Startup Sectors to watch out in 2016

With an eventful year drawing to a close, it is time to look to the future in anticipation of what 2016 can bring. Let’s look at some of the sectors that will do well in 2016.

Internet of Things (IoT) – Around the world Internet of Things is hot and the same is the case in India. IoT enables objects to collect data and transmit it over the internet, which means things or objects look and behave a IoT like it did in Sci-Fi movies. We will see some interesting applications emerging in sectors such as automotive, construction, fitness and healthcare where objects in our lives are getting connected.

Software as a Service (SaaS) – When Twitter acquired ZipDial early this year; it marked the coming of age for India SaaS startups and further reaffirmation of the quality of new companies in the space. Boutique and niche cloud consulting and services companies such as TurningCloud will drive the next generation of applications. SaaS has gone on to encompass a wide range of functions and global SaaS companies operate across like cloud infrastructure, security, marketing, sales, HR, ecommerce, retail and others.

Marketplace Lending – Born from the ashes of the financial crisis in 2009 and the widespread mistrust of the established banking channels, alternative finance platforms have become much bigger than anyone could have imagined. Using technology as their main weapon, these platforms has gone on to create quite a bit of ripple.

Education – India’s educational gaps are well known and the opportunities it provides for participation is well chronicled. Startups have managed to create a niche around Education Technology or commonly known as EdTech. While EdTech is relatively small in the space, startups like FutureVidya, EduPro App, EduKart, and Toppr are doing a stellar job in addressing problems in the education space.

Healthcare – India’s healthcare sector is expected to be $280 Billion in size by 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 16 percent. Practo, Portea and Lybrate are great examples in Healthcare sector. The year 2016 is likely to see the sector grow even stronger as it starts tackling even larger and serious healthcare problems in the country. 

Inequality

Inequality was in the news once again and the news is not particularly good. In a speech, RBI Governor of India commented that increasing inequality could be curtailing world demand. Since the rich typically spend a smaller portion of their income compared with the poor who spend almost all of their income. Most billionaires gained wealth because of their access to natural resources such as land or government contracts.

If Inequality is large or growing in India, there seems to be two key reasons. First, there was death of credible data on income inequality in India. Second, within the economics profession, there was a broad consensus that inequality may often be par for course for a fast growing economy such as India; once it grew richer the tide would turn. Both these aspects are changing. We now have newer sources of evidence on inequality in India. Also, economic thinking on inequality has changed considerably across the globe over the past few years.

Economists were always aware that comparing consumption based inequality in India with income based inequality in other countries was like comparing apples with pears, if not to oranges. Even if the rich earn a lot more than the poor, they are unlikely to spend all of their additional income. Thus consumption based inequality measures are expected to understate income inequality. In terms of income inequality, India seems scarcely better than some of the most unequal countries of Latin America.

Top 1% in India owns more than half of the country total wealth. The richest 5% own 68.6% of the country wealth, while the top 10% have 76.3%. At the other end of the pyramid, the poorer half jostles for 4.1% of the nation wealth. Recent research from the IMF suggests that inequality may in fact harm the growth prospects of an economy. An IMF note published last year put together cross-country evidence suggests that lower initial inequality may facilitate high growth rates for a long duration while high levels of inequality may cause redistributive pressures and lead to an unstable growth path.

Lessons from Indian Weddings

Preparing for a wedding in the family exposes one to the informal sector. There is an army of people working on various aspects of the wedding and it is an alive and thriving economy with various kinds of players. There is management excellence, skill and specialization, process orientation and quality checks. There is also an appalling lack of financial strategy and cash is king.

First, if one allows entrepreneurs into an activity, one creates a thriving ecosystem of ideas, innovation and specialization. From the caterer to the florist, decorator to the mehandi artist, each one has extended the range of products and services that they offer, so they are able to thrive in the competitive marketplace and offer value that they can charge for. The list of things they do is too long and a far cry from the simple weddings of the past.

Rituals that were long forgotten have made a comeback, dug out by an enthusiastic wedding planner who will arrange it in minutest detail. Weddings have become an industry run by this set of entrepreneurs. Second, an informal market hurts both buyer and seller. A florist, who has managed to get enlisted with a large hotel, can charge a bomb for the décor, while an informal artist who is unknown scrambles to find mandates, even at a fraction of cost.

Third, it is tough to find the basis for pricing when products and services are so customized. The sellers ensure that standardization is shunned wherever possible. From invitations that will be custom designed, to garlands that will be strung to match, every service provider will persuade the buyer to customize. Fourth, it is amusing to see how this market uses technology. Whatsapp dominates the scene, with image and videos flowing up and down all through the planning process.

Fifth, most of the service providers suffer from poor money management practices. Working capital is a big headache. Sixth, every one of them hates taxes. The demand side of the wedding market is driven by the cash rich tax evaders. In an age when taking a break from work to meet friends and relatives is so sought after, weddings offer the perfect opportunity for image crafting at one end and thanksgiving on the other and all things in between. 

Most Powerful People in Tech World

It isn’t just wealth and it isn’t just control over people or resources. It’s more. True Power is a potent combination of money and influence that enables people to help shape the world. And only a selected group of people really possess the economic and political clout to effect global change. For better or worse, their decisions affect millions, shake industries, and change nations. Here are some men and women who are most influential in technology landscape.

