Successful You Awards 2010/11

The 8th Annual Successful You Awards, took place at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver on March 29, 2011.

The night began with a special reception for the top five finalists of each of the four categories and the award category sponsors.  During the reception, 2009/10 Successful You Award winners, Growing City spoke about the impact of winning their award and wished the finalists luck.

Attendees then entered the main ballroom for the awards ceremony introduced by Small Business BC’s Board Member, Pino Bacinello.  As the anticipation grew amongst the finalists and the room grew quiet, each of the category sponsors took to the stage to present their awards.

Winners of the awards were chosen after the top five finalists in each category had pitched to a panel of industry judges just a few weeks prior to the ceremony.  The 2011 winners included:

SBBC CEO George Hunter commented: “We were thrilled with the quality of nominees and the array of communities they represented.” he continued “In fact, the talent pool was so deep we even had a tie in one category. The five award winners in 2010/11 are a group of innovative entrepreneurs who make up some of BC's finest small businesses.”

Following the presentation of the awards, the audience was entertained by keynote speaker Vikrim Vij, chef and owner of the world famous Vijs.   The BC based entrepreneur shared the story of how his small South Granville restaurant, has grown into the recognized brand it is today.  

A celebration reception then took place, providing contest nominees and finalists, industry professionals and local entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet and mingle with government delegates, award sponsors and media attending the awards.  With wine and canapés flowing, the celebration of BC’s best small businesses continued to inspire all who attended.

Visit our Successful You Flickr album to view photos from 2010/11 awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver.

Judges Comments on the 2011 Winners

Best Company: Quicktech Computer Consulting Inc. 

"Quicktech is a feel-good story of two entrepreneurs seeing an underserved market, taking advantage of the opportunity, and creating a sustainable, replicable and profitable business." 

Kostya Polyakov, KPMG

"The experience of entering and winning the 2010 Successful You awards was of great value to Quicktech. The application and pitching process made us think critically about our operations while the marketing efforts of the Small Business BC team significantly raised our community and business profile. Winning the Best Company award, as judged by some of BC's most successful business minds and entrepreneurs, served as great validation of our model and direction. A great experience from start to finish! "

Dustin Cassar, Owner, Quicktech Computer Consulting Inc.

Best Concept: Hapi Foods Group Inc.

“When Hapi Foods came along, I was amazed at the humble approach Corin and Brian took to share how they started their business and grew it to where it is now. The concept of ‘healthy’ is not new, nor is the grain Chia. It’s how they took an ‘old,’ healthy grain, called Chia, and changed this around to become a ‘new healthy concept.’ The concept on how they launched the product: the wild name, ‘holy crap’ and going on the Dragon’s Den and then sustaining the company has indeed been a story in itself. 

Rita Kim, BDC

"Achieving the Successful You award for Best Business Concept 2010/11 was an amazing experience for HapiFoods Group Inc. It was an honour to be recognized by Small Business BC, the SYA judges, the CGA as the award sponsor and the winners and nominees in all categories. The ongoing exposure from Small Business BC through their website, email and social media sites continues to be phenomenal. We highly recommend the experience!"

Brian Mullins, Owner, Hapi Foods Group Inc

Best Green Business: Tie-  FrogBox Inc.

“A viable green business must be able to marry vision and ambition. Frogbox Inc. has shown they are in to make a change for the long haul. I wish them success.”

Winne Hwo, David Suzuki Foundation

Best Green Business: Tie-  Down to Earth

"The dedication and passion that Down to Earth Health Shop takes in exemplifying the values of sustainability is inspiring. The role they play in their community as educators and ambassadors of sustainability cannot be understated. They are truly a green business the province can be proud of."

Lyle Perry, ClimateSmart

“The Successful You Nomination for Down to Earth Health Shop brought about phenomenal community support.  Fort Nelson isn’t known as a traditional leader in environmental actions, so the people were enthusiastic to be part of supporting our eco business.  This media attention brought us new customers locally and province wide in asking questions about how they can ‘green up’ their lives, businesses and construction endeavors.  The passion that we have in our business made the entire process enjoyable yet challenging as we justified our entitlement.  Media attention as BC’s Best Green Small Business has opened many doors with professionals as our business grows.  Thank you to Small Business BC for supplying a wide variety of resources to us.” 

Kym Gillette, Owner, Down to Earth

Best Employer: Tasktop Technologies 

“Tasktop offers sustainable action plans for employees to shine on a global level; they impact our community by bringing ground breaking innovation to Vancouver and BC . They have a very strong model for attracting and retaining talent in a very niche marketplace where others such as Google headhunt Tasktop employees however their employees love living in Vancouver and working for them and they can boast having never lost an employee instead adapting to the employees changing environment to retain them. 

Suzanne Miles, Miles Employment Group  

“Participating in the 2011 Successful You Awards was an incredible experience for Tasktop. The application process helped us recognize and share the stories and culture that help make Tasktop a top employer. Attracting top talent is absolutely critical for us and we found Tasktop's recognition with the Best Employer award has been invaluable for our recruiting efforts.”

Dr. Mik Kersten, CEO, Tasktop Technologies