Cactus Chords

When this video started and I heard this guy speak, I was like, he speaks funny. But a few minutes through the video, I was belittled by the kind of things this guy had done in his life and made me wonder how much he had contributed not only to technology but to mankind on the whole. This is one person we are talking about who has literally altered the life of 6 billion people and all the future generations.

Pranav Mistry, is a PhD student in the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT’s Media Lab. Before his studies at MIT, he worked with Microsoft as a UX researcher; he’s a graduate of IIT. Mistry is passionate about integrating the digital informational experience with our real-world interactions.

At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data — including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper “laptop.” In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he’ll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all. Watch the video

This technology has finally been commercially implemented by BMW. Watch the video

Truly mind blowing. Hats off to you Pranav. Feel proud to be an indian.

Cheers!!!

I came across this speech by Indra Nooyi, president and CEO of PepsiCo (PEP), at the Columbia University Business School graduation ceremonies on May 15. Its funny how a piece of text or a few words from one human being can alter the entire perception of another human being. Words are indeed the most powerful weapon than any other. Every bit of this speech is worth cherishing.

Good evening, everyone.

Dean Hubbard, distinguished faculty, honored graduates, relieved parents, family, and friends, it’s a distinct pleasure to be in New York City this evening to celebrate the biggest milestone to date in the lives of you, the young men and women before us: your graduation from Columbia University Business School.

It may surprise you, graduates, but as big a night as this is for you, it’s an even bigger night for your parents. They may look calm and collected as they sit in the audience, but deep inside they’re doing cartwheels, dancing the Macarena, and practically speaking in tongues, they’re so excited. This is what happens when parents anticipate that their bank accounts will soon rehydrate after being bone-dry for two years. So, for everyone here this evening, it’s a very special occasion. And I’m delighted to share it with you.

I am keenly aware that graduates traditionally refer to our time together this evening as the calm before the storm. Some graduates — perhaps those who minored in self-awareness — refer to the commencement address as “the snooze before the booze.” However you describe my comments this evening, please know that I understand. It wasn’t that long ago that I was in your place. And I remember the day well. I knew that I owed my parents — my financial benefactors — this opportunity to revel in our mutual accomplishment. Yet, as the guy at the podium droned on about values, goals, and how to make my dreams take flight, I remember desperately checking and rechecking my watch. I thought, “I deserve to party, and this codger’s cramping my style!”

In one of life’s true ironies, I am now that codger. Well…I’m the female equivalent. A codg-ette, I guess. And I now understand that values, goals, and how to make dreams take flight, really are important. So being a firm believer that hindsight is one of life’s greatest teachers, allow me to make belated amends.

To that distinguished, erudite, and absolutely brilliant man whom I silently dissed many years ago: mea culpa. Big, BIG mea culpa!

This evening, graduates, I want to share a few thoughts about a topic that should be near and dear to your hearts: the world of global business. But, I’m going to present this topic in a way that you probably haven’t considered before. I’m going to take a look at how the United States is often perceived in global business, what causes this perception, and what we can do about it. To help me, I’m going to make use of a model.

To begin, I’d like you to consider your hand. That’s right: your hand.

Other than the fact that mine desperately needs a manicure, it’s a pretty typical hand. But, what I want you to notice, in particular, is that the five fingers are not the same. One is short and thick, one tiny, and the other three are different as well. And yet, as in perhaps no other part of our bodies, the fingers work in harmony without us even thinking about them individually. Whether we attempt to grasp a dime on a slick, marble surface, a child’s arm as we cross the street, or a financial report, we don’t consciously say, “OK, move these fingers here, raise this one, turn this one under, now clamp together. Got it!” We just think about what we want to do and it happens. Our fingers — as different as they are — coexist to create a critically important whole.

This unique way of looking at my hand was just one result of hot summer evenings in my childhood home in Madras, India. My mother, sister, and I would sit at our kitchen table and — for lack of a better phrase — think big thoughts. One of those thoughts was this difference in our fingers and how, despite their differences, they worked together to create a wonderful tool.

As I grew up and started to study geography, I remember being told that the five fingers can be thought of as the five major continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Now, let me issue a profound apology to both Australia and Antarctica. I bear neither of these continents any ill will. It’s just that we humans have only five fingers on each hand, so my analogy doesn’t work with seven continents.

