Spawners July,2007

Now as July is nearing it's end , here is the list of my picks for this month

• Ravi-The Sun on 5 Things that B Schools don't teach
• Rohit Bhargava talks about 7 tips on pitching bloggers
  
• Business and Blogging on Corporate blogging strategy
• Rajesh Setty, Serial Entrepreneur on How to execute a Link exchange - This is one of the most controversial topics in the blogosphere My comment to his post here
  

Related Links:

1. Spawners April,2007
2. Spawners May,2007
3. Spawners February,2007
   

Blogo(diction) ... Are you (also) the one?

After a busy Collective schedule at the BarCamp Bangalore4 (about which there would be a brief article tomorrow) , there were many surprises (for me) that were seen in BCB4 as compared to other BCB's.

The biggest surprise to me was many people knew me because of my blog and were very happy to see me as ThoughtsPrevail Looking at the frequency of the posts, few people(with whom I interacted) felt that I am a FULL TIME BLOGGER !!! I had one answer that "Blogging is like the holy relation of marriage,where the blog and the author(of the blog) should lead a happy married life . This means that if you take blogging very seriously and passionately,you get addicted to it and you would never know when you become a Blog Addict !!! I would definitely add myself in the list of Blog Addicts since,the first thing which comes to my mind in the morning is what would be my new blog article...

Just came across an interesting article on "Blogger's Blog" that has a list of 5 questions and if you answer 3 of them in affrimation,that you can proudly consider yourself a Blog Addict

1. You have more blog friends than 'real life' friends. YES
   
2. You're blogging in your head before you fall asleep. YES
   
3. Your out of town husband and you converse in your blog's comments. NA
   
4. You tell your friends and family things like, "I'll ping you and you ping me back," or "Okay, I want to trackback on your last comment..." NO
   
5. You blog in your head an event that's happening at that very moment! YES

Hurray, ThoughtsPrevail is an effort of a Blog Addict !!! To add one more feather to your cap,you can also check out Blue Blooded Blogging , which touches on the passion of Blogging and says:

"Blue-Blooded Blogger" is not just about the addiction, but more on the passion and love for blogging and everything related to it.You can have a look at this new terminology called Blue Blooded Blogging here.

In a nutshell,as a blogger I am a Blog Addict as a well as a "Blue Blooded Blogger"

You can download the BBB badge from here.So,Try out,if you are one of the addicts in the Blogosphere and also spread this addiction message to others in the Blogosphere !!!

To BLOG or to STARTUP....What's the difference?

Blogging and Podcasting has become a big phenomenon everywhere,be it IT,ITES,mainstream media and on & on...Every bloggger when he/she looks down their continual blogging journey,they would find a huge maturity being developed over a perriod of time.Maturity in naive terms could be changes with respect to your personality,your confidence,your communication....Be whatever is the theme of the blog(personal/IT/Business..), it is sure that initially your blog would not be known to others in the blogosphere , which means there are no readers(or customers) of your blog.This means that you are the bottom of the pyramid and now comes all the energy(and planning) to move your blog up the value chain So, your newly created blog is your own BABY or should I call your startup?

Isn't Blogging related to Startup? Below are some of lessons a blogger learns over a period of time,which are the key elements to any startup:

1. Market Study
2. Bootstrapping your blog
3. Brand Building
4. Marketing (reach out people)
5. Get Customer feedback
6. Revenue Model
7. Mentorship & Ecosystem building

a. Market Study:
You have decided to take a plunge into Blogging but don't know where to start? Some say Blogger is good and for others Wordpress is better(and yes it is open source).Other bloggers say "Better to have your own domain name?" and list of suggestions keep on coming.This in turn helps you interact with lot of bloggers and check up,where the technology is heading and plus,who knows the people with whom you have interacted will be your future readers(or customers).

