Raj Shankar's Blog, page 20

Angels and Entrepreneurship

Who are angels? No! I am not referring to the ones who used to dance behind our couples during song sequences of movies. I am referring to people who suddenly crop up in the lives of entrepreneurs and light up their futures. Angels are people who true to their appellation spark up the aspiring entrepreneurs with money (primarily). They also provide numerous other benefits such as connections, mentoring, advice, and suggestions. For all of this, entrepreneurs need to find angels or should I say angels should find entrepreneurs! In today’s fiercely crowded and competitive market, gaining the attention of angels is really difficult. Hence entrepreneurs need to really communicate their stories effectively to reach potential investors.

The angel market is also flooded with people who have extra money. While the intention to use start-ups as an asset class seems fine, they are not really prepared or informed to make investments correctly. Most angels seek some form of security or want to make very small investments for fairly large stakes. Some angels almost want to hedge their investments in these start-ups. The whole spirit of angel investments was to make enable people before they are proven and support them in the hope that they will make it big. But that requires a lot more understanding of the nature of start-ups, about characteristics of entrepreneurs, how to deal with these investments, how to decide which ones to invest in, how much to invest, etc.,.

Angels need more education unless they come from an entrepreneurial background. I have spoken to some angels who have worked with larger investment funds, venture capital funds, etc and then made it out on their own. Such people definitely know their trade and are able to make a dent, but we need a lot more of the angels. Considering a country like India, and the talent pool that she is growing in her schools and colleges, it is absolutely necessary that we have a much larger pool of angels (not only for entrepreneurs) across disciplines. These people can identify talent, goad them into start-up or taking risks and supporting them through the process.

India needs a lot more start-ups and small businesses, so that we can create enough jobs for the many millions who will join the workforce in the coming decades. But for these we need a lot more people starting up. And for these we need a lot more ecosystem players, amongst which the angels seem an important player.

Think about it!

Vedantic Wednesday: If Only!

I could know exactly what I want and what I don’t want

I could know what I should buy and what I shouldn’t

I could know what I should do and shouldn’t

I could know that time was my most important resource

I could know that money was not as important as I deem it to be

I could know that recognition is not as important as taking initiative is

I could put in effort irrespective of results

I could go for my daily exercise without feeling lazy

“If Only” thoughts constantly make us ruminate, search for ideal or better solutions and hence don’t allow us to act. They constantly make us remain indecisive, slow down and many times even stop. The worst is we don’t even recognise that we are experiencing this!

If only we can overcome this inertia that makes us feel we are doing something when we are only ruminating, we would lead very fulfilling lives and have less time to worry or be anxious. A little bit of philosophy can help us become more aware of such mind games and hence not fall prey to them. Vedanta, a school of Indian philosophy is one such that can really help in the process. It constantly reiterates the importance of action and how we should move back into action without getting caught up with these mind games.

Learn, become aware and thrive!

Startups must not do this on Facebook

I am sure there are many things start-ups can do on FB, but I want to focus on things that start-ups should not do on the popular social medium. Here are my top two things that entrepreneurs should not do on FB:

Create communities around the brand / product: It is one of the first blunders that start-ups do! Who becomes your fan by pressing the ‘like’ button? Invariably it starts with friends, classmates, ex-colleagues, etc.,. But it really does not reach people who matter, especially the early adopters and enthusiasts. Why? Because they don’t know you exist and secondly, they are more interested in the cause, rather than you or your start-up. Smart social media activities should involve creating and owning causes – they will lend credibility to the start-up. You will soon be recognised as a player in the space.

Why creating communities around products or companies or brands never works? It is because a brand is something that is recognition in hindsight. The earliest adopters of a product or service just join in because of the passion for the cause or the design or the entrepreneur’s passion or the domain – something that is shared between them and the start-up. Over a period of time, the start-up / brand becomes a recognised name and then is the time to move into creating communities around brands. Even at that stage, it is better and more effective to create communities around causes / passions! If large groups of users want to become fans of your product or start-up, all you need to provide is only ‘support’ to run fan-clubs. Most ‘fan clubs’ run on their own and are managed by fans – so allow it to happen that way.

