Innoveo Solutions, already one year – Part I

Posted on October 1, 2008 by Didier

And what for a year :-) We started in October 2007, with 14 people. We are today 16. We started with one customer, we today have 4, which means some great steps on the way to the difficult customer diversification.

So, if you mind (if not, just stop to read this post, very easy ;-), I would like to take some minutes to look back to these extremely intensive 12 months. What have we done? Wow, good question! Let’s try to structure a bit these achievements. And let’s concentrate on the management activities, not on the great delivery and concrete outcome of the whole team. By doing this, it would take much more time. Just too much.

I will divide this “looking-back” process in different parts, too long for one post!

Let’s start with the 3 most important parts.

Co-leading Innoveo with Nick

Nick, my Business Partner, and myself are working for 8 years together. Our collaboration has evolved step-by-step, and we are leading the company together from the day 0.
Still a lot of fun, respect and learnings in this collaboration. And still complementary in our different ways of managing, based on the same foundation of values.
I am a lucky guy to be able to work with Nick and I am convinced that our strong collaboration and respect is very positive for Innoveo.
We have learnt again a lot how to work efficiently together. Responsibilities are clearly splitted but we benefit from each other everywhere it is possible.
We are developing ourselves in our new roles (Board members, leading tactically the company, sales) together and by our own. Specially helped there by our Board.

The management Team

We are also learning to act all together as an entire and compact Management Team, with Nick, with Philippe (Services and Support), with Lorenz (Technology) and Oli (Product Management).
Our roles and responsibilities are becoming more and more clearer. Delegation and cross-deputy roles are better in place. We are operatively leading the company together. The most important tactical decisions are taken together. The strategic orientation is discussed and prepared together for the Board meetings.
On the good way to efficiency.

The Innoveo people

“First who, then what” still in place, with some nice (and complicated) examples.
Wow, still the main driver to wake up each morning :-)
I really like the cultural mix and our multinational environment.
Our team spirit and identity is still extremely strong and both were confirmed from outside quite a lot of time. So it seems that it is not just an “internal” view ;-)
Lot of fun und humor, very experienced hard-working people. Extremely motivated. Experts in a lot of areas. Our customers like them! I too.
Great cohesion, very good personal development of almost everybody.
Nobody left Innoveo (since 8 years now, in the different constellations).
We could extend our team with Robert and Conny, two great persons, very well integrated in the team. As if they were by us since years!
People = still and definitely our *main asset*.

Next chapters will contain some stuff about:

Founding, Accounting, Administration, Human Resources, Legal, Productizing, Support process, Corporate Identity, Marketing and branding, Sales, Partner Management, Capital and shareholders, Board of Directors.

Perhaps not in this order!

In Strasbourg on last Saturday

Posted on September 29, 2008 by Didier

Strasbourg, about 1h by car from my home, is a very nice city. I had the chance to study there during two years at Le Lycée Kléber. My wife was studying there during more than 8 years (…) at the Louis Pasteur University (doctor of medicine).

We are always going there with pleasure, specially to visit the “Petite France”, part of the “Grande Ile”, one of the most beautiful area of Strasbourg, and registered at the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1988.

Surrounded by two arms of the River Ill, the Grande Ile (Big Island) is the historic centre of the Alsatian capital. It has an outstanding complex of monuments within a fairly small area. The cathedral, the four ancient churches and the Palais Rohan – former residence of the prince-bishops – far from appearing as isolated monuments, form a district that is characteristic of a medieval town and illustrates Strasbourg’s evolution from the 15th to the 18th century.

The Strasbourg Cathedral

Access to the whole pictures-set here.

Statistics about average webpage size

Posted on September 26, 2008 by Didier

via WebSiteOptimization.com

A post from April 2008, but still very interesting. Some good indications if you would like to compare your own web-production with some average figures.

Average webpage size triples since 2003

webpage size

From 2003 to 2008 the average web page grew from 93.7K to over 312K, some 233%.

During the same five-year period, the number of objects in the average web page nearly doubled from 25.7 to 49.9 objects per page.

Longer term statistics show that since 1995 the size of the average web page has increased by 22 times, and the number of objects per page has grown by 21.7 times.

Response time trends

For broadband users the average download time of the Keynote Business 40 Internet Performance Index (KB40) has decreased from 2.8 to 2.33 seconds from Feb. 2006 to Feb. 2008

So the increase in the average speed of broadband has more than kept pace with the increase in the size and complexity of the average web page. That is one reason why broadband users expect faster response times. Yet narrowband users have experienced slower response times as web page size has increased.

Use of Javascript

In the 2007 survey, 84.8% of web pages used the script element.

The average size of external scripts was 8,845 bytes uncompressed, and 6,302 bytes compressed. Total script size was 68,812 bytes uncompressed and 49,738 bytes compressed.

The average number of external scripts was 7, where 6 of which were unique.

Use of CSS

In the 2007 survey, 82.4% used the link tag, and 54.5% used the style tag (with an average of 2.27 style tags used internally).

The average size of external style sheets was 6,575 bytes, and 4,457 bytes compressed. The total average style size was 15,175 bytes uncompressed, and 10,347 bytes compressed.

Use of images

Images were used in 91.6% of web pages in the 2007 survey.

Quite useful!

Is business irrational?

