Jonathan Calof is an evangelist of competitive intelligence, and one place where he loves to preach his gospel is Atlantic Canada.

A University of Ottawa prof, Calof has recently been an adjunct professor at University of New Brunswick, working with Dhirendra Shukla, who heads the Technology, Management and Entrepreneurship program. Now Moncton-based Venn Innovation is organizing a series of programs across Atlantic Canada in which Calof will teach competitive intelligence to startups and other companies.

Competitive intelligence is the study of external factors that can determine success or failure for a company – in this case, a startup. A CI strategy will consider the medium- to long-term direction of technology, pending government regulation, competitors’ patent filings and the buzz around what competitors are planning. The idea is that a company should try to understand what the world will look like in three to five years – which in many cases is when a startup would be releasing its product.

Calof teaches such a strategy around the world – he departed Moncton to fly to Madrid last week – but he’s developed a certain affinity for Atlantic Canada. He’s impressed by the support all members of the ecosystem offer one another.    

“Every time I come out to this region … I see people helping each other,” he said, noting that this includes not just founders and economic development officers but also suppliers, customers, service providers and academics across provincial boundaries. “That’s how you create a strong regional advantage, not by acting like 1,000 small companies but by acting like one big region.”

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Calof worked with the oceans industry in Newfoundland and Labrador a few years ago to come up with an industry-wide strategy. He said he was blown away that 90 percent of the businesses, academics and government officials in the sector participated in the program. Working together, he said, they were able to double sales within four years.

Calof teaches his charges to gaze outside the customary information points when devising strategy. They should be aware, he said, of coming regulatory changes and the political climate. They should follow the historical changes of big competitors’ websites – if the competitor posted a lot about going in a certain direction and then went silent on it, it can be a sign of a stealth project that could change the market. And founders should be asking clients about what’s expected in the marketplace.

“It’s about gaining insights into the customers,” said Calof. “If you know your customer well enough, you will be able to come up with products that are useful to them.”

Calof’s programs take one month, and he’s just wrapped up the first week of the program at the Venn Centre in Moncton. It comprises 12 companies – the largest ever in one of Calof’s workshops. They have had a few days of instruction, and over the next three weeks will work on assignments to bring to virtual sessions with Calof. Over the next two years, similar workshops will be rolled out across the region.

"Competitive intelligence is vitally important for startups and mature companies alike,” said Venn President and CEO Doug Robertson in a statement. “The techniques and skills to be learned and built upon throughout this two-year training pilot, supported by ACOA, are invaluable. The skills learned will help companies understand factors both inside and outside of their business that can influence their strategy.”

Disclosure: Venn Innovation is a client of Entrevestor.