+1 For another Vancouver designer.

As someone who quit his job to start an interface design agency, what would you say were the key lessons you learnt along the way that allowed you to not only land the clients that you did but also focus on the type of work that you guys are doing (lots of focus on building products)?

I actually wrote two good pieces that summarize my advice well. They're a couple years old, but they still apply.

TL;DR: Do strategic favours for influential people. Don't waste your time doing any work that isn't the type of work you want to be known for. And FOR GODS SAKE DELEGATE.

Once MetaLab grew out of the initial phases, how closely did/do you stay involved in the day-to-day design process? How did you balance management vs. design and were you still able to practice the craft (albeit in a different form) that got you to start the agency in the first place?

Growing an agency really means transitioning from being a day-to-day designer into a full-time boss and business person. It's a slow transition (I detailed it in another answer) but longterm you can't really be a full-time designer anymore. It's a tough transition, and I miss doing design work for 6 hours a day, but I would never have been able to build my companies if I hadn't started delegating and letting go.

Would you be open to grab a coffee sometime? (context: I'll be in Vancouver for the next four months)

For sure! I'm in Victoria, so come over some afternoon and I'll give you a tour of our office and we can grab a coffee.