Greg Martin of Demeure

In 2008, a group of 30 friends started a vacation home exchange program because they wanted to see more of the world. Peter Schwartz, one of the original members, created an investment fund to expand this opportunity and brought in fellow member Greg Martin as CEO. Then in 2010, armed with new technology and deep expertise in both travel and yield management, they purchased the assets of Ultimate Escapes. UE was at the time the 2nd-largest destination club in the United States — but had just collapsed under a mountain of debt, due to the flawed business models of these types of organizations.

Thus, Demeure was born.

In its brief history, Demeure has experienced great success with $2M in annual revenues. Although the company has only 12 employees, its reach spans the globe. Demeure offers upscale vacation home rentals from Miami to Bali, and everywhere in between. These homes act as an alternative to crowded all-inclusive resorts, and to destination clubs that require long-term membership commitments that cause financial anxiety. Demeure travellers receive a full-service experience, but can leave all the stress at home — while still having the feeling of “home” on vacation.

One of Demeure’s unique strengths is its technology. In an uncommon move for this industry, Demeure has formed a world-class in-house technology team. This team has created a purpose-built infrastructure for the villa rental business, based on modern software such as Ruby on Rails and Salesforce.com. This infrastructure provides the foundation for a new community of travellers, homeowners, and rental agencies to support each other in the rapidly-growing villa rental market. With its mantra of “travel confidently”, Demeure is committed to simplifying the rental experience and providing expert care throughout, so you’re sure to have an amazing vacation.

Greg Martin found his love for entrepreneurship at an early age. He started his first company at age 15, in the building maintenance industry. At 18, he combined this company with his father’s and went on to become the sole owner by age 20. Alongside his wife Terri, Greg built the company strictly through organic growth.

Greg has been recognized for his contributions through many awards. Examples include: 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Canada 4 years running (Profit Magazine), Best of the Best service providers (London Business Mag), and Quality Awards (American Society for Quality). Greg’s “never accept the status quo” approach helped the company take on increasingly complex customers, including refineries for Imperial Oil and all of Toyota’s and Honda’s car plants.

The business then merged with Hurley Corporation in Toronto. Greg continued to expand with green-field startups in three states, followed by multiple acquisitions in Canada and the US. Total sales for the company had exceeded $165 million, when Greg and his partners decided to sell it to the UK-based Compass Group.

Greg with his wife Terri at his daughter Mandy's graduation in South Carolina

Greg has been an active member of YPO/WPO (Young Presidents’ Organization/World Presidents’ Organization) and has served on both local and Canadian boards. He is the current WPO Chapter Chair and has co-chaired regional award-winning events. Greg is a Past President and current Advisory Board Member of Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario. To top it off, he has been married over 30 years (to his first wife!), and has three kids and two granddaughters. He’s an avid — yet modest — golfer and a long time hockey player.

…Demeure is the closest thing to the “feeling of home.”

What inspired you to get involved with Demeure?

I guess the reason my interest was immediately caught is that I’m an avid traveler. But the more influential reason was that, in January of 2010, we sold our family business and had the opportunity to take some time off to reflect and recharge. My wife and I spent 6 months at a villa in the South of France. During this time, Peter Schwartz was also living there with his family. For those who know Peter, his passion for life experiences is only trumped by his energy and ability to bring world-class people together to create cool companies. His passion is infectious. He founded it, and I joined in the fun!

Where did your businesses’ seed capital come from and how did you go about getting it?

That’s a good question for Peter. He has a large network and extensive experience in public companies both tech (Descartes) and non-tech (Brick Brewing). Peter put his passion and heart on the line, and I just cut a cheque. We have a great board of directors and a shareholder group that brings incredible “street cred” to our business. They are all industry titans.

Caddie Court, Lake Tahoe

What was the hardest part of starting out?

There’s no question that we struggled at the very beginning with understanding our roots. Were we a travel business that had built great technology? Or were we a technology company that happened to be in the travel business? Turns out we’re about equal parts of both.

What were the factors that influenced your direction?

1.  The industry. Our business began as a response to two extremes: first to the simultaneous proliferation and deterioration of destination clubs, where members pay upwards of a million dollars for access to high-end properties and concierge services; second to the rapid growth of do-it-yourself listing services such as HomeAway, which boasts over 540,000 properties but which, for travellers, feels like a gamble. Are listings accurate? Who are they dealing with at the other end of the transaction? What if they don’t get the vacation they expect?

Caught in the middle of these two extremes were boutique villa rental agencies: 10,000 of them, in fact! The really good ones provide the service levels of high-end destination clubs: local hosts to greet you at the villa, ground transportation, chefs, cooking classes, massages — pretty much anything you need, to make sure your vacation is what you’ve dreamed.

But these high-service agencies don’t have the budgets to compete with destination clubs or listing services. They try to compete by buying Google ads to gain access to the online market; they struggle to build useful online tools for travelers; they strain to keep their websites fresh; and many still manage their businesses entirely offline, on paper.

2.  The consumers. Our market research indicates there is a huge appetite for the services that boutique agencies could deliver. But travelers don’t want to commit to a lifetime of dues or pay many thousands of dollars in membership fees, just to gain access to the sort of luxury properties they desire.

3.  Our technology. Demeure has invested the past year building tools for managing a network of full-service rental agencies. This includes the ability to support member-based home exchange transactions, as desired initially by the 30 or so of us who prompted the creation of Demeure. This investment in technology has produced a fully integrated platform that handles everything from updating property availability, to managing reservations and inquiries, to processing payments securely online.

All three of these factors came together earlier this year, when we pivoted our business to focus on building a community: a community for travellers of all sorts, who seek a consistent experience with renting vacation villas; a community for top rental and travel agencies, who seek to expand their business while spending more time doing what they love — hosting travellers and helping them to experience incredible vacations.

Muskoka Cottage, Muskoka, Ontario

There are lots of destination clubs and villa rental companies, so where does Demeure fit in?

With Demeure, travellers can get the consistency of a destination club without the crazy costs or ongoing membership commitments. And they don’t have to go it alone online, always wondering who they’re dealing with, and whether anyone’s “in their corner” to make sure their vacation happens without a hitch.

Travelers get access to a vetted inventory of professionally managed properties and a large menu of concierge services, provided by destination experts. Personal planning and travel assistance is provided, as well. And best of all, travellers receive all this at no extra cost. Instead, Demeure earns revenue from commissions paid by property owners —much like in the real estate industry, where it’s the seller who pays.

Our business model also creates new revenue streams for rental agencies, by paying referral fees when their clients travel to other destinations within the Demeure community. This allows high service rental agencies to strengthen their relationships with clients, by recommending other trusted agencies around the globe under a collective brand. This “everyone wins” philosophy allows agencies to extend their reach greatly.

Our team has been able to adapt and learn, then transfer skills learned from one startup to another seamlessly.

You touched on Travel Agencies. What’s their role?

This to me is one of the most exciting aspects of what we’re building. The biggest challenge faced by villa rental agencies is what we call distribution. How can they attract more people to their websites and turn those inquiries into more bookings?

The branded resort business has done an outstanding job of this, especially Beaches and Sandals. Some Demeure teammates were in the Turks and Caicos this past winter, touring our properties there. We all had noticed the same phenomenon during our stay: the entire length of Grace Bay appeared almost abandoned, compared to the half-mile stretch of sand in front of the Beaches resort.

It wasn’t until we returned home and reached out to some travel agencies that the answer became apparent. It was a matter of distribution. These resorts have figured out how to tap into the vast and relatively inexpensive network of the world’s travel agents. We believe there’s a big opportunity here for villa rentals, as well.

That doesn’t sound very intuitive. Why don’t rental agencies just go directly to travel associations?

Great question! As we dug deeper into the why’s and how’s of tapping into these travel agencies, we learned more about what the resorts had done. Most importantly, they made it simple. One call from a travel agent to book their client, and the resort takes it from there. Top agencies are all about ensuring that their client remains their client, and that means earning trust. Travel agents need to trust the product, trust the service, and trust that they’ll get paid!

Till now, the experience of travel agents with villa rentals has done nothing to earn that trust. Individual property owners have vastly different ways of doing business, which is reflected in the way rental agencies do business around the world. There is no consistency: some handle security deposits in cash only, in advance or upon arrival; some accept credit cards, others only checks; some charge fees for “hidden” services that clients may not expect; some charge tax, others don’t. Travel agents attempting to book a villa end up having to do an incredible amount of work.

It’s not an easy situation to change. But “never accept the status quo” we say! The minute you stop innovating is the minute you die.

Sagamore, Adirondacks, NY State

Ok, so what is Demeure doing to take away all this pain in villa rentals?

Demeure-Certified Affiliates agree to use Demeure’s software for all transactions and data throughout our network. By doing so, travellers have a consistent experience of inquiring, reserving, and paying through Demeure itself, no matter where they travel.

This also means travellers need to agree only once to a standard, global rental contract — as opposed to entering into different contracts each time they rent a villa. Security deposits are handled in a uniform manner as well, and Demeure will soon be providing travel insurance from a recognized carrier. Demeure’s technology automates the collection of payments and the distribution of fees to all involved parties.

