To borrow the Coca-Cola slogan from 1929, BlackBerry’s proposed sale to send it private could be the much-needed “pause that refreshes” for the Waterloo-based company.
“It’s an opportunity for BlackBerry to focus on the business strategy without the scrutiny of the public markets,” says Steve Currie, VP of marketing at Miovision, a Kitchener-based company that makes traffic-management technology. “It may allow them to move more quickly on some business decisions.”
A sale would offer a break from the spotlight that shines on the company’s every move, but would also allow BlackBerry to return to where it began.
“Thorsten [Heins] mentioned in the press release that the focus is on enterprise, and those are the customers that really built BlackBerry from 1999 to date,” says Adam Belsher, a former BlackBerry employee and now CEO of Waterloo-based Magnet Forensics.
Going private would allow the company to “make sure they’re servicing those customers around the key elements of BlackBerry, which are security and reliability,” Belsher says. He adds that, “It’s important for the community and for the ecosystem to have a healthy company, whatever size that company is.”
Amidst all the BlackBerry news, it’s also important to recognize the company’s historical significance in what’s a now a healthy and vibrant tech community in Waterloo Region, Currie says.
“We have to recognize the impact and support that BlackBerry has provided to the ecosystem over the years,” he says, adding, “but there are many other aspects to the ecosystem in Waterloo Region.”
Aside from fuelling innovation, BlackBerry has been a main contributor to the talent pool, which makes the community attractive to other entrepreneurs. Belsher points out, “I think a lot of entrepreneurs that stay in the community would say the same thing; it’s really the access to talent.”
“BlackBerry did a really good job of looking at it globally and saying, ‘How do we get the best people around the world to come to the region?’, ” says Belsher. “So as a startup owner and an entrepreneur we have all this talent in this region, which is great for our business.”
For former employees who are very much part of the community, there is hope for them to have successful careers and remain in the region, Currie suggests.
“We are seeing a lot of activity in both startups and established companies in a variety of different areas, and a lot of companies that are growing and succeeding,” says Currie, adding, “There could very well be some good opportunities for some of these displaced BlackBerry people in these growing companies.”
Mid- to large-sized companies that plan on expanding could also benefit from the pool of experienced people.
“You have this access to all these great new grads, but then you’ve got this plethora of talented people who have been there and done that; it’s really the best of both worlds being here,” says Belsher.
The transition from a global corporation to a mid-sized company may be a culture shock for some, but there is help, Currie says.
“I would see the role of Communitech being absolutely critical as helping some of the employees…relate to how some of the smaller companies in the region operate and to be able to set them up for success,” he says.
