Okanagan Business Journal Article - July 2009

When Dale Fuller followed a young Kelowna entrepreneur out of Kelowna's Eldorado hotel, Steve Wandler knew that the foundation for a bridge to Silicon Valley had been laid.
Fuller, who sold his first company WhoWhere to Lycos for $133 million but has also been the CEO of big-name companies, wanted to know more about the young entrepreneur's company.
"That's what happens at a function like this," said Wandler, who sold his Kelowna start-up company ourTechOnline.com, the No. 1 ranked Online Tech Support Company in North America, to SupportSoft. "People connect and say 'I want to talk to you.' It changed (the young entrepreneur's) life because this big shot wants to know about his company and how they can do business together. Throughout the weekend, a whole bunch of this happened."
Wandler, a high-tech guru in his own right, is working with the Kelowna Economic Development Corporation to build a bridge to the San Francisco area so Okanagan tech companies can connect with high-powered executives.
He said the 10 people - from Hewlett Packard, Mitel, Red Beacon, AVG Antivirus, Trend Micro, RIM and Radware - who came for the first Metabridge in June were enthusiastic. "It really worked both ways because we didn't make it onerous on the people we invited; we let them have fun and on the side they did a few deals."
Networking is crucial to success in most businesses, but Wandler found while starting his company here that the community isn't big enough. "I thought I could do it on my own and the people I knew. Once I got exposed to the Bay area and how they got things done, my business skyrocketed.
"One of the things I have noticed with high tech is that (the people with) most of the great ideas out there have no clue where to turn to get exposure or make the connection(s) they need to get the next (first) deal," Wandler wrote on his blog. "After having a successful exit, I looked back and found that in the early days the biggest challenge wasn't the great idea we had, it was getting people worth talking to, to listen to what we had."
While he was in California, he kept getting calls from Canada asking him for an introduction to people down there. His original idea, with the support of Robert Fine of the EDC, was to bring Okanagan entrepreneurs down to California, but when he decided to come home, he turned the idea around. "The only way I was going to survive in Canada was if I connected Kelowna to the Bay area."
The success of the first Metabridge ensures it will become an annual affair, with at least two other events as well - one where Canadians go down to the Bay area, in addition to the event the EDC throws every year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
"We're actively teaming up with the Canadian consulate in Palo Alto and San Francisco to broaden the whole thing," said Wandler. "My vision (for the Metabridge connection to Silicon Valley) is Canada, but the Okanagan is where I live so I want to focus it here. Okanagan companies will get the cream off the top because of it. Because Robert (Fine) is one of the key people, he needs to benefit from it as well; he allowed me to make this happen."
Fine started wooing Silicon Valley executives about three years ago at the CES, but knew it was time to take it to a new level.
"I'm convinced that best way to build the tech industry is by taking talent here and trying to ensure that it thrives grows and prospers," said Fine.
"The Metabridge event is the start of activity between this region and other established tech centres and connect people of influence who have significant backgrounds and connection in Silicon Valley and Eastern Canada as well."
Douglas MacLeod, executive director of the Okanagan Science and Technology Council, thinks Metabridge is a big deal because tech heavy hitters who had never heard of Kelowna before like the people and the place. "They were impressed by the capacity and capability of people here. Dale Fuller, whose great uncle was Buckminster Fuller, looks at a lot of companies and he was impressed.
"A great lesson (from the event) is that so much is about the team of people you assemble. We need to work together to build skills and experience."

Ross Freake - Okanagan Business Journal