One of the benefits of schlepping across the Cobequid Pass on a regular basis is that it gives me time to decompress from the chaotic nature of running one of Canada’s best accelerator programs. Typically that means tuning into CBC’s Vinyl Café. The show is an hour-long variety format featuring short stories. On a recent trip one of their stories got me thinking about our value proposition as a region to entrepreneurs, businesses and investors. The story was about Dave, who grew up on Cape Breton Island and runs an independent record store. His slogan for the store was, “We may not be big, but we're small”.
You might be asking yourself, why is this slogan relevant to our startup community or regional economic development? Well, I have been at Propel ICT for four years now and in that time I have seen our region continually punch above its weight and do the statistically impossible. Our successes and momentum have led many to ask me how the East Coast is accomplishing this feat. The answer is found in Dave’s slogan.
When I first arrived at Propel ICT as Executive Director, I found myself being apologetic and insecure with those from outside the region that we were not as big as Silicon Valley, NYC or Waterloo. Then I received feedback that surprised me. People told me that our size was an advantage not a disadvantage because we would be able to access the right people at the right time. That was an extremely valuable asset that not many jurisdictions can claim.
Now some of you might be skeptical so allow me to provide you an example. Not that long ago, a startup from University of New Brunswick was working on a technology that could give agriculture operators analytical insight and dynamic control over their farm area. One of their mentors was Susan Holt, the CEO of the N.B. Business Council. Susan facilitated an introduction to key decision-makers at McCain Foods. In a very short time frame, the multi-national company signed on as the startup’s first early adopter customer. That deal helped Resson Aerospace raise $3 million in funding to help them build their company from here in Atlantic Canada. What would have been a lengthy sales cycle lasting months if not years in larger urban centers was expedited because Resson didn’t have to waste precious time navigating a lengthy sales cycle to secure their first customer. Want more examples? See HotSpot Parking, Simptek, XipLinx, Eigen Innovations and Qimple, to name a few.
All of this is to say the next time you hear someone try to crap on Startupeast or relevance to the global startup scene, tell them unapologetically we might not be big, but we’re small and that is our strength.
P.S. I felt compelled to write this from attending the 3+/Fibre Center announcement in Moncton on Saturday. It's just another example of our size playing to our advantage by having everyone gang up on the opportunity rather than on each other. Kudos to Ben Champoux and his team.
Trevor MacAusland is the Vice-President Business Development at Propel ICT.
Disclaimer: Entrevestor receives financial support from government agencies that support startup companies in Atlantic Canada. The sponsoring agencies play no role in determining which companies and individuals are featured in this column, nor do they review columns before they are published.