This simplifies things not just for travellers, but for all our affiliates as well.

We have a great board of investors that brings incredible street cred to our business. They are all industry titans.

How did you build your management team?

Again, Peter Schwartz was the genius behind this. He has brought together a wide range of talented, passionate people and provided an environment in which great things happen. We have subject matter experts hailing from software development, product design, web marketing, social media, operations, and sales — as well as experts from the travel industry itself. Our team has been able to adapt and learn, often transferring skills and lessons learned from other industries.

How do you keep your staff motivated and engaged?

I think environment plays a huge role in the creativity of teams. First, you have to facilitate the engagement of very strong willed, passionate people. The only way I know how to do this is by building a level of trust and respect for each and every person. That means listening closely, supporting their ideas and at the same time challenging them. We do this every day, but have an “official” forum every week at our Tuesday morning business jam sessions.

Physical environments impact creativity as well. We have a pretty cool office: loft style, big windows, old wooden floors and exposed brick. You might run across the occasional Nerf gun and will have to watch out for Max and Rigly, our two resident dogs who provide regular ruckus and a lot of entertainment.

Lastly, a stock option plan for the management team provides long-term financial incentives to help take the company to the next level.

That’s it really: trust, environment (both physical and intellectual), respect, and a stake in our financial success.

I get the biggest kick out of watching our staff grow and take on larger and larger roles.

Could you give a brief description of your biggest success so far?

From the technology side, we’ve created such a useful slate of tools that when our property affiliates get their first taste, the response is predictably: “WOW!” Most recently, our affiliate in Cabo San Lucas, Melissa Verdugo, owner of Luxury Villa Collections, exclaimed, “Oh my goodness! I am so excited and nervous at the same time!” It was Melissa’s first taste of these sorts of modern online tools.

On the financing front, we just completed a round that is, in my understanding, one of the most significant in our region in the last 2 years. This certainly provides us with momentum and great confidence that we’re on the right track.

Marrakech, Morrocoo, Africa

Do you have plans to expand to new markets/products?

At the moment, we are concentrating on filling holes on the map of really cool places that travellers want to visit. We’ve just signed an agreement for an affiliate in China and we’re working on expanding our property affiliates in Europe.

What are your goals as an entrepreneur?

Truly, I get the biggest kick out of watching our staff grow and take on larger and larger roles. Collectively though, I want Demeure to be a category killer. The destination club industry has been such a mess with bankruptcy after bankruptcy. And why is that? Simply put, the math and economics don’t work. Our business model benefits all of the stakeholders for the long term, so it’s the only sustainable solution.

…hire great people to fill the skill sets that you may be lacking

What is your exit strategy?

There is plenty of investment activity in the villa rental space (e.g., Homeaway) and the shared accommodation space (AirBnB) — which is related to but on the other end of the spectrum of our market. So might someone come knocking with the intention to buy Demeure? Perhaps. But we’re building this business to last, not to flip. Our focus is on quality and service, rather than quantity. We’re not interested in building a portfolio of thousands upon thousands of homes, just to lure prospects. Instead, we believe there’s a huge opportunity to build a global umbrella brand for boutique agencies who live, eat, and breathe the customer experience.

For the long term, this is a very scalable and sustainable model. Who doesn’t like that?

How do you define success?

To me, success really is a state of mind. It’s not measured by money or toys (although those help!). It sounds like a cliché, but enjoying the ride and having someone to share that with is everything.

To what do you most attribute your success?

One part curiosity, one part impatience, and one part drive. And did I mention a great wife and partner?

Castle Oliver, Ireland

What three pieces of advice would you give to others who want to become entrepreneurs?

• Once you get some momentum, try to work on the business, not in it. This means you have to hire great people to fill the skill sets that you may be lacking.
• Never accept the status quo. The minute you stop innovating is the minute you die.
• Don’t let the business define you. Many entrepreneurs fall into this trap. Be like an artist: it’s ok to sell your creations. That’s what artists do!

What advice would you give to those seeking to build their businesses up to the next stage of growth?

Determine what you do best and hire the rest. If you like to deal with clients and build sales but hate the numbers, then get a great accountant and CFO. Hate the customer service side? Then forget it: sell now! Customers are king.

Borgo Di Vagli, Tuscany, Italy

If you were to recommend a book or movie to a young entrepreneur, what would it be?

No question about it, I’d recommend the entire series of books and research papers by Harvard’s Clay Christensen on disruptive innovation (Disrupting Class, The Innovator’s Prescription, The Innovator’s Dilemma, The Innovator’s Solution). I’ve applied his teachings for the last 10 years and it has contributed to my never stand still approach.

How has being an entrepreneur affected your life?

I don’t know anything else because I started when I was 15. You do learn that you live, eat, sleep and play with your venture actively swimming around in your head.

What is the best part of owning a business?

For me there are so many bests (I’ve been at it for over 35 years!). From my personal commitment to continuous learning, I’ve been able to participate in courses at Harvard, Queens and Ivey. From my active roles in YPO, I’ve met some of the most dynamic entrepreneurs from around the world. It’s also afforded my family the opportunity to experience the world in ways that most people only dream of.

… success really is a state of mind

If you had the chance to start over again, what would you do differently?

Thinking back to my first business, I’d take my own advice and start much earlier to work on the business and not in it.

This time around? Nothing. I get to work every day with some really cool, passionate, and creative people, supported by an incredibly seasoned board.

How have you balanced your personal life with your successful business?

There are all kinds of examples of people working their buns off to build a wildly successful business — only to wake up one day and realize they have nobody to share their success with and their kids don’t really know them. Not my kind of success.

Where did the name Demeure come from?

There is no direct translation for the word “home” in the French language, but “demeure” is the closest thing to the “feeling of home.”

I’d take my own advice and start much earlier to work on the business not in it

Greg started learning the art of building a business at the very tender age of 15 and has experienced tremendous success as an entrepreneur. With Demeure, he can combine his love for business with his love for travel, tapping into the niche market of luxury villa rentals. By finding clear-cut solutions for unnecessarily complex problems in the travel market, Greg has helped his team build a company that is growing at an immense rate. Check out Demeure’s website to browse some of the beautiful vacation villas.

Recently, I was reading the blog of one of my favorite tweeters. (Yes, I have favorite tweeters and you should to) Bryan Espiritu also known as @legendsleague wrote about how he got the capital to start-up his brand, The Legends League. For young creatives, artists, and entrepreneurs, it is a highly recommended read. He gives advice others have given me over the years.

(I also suggest reading B.E.’s follow-up posts to learn how he creates his work. I won’t re-hash the posts but it is good advice for anyone starting out and starting up.)

Me with a Friend showing off the shirts we bought during Legend's League

Something did catch my attention in his post that I do want to discuss. It was how he got his brand seen in stores through consignment with LiveStock Toronto.
I LOVE the concept of bringing smaller independent brands into better known retail spaces. Same reason I’m OBSESSED with pop-up shops. It doesn’t require a huge amount of capital on the part of the independent designer and lets their product exist in a real space for a set amount of time.

Digital is great, online retail sites like Etsy and Threadless are changing the online shopping game by lowering the barrier to entry for designers. However, I feel that digital will always have more success when combined with actions in the physical space like a pop-up shop.

1) Promote your pop-up shop via social media. This may seem obvious but it never hurts to re-iterate the fact. Talk about preparing for it and regularly remind fans that it is coming up.

2) Promote your social media when you are in the physical space. Encourage people to tweet, check-in, or update there Facebook status. Consider holding a twitter or Foursquare giveaway to encourage customers to let people know they have stopped by.

3) Ipads. If feasible have one or two Ipads with you and encourage customers to use them to ‘like’ your Facebook page, sign-up for mailing lists, or complete a customer services survey.

What this means for brands, businesses and entrepreneurs, don’t rely only on the digital space or only the retail space. Instead let your online presence and the physical one feed each other.
For example, we once suggested that a client bring local bloggers into their showroom for a ‘blogger brunch’. This builds brand trust between the store and online influencers.

As always, find your role models. Watch both independents and bigger brands that are creative in this area. If you started reading this post at the beginning, you should already be following The Legends League. I also like what Free People and Anthropologie are doing. FP has an excellent and well-designed blog and uses their twitter handle well. Anthropologie holds a variety of  in-store events from fashion shows to crafting events in addition to having a pretty cool tumblr, Etymologie based on words not shopping. All of these brands, use their digital presence to give something whether it is advice, pictures, or words, to their followers while also inviting them into their real life spaces. In this way, turning followers into customers which then become life-long supporters.

When you see enough entrepreneurs and their executive teams, you start to get a sense about the businesses that are going to make it and the one’s that are going to flame-out before they even get off the ground.   If success comes fast and easy, less-than-desirable personalities are tolerated because everybody’s making money.  It’s when startups have long periods of tough slogging that the antics of these usual suspects drive the others crazy, often resulting in the death of the nascent business.  Building a team for your startup?  Avoid these characters!  (I use ‘guy’ but this could easily be a lady as well).

