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10 B C B U S I N E S S . C A A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 5 how to dress in the different professional atmospheres he found himself in. Going from the three-piece suits at the casino to the tech sector was a bit of a jarring transition, to say the least. "In the tech sector, if you come in with a sport coat, everyone in the company is like, 'Are we getting fired? What's happening?'" says Conn. "My options were limited —am I going to go to Brooks Brothers? As someone who loves fashion it was that or very fashion-forward stuff that didn't fit the setting, or athlei- sure. There was no modern take on that middle ground." Enter Jonathan Richard, who Conn bought his suits from back in his formal days. Richard sold his Yaletown suit company in 2022 and started making polo shirts and selling them online. "I just thought, 'Why don't we go back to the classics—polos, cardigans, varsity jackets—and put a casual- chic twist on it?'" Richard says. So he created Champlain Apparel to offer modern mens- wear for both professional and social settings. The company GO FIGURE by Michael McCullough THE PEAK FOR GEEKS For the first time, Vancouver will host Web Summit, one of the world's most highly touted technology conferences, at the Vancouver Convention Centre (May 27 to 30). Here we take a statistical look at the show and how it resonates in this province quickly caught the eye of Conn, who became one of its early investors. "It wasn't trying to be athleisure wear that you could maybe wear to work," Conn says. "It's about fitting into a proper aesthetic that you can wear throughout your day— bringing back pieces to what they were designed for. A polo shirt was designed for playing polo, but it was a very prep, proper look. We've dressed it down—we've sort of forgotten how to dress it up again." When push came to shove, Conn decided that he wanted to be more involved than just an investor. "I was around [ Jonathan] a lot and he was saying, 'Hey, what's your opinion about this; what about this?'" 2024 and he and Richard run the business with a handful of contractors. The company has a showroom in Gastown and has launched in 18 states in the U.S. and five provinces. It has officially launched both fall/winter and spring/summer collections. Richard and Conn had many debates around Cham- plain's price point but ulti- mately settled with something that reflects the quality of the product but isn't the most expensive tag out there. Conn notes that the most expensive piece in the company's closet (its crew neck sweater) is $230. "A $300 polo is kind of the norm," he says of the com- petition. Shoppers can find button-up shirts, cardigans and polos for under $120 on the company's website. "It's not only the clothes Jonathan has created, but figuring out how to take the things already in someone's wardrobe and give them more value out of what's in their closet," Conn says. Adds Richard: "Everything here is timeless. You can sit on it for 10 years and it's going to be relevant." On the day that Conn was set to sign a development con- tract for a new tech company, he had a change of heart. "I said to myself, 'I have the free- dom to make my own choice at this point in my career. How many opportunities will I have with something that I'm pas- sionate about, something that I find exciting?'" Conn joined Champlain as the company's CEO in June The first Web Summit, held in Dublin in 2009, had 150 attendees. An offshoot conference, Collision, took place in Toronto in 2019, 2022 and 2023, attracting more than 36,000 attendees in its final year. VARIOUS LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT ARE CONTRIBUTING $14.8 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR WEB SUMMIT VANCOUVER OVER ITS PLANNED 3-YEAR COMMITMENT. DESTINATION VANCOUVER ESTIMATES THE CONFERENCE WILL GENERATE $57 MILLION IN DIRECT TOURISM SPENDING AND $93 MILLION IN TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT THIS YEAR. SHIP SHAPE Pieces like Champlain's striped T-shirt (left) and fleece quarter-zip (below) lean on nautical influence

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