Written by Philippe6 February 2021

Bootstrapping in business. To be or not to be.

Bootstrapping is one of the strongest forms of entrepreneurship, meaning start and proceed a business without external capitals. They will survive through very little money and no outside investments to build their business.

That makes the very difference between bootstrapped start-ups and fund-raised companies. Bootstrapped businesses expect to have slow and quiet growth, focusing on business models to offset the costs. On the other hand, companies involved with external funding or help will be expected to have a higher growth rate so that they could strategically meet the investor’s ROI. 

    Many of the successful companies had their beginnings as a bootstrapped company. Including,  

    • Dell Computers 
    • Facebook Inc. 
    • Apple Inc.
    • Coca Cola Co. 

          In this article, I will write about bootstrapping in business, financing methods, stages and pros and cons of bootstrapping.

          Bootstrapping Financing methods 
          • Owner Financing: The use of personal income and savings. 
          • Personal Debt: Credit card debt, personal loans 
          • Sweat Equity: A party’s contribution to the company in the form of effort. 
          • Minimize Operating Costs: Keep costs as low as possible. 
          • Inventory Minimization: Requires a fast turnaround of inventory. 
          • Subsidy Finance: Government cash payments or tax reductions. 
          • Selling: Cash to run the business comes from sales. 

                       

                      Bootstrapping process 
                      1. Early Stage 
                        The entrepreneur utilizes personal savings or borrowed or investment money from friends and family. Also, the founder might be running or working for other projects.
                         
                      2. Customer and (or) Sales-Funded Stage  
                        In this stage, money from customers is used to keep the business operating and, eventually, funds growth. Once expenses are met, growth will speed up. 

                      3. Credit Stage 
                        In the credit stage, the entrepreneur must focus on the funding of specific activities, such as improving equipment, hiring staff, etc. At this stage, the company takes out loans or may even find venture capital, for expansion. 

                             

                            Companies Eligible for Bootstrapping 
                            • Early-stage companies
                              They do not                               need a large amount of capital which will allow for flexibility for the business and time to grow. 

                            • Serial entrepreneur companies
                              The founder has capital from the exit of previous companies they can use to invest could reap the benefits of bootstrapping                               

                             

                            Advantages of Bootstrapping 
                            • Full control 
                              Founders will hold total control over the finances which allows them to maintain control over the organization’s cash flow. Equity is retained by the owner and can be redistributed at their discretion. This can ensure that the business is moving in the direction desired, according to the founders’ vision and cultural values, without any external influence, and when successful, keeping the profits for themselves. 
                              • Low barriers of entry 
                                Start with the founder’s own money means that super-efficiency is necessary. Solving problems without external funding means that bootstrappers have to become resourceful and develop a versatile skill set. 
                                • Focus on the business itself 
                                  Raising external finance can be a very stressful and time-consuming task. By bootstrapping their company, founders can concentrate on the core aspects of the business such as sales and product. Additionally, due to the limited cash supply, it’s normal to have alternative options such as factoring, asset re-financing, and trade finance with bootstrapping. 

                                   

                                  Disadvantages of Bootstrapping 
                                  • Personal liability – High risk of failure  
                                    All financial risks pertaining to the business in question all fall on the owner’s shoulders. The owner is forced to put either their own or their family/friend’s investments in jeopardy in the event of the business failing. 
                                    The founder needs to become adept at handling stressful situations that might crop up if you finance your company using debt to another person, such as family members and friends. Understanding what is expected and communicating this clearly to others can help you cope with the stress of the situation. 

                                  • Limited cash flow 
                                    Without the aid of occasional external sources of funding, entrepreneurs can find themselves unable to promote employees or even expand their businesses. A lack of money could possibly lead to a reduction in the quality of the service or product.
                                    One reason some bootstrapped companies are unsuccessful is due to the lack of revenue: Profit may not be sufficient to meet all costs. 


                                    Starting a business most often requires very long hours of work just to keep your business going, plus, usually, there is no stipend to go with this effort. All problems are yours, as hiring staff is not usually an option.


