Revelstoke still has a strong economy from the backbone employment of CP Rail, Downie Timber and the logging industry, however there is a new game in town and while it is in its beginning phase, the tech world and new start-ups are growing to be the next big thing.
A generation ago people lived where there was work and work brought families, now; there is a change in the thought process about the work, life balance. The Millennials and Generation-Y are more inclined to live where they are passionate about, where it is about a certain lifestyle rather than making money. In today’s technologically advanced world, perhaps both can be accomplished.
Revelstoke has a growing tech sector thanks to the addition of Fibre Optics, one of those companies and a great example of what can be accomplished within the walls of Revelstoke and offer a national and international reach is a relatively new start-up company called Cronometer.
Aaron Davidson is the CEO and Founder of Cronometer, which is a digital application you download on your phone that is a detailed diet tracking tool. It gives you an extreme breakdown of micronutrients, macronutrients and vitamins in your chosen food. While other apps track carbs, calories, protein and fat; Cronometer tracks vitamins, minerals, amino acids and gives a far more comprehensive analysis.
“Say you want to know how much nutrition you are getting from a beer, you can plug it in, pull up the data and see all the different vitamins and it creates a custom profile for your body type so you can see the recommended amount you should take in a day, say like Vitamin B, it will tell you that the beer has given you a percentage of a specific vitamin or mineral.”
Cronometer has staff in Revelstoke that curates a large database of common foods. The information is sourced from laboratory results that were collected from government agencies or commercial sources allowing them to complete the breakdown of the foods nutrients accurately. If you have the application downloaded on your phone, you can wander through the grocery store and scan items with the barcode and they will give you a detailed breakdown as to what is in that product allowing you to make a more health conscience decision.
Davidson currently has a staff of 12 working for Cronometer, spreading form Florida, Dublin, Ontario and majority of the staff are stationed here in Revelstoke. What was a part time hobby in 2005, Davidson has now built it to the point where 1.6 Million people have downloaded the application with roughly 2000 downloads a month on continuum.
“The nice thing is after we grow, we stay that size year after year which is a nice reliable growth pattern. We hire at the start of the year and know the budget we are working with and reinvesting that growth back into the company in hopes that it keeps growing.”
This is a competitive market as it is a busy space in the health and wellness field. However, with the steady growth of the business, Davidson is confident that he will be able to take a decent piece of the pie and sustain a healthy business for those that are living here on a local level.
“We are a long way from being dominant in this space, because we are a niche or specialty segment of the market, I don’t know we ever will be number one, but it would be nice to take a shot at it one day. It’s a big market that we are happy to take a chunk out if, it is quite crowded but we are rapidly growing better than just about anyone else.”
With no marketing or advertising as of yet, Davidsons success has been strictly word of mouth. There will come a time for a large scale strategic marketing platform for international use, but first and for most the goal is to improve the app itself to make it more and more friendly tool.
“Being a more serious analytical tool than other trackers, we do a lot more, because of that we are a little more intimidating, because we throw a lot more information at you we have work to do to help ease new users into the software.”
While this application can certainly be used on an everyday level for those that are conscience of what they eat, what nutrients and vitamins their body has (or does not have) ingested, it can also be a professional tool for doctors and hospitals to help track the proper diet for those that have advanced ailments. Cronometer Pro is an application that is catered for the use of doctors and dietitians to use with their patients. Practitioners can access the patients’ data, set target goals, create meal plans and help guide those with certain issues such as diabetes or other sophisticated needs. Cronometer is currently used by fitness coaches, private doctors and two children’s hospitals in the United States.
“We get great feedback from dietitians for the protocols they are laying out for the parents to follow in order to help their kids get through their ailments. It’s nice to be making a difference in people’s lives, helping those with complex issues. We have a ways to go, but we will get there.”
When asked why he chose to create his business in Revelstoke, Davidson told the Revelstoke Current his reasons.
“We are not trying to grow to become the next giant billion dollars Facebook or Google, we are just a modest little lifestyle, tech company looking to build a nice fun place to work and support a nice lifestyle for myself and for staff.”
Cronometer is currently located in the offices above Remax, but as they are growing steadily, they will be moving and consuming the entire building that once housed the Times Review and Daruma Tattoo.
