Five Ws with the TIAs Finalists: Spirit of BC Tech – Purpose

Aquatic Informatics, SkyHive and Thrive Health at the 2020 Technology Impact Awards Finalist Announcement on April 28th, 2020.

In the lead-up to the 2020 Technology Impact Awards, BC Tech is profiling all 38 finalists in 11 award categories. Today, we celebrate the finalists in the Spirit of BC Tech – Purpose category, an award that celebrates those companies who put purpose first, tackling important global problems with innovative solutions. The Spirit of BC Tech – Purpose award is presented in partnership with Safe Software.

Aquatic Informatics

Who: Founded in Vancouver by CEO Edward Quilty, Aquatic Informatics has grown to become the trusted provider of water data management & analytical solutions for over 1,000 organizations globally. “We’ve grown rapidly since our inception; starting with just a few local customers in British Columbia, we now serve organizations in over 60 countries.” says James Reyes, Chief Revenue Officer. “We’re proud to have achieved this global impact while also being recognized as one of BC’s top employers.” (Visit Aquatic Informatics’ careers page here).

What: Aquatic Informatics has a variety of data management and analytics solutions, each developed with the intention of addressing critical water maintenance challenges, including making clean drinking water more accessible. “Only two percent of the world’s water is fit for human consumption,” explains Kevin. “Our data management and analytics solutions create greater insight into water resource management, and ultimately help solve complex water issues.”

Aquatic Informatics lends their solutions to a variety of industries, including National and Federal agencies, local government, hydropower, mining, and more. “From raindrop to sewer discharge, our interconnected data management platform uniquely drives the efficient management of water information across the water cycle to protect human health and reduce environmental impact,” says James.

When: Aquatic Informatics has been leading the charge in helping organizations use technology to better manage their water and environmental data since 2003, and now provides solutions to clients across the globe. “Throughout our growth and new technological advancements, our purpose has always remained the same – to protect life by organizing the world’s water information for faster, better decisions,” says James. “It’s very gratifying to be recognized in a category that resonates so much with it.”

Where: “Vancouver is our home, the tech scene here is vibrant, and we’re thrilled to be recognized by BC Tech”, says Kevin. “Watching the BC tech ecosystem grow and develop through the years has been incredible. It’s very humbling to be recognized amongst so many power-house companies.”

Why: “Tech often gets misconstrued as something that isn’t necessarily purpose driven. It’s numbers, it’s data. It doesn’t have heart. But that couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Kevin. “Our mission at Aquatic Informatics is real and the problems we’re looking to solve are immense. Our purpose guides us and fuels us, much like the other incredible finalists in this category.”

SkyHive

Who: Founded by Sean Hinton in 2017, SkyHive is an artificial intelligence technology that reinvents our understanding of labour markets, workforces, and skills, employing real-time labour market intelligence to help today’s enterprises build their future workforces through talent acquisition, peer mentorship, career pathways, and training and development. “Although we’ve grown and now employ about 40 employees, our mission remains the same – to tackle global poverty and social inequality by utilizing technology to facilitate labour market transformation, reskilling, and lifelong learning,” says Sean. (Visit Sky Hive’s career’s page here).

What: SkyHive are leaders in labour market transformation, inventing a unique methodology called Quantum Labour Analysis, which analyzes a workforce or labour market at its most granular level. “Quantum Labour Analysis allows us to examine how we acquire, develop, and engage human capital,” explains Sean. “We make it easier for employers to source quality candidates, and help those on the job-hunt to find a job and, most importantly, a job that actually utilizes their unique skill set.”

Through their innovative and unique technologies, SkyHive automates candidate sourcing, bringing forward qualified talent in real-time, ultimately reducing sourcing and average time-to-hire by thirty percent. “It’s important to examine what we can do to help humanity, not hurt it, which is why we also help to rapidly reskill workforces and communities,” says Sean. “Our training and development solution identifies an employee’s skills gap and matches them with targeted training. Our technology enables learners to rapidly fill gaps in their workplace, resulting in 70 percent higher efficiency in aligning corporate training with future workforce requirements.”

When: SkyHive has been innovating and changing how companies hire, train, and retain talent since 2017, and has been recognized by publications such as Forbes, The Globe and Mail, Daily Hive for their efforts. “Since our inception, our purpose has always been to help those in need and make a significant impact on a struggling industry,” says Sean. “What I’m most proud of is that we can sit here today being recognized for a purpose award meaning we stayed true to that mission and vision.”

Where: “We’re a company born and bred in Vancouver, and we’re proud to be part of the thriving BC tech community,” says Sean. “One of the things I love most about the tech community here is how supportive it is. I’m thrilled to be recognized by BC Tech, especially in such an impactful category, and am even more happy to be nominated alongside such great, inspirational companies.”

Why: “Purpose lives in your heart, not in your head. It is a passionate love affair with something that is greater than you. Because of this deep love, success or failure is not important. Service to Purpose is,” says Sean. “We love what we do but we love WHY we do it even more. Being nominated for an award that acknowledges just that makes me feel incredibly proud.”

Thrive Health

Who: Thrive Health was founded in 2016 by David Helliwell and Dr. James Helliwell with a mission to improve the delivery of healthcare in Canada and beyond by empowering patients to play a more active role throughout their health journey. “Our mission still remains the same,” says Johanna (Jojo) Robertson, Director of Marketing. “We always go back to the “why” behind what we do, and we’re proud to be a young company that’s growing and bringing on new talent that shares our values and our purpose.”

“Thrive Heath’s purpose is to stop people from falling through the cracks in the healthcare system. During this pandemic, that includes helping regular citizens to understand how to live their lives and helping employers to know how to safely get their operations back on track,” says David Helliwell, co-founder and CEO.  (Visit Thrive Health’s careers page here).

What: Thrive Health develops and implements apps and technologies that make health care attainable and accessible to all. In response to COVID-19 specifically, Thrive Health developed a COVID-19 intake screening software, allowing medical practitioners to screen patients for COVID-19 and gather health history online in advance of visits to ensure the safety of their clinic and practice. Not only this, but in partnership with Health Canada, Thrive Health developed the Canada COVID-19 app, which gives Canadians up to date information on COVID-19, as well as a symptoms  tracker and self-assessment tool.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says David. “As a young company, it’s very rewarding to be able to work with such a big entity like Health Canada, and produce technologies that once again link back to our purpose – helping people access health care and tools to keep them safe.”

When: Thrive Health has been innovators in the healthcare space in 2016, however, their founders’ influence in the tech industry goes back much further. “David, one of our co-founders, founded Pulse Energy in 2006, which he later sold in 2014,” explains Jojo. “We have a robust background in the tech space, and our leadership team is remarkable. We’re excited to see Thrive Health, who is only three-years old, grow with their leadership.”

Where: “We’re a Vancouver-founded company, and we couldn’t be more proud of our BC roots,” says Jojo. “The tech community here is vibrant, diverse, and collaborative, and we love the work BC Tech specifically has been doing lately to bring and keep the community together during these difficult times; being recognized by them means a lot”.

Why: “We’re driven by purpose and pursue our big goals of making health care better for all Canadians with passion and deep commitment,” says Jojo. “We’ve been purpose driven from the on-set, and we want to continue leading by example in that regard. Tech can play a huge role in improving the quality life of people everywhere, and we believe in developing apps that give people more control over their health and personal well being is instrumental in creating happier and healthier communities.”