Dakx Turcotte

Screwing up in style!

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:39:08 -0400

We had a major screw up when launching our latest version of Budget Express 4. I’ll post more about this later.

But next time I screw up, I’d like to do it in style like Visual.ly is doing it now while trying to put its new infographics creation tool online!

Don’t give up guys, it happens to even the best of us! :) We’ll patiently be waiting for when you’re back online!

Dakx

I know I’ve been wrong for the past 2 years or so on the...

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:09:03 -0500

I know I’ve been wrong for the past 2 years or so on the market. I predicted a drop, it didn’t. But for some reason, I am still quite bearish at the moment. Sometimes it’s just intuition. But when I watch videos like this one above, I can’t stop adding this to my list of arguments.

One of the elements I didn’t take into consideration back in 2008-2009 when I was so bearish, is the absolutely, no incredibly… wait, astonishingly speed at which the government opened the valves of money liquidity to save banks, big corporations and other countries (like the Greece deals in Europe).

In summary, I am cautionary bearish at the moment, but I realize that there are so many “ways” to save our economic system, that it’s probably realistic to say that it will be rather a low probability that we’ll see another depression occur. So, long term prognostic: cautionary bullish for now, and not enough to invest in the market.

[Via BusinessInsider]

This is making my day. Being a sales & marketing guy in a...

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:07:02 -0500

This is making my day.

Being a sales & marketing guy in a start-up, most of our efforts focus on trying to be innovative in the way to present our solutions to our customers. Creativity, and the results driven by creativity, is not something that can be canned in an afternoon. It takes time to be creative.

This is a simple, yet powerful, message for anyone who has to deal with an impatient boss.

But, results are needed. There will always be room for improvement, so it’s better to come up with something now, and improve on it, then wait until you have the perfect thing.

Hypothyroidism

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:45:37 -0500

I learned recently I suffer from hypothyroidism. Sucks. I’m just so always tired, no energy at all. If I have to do something, I have to speak to myself and find some sort of positive side to it, otherwise I can’t do anything.

The symptoms are weird: lack of energy, insomnia, weight loss/gain, leg/joint/muscle pain (for me that’s the worst), feels like you are depressed, burnt-out, emotionally unstable, grumpy, everything seems like a mountain, etc… It is often misdiagnosed as depression, burn-out, imaginative disease, etc…

Everyone (doctors, people I met who suffer from it also, websites & chats) agrees that its easy to treat (medically and not), that the medication prescribed will take somewhere between 11 days & 8 weeks to take effect and that the reaction to the medication will be awesome. I am suppose to feel my energy coming back like never before. It’s been a month so far, and I don’t feel a change. Only one month to go.

The analogy I give people is the following:

I feel like I went camping by myself in the woods and were suddenly attacked by a wolf.
The blood-sucking prick is gone by all my stuff is destroyed, and I’m badly hurt.
I have to walk to the nearby village where I know I’ll be safe & sound.
But the walk there is painful.
And as I am making progress, I’m mad at myself and feeling guilty at the same time. If the wolf-eating analogy were real, I’d probably say to myself: “Why the hell did I go camping in the woods by myself, leaving the garbage by the tent, not bringing some sort of a emergency radio handset, sat-phone or even a GPS beacon for people to find me.”
I am mad at myself for not having the energy to go through my day, for being guilty (feeling guilty of feeling guilty, for christ’s sake!), nervous about not knowing when this will end, while knowing it will all be better soon.

Anyways, that’s been the feeling experienced since the diagnostic came in a month ago. And the few months before were quite the same.

So, as a positive side to this (everyone knows I am a positive), here’s a small graph that shows we can’t have everything. So, we’ll see what I’ll end up with! :)

Hahaha! So funny! Nerdy humour like I love!

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:00:18 -0400

Hahaha! So funny! Nerdy humour like I love!

This is an excellent video done by CNET UK: History of the...

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:52:36 -0400

This is an excellent video done by CNET UK: History of the iPhone, dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs. (Through Business Insider, through Laughing Squid)

Saying no is the key to focus. It’s part of the new...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:18:00 -0400

Saying no is the key to focus. It’s part of the new details I am obsessed about.

This is Steve Jobs at the ‘97 WWDC.

“Focus is about saying, No. And the result of that focus is going to be some really great products where the total is much greater than the sum of the parts.”

The idea is to do one thing and do it better than anyone. This is my goal. And to be disruptive.

(Through Techcrunch)

This is awesome. The dude Duke is 90 years old. We already...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:32:00 -0400

This is awesome. The ~~dude~~ Duke is 90 years old. We already wished we were him because he married a Queen… (From through Business Insider).



Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:48:00 -0400



Making the decision to work with someone.

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:02:00 -0400

Making the decision to work with someone is not something you tend to do on a regular basis. There is a major difference in working for and with someone.

