“Diversity is an intellect multiplier, especially when the diverse groups can collaborate well” – Mark Sareff This year the International Women’s day was a different experience for me, no panels stating gender diversity facts most people are painfully aware of. Instead I had the proud privilege of being invited to do a fireside chat and explore new dimensions of diversity and its impact on...
Most probably a bad contract is at the heart of the Stayzilla (SZ) and Jigsaw Advertising (Jigsaw) dispute that’s a hot topic of discussion for the members of India’s fast growing startup ecosystem. Jigsaw supplied advertising related services, SZ did not pay. SZ announced intention to “reboot” and Jigsaw used its might to register cheating case against SZ. Cheating is a criminal offence as...
Whenever I have helped someone I believe their thanks is sincere and heartfelt. Can’t beat that wonderful feeling, so I do my best to make time and pay-forward. Amongst the many that pay-forward, I was really intrigued by the iSPIRT community. A group of best-in-class entrepreneurs (and one could say even, celebrity entrepreneurs) coming together to share their knowledge with fellow and new...
Creating intuitive products used to be enough but not any more. Now customers demand awesome product experiences…the ones that they tell others about. ‘Design awesome’ – we use these words a lot, but what does it mean? And how do you go about it? It’s not about delivering awesome products; it’s about delivering awesome experiences that deliver unexpected delight. Design for Delight is grounded in...
iSPIRT Roundtable Delhi – 12th December2015 Centuries ago Columbus took an adventurous sea journey to discover India in search of gold and in the process stumbled upon America. It is ironical that after ages we Indian product entrepreneurs are re-embarking upon the journey to rediscover America in search of gold, just that we no longer trust the sea and prefer to go via the cloud. So on...
Design Thinking as a mindset and process that is starting to get its’ due attention in the US. In India however, it is lesser known and in most cases, an after thought. What is Design Thinking, you ask? It is a creative process of building products that people simply love to use! Products that not just meet but beat customers’ expectations and bring in the element of unexpected delight! There are...
If You are connected to the Internet, Social Media or any form of media, you must have heard about Net Neutrality and the protests that are going on. While it feels like iSPiRT hadn’t officially made any announcements on the same, quite a few of us have been working behind the scenes to ensure that our voice is heard and that TRAI takes the next steps regarding the Internet in India. A bit...
I witness the scenario on both sides of the table. A startup provides a solution to a problem; solves it elegantly. And makes it seamless for its users. They use a few other products too – that solves some of their non-core functions elegantly. They grow out of its free usage, but they don’t pay. And they sit and break their heads, day in and day out as to why on earth, many of its heavy users...
I am in the middle of building two platforms. One being The Startup Centre, the older one, and its younger sibling In50hrs. In50hrs does get a bit of my attention, partly because I find my soul being there with entrepreneurs, teams, and ideas when they get that Aha! moment of breakthrough and build something. Its priceless being part of those moments. Most of you might think that In50hrs is...
Being an Associate in a Venture Capital firm is a dead-end job*, that you can’t leap without entrepreneurial experience. And, entrepreneurs hate you for your pesky, clueless mails. Here’s hoping to help you out – and help ourselves. Dear Associate / Analyst, I know I took a big stab at you [1] and went public with it. I know you are trying to do your job, but the way you are going about it...
