Photo by Anne Patterson/HelloOttawa.ca

Jennifer MacKinnon is the Founder and CEO of Fenix Solutions, a web development company based in Ottawa, and the creator of Ottawa Women of Wonder, a new website that profiles innovative and interesting female business leaders in the city. As a mother and entrepreneur, Jennifer is a strong advocate for a balanced work-home life and flexibility in the workplace. Jennifer and I met to talk about her experiences founding her own business, mentors, life as a working mother, and her new project.

Thanks for meeting with me, Jennifer! Maybe we can start with you telling me about your background. Are you from Ottawa?

Yes, born and raised. I went to high school and university here – I went to the University of Ottawa, and graduated in ’92 with a Bachelor of Arts and a concentration in Communications. There weren’t a lot of co-op programs then – they weren’t very popular – so I graduated with a degree and no tangible skills or work placement experience. I’ve always been very driven, though. I didn’t know what it was I wanted to do, but I’ve always been drawn to things that are exciting, challenging, and interesting. Right out of university I applied to an advertising agency in Ottawa, and took it from there. It was a very good learning experience for me. At my next job, the president kind of took me under her wing and I received a lot of guidance and support from her. I got a lot of experience, a lot of exposure, and a lot of responsibility very quickly.

How did Fenix Solutions get its start?

In ’97 or ’98 the web had really arrived and companies were beginning to want a place on it. The concept of the internet fascinated me, and I realized I wanted to do technology. I was offered a job at a small startup that was very similar to what Fenix does now, and I took it. It was very scary, and not necessarily an upward move for me, but it was a really exciting opportunity, and I felt like I could learn a lot – which I did. Then the dot com bust happened in 2001, and the startup closed its doors. I thought, well, if I’m going to start over, why not start over on my own terms? I really didn’t know if it was going to work. I kind of thought I would just do it until I found a “real” job, and it’s been 11 years!

Over the years, our services have narrowed and become more niche. Fenix is an Open Source web technology company, which means we build online tools, technologies, and applications on open source technologies. I love doing things that are challenging and get me out of my comfort zone – I find that really exciting. I don’t do any of the technical stuff (I don’t design, and I can’t code), so it’s my job to do business development and strategy.

It all started with a small company that offered me a project, and then that turned into another little project, and another. It just built, and the projects got bigger. As I built our portfolio, people saw that we were a valuable company. I had to work hard to create these opportunities, but that’s how it started.

What kind of challenges did you meet with when you were first getting started?

Oh, so many. Getting new business is always a challenge. Establishing ourselves in a market that had just gone bust was difficult; a lot of organizations were moving technology in-house. It was a very difficult time to start this kind of company, but I think that was an important part of our success. Because we stayed in business, it proved that what we were doing had value to people, and we were able to bring in very stable, reliable clients.

What was your experience like as a female entrepreneur in the technology sector?

Actually, it’s been great. I have no complaints. What I don’t have, though, is a counterpart in my specific niche. I just don’t know if there are other companies like Fenix that are run by women. That’s fine, but it would be nice to have a counterpart that I could share a coffee with. There may be women that I just haven’t met, but I don’t know of them.

Did you have any mentor-mentee relationships when you were starting out?

I want to say yes, but…no. I looked very hard for a mentor early on, I really did. I hoped that someone would take me under their wing. I’ve always been very good at relationship-building: I am naturally curious and interested in people. I thought that some of the relationships I had created in the past with other agencies and large organizations in Ottawa would lead to someone offering some guidance, but nobody did that. I pretty much outright asked, and it didn’t happen!

Now, having said that, right when I started Fenix I consulted for an organization owned by an older gentleman named Ken Parker. He had offered me a job, which I turned down because I was trying so hard to launch Fenix. I really felt like I needed to see it through, and he understood that. After that we met fairly often, and he would share ideas with me, give me guidance, and try to give Fenix work. He was wonderful. Maybe he was my mentor. It was only for a short period of time, though, because he sold his company and retired shortly after.

Do you see value in mentor-mentee relationships?

Yes, absolutely. Even now, in my 11th year as an entrepreneur, I seek out mentors. There’s a kind of “secret society” I’m a part of; we call ourselves the “League of Trusted Advisors.” There are eight of us, all business owners – six men and two women, in a full variety of sectors from technology to talent management.  We meet monthly to talk about how to help each other, and it’s a very safe environment to talk about anything, whether it’s financing issues or human resource problems, or even good problems like not being able to keep up with demand! I absolutely think mentors and relationships like this are key – really, almost moreso now that I’m established. There is so much to learn as you grow.

I try to be a mentor as often as possible. I’ve never said no to someone calling to talk or ask for advice. I’ll always make the time for it, and I think it’s very important. We also always hire a co-op student every year – typically from Algonquin or Carleton. This year we had three at one time. Everyone needs exposure to a work environment, a reference on a resume, or a professional to give them a start.

What has been most unique about your own experience as an entrepreneur?

Photo by Anne Patterson/HelloOttawa.ca

Well, my family. I have two little boys, four and six. They’re my life. When I had them I couldn’t leave the business, so I orchestrated a solution that works for me. Fenix has been very successful, and I still have my life. I feel strongly about maintaining a work-life balance. I work part time, which is a choice I sometimes feel like I have to defend – people hear that and can think, you know, that I have a hobby, not a real company. Trust me, Fenix is a real company and I’m very committed to it, and I can still be there for my family. I work very hard three days a week, and I’m able to drop my kids off at school, pick them up, and be home in the evenings and on weekends. I really feel like it’s about creating your own destiny. I want my employees to think that way too; I don’t want people working evenings and weekends – that doesn’t make for a healthy or happy work environment. For my staff, I try to do things that emphasize how important family and home life are. On Fridays in the summer we shut down at noon, and over Christmas we’re closed for two weeks. I’m very passionate about making sure we’re happy and healthy outside of our work, and I attribute much of Fenix’s success to that.

You recently started a creative side-project called Ottawa Women of Wonder. Can you tell me about that?

It’s my newest passion. I haven’t been as excited about something in a very long time. It’s not associated with my business – it’s a personal project. When I was younger, I always fancied that I would be a writer, or maybe a journalist. I’ve always written, and I like to meet people. I’m naturally inquisitive, so often I’d hear about these highly successful people and think, “Okay, why? How did they get these opportunities?” You can’t get the full picture from a resume or LinkedIn.

I started Ottawa Women of Wonder as a way to profile women I was curious about. There are a lot of really brilliant women doing very clever things here in Ottawa, and they don’t often get their names promoted because it’s not the kind of stuff that makes the Ottawa Business Journal or major media outlets. Through oWOW, I can sit and talk to someone like Shirley Westeinde, who was one of the first women in the construction industry, and it’s so amazing to hear and share her story. We all have something in common, and I think it’s so powerful and exciting to hear other women’s stories.

Thank you, Jennifer! You can follow Jennifer on Twitter at @FenixSolutions and find out more about Fenix Solutions at http://fenix-solutions.com. Ottawa Women of Wonder (oWOW), Jennifer’s exciting new project that profiles remarkable women in Ottawa, launched in November at http://owow.me. You can follow oWOW on Twitter at @owowme.

For more profiles like this one, visit Anne Patterson‘s Hello Ottawa, a blog that photographs and interviews regular Ottawans about the city and their lives.