Panama and Software Companies |
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| Written by Matt |
| Saturday, 26 December 2009 14:41 |
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In 2001, a new Ann Arbor-based technology company called DNA Software won a $1.5 Million dollar grant from the state of Michigan to develop better computer programs for scientists. The grant paid the small company in annual installments in exchange for preferred shares with no controlling interest. The story was every start-up company's dream. If this wasn't Easy Street, it was somewhere just around the corner.
But as three years worth of steady money rolled in, looming problems at DNA went undetected. The cash cushion encouraged company executives to focus almost exclusively on product development, without giving much (if any) thought to sales or marketing and when the grant money finally dried up, everyone simultaneously realized they had grossly overestimated the potential market for DNA's highly specialized services. By 2005, the once-booming DNA headquarters was all but about to collapse. The shock DNA Software went through forced its leaders to think in different ways. The CEO, Don Hicks, reportedly took a 50% pay cut and started preaching an entirely renovated marketing strategy to his employees. The seemingly outdated practice of a courtesy call made its way back into DNA's sales department, as did old-fashioned hands-on demonstrations in front of clients. It was back to basics for DNA, a company who'd developed something of a taste for champagne. The past decade has seen Panama climb like the rising sun in a small bevy of industries it never really knew it had. Not unlike DNA, Panama saw tremendous growth and unanimous success. While real estate tops the chart, Panama's tourism market, offshore services, banking, and retirement opportunities all blossomed. Despite all this though, Panama as a country would do well to remember that money is not the mother of invention. In fact, Panama's success could, in many ways, spur a complacency threatening to its long-term future. Similar to DNA, Panama's tremendous success could prompt the flexibility to ignore sound business practices. [It's not as if sound business practices were ever particularly native to this part of the world but you get the idea.] We've all seen it before and we're starting to see it a lot more often nowadays: the real estate company blowing big checks on office furniture and unnecessary administrative staff, now, in the wake of a comparatively unsuccessful 2009, firing inefficient employees and in some cases closing their doors completely. The quick sale just isn't as quick. The easy vacation package just not so easy any more. The recession, if looked at through the most optimistic of lenses, is a timely tool for refocusing Panama's goals. It is a time for shedding dead weight and reevaluating the country's true allure. It is a time for servicing clients well, for offering true value, and working hard. As the era of lazy cash flow appears to be over (outside of the Canal, that is), in Panama it's back to basics. {adsense} As a child, I once remember walking outside our house one Sunday morning and finding my mother kneeling in the flowerbed. "Why are you pulling out all those plants Mah?" "They're not plants, they're weeds and they rob nutrients from the soil. They also give shelter to all these little insects and diseases. See?" she said, holding up a handful of brown leaves and gross insects hanging by strands. "That's nasty," I said and picked up my scooter. "May be a nasty chore," my mom said, "but it's the only real way to know what's going on in your garden." By then I was probably half way down the block on my scooter, but the concept resonates with me to this day. Weeding is a very good way to get a true grip on reality. Since DNA's drastic weeding in 2005, they have emerged back to profitability and are on track to bring in $1.5 Million (ironically the same amount they were first granted) in revenue in 2009. The company was forced to run on cash from its own operations and adopt a "hunt only what you can kill" mentality which is precisely what Panama could use. DNA's turnaround was the result of serious introspection: an analysis of the company's quality and business practices. No one says Panama will falter under so much cash, but the question of its focus and its sustainability still remains at large. The ability to see the large picture could be a deciding factor: while getting caught in the lazy art of self-righteousness, a nasty little product of its own smashing success.
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Comments (2)
  written by Miguel Estrada , December 31, 2009 Anyone ever heard of the word spoiled? I am from Costa Rica and spent 7 years living in Panama. I can tell you that the country acts exactly like a spoiled kid. From the way its people behave (extremely immature) to the way its adult politicians work (extremely corrupt). This country has all the makings of a big spoiled mess, one that has been gifted presents all its lifetime and feels the sense of entitelment to everything. I will never recomend Panama to friends or family: in Costa Rica, we have actually worked to achieve something.
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 written by Joe Boxershorts , January 05, 2010 How long did it take you to work that out? Yes, spoiled child. No-one works for anything, just wait for handouts. I see it as historically inbred into the people. Their whole 500 year existence has been based on swinging in the hammock waiting for a boat to come in and then getting paid to labor for it for a short time. The merchant class stands back and says "we are Panama, you came here, you obviously came for a reason so don't complain about the price". It is entrenched in law. Work for 3 months, steal, do nothing, leave, get another job and the law says get another 3 months from your employer.
Nope, no recommendation. Infact, yes, I recommend never coming here. There is nothing for tourists. Go somewhere else. That other place will thank you for your custom. report abuse
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| Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2009 14:43 |
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