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Now, they need to take their company to the next level. Saucal is moving into other ventures, including Mojito, an online, do-it-yourself website building service for small businesses. Mr. Callahan and Mr. Sauter are also working on an iPhone app called MapTune, which allows musicians to connect online.

But Saucal is experiencing growing pains, because it is difficult to find talent in Calgary. “Usually, it happened at critical times during projects, like finding the right business partner to help with Mojito. Sometimes it ends up bottlenecking your opportunities,” Mr. Callahan said.

The agency has had to reach out to Vancouver and other locations for talent that it then has to manage remotely. It isn’t easy, he admits. “So Blueseed sounded like a perfect idea for us,” he said.

Saucal found Blueseed online in April 2012, and was one of the first firms to contact them. “It was the coolest thing I’d ever heard of,” Mr. Sauter said.

The pair flew down to meet the Blueseed team in September 2012, and Blueseed commissioned them to design its web site, which Saucal finished in April. They signed up for residency early on.

Theoretically, Mr. Callahan and Mr. Sauter could have chosen other, more landlocked incubators in California, and as Mr. Dascalescu admits, ocean costs are high. The boat will be chartered (buying a new one would have cost US$50-million, he said). That’s still a hefty price for real estate. So, why float the idea at all?