Clearly, the point of my story is more important than geographical accuracy!

First, let’s consider our little finger. Think of this finger as Africa. Africa is the little finger not because of Africa’s size, but because of its place on the world’s stage. From an economic standpoint, Africa has yet to catch up with her sister continents. And yet, when our little finger hurts, it affects the whole hand.

Our thumb is Asia: strong, powerful, and ready to assert herself as a major player on the world’s economic stage.

Our index, or pointer finger, is Europe. Europe is the cradle of democracy and pointed the way for western civilization and the laws we use in conducting global business.

The ring finger is South America, including Latin America. Is this appropriate, or what? The ring finger symbolizes love and commitment to another person. Both Latin and South America are hot, passionate, and filled with the sensuous beats of the mambo, samba, and tango: three dances that — if done right — can almost guarantee you and your partner will be buying furniture together.

This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, the United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg up in global business since the end of World War I.

However, if used inappropriately — just like the U.S. itself — the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I’m talking about. In fact, I suspect you’re hoping that I’ll demonstrate what I mean. And trust me, I’m not looking for volunteers to model.

Discretion being the better part of valor…I think I’ll pass.

What is most crucial to my analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents, is that each of us in the U.S. — the long middle finger — must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand…not the finger. Sometimes this is very difficult. Because the U.S. — the middle finger — sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally.

Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand — giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers — but, instead, scratching our nose and sending a far different signal.

I’d challenge each of you to think about how critically important it is for every finger on your hand to rise and bend together. You cannot simply “allow” the other four fingers to rise only when you want them to. If you’ve ever even tried to do that, you know how clumsy and uncoordinated it is.

My point here is that it’s not enough just to understand that the other fingers coexist. We’ve got to consciously and actively ensure that every one of them stands tall together, or that they bend together when needed.

Today, as each of you ends one chapter in your young lives and begins another, I want you to consider how you will conduct your business careers so that the other continents see you extending a hand…not the finger. Graduates, it’s not that hard. You can change and shape the attitudes and opinions of the other fingers — the other continents and their peoples — by simply ascribing positive intent to all your international business transactions. If you fail, or if you are careless, here’s a perfect example of what can happen:

A U.S. businesswoman was recently in Beijing, China, on an international training assignment for a luxury hotel chain. The chain was rebranding an older Beijing hotel. As such, the toilets in the hotel had yet to be upgraded. There were no porcelain commodes, just holes in the floor. Until recently, this was the standard procedure in China.

Now, 8,000 miles removed from the scene, you and I — and most Americans — can shake our heads and giggle at the physical contortions and delicate motor skills necessary to make the best of this situation. We’re simply not used to it. But to loudly and insultingly verbalize these feelings onsite, in front of the employees and guests of the host country, is bush league. And yet, that’s exactly what this woman observed.

In the hotel’s bar, the woman overheard a group of five American businessmen loudly making fun of the hotel’s lavatory facilities. As the drinks flowed, the crass and vulgar comments grew louder, and actually took on an angry, jingoistic tone. While these Americans couldn’t speak a word of Chinese, their Chinese hosts spoke English very well, and understood every word the men were saying.

And we wonder why the world views many Americans as boorish and culturally insensitive. This incident should make it abundantly clear. These men were not giving China a hand. They were giving China the finger. This finger was red, white, and blue, and had “the United States” stamped all over it.

Graduates, it pains me greatly that this view of America persists. Although I’m a daughter of India, I’m an American businesswoman. My family and I are citizens of this great country.

This land we call home is a most loving and ever-giving nation — a Promised Land that we love dearly in return. And it represents a true force that, if used for good, can steady the hand — along with global economies and cultures.

Yet to see us frequently stub our fingers on the international business and political stage is deeply troubling. Truth be told, the behaviors of a few sully the perception for all of us. And we know how often perception is mistaken for reality.

We can do better. We should do better. With your help, with your empathy, with your positive intent as representatives of the U.S. in global business, we will do better. Now, as never before, it’s important that we give the world a hand…not the finger.

