I was catching up with Avinash (@avinashraghava) earlier today and we were chatting about product startups in the country. If you’ve been in this ecosystem, and seen the evolution of product companies, some interesting changes happened over the past few years. Back in 2001, at AdventNet, the Product Manager role was created, and so was the Usability Engineer role (which were primarily UX...
DNA mysteries of Products and Services
It has been an interesting coincidence on the last few occasions in different discussions and industry forums I participated in, they have attracted a good amount of the classic “Products and Services” in IT deliberation. As such, this is not a new debate. It is common to see patrons from the products world root for it by generating IP and for the services gurus illustrate how they are able to...
Fireflies lighting up the sky
Some years ago, Infosys and Wipro put Bangalore on the global map. Now, Bangalore is once again marching ahead. It is creating a new kind of technology ecosystem, which is culturally different from what exists today. Today’s tech-ecosystem is about a few ‘hathi’ firms doing IT Services. Metaphorically, this is about manicured lawns, straight rows of carefully planted flowers and an occasional oak...
Three Waves of Indian Software
When I started JamBuster with Suneeta in 2004, I wanted to build a technology management software products company in India. Little did I know, that we would be part of a three-wave phenomena in software industry in India. The first wave of this is the software outsourcing, now a bit old story, but still the legend by itself. By different accounts, the outsourcing of software development by...
What is win or loss means in the game of enterpreneurship
I have been interacting with various startup teams over the last several years, predominantly around ideation, product-market fit, funding, scaling, and strategy aspects of the companies. Before I was an investor, I spent a lot of time around product creation with two successful startups in the Silicon Valley and managing business in a large Internet company. In recent times, I have been spending...
RickShaw Rising: Submit your Innovative Ideas to Transform the Auto-Rickshaw business
We are pleased to support an initiative led by EMBARQ which focuses on sustainable transport. They are expanding their work to engage with entrepreneurs in this space. EMBARQ has launched an initiative – RickshawRising Challenge in partnership with Shell foundation. The Rickshaw Rising Challenge 2013 recognises that the auto-rickshaw sector is ripe with the opportunity to implement...
Piracy and freemium killed the Indian software buyer
Nobody in India buys software. If the above sentence draws your attention, read on! If you are based out of India, think of the last time you bought software (yes packaged products). Now think of all your friends and guess when they bought software. Now, here’s the clincher, “When was the last time you bought software made in India?”. 99% of the people, irrespective of their socio-economic status...
Sachin Tendulkar has Retired. Can we now convert a Cricketing Nation to a Product Nation?
All Institutions seek to influence the behavior of people. Nasscom Product Council and iSPIRT today, are associations, which as Institutions are seeking to influence the consumption and production behavior of Software and Technology offerings in India. Our nation is in a dire need of grass-root level, production of value-added goods/services/experiences and its consumption. As articulated...
Cross-Border Alliances: Strengthening India’s Cyber-Entrepreneurs
India’s product-thinkers in the cyber-domain are a unique breed of cyber-warriors that could significantly benefit through cross-border partnerships. Credited with being one of the first nations to possess an IT road map, India has devoted additional focus to create a secure IT road map. Cybersecurity remains a critical concern for not only governments or businesses, but also for individuals. Our...
Bend Me, Shape Me, Anyway You Want Me – Responsive Design in Action!
Bend Me, Shape Me, Anyway You Want Me – Long as you love me, It’s alright! – goes the catchy song from American Breed in 1968. It captures the essence of Responsive Design! Do not make people adapt to your web or mobile experience on various devices.. You make the user interface adapt to the device that is being used. And talk about adapting? Watch the drummer also play the...