The Powerless Leader

1.  The Powerless Leader

Here’s the guy who may have come up with the original idea for the business and may or may not have had some success in the past.  People join because they want in on the idea and not necessarily because the idea’s originator is particularly charismatic.  But they tolerate the guy because, ultimately he started the business, and he’s put some money in to start it.  Where it goes bad: This guy has absolutely no ability to inspire or lead.  He’s indecisive and slow.  He always has excuses as to why the business is not moving as fast as it should.  He keeps telling the others that he has a plan but fails to ever show evidence of a plan.  He keeps on having team meetings with no ability to enforce deadlines and deliverables.  He has constant meetings with potential ‘strategic partners’ without ever signing a deal.  He might be a nice guy, even a great guy.  But at the end, the guy has no clue what he is doing. How to salvage your lost time: With the consent of others, request to take over the leadership role.  Failing that, leave the business and start your own as his direct competitor and seek to contain and eliminate him first.

The Mercenary

2.  The Mercenary

This is the guy who is here strictly for profit reasons.  He’s cheap with his cash and far cheaper with his friendship and trust.  He’s tolerated because he brings a skill set the team can’t afford to hire yet.  But he makes it clear that his definition of the ‘long-run’ is the shortest time between now and profitability.  Where it goes bad: This guy constantly reminds the rest of the team that they aren’t making enough money yet.  He constantly gripes about what else he could be doing instead.  He’ll do the bare minimum until ‘he sees the money’ but neglects the obvious that if he does the bare minimum, nobody will see the money. How to avoid this: Remember the axiom:  Attitude not Aptitude determines Altitude. There are plenty of people with the skill set your business needs with genuinely great team-first attitudes.  Take your time to know somebody before giving them 30% of your company simply because he’s able to solve a Sudoku.

Outdated Old Guy

3.  The Outdated Older Guy

You bring this guy on board because of his experience in a similar business or because you think he’s going to fund the venture down the road when you need it most.  He might have done some great things in the past and may be a great reservoir of neat-o war stories.  But his methods and strategies are dated and he thinks the internet is a series of tubes.  Where it goes bad: The guy doesn’t do a damn thing.  He doesn’t show up to meetings because he feels his experience buys him a pass.  He doesn’t do any of the work assigned because he feels as the senior statesman of your business, he’s above the menial grunt-work of a startup.  But as a partner, he absolutely refuses to allow any decisions to be made without his consent.  How to avoid this: Experience is extremely valuable if it can be turned into actionable deliverables.  Make it clear at the onset that everybody has daily responsibilities.  For the startup composed of a group of young people, having an older partner who’s not particularly ‘hungry’ is more hindrance than help.  Pro Tip:  Young folks under 30 are just as capable and savvy.  They are able to learn, absorb and master the business scene as fast, if not faster than anybody from a previous generation.  They may not have the black book of a 100 rich guys who may buy something for 100K but they can sure compile an email list of 10M regular guys who will buy something for $10.

Tell-it-like-it-is

4.  The Guy Who Claims to ‘Tell it Like It Is’

This guy appears to be the voice of reason.  He sounds insightful, thoughtful and even appears to be looking out for the business’s best interest.  But really, this guy just doesn’t want to do any work, or take any kind of a chance.  He’ll tell you all the reasons why things won’t work and only offer up solutions that he knows the business simply cannot implement yet.  He acts like a contrarian and opposes new ideas because he simply doesn’t have any ideas of his own.  So why is he on board?  Because he’s one or all of the three above.  Where it goes bad: When potentially great ideas are killed before they are given chance.  The Powerless Leader will “tell it like it is” because he’s too incompetent to make things happen.  The Mercenary will “tell it like it is” because he doesn’t know how to do anything else beyond his narrow skill-set.  The Outdated Older Guy will “tell it like it is” because that really was how it was when ‘it’ was still relevant.  How to avoid this: Demand proof.  Demand explanation.  Don’t let anybody on your team kill an idea before it’s given due diligence.  This doesn’t mean chasing every idea but it certainly means listening to all of them.

The Crim

5.  The Crim

This guy is none of the above.  He’s charismatic, charming and can talk a good game.  He’s inspiring and everybody seems to like him.  He’s talented, can prospect, can close, and can do.  So what’s wrong?  The guy keeps thinking about how to rip off customers.  Where it goes bad: If you start a business without first considering value for the customer, you will inevitably fail.  Every business decision you make as a startup needs to answer the simple question “How can I give the most to my customer at the lowest possible cost to me?” The Crim asks “How can I give the least to my customer at highest possible cost to him?” The Crim is not necessarily a criminal but not because his morals are above reproach.  It’s because he’s afraid of getting caught.  So he plots every legal way to charge more while giving less.  How to avoid working with this guy: This one is tough.  This guy talks a good game and will always position himself as a perfect fit in your business.  The only way to prevent the Crim from derailing your business and soiling your reputation is to make the message of customer-value clear and consistent.

So what is the one great partner personality you need and must value when you find him?

The Grunt

The Grunt

He’s the ultimate team player.  He doesn’t care about the glory or the credit.  He only cares about the end-game – success for the business.  He’ll let the others talk, argue and posture.  He just knows what he’s supposed to do.  Often he’ll do the stuff the others don’t want to do.  He’ll go with majority-rules unless majority rules in favour of dishonesty.  He often says the least in a meeting and just says “Ok, what’s my task?”  He executes.  He’s not usually the partner that gets praised if there’s success but he knows, without a doubt, that success could not have come without his labour.  How to keep a guy like this: Be fair and open.  He doesn’t care about the glory but he does care about the profits.  How to find this guy: Experience has taught me that great people and potential partners are everywhere.  The value of The Grunt is apparent from day one.  He does exactly what he says without showmanship or bravado.  He delivers on time and is steady when others around him oscillate.  In short – he’s reliable.

Guest Writer – Marco Mo is the VP of Business Development at NVS Bancorp, an investment banking firm with offices in Toronto, London, Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai.  Marco is also an avid entrepreneur and always looking for great businesses to work with.

Image Source: Foursquare

Recently, the growing geo-location based social network, Foursquare reached 10 million users.  Foursquare allows users to ‘check-in’ to a location and see which of their friends are nearby. The service began in March of 2009 by Dennis Crowly and Naveen Selvadurai. On June 20th their blog posted an info-graphic that shows the company’s growth in check-ins, users, and listed venues (apparently, there are 1,105 Beer Halls listed in Germany).

Following the 10 million user’s post, Foursquared blogged June 24th that they were “Planning for the Future.” The service announced that it had raised 50 million in a new round of funding due no doubt in part to its impressive growth.

I myself, being an early adopter of Foursquare and a Digital Media Strategist, often receive questions about how businesses can use the service. Last Thursday, I had at least three conversations about Foursquare. One was with a Toronto based community youth arts organization, The Remix Project, who is looking to innovate. One of my suggestions to them was creating temporary venues for their fundraising events. Then, they can encourage attendees to check-in thus spreading the word about their event and their organization. These conversations showed that while Foursquare is 10 million strong, individuals and businesses still have many questions about how to use the service.   It is important for marketing managers, PR professionals, social media strategists, or whoever is involved in creating a promotional strategy, to find the best ways to incorporate Foursquare.

Image Source: Slyce Marketing

Here are a few of my basic tips:

1. First and foremost, if you are a business with a location whether it be offices, a store, or a club, CLAIM YOUR VENUE! Many businesses feel it is not necessary if they are not a store or restaurant. However, even B2B businesses should claim their offices. For organizations that hold events, like The Remix Project, create temporary venues for events.
2. Check-in to places that are relevant to your niche. A ‘check-in’ tells your friends and followers you are at a certain location. You do not have to check-in everywhere, every day. Instead focus on checking-in to places that are relevant to your business or your interests.
3. Tips, Tips, Tips and more Tips. Leave tips at venues that are again relevant to your niche.
4. Embrace the game-play. Foursquare allows users to collect badges, win mayorships for checking-in to a venue most often, etc. Use these to hold contests and giveaways at your events.
5. Incorporate Foursquare into your other social media and websites. Through widgets on your website or connecting it to your twitter, Foursquare can compliment a business’s other online efforts.

Some of my favorite Foursquare users/businesses are BravoTV, US soccer, and Ellen.  These three brands make the most of the service by using tips relating to their shows, check-in contests, and exclusive badges.  However, you don’t need to be a big brand to benefit. From simply claiming your venue to contests and elaborate scavenger hunts, even a small business or new start-up can increase their exposure using Foursquare.

Liz Gallo is a Digital Media Strategist, new media writer and tweeter. She received her master’s from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program in 2008 and participated in the Canadian Film Centre’s MediaLab in 2010. Currently, she works with a range of clients developing digital media strategies.  She is also a music lover and a sports fan, in addition to being a pretty awesome big sister and kitty mommy. Find out more at http://lizgallo.com or follow her on twitter, http://twitter.com/@lizgallo.

