BIV's Fastest-Growing Companies 2018

Faster, higher, farther

FINDit

Business in Vancouver’s annual inventory of the 100 fastest-growing companies in the province runs the gamut from resource companies to tech and biotech firms to financial services, and offers insight into which industries have gained the most ground over the past five years. | B1–B12

Sponsor

Long live life tech

Precision NanoSystems and others feature in top 100

List analysis

Growth slows at B.C.’s fastest-growing companies

B3 B7

Profile: Ryan Moreno

Hospitality entrepreneur no stranger to hard work

Now hiring

Restaurant group growing despite labour shortage

B9 B11

BIVLIst

Fastest-growing companies in B.C.

B2, B4, B6, B8, B10

B2

FAstest-GROWING COMPANIES

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

Fastest-growing companies in B.C. B.C.

Ranked Percentagegrowth growthin inrevenue revenuebetween between2013 2013 and and 2017 2017 RANKED BY | BY | Percentage Rank '18

Company

Top local executive(s)

11

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd 200 Granville St Suite 354, Vancouver V6C 1S4 P: 604-688-5755 F: 604-688-7168 turquoisehill.com Jostle Corp 1090 Georgia St W Suite 1200, Vancouver V6E 3V7 P: 604-566-9520 F: NP jostle.me Precision NanoSystems Inc 655 West Kent Ave N Suite 50, Vancouver V6P 6T7 P: 888-618-0031 F: NP precisionnanosystems.com CRH Medical Corp 999 Canada Pl Suite 578, Vancouver V6C 3E1 P: 800-660-2153 F: NP crhmedcorp.com Earnest Ice Cream 1485 Frances St, Vancouver V5L 1Z1 P: 604-428-1617 F: NP earnesticecream.com Thoughtexchange PO Box 2260, Rossland V0G 1Y0 P: 250-551-2492 F: NP thoughtexchange.com Canada Drives 555 Burrard St Suite 600, Vancouver V7X 1M8 P: 888-865-6402 F: NP canadadrives.ca Buyatab Online Inc 788 Beatty St Suite B1, Vancouver V6B 2M1 P: 888-267-0447 F: NP buyatab.com Eco Paving 145 Schoolhouse St Suite 201, Coquitlam V3K 4X8 P: 800-609-5408 F: NP ecopaving.ca American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP 925 Georgia St W Suite 800, Vancouver V6C 3L2 P: 604-670-6242 F: NP ahipreit.com MediaValet Inc 990 Homer St Suite 505, Vancouver V6B 2W7 P: 604-688-2321 F: 604-605-0051 mediavalet.com

12

Traction on Demand 2700 Production Way Suite 500, Burnaby V5A 0C2 P: 604-620-6040 F: NP tractionondemand.com

Greg Malpass, founder and CEO, Corinne Privately held Hua, CFO, Andrew Buckley, chief revenue officer

Merchant Advance Capital 1500 Georgia St W Suite 2000, Vancouver V6G 2Z6 P: 778-870-8418 F: 604-681-0916 merchantadvance.com Advisor Websites 1177 Hastings St W Suite 1812, Vancouver V6E 2K3 P: 866-638-0273 F: NP advisorwebsites.com City Office REIT Inc 1075 Georgia St W Suite 2010, Vancouver V6E 3C9 P: 604-806-3366 F: NP cityofficereit.com Unbounce 401 Georgia St W Suite 400, Vancouver V6B 5A1 P: 604-484-1354 F: NP unbounce.com Peregrine 3131 Production Way, Burnaby V5A 3H1 P: 800-956-4326 F: 604-251-3173 peregrine.build Wow! Unlimited Media Inc 2025 Broadway W Suite 200, Vancouver V6J 1Z6 P: 604-714-2600 F: 604-714-2641 wowunlimited.co Appnovation Technologies 190 Alexander St Suite 600, Vancouver V6A 2S5 P: 604-568-0313 F: 604-568-0314 appnovation.com Intrinsyc Technologies Corp 885 Dunsmuir St Suite 300, Vancouver V6C 1N5 P: 604-801-6461 F: 604-801-6417 intrinsyc.com

David Gens, founder and CEO, Dean Drysdale, chairman

Privately held

Loic Jeanjean, vice-president, growth, Alex Wingert, vice-president, product

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. USD converted to CAD using Bank of Canada's average yearly rate depending on company's fiscal year-end. Companies must have had $50,000 in sales in 2013 and $1 million in 2017 to qualify. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline. NP Not provided 1 - Converted from USD

Ownership

Year founded

Worldwide staff '17/'13

Revenue '17/'13 5-year rev growth

Jeffery Tygesen, CEO, Luke Colton, CFO, TSX, NYSE, Nasdaq:TRQ International mineral exploration, development and Brendan Lane, vice-president, operations mining and development Brad Palmer, CEO and co-founder Privately held Jostle’s People Engagement platform, a new type of employee intranet, engages employees, enables communication and drives workplace culture NP Privately held Products and expertise in nanoparticle therapeutic delivery for large pharma and academics

1994

2,674 3,360

2009

64 17

2010

40 5

Edward Wright, CEO

TSX:CRH

1995

NP NP

Benjamin Ernst, Erica Bernardi, coowners

Privately held

Developer of the first patented, single-use, disposable hemorrhoid banding technology; anesthesia management Ice cream

2012

120 3

Dave MacLeod, founder and CEO, Jim Firstbrook, founder and president

Privately held

Organizational development consulting business and developer of decision-making support software

2009

103 NP

Cody Green, founder and co-CEO, Mike Galpin, co-CEO

Privately held

2010

340 0

Matias Marquez, CEO

Privately held

2009

60 13

Bradley Lavigne, president

Privately held

Financial technology company enabling Canadians to access auto financing and other credit products through an online platform Supplier of e-gift card online infrastructure and marketing services for medium- and large-sized businesses Utilizes recycled rubber to pave driveways, patios and pool decks; commercial and residential projects

2010

45 15

Rob O'Neill, CEO, Ian McAuley, president, TSX:HOT.UN Azim Lalani, CFO

Owner of 114 premium select service hotels in the U.S.

2012

11 4

David MacLaren, founder and CEO

Enterprise software company focused on delivering 1993 cloud-based digital asset management software, with an in-depth knowledge of Azure and leveraging a strong gobal relationship with Microsoft Salesforce platform consulting, implementation and 2006 software development services, marketing automation, data management and software-as-aservice technology provider Provides Canada's small businesses with quicker and 2009 easier access to working capital

$1,220,398,3081 $53,060,4481 2,200% $6,362,000 $282,000 2,156% $6,755,494 $402,862 1,576.9% $130,174,3651 $7,912,3391 1,545.2% $4,441,186 $355,883 1,147.9% $4,513,964 $400,000 1,028.5% $72,456,481 $6,886,536 952.1% $76,132,006 $7,363,865 933.9% $3,572,275 $368,302 869.9% $394,397,8061 $49,488,7551 696.9% $2,187,738 $283,140 672.7%

248 41

$43,247,978 $5,940,000 628.1%

60 10

Privately held

Website and marketing software for the financial and insurance industries

2012

46 NP

Jamie Farrar, CEO, Gregory Tylee, president and COO

NYSE:CIO

2013

22 5

Rick Perreault, co-founder and CEO

Privately held

2009

167 37

Brian French, president, Ryan Wilcox, CFO, Travis Ogle, vice-president, operations, and general manager Michael Hefferon, president

Privately held

Real estate investment trust focused on owning highquality office properties in the southern and western U.S. Marketing and conversion platform that allows marketers to build, publish and test landing pages, pop-ups and sticky bars without a web developer Store fixture and millwork manufacturer

