After several attempts at starting her own venture, Megan McCarthy, CEO of DraftCAM, is optimistic her new business will fly.
The DraftCAM app is still in development, but when complete it will turn any smartphone or webcam into a powerful tool able to detect energy leaks invisible to the naked eye.
“Ever wonder where that cold draft is coming from or which window is making your heating bills soar?” McCarthy asked as she sat in a busy Halifax coffee shop.
“Soon you’ll be able to see for yourself. I feel like DraftCAM is my lucky No. 3,” the young woman continued, referring to her previous business ideas that didn’t work out.
Despite working days that can run to 20 hours, the 29-year-old looked fresh and happy as she finished writing a presentation she hopes will win her a place in the final round of Innovacorp’s annual I-3 startup competition.
Her confidence has been boosted by making the final five in the Halifax segment of the provincewide contest.
Interviewing product developers and venture capitalists about building her business also encouraged her, as did the conversations she had with potential early adopters in the oil and gas industries.
Over the last few years, McCarthy has suffered setbacks but never lost focus.
“Failing is fundamental to the innovation process,” Karina LeBlanc, executive director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick said.
“Not giving up has always separated the successful entrepreneurs from those who never made it.”
Originally from Calgary, where she worked full-time in the oil patch while studying engineering, McCarthy has been in Halifax for the last four years. She moved here after becoming disillusioned with the oil and gas industries.
McCarthy enrolled at Dalhousie University to take a management degree with a major in environment, sustainability and society. She will soon graduate and is determined to build her business in Nova Scotia, having tapped into what she sees as this area’s thriving entrepreneurialism.
“The startup community in Calgary is less developed than here,” she said. “Here, people struggle to find good jobs and the startup scene is a great option for those with talent and spark. And the mentorship and education here is amazing.”
McCarthy has benefited from Dalhousie’s starting lean course, run for aspiring entrepreneurs by married profs Ed Leach and Mary Kilfoil. Her venture, Green with Energy, came together at a 2011 Dalhousie Startup Weekend where she proposed working with utilities that use smart meters so power bills could inform clients where they waste electricity.
Later, she considered manufacturing a new product, called Smartcell, a simple device that could be plugged into a wall socket to help homeowners reduce energy consumption. She planned to sell these and other energy-efficient gadgets in shopping malls.
McCarthy currently works out of Volta Labs on Spring Garden Road, where entrepreneurs receive support from business veterans.
“Volta is a great opportunity,” she said. “I can call someone influential at Yahoo with Clarity credits. I get $10,000 a year for web services and, as a sole founder, I pay no rent.”
She also receives a lot of support from Milan Vrekic, Volta’s executive director. Other high-profile mentors include Richard Jones of New Brunswick’s East Valley Ventures and Frank Erschen of Waterloo’s Communitech.
“Entrepreneurs need people to say, ‘No, you’re not crazy, you can do that,’” McCarthy said.
Other entrepreneurs at Volta assist with her website, her technical interviews and business cards.
“I feel I owe the community,” she said, gratitude shining in her eyes. “I volunteer at Volta and I’ve mentored younger people coming out of starting lean. They inspire me.”
McCarthy will discover if she is among the regional winners of the I-3 Competition on Jan. 27.
The prize money can go as high as $225,000, but the experience itself has been valuable.
“I always hoped I could do something on my own,” she said as she finished her coffee and packed away her papers.