Foremost is IBM CEO Ginni Rometty. Her mandate is to keep one of tech’s most iconic companies which employ 380,000 people on par, relevant and profitable for the long haul even if it means changing some of the most fundamental things about the company. There is a trio of Internet Kings in China, collectively known as “BAT” – Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. Robin Li commands the market in Internet search as the Chairman and CEO of Baidu, China Google’s equivalent.

Since becoming Microsoft third CEO last year, Satya Nadella has been busy helping the technology company relevant again. While Microsoft is still a software giant it pulls in about $95 Billion in sales. Oracle Billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison stepped down as the company CEO last year but hasn’t pumped the brakes. He still serves as Chairman and CTO of the $38 Billion database and software titan.

The second richest person in China, Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma broke records with the e-commerce company $25 Billion initial public offering in 2014, the world largest ever. Along with fellow co-founder Larry Page, Sergey Brin helped orchestrate Google massive restructuring announced in August. The move made Google a subsidiary of a new holding company called Alphabet, run by Brin as President and Page as CEO. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of world largest social network.

Larry Page, CEO of Alphabet. Google would become a subsidiary of new holding company Alphabet, which would oversee all of Google ventures, such as Nest, Calico, and Google X as standalone entities. Tim Cook runs the most valuable company on the planet in Apple, which is worth $645 Billion. Under Cook’s continued direction as CEO, 2015 has been one of the company best years yet. Amazon.com is an undeniable superpower in e-commerce. Jeff Bezos privately owned Space Company Blue Origin successfully launched its first spacecraft this year and has plans to test rocket engines & launch manned rockets within the next decade.

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975, builded an Iconic software company and becoming the richest man on earth in the process, with a net worth of $87.3 Billion. Though he still on the company board, he is no longer actively involved in Microsoft. Gates and Warren Buffet started the Giving Pledge to encourage billionaires to follow their lead and give away half or more of their wealth. 

Resetting Green Revolution

India’s agriculture became moribund decades ago, and shows no sign of uplift for the long haul needed. Indeed, the rain gods have played havoc with Indian farmers. But not just the gods, Indian states have done precious little to tackle the problem head-on. The government solution is to give financial sops to farmers to buy peace from time to time. It is equally unfortunate that farmers just accept the sops and go away, only to return when hard times hit them again.

India’s agricultural growth rate has hovered around 2-3% annually, when in fact it should be at least 5%. Former Prime Minister said Indian agriculture must grow at least at 4% without which there will be no real rural poverty alleviation and no relief to distressed farmers. India’s green revolution is fatigued and needs a scientific and technological boost.

Indian agriculture is sick and it needs a strong dose of bitter medicine Market based solutions are the only way forward. India investment in agricultural science and technology and rural infrastructure must be upped by 25% and Indian council of Agricultural research must be turned into a private research corporation headed by a business minded CEO and private equity participation must be brought into India’s agricultural R&D.

Secondary agriculture must drive rural economic development. Small-scale farmers and subsistence farming must be gradually phased out as its size is not economically viable in 21^st century. No amount of shoring up economically unviable agriculture can help. Stubbornly persisting on flogging a dead horse is not going to improve the farmer’s plight. The NDA government has given no evidence of its intent to set a future looking agenda so far. That is not good for the nation neither for the NDA electoral fortunes in the years to come. It needs to act fast.

Biggest Tech Brands in the World

Technology Brands are all the rage right now so it’s no surprise that Apple and Google have occupied the top two positions in Interbrand list of most valuable global brands for three straight years. Branding consultancy recently released list of top 20 brands names in the world of Technology. This article includes their Global Rank in 2014 & 2015 and also their Brand Value in 2014 & 2015.

Foremost is the Apple. Their Global Rank in 2014 & 2015 is one. Brand Value of Apple was $118.863 Billion and in 2015 it is $170.276 Billion. Second spot is hold by Google. Their Global Rank in 2014 & 2015 is two. Brand value of Google was $107.439 Billion and in 2015 it is $120.314 Billion. Microsoft Global Rank in 2014 was five whereas in 2015 it is four. Brand Value of Microsoft was $61.154 Billion and in 2015 it is $67.67 Billion.

IBM Global Rank in 2014 was four and in 2015 is five. IBM Brand Value in 2014 was $72.244 Billion and in 2015 it is $65.095 Billion. Next is Samsung with Global Rank seven in 2014 & 2015. Their Brand value in 2014 was $45.462 Billion and in 2015 it is $45.297 Billion. Amazon Global Rank in 2014 was fifteen and in 2015 it is ten. Brand value of Amazon was $29.478 Billion in 2014 and in 2015 it is $37.948 Billion. Intel Global Rank in 2014 was twelve and in 2015 it is fourteen. Their Brand value was $13.153 Billion in 2014 and $35.415 Billion in 2015.

Cisco Global Rank in 2014 was fourteen and in 2015 it is fifteen. Brand Value of Cisco was $30.936 Billion in 2014 and in 2015 it is $29.854 Billion. Oracle is sixteen in Global Rank in 2014 and 2015. Brand value of Oracle was $25.980 Billion in 2014 and in 2015 it is $27.283 Billion. HP Global Rank in 2014 was sixteen and in 2015 it is eighteen. Their Brand value in 2014 was $23.758 Billion and in 2015 it is $23.056 Billion. Facebook Global Rank in 2014 was 29 and in 2015 it is 23. Their Brand value was $14.349 Billion in 2014 and $22.029 Billion in 2015.

