New building aims to take tech firms to next level

Tim Ellis sees it every time a startup packs its bags and leaves the business incubator he runs in Waterloo.

The dreaded M-word — moving — keeps him awake at night and messes with his mandate.

His job is to remove barriers for young companies. But at the point when they’re just starting to take off, moving can be a real momentum-buster, said the chief executive officer of the Accelerator Centre.

Headaches such as finding a new office, setting the terms of the lease and securing enough parking slow down startups at the worst possible time, said Ellis.

“It delays the companies,” he said. “When they leave here, there is a blip, like a stock chart where things drop. We want to eliminate that.”Ellis hopes he found the solution to this dilemma in a new building planned for the David Johnston Research & Technology Park, where the Accelerator Centre is located.

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