Nick Rockel

For the complete interview, check out The BCBusiness Podcast. 1. Over the past couple of years, what has surprised you the most? What I have been pleasantly surprised at is the resilience and the innovation of so many businesses. But when I...

Just like anywhere else, B.C. faces its share of challenges, but this province is also in a good place. We know you’ll agree when you meet the contenders for our third annual Business of Good Awards, which celebrate local organizations...

Siblings Brandon and Kaleena Morrison started United & Free in 2016, with the goal of creating skin and haircare products that were vegan, cruelty-free, inclusive and effective. Then they took a closer look at waste in the beauty industry, which...

Community Savings Credit Union has no doubt about its social purpose. “We exist to unite working people to build a just world,” says Kirsten I’Anson, VP people and culture with the Surrey-based financial institution, which has longstanding ties to the...

By launching its Impact Investor Challenge (IIC) series in 2019, Spring Activator set out to create new opportunities. “We realized that access to early-stage impact investing was hard,” recalls Keith Ippel, CEO of the Vancouver-based business incubator, accelerator and advisory firm. Impact investing, which aims to deliver a social or environmental benefit...

They had no idea they’d end up working together, but Elaine Alec, Chris Derickson and Jessie Hemphill all saw a problem that needed a solution. Back in 2008, the three Indigenous founders of Alderhill Planning got involved in creating plans...

Helena McShane didn’t always know that supermarket produce displays are just for show. “Not to shame other grocery stores, but I never realized that those piles of oranges are there for me to look at, not to buy,” says McShane...

At first glance, Highway Thru Hell looks like a man’s world. The long-running documentary series, created by Great Pacific Media (GPM) for Discovery Channel, follows the male employees of a heavy vehicle rescue company as they toil to keep B.C. highways open. But the producer is a woman: Nicole Tomlinson, who worked...

Amelia Warren never planned to go into the family business. “In our family, it was always, Find a way to give back,” says the CEO of food maker and retailer Epicure. “I always thought that would be through charitable work.” So...

Like many other local business owners, the founders of cleantech firm CarboNet had some sleepless nights when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The Vancouver-based startup had just spent a year proving the effectiveness of its water treatment platform, which uses drug delivery...

Every business likes to say that people are its greatest asset. For Jill Tipping, president and CEO of the BC Tech Association, that maxim applies to our whole province. You can read all about it in A New Economic Narrative for...

Well, that wasn’t always so fun. As they put 2021 behind them, with the COVID-19 pandemic still very much alive, business decision makers face another challenging year. What’s coming our way in 2022? To tease out some key themes for...