From Startup to $500 Million

Mon, 06/29/2009 - 01:52 — nsrcel

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From Startup to $500 Million

More than five years back, there was one edition of the program 'Turning point' where I saw a young CEO in his office, which boasted of being completely paperless. Today, his aim is more true than before, with everything from invoices to taxation being online, and in a far more secure way. The issue of online documentations, version controls, change prohibitions, search ability, and ease of access have added far more ease of operations than with conventional paper based methods, and contribute to a cleaner environment.

                                   

Dearth of Product Companies in India - repeat call!?

Thu, 06/04/2009 - 14:18 — nsrcel

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Dearth of Product Companies in India - repeat call!?


We were lucky as well as unlucky to have missed the industrial revolution during its birth pangs - we got the stuff once it was already in a shape in the west. If it was the first car that was made or the first record player that played music, the entirety of products came up in some form in the west. This had a dual effect of having some form of product on the one hand (acceleration of technology use in the society) and forgetting to develop newer products in the country. We always had a thought that the product gets developed in the west and then it is migrated in an appropriate form to countries like India. (In fact, if a Indian product really comes up, it is not looked at with the same respect as the one born outside the country!) And now with folks like Friedmann singing about the services industry, the media and the public in general are in a euphoria of being the services capital of the globe, forgetting and unfortunately, ignoring the importance of product development in India. The number of original products developed in India has been very less, in comparison to the other aspects of industry. Well, we need to look at the long term effects of this assumed 'high'!



Whether it be post-independence economic policies, or a rush to get richer quicker by providing services (rather than wait for the full development cycle of a product), there are numerous reasons to look at. But the time has come when indegenous products from India have to be honored, with services being looked as the cream on the milk.
How do you think most developed countries have been able to remain competitive? According to NSF (National Science Foundation, USA), “High-technology industries are driving economic growth around the world”.
Although a lot has started happening in encouraging products as the main motive for development, we have to push the pedal harder. “Even during the recent, slow-growth, ‘post-bubble’ period (2000–03), high-technology industry continued to lead global growth at about four times the rate of all other manufacturing industries.”
Is this article dated by a few years - because it seems, that with people like Mahindra, Tata and Bharat Forge, we do have a product oriented approach!? Well, this article, is not really dated - it is just a reminder for the intense focus that we need to have when we go ahead with products. The definition of product from being a physical entity has been shattered. We need to have the central idea that can materialize into a definite form, and that can by itself sustain the services industry that we are proud of.
To quote a random internet user (login Dharma - no link):

'Closer-to-life' Tech

Thu, 06/04/2009 - 14:13 — nsrcel

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'Closer-to-life' Tech


With the buzz about cleantech going around, it seems to be very interesting to find companies investing more and more technologies that are closer to the survival issues of living beings.
What started as a revolution in the auto industry with the introduction of diesel and gasoline as the driving fuels for automobiles, has now turned into a simmering source of pollutants that very well threaten the climate around us. It is like all the oil in the oil wells of the globe has been spread out horizontally over the earth through numerous vehicles and has been put on fire.






What exactly does the word clean mean in the term cleantech? Is is clean with respect to the harmful substances spewed by any process or is it the re-cyclability factor of any substance that makes it 'clean'? Apart from the auto industry, there are thousands of other processes which need to employ cleaner technologies and we have seem some improvements due to cleaner methods being used. If you look at the textlie industry, or at the pharma industry, there are numerous holes to be plugged. We are sitting in a room that is fast getting filled up with water and while we are busy plugging the bigger holes, the smaller holes are getting bigger.

Of foster parenting and technology marketing

Mon, 05/25/2009 - 05:27 — nsrcel
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Of foster parenting and technology marketing
The state of technology marketing in India (and else where) is something that is of prime concern for the introduction of new products and the so-called buzz being created to focus on innovative products in SW. We have mostly been a service based economy as far as IT is concerned and there is a sentiment of venture gurus to focus more on innovation, so as to sustain and lead in this arena. Many folks blame the marketing fellows to have failed in sustaining innovation, even if technical folks are busy creating newer ideas. A number of product companies funded by well-known money mines are being shelved, and the blame goes to the entrepreneurs behind these ideas. Are they really failing? Many of them get swallowed by the biggies such as MS and Google (the founders consider it success for them if they have been bought over by a bigger player!).
        

NSRCEL and Headstart Summer Edition '09

Wed, 05/20/2009 - 12:37 — nsrcel

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NSRCEL and Headstart Summer Edition '09

Headstart is having mid-year event in Mumbai targeted towards early stage businesses, helping them gain funding, access to customers and generate publicity about their businesses. Headstart Summer 2009 will take place at Nehru Centre in Mumbai on June 20th, 2009 (Saturday). A lot of our learning over past three years in supporting grassroot entrepreneurial ecosystem has gone into designing this event to be of maximum value to all the participating startups, whether they get a chance to demo their product or not. You can register your startup at :- (last date May 25th) Headstart Summer Edition 2009 Registration
NSRCEL, being an integral part of the startup incubation system in India, will also be closely involved.
See the Demos of some of the consumer startups that have benefited.from Headstart Jan 2009 in Bangalore:
|| CashNxt || Snappy Fingers || Verismo Networks || Entrip || Alertpedia ||

Spread the word and let the best startups demo at Headstart June 2009.