This is my final blog about my vacation in New Zealand, where I couldn’t resist trying to understand the state of entrepreneurism and innovation. Please see my first and second blog on the topic here. I’ve had several comments and questions since my first blog and I’ve attempted to answer them here.

Some time has passed and the news of the Christchurch earthquake has dropped from media attention in North America, but the suffering continues. The death toll is now pegged at 166 with 10,000 homes destroyed. The latest reports suggest that fully one third of the buildings require demolition. The can-do attitude of the Kiwi was apparent in their approach to the disaster from the first minutes. In this tragic time, it was heart-warming to see the response and level of international support, including Canada and especially Australia. 

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Although described as a nerd by someone close to me, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit Hobbiton while travelling across the North Island. Portions of the The Hobbit movie, precursor to the Lord of the Rings, is being filmed there later this year.  The investment in unbelievably “real” backdrops for filming on location helps to explain why New Zealand is able to attract so much attention from the movie industry. The amazing scenery and diversity in relatively short distances is a contributor as well.

While in Auckland, I had the opportunity to meet with Andy Hamilton, CEO of the ICEHOUSE, a local business incubator. They occupy a complete floor of an old warehouse in the Parnell textile district. The incubator is configured as completely open concept, with everyone, including Andy, working in open desks around the outside of the space and glass walled meeting rooms in the center of the floor space. The ICEHOUSE was formed in 2001 and is a partnership between University of Aukland, Bank of New Zealand, Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young, HP, Microsoft and Telecom NZ.

The ICEHOUSE has two main lines of business: ICE Accelerator, ICE Network and ICE Bridge. ICE Accelerator is the incubator, which provides a modest office space along with full support (IT, communications, reception etc.) plus access to in-house consulting partners covering areas of HR, strategy, marcomms etc. Of the 25 active clients at any one time, 15 are located within the incubator and the others have graduated to their own premises. The companies pay $1,000 per month to be clients and an additional $1,500 per month to be housed in the incubator.

ICE Bridge is a collaborative learning environment for owner-managers with a focus on tools to move their business forward. These companies are typically profitable and ready to undertake expansion opportunities. ICE Network is described as the ICEHOUSE extended family including entrepreneurs, owner-managers, speakers, partners and alumni. In addition, the ICE Angels have been operating for the past seven years and have selected 17 companies for investment ($26 million) and active mentorship. They are typically young, innovative New Zealand companies ready to build a global enterprise.

ICEHOUSE was named one of the Top 10 technology incubators in the world by Forbes magazine in 2010 following the Vero Excellence in Business Support award in 2009.

The Auckland area has about 200 of the 600 startup companies across New Zealand. With a population of 1.5 million in the greater Auckland area this is comparable to Ottawa-Gatineau region in size and strength. There are definitely some interesting ideas that can be garnered from the visit. Providing a strong nexus of people, knowledge, expertise and best practices has a significant impact on both the quantity of new companies produced and hopefully their success rate. It will be interesting to follow ICEHOUSE progression over the next five to 10 years. I’ve invited Andy to visit Ottawa to see what we have going here and to continue the learning process.

Thanks for all the comments for my first two blogs. Now that I have a few blogs under my belt, I hope to sit down every month to organize some of my thoughts into what I hope you’ll find interesting and informative posts. I look forward to sharing some ideas comparing and contrasting wine production with technological innovation next month.

Claude

February 22, 2011

It is the morning after a devastating earthquake here in New Zealand.  I would like to extend my condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who were killed or injured in powerful earth quake that struck Christchurch.  My family and I are safe but it is a harsh reminder to always live life to its fullest and to not take anything for granted.

We are in Auckland (North Island) until Friday when we fly back. The quake and the many aftershocks were very close to downtown Christchurch on the South Island. At 6.3 this was lower intensity than the 7.0 in the fall but was closer to the surface and closer to the city center. Death toll sits officially 38 but is expected to be higher since about 200 people are still missing in the rubble. It hit at 12:50 pm so office buildings were full. They have just pulled out six people without injury so everyone is hopeful for the rest. We did have the chance to visit the South Island earlier in our trip when we stayed three nights in the hotel across the street from Christchurch Cathedral which has now lost its tower in the quake.

