BCBusiness

28 BCBUSINESS APRIL 2017 L I F E S T O RY: In 2009, when Parker McLean graduated from UBC with a BA in human geography and structural linguistics, he filed income tax for the first time in six years. As a student for much of that period, McLean received a healthy refund, allowing him to freelance as a web designer. Two years later he became art director of Briteweb, where he learned how to operate a large-scale agency but was struck by the lack of diversity in the digital media industry. The result was In the Rye Creative, a Vancouver-based branding agency that McLean founded in 2015 to focus on diversity and inclusivity in the digital sector, especially for people with low or no vision. Many of In the Rye's clients are non-profit organizations like Baltimore's Humanim, which creates employ- ment and entrepreneurship opportu- nities for people living with financial, gender or racial-bias-based barriers to employment. T H E B O T T O M L I N E : In 16 months, In the Rye fully paid out initial investors, secured three international speaking engage- ments on accessibility, broadened its client base to the eastern U.S., built an international team of four and secured client work for the next three quarters. In the next five years, McLean's goal is to expand to a team of 30 and an annual operating budget of $3 million, then exit the business to found a digital design and market- ing school focused on community- minded, emotionally adjusted design ethics. —F.S. PA R K E R M c L E A N Founder and creative director IN THE RYE CREATIVE A G E : 2 9 L I F E S T O RY: Harrison Brown is no stranger to concussions. The Toronto native was diag- nosed with two while playing rugby, a sport he picked up when his banker father moved the family to Hong Kong in 2000. After representing the Chinese territory on its under-20 national team, Brown earned a B.Sc. in human health and nutritional sciences at the University of Guelph. In 2010 he started graduate work at UBC, where he is now a fourth-year PhD student in sensorimotor physiology at the School of Kinesiology. With his research colleagues, Brown looked at ways to quantify post-concus- sion balance, developing an accurate method using inexpensive sensors. In 2013 he launched HeadCheck Health with COO Kerry Costello. The Vancouver-based company's core prod- uct, an iOS mobile app for sports teams, quickly performs a concussion assessment covering eight areas, including symptoms, balance and cognitive func- tion. Unlike rival offerings, HeadCheck is a platform for what the research shows to be the best tests, Brown explains. The company also offers unlimited testing for a flat annual fee. Besides North American pro and semipro teams and collegiate programs, HeadCheck targets the high-school, youth and recreational market with educational discounts. "We want to make something that provides value to everybody," Brown says. T H E B O T T O M L I N E : As of February, HeadCheck was working with 2,000 athletes on some 60 teams, mostly in B.C. The compa- ny, which has five full-time and two part-time staff, recently closed a financing round with ex–Vancouver Canuck Kyle Wellwood and other local angel investors. —N.R. H A R R I S O N B R O W N Co-Founder and CEO HEADCHECK HEALTH INC. A G E : 2 8 youth is wasted on the young never met the winners of this year's 30 Under 30. For our fourth annual ranking, we received almost 350 nominations, and whittling them down was no easy task. The 30 exceptional women and men you're about to meet are a diverse group, from •elds as varied as health care, high tech, construction, social media and law. Together, these groundbreaking talents show that B.C.'s entrepreneurial future is bright. One striking feature of the 2017 list is the number of winners who aim to make the world a better place. Most of them give back to the community, but many have baked social purpose into their business. Simon Pickup is on a mission to reduce oil consumption by converting trucking …eets to low-cost hydrogen fuel, while Vanessa Chase Lockshin helps non-pro•ts to become better fundraisers. Creators of health-focused apps that promise better outcomes for everything from arthritis to doctor-patient relations also make a strong showing. Other tech innovators include Louis-Victor Jadavji, co-founder of a company that could transform the footwear industry with its custom 3D-printed insoles. Traditional sectors and disciplines, such as food and drink and the visual arts, are well represented, too. Take Matthew Leslie, whose mobile canning service for craft breweries now covers four provinces. Or Christina Sumie Hirukawa, a rising star in the art advisory world with a long list of corporate clients. Another trend: 10 of the 30 Under 30 are immigrants. Some came to B.C. to es- cape con…ict overseas; others are U.S. expats. However they got here, we're lucky to have them, and we hope they stick around.

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