We are TechAlliance’s Spotlight of the month!
TechAlliance has a program where they interview one of their members every month. I am honoured to be the spotlight for the month of February 2015. I would like to thank TechAlliance for this opportunity.
Name: François Vergès
Title: Founder
Company: SemFio Networks
SemFio Networks provides a wide range of Wi-Fi network professional services. This includes designing, installing, troubleshooting and supporting any type of enterprise Wi-Fi networks. We have partnerships with some of the best Wi-Fi vendors that enable us to provide our services using enterprise-class equipment. SemFio Networks also offers Wi-Fi training to IT professionals in both English and French.
1. WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?
As the owner of a small business, I am basically doing everything. My favourite part is delivering quality projects to my clients. I love it when they call me back for other jobs! I also love that my work brings me to meet clients having different type of industries. It makes it so much more interesting. I could be working in a typical office environment one week and in a warehouse environment the next week.
2. IF YOU COULD HAVE COFFEE WITH ANY BUSINESS LEADER OR INDUSTRY EXPERT, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE, AND WHY?
I would choose Elon Musk. This guy is a machine! I really admire what he has done and I think he is a great example to many entrepreneurs. I am sure he would have good stories to share and good advice to give.
3. WHAT IS THE #1 BUSINESS BOOK/BLOG/WEBSITE YOU WOULD RECOMMEND?
My favourite business book is called “Business Model Generation”. It helps you building or refining your business plan. The book is very easy to read illustrated with a lot of drawings explaining business concepts. My favourite website/blog is LinkedIn. I love the idea of a professional social platform where you can share ideas and experiences. It seems like the website is always showing me content I want to read or follow!
4. LOOKING AT YOUR COMPANY’S FUTURE, WHAT ARE YOU MOST ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT?
I am excited about helping local businesses in London taking the best out of their Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi became a key technology and it has now become critical for most business to have a reliable, fast and secure Wi-Fi network. Recently, Wi-Fi has been integrated to some cloud solutions making it cheaper and easier to install. I am convinced that Wi-Fi infrastructures managed in the cloud will be the future of Wi-Fi for many businesses. That is one of the solutions I often offer to my clients.
5. WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT THE LOCAL TECH COMMUNITY?
I moved to London only a few months ago (8) but I already had the chance and opportunity to interact with the local tech community. I feel like small tech businesses are growing and supporting each other in their growth. I had great support, on my end, from some local companies. On the other hand, Techalliance is doing a great job at supporting these ideas or startups and I feel like it is only the beginning for London!