SAP Global rank in 2014 and 2015 is twenty five and twenty six. Their Brand value was $17.340 in 2014 and $18.768 in 2015. EBay Global Rank in 2014 was twenty eight and in 2015 it is thirty two. Their brand value in 2014 was $14.358 Billion and in 2015 it is $13.940 Billion. Canon Global Rank in 2014 was thirty seven and in 2015 it is forty. Their Brand value in 2014 was $11.702 Billion and in 2015 it is $11.278 Billion. Accenture global rank in 2014 was 44 & in 2015 it is 42. Their Brand value in 2014 was $9.882 Billion & in 2015 it is $10.8 Billion.

Sony global rank was 52 in 2014 and in 2015 it is 58. Their Brand value was $8.133 Billion in 2014 and in 2015 it was $7.702 Billion. Panasonic global rank was 64 in 2014 and in 2015 it is 65. Their brand value in 2014 was $6.303 Billion and in 2015 it was $6.436 Billion. Adobe global rank in 2014 was 77 and in 2015 it is 68. Their brand value in 2014 was $5.33 Billion and in 2015 it is $6.257 Billion. Xerox global rank in 2014 was 62 and in 2015 it is 71. Their brand value in 2014 was $6.641 Billion and in 2015 it is $6.033 Billion. Huawei global rank in 2014 was 94 and in 2015 it is 88. Their Brand value in 2014 was $4.313 Billion and in 2015 it is $4.952 Billion.

Social Entrepreneurship

Over 60% of the Indian Population still lives on less than $2 a day. India is placed second highest in terms of net income inequality among 34 countries in the lower middle income group. India has made rapid strides in Economic Growth but how can the country maintain healthy Gross Domestic Product growth while addressing the inequality among its citizens?

Social Entrepreneurs are a key stakeholder segment to engage in delivering such basic services and opportunities efficiently and effectively to the underserved in India. Every year, Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) Awards organized by the Schwab Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation attracts hundreds of Social Entrepreneurs from all over the country. Some of them employ innovative, cost efficient and often technology enabled business models that deliver basic services to those who lack access.

Many of these organizations work at an impressive scale serving millions of low income households and transforming their quality of life. An example is Aravind Eye Care System in South India, which focuses on curing blindness among India’s poor. The hospital chain serves approximately 12,000-15,000 outpatient visits and 1,500 surgeries each day. Karuna Trust and its public private partnership model serve over 2 Million low income clients by transforming government primary health centres into hubs of low cost, high quality healthcare delivery.

When compared to magnitude of Social challenges facing the country, their efforts fall short; their impact is often limited to select geographies. How can India build on the wonderful work by these pioneers for social change at a national scale? True public-private collaboration is the key to make this happen. When designing and implementing policies, the government should draw on the knowledge and experience of social entrepreneurs, the ideas and dynamism of it youth and the capabilities of the corporate sector to plan and execute large scale projects.

With half of population under 25 years of age, India has an unrivalled youth demographic. Beyond their direct reach and impacts, social entrepreneurs represent a powerful idea, an idea that is relevant today more than ever before. That business can be a vehicle to create both economic values as well contributes to building a fair and equitable society.

Amazon and Flipkart Control of Ecommerce

Amazon India and its largest local rival, Flipkart, which was modeled on the American Online retailer, are changing their strategies in diverging ways to dominate fast growing e-commerce market. Amazon India and Flipkart are the country biggest e-commerce firms. Both are supposed to operate as marketplace platforms that connect small merchants with buyers. They are not allowed to sell directly to shoppers.

But both the companies have adopted complex corporate strategies and used a mix of the marketplace and the direct selling business model. Amazon is using a joint venture to increase the direct selling component in its model, even as Flipkart is fast moving towards a marketplace. Amazon is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in India, the last big unconquered e-commerce market in the world.

Amazon has already lost out to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in China. Amazon success has been built on its avowed principles of offering the widest product coupled with low prices. To stay true in a nascent market such as India, the company has decided that it needs to have more control over its supply than what a pure marketplace allows. This requires more cash, but the online retailer has already pumped $2 Billion into its India Business over time.

Flipkart has changed its role model to China’s Alibaba. Flipkart was started in 2007 by two Amazon.com Inc. employees. The firm began as book retailer, just like Amazon in 1995 but gradually added all kinds of other products, including mobile phones, laptops and clothes. Until 2013, it sold all these directly to shoppers not through third party merchants. However, this model is simply not conducive to making profits.

Flipkart, which has raised $2.6 Billion over the past 18 months, is expected to report huge loss this year because of its aggressive expansion and deep discounting. At some point it needs to go public and the pressure to do that increases every year. Indian Ecommerce market resembles that of China more than the US. The success of Alibaba IPO strengthened Flipkart resolve to try and adopt Alibaba advertising driven revenue model.

Under this model, Flipkart plans to operate as a marketplace and earn the bulk of its revenue from ads and other services, such as logistics and warehousing charged to sellers. Flipkart is still trying to find the success formula that will work in India. Currently both companies along with Snapdeal have the same goal to dominate the e-commerce sales. 

