ABM V24N5 (80).indd - Atlantic Business Magazine

Upfront
FINDING CLARITY
In a basic and visceral way, technology saved Dan Martell’s life
As
Photos by Kris Krug
Indeed, Clarity – which collects 15 per cent
a teenager, growing up in
from each paid call (experts, who can also be
Riverview, N.B., this Monctoncustomers, set their own fees) – boasts an
based entrepreneur was on the fast track to
impressively happy membership. “If you’re
perdition. By 17, he had been to jail twice on
as crazy busy as I am, you will love that
drug-related charges. “Yeah,” he says now,
Clarity handles everything – scheduling,
“I got into a lot of trouble as a kid. I ended
billing, setup of the conference call, and even
up getting put into group homes and foster
when I want to donate the proceeds of the
homes. I went into rehab when I was 18, and
call to charity,” testifies Jonathan Feldman,
that’s where I learned to program.”
contributing editor of Informationweek.com.
In fact, he plundered the local Chapters
The secret to the service’s popularity is not
store, buying every book on computers he
only its accessibility and comprehensiveness.
could find. With moral support from the
It also addresses a problem
institution’s staff – all of
common to nearly every business
whom were ex-drug addicts
owner. Martel explains he came
– he climbed out of his hole,
up with the idea in 2011 after
emerging clean, sober and
he sold his social marketing
happily preoccupied with
application company, Flowtown,
the twin notions of selfbased in San Francisco, where he
determination and giving
was living at the time. “When
back to the community. It
that got acquired, my inbox
should come as no surprise,
just exploded with people who
then, that both principles
wanted to pick my brain and
figure prominently in the
have coffee,” he says. “I think it’s
operating philosophy of
“I GOT INTO A LOT
the Canadian in me. I felt like I
his most recent venture, a
OF TROUBLE AS A
had to respond. I just couldn’t
company he launched in May
KID. I ENDED UP
read all the emails. So I built the
of last year. He calls it, with
GETTING PUT INTO first version of Clarity to solve
unintended irony, Clarity.
GROUP HOMES
my own problem… But as soon
The enterprise, which
AND FOSTER
as I made the public link to other
employs six, is a web-based
HOMES. I WENT
people on Twitter who followed
platform that puts experts
INTO REHAB WHEN me, they started asking me if
in various fields of business
they could use it. That’s when it
(marketing, fundraising,
I WAS 18, AND
hit me.”
leadership and management,
THAT’S WHERE
among others), together with
With a successful seed investI LEARNED TO
those looking for advice.
ment round of $1.6 million, comPROGRAM.”
Since the launch, business
pleted last December, Clarity’s
has been booming. “Initially,
growth curve seems secure –
we recruited the first 1,000 experts,” Martell
which is not bad at all for a hustling, self-taught
says. “But because it is predominantly a
tech entrepreneur who likes to refer to his
mobile app and also a website, anybody can
troubled, unlikely background as unorthodox,
apply to become an expert and once they are
even “interesting”.
—Alec Bruce
approved they are in our directory, available
to search. We’ve now grown the directory to
14,000 experts in the last 12 months. We’ve
actually done 30,000 calls across 55 countries.
We’ve been generating revenues since day
one. We’ve been growing 30 per cent monthover-month over the past 14 months.”
Online extras: atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | 11
EVERY
BIT COUNTS
How 100 women
make a big difference
Looking for a way to have fun, meet
Audience participation, in the form of cheque signatures, is the highlight of every 100 Women Who Care event.
THE FUTURE OF
LEADERSHIP
Creating change through civic leadership
SPEAKER SERIES PRESENTED BY
Atlantic Leadership
Development Institute
World Trade & Convention Centre, Halifax, NS
September 19, 2013 • 1:00pm to 4:30pm
Workshop fee $97 + HST
Keynote Speaker
Ed O'Malley, president and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC), will
share insights and accomplishments of KLC and how they can be applied in
Atlantic Canada. After his presentation, open space technology will be used to
see how we can increase the effectiveness of civic leadership in Atlantic Canada.
