Innovation + Job News

Leaside-based boutique tech advisory firm Project X has announced a partnership with business intelligence software provider Microstrategy that should help the company grow its global business base.

"By working closely with MicroStrategy, we're bringing robust business intelligence technology to our clients of all sizes," said Project X President Stephen Hayward "With our rapid results methodology and the MicroStrategy business intelligence technology, we can deploy business intelligence projects big or small."

Hayward founded Project X in 2005 with Graham Boundy, and has since grown to provide a broad range of business intelligence, data warehousing and other technological and business consulting services.

Last week the company introduced its latest product, a carbon footprint application that allows companies to visualize their carbon data to better analyze their sustainability plans. Hayward says the software represents Project X's core mission. "We turn business intelligence into visuals so that critical information can be translated and actioned by our customers' stakeholders."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Heather Kenney, Project X

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

Last week, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) on Queen Street West announced that its newly renovated facility will be home to a Family Health Team (FHT), a healthcare innovation that brings together physicians, nurses, dieticians, social workers and other medical professions to provide holisitc health services to a community.

FHTs are a concept that the provincial government has focused on -- alongside Nurse Practioner-Led Clinics -- as being a key part of how Ontario will deliver health services in the coming years, and the province has committed to opening 200, including 30 announced last week. The FHT is the first to be housed in a mental health and addiction facility.

"What makes these Family Health Teams so valuable is that each one is developed with the needs of the community in mind," said Deb Matthews, minister of Health and Long-term Care in her announcement.

Dr. Catherine Zahn, president and CEO of CAMH, said it was exactly that community mindset that makes this so fitting, given the facility's overhaul as a central part of the community it sits in. "Locating a FHT here emphasizes the 'urban village' vision of CAMH's Queen Street redevelopment project, strengthening the model of community-based care for everyone in a welcoming and inclusive environment," she said.

Dr. Zahn expects the facility to serve as a model for the rest of the province. "The Queen West Village FHT will break new ground in providing primary health care to the community of which CAMH is so much a part, and will increase access to care for mental illness and addictions, province-wide."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Michael Torres, CAMH; Office of Deb Matthews, Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

On September 21, the first annual Carbon Economy Summit will bring together industry, political and media leaders to discuss the future of sustainable business. The event at the Allstream Centre at Exhibition Place is geared to finance and accounting executives looking for information about compliance and for ideas about growth opportunities in the low-carbon future.

The event is being organized by Rogers publications Canadian Manufacturing.com and Canadian Investment Review, and features a diverse group of speakers, including MaRS cleantech lead Tom Rand, renewable power investment banker Sasha Jacob of Jacob Securities and journalist and author of Climate Wars Gwynne Dyer.

Tickets to the day-long event are $675 (though an early bird discount is still available) and are available here.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Lisa Wichmann, editorial director, Rogers Media

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

Three of Toronto's innovative technology companies will each receive $500,000 in funding from the province's Investment Accelerator fund, Toronto-area MPP Glen Murray announced last week. The fund is designed to support the launch of innovative companies in sectors considered important to the future of the province's economy, and is administered by MaRS Discovery District.

Combined, the three companies are expected to create 65 jobs over the next three years:

Geminare is a cloud-based server backup company that will use the funding to market its network to partners worldwide. MedCurrent is an online application company devoted to helping medical professionals improve workflow and decision making, especially in radiology, and will use the influx of cash to fuel growth. Receptor Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company devoted to developing anti-cancer therapies, say the funding should lead to further development.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Linda Quattrin, Director of Communications, MaRS

Rypple, who as we reported last week is aiming to "change the world of work" through its social-media-style human workplace application, could change the world of a few people more directly: according to company head of marketing Jay Goldman, Rypple is hiring for three positions immediately and "will probably just continue to have positions open," for the next year and beyond. "As amazing people apply," Goldman says, "we'll just constantly see how they fit and how the timing is."

The company plans to ramp up rapidly, as noted in last week's feature, after the launch of the 2.0 version of its application and the recent opening of a San Francisco office. Goldman notes that in addition to having the energy and passion associated with start-up enterprises, the company has won awards as the most democratic workplace in the world and offers attractive benefits and perqs.

Goldman suggests interested parties apply using the "Apply Now" button on the website, "but if people have any questions, they can feel free to talk to us on Twitter or by email."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Jay Goldman, Head of Marketing, Rypple

A panel discussion entitled "The Future of Media" at the Drake Hotel on September 8 will feature executives from Facebook Canada, the Globe and Mail, Polar Mobile and a founder of the MESH conference. The event will see discussion of how technology and the internet -- including social media and mobile devices -- are changing the landscape for traditional news media. The event is hosted by Toronto-based publication Digital Journal.

