In the latest episode of What the Tech from Boast we sat down with Bernie Florido, founder and CEO of Cocoflo Innovations, a Vancouver-based company creating technology that simplifies how governments and communities connect. Cocoflo integrates business licensing, parks and recreation, and payment processing modules into software solutions that empower municipalities to serve their citizens better because—as Bernie and his team believe—smarter cities create better lives.
What makes Bernie’s story particularly compelling is his background: He spent more than 13 years as a police officer before going all in on his tech-enabled mission. That experience shaped his resilience, leadership, and deep commitment to public service in ways that continue to inform how CocoFlow approaches civic technology today.
Seeing Both Sides of the Table
Bernie’s unique perspective came from occupying two worlds simultaneously. While working as a police officer, he was also active in real estate since 2003, both as an investor and as a land developer building houses. This dual vantage point gave him invaluable insight into both sides of how municipalities operate.
“I was kind of put in this unique position where I got to see both sides of the table,” Bernie explains. “I got to experience what it was like behind the scenes working for the city, and I got to see what it was like working with the city.”
That experience revealed pain points that existed not just in Vancouver, but globally. Bernie could see patterns in how municipalities struggled to serve their communities effectively, and how citizens struggled to engage with the services available to them. The question became: How could he contribute to solving these problems?
The Foundation: Church and Sports
When Bernie looked back at his own life to understand what kept him on a positive path, two constants emerged: Church and sports. Both represented community, connection, and accessible engagement, which are the very things municipalities struggle to facilitate at scale.
This insight led to Rec+, Cocoflo’s flagship product. Rec+ facilitates parks and recreation management, handling everything from program management and registrations to calendars and payment processing on the city side. But critically, it also simplifies how residents and communities engage with those programs.
“We make it easier for them to sign up for classes, be able to curate programs that are unique to them, what they’re interested in, to boost participation and encourage an active lifestyle.”
The vision is more than making municipal operations more efficient; it’s about removing barriers to entry so that community engagement becomes accessible to everyone, not just those who know how to navigate complex systems.
Building With, Not For
One of the biggest challenges Cocoflo faced was truly understanding the sector they were entering. To tackle, Bernie found champions within municipal leadership who would provide honest feedback and share their vision for how they wanted their communities to grow.
“We’re building it for them. We’re building it for communities and we can’t just create something and prescribe something general for everybody in the way that we feel and think would help,” Bernie notes. “We really had taken a bird’s eye view and got inputs from not only municipal leaders and the people that are using it, but also the user side.”
This collaborative approach paid off spectacularly. Cocoflo is launching with the City of Myrtle Beach, who have became one of their biggest champions through their Living Lab program. The city gave Cocoflo access to city staff, residents, and neighboring municipalities, partnering in every sense to build something that truly serves community needs.
The Funding Journey
Bernie bootstrapped Cocoflo Innovations initially, wanting to prove the concept was viable before seeking outside capital. Once he validated that the market would adopt the solution, he brought in friends and family investors who believed in the vision and impact.
But a crucial component of Cocoflo’s capital strategy has been Canadian SR&ED tax credits. As Bernie explains, “There’s a lot of what we’re doing that’s trying to make the software future ready… including AI and crypto and just paying attention to a product or software in a sector that really has seemed forgotten.”
The SR&ED program has been instrumental in funding R&D that goes beyond just building features to reimagine civic engagement technology for the future while addressing a sector that’s been underserved by modern software development.
“The R&D program for SR&ED has been incredible. We’ve worked with you guys for a few years now, and nothing but great experience from everybody I dealt with. Everybody’s been super responsive, just really experts in that category.”
The fact that Cocoflo Innovations qualifies for SR&ED year over year is testament to the genuine innovation they’re driving. You can’t claim these credits for incremental improvements, as the program requires teams to solve real technological uncertainty and build something genuinely new.
Future Ready: What’s Next
With the Myrtle Beach launch, Cocoflo is entering an exciting new phase. The months following launch will see a full-court press on marketing and sales, scaling and commercializing Rec+ to reach more municipalities, universities, high schools, and private organizations.
But the vision extends beyond just parks and recreation. Cocoflo is building an integrated platform that addresses multiple touchpoints between municipalities and citizens, business licensing, payments, and beyond. The goal is to create a comprehensive ecosystem where civic engagement is as easy as ordering a product online.
Bernie’s background in law enforcement taught him about public service. His experience in real estate taught him about navigating bureaucracy. And his personal foundation in church and sports taught him about community. Cocoflo represents the intersection of all these experiences, translated into technology that actually serves people.
Key Takeaways
Lived experience creates unique insights – Bernie’s dual perspective as both a city employee and someone who had to work with the city gave him visibility into problems others might miss.
Build with champions, not in isolation – Finding municipal leaders who will partner with you to shape the solution ensures you’re building something people will actually adopt and use.
Non-dilutive funding extends runway – SR&ED tax credits have been crucial for CocoFlow’s ability to invest in future-ready features and reimagine civic tech for a sector that’s been underserved.
Community is the foundation – Whether it’s church, sports, or civic engagement, removing barriers to participation creates stronger, more connected communities.