1976

50 10 307 161

Arnold Leung, CEO, Clarence Lee, CFO

Privately held

Tracy Rees, president and CEO, George Reznik, CFO and corporate secretary

TSX:ITC

CGI animation production for film, TV, home 1979 entertainment industry; motion capture and pre-vis capabilities Global digital solutions and managed services provider 2007 delivering strategy, application development and enterprise integration on leading open technologies Provides product realization services to customers 1992 building intelligent connected devices

$11,989,738 $1,725,617 594.8% $3,500,000 $507,281 590% $138,284,0181 $21,103,681 555.3% $23,356,651 $3,953,741 490.7% $8,434,292 $1,467,190 474.9% $44,659,851 $7,818,041 471.2% $41,576,475 $8,600,000 383.4% $26,854,6191 $6,074,2721 342.1%

TSX-V:VRW

TSX-V:WOW.A

Product/service

NP 20

250 51 78 41

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

We are a Local, National & International Courier Happy to be in the top 100 Fastest Growing companies in B.C. 604.899.5447 | www.phantomcouriers.com

FAstest-GROWING COMPANIES

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

B3

Life-tech companies post solid showing on BIV list technology | Strong

academic base, accelerators helping to boost sector growth in B.C. Throughout this whole period, we’ve had a very strong research base at our academic institutions, and now we are putting in place some building blocks to help develop entrepreneurs who will move more of this technology onto the commercial space. So this is an exciting time for the life-tech sector in B.C.

By Chuck Chiang cchiang@biv.com

I

t should come as no surprise that B.C.’s tech sector makes up a significant portion of Business in Vancouver’s FastestGrowing Companies in B.C. list.

What may catch some observers off guard, however, is the performance of one particular subsector.

That would be the local lifeor health-tech industry, which claimed a number of spots on the list of the province’s 100 fastestgrowing companies – including a spot in the top five.

Ranked third overall, Vancouver-based Precision NanoSystems Inc. develops products and expertise in nanoparticle therapeutic delivery for academia and major pharmaceutical firms. The company’s revenue grew an astounding 1,576.9% in the five years since 2013, topping out at $6.76 million.

Also in the rankings’ top 100 are companies like ABM Applied Biological Materials Inc. (No. 40 on the list with a five-year revenue increase of 173.8% to $7.18 million), Stemcell Technologies Inc. (No. 53 with a 129.8% revenue increase to $166.94 million) and BioLytical Laboratories Inc. (No. 58 with a 118.5% revenue increase to $11.8 million).

For life-tech and biotech industry observers, the sector’s strong performance, from larger players like Stemcell to smaller players like Precision, is a welcome sight – especially after the fade-out of once-major local firms like Quadrologic Technology (QLT) and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. in recent years.

“I think it’s positive and optimistic,” said Tony Brooks, CFO and vice-president of entrepreneurship and commercialization at the non-profit industry group Genome BC, who added that the diversity in strong companies shows the strength of the local life-tech ecosystem. “Throughout this whole period, we’ve had a very strong research base at

[] Tony Brooks CFO and vice-president, entrepreneurship and commercialization, Genome BC

Tony Brooks, CFO and vice-president, entrepreneurship and commercialization, Genome BC: the diversity in strong companies shows the strength of the local life-tech ecosystem | Chung Chow

our academic institutions, and now we are putting in place some building blocks to help develop entrepreneurs who will move more of this technology onto the commercial space. So this is an exciting time for the life-tech sector in B.C.” The Genome BC executive also mentioned that other major players continue to occupy the sector locally, including Telus Health and Richmond-based McKesson Medical Imaging – both of which employ workers in the hundreds, if not more.

Pa r t of t he rea son for t he success of the life-tech sector, Brooks said, can be traced to accessibility. He notes that as technology advances and more services give consumers more control over aspects of their health, these consumers are turning accessibility into demand.

“Genomics, for example, is one of those things that, 10 or 15 years ago, it was kind of a pipe dream to get your genome sequence,” Brooks said. “I think that this is part of the process of socializing

an individual’s biology. People have a much greater understanding of the fact that genetics have many impacts in their lives … and people are, if you’d like, taking a little more control over their own health and their lives, rather than just leaving it to health professionals. That’s where the opportunity comes.”

But he added that the challenge is to increase the number of entrepreneurs and investors who are familiar with life tech, which can be very different from other technology sectors in its research lead time and commercialization processes. That’s why the BC Tech Association partnered with Genome BC in 2016 to form the HyperGrowth: Life accelerator program, which encourages entrepreneurial interest in developing health tech with local researchers and academics.

In May, the accelerator celebrated the graduation of its second cohort, a group of five companies. Brooks said the hope is to produce an effect similar to that of the formerly Burnaby-based digital imaging stalwart Creo

– now a part of Eastman Kodak Co. – in that several employees of the company eventually started their own firms, creating a foundation for a big part of the local tech ecosystem.

“It’s like planting trees; you plant one tree, and it grows up and drops seeds, which start the growth of a bunch of smaller trees,” Brooks said of HyperGrowth’s goals. “So you have to foster players of all sizes; in this program, we are just taking the little companies and moving them forward, but the hope is that, in the future, companies that have been through this program will employ more people, and some of those entrepreneurs will say, when they are done with their first companies, that they want to start their next startups.”

HyperGrowth isn’t the only player in this field. National nonprofit Mitacs has stepped up efforts in going the academic route in encouraging entrepreneurship, helping researchers with internships and other programs to launch startups in medicalrelated fields. One company aided

by the process, Primary Peptides Inc., was able to gain a licensing agreement with a Chinese pharmaceutical conglomerate thanks to Mitacs.

Mitacs CEO Alejandro Adem echoed Brooks’ sentiment that B.C.’s strong academic base – anchored by top institutions like the University of British Columbia – and the number of highly trained research personnel being produced could be the main reason the life-tech sector here may be only beginning to scratch the surface of its potential.

“The power of a young person with an analytical mind – that’s the power in an innovationdriven environment,” Adem said.

“And this is easily scalable; if a company expands and needs 80 interns in five years’ time, we can support that growth every step of the way.… We have a lot of talent that has no outlet, and it is our opinion that every PhD graduate should have an internship as soon as they are ready. The key is that these students should be given a chance to see what kind of impact their abilities can make.” •

JUGGLING TOO MANY WORKPLACE LEGAL ISSUES? Law is our business. Let us help you with yours.

Mike Watt, Practice Group Leader Labour + Employment 604.484.1733 | mwatt@ahbl.ca

B4

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

fastest-GROWING COMPANIES

Fastest-growing companies in in B.C. B.C. Fastest-growing companies

RANKED BY | Percentage Ranked BY | Percentagegrowth growthin inrevenue revenuebetween between2013 2013 and and 2017 2017 Rank '18

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Company

Top local executive(s)

Ownership

Product/service

Year founded

Worldwide staff '17/'13

Revenue '17/'13 5-year rev growth

WiderFunnel Marketing Inc 333 Seymour St Suite 1480, Vancouver V6B 5A6 P: 604-800-6450 F: NP widerfunnel.com Globalme Localization Inc 1008 Homer St Suite 310, Vancouver V6B 2X1 P: 855-438-5106 F: NP globalme.net Live Well Exercise Clinic 5511 West Blvd Suite 303, Vancouver V6M 3W6 P: 604-541-2846 F: 604-424-4183 livewellclinic.ca

Chris Goward, founder and CEO

Privately held

2007

29 7

Emre Akkas, chief technologist, Hanna Golota, COO

Privately held

Conversion optimization and growth marketing services for high-traffic brands; user experience and user interface design, user testing and more Localization, testing and usability evaluation services for apps, websites, speech-recognition and wearable devices Provides safe, supervised medical fitness and healthylifestyle coaching for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, and for prevention Innovator in the research, creation and production of nano-optic structures and colour-shifting materials used in authentication and brand enhancement Branding and design, integrated communications and marketing for web and print

