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Android apps for Indian Entrepreneurs & Small businesses!

Kaushambi — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:44:06 +0000

There are more than a thousand great productivity apps available for smartphones, some Android ones which we have covered previously but this post is going to be of particular interest because we’re going to talk about great Android apps that may be mighty useful for Indian Entrepreneurs. Mind you, the utility of these apps can be extended to other Indian business persons too. The only reason that Indian entrepreneurs would be particularly interested is because they are always on the lookout for cutting costs and finding easier ways to manage their business.

Multi Courier Tracker

Are you running a home office and are breaking your head over tracking multiple couriers? Do you own a factory and have no spare monies to hire someone who could track office parcels and administrative communication in post? Then MCT is your savior. This app allows you to track multiple couriers in India with ease. Currently, they support six popular courier services such as Aramex, Blue Dart, First Flight, Professional, DTDC and TNT. The app makers claim that entrepreneurs and individual sellers who buy and sell a lot over Ebay, Flipkart and other Indian portals will find it very useful. This app awaits more number of downloads and reviews, but the concept is sure worth a shot.

Download Now

India Business Resource

“India Business Resource” is a Free app that consists of several important business tools in one package. It has financial calculators that compute income tax, EMIs on loan amount and property rates, and informative guide about ATM / Bank Branches, MCD circle rates of different Colonies in Delhi and Business News in India. The app also allows designing your custom visiting cards. This recently launched application by MapsofIndia is sort of a Swiss-knife for all your business needs!

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VAT Calculator

For those Indian entrepreneurs who have just started out in the commodities and services business and don’t have elaborate account departments to produce before and after VAT figures for them, the VAT Calculator can come to heed. Currently, this app works with VAT rates of European countries and India and you can also update your app to 2012 VAT rate figures. The calculated VAT figures will be displayed in rounded and two decimal values. This app sports a high download figure and a good user rating.

Download Now

inStocks BSE/NSE Stock Markets

This app claims to be the most download, comprehensive and highest rated app on the Indian stock market on Android. As an entrepreneur or a business person, even if you are not into trading yourself, keeping a tab on the movements in the domestic and international financial markets becomes imperative. From BSE and NSE Stock Markets Live, business news, stock tips, the Nifty, the Sensex, equity and NSE futures and options, BSE and NSE intraday charts to stock quotes of Indian companies, this app will allow you to stay on top of the bulls and bears.

There’s also a similar app called Moneycontrol Markets on Mobile for Indian stocks, but the user reviews for this app shout out many problems in its interface and loading. On the other hand, inStocks has garnered some great user reviews.

Download Now

City Navigators

If you are a business person whizzing from one metro of India to the other or are doing business with people of other cities, a few useful apps such as the Meru Cab app, the Delhi Metro Navigator app and the Meter Down app that we’ve featured before, will be very useful in terms of handy information and cost cutting. Are you a Mumbaikar attending a meeting in Bangalore? Get all the information including fares, parking fee info and an offline route map through the Bangalore Metro Navigator. Do you have to entertain international guests from the hotel to the airport in Hyderabad? Book a Meru cab for them. Indian entrepreneurs and business people have to make money by saving time too, right?

Let us know if you know of any apps that are mighty useful to Indian Entrepreneurs as well!

The 6 ‘I’s of Innovation!

guest — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:42:25 +0000

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when posed with the question

“What is Innovation”?

Some would say that innovation is something new and useful; some would say that something that solves the problem in the most efficient manner is an innovation; some others would say that something that is way ahead of its time is an innovation. Indeed, they are all true. But for an entrepreneur like me, innovation simply means what is shown in the figure.

Innovation is different from invention in the sense that innovation is the commercialization of an invention. Anything that is only useful to you and can’t be used by others is not an innovation. Innovation can be in 5 forms:

New Product
New Process
New Markets
New Way of Organizing Business
New Sources of Supply

Here we see the process of innovation in form of six ‘I’s:

Inspiration

Innovation is not merely a lucky flash of inspiration but, surely, behind every innovation lies an inspiration – be it from living or non-living, live or dead, your daily routine or problems facing the world. If you don’t get an inspiration, create one. Ask yourself questions like “Why do we do a certain thing in a certain manner only”, “What if I were the consumer of my own product”, “How can I reduce cost or increase profits”, etc.

