On my side, I learned a lot from this experience. Proper execution is very important. While I planned well in advance by having a well thought of business plan, convincing people and getting funding was another thing. Unfortunately, most people that I talked to only showed interest in the recent days after numerous similar sites popped out here and there (think CNN, Youtube and Yahoo!). I told myself that it was too late in a way. We are indeed a nation of followers, not innovators :) The idea is still very interesting and I offered Skooiz all my help and knowledge as I still believe in social media. In fact, I cannot see a future not dominated by citizen journalists. Mark my words and let’s see what will happen in 5 years.

So what now? Well I do have at least 3 very innovative ideas in mind and this time I know what to do:

1. Screw the business plan – Things never work out the way you want anyways.
2. Get a partner who is a coder.

Getting funded is a chicken and egg problem. You need money when you start and people won’t give you money when you start. I now believe that it’s easier to get 10M$ than 10K$ and I think many entrepreneurs-wannabee will agree.

So if you’re a web coder and you’re looking for a summer challenge, email me :)

Just before the interview, Laurent captured footage of an arrest right next door. This really shows the power behind “citizen journalism”. People are now becoming journalist and this is the essence behind the project.

Click here to view the actual interview (the interview is in French).

Did you miss your chance with Google or Facebook? Do you want to own a lottery ticket where you control the odds? Now is the time to prove yourself while staying in Montreal!

Skills:
Expert knowledge of PHP.
Very good knowledge of JavaScript / AJAX / CSS / XML
Very good knowledge of MySQL (stored procedures, triggers, indexes, table normalization and database design).
Very good knowledge of secure coding practices.
Very good knowledge of scalable development.
Working knowledge of a Linux scripting language (Perl, Python).
Good web design / user interface skills.
Good Linux system administrator skills (installing, configuring and maintaining Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP packages).
Basic graphics skills (must be able to do basic graphic manipulations).

Your profile:
You were ideally a lead developer on a medium/large project.
You are able to work in a “LAMP” environment.
You have a good sense of humor but you’re able to “crunch” when needed.
You “work and live” on the Internet.
You know what “startup life” is and at minimum, you’ve read this article: dotcom.monster.com/articles/startup
You can afford NOT to get paid until angel/venture capital financing is obtained.

Extra points:
Proven ability to excel in fast paced start-up environments.
You enjoy solving those Facebook/Google puzzles.
You found, and fixed, bugs in PHP or any other software.

Benefits:
Be part in a team who wants to change the world of news.
Be part of an exciting startup right here in Montreal.
Be employee #2.
Get the most flexible work schedule ever (you work when and where you want)
Important: No salary will be given until angel/venture capital financing is obtained (You will be given stocks and stock options)

We set the barrier high but we also want to hear from fast learners who aren’t afraid of trying to climb it.

Interested? Send any pertinent information (resume, portfolio, Linkedin/Facebook profiles, etc.) to info@yulnews.com

Here are my thoughts on what I really liked in no particular order.

CakeMail – This thing rocks. Having tried it in the past, it’s definitively ready for prime time. I haven’t seen the Google maps / Web statistic part of it but I think it’s pure madness (in an genius way of speaking). The only thing missing is the linking of geographical data to a user. This might be a bit hard – I admit – but will be worth gold to some people, especially if users don’t enter their location in their profile (like most traditional mailing lists).

Keiki – Awesome. I’m a parent myself and although I’ve never paid for parenting books (who does?) having a centralized place for such information is great. A great plus would be to have “certified profiles” who can write special articles (i.e. doctors, pediatricians, etc.) As a parent, I often hear about many weird things and unless it comes from a doctor, I take it with a grain of salt. So something to keep an eye on!

TimmyOnTime – Too bad their demo, their backup and their rescue boat (the videos) didn’t work. The product looks very promising especially for freelancers and consultants. I suggested them to find a solution for larger companies who already use an internal system (i.e. make a plugin to put the data in Oracle). I’m not sure if they want to focus on large companies in the short term so let’s see. Guys, BarCampCanada is coming soon (March, May?) so how about a final release demo?

RefactorMyCode – This is really cool. Marc-André did a nice presentation but I thought it was a bit too short. I agree that it was a “lighting talk” but going a bit deeper would’ve been nice (especially for the geek crowd). Standout Jobs sponsors the project so this means it’s good stuff!

Sylvain Carle – I stopped counting his presentations. Was it 3 or maybe 4? Great speaker. He knows his stuff very well and he mentioned that he had to pitch 40 times in order to receive financing for Praized. Great lessons for everyone. It shows what dedication can do…! I also love his “paradox”: No competition: stupid idea, no competition: amazing idea! How about when there’s a little bit of competition? Or event a lot? Google wouldn’t be here otherwise…! Regarding Google’s mega API: I guess they had no choice. We often say: if you can’t beat them, join them. Well Google said: if you can’t beat them, control them! Sort of…

BlitzWeekend – Heri did a quick talk and managed to gain some interest from some people. Let’s hope lots of people will participate as similar events in the past (mainly Startup Weekends) were very successful. This is a must attend event! (shameless plug as I’m helping Heri organize it)

Austin Hill – No slides but what a presentation! I was very amazed to see his level of knowledge regarding Angel investing. He knows his stuff! Everone was listening. It proves that people are interested in the financial part of any business (hint to VC/angels – why don’t you come for a presentation?)

Finally, yours truly made a presentation about my own project (YulNews.com) and I’d like to take the opportunity to announce you that YulNews now has its own blog. The URL is: www.yulnews.com/blog. The purpose of the blog is to talk about the project’s progress and any social news issues. So you are officially invited to visit and participate!

Heri from MontrealTechWatch has an amazing article about the latest camp. Lots of pictures too!

All in all, BCM3 was very fun and if you haven’t showed up, you must attend the very first Canadian BarCamp. I heard some exciting rumors!

If you are interested, please email us (info AT yulnews.com) and we’ll get you started right away! As a reminder, YulNews will be presented during the upcoming (and very first!) Canada BarCamp on November 3rd In Montreal.

I don’t feel quite ready to demo my project but I think this is an opportunity that simply can’t be missed… More on that when I have time to make up my mind!