Archives for May 2015

Zach Sousa

May 28, 2015 by Tessa Bousfield

Zach Sousa just finished designing a low cost 3D printer called “Edge 3D”. And he’s 13 years old…

The printer will be sold as a kit or preassembled and Zach hopes it will be available for sale this summer for roughly $250 (so look out for it on crowdfunding sites).

To keep his creative juices and mechanical hands working, he likes to make projects for instructables.com. His latest “instructable” was instructions on how to make your own 3D printer for under $250 (you can view that here).

Victoria Makerspace (located at the Vancouver Island Technology Park), is a second home to Zach. He started frequenting the space when his family moved to Victoria in spring 2013. Since then, he’s learned about soldering electronics, micro controllers, 3D printing, laser cutting and biotech. And most recently, he teaches the Arduino class at makerspace! This class is aimed at makers with little to no experience with the Arduino. Makerspace-owned Arduino kits are available for use during the class.

“Everyone is helpful [at Victoria Makerspace] and share the interest of making things,” commented Zach. “You can share tools and ideas there, and everyone has a good sense of humour!”

Zach demoing to a full house at TedX Victoria 2014.

When Zach isn’t teaching, he’s attending Royal Oak Middle School. ” My favourite subject is tech ed.” commented Zach. “I really like hands on learning instead of the traditional type of learning which in my opinion, is outdated.”

As for what Zach would like to be when he grows up?

“I would like to own my own 3D printer company (Edge 3D Printers) and make low cost, high quality 3D printers.”

Ya, just your run-of-the-mill goal for a kid… 😉

Zach knows what he wants and is making it all happen, which is why he’s our Tectorian of the Week!

Stocksy United

May 21, 2015 by Tessa Bousfield

The stock photo industry has made a huge pivot thanks to local co-operative, Stocksy United, and they just became a finalist for the Innovative Excellence VIATEC Technology Award because of it.

The galleries on stocksy are jaw-dropping. The images are all unique, colourful, full of imagination and something you might rather hang on your wall then put in a brochure.

There are many differences between Stocksy and other stock image companies, one of which is Stocksy’s photographers are invited and curated into the collection. This means you don’t have to search through endless pages of images to find something good, they do that for you.

Stocksy also doesn’t stop at photography.

They feature one-on-one interview pieces, travel stories and even food recipes. All with stunning photos to back-up the well written content, of course. You can spend hours on this website.

To top it all off, Stocksy United is a multi-stakeholder co-operative, which means all of their photographers are also co-owners of the company.

“Almost every single person who works for Stocksy is also a photographer, from client relations to our lawyer,” commented Brianna Wettlaufer, CEO/Co-Founder. “When we say we love photography, it’s very personal to us.”

They’re collectively driven by their shared vision for creative integrity and sustainable business practices. The community behind Stocksy gains its strength through the open collaboration and support of ideas, experience, and artistic vision.

The Stocksy team (united)

“Share the wealth” could also be their motto. Their financial structure is designed to pay out the majority of profits, with 50% of the initial royalty ($5-$50) and 75% of every extended license going directly into the photographer’s pockets. At the end of each year, the co-operative’s profits are distributed back to its members, with their membership growing by 500 every year.

“We’ve worked really hard to be where we are today,” commented Breanna. “It’s been two years of grit and sacrifice while being crammed into a small office with workstations on top of each other. We’re just finally coming up for air and are making time for fun together.”

At the end of last year they moved into their new, custom-renovated office in Market Square.

“The transparency of being a co-op definitely shows in our day-to-day business,” commented Breanna. “We have an open floor plan, collaborative workspace, and a fairly flat hierarchy. Everyone knows what every department is doing, and we are accountable to each other and respect each other. And one day soon maybe we’ll get a ping pong table.”

The team is incredibly proud that Stocksy is based in Victoria, BC and they are really excited to see the tech scene taking off here.

“Stocksy isn’t the most ‘out there’ socially, but we are here to support the tech scene any way we can. If you need photos, let us know! Or even stop by Fridays after 3:30 pm to come say hi and have a beer.”

Their office is located in Market Square and their photographers are… everywhere!

www.stocksy.com

Jason Long, Engenuics

May 14, 2015 by Tessa Bousfield

Jason Long created Engenuics 15 years ago in Calgary, without even realizing it.

Engenuics innovates custom hardware and firmware for companies all over the world and they’re based in Victoria, right beside CAMACC Systems and Schneider Electric off Keating Cross Road.

Just after the “Y2K” frenzy at the millennium mark, Jason (Founder and President of Engenuics), began trying to learn what wasn’t being taught in electrical engineering programs; the exciting, practical, hands-on stuff. He decided to start teaching for free in Calgary to peers as a way to be accountable so he couldn’t throw in the towel easily. The room started to fill up and before he knew it, 10 years had gone by.

