Fabrice Le Parc

Quirky Web Entrepreneur & Author

Du gris vers la lumière!

Ah.. la douce journée où j’aurai renoncé à ma citoyenneté française! non pas à “être français”, mais ne plus cautionner une administration qui impose une société sans mouvement. 

Grise, vide, à l’image de son nouveau gouvernement, c’est ce que la France est devenue:  empêtrée dans un magma social dépassé, qui accoutume, ou force les gens à la médiocrité (compensée certes par beaucoup de brillance intellectuelle quoique souvent trop snob).

Triste quand on pense à la qualité de notre éducation publique, de nos journalistes, de nos écrivains.. de nos conversations. De notre héritage culturel immense. 

L’ambition est le sentiment humain premier, qui a abouti au monde d’aujourd’hui - pour le meilleur je pense, et nous n’avons guère le choix de toute façon. 

Les civilisations se façonnent avec le rêve, un brin mégalomane, et surtout avec la prise de risque. On échoue assez souvent quand on voit grand, mais on n’arrive pas à grand chose quand on voit petit. Personne ne voit grand en France (et dans pas mal de pays européens), et c’est fascinant de voir un pays comme pétrifié - une sorte de musée géant, garantie d’être la première destination touristique au monde. 

Sans qu’il soit question de toucher à nos villages ou à Paris, les autres espaces urbains pourraient être inventés de façon moins timorée, exigüe même quand l’espace abonde. Nos architectes ne travaillent qu’en Chine ou aux Etats-Unis… 

Les sociétés qui tentent de mépriser l’ambition et la volonté d’avoir toujours plus, qui pour simplifier nous distingue tout de même des animaux (!) s’excluent d’un mouvement global toujours plus rapide.

L’ambition n’exclut pas la classe, les doutes, les critiques, et devrait faire partie des valeurs françaises comme ce fut le cas jusqu’à la Première Guerre Mondiale. 

Tout comme une ouverture d’esprit sincère, et non feinte car dogme d’Etat. 

“No matter how far you’ve traveled down the wrong path, turn around”

Damn, I feel like I’m writing “Be a good manager” books!

My rules as CEO:

1. When saying “Done is better than perfect”, done means it works and it’s “marketable”

Read this : http://www.biquitous.com/why-most-websites-fail-what-to-do-about-it

That’s what I mean by “don’t mix up precipitation with being fast”. A lot of times, you are faster because you’ve thought about the way to execute in the simplest possible way, and researched all existing tools. Work hard but be lazy to force yourself to find shortcuts. 

2. Yes, release often, but start marketing when it’s a product people will find appealing (not 100% complete or breathtaking, but valuable)

3. Never be afraid to kill something (code, a powerpoint, a pitch.. ) that doesn’t work. It’s hard bc temptation is strong to use the stuff you’ve worked on. But in the end, you’re often going to have a faster, more durable good result by starting again. 

And what you’ve done isn’t lost, it helps you do the right thing. 

4. Sounds obvious.. Be proud of what you do!  If we need 3 months to launch something that’s appealing (I’m not saying awesome!), or 6 months, then so be it. This period is normal, needs to be as reduced as possible, but releasing to the public something horrendous does you no good. 

5. With those principles in mind, you can make the right decisions without going thru loops of approvals. You can all go ahead with stuff as long as :

  • it is free or costs little (if not ask me)
  • You’ve researched and are confident it’s the best and EASIEST solution. Cut off all that’s not necessary. 
  • You know this will make you reach your goal faster

As CEO I don’t want to make the mistake of micro-managing everyone, done that in the past and doesnt work. I just really need my team to abide by the “rules” I send, and remember principles I want my company to function on. 

Will I really have to learn how to code?

As I repeatedly said, the biggest challenge I’ve faced building a startup is getting good coders.

B (or more often, D) players don’t just create 0 value, they actually destroy it (money spent, time lost, even previous code lost). I don’t wanna whine but it’s hard to access the little pool of talent that just deliver something great in no time (vs a piece of crap in 1 year) when you are not Facebook or Google. 
Deepclass is a great concept, will be beautiful, has all branding, marketing and sales packs in place - but I have yet to either learn to do it myself (probably too long for this time) or get those A players who can deliver the apps and website I envision. 


