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B C B U S I N E S S . C A
O C T O B E R
2 0 24 C o v e r a n d 3 0 a n d 5 5 : L a u r a B al d w i n s o n ; 24: P a ul J o s e p h / U B C B r a n d & M a r k e t i n g
CONTENTS
C H A T T E R
8
EDITOR'S DESK
Getting down to (small)
business
T H E I N B O X
11
CONSTRUCTION
Mike Maierle's
entrepreneurship dream
took him from a home
office to leading one of
B.C.'s fastest-growing
construction companies
12
GO FIGURE
With election day in B.C.
looming, we stuff the
ballot box with some
facts around voting in
this province
13
BUSINESS CLIMATE
When Tesla didn't deliver,
Chace Barber and Eric
Little launched Edison
Motors to build clean
semi trucks
16
THE CONVERSATION
The CEO of the
Downtown Vancouver
BIA, Jane Talbot, talks
revitalizing the area and
growing Granville Street
18
SMALL TOWN
SUCCESS
Nelson's Wildelore is
reimagining maternity
clothing with an eye
toward versatility and
sustainability
20
LAND VALUES
Employers are slowly
mandating the move
back to the office with
customizable approaches
Q U A L I T Y T I M E
55
WEEKEND WARRIOR
Musician Blair
Bellerose goes by the
stage name Midnight
Sparrows and centres
his songs on Indigenous
empowerment
56
SOCIAL CUES
How Vancouver
restaurant Batch creates
a welcoming vibe
58
PACK LUNCH
Bring the heat to your
workday with this carne
asada taco bowl from
Lucky Taco's Christian
Chaumont
60
INVENTORY
Six B.C.-based candle
companies that can light
up your home
62
CARRY ON
We check in on the
latest fall travel trends
and ask bike tour legend
Robbin McKinney about
his favourite journeys
64
WORST DAY
ON THE JOB
Esquimalt chef Andrea
Aldridge remembers a
day on Top Chef Canada
when a seemingly
simple picnic challenge
turned into disaster for
her whole team
V O L U M E 5 2 N U M B E R 9
24
Learning on
the Job
New UBC president
Benoit-Antoine Bacon
has a lot on his plate. His
personal history sheds a
little more light onto where
the province's biggest
educational institution
could be headed in the
years to come
BY RICHARD LITTLEMORE
30
A Force to Be
Reckoned With
As Brenda Bailey, minister
of jobs, economic
development and
innovation, gears up for
an election campaign,
she reflects on her
entrepreneurship past and
pledges to pave the way
forward for women in tech
BY NATHAN CADDELL
40
Big Love for
Small Biz
We asked 40
entrepreneurs, executives
and community members
one question: what's your
favourite small business in
the province? The answers
range from ice cream
parlours and coffee shops
to florists and bookstores
BY THE EDITORS
F E A T U R E S
40
24
30
"She's a tall, blonde woman.
That gets noticed, it gets
attention—sometimes
unwanted attention. A lot of
her stories were preparing me
for that reality I'd have to face,
ultimately. And I did. " p.30