Chandler

Archive for July, 2010


Risk/Reward: The Entrepreneur’s R&R- Gay Compatible

July 23rd, 2010 in Uncategorized comment No Comments »

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For years, Stephan Frigon wracked his brain to come up with an idea about how he could make money on the net. One morning three years ago, he woke up with his idea: an online platform to help gay men find relationships. 

Stephan is a straight entrepreneur who worked for years in manufacturing businesses.  Ironically, I met him via e-harmony a couple of years ago. While we didn’t hit it off for a relationship, we have helped each other in business here and there since.   When  met him 2 years back, I couldn’t have predicted that he’d become  “the saviour” for the gay community!

Stephan first step in business building was market research to test his business idea. He discovered that Manhunt and Gay411 already existed and are very effective for those who want to find a sex partner …and fast.  To his delight, what they lack is what he is now providing: GayCompatible, an online place for gays to meet a compatible partner for a long-term relationship.  Where the other sites target younger males who focus on appearance and porn-like sex, Stephan is targeting the 30+, well educated, high income earning gay male who is looking for a life partner.

GayCompatible launched in April of this year.    The membership is over 1000 already with the majority being Canadians, though some come from as far away as France, Australia and Poland.  The potential market in North America is 33 million (3 million in Canada alone).  And that doesn’t touch the rest of the gay world.  A yearly membership is $200.  You do the math.  Stephan is 99.8% sure he has created a winner.

It has taken 3 years of research and development and $200K+ to date to launch the business (plus all his own unpaid time) . Somewhat analogous to e-harmony, gay compatible has a matching questionnaire that 3 Quebec psychologists custom developed and tested for Stephan’s site. 

Stephan’s biggest mistakes came from his naiveté about how much effort it would take to program the web platform; it took far more time and money than he anticipated.  He followed the advice of a family advisor who convinced him to buy a similar web platform and modify it. This solution didn’t work and it cost him months of time and a lot of money. 

Stephan will run and advertising campaign this fall on Out TV in Canada and Logo TV in the US where he has the potential to reach 48 million gay and lesbian viewers in the US alone.    

A year from now, Stephan says he would like to be telling me he has a few thousand subscribers.  This would be growth of 300% in one year.  Somehow it wouldn’t surprise me a bit!

For the gay men in your network who are tired of the current online dating scene, send them to GayCompatible.  From what Stephan says, they will thank you.

And if you are looking for an investment opportunity, email Stephan directly: sfrigon@galemco.com

 

Win, Win, Win, Win….!

July 14th, 2010 in Uncategorized comment 1 Comment »

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Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa broadcast their show on the waterfront in Charlottetown. Photo from The Guardian.

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa have been on PEI since the weekend. There visit has been much anticipated. I can see why. Today I finally had time to tune in and see Live with Regis and Kelly: Prince Edward Island, shot on location at Confederation Landing in my hometown. 

I cried when I saw such hometown pride among the huge local audience (and to see my parents’ house across the Ch’town Harbour in the background of their stage). Okay, the piping music helped bring on my tears. I always cry when I hear pipers.

Over and over they show our red cliffs, pristine beaches, and succulent seafood. And this has been going on for weeks.  Viewers could win a trip to PEI before Regis and Kelly were ever on location.  A few weeks ago, neither Regis or Kelly had ever heard of PEI.  Now millions of their viewers are getting to know the island rather intimately.  Regis “hunts” for lobster; Kelly goes horseback riding in what looks like Crowbush.  They rave about the food, the people, the scenery and island hospitality.

My parents and my Facebook friends have talked of little else all week.  My sister, who lives in Nova Scotia, wrote on FB that she’d rather “get ripped” than see Kelly Ripa but she was joking (and with two little boys she no longer remembers what the word ”ripped” even means). As a PR and advertising/ sales professional she knows brilliant messaging when she sees it.

