Sree Sanyal, the Trade Commissioner of the Mumbai office, Robin McNab, the Trade Commissioner at the Waterloo Region Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and 5 Indian startups that are part of the Canadian Technology Accelerator in India toured the Accelerator Centre as part of their Canadian visit.
Retailers wanting to provide the best possible customer experience need to focus on building associate engagement and loyalty by treating them properly. Proper treatment starts during the training process and puts them in the best possible to succeed.
In a recent webinar, Christine Tutssell, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Axonify, discussed how Bloomingdale’s ramped up its training and eLearning program to be more gamification-oriented, ongoing and engaging for associates.
With the gamified eLearning approach, Bloomindale’s associates experienced knowledge lifts in numerous company topics, including the awards program (22% increase), display hazards (21%), safe lifting (17%), emergency shutdowns (14%) and box cutters (13%).
To read the full article, click here.
The first Etix client to take advantage of the partnership with Loyalty Match is McMenamins Inc., the family-owned operator of Portland, Oregon’s historic Crystal Ballroom and Lola’s Room concert venues and more than 50 other pubs, breweries, hotels and music clubs in Washington and Oregon. This week McMenamins launched Join The Band a loyalty program that will reward ticket buyers and concert goers with points that can be redeemed for merchandise, special events and experiences found nowhere else.
It costs nothing to Join The Band and members will collect points for joining, when they purchase tickets, at shows and when they get active on social media. New rewards, new ways to earn points and exclusive member benefits will be added each month. McMenamins created Join The Band working with LoyaltyMatch and Etix, the largest independent ticketing company in North America.
To read the full article, click here.
Kevin McGurgan, Her Majesty’s British Consul General and Director-General for UK Trade and Investment in Toronto and his delegation visited the Accelerator Centre today for a tour of the facility. The group met with AC CEO Paul Salvini, and enjoyed learning more about our program from AC staff, mentors and clients.
Mr. McGurgan, a career diplomat, has been recently appointed to the role of British Consul-General for Toronto. He comes to Canada after serving four years as Consul-General in Florida. He has also served short tours in Russia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. This is his first posting to Canada.
Photo From Left: Michelle Cusack, Business Development Associate at UK Trade & Investment, British Consulate-General Toronto, International Trade and Development; Kevin McGurgan, British Consul General – Toronto; Paul Salvini, CEO of the Accelerator Centre; Henry Long, Head of Investment, UK Trade & Invesment, International Trade and Development
Armen Bakirtzian had one of his best moments last December in an operating room at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. After more than six years of developing and prototyping miniaturized sensor technology that improves the accuracy of implant selection and positioning during hip replacement surgery, Mr. Bakirtzian and his business partners finally saw their product used for the first time in the O.R.
“It’s a long journey to commercialize a medical device,” says Mr. Bakirtzian, CEO of Intellijoint Surgical Inc., the Waterloo-based company he founded with two former university classmates. “My co-founders and I were in the operating room when our product was first used in the surgical field – it was like an early Christmas present.”
Mr. Bakirtzian and his partners developed their product while studying engineering at the University of Waterloo. Other technologies that do the same thing are available today, but because they are large and very expensive, most hospitals in Canada don’t use them when doing hip replacements.
“Right now, implant selection and placement is done by eye, guided by the orthopedic surgeon’s professional judgement,” says Mr. Bakirtzian. “Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to the implant being positioned incorrectly or one leg being longer than the other. There are numbers out there that suggest 30 per cent of patients are dissatisfied with the outcome of their hip replacement surgery, largely due to discrepancy in leg length.”
Mr. Bakirtzian and his co-inventors knew they had a viable medical product, but they also knew that developing it and getting it to market would be a complex and costly undertaking.
That was certainly the case with Intellijoint. The young entrepreneur competition that it won in 2010 connected Mr. Bakirtzian and his partners with a doctor who opened doors for them at Mount Sinai Hospital. The same doctor is now a member of Intellijoint’s advisory board.
“We really benefited not just financially from government funding, but also by meeting people who supported us and by gaining validation with angel investors,” says Mr. Bakirtzian, whose company has now raised about $7-million in financing. “Applying for government and non-profit funding is a lot of work, but I don’t think people should be discouraged from doing it.
To read the full article, click here.
