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CAN'T FIND SOMETHING? |
Business in Vancouver December 30, 2008-January 5, 2009; issue 1001 Dean Gagnon President, CityMax.com, Age: 37 Dean Gagnon thinks Pierce Brosnan was the best James Bond, but the world is definitely not enough for this entrepreneur. Gagnon’s company, CityMax.com, is labelled as an easy-to-use online website builder, but he wants to take it to the next level. “Our plan is to [become] the easiest online small business website builder, and the next step is really to make it a community of entrepreneurs,” said Gagnon. He plans to expand the business to include technical support, legal documents and everything else a small-business owner would need to ensure his or her company is a success. Prior to co-founding CityMax in 2001, Gagnon held the marketing rights for the LSE System, a pipe restoration technology from Swiss-based Intertechno. He was only 22 years old when he was asked to bring the technology to North America, and he flew to Switzerland to negotiate a deal. “It really showed me at a real early age that if you just go do it, you start,” he said. He then drove across Canada, slept in his car to save money and successfully sold the first North American licences to establish a market for the technology. Afterwards, he became interested in online technology, because it allowed him to be in control of his own project. “This sort of just fell in my lap, and it’s really nice because you’re working with small entrepreneur startups.” As president and “chief evangelist” of CityMax, Gagnon has grown his company to 30 employees, and more than 30,000 active customer websites. “We don’t really follow the status quo. We do a lot of the little innovation things that just make day-to-day more interesting,” he said. Gagnon admits that he’s had trouble balancing his work life with his personal life, but he said it helps that most of his employees are under 30 and make his company a fun place to work. • Birthplace: Prince George Where do you live now: Vancouver Highest level of education: BCIT, Small Business Entrepreneurship program Car or chosen mode of transport: Nissan 350Z, which looks a bit crazy with the company dog riding shotgun Currently reading: The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly Last CD bought or music downloaded: Don’t Stop Believing by Journey Favourite movie: Charlie Wilson’s War Favourite local restaurant: Chill Winstons Profession you would most like to try: Premier of B.C. Setting a grand vision, building a team of passionate citizens and setting the framework for generations to benefit from Mentor: Peter Thomson Toughest business or professional decision: Implementing “Good to Great” and getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus What’s left to do: Transform CityMax.com from a world-class website-building tool for entrepreneurs to a world-class community of entrepreneurs helping each other succeed |
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