Montreal Junto

How to Start a Software Company

Fearless reader, we’ve been slow of late in getting meeting notes out to you. This post has a look in a bit more detail at some of the issues we covered in our meeting of August 18, 2010.

Presenters

This month’s meeting was presided over by Charles Azrak. Head on over to the Member Profiles page to get a little more background on him. Charles gave a presentation on a new venture that he is starting, and which you might hear about on this page at some point in the future.

Along with Charles’ presentation, the Montreal Junto was blessed this month to hear from Richard Btaiche, a co-founder of the software start-up XOR Mobile. XOR Mobile thrives on becoming one of the most popular and well-respected makers of mobile games. By focusing on creating well-designed, highly-enjoyable entertainment experiences, XOR Mobile will grow and maintain an unparalleled reputation for quality. Headquartered in Montreal, the company was founded by Richard Btaiche and Eldar Khasmamedov.

History of XOR Mobile

Richard Btaiche knew before starting his studies at Concordia that he wanted to have his own business. This, of course, was his biggest advantage in setting out on the path to successful entrepreneurship. He knew that software was the fastest-growing industry in the world, and enrolled in one of the best software development programs in Canada.

From there, he remained focused on his goals and how to achieve them. He networked prodigiously (including meeting Eldar), learned as much as he could about building great software, and read as much as he could about entrepreneurship. Finally, he leveraged his new knowledge, skills, and connections into a business plan that Concordia University was willing to help get off the ground.

SMART Goals

To achieve all of this while obtaining good grades and not burning out, Richard adheres to SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.

• A Specific goal has a much greater chance at being accomplished than a general goal.
• A Measurable goal must establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward its attainment.
• An Achievable goal helps you develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach your longer-term goals.
• A Relevant goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work.
• A Timely goal should be grounded within a specific time frame. With no time frame tied to it, there is no sense of urgency.

Reading List

As always, the Montreal Junto has been reading a lot lately. Here are our recommendations this month, following the themes of entrepreneurship and self-improvement.

Campus CEO, by Randall Pinkett

This is the book that inspired Richard and Eldar to make the leap into entrepreneurship. It outlines how, although it is always a good time to start your own business, the best time to take the plunge is when you’re in university. Universities are unparalleled places to network and get ideas, and most have an enormous array of resources available to help students start a business. Richard and Eldar took this message to heart, and took advantage of Concordia University’s software developers’ network and entrepreneurship scholarship to get their business off the ground!

Randan Pinkett, explained Richard, was a winner on Donald Trump’s hit series The Apprentice, and has since gone on to found, and sell, several successful enterprises. He knows what he’s doing and, while buying the book helps make Randal more successful, if you have dreams of starting your own business, especially if you’re in school, Richard recommends this read.

The Experience Economy, by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore

Cover art for The Experience Economy

A key tenet of Richard’s presentation was that after the information economy comes the experience economy. His views are based, we understand, to a large extent on the teachings of B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore in this book.

One key message of this book is that, in selling the experience, the buyer has to feel as though they are really getting something special, or something unique. Take for example the Golden Opulence Sundae, which sells in New York City on special order for over $1000. Much of the satisfaction that purchasers experience with this product is in meeting the expectations that the product’s sales pitch set up. Here’s an excerpt from the product description that illustrates the point aptly:

5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf.

Covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast.

The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris.

It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, and exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color.

Although we wouldn’t necessarily pay $1000 for any amount of gold leaf, extra-sweet fruit, and fish egg in our ice cream, it’s pretty easy to tell from this description why someone would want to experience this treat.

The Dip, by Seth Godin

Finally, there is the classic entrepreneurship bible by Seth Godin, The Dip. The Dip’s premise is simple: to go big, a company needs to build enough momentum and have a sufficiently strong niche to get over a critical period in development and become a superstar.

A little description from Squidoo is worth throwing in here, and applies to just about every project you’ve ever undertaken:

Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point-really hard, and not much fun at all.

And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you’re in a Dip-a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

What really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt-until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.

We won’t go into much detail on the book here. Head over to Seth’s blog or Squidoo to have a good look at what this is all about.