Author Archive for Vijay Anand

Startups Exploited: An Open Letter.

Published by Vijay Anand on May 6, 2008 in Ecosystem.
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This might be very personal, but I doubt it can be avoided. For the past two years, there has been a lot of time, commitment, travel, stress, energy, and personal money that has gone into a really ridiculous goal - one of creating a culture of oneness, open communication and one where startups stand a chance to win. The mission does go on, and I strongly believe that the journey lies ahead for a few more years, before we can step back and let things slide on its own.

But this is not about what I am doing. This is about what is happening.

They say, that what is nice from far is far from nice. Once you get into the ground, roll up your sleeves and start digging, you start to smell the intentions of a lot of well-to-do people, which kinda make you wonder a lot of things. This post is one of warning for the startup community to take heed from, so that you don’t allow yourself to be exploited mercilessly, by any means.
Continue reading ‘Startups Exploited: An Open Letter.’

Meeting Online this Saturday [Today] @ 3PM

Published by Vijay Anand on May 3, 2008 in Ecosystem.
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Compared to how things were a few years back, the Startup Community has come together in such a fabulous way. We have OpenCoffee Club meets, Startup Lunches, Startup Saturdays, Mobile Mondays, Barcamps, Ideacamps etc, etc, and the plethora of other activities that organizations such as TiE, NEN, NASSCOM, etc are providing to benefit this same target audience.

All that said, we understand that most of these benefits are enjoyed by those who live in the major cities, and in most cases in the cities down south. There hasnt been much activities going on in cities such as Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkatta, Ahmedabad or any where in Kerala to bring the community together and to share, ask questions, and receive support from one another.

In an attempt to bridge that, we are hosting an online meet this Saturday [today] at 3pm at http://chat.proto.in. Most of you would know how to login, and the process is quite simple. Visit the URL, enter a nickname and you could join in.

If you would be participating, do post a comment to this post, and feel free to ask any questions if you do have any. You are also more than welcome to invite your friends, should they be interested, and ask them to join.

I look forward to seeing you there, if Possible.

PS: The Client is tested to work on an Iphone, and quite beautifully. Also if your phone as an IRC client, you could participate, on the move.

The European Web Community Stands up.

Published by Vijay Anand on April 21, 2008 in Ecosystem and General.
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Seems like we are not the only set of folks who are wanting to fix the problems we see around us and build a “sustainable” atmosphere around us. There is a post by Ryan who runs FOWA taking a stance against the Web Mission effort that is getting organized by the UK Government and quite a fair list of heavy weights, including Techcrunch. I think this post is important to observe for a couple of reasons.

The striking similarities that we hear from folks around us in:

1. Thinking that the Silicon valley for some reason offers more opportunities.

2. Europe just like India, in most cases, seems to think that you only get funded if you hit the valley. Atleast we aren’t that bad. We have much more easier access to capital.

3. There are folks like FOWA (Future of Web Apps) who are trying to build a vibrant community of users, developers and startups in Europe, very much like how we are working on the same - with arguments that they have “everything that they require right there”

4. There are also people, most of them, who seem to think that the UK companies should be looking into the valley for users and potential exit strategies.

I’ve been working on a post that shows a snapshot of interaction between startups, venture capitals and the markets from across the globe - the valley, Canada, Australia, Europe and India. You’d be surprised how similar most conversations are. Trust me, things are not so hard because we are in India, neither too easy because we are here. We are just facing the same harsh realities as anywhere else. Perhaps the world is flatterning. Huh! who thought I’d agree to that, so easily!

I’ll leave you with this comment by Phil Bradley in that post, which just gets the message home without any explanations:

“The equity gap between seed and series A that plagues the UK will not be resolved if we can’t demonstrate maturity and ability to build profitable businesses.”

That just eerily sounds like the issue we face here.

PS: I haven’t thought through this yet, but I believe this only applies to Internet/Media related startups.

A New Kind of Incubation Model. Part III

Published by Vijay Anand on April 21, 2008 in Ecosystem and Musings.
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Ever since the journey with Proto.in started, about two years ago, I can safely say that I’ve sifted through atleast 300+ company profiles. I’ll hit you with the bad news first: Most of them are hopeless. They are half-baked solutions. They probably are great hobby projects and shouldn’t even allowed to be classified as a “startup” or a Product. Most of them lack business sense - to the point that if you did get a chance to see some of them, you might totally lose hope on the startup scene in India altogether.

Of course, the good news, is that the evolution is happening extremely rapidly. I am seeing lesser and lesser of the type of companies that I described above, and more holistic companies starting to appear. So what’s the issue? Not all is happy and merry yet.

