We recently had the privilege of interviewing Joël Guéguen, Founder, CEO – CIO, and Global CTO at DreamOnTech (DOT). With his passion for creating a better future by leveraging technology, Joël Guéguen founded DOT, intending to humanize the IT industry.
As a serial entrepreneur, Joël Guéguen has always contributed towards building a better society, reflecting his human-centric approach. Let’s delve deeper into Joël Guéguen’s journey as he unveils his career journey and how he ensures his business performs the best.
The Beginning
We started the interview by asking, “What inspired you to start your company or become an industry leader?”
Joël responds, “It all started in 2013 when I was looking for THE solution so that my need for rewarding human adventures and my love of technology could one day come together to create a better future. It wasn’t until 2015, during my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, that I started working on the visual identity and gigantic universe of DreamOnTech (DOT). DOT began in late 2020, and the agency was officially launched in 2021.
For a long time now, my goal has been to be one of the leading French-speaking IT companies and be present worldwide. After an audit of the current situation in the digital world, its increased performance, and its prospects for evolution, it seemed essential to me to create DOT to offer customized services in various sectors of activity for all types of companies to meet all their needs.”
“DOT is a collective of over 500 people today, offering exactly 25 well-identified services in digital, technology, training, support, design, and marketing. Besides, we also have over 400 partner companies on five continents. This led me to create a specific name for the agency’s type of structure: MMA (Multidisciplinary Multi-service Agency).
Today, our services are comprehensive, tailor-made, and constantly evolving with the global market, meaning they don’t have to search and find multiple service providers for each of their needs. DOT is better able to keep up with the changing needs and developments in the life of a company. We’re here to help you progress in your development, and that’s the most important thing to remember. We already centralize everything one needs to start or accelerate a business. Let’s schedule a meeting with my team to discuss all your current and future projects!” He added.
Following The Core Principles
We were curious to learn about the core principles followed by Joël Guéguen’s organization. So, we inquired, “What is the mission and vision of your company? How do you ensure that these principles are embedded throughout your organization?”
He responds, “The concept is based on a simple observation: make digital accessible and modular to as many people as possible, within a defined budget. Our passion for the culture of excellence and high standards drives us to aim higher and achieve great things together. I have a well-defined strategic role at DOT. While being the company’s founder, CEO – CIO, and Global CTO, I also created The MethoDOT, an alternative to the AGILE method that is so well known worldwide. I organize my time within the agency between managing the company, travel, and professional discussions as the CEO, while:
- As the firm’s CIO, I activate the technological watch on all our services and closely monitor our advances in DOT’s R&D and Innovation Center so as to always remain at the cutting edge of technology and be able to fully satisfy our customers.
- In the role of Global CTO, I am responsible for deciding on the best possible strategy for the technical and functional aspects of each project to be launched. I also discuss with the project managers and CTOs involved in the projects in question. So it’s up to us to collectively decide on the best possible solution for a customer, according to its budget, objectives and market dynamics.
DOT aims to offer innovative, visually appealing, and functional products. We have the advantage of being a unique polymorphic company with three pillars. Our firm has its own software and hardware products available on the market. Along with this, MMA (Multidisciplinary Multi-service Agency) is another pillar of DOT to offer efficient results on all the projects. Regardless of the type of products, DOT is an integrator of proprietary and open-source solutions already on the market through our numerous partnerships around the world. At DOT, transparency, and humanity is the order of the day because we’re all about sharing our principles and values with our customers. Our mascot, ‘DOTly,’ believes the agency has no competition.”
Joël added, “The world will continue to evolve digitally, and human beings will have to find their place in it. Without wishing to be seen as avant-garde or to create a new digital system, DOT simply wants to provide an alternative to the current digital world. Our expertise in so many services also enable us to meet the growing demand from companies to help them develop the skills of their teams. More than a company, DOT is your ally and trusted digital partner from A to Z, offering you personalized support tailored to your business.
