Recent growth rate: 527%

Head Office: Halifax, N.S.
President/CEO: Robert Cervelli

What is your previous job experience?
I’ve been involved in life sciences for 21 years, in start-up biotech companies. For three years I worked at the technology office of patenting and licensing at Dalhousie University.

How did the company start?
At some point, there was an entrepreneurial nag to launch the company. There was some good research behind our products that had immediate potential. That began the opportunity of licensing and commercialization into products. On the financial side, we began with angel investing for four to five years. After we built momentum, we looked for venture capital through a grassroots campaign both regionally and across North America. Our VCs are in Calgary and Nova Scotia. I spend a quarter of my time looking for investments so we can set up big deals down the road and far ahead in our business. You should look for investments when you don’t need them.

What has been the biggest growth factor?
A solid base of potential, with a full range of products. We listen to those with experience in the field, and they’ve helped in getting the uptake and traction needed to build the company. It’s been very dramatic.

What has been the biggest obstacle that has kept the company from growing even faster?
The state of the economy is the most obvious. Fortunately, we’re buffered because health products are always needed. Our products are regularly used by people to maintain quality of life, so there’s a steady demand.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning and last thing you do at night?
At 5 a.m. I turn on the espresso machine. At night I read a good book. Lately I’ve been reading Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life by John Bogle.

Your guilty pleasure?
On a Sunday afternoon, listening to Luciano Pavarotti, drinking red wine, and spending one or two hours cooking a fantastic meal.

How do you achieve work/life balance and encourage your employees to do the same?
Like most people, I’m trying to pay attention to balance in my life. We sponsor health programs for our
employees and give them personal time off and sick days.

What do you look for in an employee?
Career experience. We look for people who are adaptable, quick learners, and open minded. They
need to have a high level of common sense and problem-solving skills.

How would you like to improve the company?
We should figure out ways to be carbon neutral. Some of our profits go to support groups with chronic pain. We want to continue to give to support networks.

On whom do you rely for advice for big business decisions?
We talk to scientific- and business-oriented CEOs and VPs in larger companies who are in the centre of the main marketplace. For example, we talk to people who run industry magazines. Those strategic introductions help us get the advice we need to find and retain clients.

What’s your next big professional move?
We want to become a dominant niche company in North America.