Lately, I am seeing quite a bit of companies that seem to be addressing some very valid problems, and coming up with solutions that do make sense and would work. The only issue is that since most of them have a problem hiring, and a much bigger issue validating the concept and running the pilot that they end up building one piece of the puzzle and it takes them far too long to roll out the “solution”. The funny thing is that, mentally I can clearly see that there are different pieces of the same puzzle being put together by different groups. I simply can’t understand why they can’t collaborate and work together to target the problem.

So, yes, there are issues with this. First of all, since all of them are startups, and all being run by founders, there would be some issues with personality clashes as to how things are done. But lets face it. There are atleast seven players for every single component that is being made for the same problem out there. I think there are plenty of options of teams to choose from.

Before I do get blamed for pulling this out of thin air, here’s an example of something that works somewhere else. There is a Firm that I am aware of that operates out of an emerging nation. The way they work is that they fund certain entities to create knowledge and IP. Their IP could be as simple as a new recipe for a cake (quite seriously!). The firm identifies entrepreneurs in a location, and helps this entrepreneur create a franchisee location, and is given the know-how as to how to create these recipes and sell them. He is given just about six months of time when he is hand-held and guided on the art of running a businesses.

Six months later, the firm goes and finds an entrepreneur, exactly in the opposite side of the country and does the same thing. Follows up in another three months with another entrepreneur in another location, etc etc and repeats all above steps till they have five or six stable entrepreneurs who are running local units in different parts across the country. Then their only focus is to pump all their energy, and resources into these five units and watch with whom the entrepreneurial leadership kicks in. Once that is identified, they create a new entity, merge all these five units under it, place this “leader” as the manager, and take a stake out of this new entity.

The positive note for the firm in all this is that, they take equity out of a firm which has a high chance of success since its run by not one but five entrepreneurs who are well versed in the same business, understand local diversity, and have crossed the issue of scalability, and probably are leaders and hence will ensure that their local unit grows and thrives.

If you take that model and see how to apply a version of it in the context of India, and the technology space, I’d say that for most problems, the solution is broken and built by various companies - mostly small teams, two or three people. It would be interesting for a firm, or an incubator to pick a aching problem, and bring together startups who are building pieces of the puzzle. Come up with a formula (perhaps on revenue, team size, and product readiness) as metrics and figure out the percentage each company will hold, on a new entity that will be created and promoted as the solution to this problem.

Simple case in point: Ordering Food over the net. It is going to require a hotel network front, a logistics front, and perhaps a LBS, technology front. Hungry Bangalore + OrderMonger + Yulop is a solution to go with. You at least need these three bare minimum teams to come together if the Seamless web is the kind of end-result that they are aiming for. I am sure there are other alternatives and maybe other elements as well, that other companies can bring in.

Firms, since they do enjoy the same bird’s eye view that Proto.in enjoys can definitely put together this high level working arrangement, and someone will have to “architect” and manage these teams, atleast initially till their co-existence structure gets ironed out and they find their roles. But its certainly do-able.a

I strongly believe that this kind of lego-work will probably increase a few more holistic startups in the indian scene. If it does come together and work, it will probably one of the most high energy teams, since all the founders will be the guys who will be driving this, and there is no comparison to that - ever.

Related Posts:

A New Kind of Incubation Model. Part I

A New Kind of Incubation Model. Part II

Please leave your comments and what you think here

2008: Is the UMPC a wave to ride?

Published by Vijay Anand on April 6, 2008 in General.
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UMPC, the Ultra Mobile Personal Computer. The design initially came out of Microsoft roughly about an year or so ago, and there were quite a few skeptics who raced to make claims that this would die the same death that the tablet PC had. Though the Tablet PC is quite an interesting form factor, it hasnt taken mass adoption. The UMPC very much seems like its going to beat all the odds and catch up on that adoption curve.

I am usually blamed for not giving enough numbers, so let me start with statistics. The number of laptops that were sold last year saw a massive jump of 85.6% from the year before compared to what is happening with other forms of PCs. For example the PC saw a growth of close to 12-16%. With that backdrop, 85% is quite a significant jump and one that has never happened for a technology so late in the life cycle.

So what does it all mean? Its a given that desktops are gonna head out and more and more laptops are taking up their space. Considering that you can get a laptop for Rs. 30,000, almost at the same price at what a decent desktop costs, I am not surprised at the adoption rate jump. But there might be more to it.

Type UMPC in google image search and hit enter. I am currently getting close to 1.5 million images and all different variations of the same specification. It’s certainly quite interesting to see how many companies are betting behind the adoption of this device.