While sombered by the news of the quake we continue exploring this amazing country. 

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There have been several comments and questions since my first post and I’ll attempt to answer them here or in the third part next week. Please see my first blog about entrepreneurism and innovation.  While on vacation I couldn’t resist creating an opportunity to find out more.

Lord of the Rings hype is increasing since filming of “The Hobbit” starts next month. Peter Jackson has apparently recovered enough to get the production underway. During the visit to Queenstown, to sample some of the best Pinot Noirs in the world, I took time out to visit a few of the filming locations for Lord of the Rings and other films. Visiting some of sites via narrow roads clinging to the sides of the mountains gave me a hint about the Kiwi approach to risk and danger, more on this later.

I was asked why New Zealanders, or Kiwis, are more entrepreneurial than Canadians. While I’m still not sure that I’ve found the complete answer, there are a few items of note. First, NZ is a frontier country; second, it has been relatively recently settled by people from afar; and third, it missed the smoke and grime of the industrial revolution. The post-secondary institutions in NZ are excellent and they attract students from many countries. At this stage I’m not sure that this contributes to the innovative environment but I suspect that it does by bringing in people from different cultures, experiences and new ideas at a minimum. New Zealand spends 6.2% of GDP on education (Canada 4.9% and USA 5.5%).

Although some parts of New Zealand have been settled for more than 150 years, most areas have been settled during the past century. The total population was only 100,000 in 1850 and less than 800,000 in 1900. This gives the country, and especially the South Island, a feeling of a new frontier. In contrast, Canada had 3.5 million people in 1867 and four times the current New Zealand population back in 1950. Of course, the Canadian west was developed in a significant way over the past century and explains why some parts of NZ feel like parts of BC and Alberta. This “cowboy” mentality brings a risk taking, get-the-job-done approach to life. Just try making a living raising 20,000 less than intelligent four-legged animals at a sheep station in Central Otaga.

New Zealand, like Canada, was founded by people from other lands. First, by the South Pacific warriors, the Moari, and then by the English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians. Later, by the Chinese and Indians and more recently by people from around the world. This melting pot of cultures and languages brings an innovative spirit. Often the most enterprising people are those who have chosen to move their families to seek a better life in a new world. Although 91% list English as their first tongue, many different languages are spoken here.

Finally, New Zealand seems to have missed most of the industrial revolution that blighted many centres in Europe and North America. The country was predominately agrarian while we built our traditional industries in Canada. This leaves the country with a pristine environment and a wonderful place, with the highly educated and international population, to excel in this world of innovative solutions and a service-oriented economy.

I’ve set the following questions for my informal survey:

• Why do so many people own their own businesses and are there government incentives?
• Are tech businesses encouraged in any specific ways and what influences local innovation?

Stay tuned for Part 3, where I will discuss innovation in wine production before getting on to technology pursuits.

Claude

February 8, 2011

Greetings from the South Island of New Zealand, which lives up to its reputation as a scenic, almost magical place. We haven’t seen any Orks yet, or Hobbits for that matter, but we have encountered a friendly and inquisitive local population that always has a story to share. I hadn’t intended to work or even blog on my visit to New Zealand as a tourist. We have planned this vacation for more than two years and saved vacation days from last year in order to stretch it to a full three weeks. So far we’ve visited Christchurch, the garden city, and travelled by rail through Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps and then by coach down to Franz Josef, an alpine town in the rain forest at the foot of the glacier of the same name.

Over the past year, when not hosting OCRI professional development events, entertaining visiting delegations from various countries, participating in youth entrepreneurship initiatives and meeting with the various funders of our innovation programs, I have led a group called Innovation Leadership Team (ILT). ILT has been focusing on cataloguing the assets in Ottawa, defining our innovation objectives and comparing to other leading innovation centers globally. We have had multiple opportunities to see what’s happening in China, places like Z-Park with their 18,000 technology companies in one industrial park. I’m taking the opportunity while on vacation to get a sense of the New Zealand approach. To that end, I will be meeting with the CEO of the ICEHOUSE, a company incubator in Auckland later in the trip.