In conclusion, graduates, I want to return to my introductory comments this evening. I observed that as big a night as this is for you, it’s an even bigger night for your parents. I ascribed their happiness to looking forward to a few more “George Washingtons” in their bank accounts. While this is certainly true, there is another reason.

Each of your parents believes that their hard work has paid off. Finally! They believe that maybe — just maybe — they have raised and nurtured the next Jack Welch, Meg Whitman, or Patricia Russo.

Don’t disappoint them. Don’t disappoint your companies. And don’t disappoint yourselves.

As you begin your business careers, and as you travel throughout the world to assure America’s continued global economic leadership, remember your hand. And remember to do your part to influence perception.

Remember that the middle finger — the United States — always stands out. If you’re smart, if you exhibit emotional intelligence as well as academic intelligence, if you ascribe positive intent to all your actions on the international business stage, this can be a great advantage. But if you aren’t careful — if you stomp around in a tone-deaf fog like the ignoramus in Beijing — it will also get you in trouble. And when it does, you will have only yourself to blame.

Graduates, as you aggressively compete on the international business stage, understand that the five major continents and their peoples — the five fingers of your hand — each have their own strengths and their own contributions to make. Just as each of your fingers must coexist to create a critically important tool, each of the five major continents must also coexist to create a world in balance. You, as an American businessperson, will either contribute to or take away from, this balance.

So remember, when you extend your arm to colleagues and peoples from other countries, make sure that you’re giving a hand, not the finger. You will help your country, your company, and yourself, more than you will ever know.

Thank you very much.

Cheers!!!

image reference: http://www.nilacharal.com/enter/celeb/images/indra_nooyi.jpg

Ive not done my MBA though would love to do it someday. In marketing there are the four basic P’s. Guys who already know this, please excuse me if I am stating the most basic concept you are aware of. But to me, marketing and selling lies between the first P and the last P and ends right there. I do not want to know anything else.

If you have the four P’s namely Product, Price, Place and Promotion figured out, then its fun. But if you do not have it figured out, it is even more exciting because you get to work on it. It is like surfing through a wave tunnel. Though you have a vague idea when the wave is going to come crashing down, you still are doubtful about reaching the other side. But one thing you are sure about is, even if it comes crashing down, eventually you have to surface and try and try till you sail through the tunnel to the other side. What are the things that constitute the 4 P’s and what all did we have. I sat down and did some research and found out the following;

Product – Functionality, Quality, Appearance, Packaging, Brand, Service, Support, Warranty or Reliability in our case

Price – List price, Discounts, Financing, Leasing Options, Allowances

Place – locations, Logistics, Channel members, Channel Motivation, Market Coveraage, Service Levels, Internet, Mobile

Promotion – Advertising, Public Relations, Message, Direct Sales, Sales, Media, Budget

Now out of these aspects what all could we harness at Spurr at this time, just 2 months after soft-launch?

Product - Functionality (check, but always room for improvement), Quality(check), Appearance (check, but we required more user beneficial content as well as information on the site), Brand (we were trying to build it, so that was a NO), Service (check, when we start out, that is the only thing we can promise, service. Without good service you will not last in the industry), Support (check), Warranty or Reliability in our case (check)

Product was taken care of and was in good shape. Phew phase 1 complete

Price – List price, Discounts(check, we were ready to give it out for free), Financing (Hmmm…being a self funded firm, money was flowing out of my pockets like anything. We were managing), Leasing Options (currently no, but we could go on a license model later), Commissions (check, we were ready to give out commissions to those who were willing to help us out. That is how it works anyway, initially till we gain traction in the market)

Pricing was  a major issue for us as we were the first in this business approach and we did not know how much to charge. We had wasted a lot of money, effort and time. But then we also had to think from the students point of view and the college’s. I thought, if it was me, let alone pay for it, I would not even use it, unless there was something useful in it for me during exam time which would be there for sure. So that was our next aim, CONTENT. We had to source content from different places somehow or the other. But how?

But regarding the price, we thought we could get away by charging whatever we wanted. We decided an initial set-up fee from the college and keep it free for students as you know they are the essence.

Phase 2 – Believe me, we couldn’t have been more wrong about our notion.

