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Floating colony for startup entrepreneurs [Novel Idea?]

guest — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:37:51 +0000

Starting a startup is becoming easier and easier nowadays, with cloud computing eliminating the need for a physical server farm. But what hasn’t become easier, is relocating your startup to Silicon Valley if an entrepreneur from outside the US tries to do so. As usual, technology has progressed far faster than immigration legislation.

Indeed, if an Indian entrepreneur wants to move their startup to Silicon Valley in order to benefit from the abundance of capital, or perhaps to achieve a successful exit (Google has been acquiring a company about every two weeks for the past years), they will have a hard time doing so. At the moment, there is no Startup Visa.

While a bill was introduced in March 2011, the U.S. Congress hasn’t made any progress on it (and with the upcoming elections, it’s unlikely that any progress will be made). Business (B-1) or tourist (B-2) visas for Indian citizens are valid for 10 years, but they don’t allow for income to be earned. H-1B and L-1 visas require an employer. The E-2 investor visa is available only to “Treaty” countries, which include Albania and Kosovo, but not India. And the EB-5 visa requires an investment of $1,000,000.

Now let’s remember that Silicon Valley is in California, very close to its Pacific coast (about 45 minutes by car). Here’s a map. Note that on the map, in the ocean, there is a line that mirrors the coastline, and forms a partial circle around an island. That line is 12 nautical miles from shore (22 kilometers, or 30 minutes by ferry) and is the limit of the United States territorial waters. Outside this line, the U.S. has no jurisdiction.

What if a large ship were anchored in a spot beyond this line? The ship would be outside U.S. jurisdiction, where immigration laws don’t apply. At the same time, the ship would be close enough to shore that travelling to Silicon Valley would take about an hour and a half (ferry + disembarking + car travel).

An entrepreneur from India could live and work on that ship, and use their business / tourist visa to come to Silicon Valley for events or to meet investors. Partners from the mainland could come to the ship at any time as well, since they’d be U.S. residents.

The idea isn’t new – creating permanent communities on the ocean is called “seasteading”. This could well be a feasible & easier way for Indian Entrepreneurs wanting to move Silicon Valley!

What do you think? Will this idea sink or swim?

[The article is written by Dan Dascalescu, CIO of startup in Silicon Valley, Blueseed, that works on creating a seastead (or “shipstead”) especially for startup entrepreneurs. You can check out the most frequently asked questions ]

Focus- how it effects any startup?

rabigupta — Sat, 01 May 2010 17:54:21 +0000

There are many recent examples in far west which proves that no leading company can be a leader forever- innovation and focus has the capability to make any small startup reach the top and challenge any existing biggie in the industry. IBM was overshadowed by Microsoft, then came Google which became a headache for Microsoft and recently Apple’s sudden release of i-(Products) one after another is challenging whole of hardware/software industry. Not to forget Facebook which through a single platform now challenges whole of internet industry. Google no longer is the internet powerhouse and there may be other potential startups which may threaten its web-presence in coming future.

While we look at all of these companies and try to understand the true reasons behind their successes and failures, one common reason which comes to my mind is- The Focus or lack of it! It’s a proven phenomena that any company, no matter how big it grows can only do very well in its core industry.

The core strength or domain always remain same for a Big and successful company. And when one tries to de-focus from its core and tries to focus on other competitive areas that’s exactly the point when it also endangers its leadership position. I’ll give examples from above mentioned companies which you all are already aware of, but it will try to give an answer to the question I’m asking here.

IBM was a huge company which made Business Machines for all kind of business needs. Its strength was cracking the problems for bigger corporations and helping them solve their IT needs. It never focussed on solving consumer specific business needs and that’s exactly where Microsoft fitted in. It solved a consumer problem but then later expanded the solution to serve bigger companies as well. But it never imagined that a small internet startup can become a bigger threat to them in coming future. Google came in and in 10 years flat it took over whole of web marketing space. Google’s core focus was its search and search related ads business and it never took social networking seriously. Facebook took the opportunity and has got the largest number of subscribers among all other social network websites. Facebook is now trying to conquer the web by focussing on its core strength only- i.e. social networking.

