BCBusiness

July/August 2021 - The Top 100

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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RIGHT: KATHLEEN FISHER PHOTOGRAPHY JULY/AUGUST 2021 BCBUSINESS 45 born out of, based on the dynamic." In an industry like Vancouver real estate, any change to the status quo was going to ruffle some feathers. "I'm not going to name names, but yeah, we definitely had some people who were unhappy with us when we went to market, because we were taking away some of the profits," Baker says. "But we're developing a product that helps maximize fairness–you have to balance both sides." BOTTOM LINE : James, Baker and third co-founder Rayan Rafay raised $289 million earlier this year, and 13-employee Fraction had $90 million worth of inquiries in the first 90 days after its product hit the market in February. –N.C. A C A C I A P A N G I L I N A N AGE: 29 Executive director Kamloops Chamber of Commerce LIFE STORY: From a young age, Kamloops-raised Acacia Pangilinan volunteered at school and in her hometown. "It made me realize that I wanted to help the community that supported me so much, and I didn't really know what that looked like," recalls Pangilinan, who also won the Miss Kamloops competition at age 15. She began her career in politics, working for local MP Cathy McLeod while earning a bachelor of business administration at Thompson Rivers University. After a temporary job as an events coordinator with the Kam- loops Chamber of Commerce became permanent, then–executive director Deb McClelland showed Pangilinan the impact the Chamber could have. "I just got hooked after that point," she says. When McClelland stepped down, Pangilinan applied for her job– twice–and got it in 2019. She credits her volunteering, work and school experience, and role as a community ambassador with preparing her for the role. BOTTOM LINE : With its three staff, the Kamloops Chamber of Com- merce serves about 650 members. "The last year has been so focused on saving our membership," Pangilinan says of COVID. She emphasized com- munication during the pandemic, advo- cating strongly for businesses, inviting government experts to talk about grant and loan programs and jumping on social media to explain eligibility. As chair of the professional develop- ment committee for the provincial BC Chamber Executives society, she also held biweekly coffee chats. Pangilinan, who thinks chambers and other business groups need to modernize, says she takes an inclusive approach. To her, that means support- ing solopreneurs and gig-economy workers as well as traditional busi- nesses and their employees. "That's something that I'd like to see done at a national level." She's also boosting the Kamloops Chamber's online presence. "I think there's so much opportunity for chambers to use their digital channels to be champions for business." –N.R. Josh Baker (left) and Hayden James Acacia Pangilinan

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