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BCBUSINESS.CA SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 BCBUSINESS 63 we wanted to simplify and amplify e-commerce." The next year obviously brought the COVID-19 pan- demic—a nightmare, unless you're in e-commerce. Cymax, which has two business units, one for e-commerce—where it sells mostly furniture on Amazon, eBay, Target and so on—and one dedicated to shipping and logistics, grew another 82 percent from 2020 to 2021 and is slated to see significant expansion again this year. The company now has about 210 employees, 100 of whom were hired in the first half of 2021. "If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that people's reticence about buying large- value items online has gone away or is capable of going away," says Byron Thom, Cymax's senior director of strategy. Thom, formerly an investor and board member with Cymax, asked to join the company in a full-time role this year. "Furniture almost doubled online penetration during COVID, and new categories are also experiencing amazing growth," he adds. "Cymax is still at the forefront of a change in consumer behav- iour. As vendors and manu- facturers think about how they want to go to market in a digital world, they've come to trust in Cymax to be that trusted partner." Though Somji had previ- ously co-founded Vancouver- based customer management software company Respon- seTek, Cymax is his first taste of leading an organization. "They say it's lonely at the top; you don't realize that until you're in the seat," he says. W H AT WA S YOU R F I R ST S U M M E R JOB ? Dishwasher at an Italian restaurant W H AT I S YOU R DE F I N I T ION OF S UC C E S S ? The peace of mind knowing you've tried your best NA M E A N I T E M YOU T Y P IC A L LY F OR G E T T O PAC K ON BU S I N E S S T R I P S A N D R E G R E T NO T B R I NG I NG My watch. My watch is my superhero cape. I feel protected and strong when I have it on F U N FA C T S W I N N E R Judi Hess CEO COPPERLEAF TECHNOLOGIES n When Judi Hess joined Copperleaf Technologies as CEO in 2009, the Vancouver-based decision analytics software firm looked very different than it does now. "I always say it was both the worst and best decision of my life," Hess recalls with a laugh. Despite doing her due diligence before taking the job, Hess, who was leaving a role as managing director of Canadian operations for U.S. photography giant Eastman Kodak Co., didn't fully understand what she was walking into. "When I started, we didn't have a product that was ready at all. We didn't have any money to finance the company, and so many challenges to start with. But it was exciting because it was a very small company, and I thought it would be a real challenge." Copperleaf was posting some $1 million in annual rev- enue, and Hess decided that the first thing that needed attention was the company culture. So she gathered all 45 Copperleaf employees and started working on build- ing a more collaborative approach. "We talked about what's important to make sure that we'll be successful and we'll enjoy the journey," Hess says. "Had meetings and discussions, all-day breakout groups. It took a num- ber of iterations, but after about eight months, we came to the culture we have today." "It's definitely a different kind of pressure. I'm responsible for over 200 people's lives and families and income. It's pushed me out of my element and my core competency of technology, which is always something I lean on when I get challenged or pressured, but it's been a really great growing experience." Somji credits his staff with helping him grow into the role, and Cymax has moved to hire numerous executive team members in the past year. Thom is impressed with what he's seen from within as well as outside the company. "He's both a tech person and an entrepreneur at heart," he says of Somji. "He's very focused on data, and he pulls in the right people to make col- laborative decisions. His behav- iour and performance since I've been here validated all the things I saw from the other side of the table when I was on the board. He's data-driven and honest, with a low ego, and is very down-to-earth." Thom also notes that Somji's superpower is his "ability to connect with people and com- municate in a way that gets people really excited about online furniture." Those folks are surely thrilled with Somji's vision for Cymax's future, which includes democratizing e-commerce and building out the company's operations. "We've given the smaller players access to tools, sys- tems—rates even—that they wouldn't otherwise get," Somji says. "We're allowing them to focus on building their products. We want to tackle every part of the supply chain and make sure we've got solu- tions and optionality for our customers." –N.C.