b. Bootstrapping your blog:
When you have a startup,the initial hurdle is bootstrapping your startup.So,after the initial market study,you have decided to have your own domain name.If you are still in your teens,you have to hunt out for that initial sum to register your domain.You reach out parents,friends or others in your locality(and trying to convince them for the amount and ROI you would fetch through your blog.You haven't made a business plan but still learnt lot of aspects about funding

c. Brand Building:
So,you have done the market study,done the bootstrapping.Bigger confusion now,what should be the blog URL?Will my target be just the local audience or would it address the international community as well? So,you need a Blog name that is easy to be spelt/easy to search on Google or one which would be recognized by international audience as well.Need to build a band image for your blog which is very much needed at each and every phase of a startup.

d. Marketing (reach out people):
Now,you are ready with few posts,but you are not getting enough readership.Oops,you have not marketed your blog?You now build a strategy to get more readers(so called customers).This in turn helps you to polish you marketing skills and build a larger customer base

e. Get Customer feedback:
Now after effective marketing,you have managed to build a larger customer-base.But with this comes lot of suggestions or feedback.You being the founder of your blog,have to figure out which comment/feedback to incorporate in your blog.Thus,blog helps you form a strong communication channel between you(as a blog owner) and your readers(who are the customers of your blog).

f. Revenue Model:
(Note: This is only applicable for people who are blogging for money)
You have a blog , marketed it and built a strong customer base(same readers do turn back,which is very motivating for your startup).As many say "If you have a Good idea,money follows you" but if that does not happen,you would now need to have proper model in place.Should I put Google Ads, Text Link Ads or Review Me ....Yes, you never knew that doing this, you were building a revenue model,just like every startup has a model.

g. Mentorship and Ecosystem building:
Every Entrepreneur would love to have a mentor.But how does it feel that you(as a blogger), being a mentor?.As you begin to devote more time creating a brand for your blog,you have already built a strong market knowledge !!! Very soon,you would find mails flowing into your mailbox with the new aged bloggers asking for help(guidance).This does not seem to stop with just one blogger but you would be the change agent to many of such new age bloggers. You are now a mentor for these bloggers and are indirectly building a healthy Entrepreneurial Ecosystem,which would have been very difficult without your blog

These are some random thoughts coming from my startup ThoughtsPrevail,if you have some more thoughts do share them by leaving a comment.

Every Indian is an ENTREPRENEUR !!!

Interesting thoughts by Yogen Dalal,who is the managing director at Mayfield Fund, in Silicon Valley.It is a very motivating podcast where Yogen goes on to refer "A Panwala as an Entrepreneur" and later on "Every Indian as an Entrepreneur".He also shares his thoughts on some of the Key differences between Silicon Valley and India.

Must for every aspiring Entrepreneur This podcast made my day !!!



Interview Curtosy : Kamla Bhatt of PodTech

Welcome home Entrepreneurs !!!

There is already lot of fuss about job losses in US with more and more immigrants going to the US.The outsourcing bug is not only bringing jobs to India but also NRI entrepreneurs,who are now heading back to India.

The Economic Times Network has an interesting article titled "America's loss may be India's gain" , on home-coming of the heroes(ie NRI Entrepreneurs ).Some interesting excerpts below:

• If America makes it too difficult for immigrants to start their companies in the US, these entrepreneurs will be welcomed in India.

• Recent study completed at the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University showed that the entrepreneurial immigrants are using their skills, as well as the opportunities for business development present in the United States, to boost economic output and create more jobs for American workers.
  

• Also,25% of the companies in the US have their CEO "Foreign Born".In 2005, these immigrant-founded companies alone produced $52 billion in sales and employed 450,000 workers.
  

• The study also found that in science and technology fields, innovative entrepreneurship is correlated with high levels of education.
  

• Only 15% of Indian entrepreneurs in America earned degrees from an IIT. It is a surprise that Delhi University graduated as many such entrepreneurs as did IIT-Bombay, and Madras University graduated more than IIT-Madras. Indian entrepreneurs ET surveyed attended more than 40 different universities in India before arriving in the US.

Read the complete article here (A must read !!! )

Azim Premji : Adapt change or be the change....

A very inspiring, interesting and thought provoking speech by Azim Premji of Wipro at the 37th Annual Convocation 2002, IIM, Ahmedabad.A small gist of his drivers that would change the world:

Be alert for the first signs of change

Change descends on every one equally; it is just that some realize it faster.Some changes are sudden but many others are gradual.While sudden changes get attention because they are dramatic, it is the gradual changes that are ignored till it is too late.