Matthew arrives in Alberta

A proud grandson with an innovative spirit, Matthew Lawrence honours his Grandfather’s memory through a cross-Canada charitable biking adventure.  In effort to raise funds for the Parkinson’s Society of Canada, he is an inspiration to all entrepreneurs pushing to hit their next goal (or for Matthew, the next Canadian town!).

The following is a special section to Startup 3.0, in support of the Parkinson’s Society.  Charitable organizations define the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur; passion, drive and an unwavering focus on a target objective.  Matthew Lawrence’s passion and commitment to achieve and complete his cross-Canada tour is a juxtaposition to entrepreneurship, with a lesson powerful for business owners.

Matthew Lawrence

Tell us about yourself…

I was born to Ken and Kim Lawrence on February 4th 1988 and grew up in Cornwall, P.E.I.

Being an adventurous kid, I loved doing stuff outdoors. I wasn’t much of a scout or anything like that, I just liked being outdoors. I think that’s where my fascination with bikes began. My family didn’t really have a lot of money and so I got myself around with a bike, which I pretty much still do to this day!  My friends would often drive into town where I then would bike the 14 km.

What inspired you to start this journey?

My core objective for this campaign is to raise as much money as I can for Parkinson’s Society Canada, although part of me just wants to see people bike more. It’s a great way to travel and be fully eco-friendly. Now I’m not saying people should bike the country like I’m doing, all I’m saying is that maybe once a week bike to work. Even the most out of shape person can easily achieve 10 km.

Sincerely, the thing that is driving me through this trip though is my grandfather’s memory.  He passed away in March due to complications of Parkinson’s.  He was a kind and genuine man; I think about him a lot and sometimes even talk to him when I’m going through a rough mountain pass.  “Alright Grampy, I’m getting to that sign there and then I’ll get off my bike.” I’d say to myself.

I remember him as a very modest but hardworking man. He was instrumental in setting up the Culinary Institute of Prince Edward Island and has cooked for the Queen when she came to P.E.I. Though he would never brag about business, he often talked about how proud he was as a father and grandfather.   Now, wherever he is, I know he’d be extremely proud of his cross-country-pedaling grandson.

To keep myself motivated, I mostly just think of my grandfather and think how proud he would be. Also there’s a lyric in the song “Head full of Doubt/Road full of promise” by The Avett Brothers. It goes like “If you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected, decide what to be and go be it.”

That lyric resonated with me so much back in November. I was kind of feeling because I felt like I wasn’t doing anything with my life and also my grandfather was admitted to the Hospital. Though with that lyric, that “Decide what to be and go be it” kind of told me to just do whatever I wanted to do and what I really wanted to do was to bike across Canada.

The Preparation

I started training for this trip back in November. I pretty much started running 5 km everyday and started to eat healthier. In April, I biked to Sackville, New Brunswick from Cornwall. It was 120 km both ways and really prepared me for the weather conditions since it rained most of the time. In May, I biked across P.E.I. tip to tip which took me about two and a half days, 367km in total.

The Journey

My travels so far have been pretty amazing. I sort of developed a love/hate relationship with the mountains. They’re kind of like that saying “you got to stop and smell the roses sometimes.” In my case it’s like “you got to stop and gaze at the mountains.” I found myself doing that a lot during my first week on the road. Though with that said, I got pretty tired of working through an uphill climb every day. I don’t think I ever swore that much in my life when I saw yet another uphill climb.

Funding for my travels is half supported from what I saved up beforehand and also some support from my parents. I’m also being sponsored by Cruise Holidays of PEI, of which my Dad is a partner.

Could you give a brief description of your biggest success so far?

My biggest success on this trip so far has to be the fact that I’m going so fast. I didn’t expect Vancouver to Calgary to take me a week. I think I scheduled it to take about 2 weeks. I don’t know what it was, I just felt like I could always bike more.  I also have to say Rogers Pass was an achievement because I was biking with a guy that I met that day and he had lighter everything (Bike, gear and clothes). Though with all that, I was able get to the summit first. I even had to wait for him at the top!  I don’t consider myself a veteran cyclist nor do I compete in any races but that still felt good, as though all the conditioning and training were immediately justified. And oh, hitting the 1000km mark was pretty awesome!

Next goal is to rest up for a bit, see some friends who I haven’t seen in awhile and be out of Alberta by the end of June. I think the next adventure I’ll be might be something along the lines of biking down from Vancouver to Comic-Con in San Diego.

How do you define success and what do you attribute your success to?

I’d define success as setting a goal and achieving it. It’s a pretty simple definition I know but success shouldn’t be complicated.

I’d attribute my success to my willpower to always do more. I never really had this ambition in school, (I wish) but lately in the last year I’ve been always doing more. More work, more writing, more running whatever. I’d be a good Green Lantern I know that for sure.

If you were to recommend a movie that has inspired you, what would it be?

A movie that really inspired me to do this was 127 hours….haha..no.

It’s actually One Week. A nice Canadian Movie starring Joshua Jackson. It’s about if you found you had One Week to live, what you do? The main character decides to motorcycle from Toronto to Vancouver.

What three pieces of advice would you have for anyone who has a goal they want to reach?

• Have heart.
• Take as many breaks you’d like (you can’t go 100% all the time)
• Remember …some may never live but the crazy never die. (I don’t know where that came from but it’s engraved on the back of my ipod)

One Goal at a Time

The story of Matthew illustrates how focus and determination can fuel passion.  Regardless of what your life changing journey is, hopefully his story will ignite the passion and inspire the commitment in all of us.

For updates on Matthew’s journey visit his website.

Dr. Leslie Klein, P. Eng

Access to the Internet is invaluable to today’s highly mobile entrepreneur. More importantly, C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., provides the technology that enables vehicles and portable structures to be globally connected.

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., was founded in 1997 with the intent of designing and developing a system capable of delivering high speed Internet over satellite into vehicles and transportable structures.  With the rapidly growing demand for Internet services worldwide and with no technology available to make it transportable, C-COM designed, developed, and now manufactures and sells its proprietary iNetVu® Mobile Satellite Antenna Systems – a technology which makes it possible to deliver high speed Internet services, voice over IP, and video over satellite into locations where no terrestrial infrastructure exists.

Dr. Leslie Klein co- founder, President and CEO of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., has seen revenues of his company increase by 14.4% to $10,475,614 in 2010 and generated a net after tax profit of $1,846,037, representing an increase of 40.4% from last year. 

Dr. Leslie Klein is an Electrical (Professional) Engineer with MBA and Ph.D. degrees.  He was employed by such notable corporations as Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Control Data Corporation, and Bell Northern Research. He has been involved in the high-technology business over the past 35 years and has been a founder of a number of successful computer companies.

C-COM continues to develop new and improved mobile solutions that allow high-speed two-way satellite- based Internet, voice over IP, and video (SNG and DSNG for TV transmission) delivery into vehicles practically anywhere in the world using virtually any type of satellite modem.

Find a niche market that is looking for an opportunity…

What inspired you to start your business?

Internet access and its effect on the world. Much like radios transformed the world and made it possible to have them in cars, I believed that Internet access will be ubiquitous and will be in great demand even in places where there is no terrestrial infrastructure available.

Where did your business’s seed capital come from and how did you go about getting it?

I founded the business on my own and later brought in a few private investors. In 2000 we took the company public.

Expedition in Northern Russia

What makes your products different?

It is designed to work reliably from the deserts of Africa to the Northern parts of Siberia and Canada and they are very cost effective for what they deliver. They’re also easy to repair and simple to use.

How did you build your management team?

Slowly over a period of time as the business developed; and we realized what type of skill set we needed to do the work.

Creativity and positive feedback one gets from the work one does.

How do you keep your staff motivated and engaged?

We have exciting projects to work on; we pay our people well, and let them make many decisions that help the company. We also offer our employees stock options.

How did you brand your business and market it?

We developed a brand name for the product, advertise it and make sure whenever we get a large contract we announce it to the world. We use a lot of pictures to show the use of the product worldwide.

Cellular Backhaul post-Japanese Earthquake

Could you give a brief description of your biggest success so far?

We have delivered over 300 of our antenna systems to Softbank in Japan for use as a cell tower replacements for disaster recovery after the tsunami there in March of this year. We were able to ship over a 100 units in 3 days when the request came and sent employees there to assist with the restoration work. The satellite antennas which became temporary cell towers were able to become operational 8 minutes after they have been activated.

Do you have plans to expand to new markets/products?

Yes. We have a number of new products being released this year and we will be entering new markets as well.

What are your goals as an entrepreneur?

To get the company to the next level and generate more sales with new applications.

What is your exit strategy?

The company will be acquired at some stage. I am not in a hurry to exit at the moment. We are profitable, have no debt, have a worldwide presence and a great reputation for quality and reliability, so I am happy to keep going and do it even better.

How do you define success?

Success is the ability to create something that delivers useful solutions to people who need it and are willing to pay for it.

To what do you most attribute your success?

