Entrepreneur December 2010

THE TECH

TREN

DS SPECIAL

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FUTURE PROOF YOUR BUSINESS25 tech tools and trends that

will ready you for tomorrow

HOW TO:1. Assess Your Training2. Set up an Advisory Board3. Forecast Demand4. Structure Your Organization5. Hire the Right People6. Do Business in West Bengal7. Find a Co-founder

CLASSROOMS Investment Opportunities in the Education Sector

TECH Buying Apps in the Google Cloud

IN CONVERSATION Richard Boucher of the OECD on India’s Entrepreneurial Economy

VIVEK PAUL, once the poster boy of the Indian software industry, is back − this time in enterprise tech

10 SONGS THAT FIRE ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION

DECEMBER 2010 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 Rs 100

SME DOC YOUR BUSINESS

PROBLEMS SOLVED

MISTAKES THAT LEADERS MAKE 5 WAYS TO CUT YOUR CREDIT RISK

INSIGHTS22 THE ENGINE OF ANY BUSINESSRichard Branson on listening to your people and building a winning work culture.

24 LIFE WITHOUT BURNOUTSankrant Sanu on avoiding entrepreneurial burnouts and staying happy always.

26 THE POWER OF PEOPLERajeev Karwal on the importance of finding the right people for your venture and retaining them.

28 THE GARAGEAnkush Chibber on listing the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ before starting your venture and being consumed by your own business idea.

30 BANKANOMICSBharat Banka on the deeper implications of India evolving to an ‘emerged economy’ from an ‘emerging economy’.

32 LEARNING FROM FAILURESurinder Kapur on turning around the initial failures and creating constant value with your product and services.

34 CATCH THAT VIRALSurajit Agarwal on getting bit by the viral marketing bug.

36 WHY WE BECOME ENTREPRENEURSNandini Vaidyanathan on the intoxicating hold of entrepreneurship over us.

IN CONVERSATION38 “INDIA SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN SETTING STANDARDS AT THE OECD”Richard A. Boucher, Deputy Secretary-General, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), talks about how the functioning of the OECD has a direct effect on how economies operate around the world.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

table of contents30

50 THE FUTURE-PROOF ENTREPRENEUR25 technology developments will transform how your business does business. Are you ready for the future?By Jonathan Blum

62 THE SMARTPHONE GETS SMARTERVisiting the app store anytime soon? You will likely be flooded by a deluge of mobile apps—a mix of both genius and garbage ones. We tell you what to pick.By Jason Ankeny

68 ORGANIZATION 2.0Vivek Paul worked with legends like Azim Premji and Jack Welch before taking the entrepreneurial plunge. With his venture Kinetic Glue, he is out to be a game changer once again.By Bindi Mehta

TECH TRENDS SPECIAL

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WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR42 BEDAZZLEDJewelry designer Poonam Soni entered the market in the late '80s to create a brand that is celebrated world over today.By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR44 RETURN TO THE ROOTSMadura Micro Finance Ltd (MMFL) expects to spin off a better generation of entrepreneurs by ensuring effective deployment of microfinance loans.By Shobha Mathur

46 CRUSADERS INCThe Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, announced winners of the ‘India Social Entrepreneur of the Year’.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

GREEN SIGNALS48 TURN YOUR HOTEL INTO AN ECOTELFive steps to ensure your hotel keeps the planet green. By Param Kannampilly

MONEY87 CHARGED UPWays to knock down rates of business credit cards.By Gwen Moran

88 CREDIT RISKSThings to know before accepting credit card offers.By Rosalind Resnick

89 PERSONAL PROTECTIONKeep your business and personal assets segregated so that you are safe even if the business fails.By Gwen Moran

OFF BEAT72 ANTHEMS FOR ENTREPRENEURS10 songs that will make you laugh, cry and bounce back with vigor if there are obstacles in your entrepreneurial journey.By Shantala Bellare

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9Entrepreneur + December 2010

