Archives for August 2015

In the past, summer has been a fairly low-key time for the team at VIATEC, but this year we’ve had our heads down, working at lightning speed… and perfecting our computer-glow tan at the same time.

The transluscent appearance of VIATEC staff is the result of having a number of projects on the go; the biggest of which has been the NEW viatec.ca which launched one week ago today.  

In order to stay true to who we represent, VIATEC hired a local tech company to build our new site from scratch. Despite the fact that Silkstart has been onboarding for the past year, VIATEC is the first organization to use:

• Computed membership plans on the front-end
• A free subscriber plan
• Silkstart’s new, premium website theme
• Silkstart’s custom Job Board and,
• A custom “join” page.

Beyond the look and feel, we’ve made serious changes to how it all works. Members will now have more control over everything they want to post: from jobs, to news releases, to events. The site is MUCH faster and we built it with the intention of helping your whole team really connect with what VIATEC offers.

WHAT’S NEW

• More member control (faster and easier to post, edit and/or archive)
• More complete explanations of what VIATEC offers its members
• Better event registration, reminders and automatic discounts based on member types
• A living SAAS platform (powered by SilkStart) that will provide ongoing improvements and feature additions
• More member benefits including free or discounted meeting and event space at Fort Tectoria
• Two new member levels for companies that really want to support the tech sector and up their profile: Corporate Partner and Community Builder. Have a look here
• The new job board gives users much more control over posts, plus we added an archive so you can more easily pull up old postings to edit rather than starting from scratch or cutting and pasting.
  • We can’t reveal much just yet but we are in final negotiations with a partner that would expand the reach of job postings to a qualified audience and when we get it done, it will be included with all job postings on VIATEC.ca

WHY THE CHANGE?

The “old” viatec.ca was exactly what our members needed… in 2009. But times change quickly, along with website best practices and VIATEC as a whole. In 2009, VIATEC had a small office at the Vancouver Island Technology Park and a team of 4. After moving to Douglas and Hillside in 2012 and starting the Accelerator Program, VIATEC now has a team of 12, OWNS a newly renovated heritage building and cafe at 777 Fort Street, and rents out office and event space on top of all the services we’ve always offered (plus a few more). The old viatec.ca no longer represented who we are or what our members were in need of.

We normally don’t feature ourselves as Tectorian of the Week, but we are just so damn proud of this new site! Check it out and if you have any feedback or suggestions please contact info@viatec.ca.

As a child Nathan Wren would break apart old electronics, read everything he could and spend hours doodling. This fascination with understanding how things work has stayed with him his entire life.

Nathan was hired as a Mechanical Engineer in 2012 by Daniels Electronics, just weeks before its acquisition by Codan Radio Communications. He’s actually gone from breaking radios in his parents’ garage to designing them for a living in one of the most beautiful settings, Fisherman’s Wharf. Given his childhood fascination you’d think he’d know his path right away, instead he first earned a degree in Psychology before making the switch to Mechanical Engineering.

Nathan hasn’t looked back since and has had some impressive moments in his career.

“It was a great pleasure and honor to spend several months on a work term at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics; the level of talent in that group is truly something else,” commented Nathan. Another moment he will never forget is watching Codan’s new Stratus Repeater product get chucked off a 3-4m rooftop, hit the cement, and still power up and function properly.

Codan just launched a brand new suite of transportable products, anchored by the Stratus Repeater, that links conventional radio systems to the current cellular networks. This opens up a whole new range of uses for Codan’s transportable products, and is generating some real excitement in the market according to Nathan.

“I was lucky enough to see the mechanical design of the core repeater product from start to finish, and to work with a really talented and nimble design team. As for current projects, we’ve always got something on the burner… stay tuned.”

For the past several months, Nathan has also helped breathe new life into the Advanced Manufacturing Roundtable for VIATEC. This month’s event was held at Codan’s headquarters where members heard from Charlie Stuff, President of Codan, and received a site tour through their 30,000 square foot manufacturing facility.

Nathan has been having a blast so far with the roundtable and is looking forward to future meetups. “There are a lot of interesting companies and great product design going on in Victoria, and no shortage of topics to discuss.”

When Nathan isn’t working, you will find him, well… still working. He’s inspired by complex systems and hairy design challenges. “Whether it’s a wonky political debate, a challenging thermal design, or the arcane rules of a card or board game, if you can take it apart and figure it out, I’m there.”

We’re not quite sure what to call Ron Proulx, but “Renaissance Man” seems quite fitting.

Ron is a recent import from Toronto and contacted VIATEC to introduce himself with the most creative (and elaborate) bio they had ever seen:

“I’m from Toronto
I drove across the country in 2014 thinking I’d buy a place in Vancouver;
I decided I like Vic better.
I like the weather in Vic, because I used to live in Venice Beach, California.
I took possession of a condo on 6/1/15; every day is an adventure, with a killer view.
I own a music supervision company in film/tv.
I manage several TV composers.
I co-own a rights clearance company.
I had a digital company that got into podcasting; too early i might add lol.
I own a patch of trees in the BC Interior; the deer love me.
I have written 2 ebooks that I sell online; one has done well, the other not so much.
I’m entrepreneurial and/or a bon vivant lol.
I’m looking for the next adventure(s); passive or active.
I play poker once in a while; I raise with A9 suited.
I play piano and sing; good for the soul.
I am a big walker; see Vic for why that is good.
I had a record deal in another life; I also had purple hair, and now I have none.
I believe the arts are important; as is free speech.
I live for my iPhone and Apple products; and/or ability to be mobile/everywhere.
I was once addicted to Sudoku; I have that under control now.
I have made some short films.
I was in the middle of producing a feature length documentary for 2 years – shoot/edit/wrangle/produce/chief bottle washer… all until I pulled the plug due to my subject being “unavailable”… long story.
My axes = Canon5DMII + FCPX.
I am not looking for a job lol.”

Oh, and he won a Genie Award once…

Due to having a bit more freedom with his business, Arpix Media, (thanks to his amazing employees), Ron decided to move to Victoria, a city he feels is up and coming and more sustainable than Toronto or Vancouver.

He’s hoping to be proved right. And, who knows what opportunities will fall into his lap while he’s here.

“Being curious about any and all things is inspirational,” commented Proulx. “I love not knowing how to do something. It’s great fun to be on the learning curve, far more than once things start to get easy… that starts to get a little hamster wheel for me. I’m not big on hamster wheels.”

Proulx is also a public speaker with experience as a panelist and moderator. Topics have mostly been about music licensing, but occasionally regarding one of the ebooks he wrote (hownot2suck@businessnbeing), which is a primer for young people entering the workforce. His other ebook is called “How to license your music into movies and television”.

With his stay so far, Proulx has noticed that “people in Victoria sure like their beer!”

“I mean, people like beer everywhere, but if you really want to have a spirited conversation in Vic, I’ve found that discussing beer totally works!”

Yup, we’re definitely proud of our microbreweries. In fact, there’s now an official map with 25,000 copies placed in tourist traffic areas and at each location!

While Proulx still has a lot to discover in Victoria, he definitely has the same feeling we all have: That “an explosion is about to happen in Victoria due to its technology, distance working and mobility all smashing into a great climate and property values.”

“I thought I’d get here now, rather than later with the others.”

Cheers and welcome, Ron!