Ratan Tata said quoting the world’s cheapest car, Nano, at a symposium at Cornell University, “What really motivated me, and sparked a desire to produce such a vehicle, was constantly seeing Indian families riding on scooters, four or five on a scooter, maybe the child sandwiched between the mother and father, riding to wherever they were going, often on slippery roads in the dark." This concern kept him going and the result has won him many accolades.

Ideation

Inspiration leads to ideation and brainstorming. Ideation is the creative process of generating and developing new ideas so as to convert your inspiration into innovation. Brainstorming with wise people is probably the best tool to check whether an idea is worthy. And sometimes, the idea may face criticism or turn out to be a source of laughter.

When Steve Jobs thought of making a phone with only one button, his engineers kept telling him that it was impossible for a phone to have only one button. You could not turn it on and off, control the volume, switch between functions and go on the Internet, if you had only a single control button. Steve Jobs was deaf to their complaints and would only say “Figure it out”. The result we all know – iPhone!!!

Initiation

It requires a great deal of courage to initiate. Many a times, people start working on a good idea but leave it in between because of initial failures. Only passion and dedication to the original inspiration can keep one hooked on to the idea. In the course, one might need to change the strategy and sometimes the idea itself.

Myspace, hi5 and Orkut came before Facebook was launched. Today, even the combined user base of all these three networking sites is way less than Facebook’s more than 800 million users. Facebook came with simpler features and constantly kept updating features. It allowed support for third-party applications, video calling in collaboration with Skype, the recent Timeline feature, etc. We don’t find all these together in other sites. It’s easier to find old-friends on Facebook than on other sites.

Invention

Finally the idea that came out because of the inspiration sees the day of the light. This invention might undergo many revisions before it is made available to the public. It may either get appreciation or admonition. Marketing efforts would be involved to make people know about this invention and hence commercialization of the invention is still a step away.

Windshield wipers were invented by real estate developer and rancher Mary Anderson. She lived in New York and noticed that the trolley car which she rode had an open front windshield. Although the open window was necessary to allow the driver to see the road under falling rain or snow but it was a pain for the passengers freezing inside. She invented windshield wiper featuring a rubber blade connected to a spring-loaded arm that could move across the windshield to clear snow, ice and rain. She patented it and attempted to sell the rights. However, her potential buyer didn’t feel the idea would ever amount to anything and declined. Today it’s difficult to find any four-wheeler without windshield wipers!!

Income Generation

Not all ideas that are turned into inventions make money. Some may fail disastrously and some may pave way for newer inventions. Some inventions make money by targeting a niche while others make by targeting the common masses.

We all credit Thomas Edison with the invention of electric light bulb (in 1879). But little do we know that the first electric light was invented by English scientist Humphry Davy in 1800 but it couldn’t be commercialized. After many people tried during these eight decades, Thomas Edison tried thousands of different filaments to find just the right materials to glow well and last long. He once said, “I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. In his first successful test, he was able to invent a bulb that could last for 13.5 hours and eventually developed a bulb that could last for over 1200 hours. On commercialisation he said,

“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.”

Improvement

An organization that constantly strives to be innovative finds that, in time, what was once an innovation is obsolete now. The organisation may seek to bring continuous improvements to this product / service or completely abandon the same and move on to doing something new. The process of innovation in the form of six ‘I’s is repeated.

For millions of poor Indians, cataract meant blindness until Aravind eye care hospital came into being. Cataract operation in the US costs around $2500 to $3000 and even in an Indian hospital the cost comes to around $300. For a country like India where most people, especially in rural areas, live on less than $2 a day such a price is not affordable. This led Aravind eye care to devise an operation to treat patients for an average of $25, while treating almost 60% patients for free. Today, it’s the largest and the most productive eye care facility in the world. They gradually shifted from being just hospitals to eye care systems by having a dedicated factory for producing lenses, a training centre to provide key skills, specialist ophthalmic research centres, and an international eye bank.