Having to deal with major domestic and personal issues since January came at a bad time, but maybe better than, say, after launching.
I learned how to communicate better with people, and how to stop distorted assumptions that I could create by being playful but misunderstood. 
No one gets the Pivot theory if you don’t explain it! most will think these are random frequent changes of strategy, when it IS in fact the strategy! 

even Agile will trouble more than one., getting them to go around in endless loops. 

One must adapt, some will freak out for no actual reason or what you can’t fathom they perceive, and confronting them makes them panic and stop talking, or worse makes them overly aggressive.


ALL RIGHT NOW, dear God, I’ve learned enough for a long while ;) 
I am more determined than ever to make it happen, and I will humbly admit it does require a great deal of subtle intensity.

http://it-jobs.fins.com/Articles/SBB0001424052702303916904577376260870470438/Silicon-Valley-Avoids-B-Players-Like-the-Plague

American people: fear and… erm… freedom?

Yes, Americans are paranoid and have turned their borders into a replica of the Iron Curtain-  they are probably collectively ashamed that they did not uncover 9/11 despite a ridiculous amount of evidence,  instead of wasting millions of tourists or business investor’s time and money by treating them without an ounce of judgement like dangerous potential criminals

I won’t even go into the laughable “security” routines at airports. The controversy between a “laptop” (dangerous) and a “tablet/smartphone” (not dangerous) illustrates how lost the TSA is. They still have not given up on the shoe thing. 

All of this costs hundreds of billions, and even a fraction of that would be better spent on identifying potential issues at their source. But better show people that threat is present here and not prepared abroad, or by actual American citizens, right? 

Beautiful and inspiring speech by the President, who has become an outstanding orator. I admire the stage in front of the Eiffel tower, his fighting spirit, the poetry, sophistication and lyrics of the text. Which is a true part of our culture, and certainly the one I’m most proud of. 

“Our opponents are marching with the Red flag of the communist crimes, we are proudly showing our French flag”

I just wish he had been able to push forward his measures and had been able to take down the French immobilism. A bit like Thatcher renewed Britain in the 80’s. If he looses on Sunday, despite his dreadful and inexperienced opponent, it will be because he did not impose his views, no matter what. That was why we had elected him, because we hoped he would not care so much about opinion ratings and do what is right for our society. 

TAXES are not cool

Just make everyone, along the route of any supply chain, to charge sales tax. Revenue should only drop to 2002 levels. THEN CUT THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT. 


Everytime I try to push this idea forward, I get condescending (at best) looks in France, and puzzled ones in the US. I’m sorry, but it doesn’t look like current system works perfect, does it?

It’s obvious how inefficient our admin is. Most in France (and I suspect in many countries) do not work AT ALL, and the rest maybe 15h/week with a good 10 weeks of vacation. 

I have witnessed it while on a mission at “La Poste” so I am not exaggerating. Most do not produce anything useful, EVER. I was assigned a “difficult” task supposed to take me 1 week, was done in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and spent the rest on the phone (as did people around me) or browsing. 

It’s not their fault, admin is massively overstaffed, and why work if you aren’t rewarded for it or can never be fired? some do try, but it’s demoralizing. It’s awful to feel you have no real purpose in your job. 

It’s like being unemployed, but going to an office and having a social environment. 

I know this whole thing won’t change in France until the government is totally broke. Any small cut gets you unpopular and 2 months of demonstrations (thus costing even more in the end). The mainstream French population are adverse to any type of change, and seem to accept the gradual but obvious decline of our global reach and economy. Those who don’t can only leave. It’s a nightmare to run a small business and have French employees. 

We are not anymore after WWII when the country needed to be reconstructed! 

Imagine how great it would be to just pay taxes on what you buy (and saving 5 days in the process, or 50 man-days and tons of money if you’re a company). 

Of course, tax sales would be adapted to the items purchased, 0 or low on necessary goods, and really high on luxury. BUT our global economy relies on value creation and SPENDING. The more the rich can spend, the more taxes will be collected and adios tax evasion! It would in the end be more fair, and still allow assistance to those in REAL need (not those who won’t work bc they get more money by doing so). 

All the useless admin jobs would be replaced by small business jobs, more services etc. Unemployment is massive in France because it just costs too much to hire people (twice what they get), and such a hassle in general. 

It’s a wild dream as it would mean coordination between States, all would have to do the same (hope you get why). 



Is Apple becoming EVIL?