And it’s not just a win for PEI.  Live with Regis and Kelly have enjoyed the largest ever Canadian following for their 3 shows to date in PEI.  According to Executive Producer Michael Gelman (as quoted by the CBC), the shows from P.E.I. have generated more response than any other remote broadcast. Earlier on Monday, P.E.I. ranked number two in the top Google searches in the United States!

Apparently Melissa MacEachern at Tourism PEI is responsible for bringing Live with Regis and Kelly to PEI; my hat is off to her. The Chronicle Herald says the investment was $1Million but worth $4+Million l.  A stunning set, marvelous coverage, tons of fun for islanders and surely a spike in curiousity (and hopefully visits among those who tuned in) is definitely worth that spend.

If you are curious, you can catch the last episode tomorrow (Thursday, July 15th)!

The Word on The Wire

July 7th, 2010 in Uncategorized comment 2 Comments »

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Today I booked the entire day to make business development calls.  It would be perfect, I thought. I had no coaching calls booked and no trips to the city to make.

Instead of perfect it was a perfect storm of getting nothing done. I could have predicted I wouldn’t spend the whole day on business development (BD). I know better. Whenever I clear the slate like this to make BD calls, it rarely happens.  The truth is: I work better when I am busy and need to jam calls in around other meetings.  How about you?

In my case, things didn’t go as planned in large part due to nature and technology.  Here’s the rundown of the day:

5 a.m. – get woken by the woodpecker (try to sleep again with some success until about 6:30);

6:30- 8:30 a.m. – some combination of breakfast and watching an episode of The Wire. At this cottage, I have turned into one of those “strange” people who watches dramatic TV before the real day begins.  I both blame and thank my friend Jen for encouraging me to get hooked on The Wire;

8:30 a.m. – at my desk (a.k.a. the dining room table at the cottage) fussing around deciding on whom to call first; on my first attempted call I find out my long distance plan is disabled; it was working last night…hmmm?

9:30-11:30 a.m – sending and receiving emails from my car at my “internet cafe” (a.k.a. a parking lot 2 km from my cottage where the rocket stick gets a signal); troubleshooting with Digitel via cell phone re: long distance issue (not solved);

Noon until 5ish- a combination of 2 more episodes of The Wire, watching Spain beat out Germany en route to the World Cup finals and helping the cottage owners assemble a new BBQ. Now the TV, bed and BBQ are all nicer than mine at home! Fortunately, the cottage owners were able to solve the long distance issue.  At 7:30 p.m. my service is supposed to be restored.  Then I can make all the BD calls I want;

5 p.m.- A much anticipated swim around the lake (even up here it’s super hot outside);

5:53 p.m. – blasting out this blog post in Word (as I am not connected to the net from here);

6:15 p.m. – leaving for the IGA to pick up groceries and use their internet cafe (i.e. their parking lot) to put this post online.

So once again my day didn’t unfold as planned.  Certainly I”ll be better able to talk football with my weekend guests and I dare say I’ve gained insight into coaching a West Baltimore drug dealer or detective but I certainly didn’t add any $ to the bottom-line today.  Well there is always tomorrow.  And I already have a lot going for me: my long distance plan will be back in action and the next game isn’t until Saturday!

Are You on the Flywheel or the Doom Loop?

July 4th, 2010 in Uncategorized comment 1 Comment »

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Pam Slim applies Jim Collin’s Hedgehog concept to help you find your career passion in her recent book Escape from Cubicle Nation.

The comparisons below are taken from Good to Great and apply to business. 

Good to Great companies (GTGC) follow a pattern of build up to breakthrough (an accumulation of steps, one after the other, turn by turn of the fly wheel; it is an organic and evolutionary process).

Good to Dead companies (GTDC) [my wording] skip the build up and jump right to breakthrough, implementing big programs, radical change efforts, and chronic restructuring always looking for a miracle moment or new saviour.

GTGC confront brutal facts; GTDC embrace fads and management hoopla.

GTGC have a hedgehog concept and consistently stay within the three circles; GTDC are inconsistent, lurch back and forth and stray outside the three circles.