THE ULTIMATE ‘HOW TO’ BUSINESS GUIDE112 Forecast demand / sales effectively

113 Draw an organization structure

114 Choose an advisory board

115 Hire with fit in mind

117 Assess your training

118 Set up an industry in West Bengal

121 Choose your co-founder

TECH DEPARTMENT78 MOBILITY ON THE CHEAPToday’s entrepreneur is constantly on the move. It becomes all the more important to stay in touch and in command.By Ankush Chibber

80 STREAK STRIKE!The Dell Streak is designed for people on the move.By Team Entrepreneur

81 IMAGES FROM THE CLOUDCheck out some new options for web-driven printing.By Jonathan Blum

83 BUYING APPS IN THE GOOGLE CLOUDA look at some must-have apps for small businesses.By Jason Ankeny

85 SYNC SIMPLIFIEDTired of syncing data between your home and office machines through pen drives and other such devices? Try the Amkette Flash Link.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

CLASSROOMS90 PUT IN ‘HANUMANIAN EFFORTS’ EVERY DAYSteps to transition your company from a startup to a mid- or large-sized firm.By Rana Kapoor

92 FUNDING EDUCATIONThe current trends in the education sector and the spurt of entrepreneurial activity make it an attractive VC/PE destination.By Ved Prakash Arya

94 BOOTSTRAPPING YOUR STARTUP’S SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGYThe web is growing too fast for you to ignore it. Climb the social media bandwagon.By Rajiv Dingra

SUCCESS STRATEGIES76 5 LEADERSHIP MISTAKES, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEMWho said leaders don’t make mistakes? By Toddi Gutner

118

SPEND IT124 CRYSTAL CLEAR Indulge in your flights of fancy as you ring in the New Year...By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

126 ROOM FOR BUSINESSThe Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre is ideal for entrepreneurs. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

128 D DRIVEThe D-segment is abuzz with activity. Pick from the Cruze, Laura or Corolla Altis. Don’t forget the petrol Civic—there is no diesel variant here. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

REGULARS6 FEEDBACK 12 NEWS IMPACT 16 SME DOCTOR20 STUMPSPEAK 130 BACKSTAGE

HOT STARTUP OF THE MONTH

98 THE SALES ARE ONLooking for the best retail deals in your city? Log onto Wooqer.By Shonali Advani

102 NAVIGATING THE FINANCIAL MAZEMukut Deepak’s startup has built a distribution network for financial services products using local kirana stores.By Bindi Mehta

105 EGGCETERAFour youngsters are on a roll in Pune with their egg-specialty restaurant Yolkshire.By Ankush Chibber

106 PILLOW TALKGaurav Kapoor gets comfy with his cushion cover and bed linen venture.By Prerna Raturi

108 SON OF THE SOILMansukhbhai Prajapati is more than a potter. He is both a respected scientist and an inventor.By Prerna Raturi

110 AD MADAdBanjara is on the rear end of an auto-ad drive in Bhubaneswar.By Bindi Mehta



COVER DESIGN

NIRMAL BISWASCOVER IMAGE

indiatodayimages.com

table of contents


THE ULTIMATE ‘HOW TO’ BUSINESS GUIDE112 Forecast demand / sales effectively

113 Draw an organization structure

114 Choose an advisory board

115 Hire with fit in mind

117 Assess your training

118 Set up an industry in West Bengal

121 Choose your co-founder

TECH DEPARTMENT78 MOBILITY ON THE CHEAPToday’s entrepreneur is constantly on the move. It becomes all the more important to stay in touch and in command.By Ankush Chibber

80 STREAK STRIKE!The Dell Streak is designed for people on the move.By Team Entrepreneur

81 IMAGES FROM THE CLOUDCheck out some new options for web-driven printing.By Jonathan Blum

83 BUYING APPS IN THE GOOGLE CLOUDA look at some must-have apps for small businesses.By Jason Ankeny

85 SYNC SIMPLIFIEDTired of syncing data between your home and office machines through pen drives and other such devices? Try the Amkette Flash Link.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

CLASSROOMS90 PUT IN ‘HANUMANIAN EFFORTS’ EVERY DAYSteps to transition your company from a startup to a mid- or large-sized firm.By Rana Kapoor

92 FUNDING EDUCATIONThe current trends in the education sector and the spurt of entrepreneurial activity make it an attractive VC/PE destination.By Ved Prakash Arya