2009

24 4

2011

23 23

$4,900,248 $1,126,378 335% $3,900,000 $901,881 332.4% $1,659,932 $406,809 308%

1984

23 21

2001

15 6

2012

170 811

1999

40 6

Privately held

Digital products, services and growth agency that 2001 combines data, design thinking and lean development to produce digital experiences

45 13

Privately held

Supplies integrated sub-metering solutions for utillities 1994 in multi-tenant properties and hosts a web-based platform for billing and energy management Food manufacturing 2005

46 0

Nanotech Security Corp 3292 Production Way Suite 505, Burnaby V5A 4R4 P: 604-678-5775 F: 604-678-5780 nanosecurity.ca Kimbo Design Inc 409 Granville St Suite 1251, Vancouver V6C 1T2 P: 604-562-8242 F: 604-738-6468 kimbodesign.ca Pure Multi-Family REIT LP 925 Georgia St W Suite 910, Vancouver V6C 3L2 P: 604-681-5959 F: 604-681-5969 puremultifamily.com Csek Creative 1685 Pandosy St, Kelowna V1Y 1R1 P: 250-862-8010 F: 250-862-8069 csekcreative.com Powershifter 38 5th Ave E, Vancouver V5T 1G8 P: 604-484-0606 F: NP powershifter.com QMC Submetering Solutions 573 Sherling Pl Suite 1105, Port Coquitlam V3B 0J6 P: 604-526-5155 F: 604-526-7667 qmeters.com Everland Natural Foods Inc 7442 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby V5J 5B9 P: 604-638-9255 F: 604-630-8800 everland.ca SSR Mining Inc3 1055 Dunsmuir St Suite 800, Vancouver V7X 1G4 P: 604-689-3846 F: 604-689-3847 ssrmining.com Agreement Express 625 Howe St Suite 900, Vancouver V6C 2T6 P: 604-699-3045 F: 604-736-7110 agreementexpress.com Avigilon Corp5 555 Robson St, Vancouver V6B 1A6 P: 604-629-5182 F: 604-629-5183 avigilon.com

39

Imperial Ginseng Products Ltd 650 Georgia St W Suite 3030, Vancouver V6B 4N7 P: 604-689-8863 F: 604-428-8470 imperialginseng.com Venue Kings Ticket Brokers Inc 315 1st St W Suite 102, North Vancouver V7M 1B5 P: 604-283-2287 F: 604-973-0141 venuekings.com Briteweb 225 8th Ave W Suite 300, Vancouver V5Y 1N3 P: 604-620-6174 F: NP briteweb.com SouthGobi Resources Ltd 250 Howe St 20th floor, Vancouver V6C 3R8 P: 604-762-6783 F: NP southgobi.com Mogo Finance Technology 401 Georgia St W Suite 2100, Vancouver V6B 5A1 P: 800-980-6646 F: NP mogo.ca HDI 9440 202 St Suite 306, Langley V1M 4A6 P: 604-881-1982 F: 604-881-1995 hdidist.com

40

ABM Applied Biological Materials Inc 3671 Viking Way Unit 1, Richmond V6V 2J5 P: 604-247-2416 F: 604-247-2414 abmgood.com

34 35 36 37 38

Sara Hodson, founder and president, Privately held John DeHart, director of franchise sales, Tasha McRae, director of programs and training Doug Blakeway, chairman and CEO, Troy TSX-V:NTS Bullock, president and CFO Kim Pickett, principal and creative director

Privately held

Stephen Evans, director and CEO, Samantha Adams, senior vice-president, Scott Shillington, CFO Nikki Csek, CEO, Ryan Lahay, principal, Jim Csek, CFO and COO, Rob Cupello, vicepresident, business development JP Holecka, CEO and founder, Denise Holecka, partner and office manager, Ryan McCormick, partner and vicepresident, operations James Easton, CEO

TSX-V:RUFU

Rajinder Bagga, CEO, Kulwant Bagga, president

Privately held

Paul Benson, president and CEO

TSX, Nasdaq:SSRM

Operation, development, exploration and acquisition of 1946 precious-metal projects

NP 9714

Mike Gardner, CEO

Privately held

Digital onboarding and workflow automation software 2001 for financial services

85 26

Provides security solutions to the global market; designs, develops and manufactures video analytics, network video management software and hardware, surveillance cameras and access control solutions Grower of North American ginseng

2004

1,159 455

1989

NP NP 26 13

266 150

Privately held

Alexander Fernandes, founder, TSX:AVO president, CEO and chairman of the board

Offers investors exclusive exposure to attractive institutional-quality U.S. multi-family real estate assets A full-service agency combined with a local media platform

33 15

Stephen McCoach, co-chairman, secretary and CEO

TSX-V:IGP

Robyn Wilson, COO, Anthony Beyrouti, president, CEO and founder

Privately held

Steve Rio, CEO and founder

Privately held

Shougao Wang, CEO

TSX:SGQ

One of the largest online ticket broker agencies in the 2009 U.S. and Canada, specializing in inventory to events across North America Strategy, branding and digital services; founded in B.C., 2011 with offices in Vancouver and New York and team members in 25 cities internationally Coal production and development company 2002

David Feller, founder and CEO, Gregory Feller, president and CFO

TSX, Nasdaq:MOGO

Financial products

Rob Brown, president and CEO, Lance Blanco, senior vice-president, corporate development, Faiz Karmally, vicepresident and CFO Peter Li, CEO, Lisa Young, CFO, Vivian Gao, vice-president, corporate development

TSX:HDI

Leading distributor of architectural building products in 2004 North America

1,050 270

Privately held

Biotechnology, life science research reagent and 2004 services, next-generation sequencing, CRISPR, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR, growth factors, cell lines

132 63

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. USD converted to CAD using Bank of Canada's average yearly rate depending on company's fiscal year-end. Companies must have had $50,000 in sales in 2013 and $1 million in 2017 to qualify. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline. NP Not provided 1 - As of April 16, 2014 2 - Converted from USD 3 - Previously Silver Standard Resources Inc; name changed August 1, 2017 4 - Includes contractors 5 - Sold to Motorola for $1 billion February 1, 2018

2003

60 5 NP 441

$7,343,791 $1,810,059 305.7% $3,428,825 $905,030 278.9% $120,898,3612 $32,396,3792 273.2% $2,770,000 $747,724 270.5% $4,020,087 $1,116,100 260.2% $12,400,000 $3,700,000 235.1% $6,500,000 $2,000,000 225% $582,776,6182 $179,909,1112 223.9% $10,300,000 $3,363,579 206.2% $530,645,6192 $178,344,000 197.5% $11,989,637 $4,125,496 190.6% $69,377,912 $23,885,870 190.5% $2,652,002 $923,176 187.3% $157,095,5382 $55,239,7162 184.4% $48,681,000 $17,383,000 180% $1,037,041,000 $371,215,000 179.4% $7,182,000 $2,623,079 173.8%

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

ADVER TISING FE ATURE

Focus on success Movin’ with style: Realty office design captuRes vibe of olyMpic village

With Fusion Projects, the company achieved the open, energetic concept it envisioned

F

or Amar Pal and his Vancouver Condo Team, the choice to open an office in the Olympic Village was a natural.

The creative, energetic ’hood is at the hub of their considerable geographic reach – around Greater Vancouver and beyond.

