By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
March 7, 2011 (March 10 on OBJ.ca)

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Observers say combination will likely mean status quo or benefit for Ottawa companies

The proposed $7-billion merger between the Toronto Stock Exchange’s parent company and the London Stock Exchange may be causing some consternation in political circles, but in the Ottawa community, it seems it’s business as usual.

“At this point of time (the details are) not material enough; those companies that are planning to go to (the TSX) will go ahead anyway,” said Brent Timmons, a lawyer with BrazeauSeller LLP.

For a company looking to go public, the U.K. exchange currently entails “more hoops, hurdles and costs” than the Toronto board, said Mr. Timmons, which would be a definite downside of a marriage between the LSE and TSX parent the TMX Group, if it leads to the shifting of regulatory operations to London.

However, he notes that’s unlikely, especially considering Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
March 7, 2011 (March 9 on OBJ.ca)

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

Between leading a company through the aftermath of the high-tech meltdown, a heated proxy battle and a global recession, Kirk Mandy has had quite the busy six years since coming out of retirement to take the helm at Zarlink Semiconductor … again.

Mr. Mandy announced recently that he would be succeeded by Gary Tanner in May of this year, closing the chapter on a half-decade rebuilding process and a 27-year career overall at the chipmaker.

Since 2005, when Mr. Mandy took over following the departure of Patrick Brockett after a three-year stint marked by poor financial results, the company has made strides in shoring up its balance sheet in the face of “significant challenges and opportunities,” in the words of Zarlink chair Adam Chowaniec.

“We’re in a position now where we’ve made substantial investments in new product platforms, the company has cash, and frankly, the company is doing quite well,” Mr. Mandy earlier told OBJ.

Zarlink has indeed managed to weather several storms, with revenues Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
March 7, 2011 (March 8 on OBJ.ca)

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

Ottawa firms measure value of online marketing campaigns

Scott Lake says it’s a rare occasion when his company gets to meet a client face-to-face. Then again, that’s perhaps less surprising when considering his business’s focus: measuring the impact of social media campaigns on the online community.

With Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools increasingly figuring into a well-rounded marketing campaign, and as the demand grows for technology that can measure whether that strategy is actually working, Mr. Lake’s SWIX doesn’t have any trouble keeping busy – even if the schedule doesn’t include face time with customers.

SWIX’s technology tracks the number of clicks and level of engagement for each tweet, link, invitation and so on, breaks the data down by social media property, and then presents the information on a unified dashboard.

“It’s like Google Analytics for social media,” Mr. Lake says.

While not yet in the black, SWIX is “closing in quickly” on profitability, Mr. Lake notes. “We’re growing by about 15 per cent per month and we have about 1,000 accounts.”

He adds that the firm has customers in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, ranging from large marketing outfits such as Dallas’s Splash Media, which help implement social media campaigns on behalf of other clients, to organizations such as The British Council and The Home Depot Mexico.

The company is also doing beta testing for its new Social Marketer offering, which measures the return on investment and conversion-to-sales rate of each social media tool.

It’s all part of the nascent social media metrics industry, which has birthed a couple of interesting companies in Ottawa: SWIX is one, as well as Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published on OBJ.ca.
March 7, 2011

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Two Ottawa entrepreneurs are packing their bags for Montreal to work on their homegrown event-planning technology, as part of a $50,000 investment deal with startup incubator Year One Labs.

Montreal-based Year One said Monday that it had made its fifth and final investment in Assemblio, founded by Ottawa natives Jonathan Abrams and Elan Dubrofsky.

The deal will see Assemblio receiving a total of $50,000, four partners and facilities at the Year One offices, in exchange for around a 20-per-cent stake in the local company. It’s a standard arrangement with any investment that Year One makes, Mr. Abrams noted.

“We’re actually leaving our jobs right now to work on Assemblio full-time,” he said in an interview with OBJ.

While the company is not out of stealth mode and details are few and far between – Assemblio’s website is currently Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Feb. 21, 2011 (March 2 on OBJ.ca)

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

The tight venture capital climate appears to be easing, with reports showing an increase in deal flow over the past year, but observers are skeptical it’s an indicator of any long-term growth or that recent investment-boosting initiatives are having their desired effect.

