Incubator or B-School?

Came across this piece of news recently about JGI Ventures floating a Rs 500 Cr startup fund. JGI Ventures is a part of the Bangalore based education group Jain Group of Institutions. The 'eye catching' part of the news - however - is not that. It is what appears in the second paragraph -

Budding entrepreneurs would be able to undertake a 30-month postgraduate course for a fee of Rs.30 lakh under JGI iDEA, or Incubating and Developing Entrepreneurial Ability.

This made me curious and I went through the programme brochure. They have chalked out a comprehensive 30 month course which covers subjects across domains (Finance, Marketing, IT etc) - and also includes some 'International Exposure' to make your business plan 'global'.

Now, at first sight, it sounds more like a B School programme (and a damn expensive B School programme at that!). Only difference is that a B-School programme typically ends with Campus Placements. This won't.

And if it sounds like a typical incubator, then the fact that there is a fees of Rs. 30 lakhs makes it 'different'. Moreover, one need not even have a business idea in the head to be a part of the programme. As the brochure reads -

Having a pre-conceived business idea will be a part of this process but will not be a mandatory criteria for selection. While aptitude is important, the primary focus of the selection process is to assess your attitude and passion to become an entrepreneur

In fact, this is in stark contrast to PayPal Co-Founder and Facebook early investor Peter Thiel's 20 Under 20 programme where he wants to "invest upto $100,000" in 20 Under 20 kids and "teach them about entrepreneurship".

Is this just an attempt at a new B-School trying to position itself differently (with a sweetener of a Rs 500 Cr startup fund at the end of the course replacing the traditional campus placements). And if one thinks of it as an incubator, then doesn't the huge fees upfront remove the incentives for the 'mentor' to really mentor like an investor?

Moreover, the well chalked out structure of the program - while it looks impressive on a brochure - might not be what is required. For example, not everyone would really require a visit to seven different countries to crystallize a business plan. So at least there could have been an option to pick and chose parts of the course (and thus also cut down on the course expenses).

Certainly there are lots of aspects that pique curiosity. But still, 30 lakhs?

Marketing in Product UI

Just got myself a Tata Photon+. Was rather surprised when I saw the Interface for the first time. Here's a screenie of how it looks.



The two images on the left and right turn out to be hyperlinks to this page - which keeps giving me a 'Connection Timed Out'!

Now then, the fact that I am seeing the UI of your product/service means that I have already bought your product/service (if not all, then at least in most cases). Even if I have not, at least I am in a position to click on 'Connect' - and check out the product myself. Basically, I (as a user) am in a stage where my (repeat) purchase would depend more on your product/service performance - and the claims on the left and right ends of the interface - if anything, are only going to annoy me whenever the service fails to live upto my expectations.

And if you still insist on inserting your ad images in your own product UI, then please put high resolution images so that at least the text is legible :P

Angels in the Crowd

Of late there has been a growing buzz in the early stage investments space – lots of seed stage funds, incubators and entrepreneur mentoring platforms have come up – which is definitely a very encouraging sign. An interesting innovation in this area is the advent of crowd funding platforms for startups, which – simply put – allow the crowd (people like you and me) to participate in the early stage funding process. [You can give GrowVC a whirl in case you haven’t already – a global platform that connects entrepreneurs with funders and mentors. Another similar example is AngelList. In a way, SecondMarket also allows one to get a piece of the pie of private unlisted firms, although it is more of secondary sale]

Crowd funding for startups is undoubtedly an exciting phenomenon – as it turns the traditional investing model on its head – wherein typically the ‘smaller’ investor comes in only when the company becomes ‘larger’ – large enough to have got listed on a stock exchange with all the regulatory hurdles cleared – thus making sure that the ‘small’ investor’s interest is safeguarded (as it is not efficient for people like you and me to perform a thorough due diligence of a company to invest an amount as small as say Rs. 10,000.).

The big plus of such a concept is for the startups themselves – they get a platform to showcase their product/service, and also a forum where they can get a general perception of how good their business model is according to the ‘crowd’ (Although the ‘crowd’ – who are mostly investors – may not really be the ‘end customers’ for the startups – so it is possible that even the ‘crowd’ may not be able to appreciate the solution that the startup is intending to provide). Not to forget, of course, the main objective – which is to get themselves some funding!