But it wasn’t enough for the team, part of Oakwyn Realty, just to locate in the village. They wanted to be part of the community’s vibe and flow. So, rather than set up shop in the traditional real estate manner – formal, cubicle-heavy, slightly oppressive – they envisioned drawing the surrounding energy right into their brand-new, 2,257-square-foot premises at 179 West 2nd Avenue.

How to accomplish something so cool, so innovative? Another natural choice: the team turned to the Vancouver-based, commercial design-build company Fusion Projects.

Fusion’s Brad McArthur, business development manager and project principal, and Jason Kidd, project co-ordinator, “were receptive right away,” Pal explains. “They were great, always guiding us, but not driving the bus. They listened and took what we told them and built out from there.”

True to the client’s vision, Fusion’s design escapes stuffy convention. In fact, the new office is literally a breath of fresh air. Much

in tune with the murals of surrounding Olympic Village, Fusion Projects included colourful wall art by Taka Sudo in the Vancouver Condo Team office.

of it is open-concept, including polished concrete floors, exposed concrete ceilings and sleek black trim that accentuates the light, bright space. Says Pal, “With this design, clients can sit down and talk with us in a less formalized, less pressurized environment.”

Fusion also flowed inside the exuberance of the village’s famed outdoor art. Visitors will be dazzled by artist Taka Sudo’s mural depicting our vibrant city. As well, a gigantic, colourful map shows

This is a new flair in a corporate office, a cool, pop-out-of-the-box design that you don’t traditionally see Brad McArthur Business Development Manager

clients where all the sales opportunities are and how they fit in with SkyTrain and other amenities.

And to guarantee wise buying, a life-sized Yoda stands on site.

For McArthur, whom Pal describes as “an exceptional project leader, always on top of things,” the totally on-time and streamlined project was a dream to have worked on. “This is a new flair in a corporate office, a cool, pop-outof-the-box design that you don’t traditionally see.” •

B5

B6

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

fastest-GROWING COMPANIES

Fastest-growing companies in B.C. B.C.

Ranked Percentagegrowth growthin inrevenue revenuebetween between2013 2013 and and 2017 2017 RANKED BY | BY | Percentage Rank '18

Company

Top local executive(s)

Ownership

Product/service

Year founded

Worldwide staff '17/'13

Revenue '17/'13 5-year rev growth

Ryan Moreno, CEO and principal, André Bourque, principal

Privately held

Specializes in public houses, casual-upscale restaurants and liquor stores; expanding to include other ventures Silver producer

2009

800 300

1969

NP 400

Cloud archiving and information governance solutions for the global financial sector and other highly regulated industries Optical sensor technology manufacturer for wafer fabrication equipment in semiconductor and other solid-state industries Produces a portfolio of products focused on energyoptimized LED and solar technologies

1999

400 NP

1988

100 40

1996

153 57

55

Joseph Richard Group 8410 160 St, Surrey V3S 3T8 P: 778-999-7427 F: NP jrg.ca Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd 570 Granville St Suite 900, Vancouver V6C 3P1 P: 604-682-3701 F: 604-682-3600 avino.com Global Relay 220 Cambie St 2nd floor, Vancouver V6B 2M9 P: 604-484-6630 F: 604-608-2941 globalrelay.com Photon Control Inc 13500 Verdun Pl Suite 130, Richmond V6V 1V2 P: 604-900-3150 F: NP photon-control.com Carmanah Technologies Corp 250 Bay St, Victoria V9A 3K5 P: 250-380-0052 F: 250-380-0062 carmanah.com Ballard Power Systems Inc 9000 Glenlyon Pky, Burnaby V5J 5J8 P: 604-454-0900 F: 604-412-4700 ballard.com OpenRoad Auto Group Ltd 13251 Smallwood Pl, Richmond V6V 1W8 P: 604-273-3233 F: 604-232-5323 openroadautogroup.com Paladin Security 3001 Wayburne Dr Suite 201, Burnaby V5G 4W3 P: 604-677-8700 F: 604-677-8701 paladinsecurity.com iQmetrix 250 Howe St Suite 1210, Vancouver V6C 3R8 P: 866-476-3874 F: 604-568-0462 iqmetrix.com Imperial Metals Corp 580 Hornby St Suite 200, Vancouver V6C 3B6 P: 604-669-8959 F: NP imperialmetals.com Phantom Couriers 325 Howe St Suite B201, Vancouver V6C 1Z7 P: 604-899-5447 F: 604-899-7904 phantomcouriers.com Nevsun Resources Ltd 669 Howe St Suite 760, Vancouver V6C 0B4 P: 604-623-4700 F: 604-623-4701 nevsun.com Stemcell Technologies Inc 1618 Station St, Vancouver V6A 1B6 P: 604-877-0713 F: 800-567-2899 stemcell.com LMI Technologies 9200 Glenlyon Pky, Burnaby V5J 5J8 P: 604-636-1011 F: 604-516-8368 lmi3d.com The Answer Co 233 Nelson's Cres Suite 502, New Westminster V3L 0E4 P: 604-473-9166 F: 604-473-9115 theanswerco.com

$47,154,639 $17,369,015 171.5% $43,319,5311 $16,094,701 169.2% $83,000,000 $31,600,000 162.7% $43,813,000 $17,256,641 153.9% $67,447,9851 $26,676,4701 152.8% $157,504,5971 $63,082,4051 149.7% $1,104,288,636 $444,996,322 148.2% $405,000,000 $165,000,000 145.5% $207,934,557 $85,000,000 144.6% $453,113,000 $187,805,000 141.3% $1,295,000 $544,000 138.1% $375,810,9441 $160,353,3701 134.4% $166,937,000 $72,634,000 129.8% $70,124,4001 $30,897,0001 127% $10,277,820 $4,590,000 123.9%

Kavinder Dhillon, certification manager

56

LabTest Certification Inc 8291 92 St Suite 205, Delta V4G 0A4 P: 604-247-0444 F: 604-247-0442 labtestcert.com Tantalus Systems Corp 3555 Gilmore Way Suite 200, Burnaby V5G 0B3 P: 604-299-0458 F: 604-451-4111 tantalus.com BioLytical Laboratories Inc 13351 Commerce Pky Suite 1108, Richmond V6V 2X7 P: 604-204-6784 F: 604-244-8399 biolytical.com Equicare Health 2020 Yukon St Suite 201, Vancouver V5Y 3N8 P: 604-708-9075 F: 604-687-6942 equicarehealth.com General Credit Services Inc 1201 Pender St W Suite 400, Vancouver V6E 2V2 P: 604-688-6097 F: 604-688-6017 generalcreditservices.com

Peter Londa, president and CEO, Dermot Privately held O'Leary, COO

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

57 58 59 60

David Wolfin, president, CEO and director TSX:ASM Shannon Rogers, president and general counsel, Warren Roy, CEO and founder

Privately held

Scott Edmonds, president and CEO

TSX:PHO

John Simmons, CEO, Evan Brown, CFO and corporate secretary

TSX:CMH

Randall MacEwen, president and CEO

TSX, Nasdaq:BLD

Development, manufacture, sale and servicing of clean-energy hydrogen fuel cells

1979

410 302

Christian Chia, CEO

Privately held

Retail auto dealer with 19 brands and 22 locations in the Lower Mainland and Washington

1978

1,300 554

Ashley Cooper, CEO, Ted Reid, president and CFO, Fraser Cooper, CTO

Privately held

1976

10,607 6,250

Christopher Krywulak, president and CEO Privately held

Security officers, mobile patrols, home alarms, K-9 patrol, access control, closed-circuit television, perimeter protection, remote video monitoring Retail management and interactive retail solutions

