The world exploded in media fuelled hyperbole on
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It is fashionably said that we now live in a Knowledge Economy. Where value is created not by gaining access to proprietary information or by political wheeling-dealing but by better utilizing in-depth knowledge of a subject, market and process. Ideas and innovation are key and central elements of this...
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In the late 1990s, a large number of Internet entrepreneurs emerged in India, spurred no doubt, by the successful acquisition of Indiaworld by Sify. All of these young entrepreneurs were convinced that they had the makings of the next Yahoo or Amazon (Google wasn’t that big then!). With very...
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While VC funds have played a critical role in the creation and sustenance of companies in the US, it would be a gross oversight to miss the role that US corporations, especially in Silicon Valley, have played in engendering and nurturing...
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Entrepreneurial Lessons from Olympics. "Creating and sustaining a winning team is very different from being an individual superstar."
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The CEO of a leading online bus reservations company arrived late for our early morning meeting. I was...
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“I’m catching an overnight train to Hubli. My regional manager has set up a meeting with retail and corporate investors late tomorrow afternoon”, my...
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This is about two companies. Or rather, about the cultures of two very successful and well known companies. As invariably happens, the culture of a company, over...
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Quick, which companies come to mind when you read the following? - “Relationships Matter.” - “Broadcast Yourself.” - “____________ is a social utility that connects you with...
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The decision to have a VC invest in your venture should not be taken any less seriously than the decision of choosing a spouse. After all, your life and how you spend your time will be hugely influenced by the VC. You are going to be answerable to the VC on a lot of...
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Often times I meet entrepreneurs who submit a great looking business plan with all kinds of fancy colour pie-charts and trend lines. It is evident that a great deal of time and energy has been spent in creating the plan. The...
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We hear all the time about the amount of money that’s available to fund startups. For example, that private equity funds invested over $ 3.3 billion in just...
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India is an attractive venture capital (VC) destination today and the future will only get better. Many more VC funds will come in and entrepreneurs, at least the good ones, will be badgered by VCs for “lets-get-to-know-each-other-better”...
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Over the weekend I was a panel member at a mentorship event. One of the presenters was the founder of a company whose business card simply read “Chief Architect”. On being asked who the CEO of this company was, he surprised all by saying, “I’m looking...
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The relationship between a venture capitalist (VC) and an entrepreneur is a strange one. On one hand, prior to the investment there is intense negotiation and even perhaps gamesmanship....
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Everyone around the serial entrepreneur was telling him that they couldn’t see anything unique about the startup’s offering. Everyone was pointing out the various similar offerings already available in the market....
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Want some candid/real tips on how to pitch to a VC? Get it directly from Sanjay Anandaram, entrepreneur-turned-investor. I’ve received several questions from entrepreneurs wanting to know how they should pitch to VCs and what they should be prepared for. While there obviously are no magic bullets and no guarantees or even...
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Are Indian entrepreneurs thinking big enough? Here is a great article from Sanjay Anandaram, entrepreneur-turned-VC. A must read for Indian entrepreneurs/startups. For Indian startups I remember reading an Akbar and Birbal tale many years ago. In this story, Akbar and Birbal wager on something. Akbar tells Birbal that if he (i.e. Akbar) loses,...
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Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd. (Sasken) and IDG Ventures India, a $150 million technology venture capital fund, today announced the launch of ConnectM Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd (ConnectM) for providing Machine 2 Machine (M2M) enabled solutions to global markets. ConnectM is a niche player in the growing remote diagnostic and monitoring market...
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So you are an entrepreneur and looking for a VC to fund your business plan? Well, before you go ahead and approach a VC, know their expectation. Understand the world from their perspective. You should really know what VCs expect in your product/business plan. Eugene Kleiner,one of the founders of KPCB (Kleiner Perkins caufiled & Byers,...
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