A very interesting new paper, Returns to Capital in Microenterprises, examines some key issues around investing in microenterprises, which should be of interest to all who are watching the BoP ecosystem take shape as a market. From the abstract: Small and informal firms account for a large share of employment in developing countries. The rapid […]
Seedcamp – Europe
Interesting model on lines of YCombinator in Europe. The management resource base of the initiative is perhaps the single biggest success factor. Something to think about for people contemplating similar models in India. 0
Indian VCs expand their scope
Businessweek on how the emergence of entrepreneurs targeting the BOP (as well as the relentless hunt for deal flow) is causing VCs in India to broaden the scope of their investments. The fishermen from the Indian village of Chidambaram live a hard life. They sleep most of the day, then spend the night out on […]
PE gives Bears a headache
Businessweek has an interesting piece on how PE and turnaround funds are making life difficult for short-sellers: But as short-selling has proliferated, it has become increasingly difficult to make money at the game. Whereas a profit-challenged enterprise may once have floundered until shutting down or filing for bankruptcy, many such companies are now targets for […]
Unrest behind the scenes in the VC world
The NYT has an article on how LPs are unhappy with US VCs – most of them, anyway – and has some interesting bits to it. Some limited partners, whose billions of dollars help fund the investments made by venture capitalists and who pay their fetching salaries, are unhappy. They say the industry is far […]
Why are startups boring…in India
At the risk of being accosted on my way home tomorrow, and also risking it all on my first post on this blog. I have a question, Why are/do people find startup’s of no interest in India? The question is probably not that straight forward, simply because they maybe of no interest because no one […]
Indian Web2.0- different strokes, different folks..
I write a blog about Indian web 2.0 space (whatever exists of it!) and its reader base is somewhat different from the Venturewoods community; I am cross posting this so as to get reactions from the audience here. I had been internally debating whether or not this post made any sense. What precipitated my decision […]
Bill Gross/Idealab
KISS today: What do you guys think of the Idealab model? …on either side of the table 0
Are we communicating well to the ROW?
It is 0200 here in Berlin now, so please forgive me for a ‘non VW’ post! I cannot but help wonder how much things have changed for our country over the last year. The story of emerging India is already dated. And so is the gloating over little successes and feel good arrival. Issues are […]
The team is the clincher
The venture world always seems to be driven by transactions — here’s a little bit on the ideological plane of venture investing. Interesting read… 0
Fred Wilson’s take on Superdistribution
Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures with an interesting take on Superdistribution – the practice of turning each consumer into a retailer of the good in question. […] superdistribution is something I’ve become obsessed with. Superdistribution means turning every consumer into a distribution partner. Every person who buys a record, a movie, reads a newspaper, […]
Startupping – a new resource for entrepreneurs
I recently came across Startupping – which looks to be an interesting online gathering place for entrepreneurs. It is heavily focused on the internet space, but other kinds of entrepreneurs will also find some interesting tidbits here. Worth keeping an eye on. From their home page: Startupping is a one-of-a-kind community resource created for Internet […]