BCBusiness

T H E K I C K O F F : Don Murray is one of those lucky people who always knew what he wanted to do. "I played ice hockey growing up, but my passion was always computing technology," he says. As a kid in North Van, Mur- ray would rush to school and play computer games before class. After earning a master's degree in computer science from SFU, he worked as a software developer for MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, where he met his future business partner, Dale Lutz. They remained friends when Murray went on to teach computer science at BCIT. But when the B.C. government posted a request for proposal (RFP), Murray said to Lutz, "'Let's bid on it, and if we win, we'll start a company.' And we did." A C T I O N P L A N : The pair's solution to that RFP in 1993 scaled into what is Safe Software today. The company helps businesses make informed decisions by extracting value from data, and its offerings are so general that it can work with almost any busi- ness in the world. In fact, Safe's data integration platform is used by 20,000 organizations, including YVR, BlueDot and the Weather Network. U.K.-based HALO Trust is one of Murray's favourite examples. "Their whole goal is to de-mine the world," he says, "and they use our tech to F I N A L I S T Don Murray P R E S I D E N T A N D C E O , S A F E S O F T W A R E help them identify where minefields are. That saves lives." Big news came early this year when Lutz retired and sold his shares in the company to JMI Equity for an estimated US$200 million. Murray aptly negotiated a 51-49 split in his favour, and he continues to run the company the way he knows best: like a sports team. "Business is a team sport, just like ice hockey," he maintains. "When things go wrong, some com- panies have post-mortems, which is just terrible. We have 'retrospectives on when things went right.' What did we learn? It's all about the learning." C L O S I N G S T A T E M E N T: Safe Software has come a long way from its humble beginnings in garages and spare bedrooms. It now operates out of the top five floors of a Surrey tower, and its revenue has grown from around $50 million in 2022 to $80 million in 2024. Safe's team is also expected to grow from 250 to 300 by the end of this year. The company shares 20 percent of annual profits with staff. "Because, again, it's a team sport, so the team should win when the company wins," Murray says. "We also say, 'Let's do good while we're doing good.'" Over the past decade, Safe has donated $3 million to more than 50 charities across Canada.–R.R. n F I N A L I S T Bruce Qi F O U N D E R A N D P R I N C I P A L , L A U N C H P A D T E C H N O L O G I E S T H E K I C K O F F : Bruce Qi has dedicated his career to nurturing his pas- sion for technology. He's dabbled in entrepreneurship, steered companies like digital consultancy Appnovation and SaaS biz Active Network, and currently serves on the board of the BC Tech Association. Over the past 15-plus years, he's witnessed how organizations like Coca-Cola, Pfizer and the World Trade Organization adopt technolo- gies—"and the gaps that are there." In 2018, Qi founded Launchpad Technologies to help connect those missing links. And he bootstrapped it with just $500. "Let's face it, with $500 you can't even buy a month's coffee or even one big meal for the team," he says. But as it turned out, it was enough to set the foundation for a company that, in just a few years, grew to attract some major clients—like Salesforce, General Motors and O2E Brands. A C T I O N P L A N : Vancouver-based Launchpad helps businesses modern- ize their technology. Its integration platform, Paasport, can connect and automate different applications (such as CRM and financial systems). So instead of employees doing repetitive tasks by hand, Launchpad sets systems in place to handle those tasks, reduce errors and launch integra- tions faster, creating a more seamless experience. The idea for Launchpad may have come from Qi's years in tech, but his entrepreneurial spirit is rooted in his childhood. Growing up in China, Qi witnessed "this buzz of a newfound free economy where everyone around you is just trying to create something because every- one had nothing." His family helped build communities and businesses, and continued that work after moving to Finland. "It's a story about building something from nothing, and that really inspired me," Qi says. C L O S I N G S T A T E M E N T: With its global HQ in Vancouver (and another HQ in Chile for its Latin American operations), Launchpad's team has grown to over 40 people spread across 14 locations including Canada, Chile, Mexico, Colombia and the U.S. In 2023, Launchpad was recognized as a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 company for rapid revenue growth and innovation, and its Paasport platform is currently used by 47 companies around the world–R.R. n 44 B C B U S I N E S S . C A N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 24 A d a m B l a s b e r g W H AT ' S T HE BE S T L E A DE R S HIP A D V ICE Y OU ' V E E V E R R E CE I V E D ? Surround yourself with the best people and let them do what they do. Q+A W H AT ' S A N ODD JOB Y OU ' V E H A D ? I grew up in Finland, so I worked on a reindeer farm. In Scandinavia, you actually eat reindeer. Q+A

• Cover