94 BOOTSTRAPPING YOUR STARTUP’S SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGYThe web is growing too fast for you to ignore it. Climb the social media bandwagon.By Rajiv Dingra

SUCCESS STRATEGIES76 5 LEADERSHIP MISTAKES, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEMWho said leaders don’t make mistakes? By Toddi Gutner

118

SPEND IT124 CRYSTAL CLEAR Indulge in your flights of fancy as you ring in the New Year...By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

126 ROOM FOR BUSINESSThe Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre is ideal for entrepreneurs. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

128 D DRIVEThe D-segment is abuzz with activity. Pick from the Cruze, Laura or Corolla Altis. Don’t forget the petrol Civic—there is no diesel variant here. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

REGULARS6 FEEDBACK 12 NEWS IMPACT 16 SME DOCTOR20 STUMPSPEAK 130 BACKSTAGE

HOT STARTUP OF THE MONTH

98 THE SALES ARE ONLooking for the best retail deals in your city? Log onto Wooqer.By Shonali Advani

102 NAVIGATING THE FINANCIAL MAZEMukut Deepak’s startup has built a distribution network for financial services products using local kirana stores.By Bindi Mehta

105 EGGCETERAFour youngsters are on a roll in Pune with their egg-specialty restaurant Yolkshire.By Ankush Chibber

106 PILLOW TALKGaurav Kapoor gets comfy with his cushion cover and bed linen venture.By Prerna Raturi

108 SON OF THE SOILMansukhbhai Prajapati is more than a potter. He is both a respected scientist and an inventor.By Prerna Raturi

110 AD MADAdBanjara is on the rear end of an auto-ad drive in Bhubaneswar.By Bindi Mehta



COVER DESIGN

NIRMAL BISWASCOVER IMAGE

indiatodayimages.com

table of contents

10 Entrepreneur + December 2010 To read more, grab the December issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

Richard A. Boucher was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in

2009 as the world tried to find its feet amidst an economic downturn. Talking to Entrepreneur, Boucher says that the OECD has a direct effect

on how economies operate around the world.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

“India should be involved in setting standards at

the OECD”

ENTREPRENEUR (E): Within the OECD, what is your mandate?RICHARD BOUCHER (RB): My mandate with-in the OECD is to look at bringing in the experi-ence of emerging markets like India and China into our fold. Beyond that I work on preventing corruption and deal with finance, science and innovation issues. Among other responsibili-ties, I am spearheading the organization’s en-hanced engagement and accession processes.

E: India is not an OECD member and only has an enhanced relationship with it.How do you explain the OECD’s relevance to India? RB: The OECD is a place where people from dif-ferent countries come together and exchange experience. Every addition to that, new set of ideas, new set of people we get, enriches the experience for everyone. For example, take the case of a policy maker who is trying to figure out how to run a water system or how to man-age fiscal consolidation. You will find people within the OECD who are trying to outline this same problem.

Whether it’s chemical standards, tax treaties or international bribery standards, our discus-sions have a direct effect on how businesses and economies operate around the world. It’s founded on experience, not merely theory. In a way, we are at the forefront of a lot of economic problems and in the process we tend to come up with best practices, standards people can and should meet in various countries.

E: You have various multilateral agen-cies like the World Bank. Where does the OECD fit into the scheme of things? RB: Everybody has a different role to play. We tend to be more analytical about the issues we are looking at and the policies that are con-cerned. We tend to come up with best practices and standards that have practical benefit for nations. If we want a world that is based on real experience and not theory, I think the OECD is the best place to share that experience and come up with answers to the problems we all face in managing economies and companies.

For example, if anyone wants inputs on fossil fuel subsidies, we have answers to that. If some-one is interested in innovation strategies, the OECD is already working on it. On the labor front, we are already working with the Interna-tional Labor Organization in putting together a G20 ministerial on labor. This, however, does not mean other agencies like World Bank and IMF do not have a role to play. Obviously, the IMF has its own role to essay; the World Bank has a role in all financial, regulatory or devel-opment issues.

