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CAN'T FIND SOMETHING? |
Business in Vancouver December 30, 2008-January 5, 2009; issue 1001 Dorian Banks CEO and Co-founder, MetroBridge Networks International Inc., Age: 39 If Dorian Banks were James Bond, his movie might be called From Metrotown With Love. The president and co-founder of MetroBridge Networks International Inc. (TSX: MEB) started his wireless technology business by accident when, in 2001, a client in Burnaby needed a high-speed wireless connection to operate their business. “I told them I would solve it and I didn’t know how to do it. … Eventually I MacGyvered some Wi-Fi equipment,” said Banks. In fact, he soldered antennas to a few circuit boards and “shot” a link from the Burnaby mall Metrotown to his client’s office to establish an ADSL connection. “So the company kind of grew out of a need,” he said. Business began for Banks in Grade 10 when he started a play-by-mail war game similar to the board game Risk. Along with three other partners, Banks built the tiny business into such a success that he was eventually kicked out of school for focusing on it too much. He sold the business and moved on to university where he earned a business diploma at Harvard. Since then, he’s managed several businesses worldwide and has co-founded the now-defunct mobile phone company MyCash. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, MyCash was an important lesson for Banks, who learned what it was like to have a business die when MyCash went under during the dot-com crash. “When the Nasdaq crashed, that was it for everything. We couldn’t have raised a dollar the following week.” In 2001, he co-founded AirCelerator Networks Inc. in Vancouver and three years later merged it with Universco Broadband to form MetroBridge. A self-described insomniac, Banks said he can’t turn his brain off, and that might explain why he expects MetroBridge’s 2008 revenue to reach the $8 million mark. • Birthplace: Cambridge, Ontario Where do you live now: Vancouver Highest level of education: BA, University of Western Ontario; business diploma, Harvard University Car or chosen mode of transport: 2007 Yukon Denali Currently reading: The Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg and Anathem by Neal Stephenson Last CD bought or music downloaded: Strobelite Seduction by Kaskade Favourite movie: Thomas Crown Affair (1999) Favourite local restaurant: Coast restaurant Profession you would most like to try: President of the United States Mentor: My parents, Richard Branson (vicariously) Toughest business or professional decision: Ending our Zurich-based startup MyCash during the tech implosion in 2000 What’s left to do: Another 20+ startups, get married |
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