Anticipate change even when things are going right

Guard against complacency all the time.Complacency makes you blind to the early signals from the environment that something is going wrong.

Always look at the opportunities that change represents

For every problem that change represents, there is an opportunity lurking in disguise somewhere. It is up to you to spot it before someone else does.

Do not allow routines to become chains

While routines are useful, do not let them enslave you. Deliberately break out of them from time to time.

Realize that fear of the unknown is natural

Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to manage fear without getting paralyzed. Feel the fear, but move on regardless.

Keep renewing yourself

You have to constantly learn about people and how to interact effectively with them. In the world of tomorrow, only those individuals and organizations will succeed who have mastered the art of rapid and on-going learning.

Surround yourself with people who are open to change

Spend time with people who have a "can-do" approach.Reasonable optimism can be an amazing force multiplier.

Play to win..!!

Playing to win would help you to concentrate your energy on what you can influence instead of getting bogged down with the worry of what you cannot change. Do your best and leave the rest.

Respect yourself. The world will reward you on your successes

If you succeed 90 per cent of the time, you are doing fine. If you are succeeding all the time, you should ask yourself if you are taking enough risks. If you do not take enough risks, you may also be losing out on many opportunities.

Never change: your core values

In spite of all the change around you, decide upon what you will never change: your core values.

Succeeding in a changing world is beyond just surviving

All of us have a responsibility to utilize our potential for making our nation a better place for others, who may not be as well endowed as us, or as fortunate in having the opportunities that we have got. Let us do our bit, because doing one good deed can have multiple benefits not only for us but also for many others.

You can have a look at the complete presentation below:

Blog'a'loreans: The new phase of "Bang(osphere)"

Wondering what is Bang(osphere) , let me reveal it - It is the arrival of a new phase of Blogosphere in Bangalore.Having missed second edition of Proto,my wish was that the Bangalore Blogger's Meet,termed "Blogaloreans" would turn out to be interesting And to my surprise it was not so interesting but VERY interesting

Around 50 bloggers from Bangalore , met at around 10:30AM in BrewHaHa and the charge was seen right from the beginning.The session with a brief round of introduction and there were all sorts of bloggers - Seasoned, Newly,Geeky,Non-Geeky......Bloggers(and others) in the crowd were really excited when I disclosed that I found my partner through my blog and my introductory session was really interesting(photo below).The introductory session went on for around 45-50 minutes and than started the topics of discussion.

Himanshu, introducing himself

Blog'a'loreans : In a nutshell:

- Sridhar Rao(who eats-drinks-sleeps startups) and Harinath Pudipeddi(Aspiring Social Entrepreneur) shared their idea of a Web NGO,which seemed to be quite appealing.Lot's of ideas from the audience in the meet and this idea would be discussed in BarCamp Bangalore-4 (BCB-4)

- Now it was my turn to make a Pitch .With "Wings" just around 3 weeks away,we required support in any way that was possible and this was the best place to make the Pitch.Ashwin than took over the baton from me and made an excellent pitch for Wings as well as Nisarga India.There were quite valuable suggestions , which would help us to take things forward !!!

- Arun Ramarathnam , one of the organizers of BCB4 gave a small introduction about BarCamp and how we can carry forward the discussion carried out here in the unconference He also put forward a very good question "Who are the 5 most influential blogger's in Bangalore" and his first recommendation was Thejesh G N who manages EventsInBangalore.Debate than started on the controversial word INFLUENTIAL , since it varies from individual to individual and that debate was left incomplete [I wished at least few people recommended me as one of the Influential Blogger's in Bangalore ]

- Finally,we had a discussion on "Domain registration" for the formation of this community and this would be a one stop for "Bloggers in Bangalore".

- There were few topics which were untouched which would be discussed at a larger scale in BCB4 as a part of the "Blogger's Collective".Sanjukta,the enthusiastic advocate and one of the organizers of "Bangalore Blogger's Meet",made a closing note for the event.Oh Oh , forgot something, it was Sridhar's birthday and he was given birthday bumps(a memorable day for him).