Place – Locations (check, we decided to target the metropolitan cities), Channel members (none), Channel Motivation (none), Market Coverage (check, we were looking at the whole nation), Internet (check, we had created pages on facebook, twitter and spread the word), Mobile (not yet, but was in the pipeline)

Phase 3 – Not impressive at all, but we had to start from somewhere

Promotion – Advertising(couldn’t afford it. But printed some posters, then decided we will use it at a later point in time), Public Relations (way out of budget), Message (check, we knew what we had with us and how it can benefit its users), Direct Sales (check, this was our only option), Media, Budget

Phase 4 – Our promotion phase had to wait a little while more. We wanted to prove our model first.

And so set-out for meetings with a lot of balls, stories and more stories. Met at least 4 of India’s biggest institutes (biggest from a wasting-money-for-branding-the-institute point of view) and told them about this. Two of them showed interest and are on hold now and the other two shot it down that moment. Out of the two who shot it down, one of them went to the extent of saying, “What have you made? Do you think this will ever work? I highly doubt it” and went on criticizing www.eduvis.in

He told me on my face. “See Mithun, all said and done, the reason why I do not see this of any use is because, we can not brand our college with this. We do not care about what the students get from this. We can not pay so much for just uploading videos of our college on a website. If students do not get a chance to do their labs, experiments, it is their fault.” I was fighting a lost cause. I just kept quiet and listened to him with a smile. Because, you cant say which idiot might say something that can help you in future. I believed in my product beyond anything, but maybe from his point of view, it was useless. While he was telling me this and that, the office boy got us a plate of samosas, tea and chips.

As it is, the bum had told me my product was useless and once when I lose interest, I don’t care how shameless I come across. I devoured every bit of it with the same smile on my face. To buy some more time to finish the chips I asked him what else does he think is useless in my portal and that rodent went on giving me more drawbacks. One thing that made me wonder was, “Does he even think before he talks? In the initial presentation, I gave him, I had just mentioned all the answers to his questions and here he was phrasing those questions again, but this time as a drawback”. Bid him farewell and left. But I am looking forward to that day when that very college will come and register with us. Hope it happens. If not, what dya know, that guy was right afterall.

The trip across 4 states was the worst I have ever had. To keep costs at a minimum, I took buses instead of flights. Trains were not available on such short notice. I forgot to pack my warm clothes and I step onto Jaipur soil from a heat of 25 degrees in Pune to a 2 degrees. My nose went numb and my lips went dry. I cursed myself for not listening to Aayush. He had warned me in Pune. The incidents in Pune, Mumbai, Jaipur, Jalandar, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Gurgaon can cover a book in itself. It was the most horrible trip of my life, incidents wise with accidents, delayed bus trips, kids puking, food poisoning and many other cute little “shit”uations one might not want to be in while traveling.

to be continued…..

image reference: http://www.netmba.com/images/marketing/mix/mix.gif,

Pain in the ass… So many things going on, I do not know what to concentrate on. My processing power is a bit too slow …I make a trip and visit my saviors Shoban and Sreenath in Kerala to decide on the upgrade. We have a round of 3 lengthy meetings where we decide what the site should look like and the new layout. But we did not have a design. So we turn to a professional firm for help with the layout, design (Graphical User Interface) GUI. Nisha who is a master at research starts her work and finds out 6 firms that could be of help to us. After a round of group research and discussions, we narrow it down to one firm as the rest were way too overpriced. How wrong could we be? We discuss with two of their employees, who love the idea and want in on it on a passion perspective than a project point of view.

Being a start-up exactly what we need, people who can work for future benefits that short term costs. Eventually, we finalize on the new design and we get the quote from the new firm…..I nearly popped my bloody balls looking at the quote INR 117,000/- Yes, you read right, one lakh seventeen thousand rupees. I didn’t even bother looking at the detailed proposal they sent and turned it down that very instant. Another moment when you realise that, finding a team that will stick by you and share your dream is a boon. Everyone works for money. All are puppets to the bills. No one works for free, no one works for passion unless they actually feel it is worth it.

These guys though said they were really excited to work on it, didn’t mean it. What the hell. What next? Look for a designer.

