A year and a half ago, Karl Pringle had just moved from Washington, D.C., to Vancouver when he was tapped to set up a North American subsidiary of Basis Technologies, a business-to-business technology company based in the United Kingdom.
While he was initially asked which U.S. city he’d like to work from, Pringle argued successfully that the new office should be based in Vancouver. The Vancouver office now has six employees and plans to hire more people.
Being the far-flung subsidiary of a larger company has not come without challenges. Pringle said open communication with the parent company and being ready to speak up if something isn’t translating well have been key to keeping things on track.
“The problems arise in that you’ve got cultural differences between North America and the U.K.,” Pringle said.
“You have to fight for your right because they have this view of how things should be done, and that doesn’t always correspond to what gets done in North America.”
For instance, Vancouver staff had to lobby the parent company to change language on its website that described a technical problem many customers face, but used terminology common in Europe.
“You need to understand your customers … and you can’t be relying on a marketing team thousands of miles away to do it for you,” Pringle said.
One way the Vancouver office has stayed connected to the larger company is by taking the lead on a company-wide project.
“You can very much be seen just as a colony, just as a pebble out there on the ocean,” he said.
“That’s where the fight for your right to participate in the wider company comes into play.”
On choosing Vancouver: “One of the most important things for us was to have a good airport and a good transportation hub. … Vancouver also has a vibrant technology and entrepreneurial culture, and one that is growing. Also, as it relates to our customers because our customers use SAP, they’ve got a very large office here based in Yaletown. That was great for us.”