Please don’t spend too much time trying to add people to your FB Page somehow – it is better done in a focussed manner by concentrating on the cause / passion that you are trying to tap into. Focus: First belong to some community and then own a niche within it.

Think about it!

Entrepreneurs: tautologise, if it’s your style

In a recent conversation on Linkedin, one of my teachers told me about a phrase that seemed to tautologise – which basically means: the saying of the same thing twice over in different words. He then went on to say that it’s this style of mine that makes my writing so infectious, even though it was an error in style. While I know it seems like I am blowing my own trumpet (which I don’t like at all) – the reason why I am referring to this is because there is a lesson for entrepreneurs here.

If you are a start-up and constantly wondering why your marketing is not really working – think again! The problem might be that people are not really catching on to your enthusiasm, people are not really catching on to your passion, people are not really catching on to your entrepreneurism. Why? Is it because you are not being yourself? Are you speaking in your own style? Or Are you trying to be what your customers want you to be? Or Are you (even worse) trying to do what most of your successful competitors trying to do? If you are doing any of these, please try to become who you are – talk like who you are – speak from your heart – the world will understand. In fact ‘tautology’ is an error in style – but please understand that it can be turned into a strength and people will be willing to ignore the petty error for the bigger message. Trust your customers, your well wishers, your markets, they can see through the genuineness!

Passion requires you to move to the edge. It requires you to be your own self both in person and in communication. Take your chances (in the right places and moments), for they are those occasions when your passion lights up the place. Your marketing is a brilliant place to give life to your passion. It is a brilliant place to share your passion with others. Your marketing can make people want to follow you. Your marketing can make people want to talk about you. Your marketing can make people feel great by associating with you and your product / service. Only then can you truly add value to others’ lives!

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and change your marketing NOW! The way you would do it if you are simply you. Let people find errors. Let people criticise you. Let people criticise your style or your message. Be bold. Be courageous. The world needs every one of us, in our own way.

Even if it means I tautologise, I do it at times when I simply surrender to my inspiration. It flows through me. I focus on conveying my point. Everything else happens by itself.

The world needs a lot more courageous marketing amongst start-ups. Are you game? Then move out of your comfort zone and get started.

Now!

Witnessing middle east’s ‘entrepreneurial revolution’

25% of all tech start-ups in the middle-east are by women! Did that startle you? Then welcome to the entrepreneurial revolution happening in the middle-east. While a lot that is known about the middle-east is restricted to oil, mega exhibitions, gold, and at times wars; one thing that is slowly starting to take shape but has not received much attention is the – entrepreneurship activities. Entrepreneurship is not just starting companies, but also creating local employment, looking at innovative ways to solve local problems, and inspiring another local person to take the plunge.

Read a note from the the author of a new book on the subject: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/christopher-schroeder-arab-uprisings-spurred-entrepreneurship/

The interview above gives a hint to the wide variety of activities taking place to make such a revolution establish itself firmly. The many initiatives to promote innovations, the accelerators and programs for entrepreneurs, the increasing interest of strategic investors, and increasing number of VC’s and Angels. If an ecosystem has to develop, a number of parallel initiatives have to be put in place to make it grow well and grow healthy. I am quite excited at the interview about how the middle-east as a geography and some countries within them are attempting to use entrepreneurship as a tool for social development and economic growth. There are hints in the interview to number of lessons for people in policy, large scale ecosystem development to pick from this book. I am quite sure this book (titled “Startup Rising”) will be on my reading list pretty soon. The last time I came across something like this was a book titled “Start-up Nation” – do you remember?

Read, think and try to do something about it in your own context!

Books and Me: What would Apple do?

Book Title: What would Apple do?

