long-lastin...

Big Wheel Burger provides the best quality burgers, shakes, sodas and fries through local, sustainable and environmentally friendly resources. It's fast food without the guilt trip. Zambri’s opened in October 1999.In the early days it was a simple operation. Over time, the obscure little eatery gained highly acclaimed industry recognition. GOLD Best Casual Italian Restaurant Vancouver Magazine, Vi...

Accent Inns is a boastfully BC company that has been proudly owned and operated by the Farmer family since 1986. Mandy Farmer took over the role of president and CEO of Accent Inns from her father, Terry Farmer, in 2008. With five locations in Victoria, Vancouver Airport (Richmond), Burnaby, Kelowna, and Kamloops, this family owned-and-operated group of hotels is perfectly situated when travelling...

Grant Thornton LLP is a leading Canadian accounting and advisory firm providing audit, tax and advisory services to private and public organizations. They help dynamic organizations unlock their potential for growth by providing meaningful, actionable advice through a broad range of services. Grant Thornton LLP is a Canadian member of Grant Thornton International Ltd, whose member firms operate in...

Ross has extensive transactional experience in sales – over $1 billion in the last five years, which continually ranks him as one of the market leaders in development land, multi-family apartment buildings and commercial investment grade properties in Greater Victoria. His work is shaping his own backyard; he was born and raised in Victoria and his high-profile transactional deals are changing the...

As a collaborative, non-partisan organization, the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) strives to be a venue where members, policy experts, elected officials and government decision makers can address problems and form solutions together. Their mission is to provide timely and exceptional public-policy research and advocacy on issues that enhance B.C.’s competitiveness and prosperity. Led...

As a collaborative, non-partisan organization, the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) strives to be a venue where members, policy experts, elected officials and government decision makers can address problems and form solutions together. Their mission is to provide timely and exceptional public-policy research and advocacy on issues that enhance B.C.’s competitiveness and prosperity. Led...

MNP is a leading national accounting, tax and business consulting firm in Canada. They proudly serve and respond to the needs of their clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Through partner-led engagements, they provide a collaborative, cost-effective approach to doing business and personalized strategies to help organizations succeed across the country and around the world. MN...

Tobyn Sowden is the Chief Executive Officer of Redbrick—the parent organization to a growing portfolio of companies including Assembly Digital, Shift, Leadpages and Rebase. Tobyn founded Redbrick in 2011 and since then, the company has been ranked the 5th Fastest-Growing Company in Canada and 2nd in software, by PROFIT 500. With the goal of creating, acquiring and growing businesses through operat...

The ICBA is the voice of B.C.’s construction industry and the oldest open shop organization in Canada. It is also the single largest sponsor of construction apprentices in B.C. Representing more than 2,000 companies and clients, ICBA members and their skilled workers are involved in virtually all major capital and infrastructure projects built in British Columbia Learn more about the ICBA by visit...

Stephen Jagger is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. He started his entrepreneurial journey in 2000 when he and long time business partner Mike Stephenson setup Combustion Hosting (acquired ’06), followed by Ubertor Realtor Software (acquired ’13). In 2012 they headed to the Philippines and set up OutsourcingThingsDone.com to provide virtual assistants to real estate professionals. OutsourcingTh...

The BC Chamber of Commerce is the largest and most broadly-based business association in British Columbia—representing businesses of every size, and from every sector and region. Their advocacy is driven by their policies , which their members develop annually through a unique, grassroots policy-development process. The breadth and diversity of their policies reflect the innovative ideas and on-th...

Campbell River has a lot going for itself. The Salmon Capital of the world is known for its incredible fishing opportunities, historic forestry background and a host of other sectors. But over the past few years the City has made great strides in diversifying the economy with new IT infrastructure, tech attraction strategies, startup competitions, infusions of venture capital and a host of other i...

Jared Webb is one of the founding members of DesignWealth. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) with over 13 years of experience, he brings a vast array of experiences and skillsets to help clients and the community. His passion for raising expectations when it comes to financial advice is surpassed only by his love for his family. He is married with 4 kids, a dog and 2 fish. He has a mortgage, wor...