Corporate Awards

BDC's Young Entrepreneur Award for Ontario

Bob Hoang, Vy Hoang and Grace Baba win BDC's Young Entrepreneur Award for Ontario

(Toronto, Ontario - October 17, 2006) Pooling their know-how to capture the latest technological advances, Bob Hoang, 35, Vy Hoang, 33, and Grace Baba, 31, have built a fast-growing surveillance equipment business with 135 employees, a worldwide distribution network and $20 million in sales in 2005. For this achievement, they have earned BDC's Young Entrepreneur Award for Ontario and will be honoured tonight at a ceremony in Moncton, New Brunswick.
 
i³ manufactures and markets digital video surveillance equipment to businesses as varied as supermarket and restaurant chains, banks, casinos, military bases, and even to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the U.S.-Mexican border authorities. The company is also moving into the European Union, with a manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom. Its equipment is state-of-the-art, using video analytic software that adds value to captured video data. To remain on the leading edge of technological advancements, the company has close to 50 employees working in its research department in Canada and overseas. "We have the largest research group in our industry," points out Bob.
 
Zooming in on opportunity
Bob, an MBA, and his brother, Jack, a software engineer, started out in the early 90’s selling and installing home alarm systems.  By 2000, they realized there was more potential in digital video recording systems and started buying and reselling products from the U.S. and Asia. “After a while we said, ‘This doesn’t make sense; let’s make our own products’.  And that’s how we started,” explains Bob.  With brother Vy, who has an economics degree, and his wife, Grace, who has a degree in science, joining the venture, the company started out with 20 employees. “We said that if we could survive the next two years, then we would have made it. We did, and that was the turning point,” Bob explains. 
 
Customization has been key in enabling the company to compete against some industry giants, including U.S.-based international corporations, as well as Asian firms. “It is very easy for us to adapt to change, so we can give our customers exactly what they want,” points out Bob. “They tell us what they are looking for and we provide it. We follow up with training, support and service. Our customers love the integration and innovation of our products, and the flexibility of our staff.”  
 
Of the 85 employees today located in Toronto, the majority are immigrants, as are the Hoang family, including 13 children, who came to Canada from Vietnam as boat people in 1980. i³ has been recognized for helping its employees integrate into this country through an in-house program of English classes.

"Bob, Vy and Grace stand out as role models for young Canadian entrepreneurs," says BDC President and CEO Jean-Rene Halde. "Their business, which employs so many new Canadians, is a model for others when it comes to finding the right people from around the world for the right jobs. It's a pleasure to recognize their passion, drive and excellence with this award."

"You have to think outside the box," Bob says of being an entrepreneur. "And no matter how much you grow, you have to work to hold on to your current customers, to let them know that you support them."

2005- The SIA (Security Industry Association) awarded the prestigious Judges Choice Award for Commercial Products to i³ International for the SRX48032 ARM at the New Product Showcase Awards at the ISC West tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Eighty-three new products and services were entered into the NPS program, which was established over a decade ago as a way to showcase cutting-edge technology in the security industry.

Judges from different parts of the industry, viewing presentations on the submitted products.

SIA's Executive Director, Richard Chace, and SIA's Vice President, Bill Gorski from Siemens Building Technologies presented the awards.

i³ receives prestigious Judges Choice Award for Best Commercial Product (SRX-48032 product).

In 2005 i³ added two Regional Ontario Global Traders awards to its list of accolades. The regional awards were given for Innovation and Market Expansion. As a Regional award winner, i³ went on to compete for provincial awards in these two categories.

In the past few months, i³ has been acknowledged with a total of seven awards, an especially notable accomplishment given the size of the company and the increasingly competitive nature of the industry.

i³ Research & Development Center Receives Extensive Government Funding

2005- i³ announces that the federal government has approved a proposal for funding to assist in the research and development of proprietary software and hardware.

The proposal was accepted by the National Research Council-Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The NRC-IRAP is Canada 's premier innovation assistance program for small and medium-sized businesses. The contribution agreement allows the government to fund the company over the next 24 months.