In the past 2 years, I’ve bought a total of 70 apple products (well not just for myself ;)

Although I despise the expression, I would have been considered a “fanboy”, and would never have let the office suffer the sight of a PC. 

Never had problems, but heard countless stories of guys who had stepped on their iPhone and were handed a new one, no questions asked. 

Seems there’s been a big shift in customer treatment since Steve died! 

THE LAST 3 MB AIRS I BOUGHT recently all have busted screens. I’ve been to their Genius Bars 5 times, and so far, all I got was “we’ll replace the screens, does take 10 days though”. 

Of course I reply: “I NEED them for work so please give me functioning new ones”. One even tried to charge me $200 for the repair (Me : “have you heard of WARRANTY? this thing is a week old!”), and then, tried to sell me a $500/mo subs to “get prio business service”. I have changed so I didn’t yell but just quietly walked away. 

Then, sharing the story, I find out that MANY people have been having issues lately. 

I think Apple is becoming Microsoft-like EVIL, arrogant about being the most valuable company in the world. Stories about their massive tax evasion, change in customer policy are starting to come out…

And yes, Apple Mail or MobileMe ARE “pieces of garbage”, iCloud takes your money faster than you can notice (got a charge I never intended to make, since I don’t use iCloud)

And that’s precisely the signal Apple could become the new Microsoft (which recently charged me $500 for Office 2011, which I can’t have working on my new computers for whatever reason, is bugged up to the neck, and can’t get an answer from what should be their customer service - I don’t think it really exists btw)

Dreadful as I want to keep having good-looking computers, and no one seems to be able to design them. 

Apple is sitting on so much cash they’ll never know what to do with it. So BE NICE to your customers, OK? 

Tim Cook, don’t destroy what Jobs did and give me new computers! 

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/apples-mind-bogglingly-greedy-and-evil-license-agreement/4360

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/06/john-naughton-apple-dominates-market


Intirium Scam: dude what was I thinking?

http://www.ripoffreport.com/specialty-stores/intirium-marcel-wilk/intirium-marcel-wilker-nadia-7700e.htm

I like the challenge, as in this case, it will be hard to recover monies! those $20k are long gone. 

Duh : that’s what happens when you don’t pay attention, follow your ex-partners requests blindly, and don’t do basic checks. I almost feel I fell for a Nigerian scam!

INTIRIUM: a pretty good scam, I must say. Game on!

ANSWER : you can’t! 

Always amazed at how some people will go to any length to rip you off a little more along the road. 

Last example: http://www.intirium.com/ INTIRIUM 

They’re very politely (with the best British hypocrisy) manage to inflate what you pay by 40%. At first I was like, oh well, don’t waste time. But until you hammer them hard and threaten, a new charge comes in every day. 

Bottom line: if you want that fancy Italian furniture in NY, just buy it here, pay just 10% more (or even less if I hadnt negotiated!) and just get it delivered. Trust me: peace of mind has a high value.

NEVER buy slightly cheaper if that means hassle. If you can’t afford it, just buy something else from a source that you know means NO HASSLE.

Reminds me of hotels: you’re better off in a well-run Hilton than at a fake-luxurious pricey “boutique” hotel where nothing works. 

Last email in a chain of more than 100 (!) : 

Look I’ve seen costs inflate from beginning to end, for a good 40%, and at some point you have to stop taking people for retards: 
- oh, it’s a lot more in shipping bc this or that, it’s fragile (surprise)
- oh, it’s avail 3 months later than we said 
- oh, we thought it was delivered! 
- oh, we had no idea bout COI in New York (which is certainly the 1st time you’re delivering here right?)
- what a dreadful shame, it’s now $550 extra to take it upstairs. 
AND : all of this is your customer’s fault. 
Or is that your fist delivery of Italian furniture to NYC (which I thought was your business)?
Read latest updates.. still nothing 5 weeks later. 
Found a place where eVil is not 

Found a place where eVil is not 

Wish I was straight. 1 hot blonde card in 3 min and sex date. My straight friends hate me. Well, as in business, “it works better if you care, but not that much!”

Wish I was straight. 1 hot blonde card in 3 min and sex date. My straight friends hate me. Well, as in business, “it works better if you care, but not that much!”

St Patty’s is crazy here! Everyone is trashed 

St Patty’s is crazy here! Everyone is trashed