Hard work, focus, persistence and belief in my abilities to succeed and not taking ‘no’ for an answer.

Polish Military (Wi-Fi Solution)

What three pieces of advice would you give to others who want to become entrepreneurs?

Find a niche market that is looking for an opportunity, develop a product for it, put a lot of your energies behind it and deliver a superb service for it. You will succeed.

If you were to recommend a book or movie to a young entrepreneur, what would it be?

I have not had much time to read books lately, but the last great book I read was Einstein’s, Leonardo + Michelangelo’s biographies.

How has being an entrepreneur affected your life?

It has made it extremely interesting and rewarding.

What is the best part of owing a business?

Creativity and positive feedback one gets from the work one does.

I am not in a hurry to exit at the moment.

If you had the chance to start over again, what would you do differently?

Very little. I have made mistakes in my life but they helped me to get better and I learned from them lessons that were very useful. It is always better to learn from the mistakes of others of course.

Argentine Ministry of the Interior - Remote Passport Offices on Wheels

As an entrepreneur, how have you balanced your personal life with your successful business?

I have a very understanding wife who is also an entrepreneur and I was able to arrange my schedule in such a way that it did not materially inflict any hardship on my personal life.  However, business has been very high on the agenda and when I needed to make an important business decision, I would try to make it in such a way that my personal life would not be considered as an impediment in making the business decision. So business is up there very much with my personal life and I try to balance it whenever possible.

Success is the ability to create something that delivers useful solutions to people who need it and are willing to pay for it.

Dr. Klein has been able to transform a crucial gap in Internet-related services into a profitable business.  His company’s success proves that there is always an innovation out there waiting to be discovered, an idea waiting to be capitalized on.  The Internet is increasingly fertile and convenient ground for business opportunities and practices, and C-COM has succeeded in breaking down the limitation of Internet services imposed by terrestrial infrastructure. C-COM’s success proves that finding a niche market combined with a market need will result in a business opportunity that will translate into success.  There is always an idea out there waiting to be capitalized on, an innovation waiting to be sold. Visit C-COM‘s website to find out more about their products and services.

Kim B. Overbye, CEO / President OPMG

Kim B. Overbye, CEO / President OPMG, is the sole owner of Ontario Property Management Group Inc. (“OPMG”). OPMG is a real estate management company that specifically manages Co-operatives and non-profit housing corporations. Ontario Property Management Group Inc. (“OPMG”) was incorporated in August 2003 and signed their first property management agreement in December 2003, with services commencing January 1^st, 2004.  In six years, Overbye and OPMG have seen the growth of revenues of over $2 million with a profit margin of 2%.

Overbye has been involved in various positions within the property management industry, and has been in the social housing sector since January 1994.  Before starting OPMG, Overbye was Vice-President, from 1994 to 2003, for a mid-sized Toronto property management firm that specialized in the Social Housing and Condominium markets.

Prior to entering the property management field, Overbye worked in various capacities within the Hotel industry, serving as Hotel Services Manager with Howard Johnson’s, and Director of Housekeeping with Days Inns.

I love to build companies and create an environment where people are given an opportunity to prove themselves

What inspired you to start your business?

I have been involved in the Co-operative and Non-profit housing sector since leaving the hospitality industry in 1994; the two industries are incredibly similar in terms of customer service and controlling operating costs, we continuously promote safe and affordable housing.

What was the market need?

There was a need to provide management services to social housing providers in an “all in one package”, to bring expertise in financial management, community development, good governance, maintenance standards and services.

What was the hardest part about starting out?

Our business is labour intensive, representing 78% of our costs, so the hardest part was getting and maintaining the funding for payroll and its associated costs.

Where did your business’s seed capital come from and how did you go about getting it?

Credit cards!

Photo Courtesy of OPMG

Could you tell us about your services and what makes them different?

OPMG provides complete property management and business consulting services that include: complete bookkeeping services, asset management, maintenance management, maintenance and cleaning services, working with board of directors (including minute-taking), financial management and preparation of annual operating and capital budgets.

Our business model is customer service based with a specialized focus on quality control.

We offer comprehensive, professional management for Co-operative and Non-Profit Housing Providers.  Through our strong in-house support staff and a customized financial package, OPMG can implement comprehensive and unique management specifically structured to suit their individual needs.

In the same manner that every individual is unique, so are the needs of our clients and their properties.

How long did it take to build traction behind your business?

A few months. Previous to starting OPMG, I was Vice President for another property management firm working in the Social Housing sector.

How did you build your management team?

From the ground up.  Four out five senior staff members started in entry level positions, some had worked for me before so they were familiar with the sector and my working philosophy.

How do you keep your staff motivated and engaged?

A difficult task but we use the following:

• Regular employee reviews and appraisals
• Birthday cards sent to each employee’s home with gift cards
• Incentive for no sick days, best-managed provider, reduced receivables, reduced vacancies
• For the senior management team and our property managers we have a annual bonus points system based on length of service, last performance review score, position in company, and number of units managed

Photo Courtesy of OPMG

How did you brand your business and market it?

A lot of networking, word of mouth, and with the assistance of U2R1 Media Inc. a Toronto and Los Angeles based boutique branding and marketing firm.

Could you give a brief description of your biggest success so far?

In 2009 we successfully negotiated a CMHC workout for a 90-unit Toronto housing provided in the amount of CD$1.8 Million for such items as mortgage arrears, property tax arrears, borrowers charges, accounts payable, garage roof rehabilitation, unit window replacement, enhanced security system, unit upgrades and common area improvements and upgrades.

We are also proud that our first client, HOPE Co-operative Homes Inc., a 60 unit townhouse project, located in Newmarket, Ontario, continues to be a client today.

Have you experienced any recent milestones?

Growing the company from 1 employee to 40, 1 client to 28, and $200,000 in revenue to $2.7 Million over a span of six years!

Read and learn all you can

Do you have plans to expand to new markets/products?

The markets we service are primarily the Greater Toronto Area but OPMG currently manages a building in Newmarket, two housing providers each in Cambridge and Peterborough.

In addition to that we have plans to expand to the residential and commercial condominium market.

What are your goals as an entrepreneur?

I love to build companies and create an environment where people are given an opportunity to prove themselves and grow, both personally as well as career wise.

What is your exit strategy?

I have no plans regarding retirement and I believe that I have built a management structure and “planned for the loss of a leader” so that the company can in the long term continue to provide my estate with steady and reliable income.

Do you have any other ventures you are working on?

Energy consulting company and property management ventures overseas.

What are the company’s goals for growth?

100% market share of this very unique market place.

What is the OPMG’s expansion funding strategy?

Self-funding: from surplus in operations.

Could you share any insights on Acquisitions and Mergers?

It is something that’s on the table; we just need a good partner to work with and the opportunity.

What three pieces of advice would you give to others who want to become entrepreneurs?

• Read and learn all you can about organizational skills and time management.
• Secure funding.
• Consider an advisory board of directors early on.

Vanessa Ly, Managing Director OPMG

What advice would you give to those seeking to build it up to the next level?

If you have not already done so consider an Advisory Board of Directors.

Why do you feel that having an Advisory Board is so important?

I feel that the Advisory Board is so important because it has forced me to focus on and deal with a wide range of issues from; the future of the company should I not be around, developing a employee manual, restructuring for growth, etc…

What advice can you share with those who are interested in build an Advisory Board?

Building an Advisory Board can be both a complex and daunting task; so where do you start.  I can draw on my own personal experience in this regard.  When I began the search for Advisory Board members I realized that I needed to answer two basic questions such as:

• What would the “terms of reference” be
• Define the “Blueprint”

After a lot of research and discussions with fellow entrepreneurs I determined that my Advisory Board’s “terms of reference” would consist of or answer these four items:

• For advise
• To make me accountable to a peer group that meets regularly
• Has no fiduciary duty
• “advisors agreement” and a written “terms of reference” document

I defined the “blueprint” to mean the following which is covered off in the above documents:

• Purpose of the Board
• Success Measures
• Size
• Membership
• Compensation
• Meetings
• Confidentiality
• Liability

Who did you select to be on your Advisory Board?

My inaugural Board consisted of 3 Directors, currently I have one vacant position.  Since my company manages Co-operatives and Non-Profits primarily I decided that I needed an individual who had intimate knowledge of that sector first and foremost and property management secondary.  Marketing and public relations was also important to me as is finance and financial management.  Having made these decisions my inaugural Board consisted of the Former Director of Housing for Durham Region, the current Director of Marketing for York University and the VP of Finance for Greenway Home Products.

If you had the chance to start over again, what would you do differently?

Do a better job of controlling the finances and build an advisory board sooner.

I feel that the Advisory Board is so important because it has forced me to focus on and deal with a wide range of issues

If you were to recommend a book or movie to a young entrepreneur, what would it be?

Getting Things Done and Making It All Work by David Allen.

How has being an entrepreneur affected your life?

It has made me a better leader.

What is the best part of owning a business?

The freedom it eventually gets you.

In the same manner that every individual is unique, so are the needs of our clients and their properties.