SMEs to E-commerce platforms

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have taken to e-commerce platforms to expand their reach, both in the domestic and global markets. According to a report, 50 Million SMEs in the country, at least three million, especially from smaller cities are already using e-commerce platforms. In coming years, the figure is likely to double and may touch 30 Million in five years.

Zeelplast Machinery was started with Rs. 50,000 in 2008. The company is based out of Ahmedabad. The fully automatic moulding machines manufacturing company was limited to supplying local areas, before it took to e-commerce. Now the company has evolved from strength to strength with its brand identity, marketing support and getting orders from across India.

According to a study conducted by Snapdeal and KPMG, nearly 85 percent of SMEs which adopted E-commerce believe it is a cost-effective medium for sales growth. It also claims SMEs actively adopting the internet for Business activity boast 51 percent higher revenue, resulting in 49 percent more profit and a seven percent broader consumer base than their offline counterparts.

Some E-commerce entities are also helping SMEs to procure raw material at affordable costs. This has emerged as a new line of business. Ahmedabad based tradohub.com is working in a similar way. It supports SMEs for buying raw material from international markets. Buying material from e-commerce platforms reduces the cost by six to eight per cent. This is helping SMEs to adopt e-commerce platforms which are beneficial for IoT and Indian Economy as well.

Best startup sectors in 2015

With the year almost drawing to a close, there are startup sectors which turned out to be major players in coming years. Beginning early this year, there was a great rush of venture money. As a seed round of a million dollars became the new norm, startup started mushrooming throughout the country. Some of the sectors that saw significant interests are IoT and Wearables, Hyperlocal, Food Tech, Logistics Management and Local Services Marketplace.

With the likes of Grofers, BigBasket and Pickingo vying for attention as on demand delivery partner, there is an explosion of Hyperlocal services. From delivering nuts, vegetable, to transportation services, Hyperlocal startups have managed to grab their fair share of eyeballs and investor money. However, this sector has become very competitive and it will be interesting to see how these startups scale and evolve in the future.

According to startup analyst firm Tracxn, about 90 startups and 50 plus startups have been founded in 2014 and 2015 in Logistics Management. Top funded startups include the likes of Delhivery, TinyOwl, Ecom Express and Gofers. The sector has seen a lot of interest because of the growth of ecommerce in India. This has led to the emergence of local delivery startups, food delivery startups, intra-city, inter-city, overseas, ecommerce shippers and freight aggregators.

The entire Internet of Things (IoT), which has meant over a billion dollars have been invested in startups in the IoT space globally over the past few months. Big VC firms like Sequoia Capital, NEA, Andreessen Horowitz and others have made a sizable investment in the space. On the other hand Wearables segment has seen a number of significant products taking over our life. Fitness bands are the most popular Wearables today, followed by smart watches. It is not surprising that many startups now consider Wearables the next big things.

Food tech is perhaps the most surprising sector. This has been mainly because the food and restaurant industry till now has been largely fragmented with little or no tech adoption. Startups have figured out a lot can be done in the aggregation business and in delivery. The sub segments that have done well in the space include both eat at home ordering and delivery, restaurant discovery and booking, in restaurant payments, office food delivery and food aggregators.

In a city where we are increasingly busy, availing services may not be easy. Whether one need a doctor, plumber, electrician, drivers, a bunch of startups now help in on the desired service provider. Startups like UrbanClap, Taskbob, LocalOye and Qyk have raised funding. Investors active in this field are SAIF Partners, Accel Partners, Tiger Global and even Snapdeal cofounders. While the primary way to avail local services have been through online search or classified platforms, Local services marketplace make it seamless. This has led to increasing popularity of startups.

Car Free Day

A Car Free Day, which is celebrated in more than 200 cities in the world, promotes improvement of mass transit, cycling and walking. Studies showed that for short trips in cities, one can reach more quickly using a bicycle rather than using a car. About 3.1 Million people ride bicycle every month. It is a European event that emerged in 1960s and it caught attention within three decades. This event is being scheduled in Gurgaon for every Tuesday; a city where handling road traffic is the first job of the day for many people.

While the movement of cars will not be banned in the city, pick up and drop facilities in offices and unauthorized parking on roadsides and other places will not be allowed in specific areas of the city. Specific locations are chosen in the city for the event. In my opinion, it is a good step towards sustainability and reducing rush and accidents on the road. The only thing is it has to be followed properly by citizens and structured in a good way.

Instance, one will save fuel consumption, save environment, save economy and traffic will become smooth. Day is not far when Humans will have to adopt sustainability forcefully. Increase in viral diseases, disasters, rapid consumption of natural resources will one day bring back life to focus on these things. This step taken by Gurgaon Municipal Corporation for the benefit of city people is a positive move.

Two days of this event and it emerged as a positive source of inspiration for cyclists. The reason why I see this event as a good source for community is I ride a bike daily to office. I leave ten minutes before my scheduled time and reach office before any person in car, starting from same point. The only difference is I feel the Sun, the Dust and the Sweat. The aim of this event is to switch people to public transport and we should join hands to make it a success.

Book Review: Blink

Recently, I had finished reading Blink and the book is all about those moments when we know something without knowing why. Here author explores the phenomenon of ‘blink’, showing how a snap judgement can be far more effective than a cautious decision. By trusting your instincts, he reveals, you’ll never think about thinking in the same way again.

