Raj Singh created Fuelled Marketplace, a mobile app that connects buyers and sellers of surplus oilfield equipment. The app allows users to list equipment for sale, view other listings, and get data on views and sales. It aims to increase efficiency and reduce costs for oil and gas companies dealing with excess inventory. While initially focusing on high oil prices, the app is even more relevant now with lower prices. Singh left his job to fully commit to the startup, believing this is one of the best places to be an entrepreneur.

1. C2 S AT U R D AY, J A N U A R Y 1 7, 2 0 1 5 C A LG A R Y H E R A L D F I N A N C I A L P O S T
LLOYED LOBO
FOR TH E CALG ARY HER ALD
There is a glut of valuable capital
tied up in surplus oilfield equip-
ment and idle inventory. Oil and
gas explorers and producers and
oilfieldservicecompaniesarelook-
ing for better ways to manage and
monetize their surplus and idle
assets.
FuelledMarketplaceisaweband
mobile application that connects
buyers and sellers of equipment.
Companies can generate reports
tounderstandthenumberofviews
a listing receives and how much
equipment has been sold or rede-
ployed internally. The application
alsoprovidestheabilitytodoengi-
neeringcalculationsandunitcon-
versions. It also has a community
forum for questions and answers.
Here’s more from founder and
CEO Raj Singh:
Q How did you come up with
the idea for your startup?
A I have been in the oilfield
services business for the past 13
years and a constant theme over
this period has been services
companies looking to reduce
their cost of new customer acqui-
sitions and producers seeking
out solutions to deal with surplus
equipment. I knew there had to
be a better way, but I wasn’t sure
until a good friend and entrepre-
neur pushed me to use technol-
ogy to help solve the problem.
We’ve spent the last year
understanding what our custom-
ers and users are looking for and
we are confident that the Fuelled
Marketplace will be the first
place people go when sourcing
oilfield equipment.
Q What has been the biggest
challenge so far? What have you
done to solve it?
A Trying to perfect every aspect
of the app can be a challenge.
While we have an amazing devel-
opment team that can build any-
thing quickly, we’ve come to the
realization that we do not need
to incorporate all the functional-
ity and ideas on Day 1. We will
continue to improve the product
with customer and user feedback.
Q What’s new with your startup
that we can share?
A We started working on Fuelled
Marketplace when oil prices
were over $100 per barrel. At the
currently depressed commodity
price levels Fuelled Marketplace
is even more important to help
increase efficiency and drive
down costs for producers and
oilfield services companies.
Q What advice would you like to
share with others just starting
out?
A Our mission is to provide solu-
tions that help solve inefficien-
cies and pains in our industry.
New entrepreneurs should spend
a lot of time trying to understand
their customers’ problems and
then find innovative ways to solve
them.
Q What made you choose to go
the path of entrepreneurship?
A I don’t believe in doing any-
thing halfway and for Fuelled
to be successful I felt I needed
to leave my position (as a vice-
president) at an oilfield services
company and jump all-in. Hav-
ing been involved in startups
previously, I know first-hand the
blood, sweat, tears and sleepless
nights involved in making it a
success.
Q What are your thoughts on
our startup ecosystem?
A Alberta is a hot bed for entre-
preneurship. In particular the
oilpatch is always looking for
innovative technologies and new
concepts to address inefficien-
cies that exist in their business. I
honestly believe this is one of the
best places in the world to be an
entrepreneur.
Q What do you and your startup
need help with?
A Check out the Fuelled Market-
place at fuelled.com and down-
load our free app in Google Play
or the App Store.
Lloyed Lobo covers technology start-
ups in Alberta. He is a partner at
Boast Capital and a board member
at Startup Calgary. If you’d like to
be featured, please e-mail llobo@
boastcapital.com.
Making connections
in oilfield equipment
From left to right: Brooks Capewell, Raj Singh and Ted Crozier of Fuelled Marketplace, a startup that matches buyers and
sellers of used oilfield equipment. FUELLED MARKETPLACE.
MARIO TONEGUZZI
CALG ARY HER ALD
Canadian women have led the
charge into entrepreneurship
since the 2009 recession, says TD
Economics.
While overall self-employment
hasbeenfairlyflatsincethen,self-
employment among women has
grown, the bank said Friday.
However, women remain un-
derrepresented among entrepre-
neurs,despitetherecentupswing,
the report said.
Statistics Canada data show
77,300 men and 41,600 women
wereself-employedintheCalgary
region in 2009. Last year, that had
grown to 84,200 men and 43,300
women. The number of self-em-
ployed Calgarians with paid help
also rose, from 20,500 to 27,900
(formen)and6,500to7,600wom-
en in the same time period.
“Absolutely this is a trend we
are seeing across the country and
evenwithinourownmembership,
andthankgoodness,"saidRichard
Truscott, Alberta director for the
Canadian Federation of Indepen-
dent Business. "Canada is facing
somemajorchallengesintermsof
business succession. We will have
a lot of business owners exiting in
the next 10 years.
