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High tech pumps $4 billion into region’s economy, study says

The new, buzzing blue-and-orange Fort Tectoria neon sign at 777 Fort St. — the new home of the Victoria Advanced Technology Council — may burn a little brighter today.
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Executive director Dan Gunn relaxes in VIATeC's new Fort Street hub, which opens today with a two-day conference and networking event.

The new, buzzing blue-and-orange Fort Tectoria neon sign at 777 Fort St. — the new home of the Victoria Advanced Technology Council — may burn a little brighter today.

An economic impact study commissioned by VIATeC released today shows the sector has a total impact of $4.03 billion on the local economy, while the total revenues generated by high-tech’s 884 local companies is now $3.15 billion annually.

“We were pretty confident revenues had eclipsed $2.5 billion, but this is higher than expected, but not unbelievable,” said VIATeC executive director Dan Gunn.

Gunn, who has always been wary of statisticians using multipliers to determine economic impact, noted VIATec used the $3-billion and $4-billion figures because they are considered “very conservative.”

“It’s a reflection of the sector achieving a critical mass and a maturation overall,” he said. “When we started [looking at economic impact] in 2004, we estimated it was about $1 billion.”

VIATeC’s most recent economic impact study in 2009 estimated the sector’s total direct impact at $1.95 billion.

While the sector’s largest companies have seen steadily increasing revenue, Gunn said there have also been new players added to the mix.

“The barriers to entry, especially in the digital space, are next to nothing — Amazon is your distribution channel, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are your marketing channels to create tribes overnight, while Kickstarter and Indiegogo are funding options — so people with interesting ideas are able to hit the market way faster.”

The result is a sector that now directly employs 15,000 people as well as more than 3,000 consultants and advisors, and another 5,000 individuals working in technology for companies outside the high-tech sphere.

VIATeC will open its new offices on Fort Street near Blanshard Street today when it kicks off the two-day Experience Tectoria program, a conference and networking event with seminars, workshops, pitch opportunities and entertainment for local tech firms and the public, who will get a sneak peek behind the scenes of the sector.

At the event, Gunn will unveil the VIATeC 25, a list of the sector’s biggest firms, which he said have grown 20 per cent in combined revenue to $1.15 billion since last year.

VIATeC’s newly renovated 15,000-square-foot home was purchased this spring for $1.7 million and renovated over the past five months for about $700,000.

Called Fort Tectoria, the building, which favours the council’s orange colour scheme, provides a chance for the sector to make a more lasting impression on the city and act as the new home of VIATeC’s accelerator program for startup companies.

The accelerator is already a success. Over two and a half years, the program has seen 56 companies graduate, raise more than $10 million in funding and create 125 jobs.

“It really has exceeded expectations,” Gunn said.

Now the 20 startups in the program — which has a wait list of 15 companies — will have new digs.

The building, with plenty of exposed brick and polished concrete floors, has five floors. The main floor has a café, conference room and open event space while the basement has a lunchroom, showers, bike storage and two labs. The third and fourth floors house VIATeC and startup company offices. A tenant has leased the second floor.

Gunn said while the offices are almost ready to go, it won’t be until the end of the month before all the companies move in. VIATeC has its space in the Scott building, at the corner of Hillside Avenue and Douglas Street, until the end of this year.

As for the main floor event space, Gunn envisions a hive of activity that will draw in the city.

“We built that space for the community. We will use it a lot, but it will be available for anyone throwing an event that is related to creativity, innovation or entrepreneurship,” he said.

aduffy@timescolonist.comm