1. Pick the story display user interface from Flipboard
2. Pick the real time updates on topics from Twitter
3. Pick the show pictures in a slideshow from Flickr
4. Circles from Google +
You get a Facebook storyline. Its disconcerting, but I’m sure we’ll all get used to it in a few months.
This post originally appeared at VCCircle on Sep 25h.
Speaking at student entrepreneurship event this week, I got a chance to talk to a few investors on the sidelines. They were observing that entrepreneurship is the “cool thing now among students” and they were skeptical that it would last. They also mentioned that they were disturbed by the hype generated by the press and media on the few successes versus the swathes of companies that were the walking dead. I was thinking to myself that they have a valid point but then realized I was buying into the spin myself.
Entrepreneurship is vastly underrated – everywhere in the world, including in Silicon Valley.
I don’t say this because entrepreneurs create jobs – employees at bigger companies create jobs as well. Neither do I think entrepreneurs necessarily create a lot more value than their counterparts at larger companies (there are exceptions). I also don’t believe entrepreneurs create a lot more wealth than their counterparts at bigger companies. In fact entrepreneurs create wealth for a limited few (venture investors) than employees at larger companies (retail investors).
I say this because entrepreneurs are optimists. Employees’ at large companies are realists.
Realists know that they have constraints (student loan, aging parents, mortgage, etc) and work to optimize their constraints. It’s a much needed skill and a hugely valuable one.
The world needs more optimists at this point.
An entrepreneur’s optimism is infectious. She envelopes you with her obsession for the problem she’s trying to solve. She speaks with the eloquence of a seasoned televangelist and the passion of Russian gym coach trying to urge her prized student to over perform.
The entrepreneur’s optimism is all encompassing. The hurdles she faces daily including lack of connections, lack of credibility or even the inability to meet payroll don’t deter her. Her optimism overwhelms her outlook towards the daunting problems we mortals face daily.
The entrepreneur’s optimism is never ending. She knows (possibly) at the back of her mind that the odds are stacked against her. That’s what makes her admirable – she does not care. As far as she’s concerned, she’s not giving up, either today, tomorrow or when gas prices hit $200 per gallon.
P.S: I always use She instead of He in my posts – its interchangeable for all practical purposes
I met an entrepreneur over breakfast the other day, who is trying to address the luxury needs of the Indian consumer. His company offers high-end metal (not gold or silver) based gifts. The luxury market in India is a very strange one. It’s always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Every year is the “year of luxury” and the beginning of the “inflection point” in luxury goods. Although many luxury vendors are starting to show interest in the Indian local market, they realize most luxury bought by Indians is purchased abroad. It’s not uncommon to hear the intense preference for “value for money” in all products and services, even in the high-end of the market, and I could relate to his experiences. I have seen this consistently in our engagement with senior leaders at various organizations.
I was talking to a fairly large multi-national marketing executive whose bank recently inaugurated their new 50,000 sq. ft. campus. To commemorate the building they decided to make mini-replicas of the building and give it away to every one of their employees at the new facility. They had done a similar piece at their US office, and it was apparently well received by their employees. The cost per piece was about Rs. 2000. The piece would retain nearly 70% of its value if made from the metal that we proposed from our partner. So we recommended that option.
After weeks of deliberation and many discussions with their facilities team and employees, they decided to look at alternative options. The main reason was their Indian employees were not appreciative of the “free” gift they were going to receive.
I had the opportunity also to talk to their senior HR executive who was trying to put together the alternative giveaway for about 2500 employees. This is a typical offshore unit of any large company, with average salaries in the 4L – 6L per year range. Many of their executives consistently make over 20L per year, and there are about 200 of them. The main feedback she got from her employees, was that they felt preferred many inexpensive gifts rather than one expensive one.
After a few weeks they finally settled: Quantity versus quality was the way to go. They decided that they got enough feedback from employees to purchase a T-shirt for Rs. 500 (printed with the façade of the building on the front). They also hosted a catered lunch over a Friday evening (which would cost them about Rs. 500 per employee). Finally the employees were given a gift voucher to spend at a local mall for Rs. 1000.
I could understand, since most of their employees were young, their preference for a “memento” was lower than those that they perceived to be fun. But the HR executive mentioned in our discussion that most of the rank-and-file employees were not asked for feedback. This was the request from their senior leadership team. The leadership team even shot down the idea of putting together a commemorative trophy for the Rs. 1000 and instead opted for the gift voucher from the mall. She knew it would not necessarily bring long-term-loyalty for the company, but the leadership team felt that long term loyalty was overrated. None of the employees, they felt would feel any different or have more engagement with either the company or the building thanks to the trophy.
