I had a chance recently to talk to Rahul Gupta, an IIT Bombay alumni and founder of Vakow, a SMS group messaging service. The recent hype over mobile advertising combined with the $10 million funding reportedly raised by SMS Gupshup, a similar group messaging service was intriguing and I wanted to find out what Vakow,… Continue reading The Mobile marketing opportunity, Vakow !
Category: OurViews
OurViews
The State of Enterprise Software-as-Services (SaaS) in India
Using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has been talked about for a while and a few superb products such as Google Docs and SalesForce has underscored the viability of using software as a service. My personal experience of asking managers from the big software companies such as IBM has revealed that they still do not care much about… Continue reading The State of Enterprise Software-as-Services (SaaS) in India
IT’s going Green
There has been a recent spate of articles, events and people talking about ‘green computing’. Venture capitalists in India are also reportedly looking for clean tech investments. After going through portfolios of all major VCs operating in India, I could find only a handful of investments in this category which is very aptly captured by… Continue reading IT’s going Green
Emerging services based business models @Startup Saturday Bangalore
Given that we are witnessing slowing growth rates at major IT services companies in India and also given that the market is probably a big no go zone for newer and smaller entrants with no or little differentiation, time is right to take a look at emerging businesses and business models based around services that… Continue reading Emerging services based business models @Startup Saturday Bangalore
JobeeHive : an interesting counterpart to LinkedIn
First looks can be deceiving. What struck me first as a product very similar to LinkedIn soon turned out to be a very interesting and useful counterpart to it. I have started using LinkedIn a bit more seriously to keep track of where people I have known over the years are moving to; others like… Continue reading JobeeHive : an interesting counterpart to LinkedIn
Program on Pursuasion and Negotiation skills at IIM Bangalore
Pursuasion and Negotiation are key to any sales or business development effort. There is a program on these necessary business development tactics organised by NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore on the 29th and 30th of September. This is a fee based program and participants will receive a certificate from IIM Bangalore. Go here for more details… Continue reading Program on Pursuasion and Negotiation skills at IIM Bangalore
Protecting innovation : Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights
Most entrepreneurs are petrified about the prospect about someone ‘stealing their idea’. This post is not about protecting an idea which you have not thought through yourself. This is about when, why and how you can seek protection of intellectual property you have developed and believe to be an original contribution. That being said, the… Continue reading Protecting innovation : Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights
Eko : Mobile banking for financial inclusion
I first heard Abhishek Sinha, founder of Eko Financial Services speak at the Mobile Monday forum in Bangalore about applying mobile banking to address the challenge of financial inclusion in India. 400 million people in India still do not enjoy the benefits of having a bank account or insurance coverage. The Reserve Bank of India… Continue reading Eko : Mobile banking for financial inclusion
Do you really need VC ?
This is a topic most entrepreneurs need to think about when they start out building a new business. Not all businesses need a lot of capital, not all businesses have a long gestation period or a long sales cycle and not all businesses even interest VCs at all times. A post by Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder… Continue reading Do you really need VC ?
RangDe : Turning Charity into Social capital
Financial inclusion is an issue that has lately begun getting attention from the government and all of us with a social conscience. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee on Financial inclusion headed by Dr C Rangarajan, former Governor of the RBI has made a slew of recommendations in this regard. The fifth edition of… Continue reading RangDe : Turning Charity into Social capital
Brass tacks for running a company in India
The final presentation at the Special Startup Saturday Bangalore last weekend was by Anand Prakash Jangid, a chartered accountant with working experience at Goldman Sachs and Infosys Technologies in security and risk assesment and compliance projects. Anand now has his own accounting firm and also happens to an adviser to the HeadStart Foundation. His presentation… Continue reading Brass tacks for running a company in India
Bell Labs India Chief shows the way to manage products and innovation
Wow. Dr Vishy Poosala, Bell Labs India Head and Executive director’s talk on Innovation and Product management can be summed up with just that expression. Vishy is a hard core techie but has been involved with Alcatel Lucent Ventures during his days at Bell Labs where he has worked on new products in a startup… Continue reading Bell Labs India Chief shows the way to manage products and innovation