Past IT ventures
You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
- Kenny Rogers on "The Gambler"
BRAINPEN INC. September 2006 – February 2008
Web 2.0 knowledge sharing site
Founder and CEO
Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry
Founded in September 2006 and in negotiations to sell in 2007, brainpen.com is an ebay-like new media ecommerce web site that captures, packages, sells, rates and secures unique experiential knowledge through advanced story - telling techniques.
Accomplished vision: Essentially, brainpen.com helps anyone make an online product of their unique life experiences and sell it online. Brainpen.com permits people to create and sell an eternal personal experience database.
Sold in Q1 2008.
www.brainpen.com (splash page because in final process to sell)
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VYANOVA INC. January 2004 – May 2008
Founder and President
Privately Held
Accomplished vision: To aid technology, internet and software focused companies as a virtual Chief Strategy Officer through the development of the right processes, products and people. We are experts in audits, strategy, execution, investments, coaching and networking...From innovation to profits.
Suspended in May 2008 to focus on Media Transcontinental's digital strategies.
Partial Clientèle:
- Transcontinental Media: strategic development for the 200 online brands (consumer, business and dailies)
- Insourcia: building an offshrore web development shop in Hainan, China (strategy, operations, sales and marketing)
- Feeling Software
- SRDP Telecom
- JustFundraising.com
- LSR Development
- Titanium mobile
- Collins
Startup mentoring:
- BidDay Auctions
- FibreNoire
- MyWave Creation
- LED Creations
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OPENFACE INTERNET INC. June 2004 – September 2006
Boutique Internet Service Provider
VP Sales and Services
Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Internet industry
Accomplished vision: Restructured a local 10-year-old Internet Service Provider by focusing on VIP, white glove, high speed, redundant, no fault, commercial internet connections in Montreal, Quebec and across Canada.
- 58 employees (including subcontractors)
- doubled recurring ebitda and revenues to 5M in 2 years
Typical client : Medium sized financial service business in Montreal looking for a reliable fiber connection redundant with SHDSL, connecting their 4 different locations with multiple suppliers, all on the same network.
www.openface.com
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EUREKIUM INNOVATIONS INC. October 2000 – December 2003
Mobile middleware solutions
Founder and President
Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Wireless industry
Accomplished vision: I saw a world where companies could access any back-end data in real-time through any mobile device on any cellular network. We built a middleware that could do that and captured the European market with clients such as AXA Insurance, SOS Medecin, France Telecom and Orange, Cap Gemini, Deutch Telecom, etc.
- 53 employees & 4 international offices
- R&D project: 90 man-years
- 6M in investments, profitable
Typical client : Big 4 European systems integrator who needs a complete and robust mobile development platform for AXA Insurance in order to help them reduce the insurance sales cycle from 7 days to 2 hours.
Sold in 2003.
www.vyanova.com/eurekium
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ENSIGNA.COM INC. September 1997 – October 2000
Low cost, high quality IT services
Founder and President
Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry
Accomplished vision: I saw a world where IT students could work from their homes part time to collaborate and create products and services for the SMB market with an unbeatable value proposition.
We had a network of over 100 students working from their homes or school labs and doing the mandates I would get them. My first entrepreneurial experience, I did everything (except the actual programming). We had specialized IT services for the textile, manufacturing and services in Montreal and abroad. Before the sale, we became experts in huge dotcom website programming and rollouts.
- 12 employees + 55 part time
- 800K in annual revenue
Typical client : Textile manufacturing company with 115 employees. They need a new website connected to a new database-driven back-end to manage the inventory and workflow from tissue to clothing. They also needed a network upgrade and maintenance.
Sold in 2000.
www.vyanova.com/ensigna