Brad Ball featured in Amplify, recently launched entertainment and live venues online publication
Dave Brooks founder and executive editor of Amplify Media, met recently with Brad Ball, president and CEO of LoyaltyMatch, to discuss loyalty programs for entertainment venues, data collection and the LoyaltyMatch partnership with Etix, the USA-based, international web-based ticketing service provider that processes more than 50 million tickets per year for more than 5,000 clients worldwide.Their discussion resulted in an article published today in “Amplify” — “Loyalty Clubs: 5 Things To Consider For Your Rewards Program”
To read the full article, click here.
Canad
a’s strong economy and well-educated labour are just two of the key reasons global companies establish or choose to expand their business in this country, and there are a myriad of government funding programs and incentive measures available to help businesses grow and prosper, including a vital and expanding technology incubation network.
On October 28th, Dr. Paul Salvini, CEO of the Accelerator Centre will participate in an armchair discussion with Invest in Canada at The Toronto Global Forum, held under the auspices of the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA). The discussion, geared to current and future investors in Canada, will provide insights on Canada’s innovative technology trends and explore the advantages and opportunities for companies looking to establish or expand their operations in Canada.
About the Toronto Global Forum
The Toronto Global Forum is a non-profit organization committed to heightening knowledge and awareness of the major issues concerning economic globalization, with a particular emphasis on the relations between the Americas and other continents. Over the years, the Toronto Global Forum has increasingly developed into a strategic platform for business development through significant opportunities for synergies between stakeholders, speakers, business delegations and attendees onsite. The Forum is held under the auspices of the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA) which organizes annual summits bringing together Heads of States, the private sector, international organizations, politicians, global economic decision makers and civil society.
For full event details visit their website.
AgriMarine Technologies Inc. (ATI) is completing the installation of its proprietary tank technology for fish farming in a remote lake on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. The four (4) semi-closed containment, 3,000 cubic meter tanks are designed to float in water bodies, and manage the rearing environment for thousands of fish. The tanks are designed to draw cooler water from greater depths to circulate within the tank, while added oxygen optimizes the environment for the farmed fish. The installation of these massive structures is not only challenging from a logistical but also operational perspective. The Deep Trekker DTG2 Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) has been used to alleviate many of the difficulties of quickly and reliability performing underwater inspections.
The Deep Trekker DTG2 ROV was the obvious choice for ATI as a robust and maneuverable ROV that was an affordable solution. The DTG2 ROV could easily be transported to any of the tank docks anddeployed within seconds. “We had the foresight to purchase the Deep Trekker Remotely Operated Vehicle, and we have utilized the Deep Trekker DTG2 ROV for a variety of functions that enabled us to reduce the costs associated with divers.” Remarked Robert Walker, President of ATI.
To read the full press release, click here.
Clearpath Robotics was announced a winner of the 2014 Game Changer Awards for its Kingfisher unmanned surface vessel this week at RoboBusiness, a business development event for the global robotics market.
The Game Changer Awards are produced by Robotics Business Review to honour remarkable technical accomplishments and makers within the robotics industry around the world. Winners were selected by a panel of judges, including technology experts from the International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems. Judges rated products based on the following criteria: standout attributes, design, functionality, benefit to robotics and impact within its primary application area.
“We’re thrilled that Kingfisher USV has been recognized with a Game Changer Award,” said Julian Ware, General Manager for Research Products at Clearpath Robotics. “It is an honour to be distinguished in the same company as the other winning, leading robotics institutions.”
To read the full article, click here.
Vidyard, the fast-growing provider of a leading video marketing and analytics technology platform, has deployed NetSuite’s TribeHR human capital management (HCM) suite to streamline human resources processes and enhance its collaborative work environment.
Since going live, Vidyard has relied on NetSuite TribeHR to manage human resources, recruitment, employee recognition, staff directory, and events calendar – all within one single end-to-end employee management and social collaboration HCM suite. As a result, Vidyard has improved staff productivity and morale, as well as improved the efficiency of both HR professionals and the workforce.
Before TribeHR, the company relied on manual processes, email and verbal communication for HR and employee management. As it grew, Vidyard, named as a “Company to Watch” in the 2013 Deloitte Fast 50 awards for Canadian technology companies, saw the need to formalize its HR processes. It began looking for a purpose-built HCM solution that would help improve HR department efficiency while making the most of its personnel, who design and deliver video marketing solutions for companies such as Rockwell Automation, inContact and Taulia.
Too often, fast-growing and midsized businesses must tie together disparate systems to get a full understanding of their human resources from recruit to manage to reward. NetSuite TribeHR provides a complete end-to-end HCM suite, offering the first truly social HR platform with a superior user experience, driving employee engagement and retention.
To read the full article, click here.
