Montreal tech company supplies intelligent wristbands to Team Canada

Anthony Palermo, co-founder, Connect&Go Anthony Palermo talks about Connect&Go’s history at the Olympics and pandemic hardships.

A Montreal-based business will provide intelligent bracelets to the Canada Olympic House during the 2024 Paris Olympics, set to take place July 26 to Aug. 11.

Connect&Go, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) company, had previously supplied Team Canada with similar wristbands during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

The company provided over 10,000 bracelets in 2018. This year, it will produce over 15,000 bracelets.

According to Anthony Palermo, who co-founded the company alongside Dominic Gagnon, the wristbands help athletes, coaches, team staff, family members, and other visitors gain access to the Canada Olympic House and the village and also use them for payments and ticketing.

"It was a big deal. We were very fortunate to be part of that," said Palermo.

Connect&Go had also been selected to provide RFID wristbands to Team Canada for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Then, COVID-19 hit.

The pandemic took a toll on the small Montreal company. Connect&Go had contracts with the PGA tour, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, and the Olympics, which were all cancelled. It lost 90 per cent of its revenue and had to pivot its market. Where it once focused on large-scale international events, now it focuses on attractions like amusement and water parks.

"Unlike events, attractions remained open during the pandemic, even if the capacity was reduced," said Gagnon in a press release. "We had already started to reflect on finding a market more stable than events."

According to the company, its technology has been integrated into dozens of attractions worldwide, generating hundreds of millions in revenue. The company aims to reach $1 billion in revenues by 2025.

After ending their events operations, Gagnon said in the release that he thought they would never be able to deploy their technology at large-scale events like the Olympics. Yet, they did.

"After PyeongChang, we had the relationship, but we had to go through the whole process of making sure we were the right partner for them—and obviously we are dedicated to a standard of excellence—but to participate in something that's a Canadian experience, there's a bit more when it comes to something that special," said Palermo.

Palermo said it is one of their smaller contracts. He explained that the attractions' operations have large properties in the U.S. and Europe, with millions of visitors annually using the system daily. But the Olympics give them the most exposure.

"At the end of the day, there is no bigger stage in the world than the Olympics," he said. "So, to be part of it, to participate in any way that we can, it's incredible."

Connect&Go began their operations 12 years ago when Gagnon joined his marketing knowledge to Palermo's RFID work.

"We started big right off the bat, with the Montreal Impact when they joined MLS. The next project we had was the Osheaga Music Festival, then we had projects like ComicCon and the Montreal Formula One," said Palermo.

Since then, he added that Connect&Go has kept getting bigger, but is just getting started in their new attractions sector.

"We're proud of being a small Quebec company that's been able to grow like this," said Palermo.