I was reading an article tonight that had a very good quote:

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got, back when I was 23 and newly out of school, is this: look around and figure out who you want to be on your team. Figure out the people around you that you want to work with for the rest of your life. Figure out the people who are smart & awesome, who share your values, who get things done — and maybe most important, who you like to be with and who you want to help win. And treat them right, always. Look for ways to help, to work together, to learn. Because in 20 years you’ll all be in amazing places doing amazing things.”

Seeing one of your partner leave

When we started the company, I had 2 partners I really wanted to work with: they both had highly complementary skills to me. Now, the one who put us three together (our glue) decided to part ways. There are a few reasons for his leaving the company, but the most important: an offer he couldn’t say no to. It’s sad to see ~~someone~~ him go. I truly wish him luck and I dearly hope he’ll be available to partner with again in the future.

Making the decision to stick

Francis was our original glue. I had to decide if I wanted to stick & work with Yves, the remaining “new half” of the company.

I’ve known from the start I could not handle a start-up on my own. I’m too much in my head and not enough in action sometimes to lead a company through regular payrolls, monthly accounting & everyday operational or admin stuff. I’m good at handling 2-3 projects extremely well, go in quite a level of details… But not running a full operation. So I had to find that person.

And I did. Yves is that person.

He’s truly someone I want to work ~~for~~ with for the next 20 years. He’s that good. A smart guy, open-minded, always looking for both sides of the coin (a quality anyone who works around me must have) before making a decision. I learn a lot from him and I hope he gets to learn around me. And most importantly, as much as I want to help him win, I feel like he’s the one who wants that for me even more!

Now for the next step!

1.5 years ago, my life changed.

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:21:29 -0400

We’re early September 2011 when I am writing this.

1.5 years ago, my life changed. I decided to launch my first (100%) own business. No start-ups with others, no corporate credit card, no outside financing: two partners, myself and faith (and a very comprehensive & patient girlfriend).

Quick Summary:

Launched with no precise business idea or business plan.
Decided to look for opportunities with 2 guys I knew I could work well with (team mattered most).
Decided to focus on consulting while we built our thing (even if consulting has never been my thing), but with a twist: focus on sales & performance.
Studied a few business opportunities and decided on buying one.
Learned I was to be a daddy!

The Good(s):

We passed our 1st year profitable. But… (see The Bad(s) for more).
I am learning (more of) my own strengths everyday.
I discovered a new friend, one that will most likely be one forever.
Am having a blast at working for a great company & for a great president for my first official consulting gig… And I ~~think~~ know they like what we do for them as well!! :)
We have our own software, business project & steady revenue stream.

The Bad(s):

We finished our 1st year profitable, but discovered the true meaning of “Accounts Receivables”. A (good & long time) customer had a bad financial situation and owes us $60k+. Impact: we own the government tax money we don’t have, we can’t pay ourselves, we have to look into our 401k to meet ends, we have to re-work our business plan & a partner is thinking of leaving.
Learned what it means to “downscale” your lifestyle, a.k.a: make half the money you used to… It really sucks ass!
Learned that even if you have a great lawyer, you’ll forget something that might cost you.
Building a website is not easy! It takes time, more than you think. Can’t wait to see the result!
I have more weaknesses than I thought, not easy to learn.

The Conclusion:

I’m tired, but that’s OK!
We’ll see where this all brings us but I feel very confident.
I’m learning a lot. I’m discovering strengths about myself I never knew I had.
I learned to pause & listen, and am still learning. At work and at home!

2011 & 2012 will be challenging nonetheless. And I’m looking forward to it.

Dakx

The Evolution of Competitive Advantages, Or How Networking Can Change Your Business.

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:57:00 -0400

Over the past 100 years, organizations have faced tremendous challenges in the ways they compete. In doing so, we clearly saw different layers of competitive advantages appear. The pyramid below (found in a PDF on the InterWeb) presents how competitive advantages evolved over time and transformed organizations. It also identifies what will drive business in the second decade of the 21st century: relationships.

What are relationships? Is it social networks? Is it happy hour? Is it friends, colleagues, family relations? Relations is networking. Business networking is the new competitive advantage. Who you know and who knows you is the new competitive advantage. After decades of figuring out how to manage and optimize manufacturing, technical support, information, data and knowledge, we must learn how to develop, nurture and profit from relationships. This is the most important business opportunity of the next decade.

Excerpt from the document

Each step on this pyramid represents a major shift in the competitive advantage of an organization. Going back to the turn of the century, economies of scale and manufacturing led to price advantages. When price was equalized in the market, quality and service became the new differentiators. Producing widgets with fewer defects and/or providing value-added services to enhance an enterprises’ product offering allowed them to compete more effectively.

The explosion of information technology led to the central role of data in an enterprise. Collecting, disseminating, and managing data in cost-effective ways, aligned with continuous improvement of an organization’s business processes, were key measures of viability and growth. Information technology became a critical success factor in evaluating organizations. Organizations unable to leverage automation and information technology to reduce costs and realize new opportunities were at a huge disadvantage.