Who do I turn to? Nisha. She was amidst launching her own label as shes a fashion designer. Amidst all her work she, without a word she gets to work and within no time we have a brilliant design ready. But since she was not a professional website designer, the CSS part had to be done by someone else. I ring up Arun, another friend of mine who helps me out with quick development jobs. If there is anything Arun hates, its CSS, but the poor guy helps me out anyway and sends the files to Sreenath. A classy design along with some technical layout is a perfect portal. We went to work the very next day and decided to launch the upgrade on the 1st of December. Sreenath is on it, toggling between a part-time teaching job, he ensures that the new portal is up and running by the 27th of November to leave 3 days of day and night testing by 10 professionals. We were working round the clock, reporting bugs, fixing them, re-testing them and testing the portal again.

Everything looked fine and working well other than a few minor technical glitches which could be solved within a couple of days. All that was left was the sales part. We had EOIs from institutes like Symbiosis and IIPM and several engineering colleges in Bangalore. This interest by customers kept us going. At least we were sure, people wanted it or at least were curious about it.

Like they say charity begins at home, I went and approached my college to see what they would say R.N Shetty Institute of Technology. They listened to the whole presentation, fired a few questions, discussed amongst themselves and got back to us within two days with the cheque. They loved it and purchased it. But purchasing alone will not do, they had to upload content onto it. So we aided them to upload videos of lab experiments and the campus etc. All this with the first simple design we had. For a new user, it was not a catchy website at all. But when WE look at the hard work we put into it, it was the most beautiful site.

So far, we had our first client, content on the site, more clients interested. Meetings lined up with well known group of institutes, what and how else could anything go wrong? Keep following my posts regularly to see how life gifts you with the weirdest of opportunities and craziest of circumstances. No matter how beautiful life is, there is always something waiting for you that will turn the whole thing around. So make the most of now, so you can sail through the bad times for there are no regrets. Live your life to the fullest…….

to be continued……

image reference: http://www.gftgroup.com/Petrana_presentation.jpg, http://www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/group_discussion.jpg

Devdutt Patnaik, the Chief Belief Officer (never knew that designation existed eh?) of Future Group (owner of the retail chain Big Bazaar) gives us an insight on the vast difference in the mythologies of the east and the west.

How various myths and legends end up in affecting the business methodologies and ways. He delves deep into the fathoms of how mythology in the west preach about ONE and the mythology in the east preach about INFINITY and also a possible explanation to how Indians might have come to invent the number 0 (zero).

In this gripping discourse, there isn’t one moment that you would wonder what he is talking about as every topic and line he touches is executed with the utmost finesse. This video will be a treat for those who have a taste for mythical trivia, facts and theories

I hope you all enjoy this video and gain something from it, after all, we all from the east and we know exactly what the hell he means.

Cheers!!!

At last, the basic product was ready.  We could have colleges register, students register, upload videos, view videos etc. The design was very plain. White background and a hint of blue here and there. The site was barely a portal but we had the functionality up and running. A few questions kept bothering me all the time.

- Now how could we prove this model to the market?
- How many of them will buy this?
- Will it be as useful as I thought it would be?

All these thoughts kept bothering me. I was beyond nervous. My last two posts were about how problems and challenges just don’t stop coming. Check this out….weeks before our soft launch, one of my partners decides to bail out as he had just gotten married and did not know whether he was up to the task. Though the whole team expected it, we were kind of taken aback on the sudden decision he made as he was the one insisting to join us in the first place. It does harm when you actually feel like you have a team to help you fulfill your dream and wake up to see that one member has decided to leave. Friendship and business are two separate worlds and the sooner people understand that, the better. We are still best of friends, but will never do anything professionally. Re-working the agreement, his resignation, re-filing of agreement and all the formalities took a good 2 and a half weeks and till then I could not start a bank account owing to all the changes in paperwork.

Eventually September 12th, we do the soft launch. We had nothing more than 2 technical guys (Shoban, Sreenath) and 3 marketing guys (Nisha, Aayush and myself). We did not know where the hell it would go, what was going to happen and whether we are going to be laughed at or embraced. I contact Aayush, the marketing backbone of the firm to fix up meetings with institutes in Pune. He does a swell job and within no time,we have met colleges in Pune and they loved the idea. The students praised us as they were looking for a portal to upload their work. We also had features in the platform that the colleges thought was a myth and thus welcomed us. But something was missing. Money…..

