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Member interview: Vandelay Systems December 23, 2008 at 11:47 am

YITIS is excited to present the first in a series of interviews that focuses on what it takes to start, manage and grow a successful Yukon IT business. In this interview, we speak to Colin Nickerson, Co-Founder and Programmer/Analyst of Vandelay Systems.

When and how was Vandelay started?

Vandelay Systems was founded in 2005 by myself and David Comchi. We both had worked for the same local consulting firm for several years before it closed its doors for regular operation.

What are the origins of your company name?

Vandelay? I think that might have been the name of an author, an architect, or maybe it was something we overheard at the employment office. I can’t quite remember where we heard it, but it just seemed to stick.

In what ways has Vandelay changed since its inception?

We initially worked primarily on projects for the Territorial Government, but have since expanded our client-base to the local private sector and also have clients in Alberta, NWT, Nunavut, PEI and Nova Scotia.

To meet the increased demand for our services we have had to add qualified staff and are continuing to look for qualified people to add to our team.

With clients across Canada, how do you handle project management and meetings?

We use a combination of strategies, but primarily tele-conference and WebEx, but we will also do site visits if needed.

With clients on the East coast, you occasionally have to get up pretty early to make a morning meeting on Atlantic time.

Are all staff full-time, in-house employees or do you also hire contractors who work remotely?

All staff members are full-time Yukon residents who work on site. We currently have no remote contractors working on any of our projects.

What have you found to be most effective in marketing your company?

The majority of our work is still here in the Yukon so word of mouth and client referrals.

We also get our name out there through our corporate sponsorships, both locally and across the country. Some of our sponsorships include:

Northern

- 2007 Canada Winter Games Whitehorse, YT
- 2008 Arctic Winter Games Yellowknife, NWT
- Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous: Whitehorse, YT
- Vandelay Systems Super-Geeks (Junior squash team): Whitehorse, YT
- Aven Cottage Dementia Home, Yellowknife, NWT

National

- 2010 Arctic Winter Games Grande Prairie, AB
- 2011 Canada Winter Games Halifax, NS

What are some important business lessons you’ve learned since starting Vandelay?

Growing a company is not easy. Spending time developing a sound interview process will save your company a lot of time and money in both the short and long term.

Once you have your interview developed you have to trust its results and not hire out of an immediate need.

The timing of hiring is also important. If you are in the middle of a busy period or you do not have the time to properly introduce new staff to projects and the work culture, it creates a productivity drain throughout the company.

Was the development of Vandelay’s interview process based on your own experiences?

Yes. We refined and improved the interview process each time we’ve interviewed someone until we got to a point where we were comfortable trusting the results. Throughout this process, our interviewing skills have also improved.

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