Jean Fahmy

I have the joy of teaching a Technology Entrepreneurship class at L'École Polytechnique de Montréal. Picture a class of 50 students who have been trained for 4+ intensive years to think inside the Engineering Box, to memorize what the box holds and to apply standards of the box in their jobs - and you get 50 minds hungry for creativity. My class is usually the last one of their engineering studies so it puts me in a great position to counter-act the brain-washing years they were subjected to. I know... I've been there.

The class is not a hard one. I believe the theoretical principles of entrepreneurship are quite easy. Everything is in
- the discovery of our personal values
- the application of those simple principles
- the determination to keep at it until the company has been built into something of value.

Their task is to come up with an idea, prepare a sensible business plan and, most importantly, present it convincingly to myself and a panel of VCs. They have 12 weeks to do that - and I know most of them wait till the last 2 weeks to really get started.

After almost 4 years of teaching the class, I've come across some surprising ideas and business opportunities which never ceases to give me hope in the fascinating inner-creativity engineers have when given the chance. Here is the list of projects from this year's creative crop.

- An innovative way to present science to primary school kids and elders alike
- A spit-alyser that measures marijuana consumption of drivers
- A Canadian-specific online movie rental and streaming solution
- An advanced, yet simple, pill-reminder and distribution system for elders
- A turnkey system to create an video inventory of your personal assets for insurance purposes
- A wireless SAAS system to collect hard-to-find data from municipal water infrastructures
- An interesting automated wall painting solution
- A unique 'gypse' recycling solution
- A tire-changing machine to avoid the back-related injuries of mechanics
- A power-consumption optimization solution for corporation and consumers
- A head-hunting firm specializing in the placement of semi-retired / retired individuals
- An ad network using LCD screens in public places
- A life-brokering solution for elders at home to increase their at-home  quality of life
- An innovation-based network for corporations and individuals to promote sharing and learning
- A process-optimizing solution for corporations
- An in-grocery store and web solution to quickly enter the basket, see the specials and map out the optimal route to fill the said basket

I get at least 2 groups a year that actually start a business project and take the next post-academic step into the world of entrepreneurship... and it makes me so proud. I end up coaching these teams in their growth to profitability and when it happens, I get that paternal 'snif-snif-my-kids-are-all-grown-up' feeling.

Hello, my name is Jean and I am a computer engineer. Hi Jean, I hear you utter in a fake caring voice.

I have had over 150 employees and more than half were Computer Engineers (CE). In this multi-part series (à la Discovery Channel), I will open a window about certain particularities I learnt of the CE in the wildlife of the Corporation. It's based on my own experiences and not on clichés I picked up.

I will use the we as to avoid being branded as a CE hater. Being one myself, I have full CE humorous-observation immunity.

We first and foremost learn to build specs and then apply them to systems to satisfy our own needs. Then, and only when our livelihood depends on it, we grudgingly do what the boss and clients asks of us.

When something doesn't work, we try to quickly find the bug...
if we can't find it, we restart all the systems...
if that doesn't work, we patch with a lengthy and risky workaround...
if we can't workaround, we try to find someone to blame. Since there are many actors involved in the product, we have a large variety of choices. The by default one is 'The client changing his mind'...
if the blamed won't take it, we call our work a demo version with a 0.x number attached to it...
if the spinners in marketing can't make that work, we innocently blame them...

If all else fails, we declare that the market, the clients and the consumers never understood how much of a brilliant product we created.

Feeling lonely at the top is a natural by-product of being an entrepreneur. There are so many issues to deal with on a daily basis and a dozen different actors to satisfy, all at the same time. The need, therefore, for like-minded individuals and confidential sounding boards becomes imminent.

EO - Entrepreneurs' Organization - is a 7000+ member network of, well, entrepreneurs in all industries, shapes and sizes. It's based on the principles of confidentiality, experience-sharing (Gestalt protocol), networking and trust. Every month, I meet with my forum - which I've had for over 6 years now - to talk about issues and candidly share. There are once-in-a-lifetime local and international learning / networking events as unique benefits that leverage the huge network. EO is also a sister company to YPO (Young Presidents Organization) - which increases the network effect to 25 000+ members!

Here is the video-reporting from CNBC about this wonderful organization. A good succinct 2 minutes on the principles talked about above.

