In 2024, Taproot reported on several stories that evolved after we published them. In this, our final retrospective of 2024, we caught up with two specific stories that will continue to offer new details in 2025.
Riverboat's business partners to part in 2025
The original story: In 2024, Taproot was the first to report that two serial entrepreneurs, Rob Davy and Eric Warnke, had purchased the Edmonton Riverboat. The two met as teenagers when they were among the first employees at Nexopia, Canada's first social network. The new owners said they thought the riverboat had only scratched the surface of its potential and that they wanted to offer an elevated experience.
Then what? "It blew our expectations out of the water — no pun intended," Warnke told Taproot in an online interview from the boat in late December. Warnke said customers enjoyed duelling piano performances the most. For about 10% of sailings, the river's water levels were too low for the boat to complete its full course, so those customers were given credits to return in 2025 for a full experience. Davy left the business at the end of the 2024 season. "He owns, like three other businesses, so it wasn't as simple as tacking on a fourth one as we thought it would be, and then ultimately, we're just better friends than partners," Warnke said. "It's an amicable thing. We're still friends."
What's next? The boat was moored at the end of September, but it's still being used for parties through the winter, including a New Year's Eve bash. Warnke said he hopes to start the 2025 sailing season on Mother's Day. He's planning for a special event to celebrate the boat's 30th anniversary in May, and to run sailings daily in 2025 instead of from Thursday to Sunday. -Stephanie Swensrude
Edmonton Edge Fund continues to reverberate in 2025
The original story: In May, the City of Edmonton granted $4.7 million to 17 organizations through Phase 1 of the Edmonton Edge Fund. The fund is intended to drive economic and social benefits. There were two categories of funding: Scale & Grow, which offered from $250,000 to $1 million to companies that could prove a matching 50% investment, and the Start Stream for earlier-stage companies, which offered up to $100,000. Scale & Grow recipients included DiveThru, Future Fields, and Kind Ice Cream Select Start Stream recipients included OligomicsTx (which won a Startup TNT summit earlier in the year), Swift Charge, UpRow, and ZerOne.
Then what? In October, ZerOne held a grand opening for its Hockeyology and Atheleticare facility after telling Taproot that it uses tech and multidisciplinary medicine to support athletes. Kind Ice Cream also spoke to Taproot to detail its plans for modular ice cream shops, acquiring a larger production facility, and offering business-to-business sales. Elsewhere, UpRow won a pitch competition at Inventures by Alberta Innovates in May. In November, Future Fields opened its Instar 1.0 biomanufacturing facility.
What's next? The city's reference to the Edge Fund in May as Phase 1 suggested that a Phase 2 was at least possible. Nik George from the City of Edmonton told Taproot in an email that the city is "actively exploring options for the future of the Edge Fund," but the fund does not "have additional funding to support new projects" yet. Companies that received Edge funding have shared further updates with Taproot. Kind Ice Cream said in an email that its first modular location, dubbed "Bestie," will open this summer at a location "that is currently underserved when it comes to ice cream and dessert options." Swift Charge said in an email that its fast electric vehicle charger is done with testing and should be operational in south Edmonton and Lloydminster by the end of January. DiveThru, meanwhile, said in an email that it will open its newest location in "early 2025." -Colin Gallant