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The San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle ranked first and second. Toronto ranked third.

“Vancouver is a very well-positioned city to become a technology hub and climb even to a single-digit spot on that (CBRE) list potentially in the future,” Nicola told Postmedia in a recent interview.

Her company now has 41 staff in a Yaletown office. She said about 15 of her employees focus on technology aspects of the business.

Vancouver is well-positioned in the Pacific Rim to tap into technology investment dollars, talent and the mobile-first mandates of large Asian companies and economies, including China, she said.

“There is a lot of funding coming from China and a lot of entrepreneurship coming from China,” she said, not mentioning the recent political and economic clashes roiling between Canada and China. “They’re definitely a mobile first culture and our geographic location has a huge potential to capitalize on something that hasn’t actually began to hit the peak of its potential.”

A major challenge for her industry is keeping top talent in Vancouver as workers mature. Tech firms can mitigate that with sensible mentorship programs and fairness, she said.

“You have to treat (your workers) well,” she said. “You have to pay them well. You have to give them raises relatively often so that people don’t leave you because they want a raise.”

It’s common, especially in tech, to earn a raise by changing companies, she said.

“We recognize that and we make sure that people who are really excelling in a role get rewarded financially for that,” she said, noting that maintaining an inclusive, diverse workforce with work-life balance are also important factors. “We mentor those junior employees that we hire that are available in Vancouver … and they stay with us.”