1999

414 230

Brian Kynoch, president, Andre Deepwell, CFO and corporate secretary

TSX:III

Base- and precious-metal exploration, development and operation

2001

NP 1,000

Mark Huggan, CEO

Privately held

Next-day air service and same-day deliveries for the Lower Mainland

1996

25 10

Peter Kukielski, president and CEO

TSX:NSU

Precious- and base-metals mining

1965

NP 1,140

Allen Eaves, president and CEO

Privately held

1,030 485

Terry Arden, CEO

Privately held

Cell separation, culture media, instruments, antibodies, 1993 cytokines, small molecules, education and contract assay services Precision 3D scanning and inspection solutions 1978 Business management, inventory management and business intelligence software solutions, as well as managed services such as consulting, network management and future planning Provides a quick and cost-efficient route for product approvals for both domestic and international markets, including electromagnetic compatibility/safety/gas testing Two-way, real-time data communications network that supports smart-grid applications for electric, water and gas utilities INSTI, the world's fastest human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test, provides accurate results in less than 60 seconds and is sold in 59 countries globally Provider of comprehensive oncology care co-ordination software that improves clinical outcomes for patients and enables care providers to operate more efficiently Provides complete accounts receivable management solutions and business processing outsourcing services

1994

70 23

2003

30 12

$3,398,547 $1,545,359 119.9%

1989

114 87

2002

55 24

2006

30 21

2002

147 52

$42,442,159 $19,368,036 119.1% $11,800,000 $5,400,000 118.5% $4,549,6651 $2,110,2491 115.6% $8,489,111 $3,974,078 113.6%

Shawn Ostheimer, president and founder NP

Privately held

Robert Mackie, president and chairman, Livleen Veslemes, COO and CFO

Privately held

Len Grenier, CEO

Privately held

Peter Sorrentino, president and CEO, Heidi Roszmann, chief administrative officer

Privately held

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. USD converted to CAD using Bank of Canada's average yearly rate depending on company's fiscal year-end. Companies must have had $50,000 in sales in 2013 and $1 million in 2017 to qualify. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline. NP Not provided 1 - Converted from USD

242 95

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

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Fastest-GROWING COMPANIES

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

B7

international rankings | Vancouver no longer North America’s most livable city: The Economist 6th

Rank of Vancouver on The Economist’s most recent list of the world’s most livable cities,

which bases its assessment on stability, health care, culture and environment, education

and infrastructure

1st

Rank of Vienna, Austria, on The Economist’s list

2nd

Rank of Melbourne, Australia

3rd

Rank of Osaka, Japan

4th

Rank of Calgary, Alberta

5th

Rank of Sydney, Australia Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

Companies growing slower after 2017 peak avansantvoort@biv.com

T

he growth of British Columbia’s fastest-growing companies has stalled, according to data compiled for Business in Vancouver’s list of the 100 fastest-growing companies in B.C. (pages B2, B4, B6, B8 and B10), ranked by five-year revenue growth. The average growth for these companies has fallen 37%, or 169.2 percentage points, to 288% from a 2017 high of 457.2%.

Although growth has slowed, in 2018 the province’s fastestgrowing companies grew 4%, or 11 percentage points, more than the fastest-growing companies five years ago in 2014.

The median growth rate for the top 100 companies, at only 2.1%, did not fall nearly as significantly as the average growth rate. This indicates that the decline was mostly attributable to the companies at the top of the list, which did not achieve the same extreme levels of growth experienced on average in 2017.

Last year, Jostle Corp., an employee communication technology company, claimed the No. 1 spot for its five-year growth rate. The company grew its revenue 5,852.7% to $4.4 million in 2016 from just $74,000 in 2012.

This year, the mining company

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Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TSX:TRQ) claimed the No. 1 spot; however, its five-year growth rate was less than half that of Jostle the year before. Turquoise Hill grew 2,200% to $1.22 billion in revenue in 2017 from $53.06 million in 2013.

A large public mining company like Turquoise Hill replacing the smaller tech startup Jostle as the fastest-growing company is illustrative of a significant trend on the Fastest-Growing Companies in B.C. list. Larger, more established companies are occupying more positions on the list than they did last year. In 2017, 18 companies that had less than $1 million in revenue five years earlier made the list. In 2018, that number fell 27.8% to just 13 companies. However, more companies that earned less than $1 million in total revenue five years ago made the top 10 in 2018 than in 2017.

In 2018, Jostle Corp. took the No. 2 spot on BIV’s list, growing at less than half the rate it did over the previous five years, or by 2,156%, to $6.36 million in revenue in 2017 from $282,000 in 2013.

Next to Jostle, Earnest Ice Cream had the lowest revenue five years ago, generating $356,000 in 2013.

Earnest Ice Cream earned its No. 5 place on this year’s list by growing its revenue to $4.44 million over the five-year period. •

Revenue growth for B.C.’s five fastest-growing companies

Turquoise Hill Resources takes the No. 1 spot, previously occupied by Jostle Corp. $7

$4

6

3

5

2.5

4

2

3

1.5

2

1

1

0.5

2013

2014

2015

2016

Revenue (billions)

By Albert Van Santvoort

companies grew an average of 287% compared with 457% in 2017

Revenue (millions)

analysis | Fastest-growing

2017

Right axis

Left axis Precision NanoSystems Inc.

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. CRH Medical Corp.

Jostle Corp.

Earnest Ice Cream

Source: BIV list

Change in revenue growth since 2013 for B.C.’s fastest-growing companies

Comparison of percentage change in revenue growth reflects short-term drop amid long-term rise 30%

20% 10% 0% -10% -20% -30% -40%

Total

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fastest-GROWING COMPANIES

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

Fastest-growing companies companiesin inB.C. B.C.

Ranked Percentagegrowth growthin inrevenue revenuebetween between 2013 2013 and and 2017 2017 RANKED BY | BY | Percentage Rank '18

61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

Company

Top local executive(s)

Ownership

Product/service

Kasa Supply Ltd 13237 King George Hwy, Surrey V3T 2T3 P: 604-581-5815 F: 604-637-2999 kasamechanical.com Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (PIRET) 925 Georgia St W Suite 910, Vancouver V6C 3L2 P: 604-398-2836 F: 604-681-5969 piret.ca Lululemon Athletica Inc 1818 Cornwall Ave Suite 400, Vancouver V6J 1C7 P: 604-732-6124 F: 604-874-6124 lululemon.com Capstone Mining Corp 510 Georgia St W Suite 2100, Vancouver V6B 0M3 P: 604-684-8894 F: 604-688-2180 capstonemining.com Premium Brands Holdings Corp 10991 Shellbridge Way Suite 100, Richmond V6X 3C6 P: 604-656-3100 F: 604-656-3170 premiumbrandsholdings.com Motion Metrics International Corp 2389 Health Sciences Mall Suite 101, Vancouver V6T 1Z3 P: 604-822-5842 F: 604-677-5191 motionmetrics.com Lasso Data Systems Inc 13351 Commere Pky Suite 1373, Richmond V6V 3A1 P: 604-214-8555 F: 604-214-8556 lassocrm.com Sierra Wireless Inc 13811 Wireless Way, Richmond V6V 3A4 P: 604-231-1100 F: 604-231-1109 sierrawireless.com Valley Carriers Ltd PO Box 8000-544, Abbotsford V2S 6H1 P: 604-853-1075 F: 604-853-1091 valleycarriers.com Genesis Security Group 550 Broadway W Suite 321, Vancouver V5Z 0E9 P: 604-669-0822 F: 604-669-0832 genesissecurity.com

Sarbjeet Sahota, president and CEO

Privately held

Distributor of plumbing, drainage, waterworks, 2007 electrical and landscape products for residential, commercial and industrial projects Acquires, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of 2007 income-producing industrial properties across Canada and the U.S. Designer and retailer of technical athletic apparel 1998

