In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do.
What is your name?
Cailan Libby.
Where are you from and how long have you lived in Kelowna?
I'm from Golden BC and I have lived in Kelowna since 2008 with some time spent abroad in New Zealand.
Who is your favourite person to spend time with and why?
My business partner, Ken Chau. When we are together we collectively create and evolve ideas, challenge each other and uncover innovative solutions to whatever is on our mind.
If you could go anywhere in the world right at this moment where would you go and why?
Bugaboo Provincial Park, in beautiful British Columbia, in fact I would be there right now if I wasn’t busy with my business. The Bugaboos is a magical place for me, I love mountains, I love the pristine alpine environment and I love climbing mountains. That is the one place I can go and never run out of energy or enthusiasm.
What is your favourite local store in Kelowna and why?
I like many local stores, but Lions Cyclery, True Outdoors and MEC are my regular go-to places. The customer service at Lions Cyclery is outstanding.
What is your favourite activity?
I can’t pick one, life is about balance. However, I am always enthusiastic to go rock climbing followed closely by backcountry skiing.
If you had to choose: pizza, tacos, or burgers?
Tacos! I can make some mean tacos….
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
On my first day of post-secondary education, I shut down the Calgary C-train during rush hour due to becoming violently ill while riding the train. This required the entire train to be evacuated causing major delays for a lot of people.
What is the most inspiring thing that has happened to you?
Realizing that you can obtain your dreams if you work hard and believe in yourself. I have always been a driven person who is excited to learn any push myself. Having dreams of becoming an engineer, of climbing mountains, of starting my own business, and then seeing these dreams come reality, that has been truly inspiring.
Tell us your favourite childhood memory.
Growing up in the mountains, I loved playing in the snow. We would build enormous snow forts and try to convince our parents we could live in them.
Where do you volunteer or give back to in the community?
I am the founder and president of the Central Okanagan Climbing Association. A not for profit society to promote and improve rock climbing in the Central Okanagan. My focus is to ensure the growing sport of climbing is done in a safe and sustainable manner so that future generations can enjoy the beautiful landscapes we have in our back yards.
If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
Bring our communities together. The western world is so disconnected with one another, it is rare to have a strong relationship with even your neighbor. If I could bring people away from their virtual realities into a community of real interaction, I believe a lot of problems would be solved.
What is your favourite activity in Kelowna?
Kelowna has a lot of great activities, but the road biking is particularly good. I am also a big fan of the local orchards, picking and eating too much fresh fruit is always a good time.
Where would you sneak away to in Kelowna to spend some time alone?
I often go for runs up Knox Mountain or Mt. Boucherie, I enjoy looking down at the city to think about my personal direction and the direction of our community.
Where would you like to see positive change in Kelowna and why?
I would like the local movement to keep growing in Kelowna. I commute by bicycle everywhere in the city which allows me to see a lot of the smaller things around our city. Having our infrastructure developed in such a way to promote alternative transportation, arts, and culture would provide tremendous benefit. Kelowna is a long way behind Vancouver and Montreal in those areas, if we can catch up, our city would become even more beautiful.
What do you think makes Kelowna great?
The accessibility to nature, the lake, and the temperate climate. Kelowna offers a great opportunity for a healthy work/life balance. There is a great infrastructure to support professional jobs yet a wonderful connection with nature. Kelowna has many of the city conveniences while allowing the small-town lifestyle.
What are 3 things on your bucket list?
1) Travel through Nepal
2) Bike across Canada
3) Climbing in Baffin Island
Tell us something that not everyone may know about you.
I was incredibly shy as a child, I was actually shy of my own family.
How do people connect with you, personally, through social media? (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest)
I have Facebook.
What is the name of your business/organization?
Happipad.
Why did you get into/start this business?
Because renting today sucks. I have been a tenant and landlord, I was frustrated by the entire rental process as it is inefficient, unfair, and cumbersome. There is a lack of transparency and trust with renting today, this creates a bad stigma for renting and affects our community. I love solving problems and I knew I could make a better system for renting.
What is the goal of your business?
I want Happipad to become the go-to place for long term renting; a place where you can easily find quality properties, and connect trusted tenants with property owners/managers. I want to increase the quality of tenancies, make the entire rental process simpler, more trustful. I believe creating a platform that enables people to build trust will open many more properties to prospective tenants, helping with the rental crisis. Happipad is about building communities by helping form quality, long-term rentals. This indirectly will improve our local community, our city, and everyone’s quality of life.
What has been your biggest struggle either in work or life?
I am a high energy person and I often try to do too much. Deciding what ideas/projects to focus my time is a daily struggle. As an entrepreneur in the startup world it can be very hard to keep pushing. I have had many days of set-backs, bad news, disappointing meetings, brushing those off, focusing, and doing better is very hard. It would be so much easier to work in an established engineering firm, get holidays and benefits. Telling myself that I can accomplish something much bigger, making a big impact, while my colleagues tell me I am crazy is hard, but I love it.
If you could start all over again would you do things the same or would things be different?
I have worn many hats and have had some incredible experience and personal growth since graduating high school. Everything I have done has allowed me to gain the life experience, skills, and wisdom to focus on bigger things in life. I often look back at all the opportunities I have been given and the options that were available. I did not always choose the easy path, in fact I often chose the most difficult one. I have no regrets, if I did things differently I may not be where I am today, and I am excited to be where I am today.
What do you always find yourself saying?
'Git-err-done,' and 'today is the first day of the rest of your life, so take charge… that’s what my alarm says every morning.'
If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select?
Elon Musk.
Why do you think it is important to shop locally?
Local businesses and entrepreneurs are the heart of our community. By supporting local business, the benefits go full circle. I find the dependence of the global market to be absurd, especially when I see New Zealand or USA apples in the local supermarkets. Supporting local business connects you with the community, what you get in return is something money cannot buy.
What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Competing for UBC at the Canadian national CCAA XC running championships in 2013 and 2016, I have always been an athletic person, but the training and dedication to build myself up for that was very memorable.
Give someone you think that deserves it a shout out and explain why!
Shane Austin from Okanagan coLab. Shane has been extremely helpful connecting me with the community and making me feel at home working in the startup world.
My choice for the KelownaNow In Focus spotlight is:
Peter O'Brian from VO2 Master.
Some general comments I would like to share are
I would love to have some support from the community as I build Happipad. I want the communities feedback so that we can create the ideal platform to make renting fun, easy, and stress-free. I have built Happipad for the community, together, we can make renting great.
We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna.