There are a couple of reasons why I think this would work. For one, the Sony Vaio (the Miniature version) has been providing one with a similar form factor and it is quite well received. It comes at a hefty price tag and there are a lot of up-and-coming executives who are willing to pay something a bit less to join that ivy league. Pride and desire is very well served.

Continue reading ‘2008: Is the UMPC a wave to ride?’

Telecom: A Snapshot of the Global Data ARPUs

Published by Vijay Anand on March 31, 2008 in Ecosystem.
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I believe we are racing towards a global economy. With th US economy getting colder, the heat is quickly going to turn to India to kick off and see some high returns quickly. That’s a theory that I am going with, for now.

Here’s a snapshot of the Global Telecom market. It helps to keep this chart in the back of your mind.

Global ARPU

PS: India is the lowest in terms of “Wireless Data ARPU”.

Credit: I stole this from Alec Saunders’ Blog.

Proto.in Delhi Edition: Nominations Open. Now!

Published by Vijay Anand on March 29, 2008 in Ecosystem and News/ Events.
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Hi Everyone!. We are back in the beginning stages of those exciting times again!

There has been a lot of silent activity happening at our end this time, to make things happen much earlier on, so that we could probably add a bit more value to the startups that are presenting. There are some hard and fast rules that have evolved within the team as to how a company would look like and the qualities that it would possess by the time it takes on the stage in Proto.in. We do have every intention of making sure that those qualities are met - of course we will also enable the means for that to happen.

As you know, the fourth edition of Proto.in, is coming up in July. If you are a startup based out of India and you believe that you have a technology product, and have atleast a team and prototype in place, then you qualify to apply. The screening and shortling of companies this time is going to be much harsher to raise the standard of companies that we showcase, so please help us out by participating only if you atleast the bare minimum criteria that I just spoke about. If you are a startup that posesses the trait of a being a kick-ass startup, we’d like to hear from you. Really!

Proto.in is a technology showcase event which aims to bring together the startup ecosystem together, and throws the spotlight on some of the best startups that are upcoming in the Indian ecosystem. The companies are given a six minute slot during which they present the company, team and demonstrate their product (with a working prototype) to show what their product is. The six minute session is followed by a quick round of questions from the audience, after which they are given a space on the demo floor, where they can meet and interact with the elite audience that attends the event to increase awareness, market traction, forge potential partnerships, validate their markets, and also perhaps raise funds from investors.

The Nominations are open as of Yesterday and will close on May 31. The announcements of the verdict will be done to the companies 15 days after that, during which expect a few skype, IM and telephone calls, and demo walkthroughs to get a better idea of what you do. So if you are nominating, ensure that those days are set aside. If you are one of the shortlisted companies, you will be linked with a mentor and work will begin on how to polish your presentation, and presentability after that till D’day.

As I always do remind folks, Proto.in is a showcase platform for technology startups to help them build value, in terms of partnerships, market validation, acquire customers, interact and announce milestones with the media, maybe attract talent, find a mentor, and maybe also attract the interest of investors. Please make sure that you express clearly what you are looking for. If you are looking for Funding, please go through this blog post [Is your Startup Fundable?] to make sure that you are on track and at the right stage.

That’s about it! Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you.

You can Nominate your startup here.

Selling to the Unaffordable. Part I

Published by Vijay Anand on March 26, 2008 in Musings.
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Most enterprises in India look to “more economically viable” markets abroad as their target customers. If you ask them why is it that we are never focused on local demands, and the market that is seemingly so huge and is often quoted to be one of the fastest growing, the response is usually the same: “They Cannot afford this service”. Despite, seemingly valid claims, the stability of an economy depends on diversifying your target markets and India being this large pool of potentially huge market is being eyed by foreign companies as a last hope and last stand for their company stability, all this while we are still looking elsewhere for our hope to shine from.

An average television viewer cannot afford the cost at which shows are produced. A startup cannot afford to get a paid mentor onboard though it might essentially be the secret sauce of success. Most developing countries cannot afford the lifestyle that developed countries take for granted. Most booming economies still cannot afford the price tags of “brands”. Folks in Chennai, bangalore and most of the growin ‘n’ emerging urban centers cannot afford housing within city limits. Most people in rural India cannot afford most of what urban india consumes and produces. If you really think about it, in the economics of transactions, very little is part of the category where people can really afford it. For everything else, there is mastercard :) I wish it was simple as that.. But nope, I can only wish for that.

Continue reading ‘Selling to the Unaffordable. Part I’

Startups + Talent + Lunch = One way to Solve Talent problem.

Published by Vijay Anand on March 16, 2008 in Ideas & Companies.
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We at Proto.in have been realizing the need for startups who are looking for talent to hire. We did announce that we’ll do something about this and here it goes:

In most cases, it does seem like there is just a simple need to connect folks with the right people; Startups and the people who are interested in joining them.