                                  Bright side 

                                  Building your own financial foundations is a huge attraction to future investors. Investors are much more confident when it comes to funding businesses that are already backed and have shown promise. Flaws can be corrected with growth, such as product and service. Therefore, perfection at the launch of the business is not a necessity. 

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                                  Written by Philippe4 February 2021

                                  Features of a good online course

                                  Guest Author: Aleksandra 


                                  In this article, I will write about                                   the basic conditions that every online course should meet. 

                                  Although there are various forms of knowledge transfer via the Internet, online courses are only one type of online learning. 

                                  When creating them, every instructional designer should keep in mind the following items, which will be described below. Of course, these are just the key points. Perhaps with the development of technology and new learning theories, these key points will go down in history or will be contextually expanded. 

                                   
                                   

                                  1. Simple work environment

                                  For a participant to feel safe in a work environment on the Internet, that work environment must have a good user interface. What does it mean? In short, you need to make sure that the participant learns what is intended, without having to study the platform on which he is learning for too long. If the participant first has to master the platform on which he is learning, and only then move on to specific content, his motivation to learn will greatly decrease. The worst scenario is that the participant spends more time navigating the platform than on the content of the course itself. 

                                  Most educators first need to decide which learning platform to use. The technical solution means the choice of the platform, ie LMS (Learning Management System) software that will be used for the distribution of courses. There are many of them on the market, and before you make a decision on which one to use, you must research them well, that is, test the trial versions. 

                                  The most important thing for the participant is that the work environment is not too complicated. This means: 

                                  * Easy registration for the participant, 

                                  * There should be simple instruction for participants on how the platform works. 

                                   
                                   

                                  2. Quality and clear course content

                                  We can say that a course has excellent quality if the content of the course can improve and expand knowledge, and then apply it in practice. A good online course always offers specific knowledge that you can use in daily life. 

                                   

                                  For a course to be considered quality, it must meet the following conditions: 

                                  * It should be written in clear language; 

                                  * It is well structured didactically; 

                                  * Has elements of narration (or “tells a story”); 

                                  * Content goes from easy to hard; 

                                  * Is written in an easy-to-understand way, but it also has an expert review of the content. 

                                  For the content to be well created, it is a prerequisite that the goals and outcomes of the online course are well defined in advance. 

                                  The length of the content must be in line with the topic covered in the online course. It should not be too short and superficially processed, because in that case, the participants will not have the acquired knowledge after completing the course. Also, one should not exaggerate and be too extensive. ?  

                                  Goals and outcomes 

                                  Watch a short video below about creating goals and outcomes for an online course. 

                                   

                                   

                                  3. Interactive content

                                  The content of the course must not be boring for the participants. 

                                  If you only see lines and lines of text in the course, without any multimedia content to enrich it, you are actually reading a PDF document. For some content not to be boring for the participants, it is better to enrich it with exercises, examples, scenarios, tests, tasks, simulations, dialogues, case studies, links, manuals, presentations and more. 

                                  The quality of the online course will increase significantly if you make it interactive and allow participants to be active in the learning process. 

                                  Depending on what you want to achieve, you will use a program or web tool to create exercises for participants. 

                                   

                                  Check out the tools I recommend and use below.  

                                  1. H5P
                                  2. Genialy  
                                  3. LearningApps  
                                  4. ThingLink  
                                  5. Bubbl  
                                  6. Play Posit 

                                  The list of programs and web tools used by the experts are numerous, and I will deal with this topic in more detail in one of the following articles. These are just some of the most popular ones at the moment. 

                                   

                                  Pay attention! 

                                  When using interactivity in an online course, be careful that the interactivity elements are justifiably embedded in the content. 

                                  The following should be taken into account: 

                                  * Not to add animations, sound, or colorfulness if it is not necessary, i.e., didactically justified; 

                                  * Not to overdo the number of interactive exercises. 

                                  Interactive content does not serve to visually enhance the course, but to encourage participants to take action. 

