Shevy Levy – Founder and CEO of Lambda Solutions
Founder-leader name: Shevy Levy
Venture Name: Lambda Solutions
Description of venture: Lambda solutions provide online course development services. They also assist clients with developing materials for the Moodle LMS and Mahara e-portfolio platforms. They are endorsed as an official partner for Moodle and Mahara. Their main focus is to create effective e-Learning solutions for small and large organizations using their specialized Rapid Course Development Model. They have a variety of clients withinCanadaand all over the world (Lambda solutions, 2011).
Shevy Levy’s Bio: Prior to founding this company, she has worked with a variety of different eLearning systems throughout her career. She was a lead researcher for SumTotal Systems’ click2learn. She also has some management training as she was the VP for Training and development at TELES Training Inc. (Lambda solutions, 2011). From her background it looks like she not only has practical experience with working with eLearning systems but she also has experience doing research. Her research and practical experience probably helped her immensely when she was forming her own company. She would have known not only how to create good systems, but would have had the experience to see if their approaches were effective or not. The Management Team for Lambda solutions have a mix of technical and business skills, which would be needed in a venture such as this. They have people who have the expertise to appropriate program and create the systems and people to effectively manage and market their services.
As I am just starting out in this field it feels like I have a long way to go. I feel that I really need to have good practical experience to make it as an entrepreneur in this field. In addition, I see that when selecting a team for this type of endeavor, it is important to get a good mix of business and technical skills. You need good people to
- create and execute good ideas
- sell and market your services
- run your company well.
References:
Lambda Solutions (2011). About Us. Retrieved from http://www.lambdasolutions.net/pages/company/aboutUs.
Lambda Solutions (2011). Management. Retrieved from http://www.lambdasolutions.net/pages/company/management
Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
Karen Jones 12:49 pm on September 26, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Interesting person and company, Juliana. As you have indicated, it seems that experience garnered by working in related fields is valuable for an entrepreneur’s perspective, and probably would increase the chances of a new venture’s success. It would also multiply the number of networking contacts.
Good job!
KJ
Juliana 8:16 am on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for the comment Karen. Yes, I think experience and contacts is key. In addition, having good people working in the company is important too. I think she has also made some good partnerships with Mahara and Moodle. Being the official partner with these organizations can help to create a market niche and encourage others to be referred to your services.
Juliana.
andrea 9:13 pm on September 26, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You’re right that running a company requires so many different skill sets, and its important to bring together people who specialize in specific areas (marketing, HR), not just in the ‘product’ category. Thanks for this intro to Lambda – I’ve heard a lot about them in Vancouver but never looked at the makeup of leadership.
Juliana 8:18 am on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for the comment Andrea. As I am based in Vancouver, I wanted to look at a local company. In addiiton, I was intrigued by their partnerships with open-source platforms Moodle and Mahara. And it is true, a good team makes a good company.
Juliana.
Angela Novoa 4:28 pm on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Juliana. Great work! I think it is really important to have experience related to the field of the product and have experience in research. Also, having a team with many different skill sets is relevant too.
Angela.
Juliana 4:12 pm on October 2, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Angela. I think that’s what made me feel better about examining these ventures. No one was an expert in everything, but they did connect with people who were an expert in their chosen fields.
Juliana.
hall 1:31 am on September 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think a person who is starting a business must be knowledgeable of his or her product or service. It is necessary for the person to have research and practical experience because it will probably help him or her understand all pros and cons the product or service. Great points.
Juliana 4:17 pm on October 2, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for your comment Everton. I think we often overlook the importance of research when we think of business, but it is an important aspect of success. How many times have there been poorly researched initiatives implemented in our school systems only to find out that they all flat? When this happens in businesses, people loose jobs and money.
Juliana.
Doug Smith 2:50 am on October 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I like how Levy seems to have created a strategic partnership with Moodle and Mahara. This not only gives people a reason to use Lambda Solutions, but is also a great way to market her company with a type of free advertising. Good report Juliana.
Juliana 4:21 pm on October 2, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Doug. I think it was very good of her to form partnerships with those two companies. It creates a good business base since the two other companies can refer clients to her.
Juliana.
mcquaid 5:00 am on October 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
“As I am just starting out in this field it feels like I have a long way to go. I feel that I really need to have good practical experience to make it as an entrepreneur in this field.”
I found it interesting, while reading through just my own entry possibilities, how this is sometimes true and sometimes not. I think, like you, that getting into something as technical and broad as this topic would require some background experience. I was intrigued (and relieved / inspired), though, how some leaders / CEO’s started off with some goal or product that was very far from what they ended up doing.
Juliana 4:23 pm on October 2, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for your comment. I think that is part of my problems with becoming an entrepenuer. I think I need to be an expert befor I purse it as a business. Perhaps I should re-think this. May be it is just a matter of seeing an opportunity and going after it.
Juliana.