December 2009
48 posts
2009's conclusions + 2010's word (Mat)
Time to draw some conclusions.
2009, from getting my first job ever the in place I dreamed about for years, to starting writing jojo’s story and passing by London-Paris-to finally ending up in Brussels, represents an unbelievable year for me!
Worst moment in 2009:
The 3 F- Crisis! Financial crisis, Fund crisis, Funking crisis!
Best moment in 2009:
Deciding, in August, with Chris to...
Getting some sleep.
It’ s sometimes hard to fall asleep.
Especially when you have so many things in mind.
Together with the creative team, we came to an agreement about the colours. It’s a great news, coz, eventhough it’s an exciting part, the choices we do now will have a tremendous effect later. We don’t want to end up with a shoe that is nice to look at, but that nobody dares putting on...
“Colours can drive you crazy!”
– Jojo’s friends
Try again.
Hej,
A few good steps forward today regarding our logo.
The graphists made a few nice proposals, but we feel we are not yet in front of THE logo our project diserves.
But we also know that we are not too far away from it. Exciting feeling I have to admit.
Important call with our potential (nearly certain) producers. Everything is going well on that side. Good news, we can choose the colors we...
Merry Christmas, especially to jojo...
To all our early-adopters, we wish you a merry christmas!
Yesterday evening was a busy night for us. On one side, family diner, presents,…
BUT on the other side, negotiating with the One. And the big news is that around 11pm we agreed on a price. It’s higher than what we were asking but he told us that quality will rock the place!
Probably one of the best Christmas gift we ever...
“Elles vont tuer ces pompes! Je suis chaud a mort! Bonne fete.”
– jojo’s designer (joachim)
Un pti café?
Matt and I went to have a coffee today…
We left our laptops at home. Just took a blank paper and a pencil.
There, we talked about jojo of course, but not the usual discussions : “you like that color?” or “do you have any news about producers?” no.
We talked about the future. How we see eachother in a few months/years, what we would like to achieve, what we...
The One
No. It’s not the new multi-billion $ movie from Mr Cameron staring 2 Belgian guys, it’s only our final potential producer.
After receiving the prototype last friday we spent a couple of hours analyzing it and we finally decided to go forward with the One (alias “the producer, the only one”).
However, we are still very far from what we want so we will go on the One’s...
“Matt, faut vraiment que cette pompe cartonne fieu!”
– Chris
S'en aller, pour mieux revenir
Had a day off friday.
It’s sometimes good to keep your mind on something else. Take a bit of distance, and come back on it later.
From now on, everyting will go really quickly.
We’re ready.
What it takes to be an entrepreneur
It has been almost 8 weeks that we are discussing with potential producers now.
And tonight, there is only one left. Only one.
Needless to say that the sample that we are supposed to receive tonight will be determinant.
During this long-distance relation with all this producers we learnt a lot, both on a entrepreneurial-basis and on a personal-basis.
We invested so much time, money and...
“Go as far as you can see; Once you get there, you will be able to see further.”
– Entrepreneur
Good team, good idea...and good entourage!
Emotional post today!
Just wanted to point out the enormous role your close friends/family play when beggining a project.
It’s not easy everyday, and they are often the ones that make you realise what you already did…and that it’s worth continuing.
Now let’s stop complaining. We have the possibility to make something on our own.
jojo: an idea that is born in our minds,...
How will they know about us?
It’s a good question…and I’m going to try to answer it this week.
How will the public know that we exist, once our shoes are ready ?
In short: what is our communication plan ?
This blog is of course a first step, but what comes next?
Now, let’s work!
Hardest Week...
Hi there,
We are having the hardest week since we decided to do this project…We feel stuck, and there is not much we can do, since we are still waiting for producers to send their prototypes…
We also realise that working in these long-distance conditions is not easy at all…
But we believe in our project, and that’s why we will do everything to keep it rollin’! and...
Experience is Over-rated →
Apparently it’s good to be a novice.
Even though we are neither at Stanford nor MIT.
Reading : Getting to Plan B (Link) →
“You have a new venture in mind. And you’ve crafted a business plan so detailed it’s a work of art. Don’t get too attached to it.”
John Mullins and Randy Komisar
That’s no good news, we are still attached to plan A+.
The unknown
After developing a brand new prototype last week we are now waiting for producer’s feedback on feasibility and timing. Unfortunately it takes days for them to analyze and reply to our emails and calls. And time is passing by… and it’s almost Christmas, which is bad news for us. Only 3 months left. We need to go faster but production is out of control. Being here, waiting for...
“Chris, faut pas faire différent pour faire différent!”
– Matt
After the storm...
After this rollercoaster-week, its time to re-organize our mindsets, brains & computers… Au menu today: 1. PPT presentation of our new shoe, which involves a new positionning 2. Sauna/Hammam session + getting Christmas Gifts for my Family 3. (see Post above…)
“What doesn’t kill you…euh..doesn’t kill you, so…it keeps...”
– jojo
Up's and Downs...
Hi,
I’m not yet decided wether I should write in English or in French, so for now, I’ll just do both…
So, this week…up’s and downs!
On dit toujours, dans l’histoire de la création d’une boîte, qu’il y a des moments ou on veut tout laisser tomber, parce qu’il y a rien qui va, parce qu’il y a des difficultés qui nous paraissent...
Important day #2
Important and rainy day again.
Let’s get back to work.
Final decisions regarding colors and packaging…
Today is an important day
Today is an important day.
We will have to make a few important decisions regarding:
Design of the shoe itself
Packaging
Communication
Joachim, our designer is arriving this afternoon from Paris.
We will see how it works out :)
“chérie…les meilleures choses c’est quand ça commence tôt”
– Matt
The beginning of a long journey...
Hej,
The purpose of this blog is to share the daily experience of two young 24 year old belgian friends launching a project.
What? Create and sell a special type of super-eco-friendly shoe
When? March 2010
Why? Because we think we’ve come up with a great idea…even if it’s just a drop in the ocean
It’s an ambitious project and we wanted to share it. Any comment or...