Finalists in the small companies category–companies with less than $10 million in annual revenue–included Securis, TelPay and Tell Us About Us. These innovative firms are growing rapidly and are highly driven by technology, making a mark across North America and putting Winnipeg on the map. Judges selected Tell Us About Us for the 2010 Spirit of Winnipeg Award.

Kirby Gompf, COO of Tell Us About Us (centre front, holding the award), celebrates the Spirit of Winnipeg Award with staff.

Tell Us About Us is a business built on listening to what others are saying. “It was back in 1997 when I had a very poor service experience shopping for a stereo system,” says Tyler Gompf, CEO of Tell Us About Us. “I didn’t end up leaving the store with a stereo that day, but I did leave with an idea – that there had to be a better way for customers to communicate with companies and for companies to listen to what their customers think. So I sat down with my brother, and we wrote our first computer program to make that communication possible.”

Long before the days of Internet dominance, founding brothers Tyler and Kirby Gompf effectively created a real-time feedback loop. Using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology to gather feedback from six local restaurants, they compiled and analyzed the results and faxed a report back to the business owners. Their second stop was a casino in Montana. Tyler says, “We weren’t looking to move into the U.S., but when the opportunity came up, we just went with it." As the online component of the service grew, the pair, joined by university buddies Brent Stevenson and Scott Griffith, began to expand their client base.

Along the way, the firm made use of grants and technical expertise available through the federal Industrial Research Assistance Program as well as TR Labs. Those grants helped develop feedback algorithms for the reporting software that is still in use today. Today, Tell Us About Us software and programs are in use at over 30,000 locations, including many prominent restaurant, retail and resort brands across North America. Online feedback, as well as IVR feedback, is gathered continuously. “On the phone alone, we process over a million questions a day. When we add up all of our talk time minutes, we spend the equivalent of 5.2 years on the phone every month on inbound calls,” says Tyler.

He explains that the feedback algorithms determine where to send the feedback, depending on the type of feedback it is. “Regular reports go to the local branch manager, to the regional manager and to the head office. But we also offer an alert program, where some complaints are immediately escalated.”

Natural expansions to the product line include a mystery-shopping program, as well as live operators who essentially act as an out-sourced call centre for some clients. “We are providing operations managers with real-time alerts, online reports and research statistics so that they can be dealt with and enhance the customer experience,” Tyler explains.

The company’s proposition is that by providing a consistent listening post, clients can arm themselves with information that can ultimately boost sales growth and profitability. In fact, Tyler says, “Our philosophy is that FINE is a four-letter word. When a customer tells you everything is fine, it means they are indifferent and potentially vulnerable to your competitors.”

The brothers “wear Winnipeg on [their] sleeves,” according to Tyler. And even though the firm does business all over North America, “the magic all happens in Winnipeg.” Today, with over 60 employees, Tell Us About Us embodies the “Spirit of Winnipeg.”

Runners-up
Securis Inc.
It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your data is? Ask Winnipeg entrepreneur Michael Legary and his firm Securis. Designed to help organizations assess and protect the privacy of client information as well as the availability, integrity and confidentiality of business services, Securis now counts several provincial governments, the RCMP and other large-scale enterprises among its clients. Using its Citadel Information Security Monitoring technology, Securis monitors extremely large computer networks spanning provinces, states and countries. Michael and his team also offer consultative audit and forensic services and enterprise security training, all backed by a world-class information security research centre located right here in Winnipeg. The firm makes use of co-op programs at Manitoba universities and colleges to help seek new an innovative ways to solve client problems. Founded in 1999 when Michael was only 22 years old, Securis today employs over 45 people–a shining example of the “Spirit of Winnipeg.”

TelPay Inc.
If you could measure its size and shape, what would 20 million transactions worth $13 billion per year look like? It would look a lot like TelPay Inc.–a privately held Canadian corporation based in Winnipeg. TelPay was spawned as an R&D project at Comcheq Services Limited back in 1985 and has evolved into an independent company with over 45 employees. TelPay was a pioneer in the field of providing individuals and businesses with a cost-effective method of transferring money and making e-payments to anyone in Canada–by telephone, web and (soon-to-be) mobile devices. Canada’s largest independent bill payment processor, TelPay also serves hundreds of financial institutions with online banking modules, online bill payment capability, business-oriented payment software and payment consolidation services. Ahead of the green movement in terms of eliminating cheques and paper, TelPay is a pioneer and embodies the Spirit of Winnipeg awards