douglas

And the winners are...

OnlyHuman, 2011 10 to Watch Winner

Douglas magazine’s 10 to Watch competition recognizes the very best of Greater Victoria’s new businesses, and the 2011 edition received a record number of entries. Now in its third year, 10 to Watch gives startups the boost they need and deserve after investing so much of their time, energy, and money into pursuing their dreams.

As Victoria’s business magazine, we believe there is nothing more important than celebrating good business practices. The exposure our winners receive through the 10 to Watch not only gives them a much-deserved pat on the back, it also serves to highlight Victoria’s vibrant spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, which in turn can motivate someone with nothing more than a dream and a business plan to take that next step toward building an enterprise that might someday become another key player in our business community.

As determined by a panel of judges made up of local business experts, this year’s 10 to Watch are:

·      Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre (creative artistic director: Brian Richmond)

·      Body Dynamics Headquarters (owner: Michele Shorter)

·      Cook Culture (owner: Jed Grieve)

·      Draught WISE Draught Integrity Technicians (owner: Shelly Sinclair)

·      Evidents Mobile Dent Repair (owners: Randy Ross and Jamie Gale)

·      Lizard Adventure Travel (owner: Liz Bonham)

·      Onlyhuman Furniture (owners: Chris Rothery and Christina Stack)

·      Origin Gluten-Free Bakery (owners: Tara Black and Marion Neuhauser)

·      Pizzeria Prima Strada (owners: Cristen DeCarolis Dallas and Geoffrey Dallas)

·      Sterling Financial Accounting Services (owner: Tanya Sterling)

Douglas thanks our 10 to Watch judges: Deirdre Campbell, president of Tartan PR Group; John Juricic, founder of Etraffic Solutions; Rebecca Grant, associate professor of business at the University of Victoria; Daniela Cubelic, owner of Silk Road Tea; and Mike Thompson, associate vice-president of business development at Royal Roads University.

Special thanks go to our official sponsor, Campus Auto Group, and supporting sponsors TD Canada Trust, McConnan Bion O’Connor & Peterson Lawyers, Telus, Think Communications, /A\ Vancouver Island, Hemlock Printers, Skanda, and Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia.

The winners were honoured at a gala awards ceremony March 1st at the new Campus Infinity showroom. You can view photos of the event here. In-depth profiles of all 10 businesses can be found in the March/April 2011 issue of Douglas magazine, available now. 

If you haven’t seen the March/April 2011 issue of Douglas, you can buy it at Chapters on Douglas Street, Munro’s Books, Bolen Books, Market on Yates, or Tanner’s Books in Sidney. Call us today at 250-595-7243 or visit us online to start a subscription.