OUTSIDE IN: This is the third in a five-part series.
Iaian Archibald grew up sailing in Nova Scotia with his father.
“My fondest memories as a child are associated with the coast line of Nova Scotia. Swimming with my sister, skipping rocks or looking for crabs. I’ve always been oriented to the water.”
After spending time in British Columbia, he returned home and in 2014 began work on the company he co-founded with engineer Craig Shepherd.
Swell Advantage is a marina and waterfront management software that helps facilities manage recreational boats and relationships with boat owners.
“Marina and waterfront management is complex because of the number of boats and moving parts and customer. We help simplify that complexity,” Archibald said.
The software is designed to improve the operation of marinas and enhance the relationship with boaters.
Archibald says the software can increase revenues for marinas by decreasing costs and helping facilities identify opportunities for more revenues.
It is also providing better customer service to boaters with a customer relations management (CRM) tool that helps boaters find and book the best slips.
The company resides in Volta Labs in Halifax.
It has a client in the Waterfront Development Corporation, now Develop Nova Scotia, but the company recognizes that the marina business is seasonal in this part of the world. It is now focusing its efforts on Southern California.
In 2017 Swell Advantage raised US$100,000 in equity financing from the Port of San Diego to build a smart marina.
This project will help the company develop a product that can be scaled up and sold to other marinas.
“We’ve been meeting people and working with marina managers down there. There is a big opportunity to bring modern software, features and functionally to the marina waterfront.”
Who is innovating in Atlantic Canada?
Click the photos or headlines to learn about these great Nova Scotian innovators.
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