À la une: entrepreneurs en série / Cover Story on Serial Entrepreneurs
par/by Olivier Cabanes
(English version below)
Notre PDG, Martin-Luc Archambault, a récemment été à la une du journal Les Affaires aux côtés de 3 autres entrepreneurs en série du Québec dans l’article Profession : créateur d’entreprises en série par Suzanne Dansereau. Vous pouvez consulter la partie de l’article sur Martin-Luc, mais je vous encourage également à lire les histoires stimulantes de : Garner Bornstein, Daniel Robichaud & Jean Castonguay.
Il est aussi intéressant de noter que malgré certains obstacles liés au démarrage d’entreprises au Québec, plusieurs entrepreneurs ne sont pas seulement motivés par des intérêts financiers, mais visent aussi à ce que leur succès les aide à bâtir un monde meilleur. En espérant que cette tendance se poursuive…
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Our CEO, Martin-Luc Archambault, was recently featured in Les Affaires along with 3 other successful serial entrepreneurs of Quebec in an article entitled Profession: créateur d’entreprises en série by Suzanne Dansereau. You can go directly to Martin-Luc’s part of the article, but I also encourage you to read the very inspiring stories of Garner Bornstein, Daniel Robichaud & Jean Castonguay who are also featured in the article.
Although it’s not easy to start a business in Quebec, it’s very impressing to see that today’s entrepreneurs are not only motivated by money but also strive to use their success to help make the world a better place. Let’s hope this trend continues.
Add comment August 5, 2009
Blogging Entracte
by Martin-Luc Archambault
Keeping a blog updated with good and relevant content is not easy and I am aware that we haven’t fully delivered on this recently.
The reason is that we’ve been spending a lot of time working on some great new opportunities and we haven’t had enough time to spend on the blog.
This summer, we are also planning to launch a couple products which we have been incubating for some time: Artfox & Wajam and if we are lucky a third one which still only has a “code name”.
We will definitely do more blogging in the near future and when we do, the blog will most likely be part of our new website which will better describe our offering and highlight the products we are working on. In the mean time, you can also follow us on twitter @bolidea to keep in touch with us.
2 comments June 25, 2009
Co-Founders Monday- May Edition: Monday, May 25th, 2009
by Magda Rocki
Looking for that star partner to join your budding technology project or looking for that key project to contribute to? Make your way down to our offices this upcoming Monday May 25th at 6:30pm and meet and mingle with entrepreneurs, investors, students and coaches–all interested in participating and gaining awareness of new tech projects.
Join us! Register for the event on Meetup.
Attending for the first time? Read the recap of the January or February edition.
5 comments May 20, 2009
Women and tech startups: a perfect fit : Part One
by Magda Rocki
At each technology, entrepreneur-heavy event, someone consistently comments on the number (and customarily the lack of) women present. Having marginally attended some of these tech happenings, it’s true that the female presence –whether in the role of a founder, entrepreneur or even participant –figures in the minority.
A few years back, Business Week showcased the best young entrepreneurs in tech, all aged 30 and under and considered ” on the cutting edge” of the tech world. Of the 45 entrepreneurs presented, only 3 were women. Dismal numbers some might say.
Yet, according to the National Association for the Self-Employed , women are strongly represented among entrepreneurs, as women-owned businesses outnumbered new men-owned businesses by nearly a 2-1 ratio in 2003.
Instead of delving into the causes behind this noticeable absence, this series will focus on the beneficial reasons why women should consider jumping into a tech startup environment. Part One of the two-part series will explore the natural abilities that women possess which make them a valuable asset in a startup while Part Two will focus on outlining potential career paths in the startup space and an overview of the resources and support groups geared towards women in the tech landscape.
Basing myself on conversations with both male and female startup junkies and on the meritocracy-based culture of startups, there seems to be no clear reason why there shouldn’t be more women in tech startups. continue reading
5 comments April 21, 2009
Upcoming: Co-Founders Monday on April 20th, 2009!
Make sure to mark in your calendar: Co-Founders Monday at Bolidea on April 20th, 2009 starting at 6:30pm.
Whether you have a great project idea and wish to recruit partners or the desire to join an interesting project, come, meet and mingle with like-minded individuals. Looking forward to seeing you!
Register now at Montreal Newtech !
