Technology sector honours local champion – Times Colonist

Amid the annual pandemonium that is the Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Councils award show flying inflatable whales, palm trees, music, Polynesian dancers and a touch of time travel Dan Gunn asked a good question.

Why did VIATEC wait so long to name Scott Phillips as its technology champion?

Hes exactly what the Colin Lennox Award for Technology Champion is all about, said the VIATEC chief executive.

Phillips has worked over the last 18 years building Starfish Medical into a world leader in medical device manufacturing while helping to grow the Victoria tech sector by volunteering his time and sharing his expertise with start-up companies and his peers.

On Friday night, he accepted the champion award in front of813 rowdy, lei-wearing, Tiki-cocktail drinking tech workers.

Im grateful. I really am to be seen as a founder and that what I do in the tech community is valued, said Phillips in an interview. I have caught this community-building disease from somewhere, and have been quietly working in the background to connect people and to support organizations like VIATEC.

At the same time, Phillips company has grown significantly.

In March, Starfish announced it had acquired Toronto medical-device designer Kangaroo Group in order to attract more business from the medical-technology hubs of the eastern U.S. The acquisition took Starfish to 130 employees.

Phillips, who joked Starfish is an 18-year-old overnight success story, said the projects they work on take several years to come to market, and even then it takes years to develop a good reputation and trust level with clients.

We are starting to see that now, he said.

On Friday, it was about the then-and-now as VIATECs annual awards show married steam-punk time travel with South Pacific flare for something it called Tiki Time Travel. With a massive coconut as part of a set and a Tiki time-machine car, the event provided irreverence and noise while celebrating the tech sector.

This is a great way for us to hold up examples of some of our leading companies so people can recognize them, which I think is important because its motivating for other companies to see whats possible and motivating for teams that there is some level of recognition, said Gunn.

Its also come to represent the tech sector as its a somewhat edgy, largely irreverent event. We work hard on the entertainment and wow component.

This year that included Polynesian dancers, Atomic Vaudevilles cast performing the Time Warp from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, an immersive video experience and time travel taking the entire room through the decades.

aduffy@timescolonist.com

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VIATEC award winners

Company of the Year

50+ employees: Checkfront

Company of the Year

(11-49 employees): SendtoNews

Company of the Year

(1-10 employees): Momentum Dashboard

Emerging Company of the Year

Telmediq

Startup of the Year

HYAS Infosec

Product of the Year

VRX Simulators

Innovative Excellence Software

TrichAnalytics

Innovative Excellence Hardware

Redlen Technologies

Team of the Year

Udutu

Employer of the Year

Go2mobi

Leader of the Year

Kim Krenzler, RevenueWire

Emerging Leader of the Year

Hunter Macdonald, Tutela Technologies

Newcomer of the Year

Scott Lake

Capital Investment Network's Angel of the Year

Rasool Rayani

VIATEC Member of the Year

RevenueWire

Community Champion

ParetoLogic

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Technology sector honours local champion - Times Colonist