The main reason for Apple’s tremendous growth in recent times is that it’s focus hasn’t changed in all these years. They are masters in design and usability front and by combining some ingenious marketing skills they can make any product a market leader.

One key thing to note here is the companies as they grow old their core market saturates, and hence their competency becomes obsolete. They then try to capitalize on those markets which are dominated by small but powerful startups, but since that’s mainly because of desperation and not real urge they tend to lose while fighting with these companies.

Facebook has just got one product as against Google’s 20 odd products and hence it can focus better. It would have been better if Google could use its core strength i.e. Search to create something more valuable rather than creating Buzz to compete in social networking space.

So Startups, you have got a fair chance of taking over any of these companies the only challenge is in finding that potential idea and then focussing on your core strenghts to become a leader :). Your thoughts?

Multiple ways but one goal- to Startup!

rabigupta — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 10:37:51 +0000

During last few months I have met many different type of startups and wannabe entrepreneurs. There are some common characteristics which define almost every entrepreneur like determination, positive attitude and strong will to do something on own.

I have seen that people have different set of reasons to start something. There are a few major categories under which a wannabe entrepreneur starts his business. I tried to understand various situations which leads to a startup. My observations are limited in the sense that I haven’t yet met hundreds of startups, and I would like you to add your ideas with mine over here.

I’m focussing on 3 different ways to startup based on what I have observed-

What an Idea!

The most common reason for starting an entrepreneurial venture is that ‘Spark’! The idea which you think will change the world. The idea is first tested on a part time basis, either with studies or with job and when the need for the idea is understood the plan is taken further.

The only problem with this approach is that it takes some time to get the idea on canvas, as one become’s very much obsessed with the idea part itself. But once the idea is proven at different platforms and is implemented based on feedback received during the period the chances of success increases.

The risk part is also a bit reduced as one generally gets some good backing from influential people during the idea valuation stage. Ideal age for starting up is 20-35 in this case.

Companies like Google started on this premise only.

2. I’m Fed up of this job!

The other reason for starting up is the frustration and inability to execute your own ideas in the office. You are talented and have hell lot of ideas which you think are great. Then you get frustrated to the point that you decide to quit your job, and start something on own. But suddenly you understand that the ideas you could execute in your office are no longer viable keeping in mind the limited resources. So you try and find out something which is related to your work profile and is doable and start working on same.

The main disadvantage is that there is tremendous pressure to prove that you can ‘generate’ ideas which will click in near future. But on the other hand, the advantage lies in the fact that you become 100% dedicated towards the idea of starting up.

The risk factor is higher in this case comparing with the above, simply because the idea is not proven yet. Ideal age for starting up is 25-35 in this case.

Mr. Murthy and his Infosys is a great example where the idea for starting up came after he left his job at Patni.

3. I know how things work!

This is the least risky path which most of the industry veterans choose. They already have huge bank balance and sufficient experience in relevant fields. At one stage they get some high profile people along, set up a fund and start generating money through leads which are already in their contact lists. Such type of entrepreneurs have almost nothing to lose and they start a new business mainly as a hobby and to get a bigger bank balance.

The disadvantage here may be the lost spark, which leads to banal ideas which are already proven! But the advantage is the relevant experience and good client base.

Idea age for founders here is 40-50+.

For e.g. Jagadish Khattar left the post of MD at Maruti and has started ‘Carnation’ which is a multi-brand service centre for Cars. Although his idea is unique but the fact remains that he’s started off in an industry already well known to him.

I know there may be other view-points too, and I’m very much excited to hear them from you :).