Author: Dirk Beckmann

To be very honest with you, my reader, I bought the book almost impulsively because it was beautifully designed and produced by Jaico Books. It was sleek, light weight, well printed and perfect for reading on the flight. But I must say that if the title had nothing to do with business, I may have just appreciated it and left it behind. Apple is a company I admire (like so many others) and hence pick material written about it. The intent is not to see if they have got something that is insider information about their growth strategies – but to see if the thought process can produce some insights which are applicable for emerging enterprises.

The author of the book initially wrote this book in German and then translated it into English. But there is no difficulty in reading as it has been well done. The author seems to have written most of this book for a blog that he runs himself: www.what-would-apple-do.com

The book primarily has two parts, the first that attempts to decipher the communication strategy of Apple and the second that attempts to apply how these will apply in emerging sectors / opportunities. While the first book is a typical refresher on what we have been hearing about Apple from many authors, the second seems more interesting as topics than thoughts. Honestly I would encourage the readers to take the topic or idea and think for themselves about how Apple would have commercialised it. The author provides his perspective, but to be honest, I somehow enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second half.

Even though the thoughts in the first half seem like what we have heard there are a lot of interesting connections to other thinking that the author brings forward. I loved the references to some aspects of industrial design ideas, design thinking and the concept of virtual design concepts and patents. These sprinkled across the book were sure takeaways from the reading.

Overall a simple book, a quick read, a sure refresher of Apple’s philosophy to creating products and communication. How many ever times we read books on this subject, how many ever times it seems repeated, it does not matter. If we can get one good insight into how we can bring simplicity to our products, services and especially communication – it is worth all the money we spend on such books.

Happy Reading!

“Ok, I’ll try”

When some one says that, what they are actually telling you is – they are not going to do it. While a lot of people think that by saying this, they are realists, it is far from the truth. The reasoning for this misunderstanding is this:

When someone asks you to do something and you say “Ok, I’ll try” what are you actually telling them – that you will try to do the activity or you will achieve the result. For example: Please get up at 4 am from tomorrow means, you want to do it by setting the alarm at 4 am, telling yourself before going to sleep that you aim to get up at 4 am so that your body clock will wake up, or telling your parent / teacher / spouse that you will try!

Most of the time we respond by the above phrase “Ok, I’ll try” because we don’t want the other person to feel bad. In this process we let down the other person in case they are seriously dependent on your commitment. Can you imagine a situation where you ask the hotel operator for a wake up call at 4 am and he says he will try! :-) Will you stay at that hotel again, ever? You want him to say “Yes, I will.”

People want predictability. People want commitment. People want you to do what you say – be it at an individual level or as an institution. Which companies do you buy your important products and services from? You don’t fix yourself with a flight operator who says that “Ok, I’ll try to take off the flight by 4am”, you want one who will!

As an entrepreneur, when you are creating products and services, know fully well that people appreciate your inventiveness, your design, your aesthetics, etc, but people buy products and services to enable them get something done. Hence if you say, something will happen, you might as well make it happen. And one of the ways of doing this is to make sure your employees say “ok, I’ll do it” or “ok, I’ll make it happen” more often than saying “Ok, I’ll try.”

Think about it!

Is lack of ‘collaboration’ killing us?

I recently heard a business school professor ask the question that most of us ask ourselves quite often: why Indians perform so well as individuals but as a nation we are far behind? Why is it that Indians shine outside of India, but fail to do so much when they stay back? He seems to attribute the problem to one word: collaboration.

Here are some points worth pondering on:

To shine in India, we need a better ecosystem. Why is it that Indians in America do so well, it is because the ecosystem allows them, encourages them, celebrates them and enables them to continue it. The same level of people in India, somehow lie low, not known, and many times under performing in relation to their potential. So, if we want our potential to be utilised, our country to see its citizens thrive from within its borders, we need to create a mode conducive environment.

To shine in India, we also need a better mindset. A mindset that has to be inculcated right from younger ages that if we collaborate, we can achieve more. Our mindset teaches us (reiterated by parents, teachers and society at large) that to do well, we have to beat others. This gets ingrained in children by the time they reach high school. Hence sharing drops, and this leads to lone performers. But this does not help in the long run, where big projects require people to work along with others, to make their work successful.

