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Entrepreneurship, technology and innovation have never been as important in our world as they are today. With that, entrepreneurs and innovators across India need all the help they can get through mentors and meeting the right investors.

At Startup Weekend (www.StartupWeekend.org) we bring together aspiring entrepreneurs and provide a platform to give shape to their ideas.

Startup Weekend (www.StartupWeekend.org) is founded by Andrew Hyde in 2007 and funded by Kauffman Foundation. You can read more about us at http://startupweekend.org/about/our-story/

What happens at SW?

More than 100 aspiring minds come together to identify ideas to give shape. All 100 can share their ideas or they can be part of another idea. Ideas are shortlisted, teams are formed and over the next 48 Hours, the idea takes shape. We have Investors, Idea Evaluators, and Mentors available to guide teams through the process. On the last day, ideas are presented and the shortlisted ideas take away cool prizes.

Startup Weekend in India

Startup Weekend came to India in 2011. The first two events were organized in Delhi (March 4-6, 2011, http://delhi.startupweekend.org) and Bangalore (March 11-13, 2011, http://bangalore.startupweekend.org).

During Delhi Startup Weekend, 34 Ideas were Pitched, 10 Teams formed; 8 Partners, 5 Mentors.
During Bangalore Startup Weekend, 67 Ideas were Pitched, 15 Teams formed; 7 Partners, 4 Mentors, 20% of teams won prizes.
Now, we are bringing Startup Weekend to Hyderabad from 2-4 September 2011.

To know more about the event, visit http://bangalore.startupweekend.org. You may also join our announcement only mailing list at https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/startupweekendind, which will keep you posted on the event and other details.

I wanted to move  to a car as there are no SUV’s in the price range I was looking Started my research in January 2011 and it took me five months to close in to Cruze.

Honda Civic was in my mind. Like many other reviewer’s, I was also skeptical about the ground clearance. Let me share my experience. One day, in December 2010, I went to Magnum Honda at Mekhri Circle and was speaking to their sales person, Mr. Santhosh, a wonderful sales person. When I talked to him about the ground clearance, he said only one thing, “I will give you the complete list of Civic owners in Bangalore and Bellary (a mining area in Karnataka where the roads are very bad and this I heard and I have never been there), you randomly pick any 10 numbers, call them and ask them if they have spent any money on the car maintenance because of the low ground clearance and even if two out of the ten you choose say yes, then I will get you the car at an unbelievable price for you” are the exact words he told me. I was really impressed with his challenge. Also, if there are people spending around 15-17 Lakhs on the car and if this was a real big problem, there would not have been any sales for the car was my thought. Also, he bough the car and took me for a long drive and made me drive in places where there is no road and also ensure that i went on all the speed breakers. I did hit the bottom of the car when was crossing few speed breakers, but it was only scratching my heart and not the car I was very impressed with the confidence of Mr. Santhosh. My parents liked the car and especially, my mom was very impressed because it had a very large rare door which was making it very convenient for her to get in and out. My mom loved the silver colour and her pick was the Civic with Silver colour.

Chevrolet Cruze – I test drove this car way back in November 2010 and was very impressed in the first ride. My heart went to it, but somehow could not relate an American Car with a Diesel engine; Didn’t know the history of Cruze by then and now, I know. So, accepted

4. Ability to do long drives without tiring me

One of the most important factors for me. I got used to a bit powerful car and wanted my next one to be a bit more powerful, not just in the books, but in actual performance too. (Scorpio comes with a 122 PS @4000 RPM Power, but the wheel base and Torque of 290Nm @1800 RPM gives you the feeling of power).

Civic promises a 132 BHP powered petrol engine but losses it’s edge in the torque with 172Nm@4300 rpm.

Cruze comes with a 150 BHP 2.0 Ltr VCDi engine with a displacement of 1999 CC and 327Nm@2600 rpm. However if you test drive both, you will clearly see the difference in the initial pick up itself.

This was the killer. By now, I have almost decided on Cruze

I am not going into the finer details, both cars come with ABS. However, Cruze comes only with ABS and Frond and Rare Disk Breaks, where as the Civic comes with ABS, EBD and BA along with Front Ventilated Disc Breaks and Disc Breaks for the Rare.

What is ABS and EBD? Read the definition here
.

