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2020 Ready to Rocket lists Announced - PRESS RELEASE


2020 Ready to Rocket lists Announced to Profile Growth Companies in B.C.’s Technology Sectors

Rocket Builders Names Top Technology Companies To the “Ready to Rocket” lists for 18th Consecutive Year to Highlight Companies with Highest Growth Potential 



VANCOUVER, BC – April 14, 2020


Rocket Builders today released its eighteenth (18th) annual “Ready to Rocket” lists.  These lists profile British Columbia technology companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the technology sector trends that will lead them to faster growth than their peers. Rocket Builders also released results from its 2019 lists, with strong revenue growth across all sectors. As is typical with this list, companies profiled tend to attract investment, partnerships and even get acquired. Last year, greater than half (103) received investment.


The annual 2020 “Ready to Rocket” lists provide accurate predictions of private companies that will likely experience significant growth, venture capital investment or acquisition by a major player in the coming year. This year the lists feature 200 companies across 5 different technology sectors:

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) 
Cleantech (CT) 
Life Science (LS)
Digital Health (DH) 
Agri-Food (AF)


The “Ready to Rocket” lists are the only predictive lists of its kind in North America, requiring many months of sector and company analysis. 


“Over the 18 years of the program, the B.C. technology sector has steadily grown each year, and presents a growing challenge to select and identify the most likely to succeed for our Ready to Rocket lists.” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “In recent years, a startup economy has blossomed yielding a rich field of companies for our consideration, with over 600 companies reviewed to make our selections of 200 winners. Our Emerging Rocket lists enables us to profile those earlier stage companies that are well positioned for investment.


INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT)


The 2019 Ready to Rocket list for ICT performed extremely well. The average growth rate on that list was over 40% growth, with 31 companies with double digit growth and 12 exceeding 100% growth. The list as a whole represented the creation of over 500 jobs. 29% of companies on the list received new investment in 2019. Two companies graduated (achieve >20M revenue or over $50 in investment) and two were acquired.


"2019 was a great year for ICT in British Columbia as there was significant job creation and many breakthrough companies." said Reg Nordman, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. "Despite the economic uncertainty, we foresee great growth potential for many of these companies as they offer leading edge technology that provides transformational capabilities that the world needs."


CLEANTECH (CT)
The 2019 Ready to Rocket list for Cleantech performed extremely well. The majority of companies on the list had in excess of 50% growth, and the lists together created over 200 jobs in 2019. Four companies graduated (achieve >20M revenue or over $50 in investment) and Ecotagious was acquired.


According to Dave Thomas, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “The Cleantech sector in B.C. continues to see growth. It is an exciting time in cleantech as renewable energy is reaching an economic tilting point and investors are keen on large investments in post-demonstration technologies that are ready to scale.”


LIFE SCIENCE (LS)


The 2019 Ready to Rocket list for Life Science featured many new investments (70% received new investment) and key milestones. There were over 75 jobs created among companies on the list. The 2019 Ready to Rocket list for Life Science features 10 companies, and the Emerging Rocket list features 10 companies.


According to Thealzel Lee, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “The Life Science sector in B.C. continues to demonstrate interesting and innovative technology, especially in medical devices and genomics. Although the healthcare industry is currently under economic strain, most analysts predict strong growth potential coming out of the current pandemic crisis.”


DIGITAL HEALTH (DH)


2019 was the third year for the Digital Health sector list, and it continues to show growth. With over 200 jobs created, it was a great year for a developing sector. The earlier stage “ Emerging Rockets” are really accelerating, with over 75% of them raising investment last year. Although none of this sector’s companies have graduated or exited, there are indications that the coming years will see a real boom for this sector.


"2019 was a great year for Digital Health in British Columbia as there was significant job creation and many breakthrough companies." said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. "In the current pandemic crisis, we are seeing a real acceleration in interest in all areas of digital health. In particular, telehealth is observing exponential growth."


AGRI-FOOD (AF)


2019 was the first year for the Agri-Food sector list -- it is a sector comprised of technology companies in the agriculture and food value chains. This mix of Agricultural Technology (AgTech), Food Technology (FoodTech), Food Delivery and Cannabis Technology (CannabisTech) is an area of great innovation but still early in mass adoption. Over 125 jobs were created by companies on this list, with about 60% of them raising investment. Two graduates this year with huge growth performance: Semios and Foodee.


According to Dave Thomas, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “The Agri-Food sector in B.C. is making great progress. Each of the sub-sectors in growing with Food Delivery experiencing particularly strong growth for obvious reasons.”