Even though we impressed upon the institutes, the money was not flowing in. People were waiting for someone to start using this portal to its hilt to see whether it is actually useful. You know one of those things…..The technical team, who has been with the previous venture of mine and seen no results starts to get impatient. They wonder if this will ever work out.  Making people buy your product is the hardest part of business.  I explained the same to the technical team and they were more than supportive. I do not blame them one bit. If I were in their place, I wouldn’t join them in the first place. But they still did, that shows passion always lies a step above money. It is hard to actually ask for a team that actually understands you and in fact sees the company as their own as much as you see it yours.

So the product is out, people like it, but there are certain factors that we have to incorporate before we can go big. We had gone a good month and a half with the soft launch and gotten a good response. A new design, more features. Till now we were just a video sharing site for educational institutes, but we needed something more for educational institutes that matter like pdf, presentations, images and audio etc. Bloody hell, we didn’t have time for that. That meant changing the whole architecture yet again. Why didn’t I think of it earlier? But I guess this is how we get to learn things. Only once we released the product will we know what is missing so we can upgrade it just as Guy Kawasaki said. So what’s next? Upgrade…..

to be continued……

image reference: http://www.fineartphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/the-show-is-over-say-good-bye-800.jpg,

One of the greatest challenges while working in a start-up is funds. Money is always, always a nightmare. We did not have a server to host the portal initially. To purchase a server, I had managed to accumulate some funds, thanks to my father and friends who were kind enough to loan me some. But we needed a credit card. That, unfortunately landed on a weekend and thus made it hard for us to find one as none of us broke bums had one. Who would give me a credit card? I was jobless, no income, penniless.

We finally managed to purchase the server to find out that one of our crucial modules isn’t compatible with the server and is creating problems. Another couple of nights of tension, phone calls, cigarettes, air castles tumbling down. Amidst all the tension and heightened haste, the technical team manages to find a way out. Something I have learned with time, there is nothing that can’t be done with technology. If it is done before, it can be done by us. All that separates us is the fund involved and thus the time.

The tech team also did not have a proper working internet connection to work with. The torrential rains ensured that there was no power when you needed it the most. They had to work offline most of the time. We could not coordinate with each other through phone as we ran out of balance after 2 to 3 conversations. The internet was out due to rains and power kept fluctuating. Kudos to Shoban and Sreenath.

3^rd September 2009, we run into some major technical issues during testing of the platform, which could be solved, but would pile on an extra two days to the soft launch. I don’t know why I worry so much. I felt like everything slipping away. The tech team took the role of a shrink as well as assured me it would be rectified in no time. What you need most at such times is moral and mental support. Blessed I am for my supportive parents and girl friend who never left my side and ensured my tension was kept at bay and for a team that is more of friends than work mates.

The problem was slightly more serious than we had expected it to be and thus it piled on a good 4 days to the soft launch. Alls well that ends well, the tech team rectified the problem and we decided to push the launch date by a week to be safe. We subjected the platform to heavier testing. Thanks to all my friends who helped me out in testing the platform thoroughly.

to be continued……

image reference: http://cactuschords.in/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Money-stacks.jpg

We had everything in place, a Limited Liability Firm, the name we wanted – Spurr Wireless Solutions LLP. Spurr, a tweak to a word from the phrase “spur of the moment” as we worked on sheer spontaneity.

We had our company website – www.spurr.in

Two existing products – www.spurrsms.in and www.spurrring.in

Another major product in the making -  www.eduvis.in

Visiting cards, designations (one of the luxuries of being in a start-up, choose your own designation). From this point of the origin of the idea, till the shaping of the project, there was tremendous tension, haste and hurdles. Am skipping all those details as I shouldn’t bore you guys either, that is if you already aren’t

As our platform neared the launch date, I had my eyes glued every 12 hours on the famous blogs and business news to see whether someone was coming up with a similar idea. On the 31^st of August, I switch on my laptop and check my live feeds for the blogs and BANG…….right in my gut I feel a massive punch. I see a line that makes my stomach cringe and twirl into a tight knot, “……… plans to launch educational portal”. The 3 words I dreaded from the time I decided to go ahead with my dream, LAUNCH, EDUCATIONAL and PORTAL. I quickly clicked on the link and read the whole post and the related posts as well.

