Ever enter a business and been impressed by the design only to run into an old logbook? This is the problem that literally caught Ricardo Casanova’s eye. He was visiting an office and had to sign in on a beat-up notebook that did not match the image of the client he was visiting.
Casanova wondered whether there were technology options available to address this in Canada. After a bit of research, Ricardo and Brett Carrier discovered that there was no one in this market in Canada and they took the jump to modernize front office visitor tracking by establishing VisitorBay Inc.
Now… a bit of background on Ricardo. Ricardo started out in tech by fixing his parents’ computer, a very normal start for tech entrepreneurs here in Alberta. Ricardo’s dad always said to him that he should work with his mind and not with his back and that stuck with him and led him to taking computer science. The issue? Ricardo likes people more than computers and code and so he took his computer science background and transitioned into sales and has since moved on to building companies including VisitorBay.
VisitorBay is a visitor management solution, allowing offices, office towers and businesses to track the key data for visitors using an online system on a tablet. One of the key differentiators over a paper log book is that it provides organizations with legible information. When Ricardo looked at the log books in use, he found the data was quickly scrawled in and unusable. With VisitorBay’s system, the contact information is clearly available, and organizations can export their visitor logs as required without having to translate them.
This information is key in a disaster situation, such as a fire or earthquake, allowing roll calls to ensure that everyone is out of the building. In the age of COVID-19, the team at VisitorBay expanded functionality to help organizations with contact tracing and data collection. Beyond tracking just the contact and how to reach them, VisitorBay introduced the ability for data on screening to be added for each visitor should a potential COVID-19 case be identified. They are working on two additional features including tracking temperatures and adding a QR code so that visitors can log in with their phones and not the tablet.
VisitorBay is currently focused on growth in Canada with implementations already in Alberta, and expanding in to Ontario and B.C. As part of this, the company is looking at how to help their customers make the visitor experience an easier one, to match their business’ image.
When I asked Ricardo why he chose to get started in Alberta, he said it’s because the province is home. Born and raised in Edmonton (with the exception of a quick stint in the Silicon Valley), Ricardo enjoys the small town feel of Alberta and its cities. The access to the economic engine of our oil and gas industries and our technology groups makes it a comfortable place to be with a lot of opportunity for business.
Ricardo and Brett have been in the community a long time and want to contribute to creating a sense of social responsibility and common good. They are always open to networking, so feel free to reach out to them.
Here is our interview:
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