Open Innovation. Pascal Latouche
1.3.1. A network
First of all, let’s talk about the G2J network. It renders many services by having a permanent approach of “connecting people”. Of course, when you help a lot of people, there are returns when the time comes, even though there can be a lot of wastage. Far from being a calculated approach, it is rather someone who naturally has his heart on his sleeve and who sincerely does things without expecting anything from it. Doing things for people means forging and constantly growing a network of at least those who know how not to forget it when the day comes. G2J always starts by giving the “mother’s example”.
A little anecdote amused me a lot about his absolute weapon to manage his network. G2J confessed to me at the time that they were walking around with kilos of directories to make sure they could always contact the right person at the right time. For example, he told me about his trip to the USA (Florida) to start a business. He also brought his directories with him. As a child, he told me his mother locked away the phone to avoid large phone bills. Today with WhatsApp, it’s easier….
G2J’s awareness of his environment seems obvious to me as I listen to him talk to me about the business he does. Always actively listening and if there is something he doesn’t understand, then he questions and beyond that he digs by himself by mobilizing his contacts wisely.
1.3.2. Convictions
I can also tell you about the way he conducts his business. In business, three basic beliefs carry G2J. The first is to always respect his signature whatever the price: “I was not raised with the soul of a victim, but that of a fighter”. The second is to be an entrepreneur who builds and never a predator who destroys: “You have to be willing to seize opportunities but never by ruining others”. The third: to put oneself at the mercy of the project to be carried out: “Yes, I am afraid sometimes, but I know how to control this fear to make it a strength. The joy of building is stronger”.
He wonders about the resources at his disposal, but nothing more. He mainly looks at the business, thinks big and then optimizes. As an example, G2J shared with me the fact that one day he bought a server capable of holding a load much greater than its immediate needs. He just paid for the best and then gradually optimized his purchase. Of course, it’s reassuring enough for a client to realize that his supplier (G2J) had the capacity to do so in the short, medium and long terms.
G2J’s had some setbacks. At one time, he had no penny to his name. I was surprised to learn that, despite his more than questionable finances, he was once able to afford the “luxury” of an office a few steps from Place Vendôme. How? G2J explained his project to the owner without hiding the difficulties. Well, the landlord, a chartered accountant, thought that G2J’s business would be very profitable and would allow him to honor the rents. G2J himself had doubts. I think the transparency and sincerity of his remarks did the job. When you are in front of someone who is honest and you are honest yourself, in general, the interaction is likely to generate value for each stakeholder.
1.3.3. A thirst to move forward
Probably the most surprising point for me was to realize that this serial entrepreneur (four Tech companies assembled in less than 20 years) had never actually studied Tech. G2J is not an engineer. How did he do it? Did he have partners? No, far from it. On the one hand, he’s an information overeater, he’s a self-taught techie. Every time he finds something, he takes the time to dig it out through hours and hours of hard work. “I’m a fast learner, and once something’s learned, then I can do it”. On the other hand, many people in his network were always there to advise him. Finally, the quality of his services made and make that it is the clients themselves who encourage him to move forward.
I would be remiss if I didn’t describe in a few words G2J’s various endeavors. His first company was named Datavoice. The purpose of this start-up was to sell value-added services via premium-rate numbers to the many bettors in horse racing. His second company was called First Telecommunication (in the USA) and was designed to be resold at a discount price, international telecommunications minutes previously purchased wholesale in the USA. His third company was named G2J.COM. From its creation in Martinique to its subsidiaries in China and the USA, this company has symbolized the excellence of secure videoconferencing services, delivering to the closed world of major principals (all the G7 central banks in turn, Orange, EDF, Danone, etc.). He then created LabNoo Technologies (Lab Network Open Online). This is (because we are in the present), a holding company that has carried and is carrying company projects such as Meetnoo.com and minority shareholdings.
All these companies have one thing in common: data management. It’s a leitmotif for G2J. He explains it by being an islander. For him, remote data management was always essential. Digital technology and its potentials have indeed freed creativity and the world from many constraints.
There is one point I wanted to save for the end of the discussion on G2J. Please note that G2J has always worked on a salary basis until G2J.COM was able to do without it. In short, the entrepreneur G2J has spent a large part of his life working as a paid employee and as an entrepreneur. You can imagine how much energy it can take. His life was, is a whole without boundaries between the private and the professional. It’s just his adult life with this attention he told me for the well-being of his children. Moreover, he made the switch to the world of 100% entrepreneurship at the time he considered that this security had been achieved.
Currently G2J is in Rwanda for business and as far as I can judge … the adventure continues!
All the best!
Question 1: what do you find inspiring about Mr. José Jacques Gustave’s journey?
Figure 1.1. Mr. José Jacques Gustave. For a color version of the figure, see www.iste.co.uk/latouche/innovation.zip
1 1 A BTS is a French advanced technician’s certificate, a Brevet de Technicien Supérieur.
2
Mrs. Cindy Dorkenoo, No Destiny, Only What She Does!
Cindy’s not unknown to me. To be honest, she’s been a mentor for a few years in the start-up support structure that I manage. Looking for an expert on digital marketing, I spotted Cindy on LinkedIn. Her profile convinced me to contact her and offer her this mission with start-ups. What she said to me at the time greatly echoes what I understand today about her journey and ambitions in life: “I would do it, not for the pay, but because it will make me very happy”. Such a philosophy and her sensitivity to things and people, enchanted me and I have never been disappointed.
When I spoke to her about this project with testimonials from entrepreneurs, she also offered to “play the game” by answering the questions I would ask her. I suspected, however, that she would be able to preserve the modesty that I know her, for she does not confide in me easily. She is above all an entrepreneur, it is her life, and sharing her experience seems useful to her while preserving her personal fortress.
2.1. Context
Cindy comes from a family of four children including herself. Cindy is the eldest, but she didn’t need that status to set an example. “Being the oldest was never a burden,