MORE INFORMATION


For details on the “Ready to Rocket” lists, please visit http://www.readytorocket.com
Today (April 14th), a webinar detailing the trends and unveiling the launch of these lists  

About the Sponsors:



Garibaldi Capital http://garibaldicapital.com
City of New Westminster https://www.newwestcity.ca


About the Rocket Recognition Program


The Rocket Recognition Program features two branded lists of companies. The "Ready to Rocket" list profiles information technology companies with the greatest potential for revenue growth in the coming year. The "Emerging Rockets" list profiles technology companies from multiple technology sectors with great potential for investment and market breakthroughs in the coming year. Both lists are predictive of future success making them unique in approach and unique in value for our business audience. "Ready to Rocket" and "Emerging Rockets: are trademarks of Rocket Builders, a respected management consulting firm servicing the technology industry.


About Rocket Builders


Rocket Builders is a management consulting firm providing sales and marketing services. With a focus on helping technology companies to grow and prosper, Rocket Builders has a proven track record of success with its clients. Since 2000, we have been engaged in market research, market planning, business development initiatives, strategic selling, and product launches for over 500 organizations.



Sunday, April 5, 2020

Webinar for 2020 Ready to Rocket Launch

We are pleased to announce that the 2020 Lists have been selected and we are having a webinar event to launch the list and profile the latest trends.



The previously scheduled in-person celebration is postponed until much later in the year.

Friday, March 13, 2020

Postponement of PUBLIC Launch Event

Although we are "Ready to Rocket" with our launch of the 2020 lists, it has become clear that the right thing to do would be to postpone the event on March 17th.

We are committed to our mandate to promote the technology industry in BC and celebrate excellence in our province, but at this time we must adjust our plans to deliver on this promise.

Details on our new plans will be posted in the coming days, but may depend on the rapidly changing safety environment for all people in British Columbia.



via GIPHY

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Final Call for Nominations for 2020

We're in launch phase preparations for choosing the 2020 Rocket companies, but there may still be time while we warm up the engines ...

via GIPHY


We extended the deadline until March 1st 2020 ... so please get your nominations in.


Wednesday, February 5, 2020

List Launch Event Upcoming - Save the Date



Please join us March 17th 2020 at the SFU Segal Building for an evening presentation and company showcase.

Event details and tickets available here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ready-to-rocket-2020-tickets-92406064025?

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Free Event Invitation - February 3rd 2020

Entitled "Taking Advantage of 2020 Technology Trends to Maximize Growth and Financing Opportunity", please come join us in exploring the latest technology trends and a summary of recent financing milestones in Canada's tech sector.

When: February 3rd 2020 9:30am
Where: PriceWaterhouseCoopers 250 Howe Street - Suite 1400

Click Here for More Details and Free Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taking-advantage-of-2020-technology-trends-to-maximize-growth-and-financing-opportunity-tickets-91207759865


Thursday, January 2, 2020

Call for Nominations for 2020 Lists

2020 Call for Nominations

Have a "hot" growth company in the technology sector you want the world to hear about?
Nominate them to BC's 18th Annual "Ready to Rocket" list.


Rocket Builders is Seeking Nominations for the 2020 "Ready to Rocket" and
"Emerging Rockets" Lists. This recognition program will showcase companies
in ICT, Digital Health, Life Science and CleanTech sectors and will be presented
March 19th 2020.

Rocket Builders is joined by CBRE, Garibaldi Capital, Go Recruitment,
McMillan LLP, the City of New Westminster and PwC in welcoming new nominations.

BC is home to many of Canada's most exciting technology companies.
Rocket Builders has built a unique methodology for analyzing market trends and
using this knowledge to predict revenue growth in the coming year.
Each year Rocket Builders publishes lists which profile the BC companies that
have the greatest potential in the coming year.

The "Ready to Rocket" Lists feature top technology companies that are best positioned
to capitalize on the largest growth trends in the technology industry.
This upcoming list will be the 18th year of this recognition list.
We expect that companies selected to the "Ready to Rocket" list will outperform the economy
and represent important trends that are creating rapid revenue growth.

We are seeking nominations for the 2020 "Ready to Rocket" lists that we will present
on March 17th 2020.

Nomination deadline is February 15th 2020, but submission as soon as possible
will allow the selection committee more time to consider your nomination.
At the same time we are accepting “Emerging Rockets” nominations for startup companies
just entering the market at an early stage.