BCBusiness

April 2018 30 Under 30

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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2017 Regina-based Murad Al-Katib, founder and CEO of AGT Food and ingredients inc., is the second Canadian to win eY World entrepreneur Of The Year. In addition to running one of the world's largest suppliers of pulses, grains and other food staples, Al-Katib is a philanthropist. his company is a major partner with the United Nations' World Food programme and the International Red Cross, helping to feed more than 4 million refugee families each year. 2018 A new generation of technol- ogy entrepreneurs gets a leg up as post-secondary institutions across B.C. add 2,900 spaces in tech-related programs, thanks to $4.4 million in provincial funding. As advances continue in virtual reality, biotech and soft- ware, the province is nurturing the next wave of talent. 56 BCBusiness ApRIL 2018 TOp: phILLIp ChIN 2017 Film and television production spending hits a record $2.6 billion in British Columbia, employ- ing some 44,000 people, according to government agency Creative BC. The province also surpasses Ontario as the country's top locale for film and TV—even with a re- duction in labour tax credits from 33 percent to 28 percent the previous year. old, and the business component of it is the moneti- zation of the emotional connection." McBride, winner of the EOY Media and Entertain- ment category for the Pacific Region in 2003, is a master at building partnerships. From his decades- long management relationship with songstress Sarah McLachlan to his yoga studio acquisitions, McBride— whose tendency to speak in rapid-fire cadences can seem at odds with his Zen-like pronouncements—says it comes down to one key element. "It's all about creating alignment," he declares. "It's not about one party winning and the other party not. I think with a lot of negotiations and people trying to create deals, that's what their focus is. It's like, 'What's in it for me?'" Where most businesses find alignment through external partnerships, McBride has taken a unique approach by co-founding two seemingly disparate companies that have more in common than appears at first glance. It's paid off: YYoga now has annual revenue in the $12-million range and more than 300 staff, while 100-employee Nettwerk's revenue tops $25 million. YYoga has grown to 10 locations in Metro Vancouver and Whistler and two in Toronto. McBride proudly notes that the company's first two studio acquisitions, both in Yaletown, are still headed by the same team a decade later. "That's no differ- ent than how we go about it with artists," he says. "Nettwerk's average relationship with an artist is 10 to 15 years, which in the music business is like a lifetime." McBride's 23-year management relation- ship with McLachlan was one of his most celebrated, and its rupture made interna- tional headlines in 2011. But he believes it's possible to end partnerships amicably, as long as both sides remain honest. "I think both parties know [when it's time to end things], but both parties are prob- ably afraid to address the subject," McBride says. "Honesty is sometimes the hardest thing," he adds. "I think your intuition is always right. And if a relationship is going sideways, it's really good to catch it early. Maybe you can save it, but chances are ending it then is much more pleasant and professional than dragging it out for a couple of years, when sentiments have built up and then you're pointing fingers." Given his decades in the music business, it's tempting to think that McBride has dealt with his share of difficult temperaments. But he insists that's not the case. "The difficult rock star is maybe a persona of 10 to 20 percent of the business, but I could say it's the persona of 10 to 20 percent of any business. It gets 80 percent of the noise, but it's not the business," he says. "The most successful businesses are ones that create partnerships that last for a long, long time," McBride adds. "Because not only are you emotionally aligned, but inside the business, you feel like you've treated each other fairly." ■ sOuND pRINCIpLEs Music and yoga share an emo- tional connection, says Nettwerk and YYoga co- founder McBride B.C.'s gReAtest hIts CeleBR AT ING 25 y e A R S

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