Startup Saturday: Experience Vs Risk!

rabigupta — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 07:29:48 +0000

If you ask any successful person his/her reason for being successful, 99 out of 100 would answer experience as one of the most common reasons. Not many would say that risk taking capability has make them successful, though if asked no one would deny that. But there are some genius or super-lucky people like Mark Zuckerberg who reach pinnacle of their career without actually gaining much from their experience. It’s majorly the risk taking capability combined with some other important factors which makes them successful.

The conclusion- You can be successful with or without gaining ‘experience’ but never without taking ‘risks’.

For any wannabe entrepreneur this is one of the most challenging questions- whether to take risk right now or gain some experience before taking the leap? My ‘experience’ has taught me that experience can be gained in several aspects of life which may or may not be directly related to the idea which we are trying to implement.

If you think that the idea which you want to implement is at least 90% ‘directly’ related to your current work, then you can choose to gain more experience before deciding to take the leap, otherwise not!

What I mean by ‘directly related’ here? Let me give you a simple example – if you want to start an online business and you work for an IT biggie then your work is 100% related to your idea but not directly. Because the experience you are gaining there is completely opposite of what you’ll face while starting up. No AC office, no SAP to manage (almost all) your official tasks, no costly software, no free telephone facility and worse no direct Client handling experience or core coding experience.
In such case there is only one thing you are gaining for your startup- money! As soon as you save the money you think will be required to startup, simply quit! Otherwise in this – Experience Vs Risk fight – experience will always win!

I have firmly started believing that young students from Colleges should join startups more often than choosing any big corporate. This risk if students take early in their career will ensure that they gain ‘right’ experience and would help them a lot in deciding their future path. Big corporate put students in a very safe kind of environment which further hinders the chances of taking any risk.

I have seen people who started their career in startups, choosing ‘risk’ to ‘money’ and were graciously excepted later by big companies with a better package and higher position.

The point is you’ll never lose the opportunity to work for such big firms, whether you start low or high in your career -But if you start high your chances of taking risks will decrease and that may not be good for you in case you aspire to reach that pinnacle of success :).

What’s your say on this?

Indian Internet dilemma!

rabigupta — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:58:00 +0000

I know each one of you is expecting an IPL post here, but I believe that you will be reading this post only if- 1. You are not watching IPL or 2. You are not watching IPL over youtube :).

It’s amazing how this internet industry has transformed and has changed many lives. No one could have ever imagined watching live cricket match (IPL is telecasted live with a 5 min delay on youtube) over internet and that too in ‘India’.

I can confidently say that Indian internet audience is quite matured now- they make friends over Facebook, converse over Twitter, watch/upload Videos, Book tickets, do Shopping and banking, review restaurants and what not?

But this post is not about matured internet audience. Audience is matured since they use matured products and 80% of such matured products (I need not to quote here) come from US or other western countries. The point I’m trying to raise here is-

Indian Internet audience is smart enough to discard off any web product which is not world class and hence Indian web companies (product based) find it extremely difficult to create a product which can live up to their expectations.

For past some days I was working on creating a new design for our product, and stumbled upon by many ideas. Many of those ideas came after looking at various other famous websites- some of them were from US, some from Israel and a few from Spain. During this process I understood that I had tremendous pressure for designing something which looks ‘classy’ and web 2.0ish, simply because consumers won’t buy anything which is less in functionality than “Facebook.com” or in looks than “Apple.com”.
When it comes to real web development, India as a market is still amateur. We lack designers who can design another Apple.com or developers who can write as effective codes as their counterparts in Silicon Valley. And I’m talking this from the point of view of a startup. We do have ‘some’ good web designers and developers but they charge huge and cater to a niche market.

So what’s the dilemma I’m talking about here?

Dilemma 1:

What I have seen lately is that so many companies and freelancers start working for Clients without having sufficient experience in the market. For e.g. Yesterday I saw a work profile which said “graduated in 2009, worked for a viral marketing company, left it and currently doing freelancing in SEO and viral marketing!” And that too when this guy’s own website has a rank of over 7 million. No offense here, but my point is- will you ever hire this guy to do SEO for your website?

