Lee's Electronic Components

In every sense of the phrase, Lee's Electronic Components is a family business. “My father, myself, my sister's helping out,” explains co-owner and sales manager Raymond Wong. “My wife is involved. It's pretty much everybody.”

And for more than 10 years, Raymond and his family have been providing electronics and hardware to tech-savvy Vancouverites – everything from the highly specialized (including integrated circuits, capacitors, and oscillators) to more mainstream fare like adaptors and smartphone accessories. Clientele ranges in age and interest, and includes students, professionals and members of the city's burgeoning DIY maker community, all of whom are ably served at two Mount Pleasant locations.

The tech business is in Raymond's blood; not only does he have a Bachelor of Technology in electronics from BCIT, but his father spent more than 30 years as a repair technician. “It runs in the family,” he says. “My Dad had been in the repair business, so I'd been helping fix things and looking at electronics my whole life. We used to buy from [Lee's] when I was still in school. So, we saw this opportunity and decided: 'Ok, might as well give it a try'.”