There are two types of thinking. We may call them intuitive and articulate. The first is the domain of hunches, emotional reactions, and first impressions and instant responses to sensations. There is a cognitive process involved in such mental processes, one is responding to information. But there is no conscious thought because there is no time for it.

The second type of thinking is the domain of logic, deliberation, and scientific method. Here thinking is conscious, it occurs in words or sentences or symbols or concepts or formulas and so it takes time. Articulate thinking is the model of rationality, while intuitive thinking is often seen as primitive, emotional, the only type of thinking of which animals are capable. So it is articulate thinking that distinguishes human beings from the ‘lower’ animals.

Malcolm Gladwell wishes to bring a popular audience the results of recent research in psychology and related disciplines, such as neurosciences which not only confirm the importance of intuitive cognition in human beings but also offer a qualified vindication of it. He argues that intuition is often superior to articulate thinking. It often misleads, to be sure but with an awareness of the pitfalls we may be able to avoid them.

Blink tells more stories about judging from first impressions. A president elected because of his comely appearance that turned out to be a complete turkey. The book is all about how we understand the world around us. Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?

Social Media and origin of Slangs

There was a time long ago when the SMS language swayed an entire generation and works like frnds and thnx became popular. People preferred writing constricted forms of words to spelling those out in full. Soon after, there came another age when people using truncated words would be ridiculed and writing correct spellings and grammatically perfect sentences would again become the norm.

However, life seems to have come full circle, with Social Media taking over the Internet. As Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media platforms shot into prominence, acronyms and slangs became the most easily identified parts of the script. Languages grow and evolve with the society that speaks them. The power, tenacity and life of a language are reflected in its capability to incorporate with ease the changing facets of its patron society.

Slangs such as BTW (by the way), LOL (Laugh out loud) and HBD (Happy Birthday) are growing daily. Communication over Internet is more about speed than language accuracy. The reason why people resort to short words is need for prompt communication and multitasking. On Internet everyone is Vocal and requires an array of such words. Many of these words have found their own rightful place in the dictionary. Notably, gherao, bandh and selfie are some such.

The flow of words between Internet usage and popular culture goes both ways. What made the word selfie common in general use was the action of taking self-pictures rather than the word itself. Clicking one’s own image conformed to both cultural and technological spheres. The Oxford dictionary has provided some of these slangs the much needed relegation. Imagining a world without these internet lingos today seems as difficult as imagining one without Facebook.

So, next time you comment ROFL on something on social media, just scroll up and see other comments on this viral post. Chances are one will find many more slangs to serve as synonyms for ROFL or even more quirky words that might be waiting to enter dictionary.

Entrepreneurial Lessons from Manjhi Movie

I recently watched the movie Manjhi based on the real life of Dashrath Manjhi and his feat of carving a path through a mountain using only a hammer and chisel. I realized, the movie has lessons and there are great teachings for budding entrepreneurs. The carving of mountain by Manjhi is a picture of determination and grit. It was the person he loved that moved him to building a road through a mountain. For anyone aspiring to be an entrepreneur, it is very important to have a strong trigger. A cause that can inspire and excite is important for an entrepreneur to keep going.

History has shown that successful entrepreneurs have a strong self confidence that their idea would work and they can make things happen. They trust their abilities and skills to tackle business problems. Self-Belief is another lesson from Manjhi Movie. In the movie, Manjhi starts chipping the mountain by tackling the smaller stones. To be successful one has to tackle the small things at first.

Starting up and being an entrepreneur can be daunting. There are no off days and expect days to be tired and long. Every Entrepreneur or an aspiring to be one, must appreciate the unwavering focus of Dashrath Manjhi in getting his job done despite years rolling by. One may have domain knowledge and some skills needed to get startup going. An Entrepreneur has to step out of his comfort zone and even do things that may seem scary and confusing. This has a great effect on personal growth and prepares one to handle tricky situations, failures and rejections.

Manjhi has only greater good for the people of the village so that they can have proper access to the medical care. Although, it took him 22 years but he got the job done. Today, he is well known for his selfless act and the value he has created for the people around him. An entrepreneur should look to create value first. Create value and compelling reason for your customers and people will love your product or service. Solve a real problem and create value, the money will follow itself. Manjhi has shown us that a mountain can be conquered through sheer determination and therein lie the essence of creating a successful business.

Mela Marketing: The new Buzz

Fairs (Melas) have always been an integral part of the Indian lifestyle. It is difficult to find a person in the country who has never visited a fair or came across a Bollywood flick with a typical 1970s storyline of family tribute and re-union, all happening in Mela. It is these marketing honchos who have bought fairs to the center-stage by using them as a platform to market products.

The roots of such Mela Marketing are not just desi by their means. In USA, for example, in 2001 the sports drink giant ‘Gatorade’ tried to cash in on the theme of Thanksgiving and invested Millions in marketing its drink during the Thanksgivings fairs across the country. Later, in 2008, they even came up with a TV commercial Replay which was also built around a match that has always been played on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Not that Indian company was alien to this, but till now, Mela marketing simply was seen as a social service for rural folk. But this year Melas have seen huge investments in product marketing campaigns. In the Kumbh Mela, the element of novelty was 26 brands marketing their products using the Mela as the focal point of their campaign. For instance, Dettol marketed itself with a tagline, “Kumbh me snaan ek baar, Dettol mein Snaan baar-baar”. Boroline came up with “Kumbh se Punya Kamao, Boroline se Achchi Twacha Banao”.

