Bente Roycroft was not expecting her first job to rewrite her future. Fresh out of university in 2008 with an English literature degree, she had taken a role writing technical reports for a small environmental consulting firm in Edmonton.
“I remember being paid USD 20 per report and each report took me six hours to write,” she says, chuckling. “Looking back, it was a terrible return on my time investment.”
But when the firm landed a major contract in Fort McMurray and suddenly needed to scale, Bente found herself at the centre of something unexpected.
“None of us had experience growing a business. But everyone is a beginner at some point. So I went for it.”
What followed was a rapid and self-taught education in running a company – hiring, bookkeeping, strategy, culture – the full range of what it takes to build something from nothing.
“It started with Googling everything I could – how to hire people, how to fire people, all the legalities,” she says. “But, as we started growing, things like strategy, HR and finance became more relevant. That’s when I decided to pursue my MBA.”
The decision to pursue an MBA
In 2010, Bente enrolled in the part-time MBA programme at the Alberta School of Business, managing her studies alongside the demands of the growing start-up.
“The flexibility of part-time evening classes was perfect for my schedule,” she says. “And I loved how practical the programme was. It wasn’t just theory – I could apply what I learned in the classroom to my everyday work.”
The combination worked. By the end of 2013, the company had grown from four to 100 employees, with offices in Edmonton, Fort McMurray, and Fort St. John. When it was sold in 2014, Bente was left to figure out her next chapter.
“It was a huge shock for me. I loved what I was doing and I wasn’t sure how I would pivot. But I knew that being a part of growing a business – building and executing strategic plans – was so fulfilling to me.”
From consulting to the C-suite
She moved into consulting, then into leadership. Today, Bente is CEO of Accurate Network Services, an Alberta-based IT managed services provider, where she has overseen revenue growth from USD 2 million to USD 10 million over seven years. The company was recently recognised as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed IT Companies.
The MBA, she says, shaped more than her business thinking.
“I was certainly not the most confident person growing up and always very shy,” she says. “But during my MBA, I practiced standing up in front of people and speaking no matter how uncomfortable. It was truly learning a lot of life skills.”
Her advice to anyone standing at a similar starting line is characteristically direct.
“Don’t wait until you’re qualified,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how much experience you have; just go for it. Stick with your core values and you'll figure it out.”
That philosophy has not slowed down since. Accurate is expanding into marketing and advertising for the first time – and Bente, for her part, is training for her first triathlon.
