Utopia's FAQ Page/Acerca De Grupo Utopia
A Few Questions with Utopia Founder David Anderson
Q: Why Costa Rica?
A: Costa Rica has one of the fastest growing high tech industries in the world. The entrepreneurial environment, high level of educational accomplishment and rapidly evolving market for technology products and services gives Utopia a perfect base of operations both from a development perspective and a product marketing perspective. Costa Rica's technical infrastructure and location also make it ideal as a marketing base for the rest of Latin America. I also happen to have a love affair with Costa Rica. My wife is Costa Rican, from Upala, and I am the proud dad of two little Ticos.
Q: Is there anything you DON'T like about Costa Rica?
A: Yes, the tendency by some Ticos to over promise and under deliver. I have seen this at every level, from financiers, to Company Presidents and Programmers. It is like a lack of ability to say, “no.” As an American, especially one who has spent many years in high tech and in the Silicon Valley, commitment means a lot to me. I have found at times here that people will commit to something and then when they cant come through, they don't return your phone calls. I have learned to take things with a grain of salt as a result.
Q: What is Grupo Utopia's advantage in a crowded market?
A: Two words, vision, contacts. Grupo Utopia is a company with a clear vision. While our products and services have evolved over the last year. Our basic philosophy, Anytime, anywhere access to the information that is important to you, has not changed. The other important thing for us has been developing relationships. We have put a tremendous amount of focus on developing strong, synergistic relationships with likeminded companies. The other advantage is our “bench.” In 20 years in high tech, I have built contacts all over the world. We do not waste revenue and our investors money by having a huge staff or fancy offices. We have access to some of the best “independent,” talent in the wireless development business and in Call/Contact Center/CRM development. We can offer our customers the best without the overhead and it provides our clients with value, while limiting their cost.
Q: What is Mobilus?
A: Mobilus is a set of standards for wireless connectivity. Mobilus is Grupo Utopias way of integrating these standards to offer our clients anytime, anywhere access. A great example is GSM. A GSM network allows Utopia to extend client networks out of the brick and mortar and onto the street. Combine this technology with an 802.11 or Bluetooth network, and an application like our Wireless Restaurant Application, and you have a solution that will allow a manager real time access to sales data from his restaurant via his cell phone and a WAP browser.
Q: What is Bluetooth?
A: Bluetooth is a wireless radio frequency technology that allows peer to peer connectivity between a wide variety of devices. More information can be found here:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.04/mustread.html?pg=3
Q: What is 802.11 and what are the differences with Bluetooth?
A: Both 802.11 and Bluetooth are wireless networking standards. There is a great description of the differences between the two technologies here:
http://www.10meters.com/blue_802.html
Q: What is on the horizon for Grupo Utopia?
A: Grupo Utopia will continue to evolve as a company. We are still one major investor away from having the kind of R&D capital we would really like to have to develop some of our conceptual products. But we are making great progress against our plan. The fact is that we have a very low debt load, so we should be okay for the foreseeable future. The key for us is to be aggressive about Marketing our products and services. What we will do is create some damned exciting products, and aggressively upgrade those products, while pushing our Market out from Costa Rica.
Q: What specific products do you see Utopia Offering in the near future?
A: It is not about specific products (yes I know investors don't like to hear that), but it isn't. As one of my mentors, Steve Aronson of Café Britt said to me not too long ago, it is not about reinventing the wheel. It is about adding value. Often adding value means adapting rather than creating technology. As I said in discussing Mobilus, Mobilus is NOT a product, but rather a series of technologies that “ties” Utopia's custom solutions together. Let me break it down for you. Our Wireless Hotel and Restaurant Application is at its base level just a handheld computer accessing a Point of Sale database using a handheld version of a web browser. It is nothing fancy, but that is exactly the point. The application has a job to do, and it does it well, fast and with limited complexity. What we do from a conceptual point of view is provide the “glue,” that holds a clients communication solution together. What we do best is to provide a combination of consulting and customization of base or platform applications based on standards. What this means for our client is they are not paying a lot of research and development cost for a rigid application that may or may not meet their needs. I will say one thing in particular though. Palm has been very good to us, and has helped us immeasurably. We will be bringing some very exciting solutions to market soon featuring Palm and Bluetooth, especially after the GSM launch in Costa Rica.
Q: So are you saying that Grupo Utopia really does not have products?
A: No, not at all. What I am saying is that our products are really frameworks. Our products are frameworks on which a solution that best fits our clients needs is bu ilt. What I am saying is that there is NO shrink wrapped product in Utopia's arsenal of products. The advantage is clear. A great example is the Wireless Hotel and Restaurant Application. While this application was designed with the Procom Point of Sale System, it is completely open and tweaking it to run with any POS that uses OBDC standards is a job of less than a day.
Q: Grupo Utopia seems to be in the news every month. Why are you so popular with the press?
A: Well first off, we have the finest press agent in the business, Erick Murillo. I think the other key is that we are something different. We don't operate like the majority of companies here. Our philosophy. Our drive, our vision are kind of unique. In a country that sometimes has a kind of widget mentality, even in high tech, we are a company that is, “out there.” We are not afraid to talk about vision, about the future, and most important perhaps to the press…. We NEVER play it safe.
Q: What do you mean by play it safe?
A : Well we have had a couple of false starts on our software, missed deadlines. Each of these was easily explained, adding features, addressing customer concerns about usability, etc. But the point was this did not make us gun-shy about discussing our plans. Also we aren't afraid to say it as we see it. I have never been a very political person, and I believe Costa Rica is one of the outstanding success stories of the late 90's. I am a Costa Rican patriot, and I feel it my duty to question. I also feel that it is important to push the envelope. Grupo Utopia has been successful despite very little investment, and more broken promises than you can imagine. What will make us successful is that we will NOT give up. We will continue to push the envelope, to step to the front, to push our competition, to fight for our clients, and to simply be the best.
Q: What is the most special thing about Grupo Utopia?
A: The people. Grupo Utopia was founded by a bunch of young visionaries who sacrificed to bring this company to fruition. Some have left us, but those who have stuck it out, are exactly what makes us special. Because those who did, did not do it for money, but for belief in a common vision… It is that vision that will continue to be the foundation for our success.
