By John Chenier
Some people are born entrepreneurs; others have entrepreneurship thrust upon them. W. Thomas Leroux—known to his friends as Tom and by many people on the internet as WTL—falls in the latter group. Tom was a contented store manager at Wonder Computers until one day back in 1999 he was told his services would no longer be required.
After considering his options, Tom and a friend decided to start Technomages, a web development business. Like many web-development firms at the time, they needed to try their hand at various things in order to survive, including designing games for cell phones. In 2003, his partner was offered a job he couldn’t refuse and once again Tom was left to contemplate his future.
Tom believes that nearly all major events in his life occurred by happenstance. In 2003, he did what he always does for several weeks every summer; he headed off to Algonquin Park to read books and contemplate what he should do next. He decided he would continue with the web- oriented business on his own, but the question was what to call his new company?
While out on a hike, a dragonfly landed on his hand and began eating whatever kind of bug it had just caught. The dragonfly lingered long enough for Tom to reach for his phone and snap a photo. He subsequently identified the dragonfly as a Variable Darner, and adopted the name for his new company, Darner Media.
Given the breadth of his interests, it is difficult to capture all that Tom does at Darner Media and elsewhere. His taste and his skills are eclectic to say the least. In addition to Darner Media you are just as likely to come across his work under the WTL brand (What the Lemur?) on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/WTLNTT/videos) or his blog at www.leroux.ca, or watch his attempt at making a horror movie Scream a Little Dream Episode 1, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTYdu4zmKCU
Forty percent of Tom’s time at Darner is dedicated to providing a few hundred clients with secure web servers. Many in the client base are of a kind that, for one reason or another, attracts hackers. He says he is able to track thousands of attempts to hack client`s sites on an ongoing basis and prides himself on the fact that no hackers have yet got through his security.
Another thirty percent of Tom’s business involves support and training. This includes everything from providing how-to videos to offering on-site training seminars to companies.
The final thirty percent of Darner`s business involves creating, shooting and editing video productions to demonstrate products, celebrate special occasions, record events or communicate company messaging — but note, he doesn’t do weddings.
Music is one of his passions, one which he satisfies by his involvement in setting up secure IT networks for Bluesfest and the Cityfolk Festival. When we finished our interview, he was going home to edit a music video he was producing for an up-and-coming local artist.
Most of Tom’s clients come to him by word of mouth. He has a litmus test to figure out whether or not he will be able to work with a prospective client. His main office is in his home, but the boardroom where he meets clients is Paddy Boland’s Pub in the Market. He says if a client is comfortable meeting in that setting, they should get along fine. One thing is for sure, they won`t find him boring.