If it’s a tech product and the core team is not a set of founders, then you should probably double your deliverable timelines. The core team should comprise of at least one tech geek and one design guru. I have an idea but I am neither a tech guy nor a design guy. Get at least one of these two people on board as founders. Please do not outsource both the design and development of your product...
July 18, 2014
Startup Hacks: What to do when you don’t have a complete team
18July
July 17, 2014
India to transform into a software product nation
17July
The Finance Minister’s recognition of software products as a distinctive category which can propel India forward as a product nation could well mark a new era in India’s industrial development. At the time of independence, we had very limited industrial capabilities. But, in the last 67 years, we have built a strong foundation across industries ranging from tractors to...
July 16, 2014
Government recognizes the Software Product Industry
16July
The fact that the Finance Minister specifically underscored the Software Product Industry (SPI) in his maiden budget speech is testimony enough of the Government’s resolve to make significant and dramatic changes to achieve rapid economic development. Here are two reasons why we believe the Government is moving in the right direction. One. Empowering the masses. There is no reason why software...
July 15, 2014
All I know about Product Startup Recruitment…I learned from the movie Moneyball!
15July
Today, I was watching Moneyball, the movie for the third or fourth time! Every one of those scenes and dialogues was a lesson in recruitment that every product startup could use! I have used them and they have worked for me in fantastic ways! What better way to learn lessons in startup recruitment than watch a highly enjoyable movie with fantastic actors like Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill! Having...
July 14, 2014
Notes from the iSPIRT Playbook Roundtable – Nuances of Customer Acquisition #PlaybookRT
14July
Saturday, June 16 was the day, the iSPIRT Playbook Roundtable finally arrived in Mumbai. The topic for the Roundtable was Nuances of Customer Acquisition. The Roundtable was hosted at the office of WebEngage by their CEO Avlesh Singh and saw participation from CEOs of around 14 startups from in and around Mumbai. The event went on for around 6 hours but given the variety of issues discussed each...
July 10, 2014
Budget reaffirms Government's desire to Transform India into a Product Nation
10July
We are delighted that the Finance Minister singled out the Software Product Industry for mention in his budget speech today. This is momentous… the identity we have been so seeking especially in the corridors of power was finally articulated this morning in the highest legislative body of the land – the Indian Parliament. We’d like to highlight four things. First, the thumping endorsement that...
July 10, 2014
Budget recognises the Software Product Industry #Budget2014 #ProductNation
The Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke to iSPIRT members on July 1 in Bangalore during his first ever visit as Minister. Reacting to the pitch by iSPIRT members about transforming the face of India through a strong software product industry, Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad strongly endorsed the Government’s backing to the industry. Government to...
July 9, 2014
If you want to do something, don’t over-analyze it! We do mostly Series A Funding! Helion Ventures #ThinkInvestor
09July
ThinkInvestor is iSPIRT and ProductNation’s new initiative to serve as a catalyst between Venture Capital firms, Angels, Angel Networks and Entrepreneurs. It is to go beyond brochure ware and dig deeper into the whole life cycle of a typical investment; from introductions, funding, styles of on-going engagement, to exits. And in the process, capture their views on global and local trends...
July 8, 2014
Awesome happy people build awesome happy products.
08July
Being an entrepreneur is always tough, but the first attempt is always the toughest. The social and economic weather in India right now is thrumming with unharnessed entrepreneurial energy and the reasons for not starting up are becoming fewer and fewer. The odds however, still remain quite high, especially for people who start for the first time. This post is a note on things I learned first...
July 7, 2014
Disruptive Innovation Revisited
07July
Disruption and disruptive innovation have been in the spotlight of late. The guru of disruptive innovation, Clayton Christensen, and his famous theory were put under the scanner in a highly critical if somewhat flippant recent piece by Jill Lepore in the New Yorker. Just a few weeks earlier, the New York Times carried a provocative article titled “Business School, Disrupted,” that examined the...