The official web site is here and the youtube channel is here.

If you're an entrepreneur and you're lonely...  there's help ;)

I realize that with a title like that, I need to back it up with solid facts and credible evidence. No problem.

There is one strategy and management planning tool that I have used in all my past and am using in my current ventures. It's a two-pager developed by Verne Harnish, a friend of mine who trains high-growth companies. He is also the highly sought-after author of 'Mastering the Rockefeller Habits'. Verne has spent the better part of his career training companies that are (or who want to become) gazelles - a term he uses for a company that has grown by 20% annually for the last 5 years.

He has brought together in a succinct format all the necessary elements of strategic planning. This is a tool to plan and communicate where you, where you are going and how you are going to get there.

Here is the link to downloading his free forms and strategic planning material.

It's gold.

There is a story I often use to talk about true commitment.

'A chicken and a pig were walking down the street one day and noticed some poor children who looked as if they hadn't eaten anything for days. Moved with compassion, the chicken said to the pig, 'I have an idea! Let's give those children a nice breakfast of of ham and eggs.' The pig contemplated the chicken's suggestion and said, 'Well, for you, that would involve a small sacrifice : but for me, it would be a total commitment!'

I love it. Total commitment. This notion permeates everything I do. As an entrepreneur, am I totally committed to the satisfaction of all the actors involved around me ? As a father and husband, does my family see me enough to say that I'm committed to them ? Does my social involvement limit itself to donating money or do I also give my time, my knowledge, my experiences and my feelings ? Do I just pay lip service to my values, or am I willing to die for them ?

I don't want to be a chicken who just lays the eggs and then leaves.... I want to be a pig who gives himself to the cause.

I often ask the question to my university students : "'Why do you want to be entrepreneurs, to start your business ?"

We then go through the usual more money, more power, more glory and more pleasure arguments. And then, inevitably, one student says : "I want to be my own boss".

I love that answer, mostly because I get to burst a well known bubble.

The entrepreneur is not his own boss. At least not in the sense the students usually means it. We have to be able to manage a dozen different relationships at one time and make sure EVERY single one is a happy one. It is an absolute necessity for the entrepreneur to maintain healthy ties to the actors in his environment. Failure to do so results in ... well... corporate failure.

Here are the actors in the entrepreneur's world that are actually his collective bosses :
- Suppliers
- Clients
- Associates
- Employees
- Bankers
- Investors
- Shareholders / Stakeholders
- Boards
- Unions
- Business partners
- Government
- and most importantly, the family.

That sound you hear is from entrepreneurs-to-be's bubble bursting.

she is cruel
she is kind
 
she surprises me by constantly reinventing herself,
yet she is unpredictable and often refuses to cooperate for no good reason

she seduces me with the promise of more time
yet laughs at me when I’m enslaved in her wiles
 
she remembers everything about me
yet I now can’t function without her

she let’s me learn everything about the outside world
yet ties me to an isolated chair for days to do it

she creates solutions to complex issues and problems I have
yet often, those problems had never existed until she came along

she gives me feelings of security and invulnerability,
yet she often reminds me how fragile I really am

she gives me euphoric feelings of freedom
yet she refuses to let me go out of her hold

she lets the world know who I was, who I am, who I know, what I know, what I did, what I am doing, where I’ve been, where I am, where I’m going and how I’m going to get there…whether I want it or not

she brings more people together than anyone else I know
yet she divides more people than anyone else I know

she helps me deepen and rekindle true and lasting relationships
yet she helps me create instant relationships, based on minimal effort and superficial interests

she permits me to travel anywhere in the world
yet she must come along for the ride, isolating me from the wonderful people around me
 
she creates more jobs than anyone else I know
yet she lays off more people than anyone else I know

she helps me reduce my operating expenses and generate more sales
yet she constantly requires high maintenance and has an increasing stranglehold on my budgets and spending

she embodies all that is evil and destructive in the world
she holds the potential to eradicate all living organisms

she embodies all that is good and creative in the world
she holds the hope and promise of solving all human and natural issues
 
she is cruel
she is kind
she is technology

Hello world.

Two words which symbolize all new beginnings in IT programming. Welcome to my humble abode. In this blog, I will open a window and record my different thoughts on
- Entrepreneurship and startups
- IT and the web
- Innovation
- Personal life lessons

Again, welcome.