What I missed at the event:

- Wanted to meet Ramjee Ganti and Piyush Gupta,the two geeky guys but I guess they missed the event
- Could not blog the event live though AJ has a done a wonderful job by blogging it here

The event started in a grand way and also ended in a grand way !!!! Thumbs up to the organizers Sanjukta and Dhivya for this event...This event could easily be termed as a Mini-UnConference

What other blogger's are saying about Blog'a'loreans:

Jayanth - Bangalore Blogger's Meet - BrewHaHa
Prashanth - Bangalore Bloggers Meet: We Met up!
AJ - Bangalore Blogger's Meet
Neha - Bangalore Blogger's Meet
Mutiny - Blog’a'loreans’ (Bangalore Bloggers’) Meet - 21st Jul 07
Adheeth - Bangalore Bloggers Meet - Blog’a'loreans
Tanay - Bangalore Blogger's Meet
Bikram - Bangalore Bloggers' Meet
Cipson - Bangalore + Blog + Blogger: Bangalore Bloggers Meet
Lavanya - A Phlogger’s guide to the Blogalorean meet
Anbusivam - Blog'a'loreans- Meet
Thejesh - Meet Bangalore Blogger at bcb4
Jerry - Blog-a-loreans’ (Bangalore Blogger’s) Meet - 21st Jul 07

Image Courtesy: Arun Ramarathnam
Jerry

Logo Courtesy: Mutiny

Blog'a'loreans covered in Bangalore Mirror(23rd July,2007):
Bangalore Mirror covered the event and guess what,Wings was covered in the article(marked in RED BOX in the article)....I am also seen in the photo(but not so visible )

25 different thoughts from Entrepreneurs...

After a busy day at the Bangalore Blogger's Meet(about which we all have decided to blog tomorrow ) , managed to take some time out to take an interesting book-"The Entrepreneurial Connection by Gurmeet Naroola".The book has interviews of "25 NRI Entrepreneurs" , excluding Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji.Listed below are some of the interesting quotes from those Entrepreneurs:

1.
The most important attribute of leadership is to set aggressive goals and allow people to achieve them with authority and accountability.
-Arun Netravali [Bell Labs]

2.
One must not get married to technology but married to the hole in the market place (Startups are born out of existing problems )
-Raj Parekh [Sun Microsystems]

3.
I try to get people to think in terms of miles, not inches.
-Vinod Khosla [Kliener Perkins Caufield & Byers]

4.
The strategist must also be like an artist-somebody who strives to break the mold,to change the rules of the game.
-Anil K Gupta [Stanford University]

5.
Great companies are built on vision.
-Romesh Wadhawani [I2 Corporation]

6.
The sense of fair play is at the heart of everything you do.
-Kanwal Rekhi [Excelan , TiE]

7.
Knowledge in technology, products and markets-these are the three dimensions that are extremely important to create great companies.
-Saiyed Atiq Raza [Raza Foundries]

8.
The problem lies not in the idea but it's execution.That is the key.
-Vani Kola [RightWorks]

9.
An important reason for my success is the presence of a very secure and supportive family.
-Prabhu Goel [Gateway Design]

10.
The smart entrepreneur knows which revenue he wants and is willing to give revenue to other people so that he can gain three times more.
-K.B.Chandrasekhar [Jamcracker]

11.
In the technology sector,morphing is a given and the leader who can't steer the morphing will get thrown by the wayside very quickly.
-Vinod Dham [Silicon Spice]

12.
We thrive on the challenge of outrunning big companies.
-Desh Deshpande [Sycamore Communications]

13.
Our fundamental philosophy is to synergize the organizations objectives and individual aspirations
-Narayana Murthy [Infosys]

14.
Customer strategy is a thoughtful combination of technology strategy and customer requirements.
-Jayshree Ullal [Cisco Systems]

15.
Leaders are typically able to see most things in both a raw and an integrated fashion.
-Rajat Gupta [McKinsey & Company]

16.
The reward of entrepreneurship is the satisfaction that is gained in successfully scaling the walls or maneuvering around the road bump.
-Krish Prabhu [Alcatel Globalization]