NP 33

Darren Pylot, president and CEO, D. TSX:CS James Slattery, senior vice-president and CFO George Paleologou, president and CEO, TSX:PBH Will Kalutycz, CFO

Metals and mining

2003

NP 1,307

Specialty food manufacturing and differentiated food distribution

2009

5,2141 3,507

Shahram Tafazoli, president and CEO

Privately held

Using artificial intelligence to improve mining equipment productivity and safety

1999

9 1

Dave Clements, CEO, Jerry Bauer, president

Privately held

32 21

Jason Cohenour, president and CEO

TSX:SW

Customer relationship management (CRM) software 2005 for homebuilders, real estate developers and sales and marketing companies Hardware, software and services for connected devices 1993

Travis Klassen, COO, Ben Klassen, CEO

Privately held

Transportation and supply of wood residuals

1963

82 36

Camil Dubuc, CEO

Privately held

1997

650 600

Rick Van Poele, president, CEO and partner

Privately held

Full security services; guard services; event, site and mobile patrol security; alarm security systems for commercial and residential; 24-7 free community patrol; training academy Manufacturer of digital point-of-purchase displays, folding carton and custom corrugated solutions

2002

106 50

Nikos Kallas, president

Privately held

High-end commercial printing and packaging, web-to- 1977 print, new media and augmented reality experiences

20 3

Troy Griffiths, president and CEO

TSX-V:VGL

Health-care technology

1998

NP 30

Ken Shields, board chair, CEO and president, Yuri Lewis, CFO

TSX:CFF

Dimension lumber, wood chips and other residuals

2007

612 565

Roland Haebler, president

Privately held

Commercial, residential and institutional construction

1959

33 29

Ken Armstrong, president and CEO, Brandon Armstrong, vice-president, strategic planning, Jason Armstrong, vice-president, corporate development Duncan Davies, president and CEO

Privately held

Comprehensive insurance services

1976

428 345

TSX:IFP

Lee Van Iderstine, Robin Hiet-Block, owners

Privately held

30 22

Toby Chu, chairman, president and CEO, Dennis Huang, executive vice-president and CFO Bing Liu, CEO and executive director

TSX:MBA

Manufacturer of commodity structural lumber, 1963 machine stress-rated products, industrial lumber and timbers and appearance lumber Eliminates the burden of IT for organizations with 15 to 1996 500 employees through proactive leadership and unlimited IT support Education management and student services 1994

TSX:CGG

Gold and copper mining

NP 1,600

Ideon Packaging 11251 Dyke Rd, Richmond V7A 0A1 P: 604-524-0524 F: NP ideonpackaging.com Metropolitan (MET) Fine Printers 1435 Pender St E, Vancouver V5L 1V7 P: 604-254-4201 F: 604-254-5175 metprinters.com Vigil Health Solutions Inc 4464 Markham St Suite 2102, Victoria V8Z 7X8 P: 250-383-6900 F: 250-383-6999 vigil.com Conifex Timber Inc 700 Georgia St W Suite 980, Vancouver V7Y 1B6 P: 604-216-2949 F: NP conifex.com Haebler Group 46 3rd Ave E, Vancouver V5T 1C3 P: 604-874-0777 F: 604-874-0841 haeblerconstruction.com Sussex Insurance Agency3 136 3rd St W Upper Level, North Vancouver V7M 1E8 P: 604-983-6955 F: 604-983-6933 sussexinsurance.com Interfor Corp 1055 Dunsmuir St Suite 3500, Vancouver V7X 1H7 P: 604-689-6800 F: 604-689-6825 interfor.com Happier IT 15670 Columbia Ave, White Rock V4B 1L1 P: 604-542-0616 F: 604-542-6438 happierit.com CIBT Education Group Inc 777 Broadway W Suite 1200, Vancouver V5Z 4J7 P: 604-871-9909 F: 604-871-9919 cibt.net China Gold International Resources Corp Ltd 505 Burrard St Suite 660, Vancouver V7X 1M4 P: 604-609-0598 F: 604-688-0598 chinagoldintl.com

Kevan Gorrie, president and CEO, Teresa TSX:AAR.UN Neto, CFO Calvin McDonald, CEO

Nasdaq:LULU

Year founded

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. USD converted to CAD using Bank of Canada's average yearly rate depending on company's fiscal year-end. Companies must have had $50,000 in sales in 2013 and $1 million in 2017 to qualify. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline. NP Not provided 1 - 2016 figure 2 - Converted from USD 3 - Sussex Franchise Systems Inc

20th Annual

Influential Women In Business Awards

2000

Worldwide staff '17/'13

Revenue '17/'13 5-year rev growth

32 32

$16,549,331 $7,930,956 108.7% $225,485,000 $108,762,000 107.3% $3,421,682,1802 $1,652,607,8572 107% $703,761,9852 $341,978,2952 105.8% $2,198,300,000 $1,072,737,000 104.9% $13,248,283 $6,619,000 100.2% $5,528,368 $2,762,474 100.1% $898,731,1922 $455,071,6142 97.5% $17,882,311 $9,137,228 95.7% $11,200,000 $5,800,000 93.1%

10,3211 7,622

1,162 904

2,252 1,996

575 525

$35,300,000 $18,602,000 89.8% $28,000,000 $15,000,000 86.7% $6,773,289 $3,737,550 81.2% $469,728,600 $259,599,100 80.9% $53,452,471 $29,558,000 80.8% $616,305,551 $341,217,851 80.6% $1,990,106,000 $1,105,222,000 80.1% $3,676,545 $2,070,019 77.6% $53,622,229 $31,155,619 72.1% $534,868,6672 $311,655,9792 71.6%

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

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Fastest-GROWING COMPANIES

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

B9

Ryan Moreno | CEO, Joseph Richard Group

Chung Chow

Drive, work opens doors for hospitality entrepreneur

By Patrick Blennerhassett news@biv.com

W

hen he was in Grade 5 growing up in Surrey, Ryan Moreno had his heart set on one thing: a Diamondback BMX. “It was just a badass bike – and it was at the time when every kid wanted a BMX bike,” said Moreno, the CEO and co-founder of Joseph Richard Group, which ranks 41st on Business in Vancouver’s list of B.C.’s fastest-growing companies. The company includes 13 public houses, four restaurants, three liquor stores, a hotel and Sudo Asian Kitchen, which is set to open this year.

However, even though Moreno, born in 1977, already had a paper route, he couldn’t afford the bike. His parents also had a

number of paper routes, getting up early to deliver copies of the Province around the neighbourhood.

“I remember thinking that must suck, getting up so early, even when they had other jobs,” he said.

Then Christmas came, and under the tree was a present for Moreno – a Diamondback BMX. It wasn’t until later that Moreno clued in that his parents had taken on the paper routes to pay for the bike as a present to him.

“The whole reason they got the job was to pay for the bike,” he said. “I remember as a kid, I was so happy to have the bike, but I felt so guilty. I felt so bad all those times seeing my parents leave when it was snowing and raining, and here I was comfy in bed in the morning, and they went and did that.”

The memory stuck with Moreno and lit

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Moreno not only did his job but also paid attention to how a restaurant was run. He noted inefficiencies and pinpointed ways the establishment could improve customer service.

“I had a lot of ideas that I saw, things that I would do differently – certain things, whether it was people, culture, service points. So I kind of liked it.”

When he graduated from high school, Moreno was already working full time in the hospitality industry, at Earls as a bartender. At 19 he took a bartending course to upgrade his skills. Also in the class was his childhood friend – and eventual Joseph Richard Group co-founder – André Bourque.

“We were talking about the course for a continued on page B11

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a fire within him, sparking a drive to work hard like his parents, who supported five kids and sent them to private school while living in one townhouse.

