TheCodeFactory is excited to announce we have our first graduate. Ian Capstick and MediaStyle have grown from a single desk on the 2nd floor to a full office and studio on the 4th floor with plans to continue growing. We wish Ian, Travis, Sara, David and all the rest of the team much success as they leave the warm confines of our incubator and venture into a bigger space. Best wishes and much success moving forward.

That said we have two new offices coming available soon. The former MediaStyle offices are pretty funky space with lots of natural light and original turn of the century hardwood floors. If you are just starting out or a little further along and looking for that first office we would love to help you out. Please feel free to get in contact with ian [at] thecodefactory [dot] ca if you would like to check out the space. Maybe two years from now we’ll be writing about how your company has successfully outgrown our space too!
Ian Graham

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Featured, The Code Factory by admin
No Comments »

This is the second in a series of blog posts on the inevitable change that is coming our way in the next couple of years. It is difficult and irresponsible to put a finite time frame on the gathering economic storm because the economy is irrational and sets its own schedule. Prior to the onset of the recession back in August of 2008 I wrote a series of blog posts on The Forces of Change (Decline of the TV Industrial Complex, Business Model Migration). As the storm gets closer and economic winter approaches it becomes readily apparent that the forces at work are bringing about profound and substantial change to all aspects of society.

Photo Attribution: Clouds by Mark Round

Probably most people in Ottawa feel that the city is recession proof and justifiably so. Ottawa has weathered the storm incredibly well thanks in large part to the stabilizing influence of the federal government. IMHO dramatic change is about to come on a number of fronts:

- Macro level (Global Recession)
- Federal Government reductions in force
- Provincial Government deficit reduction
- Cost of living

I’ll comment on the Federal and Provincial change in a bit more detail.

Based on my observations and assorted media releases here is my take on what is happening in the federal government. In 2011 there was an across the board 5% to 10% cut, trimming the fat so to speak. Currently in the federal government there is a massive strategic review underway across the entire federal government ensuring value for money for all government spending. 2012 will see a more surgical trimming and elimination of entire programs that are not providing value for money. This will not be an across the board cut it will be the elimination of programs that are no longer relevant or valuable and IMHO go well beyond attrition. Key leading indicators of the type of change in process are the elimination of the Wheat Board and significant cuts at DND. The trend toward removal of outdated programs and value for money will continue and accelerate in the 2012 budget.

At the provincial level IMHO the tone for the next budget was set with the reduction in the size of cabinet potentially a signal of spending reductions to come. There is also my cynical take that leading up to the election we were living in a bit of a pre-election spending binge that someone is going to have to pay. With the election over and a lagging economy my expectation is there will be revenue reduction for the province of Ontario coupled with excess pre-election spending will undoubtedly lead to a day of budget reckoning. My expectation is that the government of Ontario will be forced to significantly tighten the purse strings on spending or run the risk of a lowered credit rating which would be disastrous.

What does all this mean for Ottawa … IMHO two significant changes; a rise in unemployment from displaced federal employees and a reduction in transfer payments from the province to the city of Ottawa. The impact of these changes and what to do about it are fodder for many more blog posts.

Ian Graham

Filed under: Featured, Ottawa by admin
No Comments »

Change can be a great thing when you embrace it and go with the flow. I have observed a few changes that in my opinion will bring significant change to our fair city of Ottawa in 2012.

Photo Attribution: Hurricane Rick / October 20, 2009 by Ani Carrington

The first is at the macro level where the winds are set to potentially hurricane force. The continued bailout of weaker Greece by the stronger members of the EU seems unlikely. There are now plans afoot by France and Germany to mitigate risk by creating a two-tiered Euro. After listening to Martin Wolf earlier this month it is really a question of when will the EU fail and how bad it will be versus “if” the EU will fail. The impact of this on Ottawa is uncertain.

At the micro level there are also many changes in the works that could profoundly impact Ottawa. Certainly there is a centralization movement in the Federal Government and Shared Services is tangible evidence of change. There is also change on many other fronts in the federal civil service such as DND rationalization, moving different departments to various parts of the city (DND to Carling, two departments TBD to Gatineau). There is also a strategic study being conducted across the entire federal government looking at ways to implement austerity measures. Change is coming to the Federal Civil service in Ottawa in 2012 and this will have a potentially profound impact on the city.

There are those that would say this all sounds very doom and gloom. Far from it, perhaps the Federal Government will be the biggest angel investor in Ottawa in 2012, responsible for more start-ups than the private sector. If you work for the federal civil service and are thinking about Plan B then a golden handshake could be just what you need to fund and launch you into entrepreneurship. Sounds pretty sweet to me.

If you are in the civil service, pondering plan B and 2012 please feel free to get in touch.

Ian Graham

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Featured, Ottawa by admin
No Comments »