Someone was planning something similar if not exactly what I had in mind.I shared it with the team. According to the post, the portals were not to be launched for the next 2-3 weeks. That did not help one bit. If they wanted, they could easily release it within a matter of days. I was angry with myself for not doing this earlier, sad that there were others planning just when I was about to launch my product. But, then something dawned upon me that made me feel much better. “Why would this happen now? Either I could have decided to do this a month later or a month earlier? What a coincidence? How come none of them thought about it before me?” All these questions just led to one answer, “There is nothing you can do about it. Just do your part and cork your hole”.

It is not that, no one would think about this ever. Someone somewhere was bound to tap into this sector sometime or the other. One thought made me ecstatic. I was on the same wavelength as the guys at these big companies. They were partnering with god knows who all to make this work. I wanted to make this work with just the 5 of us. It was possible. It is possible. Nothing is impossible.

I took this as a catalyst to push me that extra mile and ensure that when our product launched, it had to reach the whole nation. How would I do that? How else, get my sorry butt everywhere myself and talk to each and every college and university, simple! I decided that I was not going to let money come in the way now since what I am aiming for was truly worth running for. Ecstatic would be an understatement to describe what I was going through.

So I decided to do a soft launch on the 5^th of September 2009 and see how the market would respond. I went to colleges and offered them the portal on a pilot phase. I was extremely nervous during the presentations and demo to see whether there was a positive or negative response. Eager to face the questions they had for me, hoping that those queries held the secret of bettering our platform. I conducted a rapid tour across India covering all the target colleges within a span of 2 weeks.

I had to let it ferment, let it sink in to the colleges, allow them to embrace it wholly, meddle with it, try and mess with it. I waited eagerly to hear what they had to say about our product. For that one week, I went through the worst time of my life, more sleepless nights, I was literally eating cigarettes. I had to wait it out. No other choice. I had no other option but to wait for Janta Ki Vote.

To be continued……..

image reference: http://thedoublethink.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/warning-challenges.jpg, http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/0286/4523f976-0975-471c-a102-10a38e018966.jpg, http://ttoes.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/salesman.jpg,

Our product designs were ready by now, top notch functionality, user friendly, problem solving etc. What was next? The launch…… My heart skipped a beat. What will happen? Will this be a hit or go down the drain? I do not mind if it does not become a hit or if someone stole our idea and came out bigger, but I want everyone to know that, we tried solving a problem that a lot of people were facing. Nothing grave, but still very essential. I wanted everyone to know that, we did it first. That was my aim.

Now you all might be wondering, what this bloody project is all about. What I have been going on about in the pas 4 posts. Patience……… at least grant me this much liberty to reveal the product a while later. I promise I will reveal it in my next post

Sleepless nights followed, I could not distract myself. I was lying in the bed all day, writing down notes on how all my project could be compromised. I was snappy, lost my appetite, had a craving to be drunk every night and even got myself wasted a few times. All tries were in vain. There was no way of finding out what would happen unless we did a soft launch. So I consoled myself. We had to face whatever was in store for us. I had done my part and my team had supported me in every which way possible.

I booked my tickets to Delhi to do my first official market survey when the platform was nearly complete. Remember, I am operating on minimum expenses but there are some factors I couldn’t afford to avoid like a train journey which would easily push my trip by another 3 days as I was traveling from the southern tip to the north. Luckily, our domestic fares and recession were generous enough and I got myself a good return deal. Next on the list was accommodation. Having helpful friends all over the place is a gift and a blessing. My ex-colleagues from the very first start-up I worked with MobME Wireless Solutions Pvt Ltd (one of the start-ups you wish you were the founder of = heavy inspiration), were kind enough to bear me for a week and feed me and take care of my travel to an extent which shaved off a good chunk of expenses I would have incurred otherwise.

I consider myself lucky in that way.

I had the opportunity to work in two start-ups, one where I learnt “what TO do and how TO run a start-up” and the other where I learnt “what NOT to do and how NOT to run a start-up”. Though the experience spectrum was inverted in my case, I got to see both the sides and bore in mind not to repeat the mistakes I made earlier.

