At Edmonton Unlimited panel, local tech leaders talked earning trust in a challenging industry.<\/p>\n
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While much of Edmonton was preparing to watch the Oilers fight to keep their NHL playoff dreams alive last night, four of the city\u2019s preeminent tech leaders were discussing how collaboration has helped them solve problems, build their business, and earn trust in a challenging industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be able to provide the value we deliver if we tried to build everything ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nafaa Haddou,
FireSafe AI<\/p>\n
Nafaa Haddou, CEO and co-founder of the wildfire detection and prevention platform FireSafe AI<\/a>, brought together three of his peers for a metaphorical fireside chat about preventing real-world wildfires.<\/p>\n Dubbed Built Here, Built Together: How Edmonton companies are solving real-world problems, the event was hosted at Edmonton Unlimited and featured participation from AIRmarket<\/a>\u2019s Lindsay Mohr, ELIXR Simulations<\/a>\u2018 Andrea Urbina, and Wyvern\u2019s<\/a> Callie Lissinna.<\/p>\n Over the past year, FireSafe has partnered<\/a> with each of the companies, leveraging the strengths of each platform to increase its capacity for wildfire prevention, management, and response. It has implemented data from Wyvern\u2019s hyperspectral satellite imagery to broaden and enhance the veracity of its data, and has brought AIRmarket\u2019s drone management onboard to provide real-time surveillance verification. Most recently, it partnered with ELIXR, an immersive technology company, to explore training and simulating wildfire incidents.<\/p>\n FireSafe\u2019s focus on partnership and collaboration is born out of necessity, according to Haddou. He said that by working together, startups can diversify the scope of their capability, and together build a stronger ecosystem.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be as competitive as we are without our technology partners. We wouldn\u2019t be able to provide the value we deliver if we tried to build everything ourselves,\u201d Haddou said. \u201cI work with amazing companies and telling their story, and how we fit together, is just as important because it allows us to grow, deliver, and ultimately build trust, relationships, and research.\u201d<\/p>\n The conversation was anchored around the work each company is involved in regarding wildfires, particularly in the shadow of the 10-year anniversary of the Fort McMurray wildfire<\/a>, which razed much of that city on May 3 of 2016. The panel used those events as a springboard to discuss everything from how advances in technology have changed the realities of wildfire response to how companies can build trust in new technologies among user bases. They also talked about the need to diversify to address the seasonality of the space.<\/p>\n