E: Has the fact that the economic down-turn was so heavily centered on Western nations led some countries to question the value some of the other aspects the OECD stands for? RB: The economic downturn has raised several questions. Today, everybody needs to reform. Having said that, I must also add that econom-


in conversation


ics is not a perfect science and we all need to keep learning and innovating as we move along. One of the items on the G20 agenda today is to watch out for trade and investment protection-ism. We are looking for this in subtle forms. Countries, by and large, are committed to the global market economy and dispensing with barriers to trade, but they are all watching each other pretty carefully. But there are certain fundamental issues of markets, like market in-centives, tracking investment, developing jobs, productivity, technology, education, better la-bor policies and better competition. Nobody’s really questioning these issues. Countries still believe that getting better at the fundamentals of economic management is the way to satisfy their population and a means to grow their economy and also come out of recession.

E: What do you think of the way in which India and China tackled the entire downturn? RB: It’s a simple conclusion that if you have money in the bank, you fare better during a downturn. If you have already borrowed to your capacity and reach a downturn, you have very little resources to tackle it with. India and China used their money to boost their infra-structure, develop their markets and, in the end, they came up trumps.

E: The OECD, as you said, is involved in setting standards. Why is it important for India to be a part of setting thesestandards? RB: The more you want to participate in the global economy, the more you would want to have a say and have a level playing field. India is not only attracting investment but also invest-ing in various entities.

These are the areas where investment codes and guidelines become relevant. The same is the case with anti-bribery issues. It makes the business environment, the economic environ-ment and, frankly, the political environment so much healthier in every country. As new coun-tries join the convention, it helps them and the world reap such benefits.

Taking some of the things that we stand for to a global platform makes sense. Corpo-rate guidelines would be an example where we should try to have an international standard that everyone can adhere to. Or on taxes, an area where the OECD has informed and helped create the international standard, but it has also gotten bigger than us.

Big economies outside the OECD—China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and Rus-sia—can be really important, because this lets them get involved in the setting of future stan-dards. These countries complain sometimes

Photos© Shamik Banerjee


ics is not a perfect science and we all need to keep learning and innovating as we move along. One of the items on the G20 agenda today is to watch out for trade and investment protection-ism. We are looking for this in subtle forms. Countries, by and large, are committed to the global market economy and dispensing with barriers to trade, but they are all watching each other pretty carefully. But there are certain fundamental issues of markets, like market in-centives, tracking investment, developing jobs, productivity, technology, education, better la-bor policies and better competition. Nobody’s really questioning these issues. Countries still believe that getting better at the fundamentals of economic management is the way to satisfy their population and a means to grow their economy and also come out of recession.

E: What do you think of the way in which India and China tackled the entire downturn? RB: It’s a simple conclusion that if you have money in the bank, you fare better during a downturn. If you have already borrowed to your capacity and reach a downturn, you have very little resources to tackle it with. India and China used their money to boost their infra-structure, develop their markets and, in the end, they came up trumps.

E: The OECD, as you said, is involved in setting standards. Why is it important for India to be a part of setting thesestandards? RB: The more you want to participate in the global economy, the more you would want to have a say and have a level playing field. India is not only attracting investment but also invest-ing in various entities.

These are the areas where investment codes and guidelines become relevant. The same is the case with anti-bribery issues. It makes the business environment, the economic environ-ment and, frankly, the political environment so much healthier in every country. As new coun-tries join the convention, it helps them and the world reap such benefits.

Taking some of the things that we stand for to a global platform makes sense. Corpo-rate guidelines would be an example where we should try to have an international standard that everyone can adhere to. Or on taxes, an area where the OECD has informed and helped create the international standard, but it has also gotten bigger than us.

Big economies outside the OECD—China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and Rus-sia—can be really important, because this lets them get involved in the setting of future stan-dards. These countries complain sometimes

Photos© Shamik BanerjeeTo read more, grab the December issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

why they should be expected to meet those standards they did not have a hand in making. So, it is in our interest to have them involved in standard setting.

E: You have been a frequent visitor to India. What have your engagements been with the policy makers of this country? RB: The understanding with India has been very good. We have technical co-operation, a profound understanding and we are doing the second big review of the Indian economy which will come out in spring.

