Ania Wysocka is founder of Rootd, one of the New Ventures BC Competition’s top 10 finalists
The 21st edition has one more round left
As always, the New Ventures BC Competition (put on by Crown agency Innovate BC) features some of the province’s top up-and-coming tech names.
After three rounds, these 10 companies are still in contention for the $250,000 in cash and prizes on offer. You can register for the October 4 event here.
LetHub is a Victoria-based AI platform that automates communication between renters and property managers. After finishing in the top 25 last year, LetHub CEO (and chief happiness officer, as he refers to himself) Faizan Ali Khan is back in the ring.
Vancouver’s Matidor has already done a couple of laps on the awards circuit, including winning Best Innovation at the 2021 Small Business BC Awards. The geospatial software firm hit more than $1 million in revenue in the past year.
The Surrey energy storage biz uses retired electric vehicle batteries to offer the performance of lithium batteries without the steep price. Despite being founded less than two years ago, Moment has won more than a dozen awards for its ingenuity in repurposing EV batteries, some 95 percent of which are disposed of improperly.
Pocketed bills itself as a free, all-in-one grant platform for businesses seeking funding. Founded by former BCBusiness 30 Under 30 winner Brianna Blaney and Aria Hahn, the Vancouver-headquartered outfit is looking to raise $750,000 for Canadian expansion.
The North Vancouver data analytics firm has succeeded in gaining B2C marketers like Lululemon Athletica, Red Bull and Interac after just over three years in business. Now co-founder and CEO Charlie Grinnell plans to focus on growth.
A top-10 finalist last year, Rootd is a Victoria-based anxiety and panic attack relief app. Its freemium model offers core services for free as well as monthly, annual and group subscriptions. Rootd and its founder, Ania Wysocka, have seen some 800,000 users in more than 150 countries.
The Vancouver company is a data-driven collegiate sports platform that makes it easier for athletes and institutions alike to find each other. Streamline, which has about 25 employees, has been considered for national awards.
Vancouver’s Total Flow is developing a solution to help patients requiring a heart-lung machine. “Cannula” refers to a novel, specialized tubing that ensures blood flow to a patient’s leg during procedures.
Founded about a year and a half ago, TrafficDriven operates under the slogan “Everything is about to change.” That seems vague, but when it comes to buying, selling and trading cars, perhaps the Vancouver-based team is right. The company is building a dealer-fuelled marketplace that uses an AI-powered auction platform to move automobiles.
The Vancouver-based team behind Train Fitness has created what it calls the first wearable tracker capable of automatically detecting sets and reps during a workout. The app, which monitors the motion of smart watches to track movement, provides real-time coaching to help users improve.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