If you just take time to think how things can be changed, innovations can happen.

[This guest post is written by Ashish Chowdhary. An entrepreneur himself, he has deep interest in cutting-edge Technology, Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps & Innovation]

Bulk International SMSes banned by TRAI – Now what?

Arun Prabhudesai — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:55:49 +0000

After the TRAI’s directive to introduce stringent fines on Telecom Operators as well as marketers, Spam calls and SMSes to Indian mobile subscribers have definitely reduced. If the earlier frequency of such smses were 10 a day, it has come down to probably 2 or 3 a day. Though, the problem of Pesky messages did not resolve completely.

The reason is that marketers found new ways to circumvent this ban. The TRAI directive was applicable to local telecom operators, but not the international ones. Marketers took advantage of this and started sending these bulk smses through international gateways. Infact, no sooner did that TRAI ruling came into effect on 27th September 2011, many companies started advertising their services of sending Bulk smses through International gateways.

TRAI has taken note of this and has now come out with yet another ruling to ban bulk international smses. To address unsolicited commercial communications and to effectively control SMS coming from international locations, TRAI today issued a direction to all the Access Providers and the operators mandating them to take the following steps, within next thirty days:

All international SMS containing alphabet header or alphanumeric header or +91 as originating country code should not be delivered through the network.
If any source or number from outside the country generates more than 200 SMSes per hour with similar ‘signature’, the same should not be delivered through the network.
Only valid codes associated with the network of those entities with whom agreements have been signed by the Access Providers shall be allowed in the network.

Essentially, within next 30 days, most mobile subscribers in India should be fully Spam-SMS-Free, unless marketers find yet another way to circumvent. Though, in my personal opinion, this should be final nail in the coffin for marketers as far as sending unsolicited messages go. Even if they end up finding any other way, it would not be cost effective or feasible enough for marketers to use it!

[TRAI ruling PDF]

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How some start-ups used innovative methods to promote themselves?

Dr Vikram Venkateswaran — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:30:26 +0000

After last week’s article on ‘Why some starts up survive while most fail’, some of you had written to me to elaborate on point number 5, i.e:- Innovative promotional strategies used.

Well it is difficult to capture all this in an article as this topic would require an entire book, but still it got me thinking and I have made a list of three such instances that I feel really stood out.

Using College girls as demand generators - Karsan Bhai Patel is a tough competitor. Not only did he launch an Indian brand, Nirma to take on the likes of Hindustan Uni Lever (HUL) but he briefly overtook them. So much that HUL started a project called STING (Strategy to inhibit Nirma growth). Now in the early days the demand for Nirma was good but the retailers were wary to stock them which was partly because of the pressure applied by HUL sales mechanism.

Karsan Bhai started this novel scheme of asking college going girls to walk into retailers and ask for Nirma. If Nirma was not there they simplify left the shop without buying anything. If Nirma was present they bought it and then were refunded for their effort. This dramatically changed the situation with retailers as they started stocking Nirma due to the demand. Soon Nirma was a national brand and pushing HUL and Procter & Gamble into a three way fight.

Non Animal testing and the environment- Bodyshop may be a premium brand today, but when it started Anita Roddick the founder was really pushed all the way by mainstream cosmetic chains in the UK. She then decided to come up with a very daring promotional scheme where she openly declared that none of her products were tested on animals. To push it further she also gave a 30 % discount to all those who brought back empty bottles of BodyShop products in order to get a refill. Now this was long before the environment became a very hot topic and Al Gore became the first carbon billionaire. But the strategy worked and soon she had a set of loyal customers who became evangelists. The rest is history. Though BodyShop today is part of L’oreal they still continue to promote non animal testing and environment friendly practices.