Fairs are a good platform for direct promotion of brand. These fairs attract huge chunks of people from different strata of the society at one place for the longest period of time. Another example was the Dabur Campaign for its mosquito repellent ‘Odomos’. The interesting thing is, while Urban Melas like the Trade Fair, which attract highs of between 2.5-4 Lakh people on their weekend days, get hundreds of advertisers; events like Kumbh Mela still churn up at best only 26 Advertisers.

Melas advertising remains great point of sale immediacy conversion and would work only in relatively low priced FMCG products or services. For non-FMCG sectors, it’s clearly not such a promising deal currently as most of the masses at these Melas do not have intent to purchase durables during their visits. Nobody will buy a car or home in a Mela. But still they can think about it if there is an advertisement.

Network Role in Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT), also called Internet of Everything is a scenario in which people are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human to human or human to computer interaction. Small and Medium Sized Businesses in India today have access to new technologies, new markets, suppliers, and customers and are constantly looking shaping industry conditions.

Increase in competition has driven companies to reach out for IT and the Internet as a basic infrastructural requirement for optimizing efficient operations and businesses. SMBs are looking at Internet of Things to enable new business models which will increase profit margins for companies. After some time, IoT solutions will originate from start-ups that are less than three years old.

There are certain challenges in IoT. Foremost is managing the Network. When network grows in complexity, small business needs to focus on comprehensive network solutions. A dedicated IT staff is required, who is up to date with the complex nuances of IoT ecosystem and can help manage the network. Second challenge is Security. Organizations need to protect their businesses through theft of information, virus break prevention, and application abuse with limited additional cost and manageability issues. Most businesses have Cost Restrictions.

Organizations now required a simplified Infrastructure. Because of tremendous increase in number of devices the infrastructure requirement has evolved drastically and new devices run on different bandwidths. It needs to be redesigned so that cost and complexity can be reduced. There is need for a new security model. Strategic IT investments in the right network infrastructure can help businesses capture the IoT opportunity and continue to drive innovation in India.

Book Review: The Tipping Point

In this brilliant book, Malcolm Gladwell explains and analysis the ‘tipping point’, that magic moment when ideas, trends, and social behavior cross a threshold, tip, and spread like wildfire. Taking a look behind the surface of many familiar occurrences in our everyday world. Gladwell explains the fascinating social dynamics that cause rapid change.

Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.

Gladwell introduces us to the particular personality types who are natural pollinators of new ideas and trends, the people who create the phenomenon of word of mouth. He analyzes fashion trends, smoking, children television, direct mail, and the early days of the American Revolution for clues about making ideas infectious, and visits a religious commune, a successful high tech company and one of the world greatest salesmen to show how to start and sustain social epidemics.

There are three principles of social epidemics in the book: the law of the few, the stickiness factor and the power of context. The law of the few is roughly comparable to the 80/20 rule, that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Gladwell attributes the success of social epidemics to the efforts to three types of individuals: connectors, mavens and salesmen. The Tipping point is a powerful and fascinating book that cuts across a variety of fields of interest. Within, Gladwell constructs and details ideas that change the way one perceive social trends one might not otherwise think to question.

The True Cost

The True Cost is a Documentary Movie by Andrew Morgan. This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?

It is filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva. The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.

The movie suggests another expose of corporate greed versus environment well-being. Andrew Morgan dives to the bottom of the supply chain, to the garment factories of Cambodia and Bangladesh and the cotton fields of India, where he links ecological and health calamities to zealous pesticide use. Garment workers subsisting on less than $3 a day recount beatings by bosses who resent unionization and request higher wages.

The film is sadly unlikely to affect the buying habits of consumers who have become addicted to low retail clothing prices in difficult financial times. But hopefully more films like the True Cost will mark the beginning of a movement and not just a brief, painful journey into a world we’d rather forget. If films like Super-Size Me and Fast Food Nation can begin to put a dent in the similarly harmful fast food industry, it’s certainly possible that this film will mark a step in the same direction for fast fashion.

Movie Review: Particle Fever

Particle Fever is a 2013 documentary film tracking the first round of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland. The film follows the experimental physicists at CERN who run the experiments, as well as theoretical physicists who attempt to provide a conceptual framework for the LHC results. The film begins in 2008 with the first firing of the LHC and concludes in 2012 with the successful identification of the Higgs Boson.

The subject of the film is the Large Hadron Collider, a massive miles long particle accelerator designed to detect the Higgs boson by replicating, miniature, the Big Bang. It works by smashing together two high-energy proton beams aimed directly at each other. Comprised of liquid helium cooled magnets and complex microelectronics, the LHC is the world largest crash test Laboratory.

One doesn’t have to be a physicist or good at math, to enjoy the energy and thrill of discovery that radiates from the documentary “Particle Fever”. Mark Levinson, director of the film has taken a potentially daunting topic, the search for the elusive and highly significant Higgs Boson particle, also known as “God Particle” and turned it into a movie that not just accessible but fun, with a surprisingly emotional playoff at the end.

