n i c o L a s h i p p e r s o n
t r e v o r ( t r e v ) s t y a n
co - Founder and gM,
northern ciVil energy inc.
age: 28
the story: Trev Styan, the Quesnel-born
co-founder of Northern Civil Energy, grew up
in a family that, along with actively support-
ing his early love of design and construction,
provided him with a great entrepreneurial role
model. Both Styan's father and his stepfather
encouraged and helped him to design and
build anything he wanted, while his Uncle
Mike, who owns an excavating company,
provided him with his first paying job when he
was 12 years old. In 2011, armed with a diploma
in mechanical engineering from
BCIT—and
after four years spent working for his uncle—
Styan co-founded, along with two partners,
Northern Civil Energy: a full engineering,
procurement and construction contractor
based in Nanaimo. Past and present clients
include BC Hydro, Yukon Energy Corporation
and
ATCO Electric.
Markers oF success: Originally the plan
was to complete just three to four projects a
year, but Northern Civil Energy's growth
has been swift: the company has completed
40 projects over the past four years, and
annual gross revenues are approximately
$40 million.
—A.D.
My Favourite
Magazine
"Mountain Sledder"
oWner / Founder ,
FarM2Fork PriVate
dining and under -
ground restaur ant
age: 28
the story: Growing up in
Regina, all signs pointed to
Nicolas Hipperson's destiny as a
chef—even if he didn't realize it:
"I was in denial about wanting
to be a chef," he says. Most of his
family gravitated toward business
ventures, but Hipperson found
inspiration in his grandmother's
kitchen, where she whipped up
delicious meals using fresh ingre-
dients from her garden. These
days, Hipperson, a graduate of the
culinary arts program at the Art
Institute of Vancouver and former
executive chef at Raincity Grill,
draws on both family traditions
with his sustainable private din-
ing outfit Farm2Fork. A champion
of the local food movement,
Farm2Fork showcases local
ingredients and offers diners an
educational eating experience.
Markers oF success: Since
opening in 2011, Farm2Fork has
gone from a Raincity Grill side gig
to a full-scale affair. Hipperson
saw sales total over $100,000 in
2014, employs three full-time staff
and has donated cuisine to Jacqui
Cohen's Face the World Founda-
tion and the 2014 Children's Wish
Foundation Gala. He periodically
opens pop-up restaurants around
town, and a permanent location is
on the horizon.
—J.B.
a lit tle- knoWn Fact aBout Me is...
"At one point in my life I played competitive
paintball and competed in the Canadian
National Speedball Championships"
bcbusiness.ca april 2015 BCBusiness 39