From the funders’ point of view, apart from being an opportunity for ‘small’ investor to be part of the early stage investment space, it also creates a pool for early stage funds to build a pipeline of deal flow.

There are big challenges to be overcome though. For one, the platforms have to strike the right balance between the following two extremes
- Potential investors ending up NOT investing in startups – because it may not make sense to invest a lot of time to study the startup/entrepreneur/ business model – given the amount they want to invest is so small [As against, angels/seed stage funds – who spend a lot of time to understand the startup and the entrepreneur, but also invest a substantial amount]
- Potential investors following a herd mentality – and ending up (frivolously?) investing small amounts, but in large numbers [GroupOn/Facebook Valuations on SecondMarket?]

Moreover, the Capital Market regulators would also come into picture – making the regulatory environment more stringent (which is of course, good in a way!) [The SEC has already shown its inquisitiveness towards the SecondMarket transactions!]

We have already seen the rise and (relative) fall of the Microfinance industry. We probably need to keep a check to make sure the ‘Microequity’ concept sees a comparatively smooth sailing.

The 'Stop Loss' Trigger

Comparing starting your own venture with an investment in the stock market is not fair at all. But, there is one concept in the stock market jargon that I feel has some significance for an entrepreneur. A ‘stop loss’ – in simple terms – is a valuable tool (trader’s can’t do without it – but novice investors unfortunately do not use it that often) which helps you keep a cap on the losses. So in case you buy a stock for Rs 100 with the (obvious) expectation that the stock price will rise after you buy it, and unfortunately some event occurs which your diligent analysis could obviously not predict (disturbance in Libya / 2G scam / your investee company’s CEO quits), a stop loss at say Rs 90 would have helped you to keep the possible losses in check.

Coming back to our analogy, a stop loss is essentially an acceptance that as an investor, I could be wrong – and in case I am wrong, rather than throwing good money after bad (‘averaging down’ as is the tendency with many investors) – I might be better off cutting my losses. Thus, for an entrepreneur, a stop loss (and here the loss is not just a ‘capital loss’, but also a lot of ‘time’ and ‘emotional’ loss – which is far more heartbreaking) would be deciding at what time to stop pursuing the idea in case things are not shaping up as expected. In the startup where I worked before, we kept hopping from developing one product to another as we realized why our products may not work. I wonder if it was insufficient analysis of the market or a ‘conformation bias’ that stopped us from quitting early (or not getting into it at all). Similar is the case with one of my close friends who started with something which did not work out and then did something totally different and now he is into something entirely different as compared to the earlier two ventures.

A sense (and the guts) to accept you are wrong is important. Though it might sound like ‘quitting’ (which is generally not taken in a positive sense), you at least live to fight another day!

Cross posted on IdeaBing

Value of an Idea

This post featured on Ideabing

Many successful internet ventures are based on the simple concept of connecting buyers and sellers - eBay allows people to buy and sell stuff over the internet , JustDial makes it easy for local service providers to reach out to customers, Job Portals (Naukri, Monster, Timesjobs) connect job seekers with employers, Property Sites (99acres, Indiaproperty) connect property buyers with property sellers, Platforms like SecondMarket connect buyers and sellers of private company stocks, and so on. The idea is to find a niche (except eBay which is the most generic) and then build a forum that connects people around that niche – taking care of all the requirements specific to that niche . The value addition for users is tremendous - it creates a platform where information is exchanged about the supply and demand of the object in question - eventually resulting in a price that tends to be fair for both parties.

The context of this post is the recently launched OpenInvo - a platform for buying and selling ideas. The proposition here is that people like you and me can post their business ideas on a forum - and parties interested in executing the same can 'buy' the ideas. The prospect is superexciting – now you have a market for something as intangible as a thought in your head! Of course, as OpenInvo explains, the ideas on ‘Sale’ could be in various stages – from a mere three lines of concept to a fully thought out plan to partial execution – and the value of the idea would vary accordingly. The buyers, OpenInvo expects, would mostly be companies looking out for new ideas in their domains of interest and having the financial muscle to execute.

That apart, what makes me curious is as a seller of an idea – how will you decide for how much will you sell an idea for! The very fact that you are putting your idea for sale shifts the power to the buyer (if you believe it in so much, why don’t you execute it yourself?). This is what makes this concept different from Angel Investments where the ‘Idea Owner’ is only seeking funding and mentoring and not an outright sale. Also it is really difficult to claim ‘owning’ an idea – that is where execution wins. Execution is tangible – something for which you can demand value. Ideas, if not backed by execution, are (mostly) worth next to nothing.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if OpenInvo makes it to the list of ‘successful online market places’ I listed earlier.

