Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Insight of the day!

You Rock!

I had my "eureka moment" today.

First, please allow me to present the context: Sometime ago, I read the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report and a statistic stayed with me - the total number of entrepreneurs trying to start a business is around 300 Million. And according to analysis done by Mr. Moya Mason the figure may be as high as 472 Million entrepreneurs trying to start a business.

Now, today most of these entrepreneurs do not have Internet access and most are not in developed countries. But let us think about the one thing they all need. They need to tell their story. They need to promote themselves. They need to build an audience.

It is true that the cost of marketing has come down tremendously in the social media world, but it is NOT free. Buying space in traditional media is expensive. Journalists only cover a small cross-section based on their interests. And everything else from Google to Facebook is quite expensive (although the first campaign is generally very cheap and gives you a rush as you attract an audience but that rush soon fades away - please talk to the thousands of souls who have built mobile apps).

Here is the insight of the day - what if we could invest in supporting millions of entrepreneurs promote themselves! Help them get supporters! Give them a fighting chance to succeed. Please allow me to venture a guess here - this has got to be good. Helping entrepreneurs succeed! Making them feel like rock stars! Cheering them on! Helping them change the world!

Think about it - 400 Million Entrepreneurs - most will be going online for the FIRST time in the next few years! Exciting times!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Why I believe that 2012-2014 will be the "golden age" of innovation?


Rising!
Before you label me as a super optimist, please allow me to state my assumptions regarding the context:

The overall economic horizon will remain very rough: The next two years are going to be very tough for medium and large companies who focus on European markets - especially France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and United Kingdom. 2012 and 2013 will also be tough for traditionally more resilient economies like Germany and Switzerland because they focus on exports to keep growth or rely on tourism from their neighbors and around the world. And aggregate demand will remain low as consumer confidence will remain shaky in most parts of the world.

Leadership will be more rhetoric and less action: Most incumbent CEO of large companies as well as political leaders will talk a good talk but do little to spur real investment, however there will be exceptions that will break the drudgery of incompetence and insincerity. The reason is "short-termism" as CEO's have to make their quarterly numbers in an exceptionally turbulent market and political leaders have re-election on their horizon. They will be forced to go to various talk shows, conferences and meetings to make grand proclamations but their opponents (in politics) and accountants (in business) will ensure that the real investment will not be made and job losses will be announced. This will further weaken the consumer confidence and further accelerate the viscous circle.

So why do I believe that the next two years will usher in the golden age of innovation in South & North America, Europe and various parts of Africa and Asia-Pacific?

The simple answer is: People will be forced to find new sources of income to live a decent life. And that will spur innovation. My goal is to play a part in this revolution.





Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Entrepreneurship is an art form

Entrepreneurship is an art form, ask any entrepreneur!

Many believe that entrepreneurship is a scientific process - business planning before you prototype followed by testing and then technical launch followed by market launch and subsequent success. This is almost like describing that a painter conducts research followed by mixing the paint and getting the canvas ready so he can apply his brush with harmonious precision. That is clearly not true.

What is true is that entrepreneurship is a collaborative art form. Here is why?

1. All art forms focus on self expression, so does entrepreneurship. All entrepreneurs see opportunity where others only see risks and by the time others do see the opportunities, great artists re-invent themselves and move on.

2. All artists collaborate with like-minded artists irrespective of age, race etc. This is so true of entrepreneurship!

3. Most artists struggle and have to overcome many hurdles, before they find recognition by their peers (hence the popularity of Oscars etc). And the ones who find success without a struggle find it extremely difficult to sustain balance.  

Now at Majamba, we are creating something very cool that you will love. Watch out for mid-February. I saw the preview today...amazing!


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Rising in 2012!

Rising in 2012

During my winter break apart from meeting family and friends, I read newspapers, watched TV and hardly touched the computer. What I discovered is that there is a lot of fear out there. Politicians (especially in Europe) are leveling with their citizens that the year 2012 is going to be tough. They are certainly doing a good job in bringing down the expectations. There is so much fear, uncertainty and doubt that people are freezing.

Obviously, people are uncomfortable with the present situation and current leadership in Europe, US and Asia is distracted due to various reasons - reelection for one. As a result, half baked and disconnected statements about the future are doing more to scare the people instead of providing a clear way forward. That is really not nice.

So what does it mean for Majamba? Should we wait for others to provide leadership or should we pick up mantle and rise to the challenge. Well, we choose to rise! Here is the plan:

1. Team Focus: We now have a balanced team that is now cooking up more good stuff. We have learnt a lot over the past few months. It's not just about one person's ideas but complementing each other ideas and building something new which each team member can take pride in.

2. User Focus: We are focusing much more on our users, our customers. We continue to develop what they want. Over 900 people have used Majamba in the past 3 months. Our users tell us that they like what they see BUT they need more content. In 2012, we plan to rise above our capabilities to do something good.

3. Partner Focus: We are nothing without our partners. They have trusted us and provided us with all the support we could have asked for. Now it's our turn to support them meet their objectives.

This is the year, where we will focus on moving forward. Whatever the odds, keep moving forward (Badhe Chalo! in Hindi).