17.
The ability to profit from and react to change is what the game is all about.
-Vivek Ranadive [TIBCO Systems]

18.
I look for strengths in people and not their weaknesses.
-Raj Singh [StratumOne]

19.
The future is not what happens to you,but what you make out of it.
-Azim Premji [Wipro Corporation]

20.
If the General does not believe that he can win the war,then it does not matter if his army is the world's best.
-Sabeer Bhatia [Hotmail]

21.
A niche today,an ocean tomorrow.Those are the kinds of situations that represent the best opportunities.
-Suhas Patil [Cirrus Logic]

22.
The true power of growing any enterprise is 5 percent technology and 95 percent psychology.
-Hatim Tyabji [Verifone]

23.
An entrepreneur is one who creates a direction out of confusion.
-Prakash Bhalerao [Ambit Design Systems]

24.
At the point of investment,all prospects look exciting.
-Rafiq Dossani [Stanford University]

25.
If you sing your song,not worrying who listens and what they think,you're going to be extremely successful.
-Deepak Chopra [The Chopra Center for well being]

Your blog...your style...let's have a STYLE check...

So here I am again with the same question "Why do you blog?" Every blogger,no matter how much is his rate of blogging, every blogger has a reason to blog.Irrespective of the blogging platform,as a blogger(irrespective of the no of readers reading your blog), you yourself are a BRAND in the blogging space

From a reader's point of view,when we read a particular blog,we first appreciate the effort behind the blog and we get a clear idea of the person and his dreams , interests, aspirations etc For example,if you blog on :

• Travel , indicates you would be a travel freak
• Business, indicates you are passionate about the various aspects of business and aspire/have one
• Entertainment , indicates you are in love with Entertainment and so on......

In fact , Rohit Bhargava,Vice President, Interactive Marketing focusses on "25 ways of blogging"(in the presentation below).After going through the presentation and scratching your head a bit , you would find an answer to "What is the (exact) genre of your blog" and also "Do you think,you are realizing your aspirations/dreams through your blog?"

So, my blog is a combination of "Ambition Blogging"(trying to achieve my dreams through the medium of blogging) + Repost Blogging (sometimes, picking up a story/stories from other blog and make a story revolving around the same).

The bottom line: "If you have a blog than you have a reason & you are the reason(to blog)"

What the Rs 1 Lakh car will do...

There is a lot of talk about the one lakh rupee car by Tata Motors but this mail(below) would change the way you look at the so called "Low cost vehicle".Worth a look:

Son:
Papa papa, I want to write more on the paper.

Papa:
But son, if you do that the writing will
overlap. You should understand that for the writing to be visible properly, you need to have only as much writing as would fit in the paper.

Son:
But papa, why is is then that our roads(paper) have limited capacity but still more and more cars(pen) are seen on the road?

Papa:
Well son, you need to ask the aspiring high-earning brains of our society and the credit card
companies and banks.

Son:
Why papa?

Papa:

Because these make the car companies increase their production without understanding that the supporting infrastructure is thrown totally out of gear

Son:
Is that precisely the reason why chief ministers and chief guests report late at every event?

Papa:

Yes son

Son:
If we know the solution why is it not implemented?

Papa:
Son, humans have a tendency to show off and build an image. Whatever they do within the realm of common sense and possibility is fine.

Son:
Should the government not play a role in having a limit on the production of cars?

Papa:

Yes, but then there will be funny people coming with funnier arguments that no one can decide who should produce what of how much quantity. They will argue that if there is a demand, they will produce more cars

Son:
Papa, then these auto companies should be involved in road infrastructure and should dedicate a part of their earnings to such capital investments

Papa:

Son, they will blame it on the Govt. They will say - government is not doing its job of providing infrastructure

Son:
Is there no traffic analysis done? What are the statisticians doing?

Papa:

They are busy working on the demand of cars and how to fulfil them by introducing new launches every few months

Son:
Isn't this funny?

Papa:

Son, life is full of funny people. They make others go through troubles while they show off their wealth

Son:
I have also seen many CEOs and managers going in cars to their office while it is better and less time consuming for them to travel through public transport

Papa:

Son, as I said humans want to show off their status.

Son:
What to do then?

