a s h L e y r o u L s t o n
co - Founder and coo,
industrial
Pl ank ton inc.
age: 28
the story: For Ashley Roulston,
family and entrepreneurship are
a natural mix. The University of
Victoria alumna founded Industrial
Plankton, which manufactures
algae bioreactors (machines that
grow algae for use in aquaculture,
biotech and research), with older
brother Robert—a fellow UVic gradu-
ate in engineering and long-time
business partner. The siblings had
originally started a company called
Reef Safe Fish, in 2012, with plans to
develop the technology for breeding
aquarium fish. But after discover-
ing how difficult it was to produce
the necessary algae, they adapted
their existing equipment to create
an automated algae reactor—and in
2013, Industrial Plankton unveiled
its first machine. The hope is to
sell 50-plus reactors in 2015 and
ultimately sell the company within
the next two years. As Roulston puts
it: "I don't think my expertise would
be in managing a 100-person com-
pany but getting everyone excited
and moving quickly from a one- to
20-person company."
Markers oF success: In the
first month of 2015, Industrial Plank-
ton had already sold four reactors,
at a price tag of $32,000 each; they
sold six in all of 2014.
—A.D.
bcbusiness.ca april 2015 BCBusiness 53
w h o i n s P i r e s
M e t o s u c c e e D
"Kelsey Ramsden. She's
based in B.C. and was
Canada's top entrepreneur
two years in a row. She's
just very real and reminds
me to do what I'm
passionate about"