You meet the nicest people on a Honda- Honda motors was an established name in Japan but hardly anyone knew them in the US. The Japanese ministry for Manufacturing had advised Honda to look at Indonesia but they had ambitions in the US. Knowing that GM and Ford would shut them down in they entered the US with cars, Honda entered the country with a moped called the ‘Super Cub’. It was supposed to be sports moped, which people could take to a golf course or to tennis club. The launch state was California, which normally has good weather throughout the year. The tag line was that ‘you would meet the nicest people on a Honda’.

The moped was sold through sports shops like SEARS. Honda gifted a Moped to all its employees and they were encouraged to drive to work in their mopeds. This soon created a buzz with many of the younger more sporty Californians wanting to buy one for themselves. The strategy worked and Honda soon became a familiar brand on the Californian roads. This paved the way in the 1980’s for the Honda invasion through their cars. Though Honda was not a start-up they used the start up mentality to get better of bigger rivals like Ford.

But again this is no way an exhaustive list there have been so many other innovative ideas for promotion. I would like to hear your views on the same.

If you have started a company and used very innovative strategies or have heard of someone doing so, please do leave a comment and that would really enhance the discussion.

HP Vayu – Potentially Revolutionary Cheap Internet on TV device!

Arun Prabhudesai — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:17:29 +0000

Aakash is history – There is another device in the making that may prove to be more revolutionary than Ultra Cheap Aakash. According to ToI story researchers at HP have created a mass internet access device that enables people access internet content on even the most basic TV sets and manage all screen operations using basic TV remotes.

It is definitely not a new idea – Accessing internet on TV can easily be done with latest Television sets, which now-a-days have Wi-Fi enabled. Infact, Smart TVs, like the one from Samsung is specifically made for accessing internet content on TV. However, these are expensive and can be availed by very very few people, especially in a country like India.

HP Vayu can be termed as a Set-top-box that enables users to access internet on TV and it does not require a Keyboard and a mouse. Everything can be controlled using the normal TV remote control.

Although, HP Vayu is not launched yet, ToI got a preview of it and they have some interesting things to say about it. Here are some of the highlights of HP Vayu as described by ToI article:

HP Vayu comes in-built with various apps that include stock prices, horoscope, Bill pay facility and even getting Train information. Also, Vayu has a facility where it third party developers can create apps on this platform.
HP Vayu runs on Linux based operating system, and also can be used as a regular PC. It also has a facility to attach a keyboard and mouse.
HP Vayu has a facility where users can create categories and store websites, blogs of their choice.
HP Vayu has a storage capacity where users can store photos, videos, documents among other things
It can be paired with a Mobile phones as well and paired mobile phones can send messages. Users can share web urls, photos etc as well using a mobile phone.

Technical Specifications

Linux Based OS
1 GB RAM
8GB Flash Memory (facility to add additional 300GB space)
Zigbee Sensor Network
USB Ports
Wi-Fi
Ethernet
Bluetooth
Infrared Connectivity
HDMI Output
Regular AV Channels
3G / GPRS /HSDPA
Built-in Microphone & Speakers

Vayu also boast many other features including motion sensors, contact list, white-boarding etc. However, success of HP Vayu will depend upon the price point it comes at. HP Vayu VInd has a production cost of roughly Rs. 5000/- and with mass production, this price is expected to come down as well.

If HP Vayu’s retail price comes in range of Rs. 6-7k, it surely will be a very attractive proposition for Indians who cannot afford to buy a PC which costs roughly Rs. 20k.

Would love to hear readers thoughts on this potentially revolutionary HP Vayu Internet on TV device!

Accounting Outsourcing for Startups/SMEs – Answer to Weak Financial Management

guest — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:07:04 +0000

For Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) who wish to create a niche for themselves in today’s competitive market, it is imperative to keep a track of their day-to-day transactions and financial events. Businesses where the accounts section is always at the backdrop & does not receive enough managerial efforts frequently face financial crunches.

If you are a start-up company and planning to make your entry into the corporate world, without enough knowledge about the technicalities of accounting, then the best way to get a hands-on experience & increase your familiarity with the same is “Accounting Outsourcing”.

Accounting Outsourcing not just helps you understand the intricacies & power of co-ordination of various financial segments, but also teaches you the tricks of managing financial records effectively, a task most companies tend to overlook.

