The Pulse
Jan. 9, 2025

The recent WELLSTAR acquisition of software company Healthquest follows in the footsteps of other local tech exits, including WinTax and Granify, as it is not a simple financial transaction but instead a move aimed to extend the company's reach.

"Now we've got a national presence with a publicly backed company," Healthquest's president, Brandon Blanck, told Taproot. "Hopefully (we can leverage that) moving forward to grow even further, to get ourselves into other provinces, and truly start making a difference in healthcare — not just in Alberta, but across the whole country."

Healthquest is the name for both a software suite and what the company, originally incorporated as Microquest, is now best known as. The software-as-a-service company was founded by Mike Barth in Edmonton in 1993. The company began by offering billing software but today has a suite of tools that allow health clinics and practitioners to digitize records and perform tasks like appointment scheduling. These tools are used by more than 800 clinics and 3,500 practitioners in Alberta.

Despite the sale, Blanck said he intends to stay with Healthquest and continue the company's mission, which is to allow healthcare workers to focus on care.

Blanck said he could not disclose the financial details of the acquisition due to regulations related to WELLSTAR's publicly traded parent company, Vancouver-based WELL Health Technologies Corp. However, he confirmed that Healthquest is one of the two acquired companies mentioned in a WELL press release. That release details a cumulative "$17.9 million in cash and $3.9 million in WELLSTAR subordinate voting shares" as components of the deals.

"Any of the other competitors likely would have bought us simply to absorb us — buy our clients, essentially," Blanck said. "That was not the case with WELL, and that was one of the things that was absolutely the most appealing (about the acquisition)."

The acquisition comes after some levelling up from Blanck, who succeeded Barth as the company's leader in 2023. Three years ago, Blanck began participating in ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service at his alma mater, the University of Alberta. In 2023, he then enrolled in the GrowthX accelerator with Alberta Innovates. Blanck was mentored by Kristina Milke, a general partner at Sprout Fund, which invests in seed-stage tech companies in Western Canada. Blanck credits Milke's "no BS" style with being "invaluable" to the company.

Milke, who later joined Healthquest's advisory group, said she loved how coachable and willing Blanck was in the GrowthX program. "He was there because he really wanted to get as much as he could out of the program," she told Taproot. "He was very open to difficult questions … I love working with founders like that. To me, that is gold."

Milke said she wants to see more positive stories about tech successes in Edmonton, and that exits like Healthquest's are difficult but possible. She's seen it firsthand, too: EZ Ops, a company that Sprout has invested in, was acquired last year by Detechtion Technologies, and Milke was an investor in Granify before its acquisition by Bazaarvoice in 2023.

"You can do this here," she said. "This is a place where you can build a company, you can find the talent, you have access to customers, and you have an opportunity for an exit when it makes sense."

• The Alberta Teachers' Association is opposing the province's new literacy and numeracy assessments for kindergarten students. The association says many teachers haven't been trained to interpret the results of the assessments, which it says contain material that students haven't learned yet. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the screening tools are grounded in research from the University of Alberta and can "accurately identify 95% of students who will later develop reading difficulties."
• A judicial review application by Scott Carter, a former Edmonton Police Service officer, revealed new details about a 2021 case in which he was accused of attacking a stranger downtown. According to the decision, which upheld his suspension without pay, Carter allegedly assaulted an Indigenous man who he mistook for someone touching his wife's vehicle. He also assaulted two police officers. Carter was fined $1,200 for assaulting the officers, but other charges were dropped because the victim died in 2023. Carter has since retired from the police service.
• Coun. Andrew Knack told CTV News about possible solutions to alleviate construction-related frustrations in west Edmonton, such as fully closing sections of road to accommodate work on the Valley Line West LRT or allowing construction 24 hours a day. Marigold Infrastructure Partners, which is building the LRT, wants to tailor its approach to be "less disruptive to the communities" in 2025, said construction manager Jonathan Cox.
• CBC's This is Edmonton podcast hosted a discussion with investigative reporter Taylor Lambert about preventing frostbite amputations. In 2024, Edmonton had its worst-ever year for frostbite amputations, with 110 recorded.
• The 61st annual Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week tournament kicked off on Jan. 8 with a game between the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Saskatoon Blades. The 10-day tournament will host nearly 10,000 players from 600 teams, representing U9 to U18.
• The Edmonton Oilers have become the "hottest" team in the NHL since November, keeping a 14-3-1 record over the past 18 games and rising to second place in the Pacific division. The team's 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 7 was "as close to a perfect game as can be played in January," wrote Sportsnet's Mark Spector.

Here are opportunities to inform municipal decision-making about waste, public engagement, development, and more. Please only answer surveys from the municipality where you live.

• Commercial Waste Engagement — Strathcona County is seeking feedback from business owners and operators as it develops a waste diversion program. Participants can help influence future strategies, incentives, and regulatory requirements by attending engagement sessions on Jan. 15, Jan. 16, Jan. 22, or Jan. 23.
• Building Relationships to Shape Our City — The City of Edmonton is looking to improve its public engagement process for under-heard or culturally diverse communities. Results will inform future engagement processes and communications. A survey closes Jan. 15.
• Land Use Bylaw Update — Parkland County is updating its Land Use Bylaw, last updated in 2017 before the Village of Wabamun dissolved and joined Parkland County. Residents can review the draft bylaw and provide online feedback until Jan. 15.

More input opportunities

• Until Jan. 12: Budget 2025 Consultation (Government of Alberta)
• Until Jan. 12: People's 2025 Budget Survey (Public Interest Alberta)
• Until Jan. 16: Wîhkwêntôwin ᐄᐧᐦᑫᐧᐣᑑᐃᐧᐣ Neighbourhood Renewal (City of Edmonton)
• Until Feb. 28: Engage and Play: Shaping Public Recreation (City of Edmonton)

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• TechBOOST Student and New Graduate Information Session starting at 10am online
• TechBOOST Employer Session starting at 11am online
• Elder-in-Residence (Drop-In) starting at 1pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Virtual Business Model 101 starting at 1pm online
• Murdle Mysteries and BYOB Bring Your Own Book starting at 1:30pm at Devon Public Library
• STEAM Lab starting at 3pm at Edmonton Public Library (Mill Woods)
• Kings of Curry Cooking Class starting at 5:30pm at Blue Quill Community Hall
• Startup TNT Happy Hour starting at 6pm at Pub 1905
• Films at the Library - Deadpool & Wolverine starting at 6:30pm at Edmonton Public Library (Whitemud Crossing)

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Jan. 17: Thoughtropes: New works for organ, percussion, and electronics at Convocation Hall
• Jan. 19: Robert Burns Celebration at Rutherford House
• Jan. 22: Discover and Validate online

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.