While many entrepreneurs think that they have to go it alone when building their business, Overbye has provided insights into the importance of establishing and building an Advisory Board from the beginning.  Having an Advisory Board that is comprised of directors with different skill sets, experience and knowledge can not only help build your company but it will also help to fast track it to the next level too.

As a provider of management services, Overbye’s philosophy of bringing together the right people, with the right skill sets carries over to OPMG.  As a provider of management services, OPMG brings the right mix of services to clients in a comprehensive package that makes sense financially and actively grows communities in Ontario.

For more information on Ontario Property Management Group Inc., visit their website.

Photo Source: Flickr

Since the inception of facebook in February 2004, large numbers of companies have used facebook as a platform to promote their products. Facebook is the new cutting edge technology which allows advertisers to show ads based on specific demographic features giving it an edge over all other forms of advertising. The website has more than 600M users including 250M mobile users who spend more than 700B minutes per month. More than 50% users log very day with many of them logging in multiple times every day¹. Despite all these features, many advertisers find it challenging to see the contribution of facebook campaigns to overall marketing strategy. Marketers have been calculating the value of facebook campaigns by measuring clicks and sales rather than focusing on long term value. Confusion about the technology continues to prevail resulting in lost opportunities in low-cost effective marketing. An in-depth analysis of the two popularly used facebook tools – Pages and Targeted Ads provides a greater understanding of the benefits and limitations of the facebook platform.

Photo Source: TopNews

Pages

There are 900M objects on facebook which users interact including pages, groups and events with average user being connected to 80 different objects¹. If used effectively it can be a great way to develop rapport with customers. However, there are several mistakes businesses have made in implementing this amazing feature.

64% small businesses do not have a facebook presence². Companies which have created pages on facebook have failed in using them effectively to increase their sales. The pages are not regularly updated with new information. An average fan may participate with a brand 10 times a year and will make one recommendation while an active fan may participate thirty times a year and make ten recommendations². 68% of facebook fans are likely to recommend a product². Fans are 28% more likely than non-fans to continue using the brand and are 41% more likely to recommend a fanned product to their friends². However, if companies neglect their pages, consumers may be encouraged to do the same.

Furthermore, facebook pages can function as a secondary website and are a great way to provide customer support, information and to advertise the best products and deals. Various applications also allow for e-commerce capabilities to be provided on the page. The average annualized value of a facebook fan is $136.38². Fans spend additional $71.84 on products for which they are fans. In the case of Coca- Cola, the best case for fan value reaches $316.78 but is $137.84 for an average fan². An average McDonald’s fan netted the organization a value of $259.82².

Also, having few fans with most of them being internal employees is not sufficient in achieving the goals of the marketing campaign. The goal should be to create rapport with existing customers and also target new customers. Fans should be encouraged to visit the page on a regular basis rather than just visiting once after the initial invite. Thirty-eight percent of respondents reported that they would likely become a fan of a brand if they saw a family member or close friend do so². This influence surprisingly is only reduced to 34% if it is a person known through Facebook rather than a family member². The likelihood of actually trying a product if somebody else became a fan is 44% if recommended by a close family member or friend and 36% if recommended by just another Facebook friend². 81% of fans said they feel connection with the brand as compared to 39% non-fans². Deals can be offered exclusively to fans to provide incentives to visit the company’s page.

Photo Sourece: pauldunay.com

Targeted Ads

The second popularly used option is the targeted ads. This tool can be effective if used for the right product in the right way. If the goal is to bring traffic to your website and sell products online,  compatibility is a crucial factor. Users will buy products online if it is convenient and logical to purchase them online. Facebook ads are more effective for online products such as mobile applications, software, music, movies, website memberships, pdf books which have a higher success rate. For other products which consumers prefer to buy in-store, ads can be used as a way to create brand recognition. A Customer may see an ad online but may purchase the product in-store. Work of mouth advertising can happen online as well as offline. Since, it is difficult to track in-store sales resulting from online ads and word of mouth advertising, monitoring marketing efforts does not provide an accurate picture. However, the same problem also exists for other more traditional forms of advertising such as televisions and newspapers. Targeted ads can also be damaging for the reputation of luxury brands by creating a perception of low price or affordability.

Photo Source: Flickr

Despite all these benefits, facebook has its limitations. Facebook has not proven to be successful in a B2B environment. Like all other internet ads, facebook ads also have a very low conversion ratio. However, due to its low-cost and easy implementation, it can be considered as a supplement marketing strategy rather than a sole marketing strategy. The key to success is to understand the benefits and limitations of different advertising tools and to identify what fits the company and the product.

Salman Abdulaziz is a fourth year student of Business Management from Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson Univesity. He writes articles on business and technology and specializes in internet marketing and social media.

References

1.       Facebook Statistics  http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

2.       Value of a Facebook Fanpage http://www.syncapse.com/2010/06/white-paper-understanding-facebook-fan-value-a-study-of-key-roi-indicators-and-values-for-leading-brand-marketers/

Picture Sources

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19marksdesign/5268732048/sizes/m/in/photostream/

http://topnews.net.nz/content/23784-facebook-advertising

http://pauldunay.com/facebook-advertising-tricks-for-b2b-marketers/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kardsunlimited/5819147044/

Oscar A. Jofre

What started as a potential disaster turned into another starting point for Oscar A. Jofre. When the company that Jofre was working with faced legal penalties because of a small oversight, he was struck by a service idea that would help board managed companies keep themselves out of similar troubles. In October 2004, Jofre launched BoardSuite, his fifth startup, a secure board portal providing an essential utility that organizes and manages a customer’s critical corporate information and provides it to selected stakeholders  securely, quickly, effectively, and inexpensively.

BoardSuite is a “freemium” secure on-demand board portal for Board Managed entities and helps them to communicate more efficiently and effectively with their officers, directors, and trusted advisors. BoardSuite also provides user companies with seamless integrated access to regulated and business partner services – services that are essential for board managed entities.

BoardSuite combines many of the value propositions of competitive point solutions into an integrated system that addresses governance and compliance needs by combining corporate document management with directors, officers, and advisors providing workflow intelligence. The company is led by an experienced management team reporting to a strong, active Board of Directors with access to the industry knowledge of a veteran Board of Advisors.

BoardSuite has received recognition within the online industry for its achievements.  March 2011 BoardSuite was select one of the Top 15 Companies to watch by AlwaysOn onDemand2011. In July 2009, BoardSuite was selected as one of Canada’s leading Web 2.0 pioneers by KPMG and Backbone magazine at the PICK20 Awards, the only national roundup of Canada’s up and coming Web 2.0 pioneers who are leading the 2.0 evolution of the Web. BoardSuite has also been called a disruptive innovation in the board portal industry by IDC who also identified it as one of Canada’s Top Cloud Computing Solutions To Watch.

As the senior corporate leader and spokesperson for BoardSuite, Jofre is responsible for establishing the overall strategic direction for BoardSuite and has senior oversight of its operations, product, and business development.  He applies more than two decades of experience in successful startup enterprises to lead the company’s ongoing development and growth with senior customer contacts, partners and key stakeholder relationships.

Stephen Harper and Oscar Jofre

A Chilean-born entrepreneur, innovator, and IT specialist, Oscar brings a background of 20 years in senior management, marketing, investor relations, and sales and a proven pattern of results-focused leadership. As founder and CEO of Ottawa-based BabelFish Corporation, a software-as-a-service-based multilingual translation portal, he built and led a team of over 135 individuals in providing high-tech multilingual solutions to 7,600 contractors around the world.

Oscar co-founded the Canadian Network of Language Industries and sat on the steering committee of the Language Industry Technology Roadmap – an initiative of Industry Canada and the National Research Council. He was the only Canadian on the United Nations/MIT Digital Nations board. Oscar currently sits on the boards of BoardSuite Corp., OSOLOS Ventures Inc., and CorpTropolis Corp.

Oscar has been recognized as one of the 10 most influential Hispanic Leaders in Canada.  In May 2010, Oscar A. Jofre Jr. was recognized by the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper for his accomplishments.

Being an entrepreneur is not something you can learn, in my personal opinion it is something you have.

What inspired you to start your business?

The genesis of BoardSuite was the result of me, personally, getting into trouble with Securities Regulator in 2003.  At the time I was an officer and director of a privately held company. Because of the number of shareholders in our company, we were required to submit to the Securities Commission an offering memorandum for a transaction the company was completing internally.  This document was not for the general public, but would be available for our shareholders.  The document was created by our lawyer and approved by our board of directors who were spread throughout Canada.  Within the document, we missed ONE Sentence that cost each of the directors a fine plus legal costs.

The Securities Commission only gave us a fine because we were able to demonstrate that we had in fact disclosed the information, that the information was in our minute book, and that the information had been disclosed to the shareholders and directors of the company. We were fortunate to only get a fine and not a sanction.  A sanction is the most severe penalty you can get, but never the less the lesson here for me was I need to be in control and have access to my information.