In 2010, he officially incorporated Engenuics. In 2012 he was full time with the company and won a prestigious engineering award for his mentorship. In 2013, he moved to Victoria, found VIATEC and Engenuics became a finalist for Startup of the Year at the VIATEC Technology Awards.

“The orca we scored is hanging from the ceiling in the office,” reflected Jason. “We started to get to know the VIATEC team while working hard to build relationships with people on the island, and we were lucky enough to get a couple of nominations. Prepping for [the award] was a great experience and working with VIATEC to do the video was awesome. For a little company like Engenuics, that nomination really was significant and we were able to leverage it. It was humbling to be up there with some pretty amazing companies.”

The company has been unstoppable since. “[In 2013 we were] bursting at the seams with ideas but cautiously progressing as a bootstrapped company has to do,” explained Jason. “Now in 2015 we have an office, four employees, and some crazy good things are happening.”

L to R: Cameron Smith, Alex Koszegi, Jason Long and Emily Elias: the awesome team that is Engenuics Technologies.

The team at Engenuics supports electronic developers and hobbyists by providing excellent learning platforms and essential tools born from their own design work of embedded systems.

“We try to find a way to teach through all of the work we complete, and thus have a growing lineup of valuable training courses unlike anything that exists,” commented Jason. “What we’re really striving towards is redefining how engineers in the industry are trained, and our very unique experience enables us to build relationships between companies, universities and students in a rather glorious win-win-win way.”

Students having fun soldering at the first MPG at UVic in 2013.

This year is looking very promising for Engenuics; they’re right at their tipping point. A few weeks ago they invited Grade 8 students to get a glimpse of Engenuics and they were all able to dive in by soldering devices, the hands-on approach Jason is so passionate about. They have also launched youth summer camps and they’ve formed a great relationship with a major electronics company (more details being announced soon). Lastly, with the success of their free program at UVic and three other schools, they’re upgrading their university program and hope to offer it to even more schools.

“I want to keep growing as a company and as an individual so that I can reach more people. I love to give stuff away, and usually it’s my wife who reminds me that a company is supposed to make money at some point. But hey, we pay our bills, and even though I make less than our co-op student and I still clean the office toilets, I have never been happier and more excited about what I do each day.”

Jason Long presents Brody Holden with the MPG bursary at the UVic wrap-up party on March 26, 2015.

Smart Dolphins IT Solutions

May 7, 2015 by Tessa Bousfield

Smart Dolphins IT Solutions’ vital signs are in tip-top shape and they definitely won’t have a problem surpassing the average lifespan of a Bottlenose Dolphin.

Smart Dolphins just turned 15 years old. They are a provider of award-winning computer support and networking for businesses in the Greater Victoria area and elsewhere on Vancouver Island. In addition to their excellent services, they have earned two VIATEC Technology Awards: VIATEC Member of the Year (2008) and Employer of the Year (2012).

“15 years ago I was sitting in the backroom of our townhouse preparing to take my new found skills to market,” reflected Dave Monahan, founder. “I was brainstorming business names. I was considering my hourly rate. I was carving Smart Dolphins into a shingle. I wondered who I could approach first. Smart Dolphins was preparing for launch. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was young and figured now would be a great time to give my own business a go.”

Some of their clients include Access Records, Kidsport Victoria and Megson FitzPatrick. Smart Dolphins can sell and install a new computer network from the ground up, tweak an existing network or they can simply serve to keep computers behaving nicely. They install, configure and troubleshoot both hardware and software. They take on big IT projects or answer the smallest of help desk type questions.

A few of our favourite features of their website are the “Dolphin Ditties” and “Pod Pointers”. The Ditties are helpful video tutorials that help make your days a little easier. The videos cover anything from a cool, new software, using software to its fullest potential or precautions you should take online. The Pointers are a similar concept, but in a blog format instead of video.

The team at Smart Dolphins works hard, plays hard and treats their clients like they’re a part of the pod.

The “Dol-Fan wall”

They have a “Dol-Fan” wall where guests sign in by writing their name on a dolphin and adding it to the wall. A staff member is blindfolded monthly and picks a name off the wall so they can give them a $100 cash prize.

Paul Holmes just joined their team and they gave him a Nerf Gun initiation (See the torture happen here), and he was actually seen at Smart Dolphins’ Charity Poker Tournament shortly before he was hired. Maybe he impressed everyone with his card skills…

Charity Poker Tournament

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I am confident and passionate about our future,” commented Monahan. “Smart Dolphins is improving lives through business excellence and the leveraged use of technology. We’re denting the universe. I can’t wait to see what we can do with another 3900 weekdays.”