If both these are not done in large quantities:

A conducive environment for allowing, encouraging, recognising, and celebrating entrepreneurial thinking and action
A collaborative mindset amongst the people (especially the younger ones)

It could result in a total mismanagement of our demographic dividend. An asset that requires some serious chiselling to derive value out of, else it could turn disastrous.

Think about it!

Vedantic Wednesday: Life is a Sport

The Vedantic masters keep reiterating this truth. The sanskrit word ‘leela’ seems to be used as a definition of what life is? But somehow every time we get into the world and start engaging in any action, we get attached to it. It becomes a battle, something to be won or lost. Something that when won, creates joy, and when lost, creates disappointment. When children play on the street, there is nothing to win or lose in it, but they take it so seriously, and even fight at times. But the same is done when people play after they grow up too.

Why take life so seriously when we know and see all around us that everything is so temporary?

A question quite easy to ask others, not oneself. But if one dares to ask this to oneself, you are bound to start some inner exploration. This will lead to placing right values on actions and results. All of these will help us make progress in life, but on factors like peace and happiness. But sadly these are not tangible and have very little social currency in the short term. Most people who appreciate all this are close to retirement, where they know they have missed the opportunity to attain it in the current life. They advise others, but to no interest from younger ones. Like one successful man said, when he advised his son to take life cool during his 30s, the son told the dad to remember how he was in his 30s. With respect for his dad, he did assure him that he would take up spirituality and philosophy in his later years (just like his dad), but for now, life was to be aggressive and achievement oriented. Especially in a way that there is some social currency.

If you study Krishna’s life, my master keeps saying that there was no dull moment. This inspires. A man who lived a worldly life without the worries of tomorrow. This made him alert, peaceful, happy, playful and cheerful. With all these characteristics, he was able to live a full life. This also enabled him to be of great help to so many others. There are many other examples in Indian Philosophy to show how to treat life as a sport.

If only we can take up the study of Vedanta and learn this one truth – life will instantaneously turn spiritual and provide everlasting joy, just like a sport!

Think about it!

Reliance Industries to enter media business

The biggest deal so far in the Indian media industry. But it is another small part of the conglomerate called Reliance Industries. Why is there so much of a mixed opinion with the recent acquisition of Network18 Media by Reliance? While there seem to be many reasons to be worried about media independence, it also seems stretched. Here is a link giving reasons why media independence may die: http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/05/30/reliance-takes-over-network18-is-this-the-death-of-media-independence/

Reliance has a heavy balance sheet, heavy with cash. Hence it is a big responsibility of its management to constantly seek new opportunities. Mukesh Ambani is known to be a very entrepreneurial businessman, trained personally by his dad, the legendary Indian Entrepreneur, Shri Dhirubhai Ambani. With the acquisition of the potential to launch 4G services across India (a few years ago), it was quite imminent that Reliance will need some solid content strategy. With data services expected to explode over the next decade, they have positioned themselves for this ride. So, in many ways it also seems like a interesting strategic fit for the company to have identified and picked up Network18. Here is another story showing how this deal happened: http://www.medianama.com/2014/05/223-how-reliance-industries-acquired-network18-a-detailed-timeline-of-events/

Reliance has had a competitive advantage – the ability to conceive of and implement large scale strategic projects on-time and within-costs. This makes the new 4G rollout best placed in their hands. While this will propel the data services industry to grow leaps and bounds, make people across India gain the power of information on their handsets, will it restrict the media to not speak its mind – only time will tell. But one thing that consumers can look forward to, is competitive rates for data usage in a market that seems to be exploiting consumers of information on their mobile sets. Reliance did that earlier with the launch of the mobile phone schemes; will they do it with the data revolution that is just about beginning?

Read, think and watch for only time will tell. But with more speed and possibly at a lower cost, people will be able to consume a lot more information and a lot more easily. Won’t that open up a lot more opportunities for entrepreneurs in the digital space?

Think about it!