Ever since our inception, Kamloops Innovation has nurtured incredible talent, and we are thrilled to shine a spotlight on the remarkable journeys of some of our clients. Our clients are the heartbeat of innovation in Kamloops, and their stories exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit that is needed to propel us into a more exciting future.
Today we are sharing an extraordinary success story featuring one of our former clients—Traqspera. In 2023, this Kamloops-based technology company was acquired and seamlessly absorbed by Trimble Inc. (Trimble), a multi-billion-dollar industry giant.
Traqspera co-founder Matt Thurber expressed, "It's a story of how it is a win for everybody—for Kamloops, Traqspera, Kamloops Innovation (KI) and for Thompson Rivers University (TRU) — and I think it's something everybody here is really proud of."
Traqspera started as an operations platform for construction contractors — a mobile app that connects the field and the office. Trimble is a software, hardware and services technology company that sells products and services to many industries, including construction. Trimble's courtship with Traqspera gathered intensity in 2022 when it began to see great value in the 10-person company's technology.
"Our customers are contractors in construction. Their highest cost of capital is people and equipment, so they need to know they are putting the right people on the right equipment on the right jobs, and then they need to make those people and equipment as efficient as possible," explained Jon Fingland, vice president and category general manager for Trimble.
This is where Traqspera comes into the picture. Traqspera tech helps with payroll and leverages that info in human-resource systems to make sure people are in compliance and operating safely, and it helps track miscellaneous expenses. Traqspera now seamlessly handles the field side of the equation for Trimble.
"They have this great, massive, accounting system with thousands of companies using it, but when the guys in the work boots in the field were filling out their timesheets, there was such a disconnect between that data getting into the accounting system," Thurber said. "Rather than scribbling it down on a napkin at the bar after their 12-hour shift, they are now entering it into a digital format powered by Traqspera."
The Traqspera technology that now operates under the Trimble umbrella began to take form in 2013, when Thurber was still studying at TRU, as a programmer with an idea. Traqspera's brainpower has been developed nearly exclusively at TRU, with about 90 percent of the company's employees having studied at the Kamloops institution — a fact not lost on Trimble.
Thurber came to KI about five years ago through the Venture Acceleration Program funded by Innovate BC. As a part of this program, entrepreneur-in-residence John Zubak was paired with Thurber, and they have met weekly for about five years, forming a bond that extends beyond the business world.
Zubak quickly identified Thurber as "very much a technical founder" and spotted areas for growth. He encouraged him to hire a direct salesperson, put systems in place to grow and manage larger sales and establish a greater presence in the U.S. market by travelling and networking down south.
"There's a community side and networking opportunities that wouldn't exist if KI didn't exist," said Thurber, who founded Traqspera with business partners Trevor Streek and Rob Couturier.
"It's a great career step for all of us, myself included," Thurber said of the acquisition. "We're all early in our careers and have a ton of growth and potential ahead of us! Yes, our job titles have changed. Unfortunately, I don't get to be the CEO of Trimble. But we still get to be a part of the excitement of continuing to grow our product. We're part of bigger teams, with more horsepower and resources behind, being able to grow it a lot faster now."
