The owner of Calgary computer company VoodooPC has earned the Business Development Bank of Canada’s (BDC) 2004 Young Entrepreneur Award for Alberta.
Ravi Sood, 33, was recognized for having built a luxury brand that is recognized as the most innovative and powerful personal computer on the market.
A total of 13 BDC awards were presented last week, one for each province or territory, to celebrate the accomplishments of young entrepreneurs and their contribution to the Canadian economy.
VoodooPC customers order their products through the company’s website where they configure them to their personal specifications, right down to their choice of colour of the machine’s 11-layer automotive paint finish.
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| Ravi Sood |
The made-to-order machines are then manufactured and shipped.
VoodooPC was started in 1991 by Ravi’s brother, Rahul. By the time Ravi joined the company in 1998, it had expanded into five lines of business. “My belief is that if any business is going to really grow fast, it has to be exceptionally good at something, but you can’t make five different entities the best,” explains Ravi. The brothers decided to concentrate on their core strength – manufacturing high-end PCs – and set out to build a luxury brand.
With exports expanding, the company recently moved into a larger production facility.
“When I said we’re going to have the No. 1 brand in the PC market, people thought I was crazy,” says Ravi.
“But we are now perceived as the Ferraris of our industry.”
“Ravi truly represents the younger generation of Canadian businesspeople,” says André Bourdeau, BDC acting president and chief executive officer. “He has a real passion for what he does Using creativity and fresh ideas, he has carved out an innovative niche for himself, inspiring us with his ingenuity, commitment and enthusiasm.”