Building From the Ground Up

Picture Taken: January 2024

Article Posted: June 4th 2026

Some of BAAC's earliest meetings took place here. Long before the projects, partnerships, and growth, it was simply a vision and a determination to make it happen.

When people see BAAC today, they see a growing company with operations across Western Canada. They see major infrastructure projects, strong partnerships, a talented team, and a company that continues to create new opportunities.

What most people do not see is everything that happened before that.

They do not see the years of preparation, the uncertainty, the sacrifices, the mistakes, the risks, or the countless hours spent trying to build something from nothing.

The story of BAAC did not begin when the company was incorporated.

It began years earlier.

For more than a decade, Gareth Jones worked in the construction industry. Like many people in this business, he started in the field and worked his way up through hard work, determination, and a willingness to take on responsibility. He learned the industry from the ground up and developed a deep understanding of how infrastructure projects are built, managed, and delivered.

Over those years, he gained valuable experience, built strong relationships, and developed a reputation for finding solutions to difficult problems.

But what separated Gareth from many others was that he was always thinking about what could be done differently.

He constantly saw opportunities to improve operations, increase efficiency, create value, and build something bigger. He was never content with simply maintaining the status quo. He wanted to solve problems, challenge conventional thinking, and create opportunities where others saw limitations.

For years, he dedicated himself to helping build successful businesses, but eventually he realized that if he truly wanted to bring his ideas to life, he would need to take a risk and build something of his own.

Before making that leap, Gareth continued building his knowledge. He read business books, listened to startup podcasts, attended entrepreneurship events, and immersed himself in the stories of founders who had built companies from nothing. He became fascinated with the journey of entrepreneurship and spent years preparing for a future that had not yet arrived.

One podcast in particular became a favorite: How I Built This with Guy Raz. Gareth listened to countless episodes, learning from the experiences of founders who had faced challenges similar to those he expected to encounter himself. Eventually, he attended a live event in Portland to hear those stories firsthand.

He was preparing long before he ever knew exactly what BAAC would become.

His next opportunity brought him to a First Nations group of companies, where he helped transform struggling operations into profitable businesses. During his time there, he identified an opportunity that he believed could significantly change the future of infrastructure development.

He saw the potential.

He built the vision.

He presented the opportunity.

But the organization was not prepared to take the risk required to pursue it.

For many people, that would have been the end of the story.

For Gareth, it became the beginning.

Rather than letting the opportunity disappear, he decided to take the risk himself.

That decision became BAAC.

The early days were far from glamorous.

There was no large investment backing the company. There was no established client base. There was no office, no large team, and no roadmap showing exactly how to get from where the company was to where it needed to be.

There was simply a vision and a commitment to make it happen.

For months, Gareth operated out of his truck and public libraries, taking calls, setting up meetings, building relationships, and pursuing opportunities wherever he could find them. Looking back now, it is almost hard to believe. At the time, however, every conversation felt critical to the future of the business.

One day the public library internet went down before an important meeting. At the time it felt like a major crisis. Today, it is one of those stories that reminds us how far we have come.

Every dollar mattered.

Every project mattered.

Every client mattered.

The reality of building a company is that there is no perfect path forward. There are mistakes, setbacks, disappointments, and moments where you question whether the risk was worth it.

We experienced all of those things.

We trusted the wrong people.

We invested in things that did not work.

We encountered clients who took advantage of a young company trying to establish itself.

We faced challenges that felt overwhelming at the time.

But every setback taught us something valuable.

Every mistake improved our decision making.

Every challenge made the company stronger.

As the business began to grow, a new set of challenges emerged.

Growth is exciting, but growth also creates pressure.

New employees require leadership.

New projects require systems.

New opportunities require capital, planning, and execution.

Every six months at BAAC, it feels like we are operating a completely different company than we were before. The pace of growth often forces us to adapt faster than we expected.

There have been moments where it felt like we were building the plane while flying it.

But through every stage of growth, one thing remained constant: the vision.

Today, BAAC has evolved into two interconnected businesses. The civil construction side of the organization continues to build critical infrastructure projects across Western Canada, while the innovation side focuses on the future of digital infrastructure.

Those businesses support one another.

The success of our construction operations has allowed us to invest in innovation. Those investments have opened doors that once seemed impossible to reach.

Today, some of the world's largest technology companies trust BAAC to support projects that would have seemed unimaginable in our early days.

While we are proud of the growth, our greatest achievement is not the projects we have completed or the opportunities we have secured.

It is the people.

One of Gareth's goals from the very beginning was to build the kind of company he wished existed throughout his career. He wanted to create an environment where people felt valued, where hard work was recognized, where ideas were welcomed, and where employees understood the role they played in building something meaningful.

That vision continues to shape BAAC today.

We have never wanted to be a company where employees feel like numbers. We have worked hard to create a culture that values relationships, trust, accountability, and community.

Throughout the company, you will find spouses working together, siblings working together, parents and children working together, and lifelong friends building careers together. We encourage those connections because we believe strong communities create strong companies.

The sense of family that exists within BAAC is not something that happened by accident. It was built intentionally. It reflects the values that the company was founded on and the culture we are committed to protecting as we continue to grow.

Behind every project is a team of people who care deeply about what they do. Our field crews, operators, project managers, coordinators, safety professionals, and support staff have all played a role in building BAAC into what it is today.

We would not be here without them.

The biggest lesson we have learned throughout this journey is simple.

Business is about people.

Equipment can be purchased. Systems can be implemented. Processes can be improved. Great people are what make the difference.

As we look ahead, we remain focused on the same principles that guided us from the beginning: hard work, innovation, relationships, and a commitment to creating opportunities for others.

We are proud of how far we have come, but we know we are only getting started.

There are more projects to build, more opportunities to create, and more communities to support.

Our goal over the next five years is to continue growing responsibly, continue investing in our people, and become recognized as one of North America's top employers.

The foundation has been built.

Now it is time to build what comes next.