The mind behind Rossland Binding Company

Rob Barden moved a global team of talent to Rossland to start a new research and development company.

Rob Barden (R) and staff at Rossland Binding Company. — Photo courtesy Andrew Zwicker

You've had an idea, perhaps several, that in your mind are potential million-dollar ideas. The best of the best ideas you've hung onto for years, always wondering what if, but never making the leap. What is it that is holding you back? Is it a lack of time or resources? A fear of failure? Maybe you haven't pursued that idea because it is in a field you've never studied, or to build such a product or service would require skills you are not an expert at or may not possess at all? All of those are good reasons not to pursue your brilliant idea right?

Well, not exactly.

The best of the best entrepreneurs out there often find themselves pursuing ideas that may or may not be in their perceived wheelhouse. The common bond across the board, however, among these folks, is a built in sense of curiosity, an inability to let a good idea rest, and the doggedness and business sense to pursue even the wildest ideas. Those who know it know it as the curse of the entrepreneur. Just when you thought you could rest, when you could relax, along comes another great idea and the true entrepreneur really has no choice but to pursue it.

Rob Barden of the Rossland Binding Company is just such a character. At 14 he had a paper route, by 19 he had started a construction company with three employees, and then spent nearly 30 years setting up businesses within the office equipment sector. Although a prairie kid at heart, Rob is a passionate skier. Having just sold his office equipment company and shifting into retirement, it was that love of skiing, in tune with his entrepreneurial spirit, that helped launch his next venture. Putting together an international team of talent, he moved with them to Rossland and started a new research and development company seeking to build a better ski binding.

I sat down with Rob in his Rossland offices to talk about why Rossland is the best place to be for a ski industry R&D company, how he went from office equipment to developing and designing new bindings, and how he's making that happen without an engineering or design background.
 

Seven quick hits

What is your go-to energy boost?

Skiing always makes me happy. But probably straight-up black coffee.

What one website do you go to everyday?

Hey, it has got to be the Red Mountain snow report, right?

What one book would you most recommend?

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney.

I think one of the best books I have read recently was called Willpower by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney. Believe it or not there is a science to self-control, and it is a good read. You think that self-control is something that maybe somebody else seems to appear to have a lot of, but it is actually a science behind it and it is available for anybody that practices, I guess.The trick seems to be don't deplete your glucose levels, your blood sugar levels. You tend to have less willpower when you are hungry.

What one resource or tool do you use to boost your productivity?

I am old-school, I guess, in that regard. As you can see, I use a notebook and pen and paper devices. In terms of a resource, the Internet. How can we get along without that?

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

It was probably from my dad. They always give you words of wisdom, and his was along the lines of integrity and make sure that you do what you say. It is all about your word is really important, so make sure you be careful with your words.

What do you do to relax?

Well, skiing does rate so high for me. Certainly on the weekends I love to ski. At night to wind down I have a walk after supper, read, watch TV. Nothing too exotic.

Sometime down the road from now when someone writes the story of your life, what is that story about? And who gets to play you in the movie?

It's a good question. Well, it would be about a fun-loving, adventure-seeking, maybe not-too-serious guy, played by Robert Downey Jr. I think he'd be a good parallel to me.

This article is an excerpt from KAST's “You Can Do That Here” Episode 30 podcast. The podcast series tells the stories of successful the Kootenay entrepreneurs with a new episode uploaded weekly. View all archived KAST podcasts or subscribe on iTunes.