Frequently Asked Questions
Entr'ouvert, what is this ?
Entr'ouvert was officially founded in september 2002, as a SCOP (Société Coopérative Ouvrière de Production), one of the statute allowing to practice democracy and transparency, important notions to us. The employees own the enterprise in equal proportions, they earn the same wages, important decisions are voted following the principle "1 employee = 1 vote".
What are your activities ?
We are involved in e-government and privacy projects. We are specialists of digital identity management solutions.
You develop free softwares, how do you make money ?
Thanks to services : Sofware customisations, specific developments, consulting, training sessions.
You are not part of the "SS2L association" ?
No. We don't share the point of view of this association concerning free softwares. We think its founders try to make free software companies look like classical IT companies whereas we try to apply the free software community principles to our company.
Aren't you guys just a bunch of deviant communists / trotskysts / anarchists ?
No, unfortunately. Our approach is very pragmatic, not really dogmatic. We tried to build a company in which it would be pleasant for us to work. Obviously, the propagation of our model is of some interest, but it is a side effect not a main goal.
What about your financial stability ?
If you wonder about this, you probably wish to give us the responsability for an important project. With regards to the way the company works (no debt at all, unique and resizable wage), an important project is enough to ensure the perenniality of the company for several months.
You're company is tiny, how can you manage big projects ?
We are six, this is few. Thus, we are involved in nationwide spread projects. Our methodology allows to save a lot of time : instead of writing long, expensive and often useless specs, we design prototypes we test with a users panel as soon as the project begin. We do apply the theories aiming to place users in the center of projects design.
We rely on the Libre-Entreprise network, as well.
The Libre-Entreprise network, what is this ?
The Libre-Entreprise network gathers companies with close or complementary specialities, particularly concerning free software. All of them share the same values and organisation. The network is present in France (Biarritz, Lille, Marseille, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Nantes, Paris, Rennes, Tours, Toulouse, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy), Belgium (Brussels) and in Canada (Montréal).
This network allows Entr'ouvert to propose a wide and homogeneous commercial offer and to benefit from a bunch of specialised resources in many domains, far beyond the company own resources. Each network company works like a business unit with its independance concerning financial management.
I love what you are doing, How can I join ?
We hire people from time to time but don't want to grow too much. The way the company works seems to be hardly applicable to more than 15-20 people structures. The network site will give you some elements on how to create a company that could join the network. You can for instance have a look at Entr'ouvert statutes.