As I learn more about the Kiwis, as they call themselves, I discover a people that are both very enterprising and innovative but also hard working with a balanced life style. These are people who value living well but not to excess. The focus on locally produced food, beer and wine was driven I’m sure by the distance to other countries but continues today as distances become smaller. Their focus on sustainable living rivals the Scandinavian approach. Everyone, at least on the South Island, is very connected to the natural environment, how could you not be with such diverse and beautiful surroundings.

Another striking feature of life in this area of New Zealand is the average age. With a massive influx of university students and recent graduates from countries from around the world, there is a youthful flavour about the population. Add that to the fact that most people we have seen are quite fit, I’m feeling decidedly old and out of shape in comparison.

I’m planning to ask the locals the following questions:

• Why do so many people own their own business?
• Are there gov’t incentives?
• Are tech businesses encouraged in any specific way?
• What has influenced local innovation?

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I hope to be able to talk about innovation in wine production. Consumption of course is part of the experience.

Claude

April 11, 2010 – Beijing

It is early Sunday morning in Beijing, early Saturday evening back home in Ottawa, and I am having one of those goose bump moments that are rare in the world of economic development. In my business, it is seldom that you are able to see immediate cause and effect to your actions. Our job is to develop strategies and tactics that often take years to pay off and particularly in today’s world of global supply chains and global competitiveness. But as I sit here this Sunday morning, watching Phil Mickelson make his charge for the lead in the third round of the 2010 Masters (remember the 12 hour time difference), I am feeling that years of hard work are paying off.

In September of 2006, OCRI launched its China program with a trip to Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shanghai and Beijing. OCRI had focussed programs in the United States and Europe. It was increasingly evident that the world was changing and any true global strategy would have to address the increasing influence of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies. Our analysis showed clearly that China was likely to be our strategic third option (after our domestic and the US markets) but that Ottawa was like a grain of sand on the beach of China’s economic awakening.

How do you start? We had been warned that it would be a long journey. We were looking at a country with well over a billion people. It was half way around the world and 12 time zones away. Few of our companies had been successful there. Many of our companies looked at the challenges of culture and IP enforcement and said that it wasn’t worth the battle. This wasn’t the United States - an excellent product with a solid value proposition would not get you in the game. This was a land of relationships.

And the journey did prove long, we are now 3 ½ years later and I am making my eighth visit. Relationship building takes commitment and time. It is the first visit for our new CEO Claude Haw. The staff that we dealt with at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing have completely turned over. One of our earliest friends at the Z-Park in Beijing, Dr. Xia, retired this winter and it is our first meeting with his replacement Zhou Yunfan.  Three years ago, Mayor Larry O’Brien, accompanying us on this trip, was still a businessman in a seemingly impossible campaign for Mayor. China was a place on the map, for the companies with us, not yet considered a strategic market. Accredited Destination Status looked like a distant dream putting our tourism sector at a distinct disadvantage. My China Project Manager, Sophie Chen was just getting married, never mind preparing to return after maternity leave. Joan Sun, doing a tremendous job of replacing Sophie during her maternity leave, was still busy raising her daughter with only vague ideas of setting up her Canada China consulting company.

So why the goose bumps this morning? Our early research proved that we needed a competitive advantage and an entry point. Consequently, our emphasis on ICT and Ottawa’s emerging cleantech sector. Ottawa had a Sister City agreement signed in 1999 with Beijing making Beijing our obvious city of concentration.

What has been achieved in the last three days? Our Mayors have recommitted to the agreement signed in 1999, moving our cities to a new level of cooperation. Our Mayor met with members of the team of artisans that will travel to Ottawa next week to begin construction of the Chinese Arch that will be placed at the entrance to Ottawa’s Chinatown. It has been presented to Ottawa and Canada by Beijing and China to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the modern Canada China diplomatic relationship. Our tourism organization signed an agreement with their sister organization here linking the UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Great Wall and the Rideau Canal. OCRI signed an MOU with the Beijing Investment and Promotion Bureau to increase cooperation in investment between the two cities.

