IT business ahead of the curve
Cape Breton IT firm has been helping clients do business online since 1993
SYDNEY — Like the sharpeyed raptor it is named for, RedTail POS Inc. performs most of its work well out of public view.
But unlike the red-tailed hawk, the Sydney-based firm doesn’t scout prey from the skies. Instead, it helps clients expand their businesses by providing the software, support and expertise needed for online sales.
Set up about five years ago, RedTail is an offshoot of Breton Technologies, an IT company established in 1993 by a then 22-year-old Bill Kachafanas, a Glace Bay native armed with a business degree from the University College of Cape Breton.
“I guess I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Kachafanas, who spent a year in Halifax and two years in Ottawa before returning home to Cape Breton to develop his newfound enterprise.
“My first job was when I was 16. It was a car detailing business and I really liked the freedom where I could still have my summers at a young age. So, being an entrepreneur was something that always interested me.”
The now 50-year-old dismisses the suggestion that he was a visionary for having entered the world of cyber business as a young man. But he does acknowledge that it has proved to be a path worth following.
“It was the early 90s and the internet wasn’t even really out there yet,” recalled Kachafanas.
“The PC (personal computer) was starting to come into everybody’s home and there was a bit of boom around that time. It was easy enough to see that there was a big surge for both businesses and homes in terms of adopting computer technology, so it was a good business to get into then but obviously, we have evolved extensively since that time. It’s been 28 years of hard work and long hours.”
His companies have been doing business in Cape Breton for almost three decades, but Bill Kachafanas is not exactly a household name although his surname may be recognizable. His brother Demetri is a solicitor with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and sister Kiki is a partner in the Hunston Kachafanas accounting firm in Sydney.
“We don’t have a retail storefront presence, so a lot of people on the street don’t know about us. But we are known in the business circles that we supply. We have close to 500 clients between RedTail and Breton Technologies,” he said, adding that all four members of the RedTail team, himself included, work remotely.
According to Kachafanas, RedTail is a point-of-sale and business management software company that writes, maintains and supports its own software. One of the firm’s leading products is RedTail SecurePay, a platform designed to allow its clients’ customers to shop, book, order and pay online. The platform can be implemented either as a standalone web store or as a fully integrated product for brick and mortar locations.
Kachafanas acknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way his company is conducting business with clients that it used to meet with once a week.
“When COVID hit we were in the early stages of planning and adapting our system to be an online product as well,” he said.
“If COVID had not hit we would probably still be developing it, but because we were not allowed to travel as much and we couldn’t get out to see a lot of businesses, we decided to lay out our plan to become an online entity.”
So, one might wonder what the difference is between a small business like RedTail and a multinational e-commerce company such as Shopify that essentially offers clients similar solutions.
Obviously, size is one thing. Ottawa-headquartered Shopify claims that more than one billion businesses in some 175 countries now use its platform. RedTail’s client base is much smaller. It has about 2,000 devices using its platforms. And, since the COVID-19 outbreak, it has also put 24 traditional “brick and mortar” stores online and is continuing to provide product maintenance and support.
“We don’t just put them online and let them go — we actually maintain their store for the duration of the year,” said Kachafanas.
“We deal with our clients on a weekly basis and whether that entails putting new specials online or putting new product pages up we take care of that for them.”
He also notes that larger companies offering online shopping platforms can be expensive and often require a significant outlay of cash.
“With the big companies, the cost is up to $2,000 a month so there is a minimum investment of $24,000 per year to get involved, so a lot of the companies looking to expand don’t have a proof of concept before shelling out that kind of money,” said Kachafanas.
“So, what we do is put the store online for them and then charge an annual fee. We don’t use our clients as guinea pigs, we wait for the technology to see it through and become mainstream before we implement it.”