Queen/King West : Innovation + Job News

A year ago, Franz David and Tyler Moore were both working at hip Queen West hair salon Coupe Bizarre, where they'd been for some time. Both were looking to grow as businesspeople, but Moore says that when they found a location on booming Ossington Avenue, they knew the time had come to launch their own business and Parlour Salon was born.

They opened amidst a recession many feared would be fierce and long-lasting, but Moore says he'd done research suggesting that "booze and beauty" were relatively immune to the ups and downs of the business cycle. "We were prepared for the worst, but we expected a bit better," he says.

One year later, it appears his optimism was well-founded. Parlour has quadrupled its revenue since its opening month, Moore reports, and has grown from a starting staff of five to employ 11. "No wait, we just hired someone today," he says on the phone on May 21, "we have 12 staff now."

The salon counts celebrities such as Adam Lambert and Keisha Chante as clients, but Moore says that in addition to having glamour as an attraction, value pricing (about $60 for men or women for a basic cut with washing and styling), good customer service and a commitment to their community have built their business. Moore points out that they use environmentally friendly products and refill product package, and that they are active members of the local business community.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Tyler Moore, co-founder, Parlour Salon

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On February 18, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission announced that it would add five new Casinos -- bringing the total to seven -- to its deal with Bullfrog Power to provide 100 per cent green energy for its operations. According to the announcement, "The seven OLG facilities on green power will put over 26,000 MWh [MegaWatt hours] annually back onto the grid, enough energy to power over 2,300 homes."

It was just the latest in a string of big announcements this year for Bullfrog, including a deal with the Toronto Port Authority to power all of its Toronto waterfront operations and one with Marz Homes that will see new houses be Bullfrog Powered at no cost to home buyers.

The green energy provider, founded in Toronto with 10 employees in 2005, has since quadrupled its workforce and now has four offices across the country, providing renewable power in six provinces, according to Bullfrog President Tom Heintzman.

Heintzman notes that, especially since the announcement of the Tariff Feed-in program by the provincial government, Ontario has become a leader in growing renewable energy, not just in Canada but in the world. But Heintzman points out that his company shows it's not just a government job to clean our power consumption. "What we do is we're a voluntary program -- we encourage citizens to bring even more renewable power into the system," he says.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: OLG, Bullfrog Power

If the lights on the CN Tower seem to have a particularly west-coast vibe over the next few weeks, it may be because they're being remotely controlled by the minds of people half a continent away in Vancouver. That's not a typo: during the Vancouver Winter Olympics, visitors to Ontario House are remotely controlling lighting displays on the CN Tower, the Parliament Buildings and Niagra Falls using an innovative Toronto-made mind-computer interface.

It is, according the MaRS blog, the largest thought-controlled computer interface experiment in human history, run by a local start-up called InteraXon. Visitors sit in a seat in Vancouver and learn how to use their minds to interact with a computer, then test out their powers on the Ontario landmarks. Cameras transmit the results to the west coast -- and to the InteraXon website -- in real time so participants can see the results of their computer-enhanced telekinesis.

The technology was first unveiled last year at the Premier's Innovation Awards, where Premier Dalton McGuinty was given the opportunity to demonstrate the process. Following that event, the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation approached the company about creating the display for the Vancouver Olympics, called Bright Ideas.

MaRS has been working with the company to develop and market it's products. According to the MaRS website, building lights are just the tip of the mind-controlled iceberg. "InteraXon creates all kinds of experiences in thought-controlled computing and is one of the only companies in Canada to do so. From pouring a virtual can of cola to controlling an orchestra of instruments, InteraXon's experiences are at the forefront of technology, science and art."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: MaRS

It's a simple concept: a group of people approach a retailer and haggle for a discount in exchange for a large group of purchases. Yet when the phenomenon of "team buying" or "group buying" caught on a few years ago in mainland China, where it is called tuangou, it inspired a slew of media attention.

Of course, the power of the internet and social media such as Twitter and Facebook in particular, makes this shopping innovation easier than ever to execute, and the concept has become popular in the US through sites such as GroupBuyCenter.com and Groupon.com. And now the phenomenon has come to Toronto, launched by www.webpiggy.com, a joint venture of Agency 3 communications and District Marketing.

Retailers sign up to offer a discount (typically 40-60 per cent off regular prices) as long as a certain number of people agree to purchase. The offer goes up for a limited time on grouppiggy's website and, if the required number of people purchase, the service forwards a cheque to the offering business and coupons to those who bought. If not enough people sign on, no one is charged anything.

According to Dennis Logan, a spokesperson for www.grouppiggy.com, the new venture employs seven people and expects to grow quickly as the concept catches on in the GTA.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Dennis Logan, www.grouppiggy.com.

Sequentia Environics can credibly claim to have been a leader internet advertising -- it launched in 2002 as a division of the communications giant Environics to focus on building online relationships between companies and their customers.

And pretty much all along, they've been growing apace with their chosen medium. In 2004, the year Facebook was founded, the company was named the 27th fastest-growing in the country by PROFIT magazine. The next year, as the term "Web 2.0" came into vogue, Sequentia has moved to 24th on the same list. The company has recorded 15 straight years of revenue growth and placed second on the Report on Business list of "Best Workplaces in Canada" for the past two years running. (And placed first on the "Best Workplaces for Women" list.)

Last week, the Fashion-District-based office of Sequentia announced further growth with the addition of three management-level staffers: minor celebrity blogger Peter Flaschner as creative director and community practice lead, former Canadian Business columnist Andrew Wahl as content development manager and former CNW group staffer Heather Morrison as client services manager.

The news comes quickly after Sequentia's parent company announced further aggressive growth in the social media marketing field, acquiring Exvisu to form Nexalogy Environics in Montreal to specialize in social media research and analysis.

In a press release announcing the new hires, Sequntia founder Jen Evans said the moves were a matter of "scaling for growth," and that she was "bullish" on the company's future. The company is also looking to hire a project and accounts manager.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Sequntia Environics