11 Mar 2019 Spotlight on Appnovation
Describe your company and its product.
Appnovation is a global full-service digital consultancy. We help businesses advance and inspire, create positive transformation, and champion digital innovation. Our expertise and knowledge is your expertise and knowledge: At Appnovation, we seamlessly integrate strategy, user experience, development, deployment, training and support.
What year did your company start?
2007
Which city (or cities) are you located?
Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, with global office locations in US, Europe and Asia.
Describe your company culture in three words.
Innovative – Growth – Community
How do you celebrate company or employee wins?
We have a quarterly MVP peer recognition program to celebrate excellence in 5 categories: Customer Satisfaction, Teamwork, Openness, Innovation and Growth.
What is the problem that you are trying to solve?
We make it easy for enterprises to leverage open technologies to accomplish their digital-related IT and business goals. Through our expertise in user experience, customer experience, analytics, development, integration and agile, with the ability to support and maintain it all, we create digital transformation.
What is your biggest milestone to date?
When I started this company in 2007, as a little Drupal shop, I always envisaged growth, but even I could not have predicted such significant strides in just 10 years: acquiring Wunderkraut Benelux greatly reinforced and expanded our capabilities and global presence.
What is your biggest challenge?
I started Appnovation right out of school. This being my first job makes it challenging and I find constant opportunities to learn from my peers, employees and partners.
What is your motto?
Inspiring Possibility
How are you making an impact?
We strongly believe in Corporate Social Responsibility and every year, each office takes on new initiatives, both global and local. We are a WE company, and last year our Vancouver office also participated in a shoreline cleanup project with the Vancouver Aquarium/City of Vancouver as well as fundraising for the Vancouver Food Bank.
What is your hope for the future of tech in BC?
The tech industry in BC has incredible potential; young entrepreneurs are making the most important contributions, with bold and innovative ideas to keep our tech sector growing.
Lightning Round with Arnold Leung, CEO of Appnovation
What excites you about your job?
Our team- You cannot win without a good team. Strong people will make a good company great, while a weak team can sink even the largest company.
What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome?
Starting a small business when you’ve heard the heart-wrenching stories of young entrepreneurs who spend years fighting tooth and nail to make ends meet. The all-too-familiar pattern of sleepless nights, 70-hour work weeks, and the pressure of delivering on payday. Having just graduated from university, and founding Appnovation, despite having very little business experience and growing the company in two years to generating $2.2 million in revenue, and three years to expand to 30 employees.
Wildest thing you ever have done?
Whitewater rafting with my team.
What are your pet peeves?
People who stand on the left side of an escalator or a moving sidewalk.
Words of wisdom to other tech CEOs or founders?
Prepare for the unexpected: There are always challenges along the way when you’re building a company, so it’s important to keep a bright and clear mindset. That way, you know that all challenges will get resolved one way or the other and you won’t get bogged down by them. With the right mindset, challenges will look simplistic and problems will be solved easily.
Favourite city you visited?
Paris
What is your formula for success?
Our success is down to the unerring endeavour of our employees around the globe, our focus on innovation, and our willingness to both shape and contribute to the ever-changing digital landscape.
Name one book that everyone should read.
Good to Great – James C. Collins
How do you decompress?
Spending time with my family
Favourite movie?
Alien vs Predator