During this process, in my discussions with the Securities Commission, I learned that the one person that did not have to pay for the fine was our lawyer.  The irony was the lawyer was holding our minute book and created the Offering Memorandum. Further research revealed that this was an ongoing issue with companies in Canada and USA.  So I began designing BoardSuite.

What was the market need?

Just as my personal story was unfolding, the ENRON scandals appeared in the market place and global financial markets had to begin the process of protecting investors.  The regulators did the rest; new rules came in to protect shareholder interest which required all Listed Issues to make sure they had their compliance and governance in place.

I am fortunate enough to know others who share my vision

What was the hardest part about starting out?

When I first started out in Alberta, I would constantly hear that Governance was just a fad and it will go away since it was only the big companies that were doing wrong.  Well, governance is not going away and as it turns out its not just big companies: small companies and not-for-profits all have ongoing issues that are now starting to emerge.

Where did your business’s seed capital come from and how did you go about getting it?

Seed capital came from investors in Alberta, BC, and Ontario who shared the vision I started in 2003.

Tell us about your product.

BoardSuite is a secure on-demand board portal solution to help you manage, organize, and share your organization’s confidential information for any board managed entity.

Image Courtesy of BoardSuite

What makes your products different?

BoardSuite board portal is for any board managed entity and it has a single point of entry to manage all your corporate affairs, and it’s 100% free!

How long did it take to build traction behind your business?

We have been providing our service for 7 years.

How do you keep your staff motivated and engaged?

Our team believes in the vision of our company.  With vision and strategy you can motivate a team to move forward and be excited to be part of it.

How did you brand your business and market it?

Our portal today is marketed via social media platforms like LinkedIn. The most effective strategy is viral word-of-mouth.  It is by far the most powerful marketing tool we have going for BoardSuite.  Today BoardSuite is being used in 20 countries and we have never advertised.

It’s easy to quit.  But it’s even harder to stay.

Could you give a brief description of your biggest success so far?

Our biggest success to date was on March 11^th, 2011. We were recognized as one of the OnDemand’s Top 15 Companies to watch worldwide and we were the only Canadian company on the list.

Some of our other major milestones that we have reached recently include:

• Selected by IDC in the Top 10 Cloud Computing
• Selected by Web2.0 as a Top 10 Web2.0 Company
• Selected by Scotiabank as a Top 10 Hispanic Leader in Canada

Do you have plans to expand to new markets/products?

BoardSuite is currently being used in 20 countries, and our goal is to begin localizing our application to the next growth markets in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

What are your goals as an entrepreneur?

My personal goal is to build and make an impact on how things are done.  Technology evolution is changing our way of life each day, and I would love to leave a footprint that made a change in how people work and do their jobs.

Image Courtesy of BoardSuite

What is your exit strategy?

When we deliver on our vision, the exit strategy will materialize on its own.

Do you have any other ventures you are working on?

I have invested in other ventures but my 100% dedication is to BoardSuite. The temptation to veer away is always there but you must be committed to your venture and to your shareholders, employees, partners, and advisors who bought into your vision.

Any insights on Acquisitions and Mergers?

Acquisitions are an integral element of our growth strategy for the next 3-4 years. We have already completed 3 acquisitions and we have additional opportunities we are looking at to further expand our market reach.

What is your definition of success?

Success for me personally is measured by seeing that what I have built is meaningful and people continue to use it. This means you made an impact.

To what do you most attribute your success?

One is truly tested at the darkest hour, you can pack and go or you can stay and prevail!  It’s easy to quit.  But it’s even harder to stay.

My success is my inability to never give up.

What advice would you give to others who want to become entrepreneurs?

ENTREPRENEUR = RISK.  Risk is not for everyone but for those rare few people who keep the innovation movement going forward, risk is what they love, understand, and embrace.

The temptation to veer away is always there but you must be committed to your venture and to your shareholders, employees, partners, and advisors who bought into your vision.

What advice would you give to those seeking to build their businesses up to the next stage in growth?

When building a company understand the ecosystem in which your business fits in.  I believe this is by far one of the most critical elements that could be a barrier to your business once it begins to grow.

If you were to recommend a book or movie to a young entrepreneur, what would it be?

FREE by Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired Magazine

How has being an entrepreneur affected your life?

Being an entrepreneur is not something you can learn, in my personal opinion it is something you have.  Being an entrepreneur comes with many unexpected collateral damages.  Your personal life can be next to nothing when you decide to risk it all for your venture.   It has also provided me the gift off ongoing learning and nothing compares to that.

What is the best part of owing a business?

I do not personally feel I own my own business but that I am fortunate enough to know others who share my vision in building this venture and want to be part of it.

If you had the chance to start over again, what would you do differently?

Absolutely nothing!

Technology evolution is changing our way of life each day, and I would love to leave a footprint that made a change in how people work and do their jobs.

A true visionary with a talent for identifying technology opportunities, Jofre founded BoardSuite in what he calls his mission to humanize technology. By finding a solution to a problem for many companies, large and small, Oscar was able to create a product that the market needed. The product has spread quickly, demonstrating the necessity of BoardSuite. To learn more about the company and the other products offered, visit the BoardSuite website.

Paul Vallee, Founder of Pythian - Photo Courtesy of Pythian

Pythian, founded in September 1997, offers one of the world’s largest concentrations of database administration (DBA) expertise, specializing in Oracle, Oracle Applications, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server and systems administration for Unix/Linux and Windows platforms.

Founder Paul Vallée launched Pythian—his fourth company—at the age of 25. From two employees and a couple of laptops, the company has grown to a team of more than 100 with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. It generates well in excess of $1 million in revenue each month, and has turned a profit every year since its inception. In fact, Pythian is on the Profit 200, the list of the Fastest Growing Companies in Canada!

A key contributor to Pythian’s success is CEO Andrew Waitman. Bringing 12 years of experience in the venture capital sector to the company, Andrew helped Paul transform Pythian’s business functions, allowing it to continue a pace of rapid growth even during the economic downturn.

Paul, what inspired you to start your business?

PV: In the fall of 1996, I moved to Minneapolis and worked as a consultant. Consulting in America is very different than in Canada. In the U.S., it’s very solutions-oriented—high touch, high overhead. In Canada, it’s more about ‘body-shopping’—leaner, with lower rates. As there wasn’t a lot of body-shopping done in the U.S., I thought that presented an interesting opportunity.

With that awareness kicking around in my head, I came back to Ottawa and worked for Telesat Mobile. I was managing the company’s servers, but they were in a secure satellite control room that I wasn’t certified to enter—so I had to learn remote database management. In 1997, I said to myself, “Hey, I can start my own company doing this.”

What was the market need?

PV: There are about 100,000 DBAs in the U.S., with the vast majority working in-house, full-time for employers. They make about $100,000 per year. You do the math: 100,000 times 100,000—it’s a big market. And I knew a consulting company could do the same job much better and much cheaper than companies were paying for in-house support. When something is available cheaper and better, industries tend to flip. My prediction is that sometime in the next five to 10 years, those 100,000 in-house DBAs will all flip from being in-house to being located in the cloud.

It’s a game of deferred gratification. I’ve gone from making a good living to a mediocre one back to making a good living.

Where did your business’s seed capital come from?

PV: We had no capital in the beginning. Pythian’s co-founder and I quit our jobs and worked on the company full-time, relying on our partners’ modestly paying jobs to support us. We lived like students. We borrowed a bit of money to buy some laptops and a server for the website. I call it the ‘abject poverty funding model.’

What makes your services better?

PV: Our team, our people. The higher the value of a database environment, the more you need to have an elite team taking care of it. So the question becomes how to attract that kind of elite team. Well, the world’s leading minds in the field want complex, challenging work. So we strive to give that to our engineers. We want to become the industry’s employer of choice—and in doing so, become the vendor of choice for the world’s highest-value infrastructures. Right now, Pythian has six Oracle ACE/ACE Directors (individuals recognized by Oracle for their strong and independent credentials in the Oracle community) on staff—more than any other company in the world. We’re trying to concentrate that type of expertise so that customers look around and feel like it would be irresponsible to engage any other vendor.

How long did it take to build traction behind your business?

PV: Our early years were all about direct sales. We were calling companies looking to hire in-house DBAs and asked them to consider us as an alternative, telling them we’d do it for the same price and take on all the same responsibilities. In 2005, we adopted a ‘community service model You can only go so far making claims in your marketing—eventually you have to prove them. So we started blogging, writing white papers, doing presentations. If you’re writing a blog and posting daily, you can’t fake it—you need to be doing the work you’re talking about. Now we have the most popular blog in the DBA blogosphere, with 70,000 unique visitors per month—and we’ve started to parlay this social capital into a stronger relationship with Oracle.

You can’t be afraid to fail. My first three companies failed miserably, but I learned a lot.

How did you build your management team?

PV: I got lucky. At first, I wasn’t able to organize the company the way I wanted because I wasn’t solely in control. When I bought out my partner in 2007, I proceeded to hire our first external manager. In the fall of 2008, I met Andrew Waitman—he had helped negotiate and establish the value of the company during the buyout. When I started the company, we were just winging it. We didn’t have traditional sales and marketing, and we certainly had none of the skills Andrew had. We were successful despite ourselves. When I brought Andrew into the company, that’s when we really took off.

