a canadian startup

Marc Gingras at WatStart

On Monday, I was happy to have attended Marc Gingras’ talk at the most recent WatStart event.

The thing I like about WatStart events is the warm community feel. They’re always small, intimate and relaxed while still being intelligent and content-rich.

Marc’s talk was a terrific look at what it’s like to be a VC funded startup entrepreneur. Marc came off as a experienced leader who was at the same time genuine, humble, and approachable.

Marc’s company, Tungle, has had some recent accolades and we’ll be sure to hear from them again. But I was less interested in his product (about which he spoke minimally) and more so about his advice on getting funded, being a CEO, and developing a strategy.

Some tidbits of advice I picked up:

Product, Product, Product

A major theme of Marc’s talk was about the importance of focusing on developing a good product. Marc spoke about how how many startups over-focus on specific strategies and PR techniques instead of having a laser-focus on developing a better product. At least for the initial development phase, product is everything. Later on, sales and marketing become more important.

A major part of Marc’s job, as he sees it, is about working with the product team to improve the user experience.

There’s Lots of Money out There

Marc dismissed questions regarding the possible decline of the VC industry in Canada. He seems to insist that knowledgeable entrepreneurs with good products and a solid understanding of their monetization/business plan will have no trouble getting funded.

Admit You Don’t Know

This came more out of the way he answered quesitons, rather than the specific answers themselves. I noticed that Marc was good at balancing the ability to appear confident in his answers about strategy but at the same time saying things like “I don’t know much about that” or “I don’t know but when we get to that point, I will think about it more”. He actually listened to people’s advice at times when others would probably tune out.

Conclusion

Overall Marc gave an informative startup story but more important to me, he serves as an excellent example of how an entrepreneur should act in terms of demeanor and approachability.

Thanks to Marc for speaking and Gary Will for organizing.