The list of high-tech startups calling Vancouver home got longer recently with the launch of 51moments.com.
51 Moments is a web-based service that connects customers with photographers looking to fill their schedules at a discounted rate with at least a seven days’ notice. The Vancouver-based company which launched last month came from a conversation founder Alex Black had with a friend who couldn’t find affordable photographers to take family photos.
After doing market research, Black created 51 Moments to fill the gap between frustration with high prices and the unsatisfying experience of cheaper photography sessions. Potential customers can choose among $25, $85 and $150 photography sessions.
Black says the company blends his passion for photography and technology. Not only was Black a wedding photographer, he’s developed and sold his last startup venture Snapsort, an information website that compares camera features.
Black moved from Ontario in January and says he was attracted to Vancouver for its reputation as a city conducive to startups.
“Not only can you work on your startup and have a talent pool to hire from and a network … a social community to get support from, you also got a big city and the outdoors — so it’s sort of great lifestyle and a great place to start a startup.”
Since being an entrepreneur can be “lonely” in a small startup, Black takes advantage of the established tech community within the city.
“I’ve often used the network hub in downtown, I go to the weekly meetups — startup drinks and entrepreneurs’ coffee events so I’m getting to know a network with the local entrepreneurs.”
Tech startup Food.ee, a corporate food delivery service that launched in 2012, is another example of why Vancouver is said to be conducive to high-tech businesses.
CEO Ryan Spong was successful at running restaurants before he was tapped to run the corporate food delivery service founded by a group of “angel investors” including HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes.
Angel investors, explained Spong, are those in the field who have had success in the past building high-tech companies and typically have high tolerance for risk. With their experience, they reinvest in new startups with not just money but a “holistic approach” that includes advice and connections.
“Angel investors in Vancouver, instead of the Northwest in general, tend to be really supportive. You have a lot of entrepreneurs here who have had success at putting money back into the system.”
Another key feature that makes the city conducive to tech startups, Spong says, is the presence of business incubators. They’re shared work spaces to help entrepreneurs launch their ideas with financial, technical and other support.
“There’s a great ecosystem here, there’s great support. And Invoke Labs is a really good example of that, GrowLab is another one, Spring’s [Spring Activator] the new accelerator.”
Food.ee has benefited from federal-run programs such as Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) that provides advisory, funding and networking services. Food.ee has also applied for tax reimbursements for innovation from a program called Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED).
Spong added the City of Vancouver has also provided help.
“They’ve shown their support in a lot of ways in terms of keeping big successful companies in Vancouver, because what happens with that is those big successful companies stay in Vancouver, the people stay in Vancouver, the money stays in Vancouver and [it] goes back into the tech ecosystem in the city.”
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