BCBusiness

BCBUSINESS.CA APRIL 2019 BCBUSINESS 33 the AVA Byte, in 2016, the atten- tion has been non-stop. The indoor garden–a small device that looks like a mini-speaker and automates plant care–earned her not just a top-three finish in last year's Pitch for the Purse competition run by the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, but $2 million in funding from Vancouver- based Vanedge Capital, which had a representative in the audience. Of course, the AVA Byte was supposed to hit the market last winter. "We're super open about the setbacks," concedes the UBC Sauder School of Business grad about her creation, which she says combines the organic quality of Whole Foods with the convenience of an espresso machine. "Running a business that is based on hardware and software and the Internet of Things, we didn't consider all the things that could potentially go wrong or that we'd need a little more budget for. But as a result, it's going to be a way better product and have a lot more features than we originally promised." BOTTOM LINE : Vancouver- based AVA Technologies and its staff of seven hope to drop 5,000 AVA Bytes this spring, with another 20,000 units hitting stores later in the year. The company has been in talks about partnering with Amazon.com and Best Buy Co. –N.C. A L E X W A N Co-founder and managing director PERIPHERY DIGITAL AGE: 29 LIFE STORY: Since growing up as the "token Asian guy" in Tsawwassen, Alex Wan has capitalized on his knowledge of East and West: "I always found myself enjoying educating my friends on Chinese culture, which is a natural precursor to what I do now." Wan, whose family immigrated to B.C. from Taiwan when he was five, never planned to be an entrepreneur. After earning a BA in communica- tions from SFU, he did stints at a couple of e-commerce companies but didn't like working for someone else. When he and some friends tried to start a business bringing Western goods to China, they ran into regula- tory roadblocks. To make money, the group picked up contracts marketing real estate to Chinese buyers. Those efforts spawned Periphery Digital, which launched in late 2016. Besides Wan, the sole remaining co-founder is director of operations Marjo Ruokamo. The Vancouver-based agency, which creates campaigns that help Western-branded businesses reach the diverse Chinese-speaking com- munity, also offers insights into how those consumers think and behave. Knowing where they communicate online is important; for example, most Lower Mainland residents from mainland China use WeChat rather than Facebook or Instagram. Thanks to Ottawa's current spat with Beijing, Wan has seen social media platforms in China pull back on promoting Canadian tourism. "But everything else, I'd say, from real estate and brands, it's business as usual." BOTTOM LINE : Periphery now has 10 staff, and in its second year, revenue was well over $1 million. A few of its clients: FlyOver Canada, Rennie Marketing Systems, Tourism New Brunswick and Uber Eats. Within three and five years, respec- tively, the company hopes to have offices in Toronto and China. –N.R. C A R L T O N E E Vice-president, consolidation and coastal operations SPEEDEE TRANSPORT AGE: 29 LIFE STORY: For much of his life, Carlton Ee, whose Malaysian- immigrant father founded Burnaby- based Rolls Right Trucking in 1976, had no interest in trucks. "What I did actually have a passion for was third-party logistics and supply chain management," he says. Ee earned a BA in English literature and philoso- phy from McGill but decided against pursuing law as originally planned. He joined the family firm, working in the warehouse and customer service before starting a division that specializes in transportation to areas outside Metro Vancouver in 2014. Two years later it merged with another arm to become Speed Ee Trucking Ltd. dba Speedee Transport, with the "ee" representing the family name. Speedee's biggest customers include Best Buy Canada, Coca-Cola Canada, Loblaws, PepsiCo, Sobeys and Walmart Canada. BOTTOM LINE : The company has some 80 staff in Burnaby; 15 driv- ers and three office staff in Nanaimo; and five drivers and two office staff in Kelowna, plus contract drivers. –F.S. M I A F I O N A K U T Founder and CEO LUNA NECTAR ORGANICS AGE: 28 LIFE STORY: Interested in herbs and self-care as a child growing up in Richmond, Mia Fiona Kut took a course in alternative medicine at SFU while getting her BA with a major in communications. "That reignited my spark, and I fell back in love with it," she says. When her younger sister experienced side effects from a chemical eyelash-lengthening serum, Kut decided to create a natural alternative. She made the first itera- tion herself, then hired a chemicals consultant to ensure the serum met Health Canada standards. In June 2017, after a year of prod- uct testing, Kut launched Moon Boost Lash & Brow Enhancing Serum, which uses only natural ingredients and is PETA-certified vegan and cruelty-free. It was one of 10 eyelash-growth serums recommended by Women's Health magazine. BOTTOM LINE : With the help of two employees and two contractors, Kut produces and ships Luna Nectar products from a facility in southeast Vancouver. They can be purchased online and at 35 retailers in Canada, the U.S., Singapore and Saudi Arabia. In 2018 the company sold more than 110,000 units and earned $300,000 in revenue. –F.S. THIRTY UNDER THIRTY

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