The next phase of competitive organizational evolution revolved around knowledge. This has been elusive, partly because knowledge in essence is unstructured data. Unlike the 0s and 1s of this document that can be digitally stored as one self-contained document, knowledge sits in the minds and experiences of people. Therefore, it neither lends itself to being easily packaged and stored in centralized repositories nor can it be marked up with metadata (the data that label and describes the data stored in the repositories). There are some excellent examples of enterprises that have learned how to tap into knowledge to spur innovation and create competitive advantage. Design industries offer excellent examples. Through math-based, knowledge driven CAD/CAM (computer aided design, computer aided manufacturing) initiatives automotive manufacturers have been able to significantly reduce design time cycles, costs of producing prototypes, and increases in safety. In these cases the information technology paradigm morphed well to match these data-driven knowledge opportunities. The short tenure of actionable knowledge strategies is less a function of failure and more an indicator of exciting times that lie ahead.

Cultivating and nurturing a complex and rich collection of relationships is paramount to success. In the future, employees will create value through interconnected relationships. These relationships will need to be capable of and organizationally empowered to synthesize information in real time to fabricate new products, services, information, or relationships to respond to real-time, emergent market needs.

I am moving in the business of developing, nurturing, managing and profiting from relationships. Anyone wants to learn more?

Dakx

"Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economics professor who predicted the financial crisis,..."

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:20:54 -0400

“

Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economics professor who predicted the financial crisis, said the global economy may suffer another slump due to higher oil prices and widening budget deficits.

“I see the worry of a double whammy” from energy costs and fiscal burdens, increasing the risk of a setback in the economic recovery, Roubini told a conference in Paris today. Oil may rise to $100 a barrel, he said.

”

- Bloomberg

Really well done ad of kids @ work. Promoting “Investing...

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:37:05 -0400

Really well done ad of kids @ work. Promoting “Investing Today for Tomorrow”.

Dow Jones Hit 8,500

Wed, 06 May 2009 09:53:15 -0400

My target on the Dow Jones was made at the opening this morning (May 6): 8,504.06.

My new target is now 5,500.

I am liquid since 8,400.

Dakx

The above video is in French and compares iPhone-based MobileTV...

Fri, 01 May 2009 16:09:26 -0400

The above video is in French and compares iPhone-based MobileTV services offered by both Orange and SFR in France. Take note that France is one of the only countries (if not the only one) where two MNO’s offer the iPhone in the same country.

The video clearly shows where one can get a great entertainment platform, using really fast loading and feature-friendly software, while the other just doesn’t even come close.

I am a big fan of mobile television technology. But at the end of the day, whether technology works or not, the User Interface (UI) software used on a device is THE key when it comes to providing the ultimate entertainment experience.

Enjoy.

Dakx

On the Dow Jones

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:29:10 -0400

In the same line of putting your money where your mouth is, I will do so on my expectations of the Dow Jones Index performance in the forseeable future.

My prediction: the Dow will go up to 8,500 range, then back down to 5,500.

Reasons: First quarter corporate financial results started coming out. Unemployment figures. GDP figures. Interest rate problem: they cannot go lower. Dollar strenght. Amount of dollars printed over the past 6 months. Eastern Europe & Asian economies.

So, I am putting a sell order on all my funds that have the Dow in it at 8,400. And a buy order at 5,600 for the same amount.

Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

Dakx

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:37:01 -0400

I am a big fan of performance-based compensation models, not only for others, for myself included. And I was really excited to see a shift being pushed by a large corporation to promote performance-based compensation for advertising and PR firms.

Coca-Cola announced earlier this week they would promote “value-based” compensation for their ads/PR firms. Here’s how it works:

BEFORE: Agencies and Coke negotiate in advance how much profit the former will see on a given project.

AFTER: Agency is guaranteed only recouped costs, with any profit coming only if certain targets are met.

BEFORE: Agency decides what Coke should pay for a project based on the time it expects to expend on it.

AFTER: Coke tells agencies how valuable a project is based on strategic importance, whether other agencies could deliver the same outcome, and other factors.

In other words, you will recoup costs but if you exceed targets, you can get 30% profit margin in bonus.

How is performance-based compensation going to change things for the overall industry? It will force large ads firms who control the advertising market to put their money where their mouth is. Will it change things? Yes, it will force creative people to understand the idea behind value, targets, objectives and reality.

I strongly believe we should introduce similar systems for any employee in every company, but the importance of setting real targets and objectives is key.

Dakx

This video really simplifies, through an excellent...

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:27:41 -0500

This video really simplifies, through an excellent visualization, the current economic, financial, banking and credit crisis the world is facing. It does not offer solutions, but it does make us understand how and where the system failed.

What are the possible solutions to this?

[The Crisis of Credit Visualized, via LundXY]

GM

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:58:38 -0500

Results for GM:

Lost $30.9 billions in 2008
Lost $38.7 billions in 2007
Asking for a $30 billion bailout fund from the government

Look at their cars, and tell me which one you would seriously consider buying for you, your wife or one of your kids if they could drive: http://www.gm.com/vehicles/results.jsp?sort=brand.

Poor outlook for these guys. Sucks to be them.