Posted on September 25, 2008 by Didier

via Seth Godin

YES, for sure, business IS irrational (at least an important part of it) :-)

I really *love* this post from Seth, excellent!

Parents or other adults who are irrationally committed to a kid’s well being make a huge (perhaps the biggest) difference in that young person’s life.

Entrepreneurs who are irrationally committed to their business are far more likely to get through the Dip.

Salespeople and service providers and marketers who are irrationally committed to customer service can completely transform an ordinary experience and make it remarkable.

Is being irrational irrational? Of course it is. That’s why it often works.

If you’re looking for the sensible, predictable, long-term strategy, this probably isn’t it. Except when it is.

WoW.

AIG nationalized: just crazy…

Posted on September 17, 2008 by Didier

via AIG announcement

Wow, one of the biggest insurance companies, AIG, was nationalized by the Fed some hours before being bankrupt!

Just to give you an idea about the size of AIG (2007 figures):

revenues: $110.1 billion
net income: $6.2 billion
assets: $1’060.5 billion
116’000 employees
700’000 agents, brokers, sales representatives
74 million customers

AIG Statement on Announcement by Federal Reserve Board of $85 Billion Secured Revolving Credit Facility

The Board of Directors of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement by the Federal Reserve Board that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is providing a two-year, $85 billion secured revolving credit facility to AIG that will ensure the company can meet its liquidity needs:

“The AIG Board has approved this transaction based on its determination that this is the best alternative for all of AIG’s constituencies, including policyholders, customers, creditors, counterparties, employees and shareholders. AIG is a solid company with over $1 trillion in assets and substantial equity, but it has been recently experiencing serious liquidity issues. We believe the loan, which is backed by profitable, well-capitalized operating subsidiaries with substantial value, will protect all AIG policyholders, address rating agency concerns and give AIG the time necessary to conduct asset sales on an orderly basis. We expect that the proceeds of these sales will be sufficient to repay the loan in full and enable AIG’s businesses to continue as substantial participants in their respective markets. In return for providing this essential support, American taxpayers will receive a substantial majority ownership interest in AIG.

“We commend the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department for taking this decisive action to address AIG’s liquidity needs and broader financial market concerns. We thank them for their leadership during this critical time for the global financial markets. We also thank Governor Paterson, Commissioner Dinallo, Commissioner Ario, the other state Commissioners, and the Office of Thrift Supervision for their willingness to assist AIG.

“Policyholders of AIG companies around the world can rest assured that AIG’s commitments will continue to be honored.”

Not just start-ups can be confronted with cash-flow issues! Crazy…

R.I.P. Richard Wright

Posted on September 16, 2008 by Didier

Besides all this noise on the business and financial side (emotions are influencing so much Wall Street and the other financial places, just ridiculous, just “too much”), I would like to emphasize the fact that one of the pillar of the Pink Floyd band, Richard Wright (Wikipedia), their keyboardist and pianist, died yesterday. Rick wrote, among others:

Us and Them
The great gig in the sky
Shine on your crazy diamond
Wearing the inside out
Marooned

Wright sang also occasionally lead vocals, for example on Time and Echoes.

About Richard Wright, from David Gilmour (on his official website):

No one can replace Richard Wright. He was my musical partner and my friend.
In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten.
He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound.

I have never played with anyone quite like him. The blend of his and my voices and our musical telepathy reached their first major flowering in 1971 on ‘Echoes’. In my view all the greatest PF moments are the ones where he is in full flow. After all, without ‘Us and Them’ and ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’, both of which he wrote, what would ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ have been? Without his quiet touch the Album ‘Wish You Were Here’ would not quite have worked.

In our middle years, for many reasons he lost his way for a while, but in the early Nineties, with ‘The Division Bell’, his vitality, spark and humour returned to him and then the audience reaction to his appearances on my tour in 2006 was hugely uplifting and it’s a mark of his modesty that those standing ovations came as a huge surprise to him, (though not to the rest of us).
Like Rick, I don’t find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously.

Rest In Piece and thanks for your big contribution.

Back from St Barth

Posted on August 27, 2008 by Didier

So, we are back since last Friday. As usual, the “landing” is quite difficult after 2 weeks on this incredible island. And not just because of the jet lag…

I would like to share with you 8 pictures from our trip. And no, I don’t know why 8, but it sounds good ;-)

From Guadeloupe to Saint Barth, beautiful lights

Saint Jean Bay, the west part

Petite Anse, from the beach

Petite Anse, from the top

Colombier Bay

Grand Cul de Sac

Petit Cul de Sac

From the Gustavia lighthouse

Saint Barth – Last day in paradise…

Posted on August 21, 2008 by Didier

Saint Barth – Last day in paradise…, originally uploaded by didierbeck.

So, it is our last day on Saint Barth, our “paradise” (kind of ;-). No better beach to finished as Saint Jean Bay! And we could observe two sea-turtles for quite a long time during our last snorkeling-session. Beautiful gift, actually :-)

This evening, back to Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), and then back to Paris tomorrow. Long trip!

See you on the other side!

Saint Bar h – Geography (2/2)

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Didier

Saint Bar h – Geography (2/2), originally uploaded by didierbeck.

And behind the villa, the “highest” point of St Barth: Morne de Vitet, 286m!

Saint Barth – Geography (1/2)