Andrew Waitman, CEO of Pythian - Photo Courtesy of Pythian

Andrew, can you elaborate on how were you brought into the business?

AW: During the break-up of the original partnership, Paul asked me to assess the value of the firm. When he was raising funds to buy out his partner’s equity in 2007, he asked if I’d be interested in making an investment. As a result of 12 years in the venture capital business funding product companies, my personal ‘angel’ investment interest tended to focus more on service companies—and as I was very interested in what I’d seen at Pythian, I said yes. I decided to get out of the venture business just before the economic tsunami hit, and at that time I started meeting with some of the companies I had made personal investments in. I told Paul, “I’m a free agent now, why don’t I come in and help out?”

My first view was that it would be really informal, but he wisely decided he wanted more of a commitment—so I became Executive Chairman. I brought in my laptop, found a desk to sit at and just started to help out. But eventually I moved from asking questions to making suggestions. Later, Paul recommended we switch titles. As the venture business still had a feeling of fear and doom in the air, I thought getting some operational experience would be valuable—so I took over as CEO in January 2009.

…don’t drink the negativity Kool-Aid. It’s really not as hard as everyone tells you—purely by believing in yourself you will succeed.

And what was it that attracted you to stay?

AW: If you’re going to get some ‘street cred’ as a first-time CEO, it’s better to go into a situation that needs a fair amount of CEO-type skills—one where you can build a leadership team, set reporting standards, basic business blocking and tackling. If you go into a company that’s running smoothly, you have to be really smart about where to take it next. At Pythian, my role was to get the basic business functions such as HR, Finance, Sales and Marketing staffed and running effectively. I really liked the responsibility of getting the right people in the right roles. Now that the company is operating well, it’s about figuring out how to rapidly grow the business and making decisions regarding strategic alliances, partnerships and business development.

Paul, how do you keep your staff motivated and engaged?

PV: We’re able to give employees a work/life balance that is unusual in the industry. Sometimes production support work has to happen overnight or on weekends. Like an obstetrician or firefighter, you can’t predict when it will require your attention. But because of our model, we know how exactly many people we need to deliver on our contracts. As a result, we can offer our engineers a 40 to 45 hour week, every week. In our space, a lot of people work 50 to 60 hours or more.

We also use the SEED model—self-directed education and development. Every employee has a work-related expense account to optimize their ability to do their work, whether it’s to buy books, training, equipment. And people use it responsibility. It’s remarkable; if you just trust people, they rise to the level of that trust.

If you’re writing a blog and posting daily, you can’t fake it—you need to be doing the work you’re talking about.

How did you brand your business and market it?

PV: The company brand goes back to Greek mythology. The Oracle in Ancient Greece was named Pythia. She hosted the Pythian Games—contests of not just athleticism but also poetry and music performance. That’s already a nice brand—a dictionary word about a world-class competition of excellence. And that ties in nicely with what we do here. Like an athlete or musician, when performance time comes, there’s no more practice or rehearsal—you need to put into motion a lifetime of skills acquisition and execute flawlessly.

As for marketing, before 2005, we had only direct sales with minimal web presence. In 2005, we launched the blog and really stepped up our industry presence. With Andrew on board, we now have a more modern marketing strategy, are doing more co-marketing with Oracle, participating in conferences and webinars, that sort of thing.

Could you give a brief description of your biggest success so far?

PV: Recently, we negotiated the largest production support contract in our company’s history. It’s substantial in that it includes operational support for an Exadata environment—basically the customer’s entire business. It’s very big from a sales point of view.

Also, in 2011, we have made the Profit 200 once again. It is a great achievement to be recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing companies.

Pythian CEO Andrew Waitman, Founder Paul Vallee & 10 year Fellow Greg Leger - Photo Courtesy of Pythian

Now that the company is operating well, it’s about figuring out how to rapidly grow the business and making decisions regarding strategic alliances, partnerships and business development.

Do you have plans to expand to new markets/products?

PV: We’re in the process of renting space in the UK to re-establish a presence in Europe. We now have our first account executives on the ground in Toronto, New York City, and California and we’re hiring for the UK. We want to have an international, in-territory presence—not just telesales. In the last two or three years we have also invested an enormous amount in R&D. What we’re working on will be a game-changer for us when it comes to delivering our services and gaining a strategic, competitive advantage.

What are your goals as an entrepreneur?

PV: I have this outstanding vehicle in Pythian—the management team and the resources—to enable my ideas. I’m still looking to build out this company and flip the industry inside-out. There is still a lot of work to be done.

What is your exit strategy?

PV: Right now I’m having a lot of fun. I think the opportunity is larger than the rest of industry has realized. I have to work on it more to achieve what I want. If you offered me a billion for Pythian I would sell… but not yet.

Andrew, what are the company’s goals for growth?

AW: Our goal throughout the entire economic downturn was to grow consistently year over year. Today, our growth goal is 30 percent per year. I’m trying to push towards 50 percent, but that could be straining in terms of maintaining standards and quality, so we have to be cautious. We recently moved our European office from Prague to Cambridge. We’re also expanding in Australia. In North America, Ontario and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) are the key areas to expand. Same with Silicon Valley and New York. Most services are bought locally and are introduced by referrals within a person’s local network—the faster we can build up a local presence in these regions, the better.

We borrowed a bit of money to buy some laptops and a server for the website. I call it the ‘abject poverty funding model.’

What is the company’s expansion funding strategy?

AW: Paul has always grown by reinvesting the profits of the company. We are considering other funding strategies that will help us grow faster, including taking on additional debt. As the majority of our customers are continuously buying our services, we can be more focused on gaining new customers and reducing churn. The unique nature of our business puts us in a position where we are able to raise debt capital.

The challenge in the venture business is that although money can accelerate investment, it only produces success if you know what to invest in. When you get a large capital infusion without tight fiscal discipline, you can waste a lot of money chasing too many poor ideas. So a modest amount of debt can provide both fiscal discipline and currency for funding growth. But at this time we are continuing to fund growth through internally generated cash flow. We’ve been paying down debt and reinvesting back in the company—the same principles that have supported us well to this point.

Paul, how do you define success?

PV: Success means having a satisfying worklife. It means enjoying your job and having opportunities for self-actualization and self-direction. Working towards that success often means being in the middle of a failure. You can’t be afraid to fail. My first three companies failed miserably, but I learned a lot.

To what do you most attribute your success?

PV: A really good work ethic. You have to be ready to work long and hard, especially early on.

What advice would you give to others who want to become entrepreneurs?

PV: As a blanket statement, be an entrepreneur when you’re young. Do it before you have a mortgage and children, when you’re already living like a student. I’d also say choose your founders carefully. Changing your idea is easier than changing your founders. And when you do have co-founders, nail down the partnership agreement early on—before you have value. Last, I guess I would say don’t drink the negativity Kool-Aid. It’s really not as hard as everyone tells you—purely by believing in yourself you will succeed. Just figure out your inputs in terms of time and costs and convert that into a living that compensates you well. The ability to start a company from scratch is a lot easier now than it was in the past.

Like an athlete or musician, when performance time comes, there’s no more practice or rehearsal—you need to put into motion a lifetime of skills acquisition and execute flawlessly.

If you were to recommend books or movies to a young entrepreneur, what would they be?

Books:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury
• The One-Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

Movies:

• The Pirates of Silicon Valley
• Startup.com

How has being an entrepreneur affected your life?

PV: It’s a game of deferred gratification. I’ve gone from making a good living to a mediocre one back to making a good living. On paper, the company is worth something—but it never seems to be the time to cash in. If you can’t play the waiting game and leave your bet on the table, it won’t work for you.

What is the best part of owning a business?

PV: The sheer excellence of the people I get to surround myself with. I love being the dumbest guy in the room. When you find people who can do things better than you ever could and they bring forward incredible ideas and insights, I find that to be enormously pleasurable.

If you had the chance to start over again, what would you do differently?

PV: I would sign a partnership agreement before the company had any value. If I’d had that advice early on, it would have made a difference in terms of my angst and legal bills. But I’ve also learned that you can’t have any regrets. You can’t achieve anything if you don’t gamble a bit. If you’re successful at everything, you’re not trying hard enough or taking on an ambitious enough agenda.

Replica of "The Pythia", the inspiration for the name of the company. - Photo Courtesy of Pythian

It’s remarkable; if you just trust people, they rise to the level of that trust.

A shining example of the entrepreneurial spirit

Paul’s entrepreneurial spirit is a great example for others to follow. By identifying a clear market opportunity and devoting his full commitment to the company, he succeeded—even with little to no capital. At the same time, Paul understood his own limitations and wasn’t afraid to ask for help and defer responsibilities when needed. As a result, Pythian is now a global leader in its field—and continues to grow at an incredible rate.

Visit the Pythian website for more information.