This post is cross-posted from pluggd.in.
Over the last few months I have met with several startups looking for mentors and advisors. Many were either looking to startup or had just recently ventured on their own. I had a discussion with a few of them on what they were looking for. Most of these folks were first time entrepreneurs who had not been at a startup before.
My informal survey of a few people from that group indicated the following things they wanted from an advisor:
1. Help fund the company – 30%
2. Open doors to VC’s, angel investors or potential customers – 40%
3. Provide industry knowledge and expertise – 10%
4. Product direction / market knowledge / hiring – 20%
Most of these actually seem like “tasks” or “activities”. This seems to indicate that most potential entrepreneurs want an “consultant” or “connector” on board but they really cannot afford to hire someone full time – or they dont need a full time person.
In my capacity as advisor, I think the only thing that I focus on is to give the entrepreneur confidence:
1. Confidence that they can be a good entrepreneur.
2. Confidence that they can raise money even if they have not done it before.
3. Confidence that they can hire people much smarter than themselves.
4. Confidence to take on a significant project from a large customer and deliver.
5. Confidence that they are ready to launch on their own even if they are fresh out of college.
The advisor’s networks, money, connections and knowledge are incidental.
P.S: I am not actively taking any more advisory positions and in fact am resigning from a few I am on currently.
There are many startup awards that companies and entrepreneurs are vying for these days. There are many benefits to winning an award, with the 3 most valuable being:
1. Recognition among potential customers and partners who could potentially be interested in your company thanks to all the press coverage and awareness.
2. Potential introductions to investment and funding from venture capitalists and other potential investors.
3. The award might carry some cash payments which certainly helps (large or small).
That said the effort to fill out lengthy application forms, preparing a custom demo and the costs to travel and spend precious time deters many entrepreneurs from participating in these awards.
I made a quick list of the awards that I track and some of which my company is very keen to participate and win. There are over 100+ awards in the Technology startup space alone – each country, many large cities and every blog and event have one. I have tried to list them based on the amount of twitter mentions associated with the award over the last year. Also the top awards are based on their value and the “prestige” associated with the award, not the award payout.
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section
If Dominos ran hospitals, ambulances would be at your home in 30 min or your operation would be free.
If Apple ran local municipalities, each city would be beautifully designed and well planned.
If Amazon ran an airline, there would be amazing customer service, at low prices, not just low prices.
If Google ran a public transport system it would be optimized for speed and efficiency, not cluttered and haphazard.
If Starbucks offered insurance, their agents would be courteous, professional & experts, not charlatans.
How I wish the best companies, changed more things in this world.
I was supposed to be on a plane to New Orleans on the day of 9/11/2001. It was a scheduled client visit and my flight was to leave at about 11 am from San Jose. My parents were home with us in the Bay area, since we were expecting my daughter (their first grand daughter) in a few weeks. I was woken up by dad at about 7 or 8 am and he asked me to see the news on TV.
Just a few minutes later, a second plane hit the WTC. It was surreal. I did not comprehend the events, neither did the words “terrorist strike” cross my mind. We switched between CNN, ABC and NBC to see if there’s something else they were missing about the story. Then in a few more minutes, we heard another plane crashed into the Pentagon. That’s when it really sunk in. The emotions were raw and went from disbelief, to shock, to intense sadness and finally anger. All flights were cancelled and I stayed at home, pretty much glued to the TV and trying to call folks I knew in NYC all day.
Two days later I flew on SouthWest airlines to Houston then New Orleans.Since this was our first child, my wife and I would religiously take walks in the evening so she could get her exercise. I was not at home, so my dad escorted her for her evening walk. Ours was a typically bedroom community in the Bay area, a school about 400 meters from home and a park about 300 meters from there.
They both started in earnest, walking around the neighborhood. My wife was wearing a typical Indian “Salwar Kameez” and dad was in a T-shirt and Jeans. Towards the end of our cul-de-sac at the intersection where it met a feeder into the Boulevard, they slowed down to cross the street. It was not a crowded street by any means, but it was rare to see cops in our neighborhood. After waiting patiently for a couple of minutes they ventured to the cross-walk and saw a policeman coming towards them in a motorbike. Having crossed over to the other side, they walked again towards the smaller road, when a few minutes later, the policeman came towards my dad and asked if things were ok. My dad pretty much said yes, there was’nt an issue. He then offered to escort them while they walked, if they felt they needed it.
