Loading ...We have had a lot of discussion on this site on technology ventures and rightly so, given the talent pool in India. However, I think that with our changing social structure there will be interesting opportunities in the recreational services space. For instance, in areas like Health & Fitness, Tourism and so on. Think of the following:
- Will there be an entrepreneur who will set up India’s version of Lifetime Fitness or Ballys?
- Will there emerge new businesses managing sports stadiums, music and sports events and so on?
- What about innovative domestic tourism options such as specialized tours, coast-to-coast cruises?
- Will there be private equity investments in chains that take over and standardize the existing stand-alone hotels in Indian cities?
- Will there be a spate of restaurant chains post investments in the Mainland China business?
In each of these categories, there are reasonably large listed companies on the NYSE and the London Stock Exchange. I expect that over the next 5-10 years there will be several Indian companies that will emerge in these categories.
Their business models will probably be not as disruptively innovative as the next generation Web 2.0 product. But I am sure they will be fun and provide the much needed respite to technology entrepreneurs and workers.
I have written about a few such ideas on www.myopen-window.blogspot.com and would like to learn more from folks who are thinking about these opportunities.
Sanjoy,
Rahul and his team proved right. Disastrous would be a mild word!
In fact, its an ideal opening for other sports but just watch how cricket creates a fresh product out of this. Believe me, I see Lalit Modi ( Marketing king of BCCI) sitting back and laughing his way for the simple reason that he is gonna sell his new game through domestic cricket ( inter city league)making best use of this godsend opportunity.
At the same time, I have been toying with the idea of a Pro League in games like Basketball and thats how the concept of sports infrastructure came in since thats how sports leagues world over are built up….
Getting VC funding for a private sports league in games like Basketball would not be easy in India due to our cricket crazy approach while US cos may like to back BB since neither baseball nor rugby could be made popular here.
Fantastic blog, Anil.
I love the comment : “Very few people understand that sports is not just a technical test of skills but a whole drama of events emotionally packaged into the ambience of a multiplex feeling”
I think that your job to convince folks that cricket is not everything will be made easier if the Indian cricket plays a little longer in the way it has been playing.
I would love to help you in your plans so feel free to ping.
Sanjoy,
Yes, there are other untapped non tech sectors and I see a whole lot of opportunities emerging in the sports sector with private funding. India has perhaps only seen the buzz in the entertainment sector and is yet to catch on with sports entertainment.
The influences in the education sector is sure to open up this hitherto untapped medium of entertainment. Cricket has actually shown the way and going just by the volume potential, there is enough market space for atleast 2-3 other games to have a piece of the cake.
But unfortunately, even regular disciplines like Soccer and Hockey are yet to be tapped ( thanks to the lethargy of the managements of these sports). The NFL and the PHL have made some beginnings but then the structure is so slow that it looks to be taking years to crystallise itself into the entertainment space of sports. Very few people understand that sports is not just a technical test of skills but a whole drama of events emotionally packaged into the ambience of a multiplex feeling.
This brings us to another point mentioned. Sports stadiums- imagine being part of a sports event in India and an NBA game in the US or as a matter of fact, any well run sports league worldover.SHoddy infrastructure almost entirely owned and serviced by the Govt. People who see a business in this and have a little passion for a sport would be looking into this. This opens up a whole new real estate segment within the untouched sports infrastructure products. I see a whole lot of happenings since people need to enjoy sport just like watching a movie kinda feeling - the stadium ambience has to be set and the event format to be structured with team loyalties and 50-50 chance games held regularly to provoke the pride of the city.
I see an opportunity in this sector because not a single city in India can boast of any such infrastructure - a Live Events Entertainment complex supported with the complexities of regular sporting events in a multiplex ambience. And if you can create a Basketball league around it, it would be a treat for most tier 1 and tier 2 cities
Any takers……….I am working to find people to back it- VC or PE or Angels who forsee that its not going to be just cricket all the way.
Krish I was just kidding with my pharse. Ok, Indigenization is more like it. question is what are other opportunities that are there in this category?
Sanjoy,
“Copy Cat Innovation” sounds a bit crude since it has a `piracy’ ring to it. Why add to IP lawsuits…I am sure you didn’t mean that.
Don’t you think many things will have to be customized ( may be it’ll look totally different when done ) to suit Indian aspirations and cost constraints to gain acceptance ?
Why not call it straight ” Indigenization” ? While giving credit to the original inventor, it recognizes the localisation efforts as well.
One twist that I would add.
There is another whole new category of investments that will bear fruit at a GLOBAL level due to the rise of India and China
1.) There will be a rising need for clean fuel, as well as anti-pollution devices to combat the rapid pollution problems from India, China. Epecially sir-con use in India is exploding leading to envirohmental problems.
2.) There will be a huge opportunity in agribusiness investments that will feed the growing affluent stomachs. I am not in the finance side of Deutsche Bank, but I am aware of the trends in investments going on now. There is a growing interest in investment in agri-business companies, as from a value-perspective, these have great potential to mirror the growth of Indian and Chinese appetites. This is public knowledge, so I am not breaking any rules by saying this here
Arun has said things succintly . I call this “copy cat innovation”. Look at the daily lifstyles of folks in the developed world. Take an idea like health club chains, children’s activities (think of Jungle gym), ready to eat food, creches scale down a bit and replicate in India. Done!
Hi Everyone
You could generalise the original post as follows -
As the Indian population becomes more affluent because of the economic boom, there will be drastic changes in consumption patterns.
1.) There will be a demand for higher-end versions of existing goods and services.
2.) But even more importantly, there will be a viable market for goods and services that have not been available in India till now.
Let’s look at market (2) now, because I find it more interesting. The key here would be to anticipate the industries/products/services that will be in demand going forward, based on rising incomes. You could split this market into 2 broad categories -
2A) Opportunities due to demand from rising incomes
2B) Opportunities due to problems from rising incomes
At the top of my head, (2A) would be things like niche travel services etc. (2B) is a bit more interesting - These would be varied as demand for health clubs because there will be a rising obsesity problem among the youth coupled with the need to look good, solutions to fix family problems due to the full-career focus of most newly marries couples etc etc.. You can gorss yourself out easily imagining all the problems that will happen.
But there is a very simple way to cut away all this analysis, and get to the opportunities. This is something I discuss with colleagues every day. Ultimately, the needs of the Indian population will mirror those of developed countries like Singapore, US etc.
Net result: Take a non-tech idea that works in the US. Implement it in the cities in India where there will be demand for the concept. Make money. Obviously, you will need to scale it down a bit because the Indian affluence will take quite some time to reach US levels. But the aspirations are there already.
I will be writing a blog entry on this soon. What would be nice is to have a nice term for this general concept.