Papa:

Understand life, speak the truth, don't fear criticism, transfer the clarity of your mind to lot many others and finally

Son:
And finally?

Papa:

Hope that sanity will prevail over show business

And that roads will be provided some relief from the car flood before introducing 1 lac Re cars let's broaden the roads a bit or roads will be drowned with cars of every Tom, Dick and Harry!!!

Is India ready for a(nother) "STARTUP NATION" ?

Startup Nation is one of the best books that I have read in the recent times.Every page in it is worth keeping in your mind.Let's ask some general question-What does a person do when he/she travels to the office?Well,you have multiple options a. Chat with your colleagues b. Read some books c. Do day dreaming d. Listen to radio or e. Any other thing...

One of the radio shows that is really popular in Bangalore is Radio City,91.1 FM.Finally,you get a place where you find your favourite songs, RJ's and also some information on what is happening in your city.Now let's imagine something.....You have a problem in your career or you are looking out for some tips for your business or anything related to business.In this case,the solution left out is discuss with the people whom you know or discuss with experts Imagine having a radio show for the same, what could have been a better medium than discussing your business/startup issues with experts on a "Radio Show" Should we call it as a "STARTUP SHOW"? This can be related to a show called as "Startup Nation" in the US , which has hosts as the Sloan Brothers - authors of the book "Startup Nation".Not only is the concept of a Radio Show for Entrepreneurs very interesting but the story of that concept is even more interesting (and worth reading):

Back in the year 2000, most of the companies could not withstand the bad weather and had to be shut down/reduce the staff strength.Also,investors hesitated to fund companies and the market was left really dry.The Sloan Brothers who were already successful entrepreneurs with their creation "Battery Buddy" were finding hard to stay in the market.Their business model was solely dependent on Angel Investors and hence,they were left in a very tough spot

In order to survive the storm, they had to change their business model !!! After speaking to one of their mentors Sam Valenti,they understood that though business has dried up,there is still a huge demand for assistance in starting & running a small business.Companies weren't hiring -they were only firing.Due to this reason, many people were forced to turn to Entrepreneurship as their solution(to provide them living).Every teacher needs a student and most of the entrepreneurs need mentors(to guide them).This is where they thought of an online radio show called "Startup Nation",where they would use their Entrepreneurial experience to help other entrepreneurs.

Within few months,StartupNation Radio turned into a big community of like minded entrepreneurs seeking new heights in business and life.On their radio show,they had interviewed the country's most successful entrepreneurs - people who lead companies called "Super Startups"

This story is really very interesting as well as inspiring.The radio show started by Sloan Brothers was a result of an "Entrepreneurial" ecosystem that was built around it.Basically,it was the need of that particular hour that gave birth to the show.Now coming back to Radio City 91.1 FM,the question is India ready for an "(Indian) StartupNation"show? Do we have an ecosystem which gives birth to more Entrepreneurs? The following article points out that poverty , lack of consumer base and culture are some of the reasons for not having this ecosystem.

What do you say? Is India ready for an online radio show for Entrepreneurs? Caste your vote and have your say.

Tips to get into Technorati 100...

Neil Patel of ACS - A social media marketing company shared some of his helpful tips that has helped TechCrunch double it's Technorati traffic(no of incoming links).He also touches upon some of his other blog clients - Guy Kawasaki and ProBlogger.

Some important excerpts(basic tips for bloggers) from the interview are:

1. Your blog should be well SEO'ed
2. There should be a proper title to any article on the blog since,this is what helps you in better listing on search engines
   

He has also touched upon the "Corporates V/S Bloggers" scene.As per the interview,his preference goes to Bloggers(as clients) , since he feels Bloggers are very easy to work with .They are very flexible. Companies are harder to deal with.When it comes to corporates,things move very slow since you have to follow the corporate guidelines.

Off Topic Read : Four things we can learn from "The Google Story"

Billionaires having blogs..