Our Mayor loves to show off Ottawa, a global example of a sustainable city. My count is that we have commitments of at least five organizations from Beijing to visit Ottawa this year to continue our discussions on building green cities, cross investment between our companies and encouraging science and technology cooperation. Not that I needed more work, but in a virtual world, it is still person to person contact that cements a relationship and moves it forward.

Mayor O’Brien is also a successful technology entrepreneur and that agenda was moved forward. Two of our cleantech companies significantly moved their Beijing agendas forward, Plasco and Clearford. Wesley Clover, a company owned by Ottawa’s most successful ICT entrepreneur, Terry Matthews, used the opportunity to build its network in Beijing and move forward its investment plans in China. Ottawa companies are being successful in China.

As a bonus, I received an invitation to the official opening of Huawei’s Ottawa R&D Centre on the same day that Huawei was presenting to a seminar in Beijing on the advantages of doing R&D in Ottawa and Canada. Chinese companies are discovering Ottawa.

I had a premonition that this trip would bring it all together for our China strategy when I was able to upgrade to Business Class on my entire Air Canada flight from Ottawa to Beijing, a rare event as any frequent flier knows. But I never dreamed that I would see a three and a half year journey, involving so many people, working against incredible odds, come together to produce the results of the last few days. It is a great feeling, even if I am half way around the world from home. Now Claude and Mayor O’Brien will probably expect an encore!

OTTAWA, ON, Saturday April 10, 2010 – OCRI has signed a cooperation agreement with the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau two days into a 10 day trade mission to China. This memorandum of understanding was signed with the privilege of being witnessed by the Mayor of Beijing Guo Jin Long and Mayor of Ottawa Larry O’Brien.

The agreement outlines the intent of both parties to work together to promote economic exchange and cooperation between Ottawa and Beijing.

“By signing this agreement, we confirm our intention to develop long term and beneficial working relationships with the city of Beijing,” says Claude Haw, President and CEO, OCRI. “We look forward to working with the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau to promote trade, investment and cooperation between our great cities.”

On April 6, Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien, along with nine local companies and representatives from Ottawa Tourism and OCRI, embarked on the trade mission to encourage cooperation between Ottawa and China in a number of sectors including ICT and clean technologies, and to encourage increased Chinese investment in Ottawa-based companies. The mission, coordinated by OCRI, the city’s lead economic development agency, will strengthen existing relationships and further establish Ottawa as a valuable strategic partner.

On the same day, Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mayor of Beijing marking the start of a very successful mission. 

Monday, the delegation will travel to Chongqing to meet with senior municipal officials, trade commissioners and companies followed by two days of meetings in Shenzhen. The mission wraps up in Hong Kong on April 16th.

For regular updates on the Mission to China please visit http://ocriblogs.com/ .

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About OCRI:

Leading the way for Ottawa, OCRI is the city’s economic development agency. OCRI is the rallying point to bring business, education, research and talent together to create the winning economic conditions that allow Ottawa’s knowledge-based companies to thrive locally and compete globally. At OCRI we promote sustainable economic development to maintain our high quality of life. For more information on OCRI visit our website at www.ocri.ca and for more information on the Ottawa Region please visit www.ottawaregion.com. In 2010, Ottawa was named one of the world’s top seven intelligent communities by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF).

For information contact:

Kim Cunningham
Manager, External Communications
OCRI
Office: (613) 828-6274 ext. 256
Cell: (613) 851-0768
kcunningham@ocri.ca

April 7, 2010

It’s early morning and the delegation gathers in the hotel lobby ready to start the real work. I would say bright eyed and bushy tailed, but the long flight and the 12 hour time difference has most of us moving a bit slowly. We start the day with the team split into two groups. The Mayor will go to the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall to learn about the history of Beijing and to prepare him for meetings with various Beijing city organizations and his visit with Mayor Guo, while the companies travelling with the Mayor head to the Canadian Embassy in Beijing.

Mayor of Ottawa, Larry O'Brien presents gift to Mayor Guo of Beijing

At the Embassy, we are met by Majid Dellah who has been the Embassy lead for the planning of our mission. Inside the Embassy, we are met by several Trade Commissioners (TC) at the Embassy. They represent ICT, cleantech, tourism and investment across China, essentially the entire Beijing TC team is there.

