How to Start a Tech Company
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Evolving Web is a Drupal consulting company that was founded in 2007. They specialize in developing and maintaining Drupal modules and implementing large-scale Drupal projects using mature development processes. They also offer Drupal training. Recent projects include work for Travelocity, McGill University, and A&E Television Network. The document provides advice on starting a tech company, including consulting versus product-based businesses, finding co-founders, financing, hiring, open source, best practices, and networking in the tech community.
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How to Start a Tech Company
- 1. STARTING A TECH COMPANY Drupal Consulting, Development, and Training evolvingweb.ca | @evolvingweb
- 2. ABOUT US
- 3. ABOUT US • Started doing web development 2005/06 • First projects: mcgillexchange.com, vconf.ca • Founded Evolving Web in 2007 • Started using Drupal in 2008 • Recent projects: McGill, Travelocity, GoC
- 4. WHAT WE DO
- 5. DRUPAL EXPERTS Develop and Maintained Drupal Modules, Implement Large-Scale Drupal Projects
- 6. MATURE DEV PROCESS Testing, Configuration Management, Cloud Deployment, Performance, Failover, Monitoring, Version Control
- 7. PROJECT MANAGEMENT Agile Methodology, Iterative Development, Knowledge Transfer, Customized Project Management Workflow
- 8. TRAINING PROGRAM We do Drupal training, you should come! evolvingweb.ca/training
- 10. TRAVELOCITY CMS Multilingual, Integration with Proprietary E-Commerce, Cloud Deployment, Custom SEO Strategy
- 11. MCGILL ADMISSIONS PORTAL Complex Multi-step Form UI, Admin Workflow
- 12. MCGILL COURSE CALENDAR Advanced Search UI, Multisite Architecture, Knowledge Transfer
- 13. A&E TELEVISION NETWORK Custom UI for Content Producers, Social Media Integration, Quiz UI for Engagement Platform, Customized Analytics
- 14. DRUPAL SUN Online Feed Reader, One-page JS App, Advanced Search, Responsive Design
- 15. WHY START A TECH COMPANY? • You get to work for yourself • You get to learn new stuff all the time • It’s good for your career
- 16. GETTING YOUR BUSINESS STARTED
- 17. STEP 1: CONSULTING VS. PRODUCT Product • You get to define the product • You make the mistakes Consulting • Get experience • Learn from your clients’ mistakes
- 18. STEP 2: YOUR IDEA • Probably not as valuable/original as you think • Don’t keep your ideas secret • Refine and iterate your idea • Don’t ignore people with the same idea
- 19. STEP 3: FIND A CO-FOUNDER You’re probably not good at everything, so find a co-founder with complimentary skills: • Startup Drinks • Notman House Events • Starupifier • Hacking Health
- 20. STEP 4: MAKE IT OFFICIAL Sole proprietorship • Really easy to set up • One tax return Incorporation • Only slightly harder to set up • You have to do a separate tax return • Easier to get certain loans, contracts with big companies
- 21. STEP 5: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY Before you start making money: • Get a good accountant • Register for a GST/QST account • Keep all your receipts
- 22. STEP 6: FINANCING • Bootstrap by doing consulting • Grants for young entrepreneurs (Desjardins) • Lots of tax credits in Quebec (R&D) • Yes Montreal • Keep your expenses low (you’re a student!)
- 23. STEP 7: HIRING YOUR FIRST EMPLOYEE • Work with freelancers • Know what you need them to do • Get time estimates • Document everything
- 25. BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO It’s important to create a strong portfolio: • Do good work for free • Turn away clients who you don’t want in your portfolio • Do personal projects that show what you can do
- 26. SELECTING CLIENTS Don’t take on just any project. Be picky! • Does the project fit with your technology niche? • Does the client share your values? • Is the project interesting to you? • Will the project be successful?
- 27. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS • Don’t try and build a facebook-linkedin clone • If something sounds unreasonable, don’t be afraid to say no • http://theoatmeal.com/comics/websites_stop
- 28. ESTIMATION & PROJECT SCOPING • Try not to estimate too much at once (break up work into smaller pieces) • Estimation requires experience, you will underestimate everything at first • Lots of extraneous factors
- 29. BOOKS ABOUT ESTIMATION • The Mythical Man Month • Making Things Happen • Pragmatic Programmer • Code Complete
- 30. NEGOTIATION & PRICING • Use a contract, but keep it simple • Don’t charge too little just to get a project • Don’t negotiate with people who are way more aggressive than you
- 31. TECHNOLOGY
- 32. BENEFITS OF OPEN SOURCE • Be part of an open source community • Collaborate with others, write better code • You get to use code that other people write
- 33. OPEN SOURCE CULTURE • Share your ideas • Share your code • Share your business plan • Prompt others to share with you
- 34. SHARE YOUR CODE!
- 35. FOLLOW BEST PRACTICES • Documentation • Version Control • Use an Issue Tracker
- 36. USE THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY • Use the right tool for the job • Use technologies that you know • Don’t use really obscure technologies
- 38. MARKETING • Social Media • Your LinkedIn Account • Get Business Cards • Go to Conferences & Present • Start Now!
- 39. DESIGN • It’s important! • People don’t know what your code looks like, they see the design
- 40. WRITING • Emails, marketing material, blog posts, grant proposals, project proposals • Good writing makes you sound professional & experienced
- 41. TECH COMMUNITY
- 42. NETWORKING ADVICE • Everyone is a potential partner, client, customer, or recruit • You will probably work with people who you meet at McGill • Learn how to talk about your business idea and how to ask good questions
- 44. NETWORKING EVENTS • New Tech Demo • JS Meetup • Startup Drinks • Python Meetup • Starupifier • PHP Quebec • CleanTech • Drupal Meetup • Girl Geek Events • Open Data • Hacking Health
- 45. TECH VENUES • Notman House (notman.org) • Station C (station-c.com) • The SAT (sat.qc.ca) • RPM Montreal (rpm.startupcentre.ca)
- 46. RESOURCES • http://montrealtechwatch.com • http://nextmontreal.com • http://mtlnewtech.tumblr.com (calendar)
- 47. WORDS OF WISDOM • Avoid burn-out, stay healthy • Don’t waste time, be critical of what you spend time on • Parallelize your efforts. Don’t put all your energy into one project.
- 48. Drupal Consulting, Development, and Training evolvingweb.ca | @evolvingweb