Studies indicate that for companies to have a fully functional & powerful accounting section, nearly 40% of total cost is required, which accounts to a magnificent financial as well as human resource. This is where accounting outsourcing can be used as a powerful alternative tool, since it helps businesses in cutting these overhead costs by providing them with accounting solutions that are not just cost effective but also time effective. For companies to have an ascending accounts graph, it is important to establish proper control over the company’s financial events & cash flow.

A recently done survey of start-up businesses looking for dependable accounting outsourcing service providers indicated that, the best person to identify these providers for the company is the financial coordinator of the company. This is because the financial coordinator is the key person to actually help business owners in understanding the terminologies of accounting. So, no matter whether you are familiar or not with the aspects of accounting, you can always trust your reliable & cost-effective accounting outsourcing service provider for looking after the finances of your organization.

In order to maintain an uncomplicated accounting system in your company, it is essential that you keep the terms & procedures simple & easy. The professionals of accounting outsourcing firms are trained to categorize all sections of accounting, to make them as simple as possible. The financial reports generated by these professionals with the help of new accounting strategies & modifications of existing ones are so accurate, that you can easily rely on them for important business decisions.

While every company has an accounting section, not all of them have the ability to utilize them well enough to generate desired results. Accounting outsourcing is a great option for all such companies, because it not just helps simplify the accounting tasks but also leverages unique accounting capabilities overseen by field experts, thereby bringing a stability to the finances of the company.

[The above concept is shared with us by Pooja Kumar of SME JOINUP. To get assistance in accounting outsourcing, email on contact@smejoinup.com]

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Why some startups survive while most fail?

Dr Vikram Venkateswaran — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:09:16 +0000

In the 1950’s 8 employees of the famed Shockley Semiconductor got into dispute with William Shockley. The employees left and formed Fairchild Semi-conductors. The process repeated many time over with these former employees forming more than 65 companies in less than 20 years. This phenomenon was referred to as the ‘Silicon Startups’ and the location for these companies the Stanford Industrial Park remains the hot bed of the startups in the world.

A similar phenomenon was born in Bangalore when Narayana Murthy started Infosys and thus was born the Indian technology story.

But startups have a very low success rate. For the Information technology sector for example the success rate is close to 38% (Some opine it is less than 10%). This data is from 2005 and appears in the monthly labor review for the US. Globally, this percentage is even lower.

So how does one avoid failure while starting a company? Or why do some startups survive while others fail. Based on my experience of starting a business and running it successfully I have come across five point formula that I feel can help in avoiding common traps for failure.

1. Select the right Industry

Most entrepreneurs make the fundamental mistake of venturing into industries that they are not familiar with. It is very important when you start a business that you are aware of the industry life cycles and business processes. Also the industry selection should depend on the growth stage of the economy of the geography where the business is present.

A good example of this was Infosys that was started just at the start of the technology outsourcing boom. The founders had experience in the industry earlier. The result was phenomenal. I remember this medical colleague of mine who out of enthusiasm opened a fashion boutique. It closed in exactly 6 months.

2. Focus on the financial model

Again another big area of confusion is the finances. Most people would like to start a business with their own savings. Though the thought is noble, often savings disappear soon and one has to start looking for other sources for funding. I think the model should be one where the cash flows start almost immediately and the break-even happens within 12 months. The longer the time for break even the more chances that the business would fail. Also it is best to avoid very heavy investment upfront. Using a rented accommodation or using a home office is a better alternative. Also if the equipment can be leased than bought, it might help reduce the up-front investment burden as well.

3. Be Flexible

Often the business model you had in mind is not the one that presents the most opportunity. So once you realize that there is a better model it’s time to move to it. A good case in point is Naukri. A meeting with Sanjeev Bikchandani revealed that he started Naukri.com as off shoot of his initial venture, which was to create a HR database for recruiters to shortlist relevant candidates. As the launch of his new venture coincided with the growth of the internet, he soon changed the business model to become one of the largest job portals in the country.