The Opportunity
The Challenge
Key Learnings
Hear Ed O'Malley address
the similarities of the
challenges facing Kansas
and Atlantic Canada. The
Kansas Leadership Center
has the largest program to
develop civic leadership in
North America and is
currently endowed with a
40 million dollar grant that
is being used to bring about
substantial change in the
civic leadership culture of
Kansas.
The challenges facing
Atlantic Canada include,
but not limited to declining
population, the population
shift from rural to urban
areas, outmigration of
our college and university
graduates, and limited
financial resources in
times of economic
uncertainty.
Ed will discuss the
philosophy of the Kansas
Leadership Center and
what they have and are
working on to achieve
state-wide Large Scale
Leadership Development.
Then there will be
Open-Space exercises of
various stakeholders to
discuss how the KLC
philosophy can be applied
in Atlantic Canada in the
public, non-profit and
private sectors.
Don't miss this unique opportunity. If you have colleagues who would
be interested in this event please pass it along.
To register for this event visit
www.futureofleadership.dal.ca
12 | Atlantic Business Magazine | September/October 2013
like-minded people, and help a worthy
cause? If you’re a woman in Halifax
or Saint John, you’re in the right
place. Both cities are home to new
chapters of 100 Women Who Care,
an organization made up of loosely
connected,
independent
groups
scattered across North America.
The concept is simple. At least 100
women (sometimes more – the Saint
John chapter currently has 207 members)
gather together on a quarterly basis to
help provide financial support to a local organization or charity. The process
varies slightly between
chapters, but generally, the women nomiOn the
nate deserving recipients about a week or
night of the
so before the meeting.
meeting, the
Then, three of those
women arrive,
nominees are drawn
at random and invited
checkbooks
to present at the next
in hand.
event.
After the
On the night of the
presentations
meeting, the women
arrive, checkbooks in
are finished,
hand. After the prethe women
sentations are finished,
vote and
the women vote and
the winner
the winner receives a
$100 cheque from evreceives a
ery participant.
$100 cheque
For Mary Jane
from every
Copps, entrepreneur
and member of the
participant.
Halifax chapter of
100 Women Who
Care, the group
presents her with an ideal networking
scenario. “I jumped on board as soon
as I heard about it,” says Copps. “If
you go early or stay late, you get to
chat with like-minded women. I’m
big on generosity, so it’s a plus for
me to be in a room with a group of
women who are also feeling the urge
to be generous.” She also points
out that networking events are, by
nature, about money. So for her, it’s
refreshing to see people making strong
connections while giving money away.
— Sarah Sawler
Upfront
COOKING UP A STORM
Despite challenging environment, DaMaurizio’s continues to thrive
Bertossi), DaMaurizio’s
was already a successful
enterprise with 20
people on staff and
seating for 90. Today,
there are 30 people on
staff and the dining
capacity has expanded
to 150. That doesn’t
include the outdoor
terrace which is used
during the summer
season.
They’ve also grown
outside the restaurant,
instituting a hot lunch
Executive chef Andrew King’s kitchen wizardry is
program for a number
enhanced by his wife’s managerial prowess and
of Halifax schools. The
their “highly competent” staff. “Service is an area
idea came from their
where we really shine.”
daughter: when she
started grade school in
2011, the Kings identified a need for healthier, higher quality food
in schools. Now, a number of Halifax families can place online
orders for hot nutritious lunches that their children can enjoy in
school.
Photo supplied by Andrew and Tanya King
The food service industry in general is always a challenging
environment, but fi ne dining restaurants – with their higher
standards and costs – have a particularly difficult time of it. Add
a few more trials into the mix (inadequate parking, high levels of
taxation, small population base and difficult-to-source products/
supplies), and you’d think it was a recipe for disaster. But not for
Andrew and Tanya King. The husband/wife team (he’s the executive
chef and she’s the manager) have been the proud proprietors of
DaMaurizio’s in Halifax since 2007.