                                   

                                   

                                  4. Communication on the online course

                                  Many creators of online courses neglect this important segment, and many of them consider it completely unnecessary. 

                                  However, when a participant learns something, he should get some feedback about his work and progress, but also needs someone he can ask for an opinion or suggestion if there are any misunderstanding. Exchanging opinions and ideas with other learners and working as a group also encourage the provision of knowledge to the participants. 

                                  A characteristic of online courses is the lack of personal contact between the lecturer and the participant. However, this challenge can be overcome in two ways: 

                                  1. Forums for discussion within the learning platform;
                                  2. Direct communication with the author/lecturer of the course.

                                  As in live communication, similar rules apply to online communication. If you are a course instructor/moderator, try to: 

                                  * Respond regularly to incoming messages from participants; 

                                  * Admit if you overlooked or made a mistake; 

                                  * Be kind and friendly when replying to messages; 

                                  * Use your knowledge to help participants master the content of the course. 

                                  In this way, you will provide your students with good and quality feedback and you will be able to overcome the lack of personal contact. 

                                   

                                   

                                  5. And what happens after the course?

                                  Many courses do not have a clear outcome for participants after completing the course. Therefore, from the beginning, it is very important to define the goals and outcomes of the course, as well as the competencies that the participant will acquire at the end of the course. To be able to say that an online course has good quality, it must ultimately have a final product. The final product is what the participant created independently, but with the help of the knowledge acquired in his course. 

                                  You wouldn’t want to go back to the course after which you have the feeling that you have learned something new, but you might have no idea how to implement it in practice. This brings us back to the story of well-edited content, which is important to enrich with real-life or business examples. 

                                  Suggestions for ensuring the knowledge of participants after the course are: 

                                  Post-course activities – make sure your participants try out the knowledge they have acquired in the course in real life. Give them real-life opportunities and advise them on how they can use their knowledge. 

                                  Social networking – allow participants to connect with each other. Refer them to groups, forums, a community where they can find similar people with whom they will be able to share knowledge and experience and thus expand existing knowledge. 

                                  These are just some of the elements that are important for the development and creation of online courses but by no means the only ones. Anyone who embarks on the adventure of creating and distributing online courses should keep in mind that this area is very wide and that it is impossible to learn it from just one blog post. 

                                   

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                                  Written by Philippe29 January 2021

                                  What Can Companies Learn about Digitization from Digital Nomads. An interview with RTL

                                  Our founders Philippe and Patrice had an interview with RTL and shared their insights about being a digital nomad and the digital transformation of companies these days.   

                                  They’ve been digital nomads since 2013, discovering positive effects on company management. With the help of proper plans and the right people, digital nomad and remote work will contribute to delivering an engaging culture, enhancing innovation and even reducing some companies’ costs, such as the office rental. 

                                  Before we look into digitization, what is a digital nomad, or “DN” as we say in the community?   

                                  There are several definitions, but one might argue that a DN is a professional who moves around three times in a year under their own steam, rather than at an employer’s request. Let’s go with that definition for now. 🙂  

                                  So, how can this nomadic lifestyle link to digitization and companies?

                                    

                                  Go lean. Streamline processes.   

                                  It’s a good time to change.  As a digital nomad, you can only carry that much in your luggage. Every single item, even an extra piece of paper has a cost. Hence most things should be digital.   

                                  Almost a year into a monumental shift to work-from-home, business leaders are more convinced about the productivity gains achieved. The success of remote work has reimagined how corporate work gets done, as well as where the work takes place.   

                                  Remote work has been an immense success for both employees and employers. 83% of employers now say the shift to remote work has been successful for their company1).  

                                  You can embrace an even more engaging culture by putting digitization at the core of your business.  

                                    

                                  Attract more talents by digitizing your company.  

