I just watched the blackberry series last night. It was a great series and I recommend watching it.
It really brought me back to that time. I actually lived in Waterloo from 2005 to 2010. When RIM was at its peak the world was watching Canada. It was a truly global company, leading the world in what would be smartphones. I knew so many people who worked at RIM and have a career because of that company. Times were great back then.
It made me realize that after the fall of RIM, things have sort of been downhill. I know RIM is still around, but nothing like it used to be. Shopify has also been a great success story, but even still not on the same level as RIM.
Why have we not had any real innovation in this country in almost 20 years?
We had Nortel but after 2008 Harper gave all their patents to the Americans
They weren’t into oil and gas so they weren’t eligible to be saved.
They failed much earlier due to poor business decisions, overbuild during the Dot Com boom, and corporate espionage.
The patent portfolio was just another nail in the coffin.