‘Nerds’ living Silicon Valley dream
Tech startup gets Boost in California
Jordan Boesch started building his online employee scheduling application six years ago while working for his father at a local Quiznos.
“I saw him try to manage staff and it just looked like the biggest headache,”, said Boesch, the 26-year-old CEO of Regina tech startup 7shifts.
What started out as an Excel spreadsheet has now evolved into software that Boesch and his co-founders (Andree Carpentier and Johannes Lindenbaum) will be taking to the high-tech hub of Silicon Valley Saturday.
Boesch’s web application is already being used by a number of businesses in Regina and Saskatoon. The app’s goal is to make scheduling shifts, calculating payroll and keeping track of vacation time easy for business owners, and allows workers to view their shifts on a smartphone, and exchange them with other employees.
“It brings all of this information into a hub and allows you to work more consistently,” said Boesch.
The application is currently available for a monthly subscription.
On Oct. 15, the team found out they had been accepted into Boost, a startup accelerator based out of San Mateo, California.
In exchange for a piece of his company, Boost will provide Boesch with between $10-15,000 in cash, and the opportunity to live and work in the heart of the tech industry for three months under the guidance of successful entrepreneurs.
“The whole premise is they can help accelerate your business and provide you the proper mentorship and advisers and people that have done this a ton of times before you and really help you get going,” said Boesch. At the end of the three months, Boesch will have the chance to pitch his business to a group of investors.
Getting accepted into the accelerator isn’t easy. Out of all the applicants, about 97 per cent were not accepted. Of the 20 companies that were, 7shifts is the only one from Canada.
While Boesch has been working on 7shifts full-time, his co-founders Carpentier, 26, and Lindenbaum, 25, have juggled working at the startup with their day jobs. Carpentier is now going on a leave of absence, while Lindenbaum has handed in his two weeks’ notice.
“I’m just very excited to learn as much as I can while we’re down there and take full advantage and do as little sleeping as possible,” said Carpentier, who is also Boesch’s wife.
Carpentier handles client relations, marketing and business development for the startup.
Lindenbaum, who does mobile development for 7shifts, is eager to take advantage of networking opportunities not available in Saskatchewan.
“It’s every nerd’s dream to work in a startup down in the valley, so I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Lindenbaum.
That doesn’t mean they won’t return. Boesch would like to set up an office in Regina and start hiring staff after coming back to the province, which he believes is a better place to operate thanks to tax incentives.
“It would be silly for us not to come back here.”