We have already done the investment review last fall and are doing a host of other programs with specific ministries. There are some new ar-eas, like studying water management, where we have a lot to learn from India and vice versa.

E: What does a country need to do to be an OECD member? RB: Each of the OECD’s 20-odd major com-mittees goes through the practices of the country to gauge its efficacy. The tax experts go through tax practices; anti-bribery person-nel go through what steps a prospective OECD member country takes on bribery.

And in those areas where our committees think the country ought to do more to come up to our standards, we tell them that a posi-tive recommendation is possible if they follow certain steps.

Generally, the faster the countries reform and get their practices to meet our standards,

the faster they become our members. The OECD is not simply satisfied with a country passing a law but is also interested in its implementation and the sincerity to follow what has been set out. A lot of really important social issues come through it as well.

What we need to do is to make it meaning-ful for countries to join us, so that when we have policy discussions we benefit from their experience, and when they face policy choices, they get the benefit of our experience and our expertise. If you go back 30 or 40 years, the OECD was at least 80 percent, if not more, of the world’s GDP.

If we are going to be the world’s premiere economic management organization, we have to have that relationship with the countries that now constitute a significant portion of the world’s GDP.

E: What does the OECD have to offer to entrepreneurs and startups? RB: We need to understand what they need. The best examples we see are the investment policies. We see a lot of pieces to the puzzle in an innovative economy. An environment which supports entrepreneurship has a number of different financing models.

We see entrepreneurs as people who create jobs and we can make sure that governments are reaching out to those who want to start up. We can help governments ensure entrepre-neurs grow and give them the tools to create a good ecosystem.

“COUNTRIES, BY AND LARGE, ARE COMMITTED TO THE GLOBAL MARKET ECONOMY AND DISPENSING WITH BARRIERS TO TRADE, BUT THEY ARE ALL WATCHING EACH OTHER PRETTY CAREFULLY.”


in conversation

Vivek Paul worked with legends like Jack Welch and Azim Premji in building global corporations in the past, and today he is taking an entrepreneurial bet...By Bindi Mehta

Perhaps the strongest thread that runs through the [Silicon] Valley’s past and present is the drive to ‘play’ with novel technologies.—Timothy J. Sturgeon, of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in his paper on globalization.

If there is one individual who personifies Sturgeon’s sentiments, it is Vivek Paul. Fittingly, 51-year-old Paul says his favorite place to live is Silicon Valley in California. And the spirit of the Valley has somehow become a part of Paul’s system now. “I can live anywhere in the world. But the Valley is special,” he says.

Like his answer, his aspirations are also global with a specific and special focus. With his entrepreneurial venture Kinetic Glue, Paul wants to build strong global industry networks and ecosystems.

However, the venture’s specific aim and goal is ‘to make Indian companies the most com-petitive enterprises in the world.’ Neat. Let’s look at how he plans to make this happen.

“I had seen the consumer internet revolution unfold. There were a lot of different platforms that people were using to achieve different tasks. However, there was no platform or soft-ware targeted at corporate entities. If individu-als could share and network in a manner that would help their personal growth, it could add much more value in a corporate environment,” says Paul.

With this conviction, he stepped down from his role of partner at investment firm TPG (formerly Texas Pacific Group) in August 2008 to give birth to Kinetic Glue, his first entrepreneurial venture. Kinetic Glue aims to offer enterprises a social networking platform akin to Facebook, Twitter etc. It combines the advantages offered by consumer social net-working platforms under a single banner and adds relevant features to make it suitable for a corporate environment.

“Businesses have special requirements. They need confidentiality, user credibility, control and, finally, all features should be available in one place. We built Kinetic Glue keeping all these unique requirements in mind,” says Paul. In early 2008, Paul was already studying the consumer internet movement and giving shape to the idea in his mind.