Add comment April 14, 2009
Greening a startup
by Magda Rocki
The key to going greener is of course thinking greener. In light of Earth Hour‘s recent occurence and Canada’s celebration of Earth Day happening in a few weeks, we have been paying closer attention than usual to our office’s green practices.
Although we still have a way to go, here are some of the green basics we have appropriated within the Bolidea office:
With 42% of household garbage recyclable¹, we encourage materials to be reprocessed:
- Electronics and office supplies are reclaimed: while we all declare a profound love for tech gadgets and electronics, team members usually bring in their old cell phones and other outdated electronic devices to be dropped off at a local eco-centre, along with our office’s used ink cartridges.
- Recycling receptacles throughout the office: if it falls under the city’s recycling norms, in the blue basket it goes. The Ville de Montreal recycling dutifully picks it up weekly.
continue reading
3 comments April 7, 2009
Starting up during a recession?
by Olivier Cabanes
What are the ideal conditions for an entrepreneur to take the leap and launch his startup? When is the right time to jump in? As far as economic cycles are concerned, I think there is probably no “right time”. In fact, motivated and competent teams/individuals should always be able to draw advantages from the environment they operate in, regardless of the economy.
At last week’s Capital Innovation, it was interesting to hear JLA Venture’s Pierre Donaldson speak along those lines as he drew a picture of the 2009 VC landscape. Here are three things he mentioned that I think every entrepreneur should remember in times when valuations are down and venture funds are scarce:
- Adverse economic conditions will give rise to stronger companies as they force entrepreneurs to run a tighter ship.Consequently, the balance sheets shown to VCs will be healthier and the chances of getting funded are increased.
- While layoffs are generally bad news to most people and the overall economy, they can be a great opportunity for startups. Previously unavailable or unaffordable dream candidate might be looking for a job now, and the perks offered by startups might be more appealing to them than in past times.
-An entrepreneur that has a good business to show (team, product, and business model) should be able to raise funds in order to scale and grow. VCs might have handed out fewer term sheets in the past few months, but companies still got funded.
So when you combine this with the stimulus plan outlined by Quebec in its recent budget (see also Raymond Luk’s post on the subject), I think 2009 should offer a very decent environment for tech startups.
2 comments April 1, 2009
Conducting your startup’s offsite: tips for success
by Magda Rocki
Last week’s post dealt with pre-planning the basic elements that assure your startup’s offsite is successful: who should be there? Talking about what, when, and why? This week’s focus is on executing the planning and ensuring everything runs smoothly the day of the offsite and onwards.
STEP TWO- Day of the offsite: Executing the planning and guiding your team towards resolution
Ask your team to turn off their cellphones: no distractions allowed! It can even be a good idea to disconnect the internet access during topic sessions, so that participants remain focused on the task at hand. The goal is after all to have everyone participate.
Remind the participants of the agenda items and add missing items ( if needed): to decrease the incidents of tangents and off-topic discussions, make sure to stick to the proposed agenda items. Think of the agenda items as promises you don’t wish to break.
Add comment March 25, 2009
Planning your startup’s offsite? Tips on making it successful.
by Magda Rocki
A startup’ s offsite is a very helpful means to getting the team focused on defining a strategy, roadmapping, planning a product launch or creating a revolutionary way of doing things. Far from the daily distractions of the office (lengthy meetings, stressful deadlines, glaring computer screens), the offsite environment is also a great formula for open conversations about subject items you don’t have time to broach in your regular schedule.
Done well, an offsite not only puts your startup’s great minds together to address a business issue but it also builds better teams that work more effectively together and get more things done. However, an offsite planned poorly will be viewed as a waste of time and be dubbed as a dismal failure.
How can you ensure your startup’s offsite is successful at building teams and getting things done at the same time?
The key: advance preparation. Consider following this efficient 3-step planning sequence. Step one outlined below with step two and three explained in a subsequent post.
1 comment March 18, 2009
Reminder: Co-Founders Monday on March 16
by Magda Rocki
Whether you are an entrepreneur looking for skilled individuals to join your brilliant project, or an individual searching for a brilliant project to join, you should attend the upcoming Co-Founders Monday.
Come mingle, meet like-minded people and gain awareness of new projects on Monday, March 16th at 6:30pm at the Bolidea offices.
There are just a few spots left, so make sure to register at the Montreal NewTech Meetup.
