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Make India - Social Entrepreneurship
Here is the text of a mail I sent to some people to give the gist ….
You may find interesting… It not very long … and it suggests that a $300MM + revenue company could be built… and more importantly it could bring about a quiet revolution that would “Make India”.
I am not sure at all that the straw man presented here is the right one but the punch line is the last one.
If a billion minds think “Make India” will happen.
Comments welcome but more importantly we need the “social entrepreneur” or multiple “social entrepreneurs” who try to make the magic happen.
Social Initiative intertwined with Commercial Consideration:
As a small initiative towards Safety of Employees (with emphasis on Women Employess), my start-up BPONews has dedicated a Pan India Emergency SMS Response Number (6070 - Help). This was unveiled by Dr Girija Vyas, Chairperson - National Commission for Women, on 06 Oct 2006. This number shall be extensively spread out by various means of the NCW. This shall also be made visible on all BPO vehicles ferrying employees.
As a next step, we shall leverage this large visibility to launch an SMS based ‘Jobs Service’ on 6070, with our mobile messaging partners Valuefirst. We see a $7MM market for BPONews in the immediate future, which has a future potential of $30MM.
While we try and make a success out of our business, we also have an eye on creating a socially responsible outfit from day one.
Comments welcome.
Do we have any online presence that is anything that is a close resemblence of the Kely’s Blue Book for the Indian market ?
mouthshut seems like the closest resemblance to bringing a community essence ?
though it still is far fetched to the concept ?
Id invite participation as I feel this could realy take off and after having met Sanjay yesterday.. feel Id require more brainstorming to streamline the thoughts process …
Rajiv
A couple of offline comments that I received suggested that it may be better to structure the “Make India” effort as a “for profit” enterprise and not as a “not for profit” one.
This would allow venture capital instead of “patient capital” and ESOP’s instead of bonuses.
This makes sense to me. Both structures have their pros/cons but I think the “for profit” one is simpler and better understood.
In my mind this play is trying to create a membership funded media property. I have not seen online examples of this work. Most online plays rely on advertising.
Offline NPR ( National Public Radio) and Consumer Reports have worked.
Lots to think about for anyone who tries to structure this. Wealth is normally created by solving a difficult problem.
May be it can be a brick and mortar business and not just online?
Sanjay;
Are u available offline for a dialogue ??
I have been receiving comments that “Make India” should be a for profit company and not a “not for profit”. It can then be venture funded and issue ESOP’s etc. The complications of “patient capital” , “pro bono work” and “bonuses” can be avoided.
If it were a “for profit” company maybe even seed funders such as Band of Angels may be interested in funding it.
If social networking sites and media companies can get funded maybe this can funded as well.
The entrepreneur would need to bootstrap to get say 5000 individual members and 1-5 corporates before they could raise seed or VC money.
Guys,
I did take the initiative some three years ago… I just named it “Image India”
Its just about showing some action.
More details - www.nostops.org
regards
Savita,
What you suggest is a first step and part of the member pledge maybe. At present there is a lot of energy wasted in protests/strikes etc. Is there a better way to mobilise collective action ?
This is out of my area of expertise but as a lay person I do not know of many places on earth where there are so many bandhs, protest marches, lathi charges and hunger strikes.
In the “Quit India” era there was no virtual alternative. Now there is.
If you want an enemy to identify I can give you one. Lets call it “FRICTION”. Get rid of friction.
I am not aware of Dr.Rao’s movement and why it failed and it would be important to avoid mistakes and learn. In startups failure is par for the course.
If many try one may succeed. When Bill Gates was here I had asked a question on what India needs to do to improve its ecosystem for startups and one of the things he said was that in the US quite a few startups fail but the system is efficient. They do not linger like living zombies. People who fail are not branded if they tried well and learnt. India must learn to tolerate and encourage quick failure.
Just as quite a few entrepreneurs in India are trying to build the next You Tube, My Space, PayPal, eBay or Google maybe some will try to “Make India”.
Savita….
Slam Dunk…!
Sanjay,
I read through your ‘Make India’ proposal. I believe that your idea is on the spot. But having been part of such initiatives before - the most famous which people in the US would have heard about was the ‘Rejuvenate India Movement’ started by Dr. Parmeswar Rao. It failed to live up to the momentum it initially garnered. The reasons are simple. Because we live in a world where its difficult to identify that ‘One Enemy’ which was the british in the quit India movement.
You don’t need a ‘big inspiration’ to do small things, thats my belief. Things should start changing from our own family. For example, during our relocation process, we got all our boxes clearned through the customs without a single rupee of bribe. But my husband & I worked like a team and pushed through the systems. Even the agents who are working with the customs officer carrying his briefcase were surprised looking at us. If this was the US, the same Indian’s would be running around the DMV standing in lines, or going to the court to clear some dues. But just because its India, the courts are dirty, the office blds are dirty, no one wants to do go there. This only gives leeway for those who want to exploit the system for their advantage.
I would say - start talking to your maid, your chaukidaar, your ironman…Share yoru experiences, get to know their experiences. Focus on small ideas, make them work, make them happen, write about it, blog about it, SMS people about it. The fuel is there, start the fire. No organizations, no CEOs, no advisors. Make India will happen.
Savita.