500 People Attend Latest Tech Fest, a Recruiting Event That Doesn’t Follow the Status Quo
It was a night of giant Jenga, ice cream, paper airplanes and photo booth fun. Or, as some of Vancouver’s prominent tech upstarts were there to convey, it was the kind of character you might expect of their companies.
After a short introduction by Techvibes’ editor-in-chief Rob Lewis, the third Tech Fest recruiting event got into full swing last night at the Imperial. 12 executives from some of Vancouver’s fastest-growing technology companies individually took to the stage to pitch their companies to the talented audience.
More than 500 people attended the gathering, including job-seekers and company employees—all there to mingle in the jam-packed venue.
“Tech Fest was the result of a brainstorming session with one of our Job Board members,” explained Lewis. “They wanted a way to tap into the Techvibes community offline to enhance what we could provide online with our Job Board.”
It couldn’t be done without the enthusiastic participation of the hiring companies, he added.
Rick Perreault of Unbounce was at the occasion to show off his company’s unique culture.
“We don’t like to do the status quo here at Unbounce,” said the cofounder and CEO. “We’re always trying to come up with ways to push the limits and get creative.”
“Tech Fest is just that—a recruiting event that isn’t the standard boring event with booths. It’s a fun way for our team to meet potential hires,” he added.
He said it’s a break from pitching investors to get out and inspire potential team members who might help build success in the company.
While attendees threw paper airplanes through Boeing Canada – Aeroinfo’s display for prizes, the company’s development operations manager Max Bottoni praised the event for avoiding the formulaic nature of typical networking platforms.
“It’s really high energy and people seem really interested here tonight,” he said. “It’s a nice change from the usual job fairs.”
One of the highlights of Tech Fest was a giant custom-made Jenga tower at the Avanti booth. The company hired a carpenter to craft the block set when they were dissatisfied with what was available for purchase.
“We don’t do anything half-assed,” confirmed VP of corporate development Shana Korotash.
On the other side of the floor, Trulioo’s Super Truliooper heroes battled a real-life internet troll at the startup’s photobooth.
And by the end of the night—somewhere between eating delicious ice cream, spinning prize wheels and drinking beers—bonds were made. Because, in the end, that’s what Tech Fest is all about.
