Unlocking success: How the CDL program energized Convrg Innovations’ business journey

The Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies (CDL-Rockies) program provides participants with a unique benefit: the opportunity to work with and learn from experienced entrepreneurs who share their knowledge, expertise and, when necessary, some tough love.?

This is exactly why Ben Klepacki, Chief Revenue Officer, Convrg Innovations Inc., and his executive team wanted to join the program.?

Convrg's proprietary solar hybrid power generation and oilfield-grade air compressor packages, offered either individually or in combination, are designed to eliminate methane venting from pneumatics on remote well sites. This technology aligns with the new and emerging methane regulations while reducing capital and operating costs for well site operators.

Prior to CDL-Rockies, Klepacki had participated in other incubator programs but found the mentorship was geared towards startups looking to operate in academia or with government funding rather than in the private sector. This was not the right fit for the goals of building a Board of Advisors and boosting the executive committee's leadership skills.?

In 2020, when Convrg applied to the CDL-Rockies’ Energy stream, the team was made up of about 20 people and had been operating in Calgary for just over a year. The team believed CDL-Rockies could provide what it was looking for – guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs with first-hand experience in building successful businesses.?

“When the opportunity to join CDL came up, it was a dream opportunity to learn from the best of the best,” Klepacki says.?

That list of the “best of the best” mentors Klepacki and his team worked with included Patrick Elliott, the co-founder and COO of Carbon Alpha, a private company focused on providing carbon Sequestration as a Service within the emerging Canadian carbon capture and storage industry.?

Elliott has mentored at CDL-Rockies since the Energy stream was created in 2018.?

"I'm a big fan of supporting Albertan, western Canadian and Canadian technology,” Elliott says.

When it comes to mentoring the Convrg team, Elliott has only positive things to say.?

“They were so determined to grow their company and really leaned into the whole CDL experience by taking advantage of all the mentors, the networks and opportunities to refine how they approached their business,” he says.

They may have been a coachable team, but Klepacki admits that although the constructive feedback wasn’t always the easiest to hear, it was necessary.?

“As an entrepreneur, you've potentially put your life savings into your business. You're working 70 hours a week on it. You're giving it all your time,” Klepacki says. “Nothing is a greater kindness than hearing the truth. And then it's up to us whether we want to listen to it. But get the truth in early, so you can pivot if needed.”??

There is one specific piece of advice from Elliott that made a major difference for the Convrg team.?

“I remember Patrick just hammering it on us, asking why we were thinking so small. He was like, ‘Think bigger. What can you do? What can you grow?” recalls Klepacki. “That was super helpful, and it really made us think about what we could do on a global scale.”

“A big part of their success has been their ability to scale their company and keep up with the market demand for their product, which is a huge challenge for any company,” Elliott says. “They maintained many of their relationships from CDL and drew upon that support through the turbulence of their growth.” He adds that the team’s ability to connect with customers, build industry relationships and trust, and the “strong and successful culture” at Convrg are all factors that contribute to the company’s continued success.?

Convrg’s connection to CDL didn’t stop after graduation. After a few years of growth, the team continued its CDL journey and participated in the inaugural Haskayne ScaleUp Program cohort. ?

Klepacki says the break between the two programs was necessary, as his needs as a founder were much different than they were when the company started in 2020.

“When you’re running a company of 5-20 people, the things you do to survive and grow are contradictory to what you need to do at 50-100 people,” he says. “The mentors in CDL and ScaleUp understand that because again, they've been there before. In each program, they're able to tailor the advice to the company that they're working with at the stage the company is at.”?

For now, Klepacki is focused on continuing to grow Convrg, but that doesn’t mean he won’t reconnect with CDL-Rockies again in the future.

“I have pushed several people who are starting companies towards CDL. I think it's fantastic,” he says. “And having graduated, feeling like a bit of a serial entrepreneur, I would go back into CDL and run the gamut again.”?

To learn more about CDL-Rockies, visit our website.?