“After that I got a bigger paper route, to try and work and make my own money,” he said. “I never wanted them to pay for the stuff that I wanted. They sacrificed a lot of stuff they could have had.… People always ask me if I have any mentors, and probably like a lot of people, my mom and dad were my mentors.”

Before long, Moreno had three full paper routes and was delivering papers more efficiently than his predecessors. “I was actually able to do three in the time that people were able to do one route.”

He then got a job busing tables at age 14 at the Red Robin in Langley. It was here that

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inSide tough pipeline decision made but controversy and west coast opposition is far from finished energy | pageS 6–7 risk of oil tanker spill off B.c.’s coast deemed to be minimal environment | page 8 a north with no northern gateway: prince george’s optimistic outlook; more investment in montney gas fields, but oil and gas rebound has yet to reach B.c. economy | pageS 19–21

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fastest-GROWING COMPANIES

BUSINESSVANCOUVER August 21–27, 2018

Fastest-growing companies in in B.C. B.C. Fastest-growing companies Percentage growth in revenue between 2013 and 2017 RANKED BY | Ranked BY | Percentage Rank '18

81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

growth in revenue between 2013 and 2017

Company

Top local executive(s)

Ownership

Sentis Market Research 543 Granville St 6th floor, Vancouver V6C 1X8 P: 604-558-1314 F: 604-558-1315 sentisresearch.com

Adam DiPaula, Julie Winram, managing Privately held partners

RSI International Systems Inc 200-375 Water St Unit 8152, Vancouver V6B 0M9 P: 604-984-6001 F: 604-984-6006 roomkeypms.com Summit Brooke Construction Corp 31324 Peardonville Rd Suite 104, Abbotsford V2T 6K8 P: 604-850-1111 F: 604-850-1276 summitbrooke.com Advance Lumber & Pallet Ltd 12184 Old Yale Rd, Surrey V3V 3X5 P: 604-580-4918 F: 604-580-4998 theadvancegroup.net Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc 9500 Glenlyon Pky, Burnaby V5J 0C6 P: 778-331-5500 F: 778-331-4628 rbauction.com Bevo Agro/Bevo Farms 7170 Glover Road, PO Box 73, Stn Milner, Langley V2Y 0W9 P: 604-308-7347 F: 604-888-8048 bevofarms.com The Lazy Gourmet 1605 5th Ave W, Vancouver V6J 1N5 P: 604-734-2507 F: NP lazygourmet.ca AnalysisWorks 1234 6th Ave W, Vancouver V6H 1A5 P: 604-739-7363 F: 604-739-7364 analysisworks.com CanWel Building Materials Group Ltd 1055 Georgia St W Suite 1100, PO Box 11135, Stn Royal Centre, Vancouver V6E 3P3 P: 604-432-1400 F: 604-436-6670 canwel.com Microserve 4295 Dawson St, Burnaby V5C 4B3 P: 604-473-9883 F: 604-473-9887 microserve.ca Ten Peaks Coffee Co Inc 3131 Lake City Way, Burnaby V5A 3A3 P: 604-420-4050 F: 604-420-8711 tenpeakscoffee.ca Lions Gate Entertainment Corp 250 Howe St 20th floor, Vancouver V6C 3R8 P: 877-848-3866 F: NP lionsgate.com Lucara Diamond Corp 885 Georgia St W Suite 2000, Vancouver V6C 3E8 P: 604-689-7842 F: 604-689-4250 lucaradiamond.com Great Panther Silver Ltd 200 Granville St Suite 1330, Vancouver V6C 1S4 P: 604-608-1766 F: NP greatpanther.com Tree Island Steel Ltd 3933 Boundary Rd, Richmond V6V 1T8 P: 604-524-3744 F: 604-524-2362 treeisland.com Great Canadian Gaming Corp 95 Schooner St, Coquitlam V3K 7A8 P: 604-303-1000 F: 604-279-8605 gcgaming.com Wheaton Precious Metals Corp 1021 Hastings St W Suite 3500, Vancouver V6E 0C3 P: 604-684-9648 F: 604-684-3123 wheatonpm.com Metro-Can Construction 10470 152 St Suite 520, Surrey V3R 0Y3 P: 604-583-1174 F: 604-583-3321 metrocan.com B2Gold Corp 595 Burrard St Suite 3100, PO Box 49143, Vancouver V7X 1J1 P: 604-681-8371 F: 604-681-6209 b2gold.com West Fraser Timber Co Ltd 858 Beatty St Suite 501, Vancouver V6B 1C1 P: 604-895-2700 F: 604-681-6061 westfraser.com

Tim Major, president and CEO

TSX-V:RSY

Jon Brandt, president

Privately held

Rajinder Brar, president, Jaspinder Brar, Privately held vice-president Ravi Saligram, CEO

TSX, NYSE:RBA

Jack Benne, CEO, John Hoekstra, CFO, TSX-V:BVO Leo Benne, president and general manager Susan Mendelson, president, Shannon Privately held Boudreau, director of sales and events, Kevin Mazzone, general manager/partner Jason Goto, president and CEO Privately held

Product/service

Year founded

Worldwide staff '17/'13

Revenue '17/'13 5-year rev growth

Research and consulting services for customer retention and acquisition; employee engagement and motivation; custom-built interactive reporting websites provide access to data in real time RoomKeyPMS is a user-friendly, cloud-based property and guest management system that provides robust management reporting and guest insight General contracting, construction management

2011

45 25

$3,063,828 $1,802,220 70%

1978

NP 24

1998

65 50

Lumber and lumber products related to the pallet 1995 industry; new and used pallets and wooden shipping materials; pallet repairs and refurbishing Industrial auctioneers; services and information to help 1958 people buy and sell used heavy equipment

NP NP

Supplier of propagated plants

1986

75 65

Caterers

1979

NP NP

Helps organizations use advanced analytics combined 2000 with human factors to make breakthrough improvements in efficiency Distribution of lumber, building supplies and 1989 associated products

18 11 NP 548

$4,909,702 $2,944,964 66.7% $40,000,000 $24,000,000 66.7% $15,065,920 $9,094,584 65.7% $792,817,3761 $481,378,3501 64.7% $33,351,285 $20,587,204 62% $8,200,000 $5,100,000 60.8% $2,567,000 $1,634,500 57.1% $1,135,950,000 $725,836,000 56.5%

NP 1,385

Amar Doman, chairman and CEO, Marc Séguin, president

TSX:CWX

Spud Matthews, president

Privately held

Information technology solutions and services specializing in cloud, managed IT and IT staffing

1987

218 213

Frank Dennis, president and CEO

TSX:TPK

Chemical-free green coffee decaffeination

2000

NP 45

Jon Feltheimer, CEO, Michael Burns, vice-chair

NYSE:LGF

Movie and television production and distribution

1997

NP 6362

Lukas Lundin, chairman and director, Eira TSX:LUC Thomas, CEO and director

Diamond mining and development

2004

NP 5453

James Bannantine, president and CEO

TSX:GPR

Primary silver mining and exploration company

1965

407 350

Amar Doman, chair, Dale MacLean, president and CEO

TSX:TSL

Manufacturer of steel wire and wire-related products

1964

548 411

Rod Baker, president and CEO

TSX:GC

Multi-jurisdictional gaming, entertainment and hospitality operator

1982

5,5004 4,600

Randy Smallwood, president and CEO

TSX, NYSE:WPM

World's largest pure streaming company

2004

35 28

Carlos Rios, president

Privately held

General contractor, residential highrise, mid/low-rise, commercial, value engineering

1985

100 1005

Clive Johnson, president, CEO and director TSX:BTO

Gold mining

2006

NP 4,5873

Ted Seraphim, CEO

Diversified wood products company producing lumber, 1955 laminated veneer lumber, medium-density fibreboard, plywood, pulp, newsprint, wood chips and energy with facilities in Western Canada and the southern U.S.