Also if you want to outsource your work as a startup to some web development firm, you have loads and loads of choices. Really?Yes, you do have but don’t get too excited, as none of them will be able to do the kind of work you’re looking for! Some of them may be cheap and you will think that you can afford them, but at the end you will end up burning your pocket without getting any real value.

Dilemma 2:

Internet is not seen as a Career in India-

It’s hilarious to see college students (tier B and below) thinking of getting a Job at Oracle or Microsoft after doing part time courses in “Oracle DB” or “Visual Basic”.

And when these students pass out they are either placed at “Wipro” or “Infosys” or struggle and later join some “web development” firms. The problem lies here- Students from tier A college join likes of Oracle, tier B either join likes of “TCS” or any decent web firm and tier C or below struggles and then joins a web firm which may be running solely on the basis of a single client. It’s not that there is no good career in Web development, in fact, if you look at west many of the students from technical background choose ‘web’ as a career. Our problem lies in the course structure.

There is no subject related to ‘social media marketing’, ‘PHP’, ‘blogging’ or ‘SEO’ in our colleges, and the truth is 80% of engineers later work directly or indirectly on these platforms only.

It’s time that our education system goes for an overhaul and makes the course structure better oriented towards ‘latest’ technologies. And for those who call themselves an SEO or Social Media expert, I would suggest them to work for some startups first, take them to new heights and then work as a freelancer. What’s your take on this?

PS: All opinions are personal and I don’t intend to target any particular person or web development firm here :).

Startups are like “2012″!

rabigupta — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:06:53 +0000

I don’t know how many of you have watched the Movie “2012”, but I watched it 2 times and found it an extremely interesting one! It’s not just about the story, the way a person can relate to Movie is also appreciative. But somehow I thought that the movie teaches many lessons, especially from an Entrepreneur’s point of View.

There are many instances where a Startup can easily see it’s own picture on the Screen. When I watched the movie second time I could relate some dialogues with my own life. It was quite funny too. For instance there is a scene in 2nd half where they talk of selling shuttle seats for some billions of dollars to a Saudi Sheikh – They argue that it’s unfair – To this US Mayor yells “Do you think without billions of dollar aid from Private Investors this mammoth task was ever possible?”.

Startups also think the same way- don’t they know what we are creating is huge? Why don’t they understand that without some initial investments this mammoth task is impossible :)?

The Movie (for those who haven’t seen) is based on Mayan’s Calendar and Nostradamus’s prediction that this world is going to end by Dec 21st, 2012. They are predicting that due to the increase in temperature of earth’s core, there would be various natural disasters like Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis on a huge scale which would eventually lead to our extinction. The only survivors would be those people having political influence or huge cash reserves.

Initial one hour of Movie is filled with extreme adventure and thrill! It feels like a rollercoaster ride. Very similar to startups -Right?

Initial days of a startup are filled with extreme adventure – taking an idea from concept stage to reality and creating a team of passionate people involves a lot of fun, hard work and luck! At times we face a dead-end (or it looks like one) and then from somewhere we get a ray of hope and things start moving forward. If everything is well by the end of this phase, both startups and movie move forward!

There are many incidents in between where I saw similarity – for e.g. key-people (read Investors here :)..) don’t believe that the problem on hand really exists in first place, even if it exists they believe that they themselves can solve it. But true fighters keep on fighting, until the world stands up and watch what they are doing.

And when the problem reaches a certain level and its visible those key-people buy our idea and then we have to work for them! They even demand that no one else should know about the idea.

Did that happen to you anytime?

The movie is filled with such Dramatic scenes which are pretty much relevant to an Entrepreneur’s life. In one scene there is a conversation like-

“If god wants each one of us to die, then why are we trying? And who all will survive?”

“I think that God only chooses who all will survive. We are lucky that we’re chosen by God”

In the same way, though Startups face intense competition at start only a handpicked are survived and are able to make it big! That’s why entrepreneurs just listen to their heart and don’t worry about competition.

