Genesis Land Surveying: A company born out of frustration

For Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS) alumnus, Amar Loai, his curiosity and constant need to be challenged inspired the civil engineering graduate to focus on geomatics during his final year at TMU. 

“The geomatics field is made up of many specialties that you have to look after. I'm expected to know a bit of law, engineering, architecture, and a wide array of aspects that are involved in the planning design stage of any project,” said Loai. 

“I was also interested in how it doesn't get a lot of attention even though you need the land surveying aspect of the work done for every single project that you begin. Whether it's a house, or a 70 storey condominium building going downtown, a land survey is connected at the heart and soul of every project.”

During his time at TMU, Loai describes the rigorous work he put into his studies and recalls the exams where he wrote for three hours non-stop. While the theoretical background created a strong foundation for Loai, he says that it was the hands-on, real-life experiences that he learned the most from.

“You're coming with a good theoretical background and a solid foundation. What companies are willing to do is take what you've learned and give you real-life experience,” said Loai. 

“Take the information that you learned from a theoretical setting and try to put it in the modern-day world for business, technical, and for all the other purposes that are usually involved in the work itself.”

After graduating from TMU and being exposed to both the private and public sectors, Loai decided he needed another challenge. In 2018, Loai co-founded Genesis Land Surveying. The company specializes in complex new developments involving government agencies on multiple levels and offering their clients solutions to meet their challenges quickly and efficiently. 

“It was a company that really was born out of frustration. We were kind of beyond the traditional ways of having to do something,” said Loai. “The whole idea behind the company was that we wanted to offer our clients a new experience. A whole different feeling for dealing with a land surveyor and a much better one.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic made remote working a trend, Genesis was run on a digital-based platform since its inception. After looking at the classic western model of corporate governance, Loai and the founding partners decided to throw that approach out the window.

“We don't want anything to do with the way things have been traditionally complete. We don't want stacks and stacks of paper, file cabinets and storage rooms,” said Loai. 

“We know the technology that is in the industry right now, so why are we not using this type of technology to quickly advance our company? Right off the bat, we were able to put those systems in place, so we were able to offer remote working in 2018 before the COVID pandemic.”

While Genesis started with just Loai and a technician, the company has grown today to a team of 12 employees in just two years.

“We've made a quick leap in terms of our staff, clientele, software, and technology because we wanted to use modern-day practices and bring those to an industry that has not seen changes in almost about a century,” said Loai.

“Our belief is that your challenge is our challenge, so when you contact us with an issue, that is now our issue and we will stop at no lengths to make sure that you have the best solution, the most convenient one, and the right one.”

After growing Genesis to almost four times its original size, Loai says his proudest achievement is being able to give back to TMU by offering two scholarships. The first scholarship, the Genesis Land Surveying Award for Geomatics Innovation, was created to celebrate a geomatics student enrolled in the civil engineering graduate program, and who has achieved academic and professional success. The Genesis Land Surveying Baird and Mucklestone Award was established to honour the memory of Wilmot Johnston Baird and John Kenneth Mucklestone. This award recognizes an undergraduate civil engineering student who has demonstrated high academic achievement in CVL 736, Geospatial Information Systems and shows an interest in pursuing a career in geomatics engineering.

“Having that connection with the university and with the students makes us feel that we've done something well,” said Loai. “It's such a great feeling to be able to stand and talk and present students with awards, especially in the same building that we were in before.”

“It gives us a sense of accomplishment that we were able to create a professional business in a short period of time, but still remain in touch with the university that helped us get to where we are now.” 

Loai strongly encourages students to visit the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors to learn more about the field of geomatics and the profession.