To be continued……….

image reference: http://www.hamiltonhall.info/images/nervous.gif, http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j5DN7VQPE2Y/SWm11QTWmMI/AAAAAAAAAbg/B5mWPxFeua8/s320/insomnia.jpg, http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4554217/SaveMoney1-main_Full.jpg,

It would not be inaccurate to draw a parallel between an entrepreneur and a hermit. When one sets out to be a hermit, he lets go of everything precious to him as all he has in mind is his eventual goal, Moksha. Isn’t this the same with an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur’s Moksha lies in his idea transforming into a successful business or for some, merely materializing into a business.

Entrepreneurship, as I always say, is not a job but a way of life.

I had mentioned that I was going to start something to two other friends of mine, one in Bangalore, Rahul, and one in Pune, Aayush (get acquainted). Both of them blindly hopped on board. But this time, I made it a point, every issue was addressed to and tackled before moving to the next step. Keep everyone in the loop and ensure greed, insecurity and ego did not come in the way. I warned them about all the unseen realities, I was aware of, in entrepreneurship. One was doing his MBA in Pune and the other a cozy job at an MNC. They were extremely talented, hard working and efficient.

To harness the technical aspect I rang up a friend, Shoban (get acquainted), who had also, at one point of time, invested his time and effort in my previous firm, while he was in an MNC, but ended up being disappointed with the way things turned out. I was apprehensive about asking him as he would think twice this time before associating with any of us. But decided to tell him anyway and explained the idea, how it should work, what separated us, what problems it solved, future scalability and everything a new member would want to know.

He instantly loved the idea and said he would help me out in whichever way possible. One of the things I would always thank god for, is the team I have. None of us keep money as the goal. It’s the idea and the passion. Money is a mere spin off in this journey. It is important, I agree, but one who chases money, always ends up in a hole.

The way I see it, this is exactly what separates a glorified business from a start-up, teach you the value of money. A son/daughter stepping into his/her family business and building it from there is commendable. He/She could kick start various other businesses from there as well, but would he/she have been equally productive, if he/she was to do it all on his/her own like his/her dad or grand dad did? Would he/she manage to even make a mark in the society without the name and fame their ancestors or parents left them? This is what separates you from them. In the case of an existing business, it is only revenues, profits, growth, scalability etc whereby in a start-up its always seeing an idea materialize into a product, watch the first customer use it, hang onto every word he says after he uses your product, the reaction of the market, the appreciation, the pride, the satisfaction. If it did not go as planned, the dejection, the tumble down, the heartbreak, the shame. Money seems to be a factor that is common in neither of the scenarios, whether a success or a failure. It is all about manifestation and the aftermath.

The next few days went into heavy discussions, market survey and ground work. I wanted to keep this project under wraps until I thought it was fine and the team responded beautifully. I do realize, had one entity in the firm faltered, the whole project could come tumbling down. It is imperative to keep work related secrets restricted to their office spaces.

The next aspect was design. We did not have a professional designer until my girlfriend, Nisha (get acquainted), stepped in and offered to help. She spent days on the concept and eventually came up with the perfect concept for our firm. Visiting cards, logos, website concepts, punch lines, theme etc were hers. It is always a touching moment when people offer to help expecting nothing in return. They just help you because they believe in you.

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Office space is the last thing you need if you are not a hardware oriented firm. Being a web based software firm, all could be taken care of through the internet. We all had laptops, internet connections and phones, what more do we need? This followed by roping in one of my previous firm’s employees, Sreenath (get acquainted), to do this. Even him, who had faced the wrath of our previous failed venture, refused to take money for this project and offered to do it as long as he saw this project materialize. I can’t explain this feeling.
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These are the people you should be thankful to all your life, for the ones who did the job for you and believed in you and your idea and decided to stick by you and do their duties without expecting anything in return.

To be continued…………..

image reference: http://www.toastmasters.org/OtherImages/Teamwork.aspx, http://www.indiamart.com/businessanalyst/pcat-gifs/products-small/market-survey-and-data-collection_10693656.jpg, http://www.rimes.org/App_Themes/rimes2/images/growth.png, http://www.vaastuinternational.com/vaastu/vi_vastu_office.jpg