Anne Marie Kirby started laying the foundations for entrepreneurship soon after becoming disillusioned with small-town ideas of achievement.

害羞草研究所淚 grew up in northern B.C., where people didn害羞草研究所檛 really go on to post secondary school. The most ambitious thing you could do was work at the local bank, because then you could get promotions and leave town later,害羞草研究所� Kirby explained.

害羞草研究所淪o, after high school I worked at the bank for a few years, but I was working for a manager who didn害羞草研究所檛 want to promote me until I had six years of experience害羞草研究所攕o I went back to school for computer programming.害羞草研究所�

Kirby soon practiced her programming skills in the health industry, working on hospital information systems. But she quickly found that health prevention and promotion was a more appealing niche.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檇 rather deal with healthy people,害羞草研究所� Kirby said. 害羞草研究所淏ut the market wasn害羞草研究所檛 there yet, so I watched it for a few years before starting my business.害羞草研究所�

Kirby co-founded CoreHealth Technologies with Jeff Van Dyk in 2004. The company now provides businesses with a corporate wellness platform that supports two million employees all over the world.

For Kirby, the next major development in health technology will involve a more personalized and more fun way to maintain active lifestyles and engage in healthy behaviour.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e looking at using notifications to bring information to people, rather than having people search out information. Technology can be a lot smarter about presenting the right information at the right time害羞草研究所攕o in heath tech, we害羞草研究所檙e moving from a 害羞草研究所榩ull害羞草研究所� Internet to a 害羞草研究所榩ush害羞草研究所� Internet.害羞草研究所�

Kirby also says that incorporating deliberate design into wellness programs will be critical in the future. Wellness is a complex problem, she says, and engineering-style thinking that involves multiple iterations of a solution will be a necessary approach.

One key area where Kirby wants to focus her effort is on making health technology accessible and fun for users.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 a huge fan of Pok茅mon Go,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 the best thing that has ever happened to health and wellness technology. Nintendo has motivated a group of people who wouldn害羞草研究所檛 normally leave their computers to get out and get active害羞草研究所攖hat害羞草研究所檚 a huge lesson for the world. I want our industry to start thinking about how people can get healthier by doing things they already want to do.害羞草研究所�

Kirby says that the best corporate wellness programs incorporate a strong motivational aspect that promotes healthy habits in a new and exciting way.

害羞草研究所淚f you go to some of the industry websites, they all talk about the same process. So it害羞草研究所檚 well documented what has to happen in order to make a wellness program successful, but almost nobody actually does it.害羞草研究所�

Kirby says that one of the best examples of making a wellness program fun and motivational comes from a CoreHealth client, employment benefits consultancy Morneau Shepell.

害羞草研究所淢orneau Shepell is an Olympic sponsor, so they have contact with Canadian Olympic athletes害羞草研究所攁nd they launched a program that brings athletes into the company to talk to employees about wellness programs. I don害羞草研究所檛 think you can get more motivational than working with Olympic athletes. Again, it goes back to finding a creative way to get people involved in something relevant and enjoyable.害羞草研究所�

Kirby害羞草研究所檚 philosophy of getting healthy through fun activities extends into her personal life, where she strives to help children and young adults develop healthy habits. She serves as the Rotary Club Youth Exchange Officer for Kelowna, which gives her a prime opportunity to help youth get involved in the community. She害羞草研究所檚 also an avid skier and sailing enthusiast.

And while Kirby is now managing a successful and respected business, her path hasn害羞草研究所檛 been without its challenges. One of the biggest challenges she faces in her field is convincing people that they need a wellness solution.

害羞草研究所淧eople don害羞草研究所檛 value their own health. It害羞草研究所檚 very illogical, which is a real struggle for me as a (logically-minded) computer person. That害羞草研究所檚 the hardest thing害羞草研究所攅mployers try to help people, but they don害羞草研究所檛 want to do anything for their own good.害羞草研究所�

Still, Kirby害羞草研究所檚 passion for health and wellness continues to drive her to promote healthy

behaviours in the workplace害羞草研究所攊n part because of a wise yet simple lesson she learned from her son.

害羞草研究所淲hen my son was two years old, we were in a restaurant and we had a waitress who was saying that she wanted to go to school, but she couldn害羞草研究所檛 stop waitressing. My son said, 害羞草研究所榥ever, ever give up害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶖and the waitress said, 害羞草研究所榯hat害羞草研究所檚 the wisest thing I害羞草研究所檝e ever heard.害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟

Kirby says that stubborn resilience is what kept her going in spite of industry criticism. During one early investor meeting, she was taken aback when a potential investor told her to get a haircut.

Kirby says that she could have chosen to quit, but decided instead to continue growing CoreHealth out of her love for the industry.

害羞草研究所淲ellness is one of the few things that, the more you sell, the better off everyone is. You can be successful and proud at the same time.害羞草研究所�

Crowe MacKay害羞草研究所檚 Women to Watch program is a weekly feature that profiles remarkable women in our community, concluding Oct. 16. After terrific response, the nomination period for 2015 is now closed. Watch this space each week to see our remaining Women to Watch.