Going the Extra Mile
Alberta’s entrepreneurial tech companies continually work so very hard developing technologies and solutions, often advancements that don’t have an established market – but serve an important need. The founders pay themselves last – building their teams and managing their time so that they contact customers during standard working hours – and often catch up on their paperwork in the evening and on weekends.
It is this type of work ethic that inspires many in the innovation community, to go the extra mile with them – and help clear the path in any way we can. I have never seen this in action as much as I have this past weekend:
- from the grass-roots MovEd team, delivering the 1st ever GovTech Hackathon taking an open and creative approach to improving systems for Albertans, with speakers ranging from Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish, to AltaML (and I Heart Alberta Tech) Co-Founder Nicole Janssen, to Medicine Hat’s ASTech-Award Winner Kinetisense)
- to the SxSW entrepreneur cohorts from Calgary and Edmonton, who are returning back from this trip to Austin, Texas – not only excited about the business value they received from the conference, but in awe of the community support they received from the Alberta Innovates and Accelerator teams leading the charge, and optimizing opportunities, and ensuring that business impact is achieved.
When everyone goes the extra mile – we no longer look like industry, government, academia, and entrepreneurs – we look like a single integrated team, getting our tech sector across the finish line.
Well done, and keep it going Team Alberta!
Yours in Community,
Gail
Gail J. Powley, P.Eng
President, Technology Alberta