In the event's announcement, Steve MacFarlane of online ad sales organization Suite 66 says that the annual event has become a landmark of media innovation in Canada. "The Future of Media conference is emerging as a focal point in the discussion of how digital media continues to grow and evolve in response to new technology and consumer demand," he says.

The panelists, announced last week, are: Jordan Banks, managing director of Facebook Canada; Anjali Kapoor, managing editor of the Globe and Mail Digital; David Skok, senior producer of online content for Global News; Kunal Gupta, CEO of Polaris Mobile; and Mark Evans, a co-founder of the MESH conference.

Admission to the event is free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Chris Hogg, CEO, Digital Journal

Hot Topic, the US retail giant that mixes fast fashion with pop culture through inexpensive licensed band, video and television merchandise, has begun its expansion into Canada with three stores in the GTA.

The move is being celebrated today (Aug. 25) with an event at the Scarborough Town Centre location that opened Aug. 13, featuring an appearance by the Grammy-nominated band Disturbed. A location at the Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga also opened Aug. 13, and a further location Mapleview Shopping Centre at in Burlington is set to open in October.

The new locations and the company's stated plan for broader expansion in the GTA and Canada will create jobs, though a representative said that the company is unwilling to discuss specific numbers and corporate strategy at this point.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Winston Ma of Lotus Leaf Communications for Hot Topic

MiiToU (pronounced "me-to-you") is a unique new marketing service that will let people send personalized messages and gift cards by mobile phone. COO and co-founder Richard Meaney says the idea sprung form a desire to give a meaningful gift to people in far-away places -- a gift other than flowers.

"We just wanted to take the popularity of personalized messages, the explosion of the smartphone, and combine it with gift cards," he says.

Since beginning work in 2008, the company has grown to employ four full-time staff and six part-time sales people. As the company prepares to launch its app in time for this year's holiday season, they are ramping up staff. Meaney says the company is adding four full time developers and plans also to hire two more full-time sales people soon. By fall they plan to have 11 full-time staff.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Richard Meaney, COO and co-founder, MiiToU

The greater Toronto area has seen an explosion of smartphone application developers. It is an area that offers unique opportunities to monetize digital content -- something that was notoriously difficult on the web.

Thornhill-based mobiroo has developed a patent-pending process to allow companies to brand popular applications and give them out as promotional gift cards for Blackberrys. Officially launched in January of this year, the company  is experienceing an encouraging repsonse, and is preparing to grow, expanding its service.

Mobiroo is currently hiring for three developer positions -- a Blackberry/Android Developer, an ASP.NET/C# Developer and a Web Portal Designer/Developer.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: mobiroo

FreshBooks, a Toronto company that created an online billing system for freelancers and small businesses that's attracted millions of users in the seven years since its launch, is looking to add at least 15 staff to its team. (See Yonge Street's January profile of the company).

The company began as 2ndSite in 2003 by founders Mike McDerment and Joe Sawada, working out of McDerment's parents basement. They rebranded as FreshBooks in May 2006 and, by November of that year, had attracted 100,000 clients. Today they measure the number of users in the millions and have a team of more than 40 staff (many with eccentric titles such as "Chief Handshaker," "Support Rockstar," and "Server Monkey"). And they're preparing to grow again.

President and Founder Mike McDerment notes on his blog that at the business, "we've blown through many stages, and now we've come to another one." Currently the company is seeking to add 15 members to its staff in positions ranging from "Marketing Manager Dynamo" to "Technical Evangelist," to join a culture in which McDerment notes that he encourages his staff to be independent. "My new mantra: 'beg for forgiveness, don't ask for permission,'" he writes. "I don't want people asking me, 'here's what we are going to do, what do you think?' I want to shift the conversations to 'here's what we did,' so I can ask, 'what did you learn?.'"

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Mike McDerment, President and CEO, FreshBooks

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

Siemens Canada, the 905-based subsidiary of the global energy and engineering company, will build Ontario's first wind turbine blade factory in order to service a contract with Samsung CT and Pattern Energy. The agreement calls for Siemens to supply up to 600 MW of wind turbine energy, providing enough clean electricity, the company says, to power more than 240,000 homes under the Ontario government's FIT program.

A representative of the company said by phone that the location of the planned factory has not yet been finalized, but the company already has a large footprint in the GTA, with its headquarters in Burlington and plants and offices located in Ajax, Markham, Mississauga, Scarborough, Brampton and Toronto. The new factory is expected to employ 300 people directly (in "green collar" jobs) and will create an additional 600 construction and indirect jobs.

In a statement, Siemens Canada Senior VP Bill Smith said that the blade factory is an example of how the Ontario FIT program will create a green energy industry in the province, which he called "one of the world's most progressive jurisdictions," and added, "our blade factory will enable the Ontario market." 