Asked to share their secret recipe, they noted the importance of
catering to local clientele. “Tourists are important, of course, but
they only fi ll in the gaps for a restaurant like ours.”
How have they built local respect and repeat business? They
say it is because they ensure food is consistently delicious, that
the reception is warm and inviting, that the dining room is both
cozy and intimate, and that service is attentive and professional. In
other words, they pay attention to detail. A lot of attention.
Executive chef Andrew King describes it as a magical
combination of food and people. “We love to serve our clients, we
love to work together, we love the food and drinks we serve, and
it shows.”
The formula has worked. So much so, in fact, that DaMaurizio’s
has expanded significantly under the Kings’ leadership. When,
after working at the restaurant for seven years, they purchased
it from another Halifax power couple (Stephanie and Maurizio
Online extras: atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | 13
CLASSES ON CRUSTACEANS
N.B. seafood processor teaches all there is to know about lobsters
Dr. Bob Bayer from the Lobster Institute dissecting a lobster.
His lessons educate buyers from all over the world.
On an assembly line, a seafood sales
manager from Cleveland packed
live lobsters into boxes. Nearby, a
British purchasing manager weighed
lobsters. That morning, we handled
lobster blood and innards. After
watching lobstermen haul traps, we
enjoyed a lunch of, you guessed it,
lobster. This is Day 2 of the Lobster
Academy.
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14 | Atlantic Business Magazine | September/October 2013
Twice a year, East Coast Seafood
Inc., a subsidiary of AHI (American
Holdco, Inc.) holds the threeday Lobster Academy in Saint
Andrews, N.B. AHI ranks 22 in
the top 25 North American seafood
companies.
“Our goal,” said Heidi Tourkistas
of East Coast Seafood, “is to provide
science and expertise in a noncompetitive environment.” Most
of the 18 students are American
seafood buyers; past alumni include
buyers from Canada, France, Dubai,
South Korea and the Netherlands.
The first academy was held in 2009.
East Coast now holds a Salmon
Academy concurrent with the
Lobster Academy.
“I’m here to get the story behind
lobster,” said Doug Hordos, a
seafood sales manager from Detroit.
“You need to ‘tell the story’ when
selling product.”
We learned about lobster from the
inside out by watching dissections
to hearing lectures on fishery
management, lobster biology and
the state of the industry. We didn’t,
generator_greyscale.psd
however, talk to any fishermen.
251 ppi
On Deer
Island, we visited the
world’s largest tidal lobster pound
and processing plant of Paturel
International, Inc. (AHI subsidiary).
Amid the smell of lobster and
chlorine, workers sampled lobster
to measure blood protein levels,
an indication of muscle strength
and ability to withstand shipping.
The highest quality lobster are
exported to Asia, medium quality
go to Canadian supermarkets and
the lowest quality is processed
immediately.
At 5pm each day, classes ended and
the bar opened. Lobster appetizers
were available before seafood
dinners prepared by top chefs.
Andrew Vine, a British seafood
buyer, found the academy “quite
demystifying.” He added that he
became “more informed about
lobster quality.”
Now Hordos has new ideas of how
to present lobster to his sales force in
Detroit. “I already had the first three
chapters,” he said, “but now I have
the whole book.” — Janet Wallace
LDS-HHC Sports Med 1/3pgVert-06-13_Layout 1 13
Upfront
FREEDOM
...determine yours!
Set change: The Grand Seduction is the latest in a string of films that are gradually rebuilding a previously devastated
economy in rural Newfoundland (the critical acclaim isn’t too bad either.) Anywhere from 100 to 120 crew members,
dozens of actors, and more than 100 extras, worked on the film.
HER GRAND SEDUCTION
Barbara Doran’s new film receives frenzied press,
adds another notch to a string of successful outport productions
Described as one of the “most buzzworthy”
Canadian films of the season, The Grand
Seduction is story of survival. It tells the
tale of a small harbourside community that
has fallen on hard times since the collapse
of the fishery. The residents, led by their
mayor, set about trying to attract a major oil
company to town. But in order to make that
happen, they first have to entice a
handsome young doctor to take up
residence. And so the story builds
from there.
