Eight entrepreneurs reveal the tech challenges they are tackling now — and how it will make their business better

Technology can have an impact on an organization’s success — and these eight entrepreneurs know it. As participants in the Cisco Women Entrepreneurs’ Circle, they’ve been paired with engineering interns with the goal of using technology to better their businesses. They’re sharing the challenges they’re solving with technology this year — could it help your company, too?

IRINI MIKHAEL, LULLABOO NURSERY AND CHILD CARE CENTRE

While looking for childcare for their first daughter, Irini Mikhael, an engineer for a global organization, and her husband Halim simply were not satisfied with the options available. So they opened Lullaboo — with the goal of providing top notch education and development to Canadian children, including their own.

Tech Challenge: Managing operations after growth
Since launching in Richmond Hill in 2008, Lullaboo has expanded to nine locations. They’re currently using a FileMaker solution to manage operations — but it’s time to develop their own custom app. Irini is in charge of IT software development (along with process strategy, new buildings, and other operation decisions), and is looking for a solution that can support further expansion.

REBECCA AND MANDY WOLF, MANDY’S

Rebecca and Mandy Wolfe are the sister-duo behind Mandy’s. With seven branches across Montreal, the salad restaurant is known for their quality food and guest experience — as well as their charitable giving. They’ve found success not only through what they offer, but also by keeping operating costs low, and building out their backend technology and processes to maintain rapid but healthy growth.

Tech Challenge: Consolidating multiple systems
Mandy’s currently employs multiple small systems, and Rebecca and Mandy want to consolidate to better manage and optimize operations. They also recognize that they need support from a fresh, outside point of view to bring more efficiency to their backend.

THERESA KEEPING, PORT OF STEPHENVILLE AND VINKING INDUSTRIAL INCORPORATED

Located in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Port of Stephenville is a fully operational seaport which works in tandem with Vinking, which includes an industrial estate with over 300 acres of land and 960 acres of sea-bottom currently in the process of development. Owned and managed by Theresa Keeping, she’s focusing the next five years on creating an aggregate mining facility, both shellfish and fin-fish aquaculture facilities, a cutting-edge compost facility, and alternative energy opportunities.

Tech Challenge: Integrating new lines of business
Given the future expansions planned and current port activities — which are anticipated to increase significantly in coming years — Theresa sees the need for an integrated management software platform which can automate, plan, and support on-going operations. Ensuring that all services and business threads are integrated is, and will be, a challenge for the Port.

COLETTE COOPER, RENTEKNIK

Colette Cooper is co-owner and VP of Business and Operation of Renteknik, an energy efficiency engineering and consulting firm based in Burlington, Ontario.  The company is at the forefront of the energy industry, providing focused solutions that are cost effective, sustainable, and support North America’s mandate to reduce carbon emissions and promote energy and operational efficiency practices. The company’s current project: developing a real-time energy and operational efficiency monitoring software portal for HVAC, Make Up Air Units and Air Handling Units.

Tech Challenge: Developing a new tech product
The project involves the integration of different analytical platforms into a ‘watch dog’ type system that will allow for the identification of operational and energy issues within the various monitored building systems. By creating a new technology solution, their goal is to give visibility into business operations to achieve greater efficiency and cost savings for their clients.

DONNA ENRIGHT, TECHNICALITIES PLUS INC

Donna Enright opened her application development company to make a difference in the world. Based in Haliburton, Ontario, TechnicalitiesPlus has worked with many not-for-profits and innovative businesses to create web-based applications that help them support their clients and customers more efficiently. This year they are launching Assisted Cooking, an easy to use application delivering virtual support in meal preparation to people with cognitive challenges.

Tech Challenge: Making an online solution more accessible
Assisted Cooking is currently set up as a mobile responsive website, which can be problematic for universal functionality. Building a mobile app will provide more control over and consistency in the way the software functions on tablets, making it more accessible to the people who will benefit most from it.

CINDY ROMA AND SYDNEY RYAN, TELELINK, THE CALL CENTRE INC.

Telelink was launched in 1965 as a traditional answering service in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Present Co-CEO’s Cindy Roma and Sydney Ryan have transformed it into a global leader in safety and emergency response monitoring with over 340 global customers. As their clients become more sophisticated, they are requesting social media monitoring services, a more omni-channel, connected experience, and monitoring of safety devices and platforms — which their current systems can’t handle.

Tech Challenge: Transitioning to a cloud-based client offering
With customers wanting more than just taking a message or relaying information, Cindy and Sydney know they need to evaluate new options in telephony and monitoring platforms. There are cloud-based systems available that offer a host of new services that they can provide to their customers, but it will take research to select the right platform, and transition systems.

JULIE MITCHELL, TORQ RIDE

Julie Mitchell says she likes to have a lot going on, which explains why she’s both a partner at Parcel Design, an integrated creative firm, and the owner of Torq Ride, an indoor cycling studio that hosts approximately 600 riders per week. While Torq and Parcel are both quite dependant on technology and have access to a lot of related data, they do not currently use it to their best advantage.

Tech Challenge: Making information accessible internally
Their main tech project for the summer is creating an intranet to make processes, policies, templates, and brand standards accessible to the team. As both Parcel and Torq expand, Julie thinks that this platform will have a huge impact on productivity and communications.

DEBBIE FUNG, YOGA TREE

Since 2007, Yoga Tree Studios has grown from its first studio in Thornhill to five studios across the GTA, with a sixth opening soon. Yoga Tree offers over 2,000 yoga classes a month and an array of workshops and yoga teacher trainings. Debbie recognizes that the fitness industry is ever evolving and Yoga Tree is responding with innovative solutions — including integrating technology to optimize their digital and mobile presence to increase retention, communication with its clients, and increase brand awareness.  

Tech Challenge: Improving customer experience
Debbie’s focus is on the development and launch of a customized Chatbot, the design of a platform for online streamed classes, and a redesign of their website to be more responsive and intuitive to determine their customers’ fitness goals and align it with their suitable class options. Her goal: to elevate the digital experience of Yoga Tree students to a level that is ahead of industry practice.

The Cisco Women Entrepreneurs Circle — a program led by Cisco in partnership with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) — addresses some of the obstacles women-led businesses face in building their tech capabilities. Are you a business owner? Fill in a short survey to register for free virtual training from the Cisco Networking Academy and fill in your knowledge gaps, or try the BDC digital maturity assessment tool to find out in less than 5 minutes where your business stands compared to your peers, and how you can improve.