Without a doubt the Silicon Valley or “Valley” as it is known leads the world in new technology breakthroughs. Day in and day out we hear of companies growing, getting acquired, of going public and of untold riches accrued to the founders and the investors. The recent Whatsapp saga is a classic example of a rags-to-riches story and so the legend of the Valley continues to build. There is no doubt...
February 25, 2014
Go west my son; the Valley calleth.
25February
February 24, 2014
Zoho, Cloud, Sridhar Vembu
24February
Those who know me well have heard a lot of stories about my experience at Zoho when they transitioned from AdventNet to Zoho. I worked there between 2001-2004 when it was quite a new thing in the indian product ecosystem to talk of Product Management etc. During that period, the company went through a very significant phase of transformation which I was fortunate to be part of, see & learn...
February 21, 2014
If a picture speaks a thousand words, a video does that 24 times per second.
21February
Video advertising is increasingly becoming a necessity for a business in today’s fast paced world. Gone are the days when you would pen down tons of text in the “About Us” section of your website. A crisp video about your start-up can definitely make you go a long way in explaining what you offer to the right set of target audience. There are lot of tools like Powtoon, GoAnimate, Wideo etc...
February 20, 2014
Meet the Rickshaw Rising Challenge Winners!
20February
The Rickshaw Rising Challenge finale took place in the first week of February 2014 in Mumbai. Fourteen entrepreneurs representing 8 teams went through a two day long boot-camp. Read more about Day-1 and Day-2. On Day 3, they pitched their business to Robin Chase (ZipCar), Harish Hande (SELCO), Judith Pollock (Shell Foundation), and Madhav Pai (EMBARQ India). We are truly excited to announce the...
February 19, 2014
‘In order to succeed in the Indian B2B marketplace, be mentally prepared for the long haul’ – Vishnu Tambi, CEO of Excellon Software
19February
Product Nation interviewed Vishnu Tambi, CEO of Excellon Software to understand the key aspects that helped him to create a successful product company working out of a tier-2 city. In this discussion, Vishnu shares his experiences dealing with Indian customers and tips for succeeding in the Indian market. Read on… Could you describe the genesis of Excellon Software in India? Excellon Software...
February 18, 2014
Product Pricing – The biggest mistake companies make is to fix the price based on their costs
18February
There is no magic formula for pricing a product. You can make a start by getting answers to these queries: Can you estimate the value to customer in terms of increased revenue or cost savings? How does your competition price their product? Should your product be priced higher/lower based on more/less capabilities? What is your total investment and annual expense (development, support, sales and...
February 17, 2014
Have you seen a large ship going down? I have, from close.
17February
Polaroid Corp was a great company. Its instant photography technology ruled the world for 70 years. It served presidents, leaders, businessmen and even common people – it was the only way to take an instant picture (a position taken over by the mobile phone post 2007). It had some of the best talent, great chemical engineering skills, manufacturing plants, distribution and experience in...
February 14, 2014
@Helpshift: CRM for Thumb-driven world
14February
Helpshift is a SaaS CRM platform for the mobile first world. Embracing the new world where messaging is more frequent than emails, it provides an in-app messaging channel of communication to connect users with companies from within their mobile apps. Helpshift is founded by Abinash Tripathy and Baishampayan Ghose (BG) who came together to build a technology company out of India with hacker...
February 13, 2014
#InTech50 – Bringing Bold Innovations to Light! Your Last Chance to Seize the Opportunity and Get Discovered!
13February
If you have an Innovative Enterprise software product or a business transforming idea that you want the world to know about, iSPIRT invites you to take part at InTech50 and achieve your bold dreams! InTech50 is a showcase of some of the most promising software products created by entrepreneurs from India. A panel of Chief Information Officers (CIOs), venture capitalists, and successful product...
February 12, 2014
A “Virtual Mandate” from Silicon Valley companies for M&A
12February
2013 was one of the most prolific years for M&A worldwide with 3169 acquisitions taking place across the globe. India had its own share of successes with RedBus, Little Eye Labs etc. going through acquisitions. However, in general, relatively few Indian startups figure on the list of acquisitions. Last week, I hosted an iSPIRT M&A Roundtable in Palo Alto along with Jay Pullur. Attendees...