We are fortunate to be visiting literally weeks after the latest Party Congress. China has re-affirmed its commitment, and budget allocation, to our key sectors of ICT and the green economy. Prime Minister Harper’s recent visit not only confirmed Canada’s support to the growing Sino Canadian trade and investment relationship, but also moved Canada closer to Approved Destination Status, a key element to Ottawa’s tourism strategy. Our Mayor’s visit to Beijing adds weight to the growing relationships being developed between Ottawa and Beijing under the Ottawa-Beijing sister city relationship, signed in 1999.

It was planned that each company would give a short outline of their company, their objectives from this visit and their long term strategy in China. The TC’s would then explain individual sector opportunities. But the discussions begin almost immediately. So much for a planned and orderly introduction process!  The companies are anxious to get talking and the Trade Commissioners have been pumped by Majid that OCRI has prepared them well and they are here to succeed. About an hour and a half was allocated to this process, but the talk just seems to have started when we are joined by the Mayor’s group and our Ambassador to China, David Mulroney.

Noel Buckley, Ottawa Tourism, Mayor of Ottawa Larry O'Brien and Ambassador to China David Mulroney in discussion at Canadian Embassy in Beijing

Ambassador Mulroney confirms the enthusiasm of his staff about the future of the Canada China trade investment, tourism and science and technology relationships. The city-to-city relationship established between Ottawa and Beijing, and the backing of that relationship evident by this visit by Mayor O’Brien, are the tactics needed to implement a strong China strategy.

We get an extra treat from the Ambassador. The Embassy has been working on a new program to promote China opportunities to be launched next week in a cross-Canada speaking tour. We are the beta audience and some of the stats seem incredible. China today consumes 70% of the world’s iron ore production. Of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, China is the clear winner as we emerge from the global financial crisis. With our abundant natural resources, good governance and a sound financial system, Canada is one of the three countries topping China’s areas of interest. The Ottawa China strategy fits well into Ambassador Mulroney’s eight rules for success with its emphasis on high level commitment, partnership, an understanding of China, while coming at the relationship with a Canadian perspective. This builds on the support of his staff in pushing our mission, promoting cross investment in our companies and leveraging our technology leadership and innovation.

A casual lunch with the Ambassador and our Trade Commissioner hosts helps our companies better understand the opportunity and how they can be successful. We are a bit jet lagged, but pumped as we begin our meetings with Chinese organizations and companies.

Rod Bryden, President of Plasco presents Sens Jersey to Mayor Guo of Beijing

Day 1: Tuesday, April 6th -

Ottawa Hello from 36,000 feet over the Canadian Rockies!

We were up bright and early before dawn and arrived at the airport just at daybreak, weather looking good for a flight to the other side of the world. It’s very exciting to be going to China, if only we had the Enterprise transporter working by now. Five plus hours to Vancouver, three hour wait and then another 11 hours to Beijing is the pain before the gain on a typical trade and investment mission. This brings back memories of long flights to distant lands to meet important customers back in the heady days of the telecom boom during the 90s.

Waiting at the airport on my just in time arrival (I don’t like to spend extra time at airports), is our mission team including the Mayor of Ottawa and his advisor. At the request of OCRI, Mayor Larry O’Brien has agreed to lead a trade and investment mission to four cities in China over the next 10 days. Travelling to Asia is old-hat for the Mayor, having visited many times in his business persona, but this is his first time to China as the Mayor of the capital city of a G8 country.

So far, we have been treated very well by the Chinese with letters of invitation, visas and itineraries produced efficiently and as requested. Thankfully, we have the tireless Joan Sun as our coordinator for the mission. She not only took care of many of the protocol and logistics items but was willing and able to call Beijing at all times of the day and night to get everything ready for our trip.

