Author: twest21

“Getting the Coast Capital Savings Entrepreneurship Co-op Award is an honor. It shows the work that I did and empowers me to help other people to get into entrepreneurship.” – Jordan Morford, CEO/Founder, Tappen Apothecary

While living in Salmon Arm, Jordan met a friend who was “always doing something—drawing, creating art, and also making candles.” She was selling a few of the latter on a small scale. He’d always been interested in entrepreneurship and asked if she’d go into business with him. The friend declined but offered to teach Jordan candle making, laying the foundation for Tappen Apothecary. At the time, there were not many local candles, and what did exist was “not attractive or great quality.”

Jordan had been developing Tappen Apothecary while still a student in the BCom program and decided to pursue an Entrepreneurship Co-op term with support through the Coast Capital Innovation Centre. He shares, “It’s very different having the support there. When I had questions, they were right there with a wealth of knowledge, perspectives and lived experience. They were really helpful.”

During his time at UVic, Jordan won the Gustavson Start-up Competition ($15,000 – he tied for 1st place), UVic PitchIt Competition ($300), and UVic PlanIt Competition ($1000) and also placed 4th in the JDC West competition against other Western Canadian schools. Starting and running a business are costly, and Jordan is grateful for the recognition and financial remuneration that helped grow and further Tappen Apothecary.

Tappen Apothecary is currently in 19 stores across BC and Alberta, with several online sales. Through running his business, Jordan gained great insights on analytics and marketing and will take this knowledge and first-hand experience into industry. Jordan is focused on encouraging self-care for everyone. He recently launched the “Rugged Comfort” line for men, and people who prefer scents like sandalwood, tobacco, whiskey and bourbon. The Tappen Apothecary line now also carries wood-wick candles and bath salts.

When asked what advice he would offer to new entrepreneurs, Jordan reflected that he was more capable than he gave himself credit for before. “You can learn how to do so many things, like taking the photos yourself, etc.”  He also emphasizes, “Make sure that you aren’t being bulldozed by people who are outside of your business and goals. Stay true to your values. The money will come.”

You can find all of Tappen Apothecary’s products at https://tappenapothecary.ca/

Written by Gillie Easdon and edited by Tyler West

The Coast Capital Innovation Centre has been made possible through a partnership between the University of Victoria and the Coast Capital Federal Credit Union. Since 2016, Coast Capital has committed over $1.5 million to support entrepreneurs and innovators at UVic.

“Being chosen by people I know and respect, and with so many amazing students, means a lot. It’s an honor to stand out among them.” – Toby Murray on winning the CCIC Entrepreneurship Award

In 2021, amidst COVID-19, Toby Murray joined the Uvic GameDev club to make friends with like-minded people. They participated in game jams, like 72-hour hack-a-thons based on different themes. He and fellow club member Andrew Cunningham devised a concept where you could play as the enemies and swap between them at will. They worked on it during Ludum Dare. This global game jam competition happens twice annually, attracting around 4000 participants. Of the varied metrics, their game ranked in the top 5% for innovation. Inspired by this feedback, Toby and Andrew agreed to continue fleshing out what is now called Random Access Mayhem (RAM). In his 4th year at UVic in Software Engineering, Toby Murray developed and produced RAM, and founded the indie game studio Xylem Studios with Andrew Cunningham. Overseeing a team of eight, Toby and his team’s public demo has resulted in more than 22,500 downloads.

Toby’s participation and wins with Coast Capital Innovation Centre’s PitchIt and PlanIt were beneficial for the remuneration. But also, “the requirement to put down in words what is in your head and having to understand it, make it all concrete—that was the sleeper hit of having participated,” he reflects. The Entrepreneurial Co-op also taught Toby about time management and the critical function of processes. Using platforms such as Trello, Jira, and GitHub reinforced his thoughts on their importance in software development. Now, focusing on the game and studio’s organizational aspects, they keep the collaboration between the two artists, designers, composers, and developers smooth and on-task.

Toby and Xylem Studios’ have a RAM public demo out on Steam and are into production for early access in late-2024. The next few months will be spent creating new characters and building on and improving their foundation. Toby credits Andrew’s YouTube launch of RAM for their fanbase, whose feedback has been key. RAM recently won the Audience Award at the 2024 Independent Games Festival and Xylem Studios also participated in the Seattle Indies Expo, where they showed off RAM in public and also spent time with developers and people who make the games they enjoy. Attending the expo represented the “culmination of the co-op – and capstone on the program,” Toby shares.

Written by Gillie Easdon and edited by Tyler West

The Coast Capital Innovation Centre has been made possible through a partnership between the University of Victoria and the Coast Capital Federal Credit Union. Since 2016, Coast Capital has committed over $1.5 million to support entrepreneurs and innovators at UVic.