Ability to do long drives, without tiring me

This is quite natural for everyone and I am no exception. I earn my money and naturally, it should not go waste. For me, Car is an Investment (I am sure for any Man, it is), but a little more for me.

Mr. Arun is a very calm and sober Sales person. He has been with Trident for over 8 Years and ensures that the customer is happy with their selection I bugged him to the core with my questions. I used to call him once in a week (I waited for 4 weeks for the Cruze) for a test drive and he patiently used to come and give me a ride…

I read this book way back in early 2005 and it did quite change my thought process. Even though this book focus’s on helping Organizations understand how Innovative Products work in the Emerging markets, there is a key take away for Social conscious people like me.

The book embarks on a journey, in which Late Dr. Prahlad argues that organizations always work with the top and middle of the pyramid, but forget the largest part of the pyramid. Any products and service can be produced at better quality for a lower price when it reaches many more than what is anticipated. The discussion/argument is not about the exclusive products like cars or luxury items, but others which are quite necessary. The book takes you thorough case studies of organization who have innovated to help people who absolutely need few things, ranging from Home to HealthCare to daily consumables.

I am not going to go deep into any of the case studies, but would like to share how it motivated me to think differently. Before I read this book, my understanding of the world and organizations was very limited, but this book opened my eyes to a whole new world of understanding what consumer needs and how this has changed they organizations did business.

Today, we have organizations building even cars exclusively for the price sensitive population (Tata Nano car which costs only $2,500). The products and services which have been innovated for the bottom of the pyramid (price sensitive population) also has impacted the middle and top of the pyramid. Organizations realized this a bit late. The prime understanding of any good producer is that any product/service accepted by consumers will always be accepted. However, one aspect which organizations miss is that even in non-price sensitive markets, people consume only limited quantities. However, when you produce goods and services in smaller quantities, acceptance might also go up!

Look at the classic example of Aravind Eye Clinic in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. This organization has constantly innovated from the beginning to provide cost effective eye care. If you speak to the founder, his inspiration is McDonald’s. He was amazed the Quality of food available at any of the McDonald’s outlets across the world, which is precisely the same anywhere and everywhere. Being an ophthalmologist, he wanted to create something which has the same quality anywhere and everywhere. Today, Aravind Eye Clinic performs more than 600 eye surgeries each day and these surgeries cost as low as $50. What is the outcome? Acceptance in the 80% of Rural India that they too can better their lives.

If I keep quoting case studies, the list goes on. However, the key take away for me is to produce something/anything which can be accepted at the bottom of the pyramid and impacts their lives. This will translate to acceptance at the middle and top of the pyramid too.

HealthCare is one of the key parameters in which a country’s Development and stature are measured. To begin this discussion, let us first understand the structure of HealthCare in the Indian Context.

The key theme around the conference and its speakers has been “Innovation”.

Conference was well organized and there were eminent people who came to share their experiences including Mr. T N Seshan, former CEC of India. I could capture few interesting points during the conference and here, I am sharing them in Q&A format which could probably provoke your thought process.

How do we help “team” think Innovatively?

Many managers struggle with this. Innovation is not a skill, but attitude and the thought process. How can we change someone’s thought process when they are tuned to a particular style? Especially the learning style which we grew up with? One noble Professor who was part of the Panel  provided an interesting thought. Managers should keep pushing what he calls Stress Relievers. What he recommended is that we should push team members to inculcate the habit of reading. Along with this, Management should periodically give Puzzles to its team (group and Individual) and encourage them to solve. This will help them sharpen their thought process and start thinking of new ways of solving real live problems.

Helping team to de-stress regularly by encouraging them in Sports and Dancing is another way of motivating team to think different.

We are so used to follow instructions and solving problems in School and at College. What we need is a different way of solving problems. This comes only when Management/Managers give the opportunity to its team members to think different. Manager’s should definitely understand how to balance the pressure of the demanding milestones and also give the liberty to team members to think and solve a problem. Also, the success for the organization comes when Managers give the same freedom to their Managers.

Why is India far from Innovation?

Panelists had various thoughts on this. One perspective which struck chord with the audience is that we are more Service Driven. Others agreed, however also highlighted that there are various organizations which have started thinking in these lines. Intel’s Celeron processor was completely born out of India. There are many other innovations which are coming out from India. However, the cycle is taking longer due to the infrastructure. What I mean by Infrastructure is the system we have – Our Education System, Incubation Cells, Government Support, Investments and mentorship. These are working today, however, there is loads of differences when it comes to execution. We are definitely in-line, however it is taking longer than the usual cycle.