GTGC have the right people who follow disciplined thought and action; GTDC jump to action without disciplined thought and without getting the right people on the bus.

GTCG harness appropriate technology to their Hedgehog concept; GTDC run around like Chicken Little, fearful of being left behind the latest technology.

GTCG have internal alignment because their momentum is infectious; GTDC expend energy to align and motivate people to their changing visions.

GTGC let results do the talking; GTDC sell the future to compensate for their lack of results.

It’s been proven that companies that apply the concepts of GTGC eventually reach breakthough.  What path will you choose?

Are You (Your business) Heading Toward Greatness or Doom?

July 4th, 2010 in Uncategorized comment No Comments »

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Good to great transformations don’t happen in one fell swoop says Jim Collins. Collins uses the concept of a fly wheel (a massive metal disk mounted horizonally on its axle, 30 feet in diameter and 5000 lbs).  The first pushes to turn the wheel take a lot of energy and the wheel inches forward. Add lots more energy and many more turns and at some point—breakthrough! Momentum kicks into gear and the heavy weight turns the wheel on its own. 

Think of it.  World Cup players don’t put on their soccer boots for a few hours a week and go out to score history making goals. Instead they practice, compete and are coached for years (these are all turns of the wheel). Sadly, even the momentum of the flywheel didn’t assure victory for the Brazilians, Italians or Argentinians this time ’round.

The flywheel is pertinent to you and your company.  Perhaps you dream of being an “overnight successes” on the net.  You think that a brilliant marketing campaign, a great peice of press coverage, a lucky break or innovation will catapult you and your company to riches.  This is foolhardy thinking at best.  Overnight success is rarely, if ever, overnight success.  We just don’t pay attention to the steps that were taken to get there, preferring instead to focus on the tipping point. This kind of thinking will usually put you in Collin’s doom loop rather than the fly wheel. Though with this kind of thinking, you might not even get to be good, let alone great.

So how do you get on the fly wheel and avoid the doom loop?   You’re not sure?  I wasn’t either.  Fortunately, Collins has a comprehensive comparison list.  Take an inventory.  Face the brutal reality.  What path are you on?  Do you want to be Good to Great or Good to Dead?

Persistance Gets the Bird (She Says, Tongue in Beak)

July 1st, 2010 in Uncategorized comment 1 Comment »

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I am spending the summer in a cottage in the Laurentians.  It is a working vacation, as in, I am living in a beautiful setting and working. At it turns out, I am surrounded by some other industrious creatures to inspire my productivity. The most noteworthy–a woodpecker! 

Since I arrived (it’s been almost 2 weeks already), this crafty little fellow has woken me up every day around 5:20 a.m. by pecking several times on the metal eaves troughs of my roof.

 I have only just learned that ritual pecking has a very important purpose beyond getting bugs: to attract a mate.  (I would love to say he cuts a mean profile but in truth this photo is from the net and not of him). He chooses my metal roof right outside my bedroom window because it makes a much louder sound than any tree ever could.  It seems that when it comes to dating, he believes in casting the net as wide as possible is the best strategy for attracting a nice Laurentian bird. 

He is perfectly equipped with the right tools for the job: a chisel-like bill, an extra long tongue to get bugs under tree bark, strong claws and stiff tail feathers to help him prop up on trees (and roofs). He even has feathers around his nostrils to filter wood dust and a special sac in his forehead to cushion his brain from the impact of his pecking. If you are going to succeed in life, you do need the right tools.

Just yesterday I met with Christina Mucciardi, owner of Cook and Date.  She has both the tools and the formula for success.  She hosts events to help singles meet.  Her events have a welcome twist: Montreal chefs, a beautiful Viking kitchen, divine food, an equal number of men and woman of a similar age and flowing wine.  I suspect she’s likely had some woodpecker types attend her Cook and Date over the past couple of years. 

I continue to wake up way too early every day, probably in anticipation of that loud hammering sound.  And I think it might be for not.  You see it has been two days since I have heard my man Peck.  Perhaps he found his Laurentian bird!