As per the Forbes magazine,out of the list of people featured in the magazine,there are only 3 billionaire bloggers:

1. Pierre Omidyar, $10.4 billion
2. George Soros, $7.2 billion
3. Mark Cuban, $1.3 billion

However,these statistics are pretty old and are taken from the year 2004.You would find a funny line mentioned about the other non-blogger billionaires in the list here

But out of the three, only Mark Cuban is the billionaire who blogs very frequently!!! On checking Mark Cuban's blog,I was pretty amazed to see the frequency by which posts appear on his blog and for few of the posts,there were more than 600 comments

Out of curiosity, when I searched for Billionaire Bloggers in 2006, the search indicated negative results.On searching on Forbes,I came across a different list which listed 25 most influential people on the Internet
It was nice to see Om Malik,Micheal Arrington,Seth Godin and Robert Scoble on the list

But I guess,with the power of Blogging and Podcasting,we should be able to find few millionaires or Billionaires, who have a blog or at least few guys becoming millionaires just by blogging

Some interesting links...

I have been receiving e-mails in last few weeks,which would be of some help and interest to some of us in the crowd(Copy of the Email's below):

• Mail from Manufacturing News (wf@world-foundation.org) :

Small and Mobile Production (SMP) to resolve giant problem in developing regions

SMP developed a revolutionary production method that is self-contained, immediate, portable, competitive, accessible because it is so cost-effective and transportable by any means whatsoever: by land, sea, railroad or air with more than hundreds Small and Mobile Production systems. From a technological standpoint, it is an incontrovertible fact that this system is aimed at solving very serious problems, starting with that which is most basic: the survival of millions of human beings.

The SMP is the only system in the world that can provide up to six of the most essential products for basic sustenance for just one dollar per day. SMP will supply to countries and developing regions the technology and necessary support for these Small and Mobile Units.

If you are interested in being a partner in your country or region, you can send your CV to SMP Partners Program Marcia Anderson, Project Manager

• Mail from ISBM,Ahmedabad (ahmedabad@isbm.org.in) :

MBA in six months

Dear Student,

ISBM is the corporate incubator presenting the unique culture of the 21st century for preparing a candidate for handling the dynamics of business and to apply business know-how to real life professional experiences.

ISBM offers short duration programs in various faculties, which enable the students to acquire value based and world-class Management qualifications while working. These qualifications will obviously enhance the career of students in Business and Management sector.

For further details and prospectus: -
www.isbm.org.in/ahmedabad

Indian School of Business Management & Administration.
1st Floor,
House No 1678 'A',
60 Feet Nehru Rd,
Near kammanahalli Police Station,
kammanhalli,
Bangalore-84. Ph :- 9227159444

Manage transparency as a Manager - "BPO king" Raman Roy

When it comes to the Indian BPO industry,we can never miss out two gurus of the industry,

1. Genpact MD - Pramod Bhasin
2. Quatrro CEO - Raman Roy

In fact,Raman Roy can be undoubtedly referred as the "Father of Indian BPO industry" Economic Times had an interview of the Guru,where he touches upon his journey from Spectramind(now called Wipro Spectramind) to Quatrro.

Some of the excerpts are given below:

What's your management style?
Do unto other that you wish others to do unto you. Fundamentally, I have worked with all levels of people in my professional life and the only principle that has survived the test of time is that you have to treat subordinates with respect and dignity. At the end of the day, every activity you follow is people centric - they expect a pat on the back when they have excelled and they don't have to be let off if they mess up. But the thumb rule is their has to be a cord of mutual respect binding the employer and the employee.

What's your biggest challenge as a manager?
Managing transparency. When I go and break bad news to my team, they think I must be holding back a lot so the news is perceived as much worst than what I actually tell them. When I say good things, they think I must be holding back stuff so that they don't bloat. Due to the legacies in earlier assignments, people have still not learned to take me on face value when it comes to being a celestially transparent manager.

Two lessons learned in life
We in India believe in rebirth and go by the philosophy that whatever good or bad one does in this lifetime comes back to you in the next life. But I know for certain that one does not have to wait till the next lifetime. Everything you do unto others comes back to you in this very lifetime. The other thing that stands out as a lighthouse in my life is what I learned partly by working with Azim Premji - money, power and position are all transitionary. So when in position of power and riches, don't develop a chip on the shoulder. You are always as big as your humility.

