Reflecting on Small Business in the Saugeen area, one is struck by a how few high technology companies we have.  We do have a few that seem to be doing well.  The number one of course is Bruce Telecom which is competing and winning in a highly technical area that includes world wide phone communication, television and Internet Service.  They supply a fast and reliable Internet portal for home and business.

So, what's required for a high tech business to relocate or start in our immediate area?  Let's say it's a small software start-up of 5 to15 employees with a grand plan to be a Microsoft.  What do they need?  Here is the short list:

1.  They need modern high speed internet with multi-media capabilities... (Bruce Telecom shines here)  Rating A

2.   Recreation and Culture

We need to have enough going on winter and summer in terms of lectures and events and not just sports.  Silicon Valley is a good example of this and so is Research In Motion (RIM) near Waterloo, where there are great things going on all the time.  We are lacking a bit here  with schedules of cultural events diminished for six months of the year. Great programs in 'prime time', but they fall off dramatically.  More than Snowbirds attend lectures and events. The Museum and Art School need to get together along with the local music community. 

The fall Perimeter Institute lectures organized by Wayne MacDonald had surprising attendance and this showed off the potential at the Museum where they were held.  The Art School held some lectures that had lower attendance, but I think this was a matter of marketing.  You need to market outside the regulars.

 Rating B-, but up from C-.

For recreation we do well in the summer, but lag in the winter. 'Canadian Hibernation' seems to set in with the passing of fall.   Hockey, curling and skiing  are not enough to offset the lack of facilities for other sports that can be done in warmer climates.  Even with that recreation rates a solid B+, but ....

Heavy recruiting is done by companies south of the border in Canadian Universities like Waterloo.  The climate is a big draw along with high technology opportunities in established companies.  Like new doctors, new high tech people like to be near the big centres where things are in place including something to do culturally all year long.  We have to remember that people like a slow pace, but want things that challenge their imagination.

3 Venture Capital

Venture Capital is hard to come by in Canada.  This means unencumbered capital, by definition... if you fail, they lose their money and you can go on and do something else without a debt.  Most startups that grow quickly need strong early support by venture funds that specialize in high technology and understand it.

They take from 35 to 70% of the action, but sometimes that's what's needed.  It's an insider game  and needs to be developed powerfully around a rural small town area, which is a hard sell to financial people.  They will not believe it, so you have to be prepared to defend why you'd locate here or go without initial funding.  Rating C at most.

(next column)

4. Transportation

Let's face it, we are a long way from an International Airport and even with the modern Internet and Bruce Telecom, people do like to get in front of each other.  This will be less important and has become so in the last few years.  Demos can be given remotely with voice and video.  You can run a demo on another computer anywhere in the world now with any number of participants.  What was a super computer in the 90s is on your desktop now.. Video conferencing pioneered here by Bruce Telecom can be done on the computer that I'm using to write this.  Just download Skype, if you don't believe me and talk and view your kids and friends.

We'd have to have an express running to the south to rate higher in transportation, but again weather takes its toll.  We are a C- here.  We do have a good bus service to the Airport, but for rapid and constant travel it's a bit far.

5.  Education

Modern high technology companies tend to cluster around great universities.  Examples are RIM with Waterloo, many companies with Stanford and Berkley near Menlo Park-Palo Alto-San Jose-Santa Clara.  Boston has MIT and Harvard.  Microsoft in Redmond built their own campus.

So we are too far away and need to develop distance lectures and education.  The Museum is trying with the Perimeter Institute lectures, but it's in its infancy and the distance education is almost nil. 

We'd have to rate ourselves a D here.

A hidden educational drawback in the area is at the elementary and secondary level.  Employees have families and they want the best school systems around with strong arts, music, mathematics and science courses for their children.  Really good people make decisions based on just that.  The family reviews the schools before they take an offer.

So we will have to really work hard to recruit people to the area for anything high tech.  It's very competitive and needs a program just like we do to recruit doctors and tourism.  It's even more complex than that and the stars who can make a small company work are tougher than the doctors to recruit..  It's lucky we have Bruce Telecom, that's a good start.

Positive Suggestions

Let's see if we can get with Jill Roote Business Consultant working on staff at the Town of Saugeen Shores and help her put together a small, crisp recruiting package.  A few days work would do it with cooperation with the named organizations above.

Jill is very energetic, smart and a good organizer as witnessed by her hard work in the past..  It might be handy to have ready answers for the short list outlined above.  If we don't, then we fail.  It might induce some recent University Graduates to come home and start a new business here.  We have a good start and should not get discouraged with what we are lacking.

There are people in the community who have started small high tech business ventures in the past, who could help.  Any volunteers?