I’ve setup a simple template at http://startuplunch.proto.in which should explain the process. It’s quite simple. If you are a startup, put down your name, and the company info. And if you are someone looking to join a startup, jot down your name. If the startups can collaborate and set a date then its to follow a meeting over lunch and see if your interests with the candidate match up.

I am very keen to hear of your suggestions. Feel free to create a new wiki/site should you find the need and just link it up to the section under your city so that people can follow.

Am hoping that this will serve to be self-sustainable so that there is no additional overheads on the already lean finances of the startup.

If you are looking for a job in an interesting startup and would like to meet the founders over lunch sometime, do feel free to register right away.

The Pyramid is actually a Lollipop.

Published by Vijay Anand on March 13, 2008 in Ecosystem and Musings.
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Everyone, and Just about anyone with a background in Economics and can understand the market will tell you that a healthy market is supposed to be somewhat close to what C.K.Prahalad defined and popularized as - atleast here in India - a Pyramid. But is our economy, atleast when it comes to the Industrial sector anywhere close to it? Hmmm… One has to really think about that one.

I am not even for a second going to even go near the point of saying that I am enlightened here with this revelation that our economy is not a pyramid. Infact, this conversation has been initiated, argued, debated, chewed and spat on in most economic forums in the country and everyone is very well aware that we dont have a healthy Pyramid. I am just thinking through, what it means in terms of repercussions to the industry as a whole and to the entrepreneurial community.

Let’s start from the basics: The pyramid usually has about three segments. The 20% of the huge corporations and conglomerates, and the rest 80% which are pretty much the SME segment and the Startups. Now, do the numbers really add up? I’d have to think about that one, yet again.

During a conversation with a friend recently, the conversation revolved around which city provides a better atmosphere for a startup, from a perspective of providing that initial feedback, customer insights and etc, so that there is clarity past the ideation stage before the prototype is built. I had this perplexed look on my face trying to figure out if there is yet a city which provides that here in India. While most do cry out “Bangalore”, if you ask me, that city is the most startup-unfriendly territory that I am observing.* Whilst there is a very active group of people, and some with disposable incomes, who have started an entire community of unconference events and discussions that surround that, very little is happening past that. Bangalore, as per the count that we have on the number of startups, measures quite low. Salaries are high, infrastructure is expensive, branding is a very costly affair, attracting talent is a dance on the pole - let alone quality talent, and there a dozen startups fighting for the starving number of resources who are available and will actually provide that high caliber value for a startup. On the number of new startups that are emerging, the city ranks quite low. But at the sametime there is quite an active number of “startups” in the city which have been lurking around for a while - and when I say a while, it means for roughly around a decade. They have neither joined the SME alliance, nor are they really a newborn child. And this is essentially the company of alliance that is available in most places to get “that initial feedback” that we were discussing about. When these companies themselves are struggling to make that jump after a decade, I am not sure what sort of real feedback they can provide their new wave, that is coming up. I do hope that you understand the conundrum that we are facing here.

So that roughly puts things in perspective. If you break down an industry vertical, lets say the internet space, we have the likes of the public sector companies, and then we have companies such as Rediff and Indiatimes which form the bottom hemisphere of the lollipop, and then there is this ultrafine line of companies which are not more than a handful, which are to be the SME and startup companies put together. Lo! and behold, not the pyramid, but the lollipop. And in this Lollipop economy, the upper circle is competition and fiercely guards anything, anyone from the bottom is trying to pull. Feedback, and initial discussions are absolutely out of the question in most cases.

This is a concern, cause in an efficient ecosystem, I strongly believe that Incubators will have much less of a role to play. If knowledge was freely available, and people could catch up over a cup of coffee to vet out an idea, and that validation process could happen over conversations in a much more fluid manner - eventually leading to mindshare, market traction, talent referral, intial client base and even funding, then there is absolutely no need for a third element to facilitate this. Today, Incubators become an essential part of this conversation, since they are the only ones who can moderate and manage the intellectual property talks that are carried out and have any say with these bigger guys, who if they wish could squish these startups in as much time as it takes to blink.

It is quite beautifully put: Markets are inherently conversational. The more conversations we have, the faster we mature, and we need to have them in a much more open manner with all our cards on the table and as early as possible - if you are building a startup, or contributing towards the ecosystem. But unless the economic bifurcation by quantity and numbers is a pyramid, and not a lollipop, it is going to be a tough stroll up that mountain as we grow.

*While it is my opinion that, if a valley-type of ecosystem comes together in India it will be in a tier 2 city such as Pune or Hyderabad, that’s a conversation separate for another day.

Note: Repost of an article.