7,800 7,304

TSX:WFT

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. USD converted to CAD using Bank of Canada's average yearly rate depending on company's fiscal year-end. Companies must have had $50,000 in sales in 2013 and $1 million in 2017 to qualify. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline. NP Not provided 1 - Converted from USD 2 - As of May 24, 2013 3 - Includes contractors 4 - 2016 figure 5 - Between 50 and 100

$91,728,747 $58,804,000 56% $83,755,000 $53,873,000 55.5% $4,202,288,9001 $2,711,661,5831 55% $286,682,8321 $185,904,1591 54.2% $82,780,5561 $53,954,000 53.4% $234,705,000 $153,440,000 53% $614,300,000 $407,300,000 50.8% $1,094,998,9991 $727,595,5131 50.5% $150,000,000 $100,000,000 50% $829,385,9521 $560,545,7331 48% $5,134,000,000 $3,474,103,000 47.8%

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

Next week’s list – Biggest shopping centres in B.C.

Sept. 26, 2018 Shangri-La Hotel | 3:30-6:00pm For more information visit https://biv.com/cannabis-investors-forum

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FAstest-GROWING COMPANIES Joseph Richard Group continues growth spurt despite labour shortage Although filling positions remains a significant issue, the service sector continues to show strong numbers, and one group in particular has shown consistent growth in the Vancouver market.

If you live in the Metro Vancouver area, it is likely you have been to one of Joseph Richard Group’s (JRG) venues.

Established in 2010, JRG has become one of the most formidable competitors in the restaurant and pub space in the province. In fact, it is the top restaurant and pub operator in the region, and it is continuing expansion at a steady rate.

“It has been exciting to say the least.… It has been definitely a lot of work and everyone put in a lot of hours, but it has been great,” said Ryan Moreno, one-half of the cofounders of JRG. Moreno and longtime partner André Bourque have been expanding the JRG brand into various ventures for the past five years, but there is one new avenue the company is particularly excited to announce.

“We signed a deal with Simon Fraser University; we have been working a lot with the university on the things that they want in terms of student experience, faculty experience, and

Drive, Work Continued from page B9

while,” he said. “And finally one day someone said to us, ‘Why don’t you guys just start your own?’ And we thought, ‘You know what, we should totally do that.’”

Moreno and Bourque did some resea rch a nd lau nched Barmasters bartending school in 1998. It was a success, with 20 people signing up for its first iteration at $350 each. Moreno remembers the feeling after the first session ended.

“I thought, ‘We’d just created a business out of nothing.’ We had only been in the industry for

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just things they are offering on the campus that they felt that they didn’t have,” said Moreno.

“We are always looking to explore different verticals.… We will be doing a public house and an arcade concept at the university where the Highland Pub was.”

The Highland Pub was the main watering hole for students to congregate between commitments but has now shuttered. The campus has always faced unique business challenges given its location atop Burnaby Mountain and the seasonal constraints of student attendance.

Other accomplishments pushing company growth include the Italian restaurant that had been on the radar for some time, which is now open.

JRG’s Asian concept is poised to open later this year, and the company has been developing its own private-label beer and wine venture, as well as expanding on its catering division, called Blank Canvas Catering.

Blank Canvas recently hosted a fundraiser on the pier in White Rock that raised over $60,000 for Peace Arch Hospital. According to Moreno, taking on events and initiatives that are outside the box, as well as unique partnerships, is what is propelling the brand to new heights and outwitting competitors.

However, the dilemma within the industry does resound with a similar rhetoric. While JRG may be one of

the fastest-growing companies in B.C., the main vexation in the sector remains the same.

“People – finding enough or having enough people to put in place at these different locations,” said Moreno.

“If that’s our weakness, people, that’s what we have to address.… If we can nail that, then the expansion could go quicker.”

In order to combat the issue, JRG has created numerous training programs in culinary skills, hospitality and more in order to beef up existing staff and effectively on-board new staff.

In a recent interview with Business in Vancouver, Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, admitted these struggles are felt provincewide.

“We have a significant labour shortage in our industry, particularly in our kitchens, with no solutions,” said Tostenson. “We could probably use about 14,000 workers in the restaurant industry throughout British Columbia; that’s on average just over one position per business.”

Tostenson, along with Daniel Frankel, founder and CEO of Tap & Barrel Restaurants, has been in discussions with various branches of government to establish immigration programs with different countries in order to build out the industry here.

One specific area where they are

looking is El Salvador, which is known for having strong hospitality training programs and a large population of workers looking for employment who have previously been deported from the United States.

Whether JRG will join the initiative is unclear; however, Moreno knows that one of the pieces that make up the industry is the quality of its people, and the programs crafted by the company will help new workers

a bit, and creating a business felt so daunting, and I thought, ‘Who am I to start this school and teach people how to do stuff?’ But there was definitely a need for it.”

Bourque said the two were surprised by how well the venture did.

“We used Barfly nightclub in New Westminster during the day, when they were closed. By the time we opened our first class, we were so full we had to add a second class.”

While running Barmasters, Moreno and Bourque had developed a taste for entrepreneurship and confidence in their own business instincts. Moreno took his next step at age 22, purchasing

a restaurant. His girlfriend’s father at the time owned the Stinking Rose, an Italian restaurant in Burnaby, and was looking to get out of the business. Moreno worked out a deal with him but soon learned a valuable life lesson in the process.

“I didn’t do the research, and I should have,” he said. “So I thought it would be no problem and I signed a personal guarantee.… Little did I know, in 2002, the policy for the liquor laws changed.”

Moreno was unprepared for the long and arduous process required to secure the alcohol licence he needed for the business. His restaurant, which had

an entertainment element to it, suffered immensely.

“If we wanted to stay open later, we couldn’t have dancing, and if we wanted to have dancing, we had to close early, and people couldn’t walk around with their drinks. I really got burned with that one – it was really tough. So we had to regroup and change it up. We turned it into a lounge, focusing on sporting events, a sports pub kind of thing.”

This was during the 2003-04 hockey season, and the Canucks were having a great year on the ice. Moreno’s establishment was jam-packed with fans for every game. But then another black swan came swooping down with

Sept. 13, 2018

August 21–27, 2018

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Ryan Moreno’s Joseph Richard Group is the top restaurant and pub operator in the region | Chung Chow enter the industry.

“The calibre of individuals that we are looking for to be able to deliver the brand experience that we want our guests to have, that has always been a challenge. But, at the same time, the thing that makes you weak is the thing that makes you strong.

“If we create the best experience for our team, they will in turn create a great experience for our guests.”

– Tyler Nyquvest

the National Hockey League players’ strike the next season.

“It just felt like one thing after another,” he said. “I always tell people, looking back I don’t regret it at all, but I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It was some of the toughest times of my career.”

Looking back on his early failures, Moreno, whose company has 950 employees and generated $45 million in revenue last year, said he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

“It’s a cool story now,” he said.

“What makes the difference between a new entrepreneur and an experienced entrepreneur is you just learn to trust your gut more.”•

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reCeption

Join us for a fantastic opportunity to meet and mingle with some of B.C.’s fastest-growing companies when Business in Vancouver presents the 2018 Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies Reception. This networking reception highlights the achievements of companies across B.C. that have shown remarkable growth over the past five years.

OctOber 4, 2018

telus Garden, 5th Floor 510 West Georgia Street | Vancouver, BC Registration: 5:30pm | Reception: 6:00 - 8:00pm To register, visit biv.com/fastest

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