The agreement with Samsung follows that company's blockbuster agreement with the Ontario government to develop 2,000 MW of wind power over the next six years. The government hope is FIT program will create 50,000 jobs in the clean energy sector and build a renewable energy industry hub in the province.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Susan Willemsen of the Siren Group, on behalf of Siemens Canada

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

Ryerson undergraduate business student Lyubomir Halachev beat out submissions by PhD candidates and Master's students to win the prize for best student paper at the recent International Congress on Environmental Modelling Software held in Ottawa. His paper, co-authored with two other Ryerson researchers, provided a model to predict the financial viability of water-sector companies.

"The supply and distribution of water is vital everywhere. As a result it's important to identify in advance which water companies might experience financial trouble so that governments and industry can hopefully salvage them in time," Halachev said in a statement. He was inspired by the idea that given a possible coming water crisis, in which a majority of the world's population is expected to face water shortages within a generation, the economic stability of water-sector companies is of tremendous social and environmental concern.

After Halachev completed his initial research, he partnered with Ryerson engineering student Yashodan Athavale to develop the mathematical computer model for the project, and then with Ryerson Information Technology professor Aziz Guergachi, who supervised the research and co-authored the paper.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Suelan Toye, Public Affairs, Ryerson University

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

905-based Prollenium Medical Technologies has announced that it will again report strong year-over-year revenue and profit growth this year, after seeing 524 per cent revenue growth over the past five years. The pace of its growth has seen it ranked on PROFIT magazines list of the fastest-growing companies in Canada for four years running.

And it's growth plans appear to continue apace: in May, the company announced that it had been cleared to distribute it's Revanesse Dermal Fillers, bringing to 60 the number of countries in which the company's products are distributed. In addition, the company says it has recently completed a double-blind study that will lead to entry into the large US market.

Over the phone, a company employee says that plans are afoot to move the company into larger offices to accommodate expansion, and that the company will soon be launching a line of injectable pain relievers for sufferers of osteoarthritis. Other aesthetics products are in the company's pipeline.

Company VP Khasha Ighanian says the company is in the process of "leveraging the efforts of our strong R&D team with our ability to bring new products to market quickly," and that he is "optimistic about the next five years."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Khasha Ighanian, VP, Prollenium Medical Technologies

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

A new $550,000 program in St. James Town called "Recipe for Community" will see the construction of sporting equipment, the beautification of parks, skills development programs, recreational leagues and small business support for residents of the at-risk community.

The program was announced last week by Mayor David Miller and Councillor Pam McConnell of the city, alongside partners from the Toronto Community Foundation (TCF), Toronto Community Housing (TCH) and Maple Lead Sports and Entertainment.

TCF Vice-Chair John B. MacIntyre, in the announcement of the program, said that it "will help make St. James Town a more vibrant neighbourhood -- a place in which residents are proud of where they live and feel connected to each other and their community."

The innovative social project in St. James Town is the extension of a pilot launched by TCF, TCH and the City with other community partners in Alexandria Park last year. Addressing a need for a sense of belonging and safety in communities that was articulated in the TCF Vital Signs Report in 2008, the program aims to use ideas from local residents to create a sense of pride and ownership in a community while building the skills of local residents and the livability of the neighbourhood.

The city says that the project at St. James Town will be evaluated as part of the city's Tower Renewal project, a legacy initiative long heralded by Mayor David Miller to improve the social and environmental conditions of concrete apartment towers across the city. If the St. James Town program is successful, a city release says, the model could become part of the Tower Renewal program all around Toronto.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: City of Toronto

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].

Parc Downsview Park needed someone at the helm with a background in business, according to the park's board chair David Soknaki, and that's what the innovative experiment in sustainable development will get from new President and CEO William Bryck. Bryck comes immediately from a post at Queen's University, prior to which he was an executive with private-sector firms including Markborough Properties and CB Richard Ellis Management Services.

The park, on the site of a former military base in North Toronto, is Canada's only national urban park. Sprawling over 572 acres, it has a unique mandate from the federal government to be self-financing, and is being developed as an experimental and environmentally friendly "Tree City" design created by Bruce Mau and Rem Koolhaus. In addition to allowing a naturalized park to "grow," along the lines of New York's famed Freshkills Park, the site has taken on tenants in a recreational and museum hub and will incorporate residential and commercial development on the site.

In a statement about his appointment, Bryck said, "this is more than an alteration of the landscape, but promises to become a tangible representation of life and living in the imminent future -- an inspiring prototype to be reveled the world over."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Lisa Hastings-Beck, Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Park Downsview Park

Got an Innovation & Job News tip? Email [email protected].