Stay humble, (and) stay bullish!

Have written this as a guest post for Stratessence

Last year while I was doing my MBA I got an opportunity to work with a for-profit online social venture. This startup was founded two years back, and the co founders had their own jobs – so basically this was a side-project which they wished to carry on (since they had started it, but now were a tad busy with their jobs).They chose a handful of us B School students to work with them. Needless to say, we were quite kicked about working on this. However, it did not quite work out as expected. From this experience in particular and a few other related experiences in general, here are a few tripping points that I believe entrepreneurs should watch out for!

· Don’t let early success get into your head! During the first couple of months of launch you are bound to see very promising looking registrations/usage numbers. But understand that a big part of this is purely due to the affection of your family and friends, as well as the novelty factor attached to any new ‘cool’ looking business plan! It is very easy to get carried away by all the sweet talk about your product, but again take all those ‘sweets’ with a pinch of ‘salt’ ;) . A positive start is by no means a validation of your business plan!

· Launch only when ready, even if it takes time! Making your product public when you yourself are aware of major issues is like putting up an ‘in a relationship with’ status update on Facebook just because you have a crush on that person – bound to be disastrous unless the ‘crush’ (or in our case the user) is totally sold out on you (an assumption fraught with peril)

· Make sure at least one person is working full time with the startup – else, IMHO, the momentum just gets lost somewhere. The side-project would eventually (and sadly) get pushed off the sidelines!

· And finally, be a bit shameless in asking for feedback, be humble enough to take the criticism, and be flexible enough to incorporate changes which you might not have thought of in your plan A!

It is the period after the first launch that I believe is the acid test for any Entrepreneur. The joy and pride should take a backseat while receptiveness and humility should do the driving!

Local Train ka 'suffer'

Something that i wrote long back (2005) for the VJTI College magazine...but still very relevant, and I guess it will always be (was reminded of this when travelling in the local train yesterday!)

सुबह सुबह में चल दिया
फिर एक बार college की ओर
Weather report थी "bright and sunny"
पर बादल छाए थे घनघोर

पर जब पहुंचा में
तो देखा train थी दो मिनट late
खुश हुआ में यह जानकर
सोचा करूंगा थोडा wait

इसी बीच train आती दिखी
सब लोग हो गए तैयार
Bag आगे, sleeves ऊपर
मैंने भी किया challenge स्वीकार

Train रुकने से पहले ही
लोगों की शुरू हो गयी मशक्कत
मैंने भी एक को दायाँ हाथ मारा
और bar पकड़ा करके हिम्मत

पीछे वालों के धक्के की बदौलत
में आराम से पहुँच गया अन्दर
"शाबाश" मैंने अपने आप से कहा
क्योंकि जो जीता वही सिकंदर! (:P)

इतने में ट्रेन शुरू हुई
और as usual शुरू हुआ लोगों का झगडा
"क्या Boss, धक्का क्यों मारा?"
"चुप कर, वरना दूंगा एक झापड़ तगड़ा!"

और फिर शुरू हूए
यात्रियों के बीच के चर्चे
"अरे यार salary कितनी कम,
और कितने ज्यादा है यह खर्चे!"

"गांगुली को तोह निकाल ही दो*,
उसे कुछ भी ठीक से नहीं आता!"
"यार stock market का क्या हाल है,
कल फायदा हुआ या घाटा?"

"अरे भाई मिठाई खाओ,
में बाप बन गया हूँ!"
"मुह खोल देता हूँ, तुम खुद ही खिला दो,
में तो चारों तरफ से घिर गया हूँ"

इतनी interesting बातों में
पता ही नहीं चला कब स्टेशन आया
और फिर आराम से उतरा में
कुछ धक्का दिया, और कुछ खाया

और फिर मैंने सोचा
ज़िन्दगी भी तो ट्रेन का एक सफ़र है
Enjoy करो तो है यह अमृत
न करो तो फिर यह ज़हर है

ज़िन्दगी में भी कई लोग
हमें हँसाते हैं, रुलाते हैं!
किसी station पर चढ़ते हैं
और किसी पर उतर जाते हैं!

* PS: My sincere apologies to all dada fans :P