Real stars of the film are the half dozen physicists who tell the story of the search for the Higgs Boson, lending the tech talk real drama. They are led by David Kaplan, a theoretical physicist at John Hopkins University who acts as a kind of tour guide to the story and helps simplify a complex subject for a general audience, many of whom would never otherwise care about any of this. The pursuit of knowledge sake is science as purest. As Kaplan says, everyone looking for the Higgs particle always understood that the search could yield nothing, other than understanding everything.

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Book Review: Outliers – The Story of Success

When we try to understand success, we normally start with the wrong question. We ask ‘what is the person like or what is his background?’ Is he born with a silver spoon? What we should really be asking his ‘where are they from?’ The real secret of success turns out is surprisingly simple, and it hinges on a few crucial twists in people life stories, on the culture they grow up in and the way they spend their time.

Outlier: The story of Success is all about above Paragraph. Gladwell doesn’t discount the necessity of innate ability, and he points to hard work as a crucial factor for success in any endeavor. But he finds in these success stories that factors such as timing, circumstance, and crucial heritage play an off-overlooked yet critical role. This book is distributed in two parts: Opportunity and Legacy.

Outlier clearly answers why do some people achieve so much more than others? Can they lie so far outside the ordinary? What is the secret of their success? In this proactive and inspiring book, Malcolm Gladwell examines everyone from Business giants to scientific geniuses, sports stars to musicians, and reveals what they have in common. The facts in the book are very interesting and clearly indicate that the author did a deep research on everything.

Outlier offers an implicit message for companies as well. There is great competitive advantage for the organization recognizing that the work environment can nurture talent and also suppress it. The best companies will not only seek to provide their employees with enrichment but will also have the insight and courage to identify and recruit exceptional though neglected talent that could flourish under the right conditions.

He examines the causes of how Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates achieved his extreme wealth, how the Beatles became one of the most successful musical acts in human history, how cultural differences play a large part in perceived intelligence and rational decision making and many others. This book really will change the way one think about their life and it will challenge one to make the most of their own potential. 

Protect Information: The new Currency

A growing economy and a fast Internet population make India one of the most attractive targets of Cyber Criminals. In a digital world, Information is the new currency. In the past, many threats are done by hackers on companies to collect data or release data. Any loss or theft of information can lead to irreparable damage in terms of overall competitiveness.

In connected world, network now ends with the user device, which makes it more difficult to prevent theft of data intentional or unintentional. In a recent research, it points that India is the number one host country of Botnet related Malware, Sality Malware contributor and Ramnit Malware contributor globally. Malwares like Botnet, Ramnit, and Autorun are designed to hack into various devices to steal data, banking credentials, cookies and other vital information.

As India’s smartphone and Internet base rises, the number of Malware directed at Indian firms will continue to rise. Today, companies are still spending significant sums on security systems. Securing the data is the first priority for any company which was previously ignored. Cyber-attacks on business come from bugs in outdated software. Malware creators are quick to spot these opportunities and create Malware that scan unpatched operating systems.

On Mobile phones, Android is still the number one target. Recent attacks on Apple iCloud and Sony had cost them a huge price. Malware creators today are not only stealing data but they also make sure that the original user pays for the data he owns. Original user can get the data back if he pays for the decryption key. About 80 percent of top 10 Malware can be avoided by up to date software. Tools, which can automatically update software offer protection against threats.

With regular increase in Internet users and connectivity, it has become very important to secure information. As Information is the new currency in Digital World. Just as a strong immune system in human body can prevent most dangerous diseases in same way most deadly viruses and malware can be kept out of most networks.

Book Review: Jugaad Innovation

In India, the word “Jugaad” is something that we lived with it. It means finding an innovative solution to a problem arising out of very limited resources. Recently, I had finished reading “Jugaad Innovation” by Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, and Simone Ahuja. For me, Jugaad is a creative improvisation, a medium to somehow find a solution based on a refusal to accept defeat and calling on quick thinking.

In Jugaad Innovation, authors challenge the status quo of traditional organizations in terms of how they think and act. The book outlines six principles of Jugaad: Seek Opportunity in adversity, do more with less, think and act flexibly, keep it simple, include the margin, and follow your heart. The book also argues about that West must look at countries like India, China, Brazil, for a new approach to frugal and flexible innovation.

The book begins with Simone meeting with Mansukh Prajapati who has designed a fridge that costs Rs 2500, is made out of clay and runs without electricity. This innovation has made it possible for even people in rural India have access to cool water and the option to store fruit and vegetables for three days. In India, such examples of human ingenuity are part of common folklore. I have seen carts fixed with diesel engines and people call them ‘Jugaads’.

The material in the book is thoroughly referenced and well structured. Each chapter begins with an inspirational quote and ends with takeaways, things to measure, things to do, and experiments to conduct. The concluding chapter ties all the material together. Innovation is driven by curiosity and creativity. It is an iterative process involving risk taking along with the risk assessment and mitigation.

Filled with engaging stories of resourceful Jugaad innovators and entrepreneurs in emerging markets and the United States, the book is a resourceful guide to help readers unlock the value of principles of Jugaad Innovation in enabling innovation. It is must read for Entrepreneurs. Overall, I loved the book and its examples of human creativity. It takes examples from developed and developing nations. Jugaad is practiced by almost all Indians in their daily lives to make the most of what they have. 

My Love for Cycling & My Mountain Bike

Albert Einstein once said, he thought of the theory of relativity while riding a bicycle. Cycling is third most popular recreational activity in the UK. About 3.1 Million people ride bicycle every month. I too love cycling since childhood and my new Mountain Bike “Rockrider 5.3”. There are many reasons that turn me on for cycling every time including its benefits.