The artwork clearly imitates life:
the $12.7 million-film, co-produced
by Barbara Doran (right) and Roger
Frappier, was shot in Trinity Bight,
Newfoundland – an area of less
than 1,000 people which was devastated by
the closure of the fishery and subsequent
outmigration. Its isolation and obvious
rural character, however, have become its
richest resources in recent years.
Since 2000, more than $60-million
worth of film production has taken place
in the area: Random Passage; The Shipping
News; Young Triffie’s Been Made Away With
and The Grand Seduction.
Barbara Doran, owner of production
company Morag Loves Company, offers an
amusing example of how difficult it was
when her company first starting filming
in rural Newfoundland. She describes the
first casting call, when no one showed up
because they didn’t know what it was. Her
crew ending up going round town, asking
random people if they thought a costume
would fit them.
It’s remarkably different today, she says.
“There are now enough houses to rent for
the cast and crew, there are enough good
restaurants, food stores, trendy coffee
shops and, I might add, a goodly
selection of wine at the local liquor
store (I think we must credit the
Quebecers with that for sure).”
One thing that hasn’t changed
in the film industry overall is the
underrepresentation of women,
both in front of and behind the
camera. Cannes, for instance,
came under fire this year for its failure to
include any women-directed films in their
main competition.
“It isn’t that women don’t have the talent,
it isn’t that we don’t have brilliant ideas, it
isn’t that we don’t work as hard as men, but
we remain outside the corridors of power
where decisions are made as to whose film
will find the requisite investment, whose
film will attract the right cast.”
In order to make that change, Doran
says women will just have to keep breaking
through and finding support from other
women film makers. If any of them need
inspiration, they need look no further than
Doran herself.
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Online extras: atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | 15
FP VACANT
.
ALBERTA
BOUND
P.E.I. Brewing Company
lets the good times flow
How to play
Located throughout this magazine are five bunny icons (see sample on
right) each containing a unique 4-digit code. Find all five codes and enter
them online at www.atlanticbusinessmagazine.com/contest
On October 31, 2013 we will randomly draw a lucky winner who will
receive two nights for two at White Point Beach Resort in White Point
Beach, Nova Scotia. Prize includes accommodations in a one-bedroom
oceanfront cottage, dinner and breakfast for two.
Contest brought to you by Atlantic Business Magazine.
16 | Atlantic Business Magazine | September/October 2013
CODE
In a corporate first, the Prince Edward
Island Brewing Company can now boast
of having two of its products on tap as far
west as Alberta. Previously dry residents of
the prairie province will be happy to hear
that they have two Island brews available
for consumption: Gahan Ales and Beach
Chair Lager.
According to the corporate web site,
Gahan Ales and Beach Chair Lager are
“handcrafted on Prince Edward Island the
olde-fashioned way – with care and in small
batches. We use all natural ingredients, no
additives or preservatives, just fresh malted
barley, yeast, hops, and pure Island water
– delicious!”
Jeff Squires, president of the P.E.I.
Brewing Company, noted that their brands
will be represented and distributed by
Thirsty Cellar Imports (a Calgary-based
sales agency).
Thirsty Cellar president Marlene
Howard says her company had been
looking for a quality line of craft beer to add
to their portfolio and that the two Island
beers offered the full-bodied flavour they
were looking for. “Gahan Ales and Beach
Chair Lager … are handcrafted, premium
quality, and they are made in P.E.I. – all
attributes that Albertans value. We also
know that there are many Maritimers
currently working in our region. They
will be happy to see a great Maritime beer
available in Alberta.”
According to early reports, the partnership
between Thirsty Cellar Imports and the
P.E.I. Brewing Company is off to a great
start. The products are already available at
39 Sobeys liquor store outlets across Alberta.
It’s a convenient location: over-imbibers
can proactively purchase their preferred
headache remedies at the same time. | ABM
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