4. Add Business value

Often value added services are more profitable than the original product or service. Staying with Naukri.com, once they realized that there was a market for creating resumes and candidates often found it challenging to create compelling resumes, He immediate started value added services which provides resume writing and covering letter among other services.

5. Innovative Promotion

A start up needs very innovative ways to promote itself. Often a startup falls into the traditional promotion trap spending vital money on routes like online advertising or print medium. To beat the clutter a good start up thinks out of the box. The best example of this is Google, which never spent much on promotion except using word of mouth. It is best to remember that the search engine market of that time was dominated by players like Alta Vista, Excite and Ask Jeeves. What differentiated Google were the loyal core followers they had who spread the name by references.

These are some of the parameters that a good start up should look at. But by no means is this a comprehensive list.

So, I would like to hear from you, what are the other critical factors that help a startup survive? How can a new company differentiate. All comments & suggestions are welcome.

Yahoo Stars: Well implemented Celebrity updates aggregator!

Arun Prabhudesai — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:38:26 +0000

The Twitters and Facebook’s and Google Plusses of the world have made one thing simple – Fans can follow their celebrities first hand. However, in last 2 years many celebrities have joined multiple platforms making it difficult to follow your favorite celebrities on a single platform.

Yahoo has come to rescue and made it simple to follow everything that you want to know about your favourite star. Yahoo Stars, the latest initiative by Yahoo brings all Bollywood Star updates on a single platform – And it has been implemented beautifully!

To be honest, there is absolutely nothing new about the concept – In simple words it is an aggregator or sorts that puts together tweets, pictures, videos and updates. Yahoo Stars does not produce any unique content or is not a platform for user generated content as well. Infact, is you want reply to comment on a tweet, you actually do it through Twitter itself. If anything, they have allowed commenting on a Video update.

The USP of Yahoo Stars is in the way they have presented the content – For once, I like it. They have collated the latest tweets, Videos, Pictures, Links & news from various sources and presented it beautifully in a format that will help a fan to get a single one-stop integrated view of everything regarding his / her favorite Bollywood Star.

Yahoo Stars also has a functionality that will allow a fan to explicitly subscribe to updates, which will then inform as soon as a update is posted on the platform.

Give Yahoo Stars a spin and let us know what you think about this new initiative by Yahoo India, Remember, it is still in Beta stage and probably has more in store in future. Yahoo has been lagging behind most of its peers when it comes to launching anything new – so this a welcome change from Yahoo.

100% FDI allowed in LLP firms – Guidelines soon!

Arun Prabhudesai — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:40:27 +0000

In 2008, Government introduced Limited Liability Partnership firms to be formed in India. Globally, LLPs are one of the most popular way to form a company, however, in India it is not taken off as was expected.

In short, LLP is a sort of firm that combines the benefits of a Private Limited Company and a partnership firm. Unlike regular partnerships, an LLP partner is not responsible or liable for another partner’s negligence.

According to ET news, RBI has now agreed to notify FDI rules in limited liability partnership firms. Last year, Govt. had allowed allowed foreign investors to pick up stakes in LLPs through the 100% automatic FDI approval route but the proposal did not come into effect as the RBI did not notify the rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Here is the PDF of directive released by Government last year for Approval for FDI in Limited Liability Partnership firms. Following are the high level guidelines that Govt. had set for the same.

The FDI in LLPs will be implemented in a calibrated manner, beginning with the ‘open’ sectors where monitoring is not required, subject to the following conditions:

LLPs with FDI will be allowed, through the Government approval route, in those sectors / activities where 100% FDI is allowed, through the automatic route and there are
no FDI-linked performance related conditions.
LLPs with FDI will not be allowed to operate in agricultural / plantation activity, print
media or real estate business.
LLPs with FDI will not be eligible to make any downstream investments.

According to me, this should help lot of start-ups in India, who want to start a company with a foreign partner. Also, given that 100% FDI is allowed, foreign investors can now easily put in money in LLP startups.

I am not really an expert in this field – so cannot comment much. Would love to hear readers comment on this who have more knowledge about it

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