Regular cycling can help one shed weight, regulate stress and improve fitness. It saves transport & fuel expenses. The best thing about cycling is that it is pollution free which is good for environment. According to a research by Illinois University researchers, cycling helps build brain cells in the hippocampus, the region responsible for memory, which keeps on deteriorating after the age of 30.

Cycling also beats illness and keeps doctor at bay. It is also helpful for Insomnia sufferers who can’t sleep at nights. Cycling helps in getting proper sleeps because it prevents the stress hormones and regenerate sleep. Regular cycling can protect skin against the harmful effects of UV radiation and reduce signs of ageing. It also helps in living longer because body becomes much more efficient to regenerate new cells.

Cycling also helps avoid obesity which means guilt free snacks at any party. It also helps me to get fitter and hence better at sports. Professionally, cycling also helps to maintain and create network with people. Last but not the least; twenty bicycles can be parked in the same space as one car. It takes around five percent of the materials and energy used to make a car than to build a bike and a bike produces zero pollution.

Cycling is an activity that involves the whole body. Therefore, arm-to-leg, feet-to-hands and body-to-eye coordination are improved. I love my bike because it has twenty seven gears, disc brakes and a light weight frame to pull. Apart from physical structure of bike I would like to add that cycling also builds leadership & strategy skills. Above image describes meaning of all parts of cycle. Gear part is engagement and chain is the feedback point.

So, one can’t easily measure the benefits of cycling on one’s life. Most of the times, people ask me “Why don’t you buy a motor bike in same price”, well the answer is simple, it will make me lazy and increase risks of accident. When I travel from one place to another in a city, my ultimate goal is to cover a distance, which can be done from cycling as well.

Book Review – The Google Story

Recently, I had finished reading The Google Story by David A. Wise. This is not a geek manual. There is enough technical information to keep the story moving without losing the reader in code waffle. Google was founded in 1998 and within a span of 17 years; it has become a world leader in internet. Founders Sergey and Larry started Google when they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University in computer science. They both had a crazy idea to download entire information available on the Internet.

There is a lot in the book about the culture of Google, which is compared to a university campus more often than a corporation. Most people works in teams of three to five maximum, and engineers are given 20% time, one day a week in which to work on stuff that’s interesting to them, regardless of its commercial viability. One of the colleagues even writes an equation to explain the whole phenomenon: “youth + freedom + transparency + new model + the general public’s benefit + belief in trust = The Miracle of Google”. The Google story seems to be the mission to prove that equation from first principles.

It is also a business story. For the business reader, it’s fascinating to learn how venture capital firms, still reeling from the post dot com collapse, approached the infant Google with great suspicion, but found the founders and their ideas irresistible. One lesson from the book – no matter how brilliant your science and engineering credentials, you need a business person to talk to the Wall Street and lead your company into the IPO.

It also answers a question that most of our daily users have asked to some point: how does Google makes any money? Vise sees Google as just like any other media corporation in that regard: Advertising. Again the Google Adwords model is described simply. It is a great story. It is a series of chapters that read like articles. There is a whole chapter on Google Chef, Issues in China, and competitive wars with Microsoft. The Google story is the living example of dedication and continued struggle of men who succeeded in achieving their magnificent goals.

Barriers & Panacea to Women Entrepreneurship

Women today play multiple economic roles in our society. They are consumers, farmers, labourers, teachers, bankers, innovators, scientists, pilots and astronauts. Many are self-employed while some are turning entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship provides the most powerful economically empowering avenue for the women, for the community and the nation. But according to a report, it is estimated that globally there are only roughly 9.34 Million women owned formal small and medium enterprise in over 140 assessed countries.

The above data is very small. So why there are so few women Entrepreneurs? In my opinion, the four main barriers to women becoming entrepreneurs are these. The first set of limiting factors is intrinsic i.e. within the self and family. Most educated women are turned to take up jobs; it is easy and lends the stability of a fixed salary. But with more women leaders coming to the forefront on corporate boards and as entrepreneurs, like Indira Nooyi, Chanda Kochar, and Kiran Majumdar Shaw hopefully all intrinsic pressures will slowly fade away.

The second set of problems is the most critical. These include lack of access to resources like credit, technology and markets. Lack of access to formal, easy, collateral free, and transparent financing for women start-ups is a major problem area. Women also lack access to latest technologies that could enable them to climb up the value chain. The third factor that is a hindrance is that women are not always equipped with adequate knowledge and skills to tap opportunities. They lack exposure to practical aspects of running a business.

The fourth issue is that of networking. Creating wide and sustainable network of women producers and consumers is essential to build and nurture women entrepreneurship. There are many corrective measures to increase women entrepreneurship in India. Increase the volume of women support systems like child care and family support. Enlarge upon development and capacity building processes for soft skills, technology and management skills.

Amplify mentoring and market linkage to support for women owned enterprises through networks like women entrepreneur associations. Simplify the external entrepreneurial ecosystem by enabling ease of doing business. Make simpler government schemes eligibility criteria, documentation and clearance mechanisms. Bring in smarter technology and better inter-departmental coordination to enable simpler, faster, transparent and effective service delivery for women start-ups.