Venture capital investments in Canada grew 10 per cent to $1.1 billion and the number of companies financed rose five per cent in 2010, according to data from Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and its research partner, Thomson Reuters.

However, the report also showed fundraising activity slowing to a 16-year low, with venture funds bringing in only $819 million in new commitments. That’s down 24 per cent from the previous year, CVCA said.

And that difficult environment will likely Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published on OBJ.ca.
Feb. 7, 2011

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

Texas company created around $650,000 Nortel asset acquisition

Carleton (Mickey) Miller says his Plano, Texas-based company, BLiNQ Networks Inc., has big plans for Ottawa and the locally developed Nortel wireless technology BLiNQ acquired in 2010.

“We’re launching our product in the first half of the year, then we’re doing lab trials and … field trials in Ottawa,” says Mr. Miller, who was recently appointed as BLiNQ’s chief executive.

The company was founded in June 2010 after obtaining court approvals for its $650,000 acquisition of Nortel Networks’s intellectual property and wireless assets.

Now, BLiNQ is out of Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published on OBJ.ca.
Feb. 7, 2011

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

Bankrupt Gatineau firm owes $3M in secured and unsecured debt

Sitebrand.com Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Sitebrand Inc. (TSX-V:SIB), is bankrupt following a failed attempt to make an acceptable proposal to its creditors.

The Gatineau-based online marketing technology company, which filed for creditor protection in early December, announced Monday that it has made an assignment in bankruptcy under the provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

“Sitebrand.com Inc.’s efforts Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Feb. 7, 2011

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

More than $35 million in total claims against green construction group, court documents show

The envision Group – one of the newest ventures of local businessman Frank D’Addario – has filed for creditors’ protection, with court documents showing claims against the group of environmental construction companies total more than $35 million.

A document released by court-appointed monitor RSM Richter Inc. indicated The envision Group went into bankruptcy protection in mid-December “with a view to developing a strategy to preserve and maximize value under a court-supervised process.”

Six of the group’s eight subsidiaries – including Ottawa-based firm LandEx Construction Inc., headed by Mr. D’Addario’s wife Ferne – are included in the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings, the report showed. Avid Enterprises Inc. and Calgary-based electrical contracting company RBT Electric Inc. are not part of the filing.

The report showed management had estimated a positive net cash flow of approximately $3.4 million for the six-week period that ended Jan. 14, 2011, but that actual cash flow had been significantly lower as most of its customers suspended payments after learning of the CCAA filing.

“Management was overly optimistic in its ability to collect accounts receivable … (and) did not fully comprehend the impact the CCAA proceedings would have on its operations.

“Previous business practices employed by The envision Group could no longer be used to resolve numerous issues with its customers and suppliers,” the monitor’s report stated. Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
June 29, 2009 (July 2 on OttawaBusinessJournal.com)

Bridgewater could benefit from the one area where carriers are still spending

While many other tech companies have seen their stock value plunge since the onset of the recession as customers trim or delay their spending, Bridgewater Systems is one of the few exceptions.

Although its share price has dipped somewhat in recent weeks, over the past six months its value has more than doubled, hitting a 52-week high of $5.25 in May that brought it close to revisiting its $5.50 initial public offering price. With record revenues in its last fiscal year and recent deals with major partners and customers, as well as a successful compromise with shareholder Crescendo Partners that helped avert a messy proxy battle, the path seems clear for the mobile service management software firm to capitalize on the rising popularity of the smartphone. So is there a downside?

The company’s view: Bridgewater CEO Ed Ogonek has said the company is at the “front stage of a mobile data revolution.” As more people request services and add more applications onto their mobile devices, demand for Bridgewater’s subscriber management and policy control technology is expected to soar, which makes sense considering many users are already drowning in a sea of applications ranging from the mundane and functional to a plethora of online games.

Mr. Ogonek noted the company is debt-free, has reported profits in 19 out of its last 20 quarters and, notably, has enough cash to be conducting an ongoing share buyback program and to be considering strategic acquisitions. Continue reading →