Where are they now? 5 startups that were meant to change everything

More Canadian entrepreneurs than ever before are flocking to innovation labs and incubator programs in the hopes their ideas will become the Next Big Thing.

Toronto now ranks in 8th place for the top startup region in the world, according to San Francisco-based Startup Genome, with Vancouver holding 9th place and Waterloo, Ont. taking the 16th spot. Communitech Hub, located in Waterloo, Ont., has seen its client base swell from 96 participants in 2009 to more than 300 in 2011.

Tech startups that have particular promise are often featured on Deloitte’s annual Companies to Watch list, part of its Fast 50 ranking that looks at Canada’s fastest growing tech companies. And while they may appear as Canada’s brightest startup stars, the path to success certainly isn’t guaranteed. Here’s a look at five much-buzzed about Canadian companies.

Well.ca – 2011 Company to Watch

Guelph, Ont.

What They Do: Online retailer of health, baby, beauty and home products. With free shipping, products are delivered directly to the consumer and come complete with a hand-written note thanking you for your business.

The Buzz: Well.ca was nominated for an E-commerce Innovation Award by Canada Post in 2012 (and won in 2013 for Best Large E-Tailer). The company built a reputation slowly, beginning at its launch in 2008, adding features like its ‘Green & Natural’ store (which launched in 2009) and adding innovative features through the years, like a pop-up stores where customers could shop in a subway station by QR code, or an app that lets users scan products in their home, then add them to a virtual shopping basket for quick re-ordering.

Where They Are Now: Co-founder of Well.ca, Ali Asaria, is working on his next endeavour Tulip Retail, which takes the online sales platform behind Well.ca and is preparing the platform for use by other online retailers. Earlier this month, Asaria and the rest of the Tulip Retail team revealed that they had raised $2.4 million to fund the new startup, and are optimistic that they can take on big players in the ecommerce market like PayPal, and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Square. Well.ca continues to thrive, and is currently Canada’s biggest online retailer of health, baby and beauty products.

Polar Mobile – 2010 Company to Watch

Toronto, Ont.

What They Do: Polar Mobile was initially launched to create publishing apps for content producers, helping to facilitate the transition from print to web (and eventually to mobile) right from its launch in 2007.

The Buzz: Since its launch, Polar Mobile has worked with content producers like The Toronto Star and Canadian Living. Its work for those big-name partners has included cross-platform publishing solution MediaEverywhere, an HTML 5-based solution that helped producers better reach mobile users.

Where They Are Now: In July 2013, the company dropped the ‘mobile’ from its name to become just Polar, broadening its efforts beyond the initial offering of cross-platform publishing. The company is now working on making a native ads publishing platform available to content producers and publishers as a standalone product, Tech Crunch reports. Their new MediaVoice platform can help publishers create sponsored stories, videos, galleries and more while integrating with existing advertising platforms. The company has seen some huge interest in mobile advertising, including a newly-minted deal with The Washington Post.

FUN Technologies – 2005 Company to Watch

Toronto, Ont.

What They Do: Launched in 2002, FUN Technologies touted itself as ‘the future of connected gaming,’ producing a variety of casual games online as well as some fantasy sports products.

The Buzz: FUN Technologies was recognized as a Company to Watch by Deloitte during the true heyday of casual gaming online. Before Zynga (launched in 2007) was cashing in on casual gamers, FUN Technologies had a long-term strategy to keep gamers engaged, including tournaments for players, and was prepared to partner up with other companies to bring its in-demand product to mainstream media. As reported in eGaming back in 2005, companies like AOL and Disney were on the lookout for companies that could provide the games people wanted to play. At its peak in 2006, FUN Technologies was behind the first WorldWide Web Games, a competition to find the world’s best casual gamer, playing games like Bejeweled and Solitare.

Where They Are Now: A series of acquisitions eventually led to FUN Technologies being discontinued as a brand. They acquired WorldWinner, a tournament games platform, in 2006, and FUN Technologies was subsequently acquired the following year by Liberty Media. Liberty integrated WorldWinner (an established brand) with its existing Game Show Network property, and no longer used the FUN Technologies brand. The company was de-listed from the TSX in 2007.

Aeryon Labs – 2009 Companies to Watch

Waterloo, Ont.

What They Do: Aeryon Labs is a maker of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), a type of flying drone. The company, which was found in 2007, primarily makes sUAS designed for taking photos and videos – a flying camera, if you will.

The Buzz: In 2010, Aeryon Labs began showcasing its drones at industry events like the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit. At the time, there was no FAA clearance for use in the U.S., but it piqued the interest of numerous buyers internationally.

Where They Are Now: While the problems at BlackBerry are largely portrayed as bad news for Waterloo, Ont., there’s an upside for companies like Aeryon Labs, which is looking to add 50 employees to its staff in the next year, The Record reports, and many will likely be former BlackBerry employees. Dave Kroetsch, the president and chief executive of Aeryon Labs, told The Record that those former employees already come highly educated and with developed skills that they can apply to software development. The drones developed by Aeryon Labs are being used in war zones, research projects and disaster surveillance situations across Canada and around the globe.

Octopz – 2007 Company to Watch

Toronto, Ont.

What They Do: Octopz launched in 2007 as an online creative collaboration tool. Using text messaging, VoIP and webcams, collaborators could discuss and edit various document types in a shared digital space.

The Buzz: The company made a splash at Web 2.0 Expo in 2007, receiving high praise from CNET and being recognized as one of the tech site’s Top 5 Favourites from the event. In particular, it was seen as a competitor for Adobe Connect, the biggest player in the online collaboration space at the time. The following year Octopz took home the title of Best Presenting Company at the Canadian Innovation Exchange event. While priced higher than Adobe Connect, it offered other features, like the ability to host multiple rooms for collaboration.

Where They Are Now: A visit to the Octopz site shows that the founders of the company have since sold their intellectual property to an undisclosed buyer. Since the company’s sale, Octopz CEO Ron McKenzie moved to Shaw Communications and is now Vice President of Operations, according to LinkedIn. Beyond that, information on Octopz is virtually nonexistent post 2008, leaving questions as to what exactly became of the founders Paul Nykamp and Barry Fogarty, and what they’re doing today.

The Bottom Line

Looking at these five companies, those who have found success have one thing in common: steady, sustainable growth. They incorporated features and developments to their products over time, waited to list publicly (or stayed privately run) and developed each next step based on the recognized needs of customers.

Asaria says that it’s easy for startups to get lost in their own hype, as there’s often so much of it at the beginning for many promising outfits.

“We’ve made multiple decisions at Tulip to make sure that we are spending all of our time building and talking to customers,” Asaria told Yahoo Canada. “As a result, to a certain degree, we’re not really worried about buzz and hype because we know that hype is not connected to long-term success.”

The secret to being a successful Canadian startup? Don’t get too big too fast, keep a level head, and remember to listen to your customers’ needs – not what you think can make you a fast buck.