Read the complete article here

The tale continues : Corpo(logging)

There is always a battle between corporates and bloggers.Some companies may feel that "Blogging is a waste of time whereas for some,it enhances their business".Given below is one of the article's from Chip Magazine saying "Web 2.0 and Business".The article shows how companies like Pramati,DirectI,Symantec and SUN Microsystems have used blogs not only the enhancement of their business but also for improving the communication between their employees!!!

This article does indicate that not only startups but also big corporates are adapting Wikis and blogs in their business

NirmaLabs : "Young Techno-Entrepreneurs Awards" winner...

A very nice and a beautiful presentation showcasing Entrepreneurship touching every horizon.Entrepreneurs innovating technologies, saving lives, some who started young(and changed the world) , some who are in school, some who dropped out of college, while some who started late(yet changed the world) ......A complete web of Entrepreneurship

Below is an excellent presentation that won the "Young Techno-Entrepreneurs" award held in June,2007 at NirmalLabs

Source : Entrepreneurship Presentation at NirmaLabs

Understanding your customers : The (only) Key

Few days back,I had an article on my blog "Say yes or no to MBA?" and there was an interview,which answered some of the questions also giving an insight into the journey of Naukri man, Sanjeev Bikhchandani's entrepreneurial journey.

The bottom line of the interview : "Entrepreneurs fail because they don't understand consumers well"

Important excerpts from the interview:

Was there fear or anxiety when you started this long entrepreneurial journey?

Yes, because I came from background where no one from our family was in business and there was no great financial acumen or anything. I got over the fear in the first two years. We struggled a lot but somehow muddled through.

What is your advice to young people who want to pursue entrepreneurship?

Two most important things according to me are good work experience and a good institute. I strongly recommend MBA aspirants to get experience in a good organization before they start their MBA -- because it will enable them to get the maximum out of their MBA education. I think MBA without prior experience is just an extension of college. Experience helps aspirants to understand things more easily and clearly because after experience a person can relate everything they learn with the reality of organizations and understand how organizations really work.

Even the best international B-schools favour work experience. Unfortunately, Indian B-schools largely take fresher for MBA.

Also, a good management institute always adds more value. So work hard to get admission to a good school. It is worth the effort.

What are some common but important mistakes young entrepreneurs are making in their plans to build businesses?

I think it's the lack of understanding their customers. Many people start their business without understanding their target audience and customers well.

Read the complete interview here

Truemors : The other side of Blogosphere...

We have been talking about how blogs help in marketing and how it can be used to get scale startups and so on.... But Truemors(an idea loosely based on Digg) - Guy Kawasaki's venture proved that blogs could prove to be very nasty as well....Can we say Blog Unmarketing? Oops, I used the word venture but a venture built with a mere amount of $12,017 could also be considered as an experiment and not actually a venture(Definitely, an idea could also be thought of scaling up) Below is a small presentation of how the money was used in building Truemors and $4,824.14 alone was spent for the legal fees



Most of the bloggers were mostly agitated with Truemors since,they had an image of Guy in their mind and his blog being "How to change the world", they felt Truemors had nothing that could change the world I am no Guru and in my IMHO,when a person starts , he should forget his past which means we should think that Guy Kawasaki as an Entrepreneur and not as an author or an ex-evangelist from Apple.In fact,when I read a few blogs, it was seen that the entire blogosphere is against Guy's Truemors.Check out article which says "Truemors as Worst website ever discovered" and some say "How Guy wasted $12,107 on Truemors" and many more,the list of criticism is endless....

But this negative PR could also work in Guy's favors and would help Truemors getting more publicity and more traffic to the site!!! Check this article on Guy's blog which says "Inquirer's article generated 246,210 page views". Yes indeed, there’s no such thing as bad PR. !!!

This discussion really shows how nasty can this OPEN world of blogosphere be... Definitely,as a professional Guy Kawasaki would take the inputs from some of these inputs and try to implement those in Truemors.

Though,there was so much discussion in the blogosphere,I always wanted to see how Guy Kawasaki,as an Entrepreneur would react to this whole melodrama and his reaction was as per the expectation and is a must watch (video link below):

Truemors is a very good example that illustrates the other side of blogosphere,which inspite of being dark provides lot of scope of improvement to the startup