The trade and investment mission includes: Mayor Larry O’Brien and Robert Thompson, the mayor’s advisor; OCRI; Ottawa Tourism; and eleven companies from the investment, Cleantech and ICT sectors. Representing OCRI is Mike Darch, Executive Director, Global Marketing, OCRI who is on his fifth mission to China over the past five years; Joan Sun, OCRI China Program Manager; and myself, Claude Haw, President and CEO, OCRI on my first trade mission since joining OCRI last year. Representing Ottawa Tourism is Noel Buckley, President, a frequent traveler to Asia and other areas of the world whose tourism perspective is very valuable.

While in China we hope to secure a number of new agreements and reaffirm others including the Sister City Cooperation agreement between Ottawa and Beijing. We will be meeting with groups of investors looking for bilateral investment opportunities, municipal officials considering alternatives for water, energy and waste infrastructure projects and companies looking for the latest innovation in information and communications technologies.

This is the first of many blogs from the mission to China.  Look for insight from a number of participants on the trip. Everyone will have their own stories to tell!

Day 2: Wednesday, April 7th – Beijing

Nihao from Beijing (and that covers the full range of my Mandarin vocabulary). Air Canada treated us very well over the 20 hours between arriving at the Ottawa airport, transiting through Vancouver and finally landing in Beijing. Leaving early morning from Ottawa was easy enough and the planes for both legs were not completely full. Travelling in economy was quite comfortable when the seat beside was available to spread out papers and such.

It seemed strange to leave Ottawa in sunny early morning, travel almost around the clock in sunlight to arrive in Beijing mid-afternoon of the next day. We were well received in China with the coordinator from the Beijing Foreign Office  coming to the airport to meet us. After traveling nearly 12,000 km, this was a wonderful personal touch.

First impressions of Beijing from a sleep-deprived state of mind was …. well a fog actually, not the crystal clear air of the Rockies at least. The route from the airport downtown was very much that of a modern city with many tall buildings, both commercial office towers and residential, a few older apartment buildings and much more English writing on buildings than I expected. Mid-afternoon traffic from the airport to our hotel in central Beijing was moderate to heavy but moved well. There were bicycles and motorbikes on the road but not a huge number. The block around the hotel holds dealerships for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin, shops for Gucci, etc. and even a Starbucks.

People at the airport, on roads, streets and hotel seem courteous and friendly. The Regent Hotel people were very helpful and fast on check-in. There was whole contingent at the door to welcome the Mayor including the hotel manager. Our home for the next five days and four nights looks to be excellent.

Lucky for us the itinerary for our first short day was to get settled in our hotel, get a briefing from the Vice Counsel from the Canadian Embassy in Beijing followed by a light dinner and then off to bed to attempt to synchronize our body clock with the local time. Asking my body to stay awake for more than 24 hours was so much easier a couple of decades ago – oh to be 30 again!

More to come after a very full day tomorrow….

As you may know, OCRI is very much involved with the development of the Innovation Strategy for Ottawa. For the past several months, the Innovation Strategy working group which represents Ottawa’s diverse knowledge-based community including education, research, government and industry has been working together to collect input and feedback from all sectors in the community. Now, after completing initial consultations, the group is ready to provide their assessment. 

Tomorrow, Claude Haw, President and CEO of OCRI, will speak about Ottawa’s Innovation Strategy in greater detail at the Mayor’s Breakfast at Ottawa City Hall.  Facts are… Ottawa has changed, we’ve got good news, positive momentum and diversity on our side which positions the city well for success in the new creative economy.

Over the next three months, the plan will be rolled out including objectives, targets and action items. Essentially, the Innovation Strategy will provide a road map to ensure that Ottawa’s creative class continues to build wealth and successful new companies.   

Key action items of the innovation strategy will address talent, cluster and ecosystem development, investment attraction and marketing the entire region to the world.

Check out Claude Haw’s article which appeared in this week’s Ottawa Business Journal.  He clearly outlines why and how well Ottawa is on track to becoming a leader in the creative economy.  Just like the article says – Ottawa has changed – and the new reality here includes new companies, new sectors, new success stories, renewed growth, revitalized energy and enormous potential.
 
So the next time someone asks you, “What’s Ottawa like?”, what will you say?  Tell them the real story – that Ottawa is Canada’s creative economy capital.

UPDATE: Claude Haw’s presentation is now available online http://www.ocri.ca/about/publications.asp