Premise: Wealth creation by humans happens in 2 forms, by making “something desirable” or by helping the maker sell it. Everything else is a support function that brings efficiency to these 2 activities. The Web being a communication medium can only help sell something, which happens through some form of lead generation. One might argue that SaaS tools are “desirable” products on the web but the...
CarIQ, started in August 2012, launched the product this past week. Car owners and enthusiasts can now get their hands on their very own CarIQ device by per-ordering it! CarIQ is one of the few Indian startups in the domain of connected cars, with primary focus on Indian auto market. This past week ProductNation interviewed Sagar Apte, Founder and CEO of CarIQ. In this conversation over coffee...
I could not put down Conn Iggulden’s five volume, historical fiction series on Genghis Khan and his successors all the way up to Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson. Genghis Khan was of course, brutal in his conquests and annihilated those that opposed him. It was the 13th century and building empires was the name of the game at that time. ...
“By the time that product is ready to be distributed widely, it will already have established customers”~ From the pages of “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries. It is essentially true that by the time you finish building your product completely, your customers are already looking for something new! Demands of your customers change in a snap. So, in order to match this...
What does the traditional world of manufacturing have in common with the way networked platforms work? How can a basic understanding of factory design help us change the way we think about designing internet platforms, marketplaces and social networks? I’ve written previously about the distinction between pipes and platforms. If you haven’t already read it, you must definitely check it out. It...
This may be one of the most clichéd topics on startup land. Everyone and her mother-in-law would have a view on who should be hired and who should not be! So, I would start with a disclaimer that these are some of personal experiences in hiring for my two startups and according to me, the top 2 or 3 focus areas for any entrepreneur. Few hiring practices which worked for my startup are Always look...
In Early Stage Startups – What to do next ? Early stage startups and first time entrepreneurs face many challenges that are unprecedented in nature. – How to know which discussion (customer, vendors, mentors) inputs to keep and which to ignore ? – How to make confident decisions when very little information seem to be available and the stakes are high ? – How to navigate your...
Startups need Traction. A startup which doesn’t get discovered doesn’t go anywhere. This is all the more critical for platform businesses which rely on their users to create value and network effects. In the specific case of platform businesses, Traction dictates the value that is created. A social network without enough users or a marketplace without enough activity isn’t going anywhere...
Businesses succeed with a mission to serve customers and related ecosystem. Ezmove is following the same path. I recently got a chance to catch-up with Ezmove co-founders – Anand & Vishwajeet. Ezmove aims to be a guiding agent, to whom consumers can just outsource their movers & packers requirements. Q:Why do you guys feel there is need of guiding agent? Founders: Most Movers &...
Here’s the starting point of the discussion on Twitter: @avinashraghava @dkhare better Q:what is the role of design in d larger socio-eco context? Which business & consumer problem does it solve? — Dhiraj Kacker (@dhirajkacker) January 3, 2014 Just to summarize my thought: the original referenced article talked about design being a key pillar of a startup. My contention is that that is a...