He discussed it with Meeta Malhotra who was working as director, Ray+Keshavan, in Bengaluru, to further understand the scope of such a venture. Malhotra is today Paul’s part-ner in the firm. “We spent the summer and fall of 2008 just studying the market and concep-tualizing the thought in our minds. By the end of 2008, I was ready to become more engaged with the venture. We built a core developers’

team comprising engineers from Wipro and Neev Technologies, a startup in Bengaluru and set the ball rolling,” says Paul. Today,

Photo Courtesy© indiatodayimages.com68 Entrepreneur + December 2010

cover story

VIVEK PAUL: A SUCCESS STORYPRIOR TO THE LAUNCH OF KINETIC GLUE in 2008, Paul served as a partner at venture capital firm TPG (formerly Texas Pacific Group). During his stint there, he funded Elevance, a leader in developing chemicals from renewable sources, FPT Corporation, Vietnam’s leading ICT company, and Amyris Biotechnologies, a leader in biofuels using synthetic biology. Paul’s learning at TPG was: There are very few entrepreneurs who actually do what they set out to do.

Paul’s association with Wipro (1999-2005) before TPG was perhaps the most popular phase of his career. Under Paul’s leadership, Wipro grew from a $150 million conservative Indian company to a globally-focused $1.4 billion software services giant.

Paul also led the firm’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange. While at Wipro, he unveiled a vision to put the company among the top 10 global IT firms. He was the highest-paid Indian executive during this period. The lesson he picked while transforming Wipro: “In the real world, there is no cocoon.”

In the pre-Wipro phase, he was employed at GE for 10 years, in charge of the company’s Global CT (Computerized Tomography) business, reporting directly to the Chairman of GE. He also served as the President and CEO of GE’s medical equipment JV in India (with Wipro). The JV was recognized by GE as among one of its best joint ventures in the world, and subsequently by the Economist as the best JV in Asia.

At GE, Paul says he learnt to regenerate himself constantly from Jack Welch who imagined that he had just been appointed as chairman every time he landed in New York.

69Entrepreneur + December 2010To read more, grab the December issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

BOOTSTRAPPING YOUR STARTUP’S SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

You cannot ignore the sheer numbers out there on the web…By Rajiv Dingra

saves the time that you might yourself spend in executing social media strategies.

EARLY DAYS—DO IT YOURSELF!Social media is a very personal and conversational medium and it’s important that whoever handles your startup’s social media understands its core brand identity and USP. Early

on, it’s important that you handle social media yourself. Internationally, many web product startups use social media i.e. blogs, Facebook and Twitter, to constantly take feedback and consumer views on their ongoing startup plans even before an official launch. Another reason to handle social media internally, at least in the early days, is to define the objectives and expectations for your startup yourself.

If you have an external consultant do this, he/she may

not look at your startup in its entirety and may even break things down into sales, human resources and other kinds of objectives too early.

EFFECTIVE INTERNAL EXECUTION The way to do it internally is to get trained in social media through an external consultant. This is in case one doesn’t have the right resources or skill sets within the organization. Another alternate route is to align or recruit younger employees in your startup who are regular practitioners of social media tools and have the experience and knowledge base from the outset. It is important that one identifies such employees first to initiate social media internally. In case

Bootstrapping a startup is hard work for entrepreneurs. Not only does one have to look into several functions like operations, marketing, sales, finance and

Human Resources but one has to also consider the costs of each function and at each step of the entrepreneurial journey. In such a scenario, it could be difficult to divide time between getting new business and managing the business that you have already managed to bring in.

This is where a social media focus may be helpful. Social media, the buzzword of today, is a free platform of expression for users to connect with each other and build a following for themselves or their startups or brands. Brands, both big and small, have taken to this medium in one way or the other and this has lead to the birth of several social media consultants and agencies all over the world.

If you are a startup, it’s hard to ignore this crucial medium as it directly connects you to your consumers.

With 18 million of them on Facebook, 15 million on YouTube and 7-odd million on LinkedIn, it’s too sizeable an audience to ignore.

So, whether you are a B2B or B2C startup, it’s important that you have a social media plan and strategy in place to source early business as well as early employees.

Now, as a bootstrapping startup, the real dilemma starts with whether to do social media strategy and execution in-house or to outsource this to an external consultant. This dilemma occurs because it’s a choice between time and capital, as outsourcing might be more expensive but

“Outsourcing might be more expensive but saves the time that you

might yourself spend in executing social media strategies.”

class rooms[Web Effect]


95Entrepreneur + October 2010

the entrepreneurs or co-founders themselves are adept at handling social media, then it is definitely recommended that they take up the responsibility themselves and effectively execute social media strategies in the organization.

