It was sometime in the middle of 2000. Sitting in my office in Minsk, capital of Belarus, I started thinking about the opportunities which the advent of the Internet had created. At that time my business was a technical center involved in the repairing and servicing of computers and Local Area Networks (LAN). Having started from scratch in 1998, we had achieved over those two years some more than respectable results owing to the excellence of our staff and our very own philosophy and approach to work. In fact, we had managed to gain a huge and loyal clientele that nearly overwhelmed us! And yet, despite the success of the company, it became clear to me that afternoon in my office that this was not what I really needed. Deep down I was not interested in “single-business” proprietorship, but rather in creating a “model-business”, one that could be duplicated in unlimited numbers, each time yielding a planned result. A model that would allow me to perfect the business through the perfecting of the structure, thereby providing the company the opportunity not only to attain a position of leadership but also to hold on to it. After all, my dream had been to create IT franchising.
The franchising dream dates back to 1996, and I have been obsessed with it ever since. It was then that McDonald’s opened its first outlet in Belarus. Seeing once how the workers did their job and, momentarily, imagining the whole business-model for a network of restaurants, their business processes, as well as who makes the money, how and with what, I understood that I wanted to repeat their success in the field of IT. The idea of McDonald’s—the idea of a simple, well-defined and repeatable business construct—was so in harmony with my life philosophy that after my initial visit I made frequent trips there to observe how the restaurant functioned, trying to understand what improvements I might make in their work as well as which of their goals I might use in my own business. The franchising idea so fascinated me that even with the establishment of two computer centers, in 1998 and 1999 respectively, I was trying more to create a “repeatable structure” than a “business.” Many times I thought I was close to accomplishing the task; however, each time I came across one and the same problem, namely, the limited market. To be more specific, the problem involved the extremely low level of computer literacy in my country, the low level of business and, as a consequence, the low level of demand for IT services. I began giving thought to the U.S. market.
Internet access came to our country in 1999. With interest I observed the birth of a new industry—custom web development, the rapid take-off of e-commerce, and the formation and subsequent bursting, in 2000, of the “dot-com” bubble. Around then I understood that custom software development, which did not have the limitations characteristic of the technical-services market, was significantly more in tune with my idea for the creating of IT franchising, so I began working in this direction.
I began by studying the professional approaches to software development, including Microsoft Solution Framework (MSF) and Rational Unified Process (RUP), trying to imagine how it would be possible to apply them to the organizing of mass production of custom software. The topic seemed so appealing that it consumed me completely for several months. And then a solution came to me. I thought up a work scheme which would allow for the churning out of custom software development (in a certain segment of the market). I saw how it would be possible to achieve conveyer-belt production of projects that would be completely unique (not banal!) yet based on the business needs and demands of the clients. Such a work scheme would make possible the practically unlimited turning out of projects (but not necessitating a proportionate increase in the work force), without sacrificing quality, with attention paid to deadlines and budgetary considerations, and with practically 95% client satisfaction.
Fully understanding how such a declaration would provoke a smile from any specialist I, nevertheless, affirm that a solution does exist. But this solution is to be found on a completely different plane, and not in the creation of “the very best staff” or installation of “the most state-of-the-art technology.”
The idea I came up with seemed simple and ingenious. But it was only an idea: converting it into a working model for a business would necessitate major efforts. I faced thousands of tasks, the solution of which would require money. So, in 1991, I sold my business and began devoting myself totally to the project for creating a model which in the future could serve as the foundation of IT franchising. Being a realist and fully aware that the market is constantly changing and that all ideas have to be put to the test, I founded a new company, which I named Studio Ansiko. Its goal was “to function on the basis of the model I had created in order to test the effectiveness of my concepts and ideas on projects that were real, not merely ‘on paper’.”
Over the course of the following years I used the Studio to carry out a huge number of experiments including, amongst others: experiments in the field of obtaining and working with clients, developing and utilizing prepared software, component-based architecture, staffing, and human psychology. We developed software products for internal use, as well as 84 for clients. As a result, by the beginning of 2006 the model which could serve as the foundation for IT franchising began to take definite shape. The basic business processes, distribution of functions, standards, roles, activities, and other matters were now clear to me. I called the created model “ansiko.Framework” methodology although it was not, strictly speaking, a methodology in the classic sense, but a framework for building IT franchising.
The time came when I felt that the project was dragging me down. Studio Ansiko, which was originally conceived as a “testing company,” had turned into a rapidly growing business—the number of clients increased at an unbelievable rate, and the volume of orders rose. The time had come to make a decision. My choices? Continue carrying on a business that was already functioning in Belarus, or bring the project to total fruition by attempting to create IT franchising in the US market. The second of these choices signified, besides a voluntary withdrawal from my business in Belarus and my moving to the US: beginning life from scratch, learning English, getting an American education, establishing ties, and acquiring experience in conducting a business in the US, i.e., things of a basic nature that are nevertheless indispensable for the realization of this project. While the decision I made at the end of April 2006 was a very difficult one, it was necessary.
In August 2006, Studio Ansiko ceased functioning in Belarus. Not long thereafter, in December 2006, I received a visa for the US.
From 2007 to the present I have been living, studying and working in New York City. On this site one can find my notes from a diary of the project, photographs, and artifacts, as well as some concepts and ideas pertaining to the project.
The project, like life, continues.
With respect,
Dmitry Khaustovich