"We are extremely grateful for NRC-IRAP's financial support," says President & CEO Jack Hoang, "because it will allow us to significantly increase our innovation capacity." "Innovation", he notes, "is what allows this company to adapt to new technology and production process, and what keeps us ahead of the competition."

i³ Wins Business of Excellence Award

i³ was proud to be awarded the Business of Excellence Award for Best Manufacturer by the Scarborough Chamber of Commerce, a division of the Toronto Board of Trade. The gala dinner and award presentation was held at the Delta Toronto East Hotel on November 3, 2005. The other nominees for this category were Ignited Performance Products and Metro Label Company Ltd. "This is a great testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees, says International Training Manager Bob Hoang. "We could never have achieved this level of business excellence without them."

The Business Excellence Awards gala is an evening dedicated to celebrating and recognizing excellence in the Scarborough business community. The Toronto Board of Trade, in a deal that benefits both organizations, recently announced that it will soon be joining forces with the Scarborough Chamber of Commerce in order to create a larger, stronger organization.

PROFIT MAGAZINE
Ranked 11th out of 100 Fastest growing companies in Canada

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING

Want to know the number of people who entered your store today? Whether they're men or women, and what they bought? Call i³ International. The Toronto-based company produces digital-video management systems, closed-circuit cameras and software that tracks customer behavior at close range. By analyzing digital images, says CEO Jack Hoang, "We can count how many people came into a store, how many lined up at the cash register and how big or small a person they are". That information can help retailers from everything from tracking ad campaigns to merchandising decisions. Customers include RadioShack, Shoppers Drug Mart, Tim Hortons and leading Ontario fast-food chain Pizza Pizza, which uses the technology to monitor store transactions-and to allow customers to view their pizzas being made. Thanks to a recent company-wide investment in high-speed Internet connection for every store, Pizza Pizza customers receive a reference number upon placing an order and can use it to check in on their pie on the company website. Says Hoang: "You can even call them and say, 'More peppers' if you want."

Laura Pratt

i³ Honoured at Ontario Global Traders Awards

From left to right, back row: Bob Hoang, Training Manager, Partner, i³ International Inc. of Toronto; Vy Hoang, Executive Vice-President, Partner, i³ International Inc. of Toronto; Jack Hoang, President, Partner, i³ International Inc. of Toronto; Tal Dehtiar, a student of the DeGroot School of Business at McMaster University in Hamilton; Andrew Jackson, Vice-President, Marketing, FreeBalance Inc. of Ottawa Barry Walsh, Senior Partner, Bevertec CST Inc. of Toronto.

Held at the York Event Theatre in the heart of Toronto, the 7th annual Provincial Ontario Global Traders Awards offered all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood award ceremony. May 16th was, for all intents and purposes, an extravagant celebration of Ontario's outstanding exporting achievements for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Hosted by the Honourable Joseph Cordiano, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, the evening saw the best of Ontario's small and medium sized business owners come together to celebrate the achievements of their peers. Nominees who had previously competed in one of four Ontario regions under the categories of Leadership, Innovation, Partnership, Market Expansion and Student Achievement, were now competing for a Provincial award in their category.

As a Regional award winner, i³ International was extremely proud to be chosen as the Provincial award recipient of the prestigious Innovation Award. This award recognizes excellence in the application of existing or new technology, in the development of new products or services, and/or improvements to existing products that have led to consistent growth in exports and job creation.

Co-founder and Training Manager Bob Hoang accepted the award along with his brothers Vy and Jack Hoang. While only Bob had been scheduled to accept the award, he quickly explained to the audience that it wouldn't be right to accept it without his brothers accompanying him at the podium."This has always been a collaborative effort," he explains, "It is a family endeavour and a family success." "My brothers and I built this company from very humble beginnings" Bob adds, "and besides, they would never forgive me if I came up here without them!"

On a more serious note, the brothers were quick to acknowledge the hard work and initiative shown by their dedicated team of employees.

According to Executive Vice President Vy Hoang, it is their talented staff members who drive the company's success."Our company's identity is a reflection of our employees," says Vy, "and without their efforts, this award simply would not have been possible."

Headquartered in Scarborough, Ontario, i³ uses sophisticated video compression techniques to store and rapidly retrieve compressed video images. Their technology platforms include data management software, license plate recognition software, and human/object recognition and tracking software.

Awards 2004

PROFIT Magazine

Ranked 30th out of the 100

fastest-growing companies in Canada