Ducharme Charms in Jump:Start Challenge!

Ducharme Service Management, an Accelerate Okanagan Venture Acceleration Program client company based in West Kelowna in the Okanagan, is one of the Top 10 Finalists in the Jump:Start Challenge.

According to Robert Ducharme, “Our idea is validated because it works, but this validates even more the uniqueness and the potential of what we  offer”.

The landscaping company has been operating for 10 years, and offers a software program designed for the service end of clients. They currently service 700 irrigation clients with a software program which takes watering schedules and water-use efficiency to new levels. They also provide a brandable, automated web-based solution for scheduling and customer relationship management for other service-based organizations.

Ducharme said being one of the Jump:Start Challenge finalists feels “huge, like a pat on the back”. They have always believed that what their business was doing is unique, creative and certainly it works, but this gives an opportunity to share it with other businesses.

This is right in line with the aim of Accelerate Okanagan: to bolster the growth of technology companies in the valley. The Jump:Start Challenge started with 43 applications, which were whittled down to 27, who provided their pitches at an open forum in Kelowna on September 8. The idea is to help these entrepreneurs raise investment to finance growth.

The 10 finalists were chosen by a panel of experts and move to the next round of the Challenge. They’ll get nine weeks of intense training,  coaching and mentorship to improve their investor presentations.

Ducharme Service Management is also a full-service landscaping company, handling both residential and commercial. Ducharme said he’s noticed a trend toward more natural-scaping in recent years, with use of native plants. That trend plus the recent installation of water meters is making people more aware of the need of efficiency in water use, he noted.

“Lots of people are looking to make their systems more efficient and limit the amount of water used,” says Ducharme.

For further information, contact Robert Ducharme, Ducharme Landscapes Inc., robert@ducharmelandscapes.com, http://www.ducharmelandscapes.com, (250) 768-9455, Toll Free 1-877-333-9456.

This article was originally published as: “Landscape business makes top 10″: By Dorothy Brotherton, Westside Weekly,  September 29, 2011. Republished in edited form with permission.