Three disparate companies find success through hard work, good timing and a very savvy attitude

A Good Chick to Know

There's a new chick on the block in Vancouver's interior design world. Two new chicks, actually.

Jennifer Scott and Rachel Harrison are shaking up tradition with a unique take on style. Scott was first runner-up in the inaugural B.C.'s Best Young Designer Contest in early 2011, and one real estate client credited the pair's home-staging skills as a significant factor in achieving a selling price of $80,000 over list in less than two weeks. Another said she'll "never remove them from my speed dial."

The seed of the idea came when Scott and Harrison asked themselves why no one was integrating conventional interior design principles with the edginess consistently found in that notoriously fickle industry - high fashion, a field in which both women had already thrived for a decade. In March 2010, they took an entrepreneurial leap of faith by launching A Good Chick to Know design consultation.

Like many start-up businesses, basic out-of-pocket expenses were initially covered from Harrison and Scott's personal savings. Unlike many startups, however, basic expenses included attention to branding and an ability to differentiate between their own areas of expertise and areas such as accounting or public relations where they required professional expertise.

"PR and correct branding are key, especially in an industry like this where image is sometimes initially more important than reputation," Scott explained. "You must get it right from the beginning, because you absolutely can't be apologizing or trying to improve your branding after the fact."

The Chicks' ability and sassy-yet-sophisticated approach soon attracted attention outside the design community.

"In July 2010 we incorporated and a private investor agreed to provide a cash injection of $48,000 in return for a one-third interest in the company," Harrison explained. She noted that while the investment allowed them the freedom to concentrate all their energy on the business, neither wanted to deplete the funds by drawing more than a minimal salary.

Looking ahead, Scott and Harrison have no hesitation explaining their ultimate goal. "We want to become the go-to resource for both fashion and interior design," Scott said. "We see our small firm growing to include additional designers and perhaps delving into the realm of commercial design. But we will always continue to support and collaborate with other female entrepreneurs in order to grow the community of successful and creative women."

Her smile exuded a contagious enthusiasm. "Who knows, perhaps one day we'll even have our own series on HGTV."

Mondetta Clothing

Mondetta Clothing of Winnipeg is hoping to build on the stampede it started at the recent Canada Games.

Athletes from all over the country swarmed their Manitoba counterparts at the recently-completed Games in Halifax, hoping to convince them to trade the most sought-after clothing item around - a bison toque complete with horns.

The toque was part of Team Manitoba's uniform, which was created by Mondetta.

Some Manitobans traded their toques for money - as much as $70, in some cases - while others were able to parlay it into entire uniforms from other provinces.

Hewson Elliott, who won a pair of medals in long-track speedskating for Team Toba, a silver in the 100-metre sprint and a bronze in the team pursuit, admitted he and his teammates hyped up the toques to pump up their tradability.

Heather Johnson, who designed the uniforms for Mondetta, said she was excited that Mondetta had created the signature item of the Games.

"Obviously, it's not your standard sport item. We wanted to try something fun. We're just thrilled with the success of the toques and we're glad the athletes are enjoying them. It's all about getting attention for the athletes," she said.

Mondetta first made its mark in the Canadian clothing market back in the mid-'80s when it launched its hugely popular "flag" shirts and sweatshirts, which featured flags from around the world on the front. The concept was relaunched 18 months ago prior to the Vancouver Olympics and soccer's World Cup.

While Mondetta has been sure to take care of its home base - Team Manitoba had 300 athletes in Halifax and it will outfit a similar number at the Western Canada Games in Kamloops, B.C., this summer - it has also spread its wings in one of the fashion capitals of the world, New York. It recently opened up a showroom in the Big Apple's garment district, where it hopes to attract the attention of the world's biggest retailers.

Tony Lavilla, Mondetta's branding director, said it has already signed "test buy" agreements with several players, including Equinox, an exclusive line of workout gyms in the U.S., and Paragon Sports, an elite retailer in New York, to carry Mondetta's MPG line of high-performance workout wear.

He said the deals are a "huge score" for the company because other retailers and companies look to Mondetta because of its track record for finding the next big thing.

"The showroom gives us home turf in a controlled environment. Previously, we'd have to take clothes out of a garment bag when we'd have appointments with retailers, which could mean they got crumpled. Now our clothing is ready and looking perfect," he said.

- Geoff Kirbyson

Innovative fitness

Jeff Sharpe and Matthew Young founded Innovative Fitness in 1995, shortly after graduating from the University of British Columbia with degrees in human kinetics. Now they are muscling into workout videos with a heavy hitter from the ultimate fighting arena.

The business partners offered personal training services anywhere they could - in the comfort of clients' homes, in parks and in rented gym spaces.

After experiencing two years of sustained demand, Innovative opened its first gym at 10th Avenue and Arbutus Street in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood, where its flagship remains today.

Innovative now has six gyms - two wholly owned and four that are franchises - in the Lower Mainland, and service agreements in which it provides training services within the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver and the Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler.

While larger gyms tend to offer memberships to anyone looking to shape up, Innovative's services are more exclusive.

The company's 3,000 clients, many of whom are from the Lower Mainland's tony neighbourhoods of West Vancouver, White Rock and Point Grey, receive one-on-one, by-appointment-only training in small, intimate, 3,500-square-foot gyms that never have more than eight to 10 customers working out at once.

"It's unlike every other gym because it's exclusively personal training," said Sharpe.

"It's a fairly high-end service because you need to have discretionary income to hire a personal trainer for all of your training."

In order to be able to deliver their personal training services to a wider demographic, Sharpe and Young, under a new company that they formed, which is called Digital Shelf Space, have now developed an online technology platform for selling personal training videos as streaming video, DVDs or downloadable files.

Digital's first project is a series of six mixed-martial-arts-inspired DVD workouts starring Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight Georges St-Pierre.

Digital completed a reverse takeover in January to list publicly on the TSX Venture Exchange.

In connection with the transaction, Digital completed a $1 million private placement.

- Curt Cherewayko/BIV

from Western Investor, April 2011