British Columbia Innovation Council

Did You Know

  • A small business registered as an Eligible Business Corporation can accept equity capital directly from investors who may be eligible to receive a 30% tax credit. Read more

BCIC Success Stories

In this section, BCIC shares some of the successes of BC tech startups and BCIC's role in helping them achieve their next step. Whether it be through the participation in a BCIC Soundboard, a program made possible through one of our partnerships such as New Ventures BC, or the mentorship by an expert on our management team, we are proud to spotlight these homegrown success stories and the incredible work being done by the entrepreneurs behind them that is putting BC's tech sector on the map.

BC Cancer Agency

Thanks to a new device developed at the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA), an "optical" biopsy is now possible, which could enable rapid early diagnosis of skin cancer, significantly increasing a patient's survival rate. BCIC supports BCCA's Technology Development Office; the office is responsible for evaluating and developing intellectual property from BCCA researchers and clinicians.
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Carrotlines

Your average Save-On Foods carries more than 30 brands of cereal. How do you choose which is right for you? Portalife's CarrotLines iPhone application developed on the reality TV show, Stars of Science, lets consumers create a profile specifying nutritional, lifestyle and allergy attributes. 
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entrepreneurship@UVic

When Sir Terence Matthews, founder and Chairman of Wesley Clover, visited the University of Victoria (UVic) in 2009, the world-class serial entrepreneur inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs and gave rise to the entrepreneurship@UVic program.
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Evoshift

Seven months after participating in BCIC's Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization Workshop, CEO Ryley MacKenzie formed his company Evoshift in Victoria. Evoshift services small and medium-sized businesses with cost-reducing communications solutions using WiMAX, a technology which provides one internet subscription to users that can be accessed anywhere.
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Grey River Netting

In 1996, Hugh Young started his netting company, focusing on producing shrimp nets. But over the past 14 years, Young has had to pursue new markets to stay alive with the decline of the shrimp and prawn industry. Thanks to the support the Mid-Island Science, Technology and Innovation Council (MISTIC), one of eight regional councils supported by BCIC, Grey River Netting was able to change their strategy and is now selling their nets internationally.
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L.W. Truscott Farms

L.W. Truscott Farms' Gary and Susan Snow are third
generation cherry farmers in Creston, BC. Over the
years, the landscape of the local and international cherry
market has changed, and with it, L.W. Truscott Farms
has had to adapt. Thanks to BCIC's Commercialization
of Agricultural Technologies (CAT) Program, the Snows
have been able to successfully expand their business
and are headed in a new direction: the production of
cherry juice.
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Lungpacer

In 2009, Dr. Andy Hoffer, SFU Professor of
Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, accepted
BCIC's Emerging Technology Award for SFU spinoff
Lungpacer Medical Inc.'s Transvascular Diaphragm
Pacing System (TDPS). TDPS helps wean critically ill
patients in hospital intensive care units (ICU) before
they become dependent on mechanical ventilation.
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Marine Drive Mobile

During his work with the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games, Colin MacDonald identified a need to make smartphones more accessible for people with visual and dexterity challenges. With smartphone use on the rise and a growing baby boomer demographic, this need is all the more compelling.
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QR Loyalty

QR Loyalty, started by Nigel Malkin and Jeff LaPorte, is on the verge of inking very promising deals with restaurants and retailers. Their clients are interested in QR's software, which enables retailers to engage with customers by printing QR codes on their receipts.
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Revonet Consulting

Can shift work scheduling be made more efficient? Organizations, such as hospital and temp agencies, have to invest time in manually calling and scheduling replacement workers. In August of this year, Revonet Consulting Inc., a business intelligence software company, had an innovative solution to reduce organizations' scheduling time and effort by 90%. Their answer was the Mémoon Work Force Scheduler.
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Solegear Bioplastics

Since the invention of petroleum-based plastics in the 1930s, the majority of plastic ever created is still in existence - as garbage in landfills. On September 23, 2010, Vancouver-based Solegear Bioplastics Inc. was recognized for its efforts and potential positive impact on the environment as it took home three awards at the 2010 BCIC-New Ventures Competition (BCIC-NVC).
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Spark Integration

BCIC's focus is on accelerating the growth of BC's science and technology communities to competitively position the province in the global knowledge economy.
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