CoLab Software

Turning down jobs in Silicon Valley to venture into Atlantic Canada’s growing tech ecosystem

When asked why they turned down lucrative jobs in Silicon Valley to launch their own tech startup in Newfoundland and Labrador, CoLab Software Inc. founders Adam Keating and Jeremy Andrews had a simple answer – why not?

Billed as the world’s first Design Engagement System (DES), CoLab is a powerful cloud-based software platform that lets large engineering teams collaborate effectively and efficiently while streamlining the review process.

“It was always a dream of ours to build a tech company here in Newfoundland,” says Keating. “The working environment in Atlantic Canada has such a great work life balance compared to many other places.”

Andrews concurs. “The support provided by the various government organizations, funding partners and community groups in Atlantic Canada to help startups succeed is overwhelming. Other areas around the world are not as fortunate to have this level of support.”

Ironically, the idea for CoLab was born thousands of miles away from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Collaborating across continents

In 2017, Keating and Andrews were students living in different parts of the U.S. when they decided to join forces and enter the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition - a design challenge pioneered by tech billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. They soon discovered that working on a complex project from different locations presented some very real challenges.

“We were designing a complex vehicle, but most of our design decisions were made late at night over the phone,” says Keating. “It wasn’t ideal, but we assumed engineers working full-time at companies had better systems than what we had as students. We both went on to co-op placements at Tesla and Reflexion Medical, and saw that even big companies were using spreadsheets, slide decks, and email to track design issues. The technology they were building was life-changing, but the tools they were using to do it felt years behind.”

The two mechanical engineering students knew there had to be a better way.

Shortly after placing second in the world in the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition, Keating and Andrews turned down jobs in Silicon Valley and moved back to Newfoundland and Labrador to work on a solution.

That solution became their startup and CoLab was born.

ACOA: fueling the startup journey

Both entrepreneurs acknowledge that ACOA’s support helped move their company through key stages in its development.

“Since 2018, CoLab has completed 7 successful projects with ACOA that really helped ‘fuel the rocket ship’ of progress by funding different initiatives,” says Keating.

Those initiatives ranged from hiring early employees, to experimenting with different Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies, to hiring key roles on the sales team to support CoLab’s commercialization efforts.

“Approximately 20% of the current team have been funded or directly hired because of an ACOA project dating back to 2018, with all significantly contributing to different functions within the company.”

Today, the St. John’s-based company has approximately 80 employees in Newfoundland and Labrador and throughout North America, with over 45 world-class investors. 

Atlantic Canada’s Competitive Advantage

Keating and Andrews are quick to assert that their company’s location has never been a barrier to business growth. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“When we were starting our company, there were some (investors) who had concerns about talent pool and whether we’d be able to grow and scale from here,” says Keating. “What they underestimated was just how passionate and talented the people are here – our team is incredibly smart, incredibly loyal, and they’ve worked incredibly hard to get us where we are today.”

“The Newfoundland and Labrador culture– particularly our genuinely friendly nature – has certainly been a selling point,” Andrews confirms. “We’ve had employees relocate here from other parts of Canada and the world.” He adds that investors and customers appreciate the company’s unique geographical strengths. “They’ve come to realize it’s part of CoLab’s competitive advantage.”

Giving Back: Collaborating to grow stronger communities

If collaboration is baked into CoLab’s DNA, so too is the caring, big-hearted Newfoundland nature. So it should come as no surprise that CoLab prioritizes growing communities as well as its bottom line. The company supports a number of local initiatives focused on student entrepreneurship, diversity in tech, and community building.

“We care a lot about our community, the local startup ecosystem, and continuing to find ways to create opportunities for future generations,” says Andrews. “We feel that it’s our responsibility to engage with the community and give back to our home province.”

Keating seconds that, adding: “One of our goals has always been to help diversify the economy and create new and less-traditional job opportunities. We’re proud to have held true to our vision and  created a company that is capable of changing the world, right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.”