Add comment March 12, 2009
Recap: March YULHackers
by Magda Rocki
Who had time this past Saturday to leisurely enjoy the lovely beginnings of spring? Certainly not this dedicated group of knowledgeable entrepreneurs, creators and programmers present at the freshly minted YULHackers event.
Highlights of the event:
- An unconference format was adopted: Participants were greeted at the door with a giant, blank post-it board and markers and directed toward filling out alloted time slots with their topics of interest.
- Sebastien presented his programming language Sugar: The engaging presentation focused on the origins of Sugar, its practical applications through a journey into its design and syntax, and concluded with a few slides on its admissibility as a good replacement to JavaScript for front-end web development. Presentation slides can be found here.
- A group discussion was initiated about the future format and branding related efforts for YULhackers: So far, thanks to the magical hands of Alok, we have a website, a simple wiki and a tumblr blog.
- Peter of the Navarra Group presented their micro-finance web app which will be used for an online – lending system.
Thanks again to all the participants for attending, especially Alok and Heri for organizing and Sebastien and Peter for presenting their work. I’m certain that with your continuous enthusiasm, input and participation, the event’s dimensions will quickly grow into one of Montreal Tech community’s “ must attend” events. Keep tab on the next event by checking back here or here .
1 comment March 11, 2009
Unconferencing Free Hackers3
by Magda Rocki
After a brief reformatting pause, we are once again delighted to be hosting the Free Hackers event this upcoming Saturday, March 7th 2009 from 1-7 pm. On the hacking menu: a presentation and hands-on workshop on the programming language Sugar– by Sebastien Pierre founder of datalicious– followed by an open hacking session. The full details and the sign-up for the event can be found here , so join us and let’s revel in the new Free Hackers format!
Add comment March 2, 2009
More than founders at Co-Founders Monday
by Olivier Cabanes
This week, I attended Co-Founders Monday, and I was very pleased to meet a crowd that was composed of passionate individuals with a desire to learn, share, and talk about anything related to tech businesses.
Everyone came to the event with different goals in mind, and it made for a very interesting meeting. I met university students looking for work experience within a dynamic startup environment, developers looking for a project that would light up their interest, entrepreneurs looking for a partner in crime, investors looking for promising ventures, etc. I’m glad to see that this event is helping to create new relationships and new business ideas, as this kind of diversity is something we had hoped for originally .
It is great to see that this gathering emphasizes execution behind great ideas (i.e. finding a partner or a person that has a specific skill set, gather advice, etc.) rather than promoting secrecy. It shows that members of the community realize that ideas are important but that efforts also need to be directed toward the development and execution. Otherwise, amazing ideas will never even have a chance of becoming reality.
I’m sure the Co-Founders Monday meeting format will evolve over time, and I hope the positive things I noted above will keep on being part of the event’s formula.
Thanks to everyone for their involvement and I hope to see you next time!
1 comment February 19, 2009
3 Steps to Getting a Great Logo for your Startup
by Magali Janvier
The logo is often the main visual element of the business, and it’s the first item people spot when they land on your website. For these reasons, your company’s logo is one of the fundamentals you can’t disregard when building a startup.
The logo itself can fall into a much greater scheme of brand and marketing, but often in a startup, there’s no time to think of the entire business marketing plan before having your logo designed. But what is the right time to spend on this? When does it become too much? How can you make sure you do the right steps and end up with a logo you find great? These are some of the questions I will cover in this post. continue reading…
3 comments February 18, 2009
Co-Founders Monday: Find Projects & Partners
by Martin-Luc Archambault
We will be hosting the next Co-Founders Monday, this upcoming Monday, February 16, at 6:30pm. We hosted this event for the first time last month, and it was fun and very productive. In case you missed it, here’s a wrap-up of the last event.
The goal of Co-Founders Monday is to mix people and create partnerships that transform ideas into reality. The event is open to people who:
1) do not have a specific idea in mind and would love to hear about other cool projects and maybe join one and help it succeed;
2) have an idea and are looking for help to make it happen.
At the last event, a great majority of the participants tended to lean toward presenting their projects, so we are certain that if you are interested in joining a startup, you will be in high demand at the Co-Founders Monday.
So, if you are interested in learning about new projects, or if you would like to share your own projects with others, please register here as spacing is limited.
Add comment February 11, 2009