My dad’s been to the US over 50 times in the last 30 years, so this was a new one for him. He asked the policeman if there was an issue, to which he got response “Well, she’s wearing a traditional outfit (of my wife) and I want to make sure people here dont bother you both”.
When my wife recounted that story to me later that week, it pretty much summed up America – Strong and protective.
Thoughts and prayers with all those who lost loved ones on 9/11.
I love the new Facebook Ticker on the right side. I think this is more a take on twitter real time feed and a response to G+
Since I got a lot of comments on the How to start and grow your eCommerce side “biijness”, I thought I’d take some time to outline the costs of starting a small eCommerce business in India.
Say you are a stay-at-home-dad who wants to sell your own neat apparel designs online, or a creative mom who can make some excellent handicrafts at home. Now you are interested in setting up a storefront on the web so you can “get in on this eCommerce thing” or “make money on the side” or “make some extra revenue when you sleep”. Here’s what you need to get going.
| Item | Who you need to set this up? | How much will it cost? |
| Company Incorporation
(MOA, AOA, PAN Card, Company legal entity, Bank Account) |
CA, Accountant or Company Secretary | Rs. 50,000 (Bangalore) |
| Payment Gateway (To accept credit card, net banking or debit card online) | EBS, CC Avenue, your bank (Axis, HDFC, etc.) | Rs. 25,000 (initiation fee)
2 – 4% transaction fee (negotiable) Rs. 500 – Rs. 1500 monthly fee (can get this waived) |
| eCommerce Software | Shopping cart software companies (Shopify, Big Commerce, MartJack, IQecommerce) + Do the catalog setup yourself | Rs.1000 to Rs. 10,000 per month starting |
| eCommerce team (Optional if you use off-the-shelf hosted software) | Build your own team of 2 people to custom build eCommerce storefront | Rs. 1.5 to Rs. 2.5 Lakhs per month |
| Computer, machines, servers for developers (if you are building a team) | Go Daddy, Big Rock, your local PC reseller | Rs. 50,000 + Rs 10,000 per month for hosting (basic plan) |
| Office Space (if you have a team that wants to work in an office) | Get a small, cheap shared space instead of a big swanking office | Rs. 5000 per month |
| Shipping | Blue Dart, Aramex or Fed Ex (AFL) | Rs. 20,000 (setup account, negotiable to zero) + Rs. 25 to Rs. 45 per shipment (up to 500 grams in weight) |
| Initial Marketing | Do it yourself (poster, flyers, send email to friends) | Typically zero, but budget Rs. 20,000 |
| Computer (Desktop or Laptop) + Internet + Phone | Assuming you don’t have one already | Rs. 30,000 + Rs. 2000 per month (for a good internet connection) |
| Total starting costs | Minimum: Rs. 1 Lakh plus Rs. 25,000 per month (using hosted shopping cart software)
Maximum: Rs. 4-5 Lakhs plus Rs. 2 Lakhs per month (building a team and hosting yourself) |
This first appeared in Pluggd.in on Aug 23rd.
A friend called me the other day to tell me about his new side project (Biijness). He was looking at an untapped space in the market and wanted to start an eCommerce venture. He knows and understands technology but has not been developing for years. His plan was to get a committed individual who he could fund who is more of a “domain expert” and knows the supply chain elements of that space.
This got us into a discussion about what a typical consumer eCommerce company’s organization chart looks like and when you hire out the team. Most companies tend to hire based on “milestones” or by “revenue metrics”. I thought I’d come up with some key milestones for an eCommerce company and break them into the team and type of people needed. They typical company is not so simple (many make a big foray into logistics; others focus on building warehouses and many others on partnering with offline vendors for demand generation. The milestones below are a case study (textbook style) example:
Team needed: Business (customer service, supply chain, operations, legal, etc) + Engineering (1-2 folks should suffice)
Team added: Digital marketing, Procurement manager, Supply Chain and Logistics Managers and Customer Service, Increase engineering (User experience, Scalability experts, etc.)
Team added: Head of brand marketing, Category manager (Merchandise Manager) for each category, Catalog manager (write product descriptions, take product photos, etc.)
Team added: Finance & HR, Complete Marketing hires, Business Development
So after starting with a small team of do-it-all experts, you should at 1000 TX/day have about 200-300 people.
