FINANCIAL POST
T H U R S D A Y, A P R I L 2 , 2 0 1 5
CA LG A RY H E R A L D
B7
PH OTOS BY J EN N PIERC E F O R T H E C A L G A RY H E R A L D
EVENT RECAP ALSO IN AT T E N D A N C E ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Brittany Back Daryl Beatty James Boettcher Bernadette Bosse Gordon Bruce Isabelle Caplan Bridget Carrancho VC Carter Brad Celmainis Falyne Chave Sima Chowdhury Gita Consul Sherry Crawford Jenn Egroff Gary Ellis Vince Fowler Michele Gole Shannon Gordon Loretta Gotmy Lisa Graham Aislinn Grant Melissa Gregory Rose Hamel Jane Ho Chung Qui Derrick Ho Chung Qui Mike Hopkins Margaret Jezierska Melissa Johanson Ulla Kapp Monica Kretschmer Merri Lemmex Steve Lemmex Amanda MacIntyre Michael Maltsev Adam Martinson Bob McInnis Kathryn McMackin Charles Nabors Des Nwaerondu Suzanne Presinal Elizabeth Rondon Ella Rysz Ken Sadowski Jeff Samsonow Ashleigh Schubach DJ Sures Wilma Slenders Colin Smith Kim Smith Julie Stockdale Jonathan Stockdale Brandon Stutheit Sue Styles Tara Tanchak Angie-Lee Tarrant Sandra To Burke Vindevoghel Jeffrey White Carolynn Winterhalt Leesha Withrow Manos Xenos Kelly Zenkewich
HOW DO YOU TURN GREAT IDEAS INTO GREAT PRODUCTS? How do you turn great ideas into great products?
“I don’t actually consider our product to necessarily be beer; I consider our product to be the act of gathering people. That’s why it’s called Village... We happen to make really great beer, and that’s critical, but in finding [customers], our support was really centred around the community of Calgary, and within that group was the arts community. So we focused on supporting events, initiatives, activities, artists and people that were in that sphere.” JIM BUT TON, co -founder of Village Brewer y, villagebrewery.com
“I don’t have a particular view about how people should dress; I begin with the customer in mind and imagine how she is going to use the clothing... I pay attention to trends out of interest, but it’s more to know what’s modern and relevant. I don’t give a rip what the colour of the year is or whatever else; I’m looking for what’s wearable and what’s going to transcend; it has to be corner-office or board-room ready.”
DJ SURES, CEO and founder of EZ-Robot, ezrobot.com
MELANIE LOVE, CEO and founder of Front Room, morefrontroom.com
ONLINE
C A P I TA L B U Z Z
For the full recap of “How do you turn great ideas into great products?” including video and audio, visit capitalideascalgary. com/news.
Here’s what Capital Ideas members took away from the March 26 panel:
“Know what your strengths are, and trust that someone else can take care of what you’re still getting better at.”
NEXT EVENT
Rachel Clark, realtor at Brewing Realty, brewingrealty.com
Show Me the Money: Financing Growth When: April 30, noon to 1 p.m. Where: Glenbow’s ConocoPhillips Theatre (9th Ave. SE) RSVP at capitalideasyyc4. eventbrite.com
“Build products for people, not the other way around. And don’t use the word ‘target customer,’ because that implies you’re trying to create or define your own customer. But the fact is, as a business, you have to respond to customers. If we were to build robots that were different to what the customers wanted, then we wouldn’t have any customers.”
“Village Brewery says it’s not about the beer; it’s about the ‘act of gathering people,’ or community.” J E NN P I E RC E / C A L GA RY HE RALD
Thank you! Brandon Stutheit, director products and pricing at ATB Financial, congratulates door prize winner Brad Celmainis, president of Brad Celmainis Consulting (bradcelmainis.com), after the event.
Brenda Mahoney, co-owner of Vin Gogh Paint & Sip Studio Wine, vingogh.ca
“Village Brewery’s Jim Button considers their product to be about gathering people, not beer.”
Amanda Schewaga, owner of The Marketing Girl, themarketinggirl.com
Questions? Contact us at hello@capitalideascalgary.com
“Build products for people, not the other way around. Don’t find a target market; become the target product.”
Katheryn Small, chair at TEC Canada, tec-canada.com
“It takes a village! Village Brewery is all about #yyc first and a great beer to celebrate and bring the village together.”
Kelly Jubenvill, owner of Scaling Down Inc., scalingdown.ca
“Melanie Love of Front Room goes to where her customers will be to find them and find out what they want.”
Jeff Samsonow, product strategist at Capital Ideas Edmonton, capitalideasedmonton.com