                                  A lot of young real talents have made the step to become digital nomads. And even more of them are daydreaming of it. We have met a lot of them in coworking spaces around the world. They are brilliant. They are highly motivated. It is perceptible that lots of companies only providing traditional workplaces are losing their attractiveness towards them since they’re not embracing geographic or working hours flexibility. Why not living in the Caribbean, working at night and enjoying surfing during the afternoon?! We did this for a few months and enjoyed it tremendously. No need for holidays after this, although we did work a lot.   

                                  By digitizing the company, you will embrace the flexibility that most employees (and some employers) have been craving. It is likely to transform a company’s culture into a more creative and engaging one.  

                                    

                                  Some next topics we could share with you with pleasure are,  

                                  • What are the benefits of remote work from a company’s point of view?  
                                  • What are the new opportunities for digitization under the era of the pandemic?  
                                  • How can you advance your team to be more inspired, forward-thinking and ready to solve complex tasks by adopting remote work.   
                                  • How can you reduce cost and improve HR management by allowing your team to work remotely?  
                                  • Challenges to be a digital nomad and how did we overcome them.  

                                  Please let us know what you would be interested in!   

                                  Looking forward to your comments. 🙂  

                                    

                                  1) PwC’s US Remote Work Survey – January 12, 2021 

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                                  Written by Philippe27 January 2021

                                  Buying insurance for billions – Interview with Ali Hauser

                                  As part of our podcast series “Innovative Training in Sales and Insurance”, I had the pleasure to talk with Ali Hauser about buying insurance for large companies on the global insurance market, risk management and the role of captive companies.
                                    
                                     
                                  Ali is the former CEO of Kot Insurance Company AG, Pemex’s Reinsurance Captive Company, with assets of US$1 billion. As such, he was one of the largest buyers of insurance in the world. 
                                     
                                  He is fluent in Spanish, English, Arabic and French with a perfect understanding of the Global Insurance Market as well as Latin America. 
                                     
                                  Ali likes to say: “Know your risk as much as possible”. Indeed, the better you understand your risk, the more you are able to manage it, and insure it.
                                    
                                  Listen to this insightful podcast “Buying insurance for billions – Interview with Ali Hauser”. 
                                    
                                      
                                  If you like it, please share it! We are also looking forward to your comments. Thanks in advance. 
                                       
                                    
                                  #interview #podcast #captive #riskmanagement #globalinsurancemarket #buying #buyinginsurance #sales #sales training #salesexcellence #corporatetraining #latam #latinamericanmarket #kotinsurance #pemex #mexico
                                     
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                                  Digital nomads in Croatia
                                  Written by Philippe20 December 2020

                                  Building a global company through digital nomadism?

                                  Our digital nomad lifestyle has been an incredible source of experiences! We have not only seen amazing places, but more importantly, met great people from around the world! Some of them have even joined our team. With some others, we have created synergies and in all cases, we have had a good time!

                                  You can read the full article in Croatian or translated automatically.  

                                  Digital nomads in Split

                                  Great thanks to #LjubicaVuko, #ToniTrivković and #SplitTechCity. ?

                                    

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                                  Written by Philippe25 September 2020

                                  Why COVID-19 is an EdTech opportunity for Latin America

                                  Source: World Economic Forum

                                  SINCE COVID-19 HAS STARTED,
                                  • “In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 154 million children or about 95% of the enrolled students are temporarily out of school owing to COVID-19;
                                  • There is a significant digital divide in the region which threatens the accessibility of remote learning and other education technologies to all;
                                  • Governments and start-ups are stepping up to meet the challenge, deliver learning programmes and overcome the region’s connectivity issues.”

                                  “Latin America is one of the most unequal regions in the world. Three-quarters of Latin Americans are categorized as low or lower-middle-income with30% living below the poverty line. Though many countries in the region have made significant strides towards lowering income inequality in the past few years, the richest decile of Latin Americans still owns 71% of the region’s wealth. Combine the region’s income inequality with the COVID-19 crisis, and low-income families are now facing unprecedented challenges.”

                                  At the next post, we will introduce some edtechs to improve this challenge.

