Ben Harris-Eze

Ben Harris-Eze took a big risk. He had been living in Windsor, Ont., for three years working as a project manager for a global training company when he decided he needed a change. He had considered a master's degree but an ad for the WestLink Technology Commercialization Internship Program, convinced him of a better route. "Plus, technology interested me—watching an idea from conception and following it to the final product is exciting," says Harris-Eze, who immigrated to Ontario from Nigeria three years earlier with more than 15 years in the banking industry with Citibank and two other indigneous banks.

Once Harris-Eze was accepted into the WestLink program, he relocated with his wife and three children to Calgary, hoping the choice would pay off. So far, it has. Harris-Eze's wife landed a job almost immediately as a financial advisor and their children adapted to the new city easier than the adults.

"Calgary was totally new to me, but when I came for the interview I fell in love with the city," he says. "I loved the green space and because it was a bigger city, I knew the kids would be able to experience more."

The love affair with the city was interrupted slightly as Harris-Eze's first placement was with TEC Edmonton, a not-for-profit agency that helps transform technological inventions and innovations into business opportunities. He would spend his week in Edmonton, then drive south to his family every weekend. During his time with TEC Edmonton, Harris-Eze reviewed inventions from University of Alberta researchers, conducted patent searches, identified target markets for the product and liaised with researchers to discuss any hindrances to the proposed technology.

His second placement was with Replicon Incorporation, a Calgary-based leader in web-based timesheet and time tracking software. With Harris-Eze's background in computer science and project management, the internship was a good fit. As a business analyst and project manager, he was in charge of co-ordinating the software development and release procedures on a periodic basis. He also participated actively in marketing campaigns aimed to improve customer experience, leads to the company's website and reduce user invention so that the client could buy products directly online.

"It gave me good exposure to internal marketing," says Harris-Eze. "For a company that doesn't do cold calls and had to depend on people for finding them on the Internet, the website had to be highly optimized and address the peculiar needs of the target audience to attract traffic. It was a good learning experience."

His third placement was with Critical Path Group, a professional management consulting and recruiting firm based in Calgary, well renowned for organising the Banff Venture Forum--a premier annual financing event showcasing early-growth stage companies, focusing on information technology, energy technology and life sciences technology. Harris-Eze helped plan the Banff Venture Forum while working as an analyst evaluating and preparing business investment documents.

He also attended an entrepreneurial boot camp organized by Critical Path Group for startups to hone their business skills and help prepare them to raise finances for venture capitalists and angel investors.

"Most startups fall into the trap of not conveying effectively the value proposition of their offerings and target market within the limited time assigned to pitch to venture capitalists.

"This placement gave me good insight to how venture capitalists work," says Harris-Eze. "Most of my impressions had been from entrepreneurs wanting to know why they didn't get funding, but venture capitalists review so many applications everyday, so they have to be very prudent in their selection. It was good to see that side of things."

Harris-Eze finished his internship in August 2008 and then started with Divestco Inc., a company that offers software, services, data and consulting to the oil and gas industry. In his "usual role" in project management, he works on a number of IT and Geophysical projects within and outside the company.

"One of the skills I sharpened at my first placement was evaluating reports of invention," he says. "I had to do so much research and digging that it helps what I'm doing today.

"It's just one of the skills I took from the WestLink program. I already had a good handle on financing, accounting and people skills but it was the hands-on experience that was invaluable. It was also so important to build this networking group where even now, I'm still in touch with these people. It's been a great experience."