It started as an experiment in trying to build bigger technology companies here in BC, but the BCTIA Innovation Hub Anniversary Celebration held on January 21, 2016 marked the graduation of our first cohort of HyperGrowth: RentMoola, EDP Software, and Thinkific. Cumulatively, these three cohort companies doubled their revenue, increased staffing by 50%, and attracted more than $2.3MM in new investment.

Built around a simple yet powerful formula, HyperGrowth combines the key principles of Connections, Expertise, and Accountability to deliver exceptional results. “The speed at which HyperGrowth companies began to see results was encouraging, and further proved our hypothesis that second-stage support was sorely needed in our province,” said Bill Tam, BCTIA’s President and CEO.

After what can only be described as a successful launch, the BCTIA announced that a second HyperGrowth cohort will begin programming in May 2016. With the support of local anchor tech companies such as BuildDirect, ACL, and Microsoft, HyperGrowth 2.0 will operate at zero cost to the cohort companies, and sponsored office space during the six-month residency program will be included.

In addition to office space and mentorship from active CEOs within Vancouver’s top tech companies, the HyperGrowth cohort will also participate in masterclass sales and marketing workshops presented by industry-leading functional experts. One of HyperGrowth’s returning mentors is Matt Switzer, Hootsuite’s Vice President of Corporate Development.

“I am fortunate to have experienced what it’s like to build my own startup, as well as to help guide Hootsuite through an amazing wave of growth,” said Switzer. “To have been able to share those lessons with the HyperGrowth cohort, a group of companies who were hungry to succeed and ready, willing, and able to put those lessons into action, was a very rewarding experience. I’m looking forward to working with the second cohort of HyperGrowth companies and keeping this momentum going.”

Applications are now open for the HyperGrowth program, which will expand to four companies for its second cohort.

The BCTIA is hosting a HyperGrowth information session on Wednesday, February 17 at 5:30pm. To register, click here.

For more information on the HyperGrowth program, and to apply, visit hypergrowth.bctia.org.