“It Will Come”: Talking Innovation With Cathy Simpson
SAINT JOHN –Cathy Simpson is total optimist– and she’ll be the first to say it.
That’s because she thinks there’s every reason to be when it comes to innovation in New Brunswick.
“I’d be the first one to say ‘You can come to New Brunswick and absolutely be a successful innovator,'” she says.
Simpson is the vice-president of T4G, chair of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) and is also leading the new nb+ program. She’s in the centre of the action and behind these scenes of where innovation happens. Simpson likes to call it the “ecosystem” and she says it’s been growing significantly.
“When you strip back all of the stuff about innovation, it really comes down to ‘Are we creating some good ideas?’ ‘Do we have the right talent and people?’ and ‘Do we have access to capital money to be able to push these great ideas forward?'” Simpson says. “Over the paste decade . . . the ecosystem is continuing to expand.”
In recent years, the startup accelerator Propel ICT went from just being New Brunswick-focused to Atlantic-wide. NBIF has grown significantly in size and funding. Entrepreneurship programs are growing in high schools and post-secondary institutions and events like Startup Weekend are getting more popular each year. It’s progress, but nowhere near perfect.
“I think everyone’s in the boat, rowing in the right direction, which makes me feel very encouraged,” Simpson says. “I think we’re at a good pace, but I would never believe that we have the model fine-tuned.”
Funding and accelerating entrepreneurs and their ideas is obviously important, but in order to do that, you need people who want to start their own ventures in the first place. Simpson says a big part of fostering innovation is creating the culture for it, starting in schools.
“It’s not always ‘Do we have the right technology and the technical minds behind us in the province’ but it is ‘Do we have the right leadership?’ Simpson says. “Are we growing an innovation culture . . . so when they go from high school to university, they are thinking entrepreneurship?”
A lot of this is already going on. Over the last little while, UNB and the Pond Deshponde Centre have been recognized for their entrepreneurship and research programs. Organizations like Brilliant Labs and program like Girls Learning Code are bringing technology into kids’ lives as young as elementary school. Programs like 21Inc. help young leaders in the province between 20 and 35.
“Because we’re starting to get programs now down into the high school level, I think we’re going to see this new wave coming at a younger and younger age,” Simpson says. “So that people will go to school and stay here. They’re not thinking about ‘I need to leave New Brunswick’ but we want them to think about New Brunswick as being a hot spot of innovation.”
There have been great strides, yes. But let’s not pat ourselves on the back too much.
There are still major issues holding New Brunswick back. Simpson says one of the biggest is people are afraid of risk, particularly in the private sector. The startup scene needs governments and private sector companies to collaborate with if they hope to succeed.
“If they’re trying to advance their idea, they need to have access to companies in our region, or companies in related industries who want to innovate with them,” she says. “That takes a leap of faith. There’s some fear and uncertainty.”
It is risky. But it’s go big or go home.
“We believe the pay-off can be huge,” Simpson says. “And we’ve seen it in Radian6 and the Q1 labs, and there’s going to be more.”
Ok, but when? To an outsider, it seems that we’ve been riding the wave of the purchase of Radian6 and Q1 Labs for a few years now. Simpson says that’s because we are.
“I think we’re still seeing the ripple effect from the sale of Radian6 and Q1 Labs,” she says.
“Because the talent is here. Wealth was generated from the sale. Many people became investors in the startup community and now some of them are creating new companies or joining existing startups. That’s a pretty cool thing.”
But can New Brunswick do it again? Simpson says absolutely, though she admits she doesn’t know when it will be.
“We ask that question all the time. I’m not sure. I think we have some great companies having some pretty amazing success,” she says.
“I can tell you, there is a lot of people working really hard to see that kind of success be implicated. And it will come.”