Comparison of Tech Incubators in Ontario, Canada

Senior staffers from The Stiller Centre in London, the Ottawa Centre for Researc
h and Innovation, and the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo talk about their region
s resources, areas of expertise and culture of innovation.
LONDON
The Stiller Centre for Technology Commercialization in London, Ontario opened in
November of 2003. The incorporated, non-profit organization has 4 full-time sta
ff and a platoon of prestigious backers including the Lawson Health Research Ins
titute and the University of Western Ontario.
Prior to joining Stiller in 2005, Lee Smithson, general manager who has a Degree
in Cell Biology, was a senior account manager for Fisher Scientific. Smithson h
eaded up the shared services function at Stiller before becoming GM.
The Centres 2006 budget is largely supplied by the city, the University of West
ern Ontario and the MRI. In 2006, Stiller produced about $46 million in total in
vestment across its flotilla of life sciences researchers, biofuel concerns and
medical device manufacturers. Stiller offers the lowest-cost wet labs in Ontario
.
The London area benefits from a strong research community, rent-by-the-hour lab
space, the Western Universitys Photonics and Nanotechnology Lab, and a regular
supply of MBAs. The local presence of the Robarts Research Institute and the ver
y active TechAlliance broadens the culture of innovation.
There is a range of corporate maturity and technical focus that provides good op
portunity for organic collaboration, according to Smithson. Interested parties n
eed a business plan, insurance and the ability to prove themselves to a review b
oard.
Centre tenant Viron Therapeutics recently announced they are advancing to phase
II clinical trials; a former Stiller tenant, Critical Outcome Technologies, laun
ched an IPO in 2006.
Both larger and smaller companies are hiring and Smithson says London is an empl
oyees market. Its difficult to keep good staff. A lot of people jump from one
company to the other within the London area.
Stillers Convergence Lab offers equipment, coaching and business model developm
ent. The Centre offers an annual prize to a recent graduate that includes instru
mentation, funding, business mentoring and introduction to potential sources of
capitalization.
OTTAWA
The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) in Ottawa, Ontario first op
ened its doors in 1982. The non-profit corporation has about 80 staff, about two
-thirds of whom are full time, according to Jeffrey Dale, president and CEO of O
CRI since 2001.
Dale is the former president of Kom Networks, and has also held executive roles
with Peleton Photonic Systems and SHL Systemhouse. The OCRI was one of the firs
t economic development corporations in Canada to put a focus on knowledge-based
industries, says Dale. The OCRI merged with OEDC in 2001, and with the OLSC in
2006.
OCRIs budget for 2006 was between eight and $10 million. The total investment a
cross OCRIs roster was nearly $265 million. The city, the province and federal
government are key funding sources; the OCRI partners with prominent alliances i
n the education and corporate communities.
We grew up on communications technology but have grown to have clusters in wire
less, photonics, life sciences, e-business, tourism, and security and defense.
says Dale.
Ottawa was named one the Top 7 Intelligent Communities in the world for 2006, an
d ranked the 18th most livable city in the world. There are some 1,800 companies
in the tech space in the Ottawa area, many of them have less than 10 employees,
according to Dale. Bar camps, a proposed technology innovations hub, and a conv
ergence of broad corporate interests foster a regional commitment to business bu
ilding business, according to Dale.
The OCRI helps startups, tech transfers and VC-funded emerging tech companies ru
b shoulders with goliaths like Dell, Accenture and Corel. The OCRI offers member
s a series of seminars and an extended, 9-month mentorship with a local luminary
.
Dell recently quadrupled its staff in Ottawa from 500 to 2,000. Research in Moti
on is in the process of doubling or tripling its presence. Canadian owned Mitel
recently acquired internationally based Inter-tel. Its a proud story, says Dal
e. Not too often is it a Canadian company doing the buying.
After the dot-bomb of 2001, some 30,000 of Ottawas 80,000 tech workers lost the
ir jobs. In 2007, the losses have been wiped out. But the market is different,
says Dale. Instead of one or two companies hiring 100 people, there are 100 sm
aller companies hiring one or two people. Dale also says that smaller interests
tend to look for technical staff early in their development, and more sales sta
ff once they are emerging.
The OCRI Top 10 Life Sciences Companies awards recognize early stage and emergin
g companies. That leads to a road show in Boston, New York, San Diego, and San
Francisco, says Dale. Ottawa-area companies usually make up a third or half of
the winners.
The OCRI is focused on developing the capacity for global reach, and helping to
develop what Dale calls mini-multinationals. In the next decade in Canada, succ
essful emerging techs are going to look and think globally, he says, adding tha
t trips to meet with peers in India have recently yielded results.
The OCRI also partners with Communitech in Waterloo and Markhams Innovation Syn
ergy Centre through the Regional Innovation Development Program, in order to dri
ve business development in key regional clusters of Ontario.
WATERLOO
The Accelerator Centre in Waterloo, Ontario opened in May 2006. The centre is a
not-for-profit corporation with a full time staff of four. Dr. Tom Corr, chief e
xecutive officer, is the former Director of Commercialization IT & Communication
s, at the University of Toronto and a 30-year corporate veteran of the IT sector
.
The Centres funding is provided by the City of Waterloo, the region, the provin
ce, and the Government of Canada. The AC also has many private and corporate don
ors, according to Corr. Last years $1-million budget produced about $500,000 in
venture capital investment. But many of our tenants are already well capitaliz
ed, says Corr. Often they are in search of training, not funding.
The focus on information technology is reflective of the high concentration of e
merging techs in the area. The University of Guelph and Wilfred Laurier combine
with the University of Waterloo to create some 5,000 graduates annually in compu
ter science, engineering and business.
Besides being home to one of the largest concentrations of math and computer sci
ence educators in the world, Waterloo boasts a robust entrepreneurial culture an
d extensive business training opportunities. Battle-proven tech veterans and a s
ignificant population of engineering interests drive the creation of intellectua
l property in the region.
Waterloos Communitech alliance offers support, training programs and courses on
things like sales and pricing. The tech industry in Communitech LogoWaterloo is
very community driven, according to Corr, and much of the areas development is
driven by legacy players. Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion, recently
invested $50 million to help fund a new research interest.
The application process for tenancy at the AC requires a competent business plan
and proof of financial wherewithal. There are a host of training and developmen
t opportunities available through the centre and its partners. Accelerator tenan
ts breathe the same, rarefied air of tech heavyweights like RIM, SlipStream and
Sandvine Inc.
Corr says that, despite the plethora of local graduates, Waterloo region techs s
till struggle to fill their rosters. The real dearth right now is with seasoned
management, says Corr. There is not as much repeat entrepreneurship as [in] S
ilicon Valley.
The Accelerator Centre is already at capacity six months ahead of schedule. We b
ooked the last space on our one-year anniversary, says Corr. The centre is in th
e process of securing another building, directly across the street, to double it
s available space.
We are raring to go and ready for more, says Corr. Anything we can do to help
our clients bridge the gap between innovation and commercialization, were goin
g to do.