Cocoflo is helping governments in Canada and the U.S. offer digital services to their citizens

Cocoflo, a Vancouver-based software company, is making citizen services more accessible in Canada and the U.S.

Founded in 2019, the startup has already supported multiple levels of government with cloud-based emergency alerts, payments, licenses and permits, development planning and zoning, and more. Its approach involves working with — rather than replacing — multiple legacy systems to simplify processes, engagement, and communication with communities.

To date, Cocoflo has raised CAD $10 million, was recognized as a top startup by the Canadian Innovation Exchange conference, and has received praise from the CIA’s former deputy director, Sean Roche, at an AWS summit. 

The company’s momentum comes at a critical time as governments worldwide continue to struggle with digitizing services, especially in Canada. According to a United Nations report, Canada fell from third place in 2010 to 32nd in 2022 when it comes to digital performance. In addition, researchers have found that many Canadians still wait in long lines for services, struggle to navigate websites, and apply for programs by paper. 

The pain points that Cocoflo solves are well understood by its team. The company's founder and CEO, Bernie Florido, made it his mission to help governments better serve citizens by drawing on his unconventional career path — from his upbringing in the Philippines to highly lauded B.C. police officer and CEO of an award-winning real estate development firm. 

Florido sat with the Vancouver Tech Journal to share his journey in building Cocoflo, why it pivoted from its initial idea, and advice for other founders starting a venture without a background in tech.

From the Philippines to Canada

The idea of Cocoflo began as early as when Florido was growing up in Manila, Philippines. 

Florido recalled a major flood that devastated the village he lived in. As the water piled up, homes were destroyed and locals had to stomp through debris.

“We felt so isolated and helpless,” shared Florido. “Government assistance wasn't really there and technology wasn't as prominent as it is now.”

Several years later, Florido and his family would move to Canada to join their relatives, first in Winnipeg, then Vancouver. 

Having seen his uncle work as a pilot, Florido was inspired to do the same. He attended flight school but decided to do something different when the industry suffered after 9/11. He spent a lot of time volunteering before settling on becoming a police officer, as he experienced firsthand the importance of community ties and the impact of public service.

“In junior high, officers would come to our school and talk and shoot some hoops with us,” he recalled. “They were an integral part of molding my formative years where it was easy to go down a path where you could be easily manipulated and influenced by the wrong crowd.”

Getting into law enforcement and real estate 

As a police officer, a normal call for Florido involved being on the scene of a high-stakes crime.

Florido always felt uneasy when he and his team had to leave a location without sharing information with citizens, especially when chaos ensued.

“Imagine you're living in a neighborhood and all of a sudden there's a lot of screaming and people getting arrested and the police officers just leave, not informing you of anything,” said Florido. “I thought, ‘We’ve got to do a better job of being transparent to the community.’ Because these situations can leave a feeling of anxiousness and fear, like, ‘What went on in my neighborhood? Are my kids going to be safe? Is it okay to be outside?’”

He would later realize how the public sector was not up to date in improving processes, engagement, and communication with communities.

After Florido bought his first studio apartment in Coal Harbour, he got into real estate, initially as an investor and then as a land developer. He found that projects were often delayed, which could have been avoided if a digital way existed to process applications and information within City Hall.

The ex-cop shared a time when he watched a city representative inspect one of the houses he was building. He wrote everything down on a piece of paper, walked to his car, went inside, and typed everything out on a laptop before printing his report. To Florido, it was a roundabout way to get a copy.

Being called to venture into tech

Florido started to become curious about how other cities handled licensing and permitting. 

A quick search online led him to pull up several reports of the pain points he had dealt with in real estate across Canada and the U.S. It was too big of a problem for him to ignore, especially in Vancouver where consequences like delays affected housing. He knew there had to be a better way and decided to take matters into his own hands.

Knowing he’d have to test the market, he spent hours on YouTube learning how to create an MVP where users could apply for and receive approval for licenses and permits, on desktop and mobile. Afterward, he cold-emailed municipalities and flew across the country to pitch them. As Florido suspected, they were interested in finding the kind of solution he was proposing.

The entrepreneur got to work turning his MVP into reality using his own capital. Then, the COVID pandemic hit.

It became more important than ever to Florido to help governments bring their services online. At the same time, it became more difficult for him to balance building a product, team, and culture. 

To keep himself grounded, Florido would lean into stories and lessons learned from other founders. He’d also remind himself of one of the biggest takeaways he learned in law enforcement.

“When you’re dealing with horrific things, it puts the meaning of life into perspective,” explained Florido. “No matter how bad of a day that I'm having, I look back at certain moments as a police officer and go, ‘You know what — things could be a lot worse.’”

Pivoting into something bigger

While working on the first version of the product, Cocoflo would pivot into helping governments with a range of services — not just housing licenses and permits.

As he met with more decision-makers, it was evident many were looking to make a variety of services more accessible. He also found that the most common gap was the need for a single platform that could connect to multiple legacy systems. 

A common pain point for citizens was having to sign in to one website to access their account and then another to, say, make a payment. For staff, this led to dealing with workloads and storage that are much higher than they should be. 

“There’s incredible benefit and value to being able to access everything through one platform,” said Florido. “That's why we decided to focus on having the ability to integrate with legacy systems and augment them by offering a modern and simplistic interface for not only communities but staff as well.”

As for why this approach had yet to become widespread, Florido explained that implementing new tech and managing change within government is a complex and challenging process.  

“Our approach goes beyond just delivering a single product; it’s about transforming service delivery to the community as a whole,” suggested Florido. “This requires careful coordination and collaboration to ensure that ultimately it benefits the government and the communities they serve.”

He added: “We work closely with clients through a product team of analysts, designers, and engineers. The flexible process ensures that we accommodate the nuances of each client and stay ahead of market trends and evolving demands.”

Setting up in the U.S. and expanding to other verticals

After securing a few government contracts across Canada, Cocoflo felt ready to set up in the U.S.

“The approach was that we could start with smaller clients and work our way up, or we could start at the top and work our way down,” shared Florido. “We opted for the latter.”

After attending a conference in Washington, D.C., Cocoflo secured its first U.S. client in Virginia, where the headquarters of the CIA, FBI, and NSA are located. The company contributed to Stafford County’s “SmartAlerts” initiative, which involves keeping residents informed and safe in case of a flood or emergency by integrating IoT devices across the region.

Cocoflo is also working with the city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to help manage parks and recreation activities and keep residents engaged and updated by streamlining scheduling, enabling online registration for programs, and improving digital communication tools.

Now, the company is expanding into other verticals to help more entities simplify processes, engagement, and communication with communities. It recently formed its first partnership with a police department in Canada, which Florido said “marks a significant step in its vision to create more connected and responsive public services.”

Advice for other founders 

Looking back on the journey, Florido shared what motivated him to go all in with Cocoflo at a time when many startups were shutting down.

“I believe if you’re able to create a positive change in society, it's worth taking the risk,” he said. “The potential to make a meaningful impact far outweighs the challenges. That's what drives me, knowing that our work can truly benefit communities and improve lives.”

As for what advice the serial entrepreneur would give to other founders from a similar background, he encouraged “being mentally and physically prepared for what’s often romanticized in the media.”

“It's a grind. You’ve got to have the fortitude to endure the challenges, bear the scars, and still believe in what you’re doing, no matter the obstacles. If you truly believe that society will benefit from your passion, then it's worth pursuing.”

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