In the end Movie is about saving humankind from extinction. It’s about facing the end, and see how your solution works against all odds to save your life. Facing “The Day” is so similar for startups. The day people are ready to experience your product, it’s like a survival game. But it’s also about the team and how your team members behave during crisis situations. You can’t be selfish enough to not think about others. Unless you learn humanity and work with dignity, you can’t survive!

2012 has it all. Do watch it if you haven’t watched it yet. Even if you have seen, try it again with my point of view :).

Startup Saturday: Indian Startups, Funding, entrepreneurship & more

Arun Prabhudesai — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:34:39 +0000

Startup Saturday is our Weekly Digest that provides latest buzz on Indian Startups & Entrepreneurship.

Quikr gets Rs. 20 crore Funds Infusion from Omdiyar Network & Matrix partners

Quikr, One of the leading horizontal classifieds player in India recently announced Rs. 200 million second round of funding in Quikr Mauritius (a holding company of Quikr India) led by new investor Omidyar Network and returning investor Matrix Partners India.

The top management has also changed a bit with Pranay Chulet, being appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Quikr.

Quikr offers a classifieds website that addresses the needs of local communities in eighteen cities across India. The recent data suggests that more than 1.5 Million people use Quikr to buy and sell a wide range of goods and services, find everything from jobs to homes to a life partner, and connect with others who share their interests.

Its heartening to see that Indian startups getting fund infusion, but what is also quite clear that VC’s prefer growth stage companies and are not willing to Risk their funds on early stage startups.

Vishal Gondal on Indian Startups & Proto.

Vishal has been writing some great posts on Indian Startup Ecosystem in general and his – Are Indian Startup events like Rakhi Ka Swayamvara ? – is one of my favourites. If you have not read it already you should do. He compares the current Farce of TV, Rakhi ka Swayamvar, with what is happening in Indian Ecosystem.

He has also reviewed latest startups presented in this edition of proto. Here is a verbatim transcript:

Vardenchi Motorcycles: AKA. Sexy Looking Custom Bikes

They Rock bcos: Their cool looking bikes, Price range from 2.5 to 15 Lakhs, Fully Customizable

They Suck bcos: Difficult to Scale, Competition from Imported Bikes

Bankbazaar: AKA. Get Loans like Airline Tickets

They Rock bcos: Airline ticket like platform for Loans, Integration with Back-end Systems of Banks, identified customer pain point while getting loans

They Suck bcos: Thousands of Direct Sales Agents trying to sell Loans, Actual Loan process too long, They are just a fancier lead generating tool

GoVasool: AKA. Paisa Vasool Group Buying

They Rock bcos: Group buying cool concept never really exploited, good idea to collaborate with local stores and not try to shut them down like other e-commerce portals

They Suck bcos: Too many sites and stores trying to sell cheap, Getting people in groups to actually commit.

Vigyaapan Technologies: AKA. New Twist to Viral Marketing

They Rock bcos: Their idea of Queen Bee sounds great, Mobile Operators can find a new way to send marketing spam

They Suck bcos: Difficult to establish link between queen bee and drone purchase, Privacy issues, Simple to replicate by anyone who knows maths.

Automotive Robotics: AKA. Viagra for your Small Car

They Rock bcos: They can make your Maruti run like a Honda, Bolt on Kits so scalable

They Suck bcos: Indian Roads, Consumer education now how many people know the difference between 120BHP and 190BHP, Value for Money ?

ConWizta: AKA. Ebay for Tests

They Rock bcos: Enables almost any one to start giving tests, unique concept

They Suck bcos: Cluttered Space, Without credibility of teacher difficult to attract students

Vrixx Education Solutions: AKA. ERP your College

They Rock bcos: ERP for colleges looks like a need of the hour, Focus on education segment

They Suck bcos: Long sales cycle, Do colleges really want this and have they money?

