FinancialPost reports that Saskatchewan based 3twenty – which uses shipping containers as transportable and stackable housing units – is making diversity, a Google-like culture and solution oriented youthfulness pay dividends. Evan Willoughby, Channing McCorriston, and Bryan McCrea teamed with W. Brett Wilson to launch the start up firm. Their target market is large and growing, with some 20,000 beds needed in Saskatchewan mine sites alone in the next three years, plus other projects on their radar in Canada, the U.S. and overseas. 3twenty designs, builds and installs their transportable container housing units, operating an 11,000-square-foot shop where 10 to 15 people work daily. They are learning management on the fly, and judging from results, successfully so. In the fourth quarter of 2010, 3twenty outfitted an entire mining camp and has sold two additional camps for $1-million in gross revenue in the first third of 2011. Focused on building relationships with corporations that have global operations, 3twenty is on track to hit $2.5-million to $3-million in sales by year’s end. 50% to 70% of the team are aboriginal, seeking to model Google’s culture. The average age on the team is 26. The company won the inaugural Idea Challenge sponsored by the Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the University of Saskatchewan.