OUTSOURCING THE SOCIAL MEDIA FUNCTIONSocial media should be outsourced in the following scenarios:

1. When real business is offline and social media is a good-to-have but not must-have tool. Also when your core business is offline and online connections may have little impact on it. For example, if you are a supplier of manufacturing parts to nuclear power plants, it is important not to do it yourself but to rather find a credible agency to handle it for you.

2. When time is of essence and resources are few. For example, if you are a lawyer in a two-partner law firm, it is necessary that you outsource social media, as your time spent is far more expensive and is better utilized in doing what you do best.

3. When brand and creative is well-defined and you need execution help. If you have already defined your startup’s brand identity and creative communication approach, then it may make sense to involve a social media agency for execution or even hire a freelance consultant. This is because a freelance consultant would be able to execute your brand identity quicker and would save you daily time in managing your presence.

4. When you need big ideas as well as large-scale execution. Internally, it would be difficult to do this from a resource standpoint and will also mean constant management and monitoring while outsourcing to an agency will get in a more professional approach to the whole activity.

LISTEN FIRST AND ENGAGE LATERSocial media is not a different medium. In fact, it’s like any other communication platform but with a multiplier effect of friends connected to other friends that makes it distinct. It’s also the most cost-effective way to spread the word about your startup, if you get it right.

One of the best ways to use social media is to not sell or push but to present yourself via your conversations and to listen first and engage later.

It’s important for every startup to test social media waters and build first-hand experience of interacting and learning from one’s target group of consumers that will enable better understanding and, thereby, better business.

RAJIV DINGRA is the Founder and CEO of WATConsult, a social media agency. He also founded WATBlog.com, a leading digital media blog.

Social media provides a sea of knowledge on several topics and also brings together people from various fields. It’s a startup’s call on how to leverage this level playing field to its own advantage.

Photo© Neha Mithbawkar

To read more, grab the December issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in


pillowtalk His survival instinct has seen

Gaurav Kapoor weather bad times and worse...By Prerna Raturi

Gaurav Kapoor, 32, says he’ll never forget his trip to Paris in 2005. “I was the quintessential suitcase salesman and

covered 80 stores in 36 hours,” he reminisces. A former public relations person, Kapoor today sells his range of cushion covers, table mat sets and bed linen all over India through Easyday (Bharti Wal-Mart retail India) and Timbor Stores. The company also has its presence in Welhome, Pantaloon and Big Bazaar in India, as well as the Landmark Group in Dubai. The company had a turnover of Rs.1.08 crore last financial year. But the best part is probably the brand name for Kapoor’s products—Nakalchi Bandar, which in Hindi alludes to copy cat! But

Kapoor is quick to defend the quirky brand name, saying it comes from the

silk-like polyblend fabric that is the current rage. “It imitates pure silk

COPY CAT

start ups


dupion fabric,” clarifies Kapoor. The company uses poly-blended plain fabrics, Benarasi brocade, polysilk jacquards and embroidered fabrics and prints across its range of products.

Kapoor’s voice becomes a tad sheepish, though, when recounting his first experience in the business in Varanasi. As he sat with the bleaching man, trying to gather the nuances of treating the yarn, he dipped his hand into the liquid. “It was hot, to say the least,” Kapoor recounts. The wound has long healed, but he humbly admits there is still a lot he needs to learn about fabrics and designs. But what Kapoor does know, and which is crucial for any entrepreneur, is how to be extremely adaptive to an ever-changing market. You don’t have to notice the frustration in Kapoor’s voice to understand how things often went wrong while he was trying to make a success of his venture.

The initial stages roughly tally with any struggling entrepreneur’s story. He started the fabrics arm of his father’s company R.K. Impex in August 2003. Till then, the company was a buying house for carpets. Kapoor put in a capi-tal investment of Rs.16 lakh, part of which was invested by his family, part from a bank loan and partly from his own savings from the days when he worked with Burson-Marsteller Roger Pereira (the firm split in 2002).

