Who am I: small, not very pretty, damp and poorly lighted. Here is another clue: I was, in part, the fertile soil to the unbridled imagination of 2 UQÀM students in the 1990’s. You are correct if you thought it was Eric Chouinard’s basement, a space where, in company of his partner Martin Leclair, iWeb was born.
A Unique Environment
Grounds for the growth of ideas and innovation, the basement is often proclaimed the office, the conference room, the lunch room, or in short, the international headquarters of the company. Martin Leclair would spend his days, sleepless nights, weekends and, to be honest, pretty much his whole life in that basement. In fact, it was the only space iWeb could afford with the few thousand dollars it had earned by the sweat of its founders ambitious brows.
A tip for startup businesses that wish to have as much success as Martin: make the most of places that inspire you – regardless of what others think – and transform that cavern into a privileged space where you can work your hardest. At the same time, take advantage of any opportunity that allows you to save money.
Surround Yourself with a Winning Team
Although Eric Chouinard and Martin were a good duo, in order to attain their elevated objectives they needed to recruit a team composed of the elite, of the crème de la crème. But they still had to stay within their peanut butter toast breakfast budget. That is when they approached certain candidates based on their potential instead of basing themselves on past achievements. Therefore, they would be able to recruit passionate and trustworthy people ready to completely invest themselves into the company, and that would not ask too many questions.
Martin’s brother, Sylvain, and his friend Hugo Dénommée, went through a daunting interview. At the end of a selection process done over a ketchup stained table at the local Harvey’s, Martin’s fellows were chosen. They were then grafted to the team and could now enjoy the famous basement, visibly unworthy of job interviews. Martin had a keen eye, since Sylvain and Hugo are now responsible for making Funio a great success story.
A tip for startup businesses that wish to have as much success as Martin: take advantage of the potential people have in your surroundings, and build a team in which you can trust.
The Dictatorship of Perfection
We have all heard or read about Steve Jobs’ reputation: a man on the quest for perfection, obsessed by design, and his leadership that bordered dictatorship; ultimately, he would always obtain what he wanted. We have often wondered if Martin isn’t his illegitimate son, because he shares these exact same traits with Jobs. Whether that’s a strength or a flaw, we still don’t know! Aesthetics and presentation have always been basic essentials to Martin, and they are the main reasons that have led him to exclude Comic Sans MS from his interfaces. Today still, Funio thinks that these aspects are highly important, even if we still do carry old interfaces that look like they have been created around the Y2K scare.
A tip for startup businesses that wish to have as much success as Martin: take advantage of your interests and strengths while remaining inflexible about them. There is no money to save when it comes to them. Impose your ideas, and those who don’t like them should get out of your way.
What Does UQÀM Have to Do With This ?
Martin Leclair is the new recipient of the ‘Prix Reconnaissance’ of his alma mater. The UQÀM not only recognized Martin Leclair’s talent, but also confirmed the central importance of all neglected basements that inspire entrepreneurs and that are the most frequent birthplace of SMBs.
The Funio Team would like to congratulate Martin Leclair for this thrilling and well-deserved award, and would like to take this moment to thank him for his contribution in building the Funio foundations. Furthermore, we like to think that he finally received some kind of appreciation for his artistic dictatorship methods! Thank you Martin, and thank you all fellow inspiring basements for contributing to an entrepreneur’s success.
Do you have a similar project or an exciting success story to share? Do not hesitate to contact us! We don’t discriminate any basement.