Through our consulting and coaching service with our partner, LIVESENSEI, we have a clear social objective – the survival of our relationships with the people around us. Based on this general observation, DOT wants to propose the “Digital Learning LAB” (DLL) program to enable DIGITAL teaching for all. Another social objective is to teach children to think, invent, and code. Also, our cluster “The Original Digital Universe” is entirely dedicated to the issues faced by companies in their current or future digital transition, helping our customers and partners work more serenely and sustainably. Our ambition is not to create coders but people capable of understanding the ins and outs of coding to help these younger generations evolve.
Digital technology also enables us to make our courses more fun and attractive, by integrating videos and podcasts, and by enabling exchanges 7 days a week with our team of senseis. We offer two types of workshops for those concerned:
- Digital Reporter Workshop: Weekly workshops for children and teenagers, immersing them in a newsroom: understanding information, discerning fake news and building a media outlet
- Creative Code Workshop: Coached by experienced senseis, we develop learners’ ability to master the key principles of digital creation and the key concepts of programming, with an emphasis on building logical and algorithmic reasoning.
We also look forward to democratizing the standard use of today’s technological resources. Everyone should have access to digital technology for personal or professional needs. DOT’s mission is to offer you innovative, visually appealing and functional products. Our vision is to go far beyond the definition of a trusted technology partner and to be recognized for our ability to deliver powerful strategies and advice that position our customers for success.”
Attracting The Best Talents
To succeed as a business, it is crucial to have an efficient team. So, we asked Joël Guéguen, “How do you attract top talent and foster a culture of collaboration?”
Joël replied, “The importance of real emphasis on skills transfer and intergenerational relations within the company is paramount. I want everyone to find their place as they should, with mutual respect and a desire to share their knowledge and skills with as many people as possible. Some of the team’s younger members already have a good deal of experience in the field, having been coached by the agency’s experts, some of whom have been in the business for over 25 years, while the average age stands at 32.
The most experienced are excellent trainers in their sectors and are always looking for new technologies. For the quality of their work, they have the best equipment necessary to be as efficient as possible in their activity. DOT has a well-defined organizational chart for strategic decision-making, but the agency operates with a flat hierarchy. Everyone can give their opinion as soon as someone is concerned about a project, and those in charge will make the best decision collectively. If an employee gives their project manager at least two weeks’ notice, they can choose any rest day in the working week, offering a freedom of time for extra-professional activities.
Health is equally important, and we care about it at DOT. All our services are fully remote compatible, except for particular needs such as cybersecurity, audiovisual production, and support and maintenance services, where occasional or even regular travel may be required. With such an atmosphere conducive to productivity, customer satisfaction is bound to exceed expectations since the service provided is often more than the customer expected.”
Navigating Through Global Diversity
For a business like DOT operating globally, it is paramount to consider embracing multiculturalism and global markets. So, we ended the interview by asking Joël Guéguen, “How do you navigate international markets and cultural differences?”
He shared, “When we create a concept, a project, a company, or an ecosystem that responds to global issues, we’re necessarily already anchored in the international market, so our resonance is international. The international context has always interested me ever since I was young. I always wanted to know how people lived, thought, and worked in other countries.
When you achieve a certain pedigree through hard work and dedication, you command respect, and the people around you, whether they like you or not, can’t deny that you’re changing the world by transposing your vision wherever you go. It’s called natural leadership, and people quickly realize that there’s great potential and interest in working with you. Because these people are also looking for something special, something new in this world.”
“Whether it’s my employees, my partners, or even my customers, they’ll first try to connect with people responding to significant problems linked to current issues and their personal and professional needs. From there, DOT is the only agency that has created a set of solutions to all their problems, leaving no grounds of hesitation to talk and collaborate with us. Our teams are multicultural, and we speak several languages, mainly French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Furthermore, I’ve always enjoyed discovering new landscapes, learning about new cultures, and forging partnerships worldwide rather than competing against each other. Travel is the most beautiful book in the world. It was, therefore, evident and essential for me to have an international dimension in my business as soon as possible.” Joël concluded.
Follow Joël Guéguen on LinkedIn.
Find DreamOnTech on LinkedIn or visit their website https://dreamontech.net/.
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