"More women starting new en-
terprises, or taking over existing
businesses, is clearly a big part of
the answer.”
TheTDreportfound Newfound-
land and Labrador led growth of
self-employed women between
2009 and 2014, at 48 per cent, fol-
lowed by Saskatchewan (nine per
cent), Manitoba (six per cent),
PrinceEdwardIsland (sixpercent)
and Alberta (five per cent).
“While women make up nearly
half the workforce, they are still
much less likely than men to be
entrepreneurs,” said Leslie Pres-
ton, economist with TD Econom-
ics. "Some factors like greater risk
aversion and occupational choice
... are likely to be slow to change.
“However, the recent growth of
womenenteringself-employment
since the recession is a positive
sign.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
Twitter.com/MTone123
Growing
number
of women
start own
business
Self-employed,
entrepreneur
numbers on rise
MARIO TONEGUZZI
CALG A RY HER AL D
Vacancy within Calgary’s down-
townofficesisrisingasmorecom-
panies put unwanted space back
on the market, says a new Avison-
Young report.
The commercial real estate firm
said downtown vacancy topped
seven per cent in the fourth quar-
ter of 2014 as firms took a more
conservative approach with their
real estate.
“Sublet space is being used as a
tactic by large companies to miti-
gate their short-term exposure.
Their strategy includes taking
more space than immediately
necessary to allow for long-term
growth, then subleasing portions
ofitwithstaggeredexpiriestocon-
trol their future options,” its 2015
forecast states.
The downtown office vacancy
rate moved to 7.4 per cent in the
fourth quarter, from 6.2 per cent
three months earlier.
Calgary’s overall office vacancy
rate rose to 8.8 per cent in the
fourth quarter, from 8.6 per cent
in the previous quarter.
Top-tier Class AA vacancy in-
creased from 0.9 per cent in the
fourth quarter of 2013 to 3.3 per
cent last quarter.
Avison-Young said five projects
totalling 3.9 million square feet
of Class AA office space are un-
der construction downtown, with
more than half pre-leased.
Its report said Canadian office
vacancy rate rose to 9.4 per cent
at the end of 2014. Vacancy is ex-
pected to near 10 per cent by the
end of 2015.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
Twitter.com/MTone123
Commercial real estate
sees vacancy rate rise
Calgary’s downtown vacancy topped seven per cent in the fourth quarter of
2014. GAVIN YOUNG/CALGARY HERALD FILES
BEN INGRAM
NANAIMO DAILY NEW S
Nanaimo entrepreneur Morgan
Carey has spurned a $2-million
deal he secured on the reality TV
showDragons’Denforaricherin-
vestmentinvolvingoneofthestars
of American spinoff Shark Tank.
The Real Estate Webmasters
president will detail a new agree-
ment that values his company at
$50million,$10millionmorethan
theDragons’offer,laterthismonth
at a New York real estate confer-
ence.
The new agreement involves
BarbaraCorcoran,arealestateen-
trepreneurandstarofSharkTank.
“Icansaywe’vepartneredwitha
multibillion-dollar software com-
pany,”hesaidinaninterview.“It’sa
muchbetterdealthatisdueinpart
toourexposureonDragons’Den.”
Careysaidhehadeveryintention
ofgoingthroughwiththeDragons’
deal, but that “there just wasn’t
enough value there. They didn’t
bring enough to the table.
“Like I said on the television
show, I don’t need the money.
We had $2.5 million in sales last
month,” he said. “It was about the
contacts and it was about the ex-
posure. It always was.”
Careyappearedonthebroadcast
in November, where Dragons Jim
TrelivingandMikeWekerleagreed
to partner on a five-per-cent stake
ofREW,inexchangefor$2million,
or a $40-million valuation of the
growing company.
REW creates customized web-
sites for real estate companies
that are search-engine-optimized
to generate traffic. The Nanaimo-
basedcompanyemploysabout180
workersandCareyhopesREWwill
growto1,000employeeswithmul-
tiple international offices over the
next five years.
A crucial element of that push is
expectedtobeannouncedbyCarey
at this month’s industry event in
New York.
REWislookingatexpansionop-
portunities in Victoria, Toronto
and the eastern U.S.
Armed with the more lucrative
agreement, Carey said REW will
target a five-year revenue goal of
$100million,whichcouldpushthe
company past the $1-billion valu-
ation mark.
Entrepreneur picks Shark over Dragons
Fuelled Marketplace app hooks up
buyers, sellers of used or surplus gear
S TA RT U P O F
T H E W E E K
Real Estate Webmasters president Morgan Carey with ‘Shark Tank’ star and
soon-to-be partner Barbara Corcoran. FOR THE CALGARY HERALD