In 2002, Signalink Technologies of Kelowna, B.C. entered the NVBC competition with an audible/visible fire alarm signaling device designed to augment existing fire alarm systems in residential and commercial buildings. The company took third prize.

Today, after years of research and development, Signalink’s technology affordably transforms the existing wiring in residential or commercial buildings into an instant data-communications network. The system’s expanded suite of products can be used for building services such as fire and security protection, energy management and even medical devices.

Over the past eight years, Signalink has grown from just four employees to 24, with plans to hire a further staff this year. The firm’s management team now includes Canadian entrepreneur Ed Alfke, founder of Rent-a-Wreck; Vancouver electronics engineer John Francis, whose end-of-train technology eliminated the caboose on freight trains, and former NASA and USAF design engineer Arthur Voss.

To date, the company has raised $8 million in four rounds of financing and expects to complete a further round of financing worth $2 million early this year.

Signalink has won numerous awards, including: Innovative Organization of the Year” Silicon Valley/Telus 2005;  “Most Promising Emerging Technology of the Year” Silicon Vineyard/BDC 2006; “Best Pre-Revenue Company to Invest In” Angel Forum Vancouver 2006; “Most Valued Company, San Francisco Angel Expo 2007; Top 10 Early Stage companies in Canada, 2009, National Angel Capital Organization.

In January 2010, Signalink launched a second generation of its Fire-Link™ product—a fire-alarm system—with new features that include a strobe light for the hearing impaired.

Ideal for retrofits, Signalink’s technology is installed in 300 buildings in North America. Signalink is in the midst of developing a worldwide market and expects to become profitable in 2010. Its market value has grown four-fold since entering the NVBC competition.

Highlights over the past eight years:

• Employee growth:  4 to 24
• Investment:  $8 million; a further $2 million pending
• Market Value: 4-fold growth

Since winning first prize in the 2002 competition, Metalogix has not only been profitable but its market value has grown 44-fold.

Co-founders Julien Sellgren, Rasool Rayani, and Geordie Henderson entered the competition with a one-year-old company interested in creating software tools for migrating enterprise content to Microsoft’s content management and collaboration suite.

Today, the company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Its award-winning software, developed in Vancouver and Bratislava, Slovakia, enables organizations around the world to efficiently migrate, manage, and archive enterprise content on Microsoft SharePoint servers.

With $40 million in investment from organizations such as Bessemer Venture Partners and Insight Capital Partners, Metalogix expanded its business, purchasing H&S Software of Vienna, Austria which produces archiving software, and StoragePoint of Detroit, which produces storage management solutions.

In 2008, the company headquarters moved from Vancouver to Boston, with international headquarters in Switzerland. Metalogix has 75 employees and plans to hire an additional 20 to 30 this year.

Metalogix Inc., the New Ventures BC 2002 BMO Bank of Montreal first-prize winner, grew to 16 employees working out of offices in Vancouver, Halifax and Dallas to serve more than 300 customers worldwide.

The firm, which creates and sells award-winning content migration and archiving software, was generating annual revenues of $3.6 million by the time it was acquired in 2008 by Insight Venture Partners, a private equity firm based in New York.

Metalogix next merged with Europe-based H&S Software, retaining the Metalogix name. The company’s three founders: Julien Sellgren, Rasool Rayani and Geordie Henderson continue to play key roles, with an external CEO hired to run the newly combined firm.

Today, Metalogix Software has approximately 60 employees working out of offices in Vancouver, Halifax, Dallas, Boston, Bratislava, Vienna and Zurich, to serve more than 1500 customers worldwide. Current revenues are approximately $10 million USD.