Early stage investments are often based on incomplete or inadequate information/data and as a result lot of qualitative and subjective factors related to the investment opportunity become critical. In absence of either historical data or predictability of earnings, valuation techniques such as DCF and other sophisticated valuation models are not typically used for valuing...
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In the last few months, I have met enough startups who have not been so successful in selling their product/service to enterprise companies. Not that their product was bad, but because the sale just didn’t happen. Just didn’t happen. While the real reasons could vary for each case, here are a few possible things that one...
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Is business assumed to be corrupt and unethical? And therefore is it perfectly legitimate to indulge in practices that might not be considered ethical as long as it benefits the company? What then does it mean for entrepreneurs starting out to create something of value?
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Entrepreneurship is hard. First time entrepreneurs make it harder for themselves by making some basic mistakes regarding their personal finances. Here is a quick guide on what these common mistakes are and what one can do to avoid them
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There has been a considerable amount of discussion on rural India of late (and not just on Pluggd.In) and the opportunity it presents and one almost gets tired of the rate at which CK Prahlad is being quoted these days. Rural India definitely does present immense opportunity but for everyone trying to make millions...
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Yes, there are opportunities within the Green Revolution. But only for the middlemen that is. What was at one time the backbone of our country – is now slowly turning out to be the knife at the nape of an urban consumer. Yes, vegetables; I mean just look at the way the staples cost...
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Many first time entrepreneurs may not fully understand how a venture capital fund works and consequently may not fully relate to how VC’s function. This post makes an attempt to provide a generic overview of how a VC fund functions and what it implies for entrepreneurs. To start with, it would help to understand similarities...
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While there is a general tendency to equate rural India to BoP market, here are some of the consumption numbers that will blow your mind 46% of the soft drinks sales happen in the rural areas. Rural India accounts for 49% of motorcycle sales. Rural India accounts for 59% of Cigarettes sales. 53% of FMCG sales happen at...
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So does all the hype and trending around Twitter really mean a good investment by the Valley? No matter how simplistic the application is today, it seems to be an uphill task for them ahead. And one cannot ignore the possibility of yet another market correction where hype & hoopla is replaced by ugly...
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If you want your business plan to deliver results for you, then you have to get involved in creating your plan. Writing a business plan has been discussed in detail in a series of two articles titled 'Essential Business Plan for Start-ups - Individual Hoshin Plan'. But even before starting to writing a business plan,...
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I go to this small tea shop in southern part of Bangalore which serves two different types of tea – regular one (costs Rs. 4/) and the premium one (Rs. 7/). The owner,...
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There are people and there are ‘desperate’ people – who do you wanna work with? Be it about partnership or be it about hiring an employee, do you evaluate one’s desperation for success, before inking the partnership? In the last few months, I have met a good number of people – either for a professional partnership...
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How to write a Business plan. What are the pitfalls to avoid while writing a business plan? What do VCs look for when it comes to evaluating a business plan?
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How relevant is the online medium for software product companies/software services companies in India?
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Why Product Managers/entrepreneurs must understand product pillars to build great products that live up the product promise?
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Historically management consultants are among the most hated professional community in the business world. As a student, when I aspired to be a management consultant, I wondered why glamorous management consultants always frowned about being “hated”. Once I entered the profession as a management consultant is when I truly understood how hated management consultants...
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One does not have to be an M.B.A from a top management schools to start/sustain/make profit/market in business. If that was the case Manjunath Tea Stall in Chikpet would not be able to take 2000 orders for tea and coffee each day with a simple concept of asking his customers to give his cell...
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"..There may be more mobile phones than toothbrushes in world" - It’s one thing to generate downloads for your application while it’s completely another thing to generate usage and hence value. How does one improves the usage of mobile app? To get more people to use the app? Here are nine golden rules.
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Mobile Applications - What is the retention rate of entertainment apps? How should one price their apps? This report by Flurry, a mobile analytics firm givesn an interesting perspective on people behavior and how they use apps.
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Mobile Handset Market in India - the handset sales has witnessed signs of recovery and the growth is primarily led by the new handset vendors who are entering the Indian market.
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