REDspace in Nova Scotia: Looking back on two decades of business

From basement beginnings
The year is 2000. Fresh off studying Biochemistry at Harvard University and working for an IT consultancy, Mike Johnston starts a tech healthcare company in Boston.

The dot com bubble bursts
Looking for the silver lining and finding himself in a foreign country with his wife and firstborn, Nova Scotia-born and raised Johnston sees the opportunity to try again closer to home. He believes innovative, well-built technology can transform businesses. Working with a UK-based partner, Johnston starts JCS, a custom software company located in his basement.

“It was an exciting time in my life. Not only was I starting and growing my business but also my family as well with a young baby and another one on the way. It was incredibly energizing. You wear so many hats when you’re in start-up mode and it was hard not to work long nights when you love it so much.”  - Mike Johnson, President & CEO

IBM changes the game (and the basement-office location)
In a Cinderella story twist, JCS’s first client is IBM. (A relationship that will span the entire 20 years of the company’s history, and continues to grow today.) Business starts to grow and JCS begins hiring employees.
 
“Our first move was from Mike’s basement. In those early days we worked hard, but always found time to wind down with games of Halo and the occasional cold beverage. It doesn’t feel like that was well over a decade ago. I think that’s a testament to the fact that we carried much of the fun from those days forward. It’s been humbling to see us grow from a few people in those early days to hundreds today. Whether it was in a basement or a large office, the people and the work have made it a pleasure to be a part of.” - Wes Gould, Partner & CTO

A new name and a growing international reach
The year is 2005. The company continues to grow, increasing staff and servicing new divisions of IBM. The name is changed to TeamSpace, to align with an existing corporate division and brand located in Ireland familiar to IBM.
 
A global foray into media with Nickelodeon
It’s 2006. From the beginning, the vision was to combine emerging interactive technology and traditional business. This focus, along with a growing reputation for creating well-built, scalable software platforms catches the interest of Viacom, one of the world's leading producers of premium entertainment content.

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Exponential growth through emerging technologies
Once in the media industry, TeamSpace creates REDspace, a new division of the business that diversifies its portfolio of clients to include global media and entertainment brands like WarnerMedia, FOX, Sony Pictures Television Networks, PBS, and many more. As the industry goes through a rapid digital transformation, partners look to the company as a critical strategic partner and technology thought leader central to helping them capitalize on these changes. Netflix, smart TVs, subscription apps, and many other innovations are changing the media technology landscape at a breakneck pace.

The company’s growing cross-functional team design is uniquely equipped to build streaming platforms across every device and help embrace emerging technologies (i.e voice, AR/VR, machine learning and AI). As they continue to grow, REDspace invests more and more into R&D and building their learning culture.

“Here at REDspace, we are fortunate to have a wealth of diverse technical skills and a learning culture that sets us apart. We strive to facilitate various methods of collaboration within and across different teams. This dramatically helps onboarding new as well as existing team members and supports them while navigating technical challenges. — Mo Farajmandi, Director of Mobile Engineering 

Google of the East Coast
It’s 2014. Like TeamSpace before it, the new company name, REDspace, which grew out of the company division focused on the media and entertainment industry. The company hits 100 employees and expands to a 20,000 sf office space in Sunnyside Mall. The custom-designed space, referred to as the Google of the East Coast, is designed specifically for the growing diverse team.

Building the workforce of tomorrow
To meet the ever-growing need for resources, REDspace builds relationships with universities and colleges like NSCC. This allows the hiring of new graduates who have experience with new programming languages and relevant knowledge in focused, topical areas like big data, machine learning, and cybersecurity. REDspace commits to hiring new graduates every year. Through involvement in programs like Digital Discovery Camps, Techsploration, and LEGO League, REDspace continues to build a strong, diverse workforce of tomorrow.

100% employee growth in one year 
It’s 2019. REDspace employs more than 200 people (hiring 86 the previous year alone). Approximately 80% of recruitment is international. Attracted to the Canada and Nova Scotia lifestyle brands, individuals bring their skills and families to the growing province.
 
“When I joined REDspace over 4 years ago, I was extremely excited to join a company who worked with huge brands in the entertainment space, helping them improve their product. Moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia from Cape Town, South Africa was scary and filled with unknowns, but with the fantastic support of the diverse team at REDspace, we quickly felt at home. As a bonus, Nova Scotia and its surrounding areas are beautiful, which allowed us to do short trips right from the start to enjoy our surroundings.

Since then, working at REDspace has allowed me to learn and work with some of the best people in the industry, while building great products and friendships along the way.”
— Heinrich Dahms, Mobile Team Lead and participant through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program

A celebration of 20 years in business
It’s 2020. REDspace celebrates 20 years in business. The company has grown significantly, expanding the office and leveraging experience and corporate learning to diversify into adjacent markets in the midst of massive, rapid technology transformations, like aerospace and defence.

“It’s hard to put into words what I’m most proud of after building a business that has been around for 20 years.

As someone born and raised in the province who left for a decade, I am probably most proud that I’ve played a small part in offering 220 people meaningful careers back here at home. We have an amazing, passionate team that works tirelessly to do the best work for our global partners. We’ve grown a density of world-class talent here that our clients say they simply haven’t seen before, and it sets us apart. — Mike Johnston, President & CEO