Category: Entrepreneurship

  • Marketing Vs. Sales

    Marketing Vs. Sales

    Marketing is a long term investment. You determine the way you want people to perceive you, craft communications to that effect and find the best way to reach the customers. You try to ensure that people can understand your philosophy and gravitate towards you. Marketing creates long term value for the company and if done…

  • 2016 : FoodTech :: 2020 : EduTech

    2016 : FoodTech :: 2020 : EduTech

    In 2016, there was an explosion of food-tech startups. These were not really food-tech. Frankly, there has never been much food-tech in India. What was deemed food-tech was just food delivery startups. It also happened to be a time when more and more wealthy Indians were getting involved in investing. Having seen Flipkart come from…

  • Building for Change

    One of the themes that everyone is required to contend with today is change. Change is inevitable and necessary in these times. Radical changes are being forced upon us and the world is adapting rather quickly to these changes.  Humans hate change! Change in itself is not something that we take to, naturally. Humans tend…

  • Ignorance and Absence

    Ignorance is often the starting point for all of us I have the good fortune of meeting and speaking to hundreds, sometimes thousands of entrepreneurs each month. In all of these conversations as a mentor to be able to help them, I ask them what they are doing. Every so often I come across an…

  • Culture – Strategy – Action

    Culture Eat Strategy for Breakfast Everybody wants to be successful. Each of us who start a venture or join an organisation or pursue a cause; we want to see success. What does success mean? In most organisation whatever is seen as a success; results in progress, esteem, greater opportunities and more income. Since each organisation…

  • What makes a great story?

    I had written a blog on the kinds of stories that every startup needs to have. So what makes for a great story? I am going to share some thoughts on what makes for great stories. The objective of a great story is to be viral and drive greater discovery. Whether that is amongst the…

  • Stories every startup needs

    In every organisation, there is folklore or stories that shape the culture of the company. These stories are very powerful because they remain with the organisation for a long time. Stories are remembered and they are self-propagating. Further, they have great power in shaping how future employees think about the organisation and the steps that…

  • Travel Business – will it ever be the same again?

    I have always enjoyed travel and have visited quite a few nations and cities in my life. Not only that, but I have also myself been involved in the travel business and so it is close to my heart.  A vast majority of my travels have been for work and this is possibly reflective of…

  • The right kind of friction

    Slide a muslin cloth past wet hands.  If your hand is too wet, the cloth gets wet as well and would let your hand easily slide past.  If your hand is dry then the cloth will easily slide past as well. But… If your hand is just a little wet, there is enough friction to…

  • Competition

    Mentoring startups gives one a ring-side view of the way entrepreneurs think. I have often been in a situation where an aspiring entrepreneur wants to pitch me their idea and hear what I wish to think about it. Travelling across the country and meeting thousands of entrepreneurs also means that I hear more than my…