English Seekho: AKA. Number Ghomoo English Seekho

They Rock bcos: Rural Focus on VAS, Aspirational English learning segment

They Suck bcos: What happens when Novelty wares out?, Easy to replicate by big well established players, Can someone really learn on the phone?

TestMerit: AKA. Another Online Test

They Rock bcos: Different twist on the Online Test space

They Suck bcos: Cluttered space, Very little differentiation between competitors

PebbleTalk: AKA. Company Discussion board taken to next level

They Rock bcos: Interesting communication and social engagement software, SMS and Outlook Integration

They Suck bcos: Focus on Enterprise segment makes growth restrictive, can be hit by the Google Wave

Aerosoft Systems: AKA. Credit Card Revenue Reconciliation

They Rock bcos: Saves companies money, Credit Card reconciliation real problem!

They Suck bcos: Services model, Easy to replicate

HyCa Technologies: AKA. Science Fiction made to solve real problems

They Rock bcos: Real IP at work, Cheaper, better, faster

They Suck bcos: I don’t fully understand what they actually do!

Intsolvers Technologies: AKA. Pipe Cleaning System

They Rock bcos: Real IP at work, Cheaper, better, faster

They Suck bcos: Dont know how big the market is, Need good mfg. support as product still in prototype

TouchMagix Media:AKA. Interactive Out of Home Media

They Rock bcos: Allows high level of interaction in retail spaces, Brands looking for new ideas to engage with customers

They Suck bcos: Advertising model not scalable, Expensive, More a novelty will the brands try it again?

Thanks Vishal for such a nice roundup of Proto Showcase startups

The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur

If you are an Entrepreneur, you should read this – See how you compare yourself with a Typical Entrepreneur

Thats it for this edition of Startup Saturday News Digest – hope you guys are having a great weekend.

Startup Saturday: India News Digest

Arun Prabhudesai — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:21:52 +0000

If you are not aware what is Startup Saturday, please read this first. Today will be the first installment of daily subject wise news digest that we have introduced.

Here it goes:

Proto.in event to be held in Pune on 25th July

India’s premier Startup event Proto will be held in Pune on 25th July. This is by far the must-attend event for every entrepreneur, wanna-be entrepreneur, startups and even for SMB’s looking for investment.

The event is attended by all the notable VC’s in India and many startups have benefitted a lot from this event (including my own startup – hover.in).

Quick Facts:

Event Date: July 25^th, 2009
Venue: Dewang Mehta Auditorium
Address: Persistant Systems, Senapati Bapat Road (Near ICC Towers), Pune
Expected Audience: 400 – 500
Ticket Cost: Rs. 750/-

If you have not registered yourself yet, please do it now.

Online Education seems to be the flavour of the season for Indian startups

Education seems to be the hot favorite right now, not only with entrepreneurs, but also with the VCs and they are betting big on it.

Accentium Web, which is behind SecondShaadi.com and Gaadi.com, has now launched StudyTimes.com, an online education portal that aims to help students know about admission related information such as application deadlines, exam format and exam results about various colleges and courses in India and abroad.

Close behind heels are Malyalam Manorama guys who have launched (and later retracted, I guess) an education portal – ManoramaHorizon – probably an extension to their popular local language portal.

But the biggest of all was the third round funding of Tutorvista. Even a first round funding is rare for an Indian startup, however, Tutorvista has managed to garner whooping $19 million in third round funding from Pearson, Lightspeed Ventures and Manipal Group.

The online education provider raised $12.5 million from the UK based publishing giant Pearson Group and another $6.5 million from the existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG).

And now time for some interesting articles written by other startup bloggers:

StartupCentral has written a good article on Why Venture Capitalists turn Entrepreneurs.
Ashish has written about Google launching offline Newspaper print campaign to promote search. Incidentally, it was picked up by Techcrunch..sweet!

That wraps up our first news digest of Startup Saturday . If you have come across any interesting article on startups and want to feature it, do get in touch with us.