How Bridgit and Three Other Canadian Startups Went from Clever Pitches to Scaling Companies to Real Contenders
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THE CANADIANS IN A INSIDE PARKLAND WHY EVERY CEO HOW TO TURN THE BILLION-DOLLAR RACE FUEL’S CONVENIENT SHOULD USE UP THEIR RUMOUR MILL TO CURE COUGHING NEW STRATEGY VACATION DAYS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE THE MAGAZINE FOR LEADERS HOW BRIDGIT AND THREE OTHER CANADIAN STARTUPS WENT FROM CLEVER PITCHES TO SCALING COMPANIES TO REAL CONTENDERS MARCH 2020 AN ICON IS RISING The tallest tower in Canada, designed by Foster + Partners, one of the most innovative architectural practices in the world, is a feat of structural engineering. An exoskeleton/super structure hybrid at Yonge and Bloor, its design allows for a maximum of sunlight to penetrate the interiors. * Eight mega columns have footings more than 45 meters (148 feet) below street level. * The tower will make use of 61,000 cubic meters of concrete in total. 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We talk to the entrepreneurs BINS behind four startups—or should we say RO scale-ups?—about how they did it. UN /By Liz Agrba, Stacy Lee Kong, SHA Anthony A. Davis and Jeffrey Jones GE) PA (THIS 4 EDITOR’S NOTE 12 ASK AN EXPERT 40 WEALTH 28 The secret to being the Catherine Wood bets MANDEL; 5 ADVISORY BOARD best boss you can be big on game-changing JOURNEY TO THE TICKLE is taking your vacation technology (think IN YOUR THROAT KAILEE 7 EIGHT THINGS days. Plus, how to keep Tesla and bitcoin), and Can Roberto Bellini BY The good news: It’s your top performer from that innovative spirit recreate some of his easier than ever to strike defecting extends to how she father’s biotech magic by GAZINE it rich. The bad news: runs ARK Investment solving one of medicine’s MA The world is still mostly 14 THE EXCHANGE Management B run by men (and they’re Rola Dagher isn’t like most nagging problems? RO R sticking around longer) other CEOs. She came 44 TURNING POINT /By Sean Silcoff FO Y to Canada as a teenage Not even satellite maker 9 NEED TO KNOW refugee. Her big break Telesat is immune to USIVEL How to shut down the was a telemarketing the disruptive power CL rumour mill—or use it job at Bell. She’s an of Netflix. That’s why 34 EX T to your advantage outspoken advocate for CEO Daniel Goldberg PUMPED SHO mental health. And her is going boldly into Look out, Couche-Tard: 11 TL;DR cramped office suits her the realm of low-earth APH Calgary-based gas supply Is it USMCA or just fine satellites GR giant Parkland Fuel wants TO CUSMA? Plus to eat your convenience- PHO everything else you need to know about the soon- store lunch. VER /By Joanna Pachner CO to-be-ratified agreement MARCH 2020 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 3 Editor’s Note March 2020, Volume 36, No. 6 Editorial Editor JAMES COWAN Assistant Editor DAWN CALLEJA Senior Editor JOHN DALY Copy Editor LISA FIELDING Research CATHERINE DOWLING, ANNA-KAISA WALKER Art Art Director DOMENIC MACRI Associate Art Director BRENNAN HIGGINBOTHAM Director of Photography CLARE VANDER MEERSCH Contributors MICHAEL BARCLAY, STEVE BREARTON, JOE CASTALDO, TREVOR COLE, TIM KILADZE, JASON KIRBY, IAN MCGUGAN, JOANNA PACHNER, JUDITH PEREIRA, RITA TRICHUR, LUIS MORA Advertising Chief Revenue Officer ANDREW SAUNDERS Managing Director, Creative Studios and Ad Innovation TRACY DAY A better sandwich Senior Manager, Special Products ANDREA D’ANDRADE Product Manager RYAN HYSTEAD When Restaurant Brands International unveiled its fourth-quarter earnings Production this month, most of the Canadian headlines focused on the disappointing per- Managing Director, Print Production SALLY PIRRI formance of its Tim Hortons brand. There were plenty of reasons to be dis- Production Co-ordinator heartened, including a glut of limited-time offers and an overly generous loy- ISABELLE CABRAL alty program that cut into revenue. Comparable sales fell by 4.3% in the fourth Publisher PHILLIP CRAWLEY quarter, thanks to the chain’s compounding missteps. It was a bad three months Editor-in-Chief, The Globe and Mail DAVID WALMSLEY at the end of a bad year at the end of a bad decade for the doughnut behemoth. Managing Director, Business From an ill-fated partnership with Cold Stone Creamery in 2009 to an ill-fated and Financial Products adoption of Beyond Meat products in 2019, it’s been a long time since the chain GARTH THOMAS Editor, Report on Business had a clearheaded strategy. GARY SALEWICZ That said, there was good news in RBI’s results that was largely overlooked because of our national Tim Hortons obsession. The company—which also Report on Business magazine is published 10 times a year by The Globe owns Burger King and Popeyes—reported an 8.3% boost in sales for 2019. While and Mail Inc., 351 King Street E., Toronto the burger brand added more than 1,000 new locations in the past year, it was M5A 0N1. Telephone 416-585-5000. Popeyes that truly stood out. The fried chicken operation saw a 34.4% increase Letters to the Editor: [email protected]. in comparable sales in the fourth quarter and 12.1% for the year overall. The next issue will be on March 27. What explains this success? A really, really good sandwich. Initially launched Copyright 2020, The Globe and Mail. in August, the Popeyes chicken sandwich was neither particularly innovative Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index. Advertising Offices nor fancy. It was a fried filet of white meat on a brioche bun with pickles and Head Office, The Globe and Mail, sauce (mayo or Cajun). Both versions earned plaudits. No less than The New 351 King Street E., Toronto M5A 0N1 Yorker’s Helen Rosner raved: “[The] sandwiches stick the landing on the most Telephone 416-585-5111 or toll-free Send feedback to 1-866-999-9237 robmagletters@ important element of a fast-food sandwich: the fusion of its distinct compo- Branch Offices globeandmail.com nents into an ineffable, irresistible gestalt.” Thanks to one menu item, Popeyes’s Montreal 514-982-3050 revenue grew by US$393 million in one quarter. Restaurant Business Online, a Vancouver 604-685-0308 Calgary 403-245-4987 trade publication, noted by way of context that the boost was equivalent to the Email: [email protected] total annual sales of Chuck E. Cheese. United States and countries outside of This success provides a reason to be optimistic about Tim Hortons’s fresh North America: AJR Media Group, battle plan: make better stuff. The chain has already installed new coffee brew- 212-426-5932, ajrmediagroup@ globeandmail.com ers in more than 2,000 locations. “We’ve continued to use decades-old brewing Publications mail registration No. 7418. technology while the industry has evolved,” Restaurant Brands CEO José Cil The publisher accepts no responsibility told analysts. In short, Tim’s distinctive glass pots are headed for retirement. for unsolicited manuscripts, SHIRI KE Improving the quality of core products is a monumental task, but RBI will transparencies or other material.