Innovators and entrepreneurs — Canada's unsung heroes

By Dr Peter Morand

Put in the simplest of terms, research means spending money and innovation means wealth creation. Whereas Canada continues to shine in research, its innovation underperformance has been nothing short of embarrassing compared to the U.S. and many European and Asian countries. For the last several years all levels of government have launched an array of programs all aimed at stimulating innovation in Canada — is anyone checking the ROI?

If Canada wants to turn the corner on innovation, its policy/decision process must factor in the advice that innovators and entrepreneurs, with hands on experience, can provide. Let me give you an example of an entrepreneur who, in a relatively short time, has delivered big on innovation in Canada. The recent conversation I had with him highlights the accelerators and barriers he encountered while pursuing his innovation goals, as well as his suggestions for making communities more a welcoming environments for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Dragan Tubic started with an electrical engineering degree and promptly enrolled in the master's program at Laval University where, in collaboration with researchers at Hôtel Dieu Hospital, he did research on medical imaging used for the validation of prostate cancer treatment. His PhD thesis proposed a theoretical and practical framework for 3D real-time modeling. In 2006 he won the top prize in NSERC's Innovation Challenge Award competition as well as NSERC's Doctoral Prize in 2007.

Even before graduating, Tubic founded his first company to develop and commercialize 3D scanning technologies with two associates, Patrick Hébert and Eric St-Pierre. In collaboration with Creaform Inc. (Lévis QC), the HandySCAN 3D scanner (an optically-based technology) was launched in 2005. Creaform subsequently rolled out an impressive array of related products that were marketed globally.

By the time the company was acquired by Ametek (Berwyn PA) in 2013, Creaform was the dominant industry leader in stand-alone portable 3D scanners and related technologies with current annual sales of over $65 million. With the backing of this multi-billion dollar corporation, the headquarters and manufacturing operations of Creaform continue to be in Lévis.

The firm has established innovation centres in Lévis and in Grenoble, France and has direct sales operations in the US, France, Germany, China, Japan, and India.

Tubic, a technology cofounder of Creaform, is one of the chief architects of this remarkable journey from a university vision laboratory to an advanced technology company that is making a huge impact on the economic landscape of the Québec City region. Here is what he has to say about some of the factors that influenced the key decisions he took along the way and about what is needed to encourage more entrepreneurs to take the leap.

PM: Starting a business based on a graduate research project is rare and making it successful even more so. What was different in your case?

DT: I always wanted to start my own business. For me, it was one part freedom and one part the opportunity to give a real life to my research by converting it into a marketable product. In other words, I saw starting a business as a viable career path and my graduate studies as a means of getting on and following that path.

PM: Graduate studies are not usually associated with entrepreneurship. Is that why we don't see more commercial projects stemming from university research?

DT: I believe so. Few students consider graduate studies as anything more than a prerequisite for a purely academic career. Those that do start graduate studies are generally not aware that starting a company is actually an excellent choice. If there is one message I'd like to relay it is that research and commercialization are not mutually exclusive — I believe that they reinforce each other. In my case, by reorienting my research towards providing a competitive commercial advantage to the sensor Patrick Hébert was working on, I reached the level of academic excellence that I don't think would have been possible otherwise.

PM: What should be done to encourage entrepreneurship among graduate students?

DT: Basics of business administration should be a mandatory part of any science and engineering curriculum, for two reasons; first, it will make students aware of starting a business as a career choice and, second, give students basic tools to tackle the business side of their technology startup.

Even though I always wanted to start a business, I wouldn't have made it for two reasons; I didn't know how to start the business and I didn't know how to finance it after the dot.com bubble burst. Having a seasoned entrepreneur, Eric St-Pierre, join the team made all the difference. Later, joining efforts with Creaform solved the financing problem. Luck played its part but it could be made less important by encouraging collaboration and networking among students from different backgrounds, science and business administration in particular.

PM: Why was your partnership with Creaform such a successful one?

DT: Under the circumstances it was a perfect match. On one side our company provided unrivalled technological expertise while Creaform did an outstanding job of commercializing the technology.

PM: Who or what helped you get your company off the ground?

DT: After the initial team was formed, the first prototype was built using Precarn's Industrial T-gap funding. That kind of financial aid is still essential and I'm happy to report that today there are suites of government programs intended to help entrepreneurs bring novel technologies to market. For example, NRC-IRAP is there with a Concierge Service and financial aid to help in developing products resulting from research and with the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program through organizations such as Inno-Centre to coach entrepreneurs and to help them build a sustainable business. There is also the Build in Canada Innovation Program where a company works in tandem with a federal department to develop first sales and gain credibility. Regionally, SOVAR can provide resources to bridge the gap between laboratory and marketable products and Québec International offers conferences, lectures and networking opportunities. In short, a lot has changed since the early 2000's and in a good way.

PM: What is missing and what could Canada do to instill a culture of innovation among its citizens?

DT: Entrepreneurs are the missing key component. I believe that the critical action that needs to be taken is to raise awareness among students and researchers that being an entrepreneur is a good choice and by no means prevents academic excellence. The government and postsecondary institutions should do more to promote and encourage entrepreneurship.

One way of doing so is through fiscal measures. For example, lowering income taxes for employees in startups might help, allowing them to be competitive. More importantly, it would send a clear message that the government recognizes the importance of starting new businesses as an effective mechanism for insuring the growth of the economy. Lowering taxes also rewards those who are accepting risks inherently present in startups and pre-revenue companies. Such a measure, if promoted adequately, would have a long lasting effect on the economy without significantly increasing government spending.

PM: In the Québec City region what are some of the things that make it easier for innovators and entrepreneurs and what are some of the deterrents?

DT: Being an expert in computer vision I find Québec City an ideal place to start a business. INO (Institut national d'optique)) and Laval University are by far the best sources of knowledge and know-how that I know of for optics and computer vision- related technologies. While the region is not renowned for entrepreneurship, things are improving quickly. The City and INO have partnered to promote entrepreneurship by creating a program to incubate businesses that commercialize technologies based on optics and photonics. I'm happy to report that this program is the basis of my next business venture.

(Tubic left his position as Chief Scientist at Creaform last fall and started another company that specializes in developing and marketing products in mobile robots and related technologies. The project's mission will be "to revolutionize society by leaving menial tasks to robots and consequently free humans to use their highest qualities — creativity and intelligence." Stay tuned.)

Dr Peter Morand is former Dean of Science and Engineering, University of Ottawa, past President of NSERC and founding President & CEO, Canadian Science & Technology Growth Fund. petermorand@rogers.com.