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                                  Written by Philippe25 September 2020

                                  E-Learning Market Size is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 10.85% by 2025

                                  • “The global e-Learning market size was 171 Billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.85% during 2019 to 2025.”
                                  • “North America’s e-Learning market share accounts for nearly 40 percent of the global e-Learning market.”
                                  • “APAC is expected to witness the highest growth rate that will give market vendors many opportunities.”
                                  • “One trend in the market is the increase in adoption of microlearning, which refers to learning using bite-sized content. Since educational institutions and the corporate sector focus on personalized learning, there will be a growing preference for microlearning in the coming years.”

                                  Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/e-learning-market-size-is-expected-to-grow-at-a-cagr-of-10-85-by-2025-valuates-reports-819658695.html

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                                  Written by Philippe21 September 2020

                                  Insurance training is boring?

                                  Most of us have been through corporate training, in companies’ meeting rooms, training centers or convention halls. There, even if the training sessions were not always interesting, the advantage was that you could meet new people, do some networking and at least have breakfast or even lunch. Hot coffee and warm croissants… it’s not that bad after all. What about the Return on Investment for that training? Well… 

                                  Since the COVID spread around the world however, training has substantially evolved and gone online at a previously unseen pace. Companies that were only talking about digitization now had to do it! Under time pressure. Many companies were not ready and had to put together some online courses within a very short timeframe. As for the level of quality and engagement, well… 

                                  In both cases, learners find the training sub-optimal, not to say totally boring. If 5% of your learners finish your online courses, it’s normal. No, it’s not! If you have the right management buy-in and the right online training, you should aim much higher. 

                                  Does it have to be that way? Really?
                                  Young talents expect – and deserve – more than this! We all love learning.

                                  Alright, alright, but “some topics are more interesting than others”, “Insurance is dull, it’s boring.” Really?
                                  Protecting the people you love and the things you like is boring? Insurance is connected to anything we do. There are countless beautiful or tragic stories related to insurance.

                                  Besides, ANYTHING can be made interesting. It’s all about your state of mind… 

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                                  Written by Philippe2 September 2020

                                  INGAGE on Social Media

                                  The INGAGE Institute 

                                   

                                  On podcast platforms

                                     

                                  On other social media

                                       

                                  Other groups on LinkedIn 

                                  • Online Learning for Insurance: The purpose of this group is to share information and our experience about e-learning in the insurance industry.
                                  • Training on how to Sell Insurance: Do you sell insurance or do you train people who sell insurance? This group aims at exchanging on each other’s experiences on how to sell insurance and how to train people who sell insurance. How did you become the best sales person in that insurance company? How do you train your sales team? Do you have any best practice you would like to share? What do you wish you had learned when you started and what would you like to learn now?
                                  • Technologies for training: Are you passionate about teaching, training and how to use technology to make it more effective and engaging? If yes, welcome! ?

                                    

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                                  Written by Philippe6 August 2020

                                  ETH is volatile. What about Dai? xDai?

                                  Ethereum is probably one of the most well-know cryptos around the world, together with Bitcoin obviously. 

                                  Its value has kept increasing at an incredible pace over the past few years. The advantage has also been that it was very cheap to send ETH back and forth. 

                                  However it has become increasingly expensive to exchange ETH.  Just imagine that you want to send the equivalent of 50 USD in ETH to a friend. It used to cost a few cents in what is called “gas fees”. Now, it’s sometimes 25 USD!

                                  Not only can it be expensive to exchange ETH, but ETH is also extremely volatile. Therefore, a USD-pegged version of ETH was created: Dai! That’s good if you want to have a bit more stability, but it does not solve the gas fee issue. 

                                  Therefore, xDai was created! xDai is actually based on another blockchain but it is compatible with ETH and linked to Dai actually. 

                                  Now, while xDai is probably not as secure as ETH/Dai, the advantage is that the gas fees are nearly null. This makes it possible to experiment with a crypto (your own crypto even) at a very minimal cost. 

                                  Enjoy! 🙂

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