19 B.C. companies recognized by Deloitte for lightning-fast growth

B.C. companies across a range of technology sub-sectors made strong showings in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50, an annual report of quick-growing firms. Deloitte released its 2022 ranking today, which includes a general list (Fast 50), an Enterprise Fast 15, Clean Technology, and Companies-to-Watch.

Erica Pretorius, a Vancouver-based partner in risk advisory who leads Deloitte’s local telecommunications, media and technology division, told Vancouver Tech Journal that while she expected to see significant revenue, the numbers were still surprising. “I think we all expected the growth numbers to be bigger, but just how much bigger? That was quite a pleasant surprise,” she said.

Among 2022’s total winners, 19 percent of companies are based in B.C., 20 percent of the Clean Technology winners are based in the province, and a Vancouver firm (Thrive Health) was named the top company to watch.

The B.C. honorees – including their placement in each list, three-year growth rate, and location – are listed below:

Fast 50

• 2 - 6,407% - Certn - Victoria

• 9 - 2,854% - Spocket - Vancouver

• 21 - 1,205% - DarkVision Technologies - Vancouver

• 23 - 1,041% - Klue - Vancouver

• 28 - 843% - Fantuan - Vancouver

• 29 - 842% - GeoComply - Vancouver

• 32 - 802% - Freight Club - Vancouver

• 34 - 790% - Later - Vancouver

• 43 - 515% - Thinkific - Vancouver

• 44 - 502% - Tribe Property Technologies - Vancouver

• 46 - 467% - Jane - North Vancouver

• 50 - 421% - ScalePad - Vancouver

Enterprise Fast 15

• 3 - 590% - Trulioo - Vancouver

• 14 - 262% - East Side Games - Vancouver

Clean Technology

• 3 - 3,154% - MineSense Technologies - Vancouver

• 5 - 1,098% - Good Natured Products - Vancouver

• 15 - 76% - BQE Water - Vancouver

Companies to Watch

• 1 - 4,221% - Thrive Health - Vancouver

• 14 - 262% - Ionomr Innovations - Vancouver

Trends among B.C.’s Technology Fast 50 winners

The B.C. firms in this year’s ranking fit into four clusters, explained Pretorius. One of these groups is mining, energy, and cleantech. “We've got a number of interesting companies that really focus on cleaning up our environmental footprint or reducing or making mining and energy more efficient,” she noted, mentioning MineSense and DarkVision. She also said digital health is a strong area, with firms like Thrive Health and Jane represented.

Digital identity verification is a grouping worth paying attention to as well, Pretorius said, which includes Trulioo, Certn, and GeoComply. “They all focus on an aspect of proving whether people are who they say they are, or that they're located where they are. And I think as everything is online now, and verification is just such a hot topic, those companies will continue to thrive and grow.”

A final broad bucket is firms that empower and entertain us digitally. “We've spent a lot more time online in the last few years,” Pretorius explained, and businesses like Later, Thinkific, East Side Games, Freight Club, and others all play a unique role in that realm. “I think what's going to be really interesting is to see how these organizations shape up going forward, as we are a little bit more stepping away from the virtual world back into more of a physical world.”

Resiliency amid oncoming headwinds

While showing impressive growth, every business on the list is facing a deteriorating global economic environment that may impact their bottom lines. But Pretorius said it’s not the first time tech entrepreneurs have been faced with hard times and that they are well-positioned to navigate what comes next.

“We've been through this cycle before – this program has run for 25 years,” she explained. “So we've definitely seen ups and downs with the 2000 bubble and bust, and the 2007 to 2008 housing market crash. And now that we're in this pandemic, tech is facing some headwinds, but I think what we've seen through history is that these are the times when people become really creative and very innovative.

“Interesting companies are coming together and merging, or interesting acquisitions are being made. And if you look online, a lot of the tech companies that are in the communications space, the asset-sharing space, or the payment space – a lot of those organizations actually were founded in 2008 to 2009, during that previous crash. So I don't want to predict the future. But I know our tech companies in Canada, and especially B.C., are extremely resilient and they will find ways to be creative and innovative, and turn businesses around or pivot in a way they need to take advantage of the world we live in.”

2022 national highlights

Nobul, a Toronto-based open digital marketplace connecting home buyers and sellers to real estate agents topped the 2022 list with three-year growth of 72,944 percent. Hopper – an app that partners with airlines, hotels, homes, and car rental providers across the globe to offer buyers competitive prices – had the highest ranking in the Enterprise Fast 15 category. Flashfood is in the highest spot in the Clean Technology category.