After research on products, Kapoor started to export his designs and patterns to the west-ern market in 2004, and the company show-cased its goods at Heimtexil in Germany, the New York Home Show in the U.S. and the INDEX show in Dubai. The strategy made perfect sense. Ethnic home décor with an Indian shade-card has always been a hit in the west. Kapoor’s first client was a small chain of retail stores in London. “The owner bought handloom fabrics from us and the billed amount was Rs.1.35 lakh in 2004; it was our only sale in the first full year,” he recounts. Still learning the ropes of the business—and marketing—Kapoor, then 26, got more clients from trade show directo-ries, word-of-mouth, cold calling and faxing and e-mails. That’s when he toured Paris for 36 hours. “I was such a greenhorn that when we had Pier 1 Imports—the second-largest home décor retailers in the world—walk into our stall at a trade show to discuss orders, I was so over-whelmed to execute the final order that I gave up on them!” he confesses. For the next three years, Kapoor exported to the U.K., France,

South Africa, Belgium and the U.S. The recession hit the world’s economies at about the time the company had just appointed its first ever agent in New York, trying to match the demand and build a bigger client base. “That very day, I was with a few friends and we were discussing how the U.S. markets were heading towards a reces-sion,” says Kapoor. While the world reeled under the economic melt-down, Kapoor was quick to change tack and started to concentrate more on his sole Indian client—FabIndia. “Of course, I was scared about the future, but I also decided to ride out the rough period by cutting marketing costs and selling at home,” he says. The company built on FabIndia as a customer and approached more companies within India. Kapoor soon moved to Noida to set up a small unit there. “For four years, I worked out of my home until the company attained scale to afford rent for a factory in Noida two years ago with an investment of just Rs.5 lakh,” says Kapoor.

Here, too, it wasn’t easy sailing. Apart from less capital to work with, there was the age factor. Customers were hesitant to give large orders and a few even reneged on payment. “I was only 26, and I had to take great pains to convince the customers I was serious about my commitments,” Kapoor says. Wholesalers didn’t mean great business for the company because the credit business for Kapoor seemed too unsure for him. It was this hurdle that gave birth to the brand Nakalchi Bandar, which was launched four years ago, in collaboration with The Next Shop in India. The home store retail chain shut its operations in India in 2009 but the brand grew with Easyday stores.

With things looking better on the global market horizon, Kapoor has once again started getting export orders and he is wooing back his old customers. But he isn’t likely to become complacent. The company still struggles with the everyday challenge of being a small concern. “Working 24X7 just to be on top of this busi-ness can be exhausting,” he says. But the efforts are worth it when he sees his brand of cushion in someone’s house, a friend’s car or his fabrics in a hotel without selling it to them directly. “We feel we must be on the right track with our products,” Kapoor signs off.

Photo© Shamik Banerjee

SILK ROUTESTARTED IN: August 2003START UP CAPITAL: Rs.16 lakhFIRST YEAR TURNOVER:

Rs.1.35 lakhCURRENT TURNOVER: Rs.1.08 croreYOY GROWTH: 20 percent

To read more, grab the December issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

10 GREAT TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE NOW FAILURES

1. THE LANDLINE TELEPHONE. Why do we need it? To keep MTNL in business.

2. THE POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA. It’s what your mobile phone does.

3. THE IPOD DOCK. The iPod is a personal music player. PERSONAL!!!

4. THE SYMBIAN OS. Don’t even get me started.

5. HOTMAIL. Working with this e-mail service? How old are you? 80?

6. WINDOWS – 7, 8 OR 10. They will all suck. Always.

7. LOTUS NOTES. Makes thousands of office-goers feel nauseated. Everyday.

8. PC GAMING. The debate ended with the PS3 Move and Xbox Kinect.

9. PHOTOSHOP. An established film magazine did a photo feature with

actor Rekha the other day. Enough said.

10. THE TELEVISION. There is a reason it is called the Idiot Box. If you don’t agree, go watch Bigg Boss.

Illustration© Chaitanya Surpur

The Hall of Shame of the stuff we deem useless. Or hate. By Ankush Chibber

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Entrepreneur December 2010

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Transcript of Entrepreneur December 2010