Starting out
What do you wish you knew before starting a business?
Seven people who built Montreal companies on the lesson that cost them the most time or money, in their own words.
Press play to hear each answer. Each is about a minute or less; all of them take about 6 minutes.
- 01You will need more cash than you think
Zvi Shapiro
Founder, Nulook Office Solutions
“Most businesses fail not because it's not a good idea, it's because they run out of cash.”
Zvi started Nulook from a bedroom, and says new owners grossly underestimate the cash they need, for the business and for themselves.
His answer: at least six months of your own survival money. “The right answer is probably a year.”
Watch the full interview with Zvi → - 02Revenue is not profit
Jordan Perrin
President and co-founder, DuraClim
“They only look at the top line, they don't look at the bottom line.”
For DuraClim's first three months, Jordan thought they were making money because revenue was coming in.
Then the accounting reports came: they were losing money on what they sold, and it took four to six months to see it.
Watch the full interview with Jordan → - 03Start smaller
Mireille Dimitry
Founder, Seed Me
“Had I known from the beginning, I should have thought of a grab-and-go. A smaller packaging would have avoided a lot.”
Seed Me started with a 12-piece package, bigger and more expensive than it needed to be.
Mireille scaled it down to six pieces, then two, redoing the packaging each time.
Watch the full interview with Mireille → - 04A $20 check
Jake Karls
Co-founder, Mid-Day Squares
“That was a million-plus-dollar mistake. When all it would've cost is $20 to check on a website to see if this would scan in store, and we just didn't do that.”
When Mid-Day Squares changed its packaging, the new barcode was too small to scan in stores.
Retailers couldn't register the product, and getting it back on track took months.
Watch the full interview with Jake → - 05Launch, then adapt
Fabio Zeppilli
Food and beverage sales operator, The Zeppilli Group
“I think you should launch, make your mistakes, and then adapt.”
When Fabio and his brother started Bad Monkey Popcorn, it came in Ziploc bags with stickers printed at home.
Too many people, he says, are so set on the perfect product that they never launch.
Watch the full interview with Fabio → - 06It will take time
Anne-Edma Louis
Founder and business and tax lawyer, Amlea Legal
“Sometimes you do so much and then you don't see the efforts paying off right away.”
Asked what she would tell herself ten years ago, Anne-Edma's answer is to be patient.
She gave herself three years when she started her firm. Today, she says, someone could see results within six months to a year.
Watch the full interview with Anne-Edma → - 07Working underground
Sanaa Benzakour
Co-founder and co-owner, PMML
“It didn't explode. I've been working underground.”
“Be patient, but never stop,” Sanaa says. Consistency is what got PMML where it is.
From the outside it looks like it exploded overnight. It was years of watering the bamboo tree.
Watch the full interview with Sanaa →
Each clip comes from a full interview on The Vault MTL. The link under it opens the guest’s page, with the whole conversation.