‘Getting by is not going to be good enough’

Edmonton’s problem is a lack of private ambition or hustle, an unco-ordinated mentorship program and lack of financial backing for startups, Mayor Don Iveson said Thursday in his annual state of the city address.

But this city also has great success stories and is ready to change, “ready to get off the bench and play at a global level,” Iveson told a conference hall packed with hundreds of community leaders and business executives, issuing a call to action to focus collectively on growth and export.

“If my recent trade mission to San Francisco and my trip to Asia have taught me anything, it’s that getting by is not going to be good enough anymore,” he said.

“From the moment you hit the ground in these places, the hustle is on. Everyone is working it hard — to get that next deal, to own that opportunity, to secure that capital, to broker that partnership, to grow and to move up that food chain.

“That, ladies and gentlemen, is what the game looks like now.”

Iveson spent the next 30 minutes laying out how he believes Edmonton can change, appealing to local investors to refocus their investment dollars locally, supporting growth in reliable jobs.

NEW INVESTMENT FUND

He’ll ask city council to help set up a privately run investment fund, with innovative startups selected by a panel of their peers, he said. The city might invest also, if council has an appetite for something more risky.

The mayor is also hoping to double the number of companies assisted through Startup Edmonton. But that’s not a matter of doubling the budget, he said after his speech.

“It’s ... about inspiring the entrepreneurs to start the companies,” he said. “I think it’s been a bit of a lid on ambition ... We’ve got to get a bit more scrappy and entrepreneurial.”

Edmonton has counted too long on being a key oilsands supplier and provincial capital with good government jobs.

Volatile commodity prices have put the first economic driver in jeopardy and the second is good for stability, but not an economic growth plan.

Today, 80 per cent of Alberta companies do business only in this province, a proportion that’s high even for Canada, he said. Startup Edmonton can help new companies be “export-minded from the very start.”

Those companies will need talent. To that end, the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Economic Development Corp. are partnering with the social media company LinkedIn. Looking at which jobs go unfilled, they’ve already identified a lack of executive talent able to grow a small company to a firm with roughly 1,000 employees, said the mayor.

Once they identify all talent gaps, “we’ll surgically attack the problem,” Iveson said. “Not with a mass marketing campaign that blitzes a foreign city, but with an Edmonton story that is compelling, honest and attractive. Because it’s a good one to tell.”

Finally, the city can encourage innovation by partnering to test products, like a company that recently tested a new antibacterial surface on Edmonton Transit buses. Council will vote Tuesday on developing a City as a Lab program.

CRITIC SAYS BACK TO THE BASICS

Those are all good initiatives, but the city should go back to the basics, too, said chamber of commerce president Janet Riopel, who organized the event.

“What we need is a really competitive tax and regulatory environment,” Riopel said.

City officials have grown risk averse, she said, adding unnecessarily to the permits and reports demanded of entrepreneurs. Taxes are continually increasing.

This fall, council will set a new four-year capital and operating budget. The chamber has already started a task force to analyze where Edmonton can trim.

We’re “taking this very, very seriously,” she said.

“The economy is not lifting as the majority of us hoped it would.”