What are organizations NOT providing to foster Innovation?

One aspect which many have agreed is the timeframe and the service mindset. We need to Quantify results quickly than the anticipated time. This happens everywhere and most of the times. This becomes a burden for Innovation. Organizations need to develop their Delivery Models based on this. Time required for Innovation in solving the problem should be considered while estimating their timelines for Delivery. This builds the culture of Innovation in the organization and also teams are motivated to think in this direction. Organizations which have incorporated this have definitely been successful – Google (20% of time goes towards working on an individual’s passion), ThoughtWorks (Services organization) have been the true differentiators. There are many organizations across the globe, but mentioned the above examples so that they can easily be referenced.

How do you measure Innovation?

Many participants agreed that they use Innovation Index. Others who shared their experiences mentioned that they measure what needs to be delivered to how it is being delivered, essentially metrics.

For each of their goals, organizations should have a quantifiable measurement criteria and this helps measure their Innovation. How many different and effective ways have been proposed to solve a problem is what needs to be measured. This becomes a benchmark in the Organizations measurement.

Does aggressive growth need rapid Innovation?

It depends. There are various parameters in understanding what the end goal is. Organization Goals  take the center stage. What is the Priority of the organization – Growth or Innovative Solutions? Until this is answered, one cannot determine if each of them are inter-connected or inter-dependent.

Is Competition killing Innovation?

One Professor who was part of the Panel started with an interesting perspective on various Era’s:

Socialist – The Nehru age. We need to become an industrial economy to build the country.
LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) – This happened across the globe. Each country wanted to build their economy to establish themselves.
WTO (World of Threats and Opportunities) – This is today. We have an Opportunity and Threat sitting beside each other all the time.
Did this kill Innovation? NO. What ever the perspective is, Innovation happens all the time and organizations ensure they stick to what they are doing. Going forward also, these aspects are always existing and how we handle them and build ourselves is what counts.

“Innovation is Attitude” – How can we develop this attitude?

No rocket science. Build the attitude from day one. Give the liberty to your teams to think on their own. Do not provide them with solutions to solve problems (like in a typical System Development Lifecycle). Let teams think for themselves and propose solutions. Match with what your experts have in mind and arrive at a cumulative solutions. This will provide confidence to your teams to think independently.

I was present for a session by Sudhir of Lumium Innovations, Ahmedabad and that was very different.  Lumium is working towards becoming the Indian IDEO. He had a different perspective on thinking out of the box. He says that there is Nothing outside the box, but it is just a bigger box.

The session name on the agenda attracted double the capacity of the auditorium. The initial case-studies he presented which they were working on, gave a different light to many in the auditorium, but what attracted me is one slide he shared toward the end on the three tangents of the Box.

There are three tangents to the graph – Past, Present & Future

Past

• Cumulative Learning
• Discrete Experiences

Present

• Systems
• Consumers

Future

• Technology
• Bio mimicry

What happened in the Past is that we banked on our cumulative learning. Imagine the last project you worked on?  The project schedule was prepared based on a similar project done earlier. The design and architecture is based on past experiences of the Architects (This is what they are paid for, right?). The pricing has been based on the projected number of hours taken to complete the project (again, this goes back to referencing earlier projects). There is nothing wrong in this. It is a very well accepted perspective.

In the book Super Crunchers, Ian Ayres begins the book with a reference to column  in a famous wine magazine which mentions that a particular place in France, at a particular latitude and longitude and at a particular time frame produced the best wine in the world till date. How did this come about? This is based on various calculation of the location of the vineyard, climatic conditions and the quality of grapes grown. This came into writing when the columnist referred to various statistics of wine produced around the world. The prediction (even though its in the future) was based on historical data. He did not predict that we will have the best wine prepared in the future, but it is based on the past data.

What is happening at Present is that we are building systems based on the consumers requirement. There is no referential data available. Look at all the applications which are being developed for the Mobile space as an illustration. There is no reference because the mobile space is re-inventing itself everyday. A new kind of platform is being conceptualized and brought to the real world almost every day.

What will happen in the Future is that our reference point is going to be Technology and inclusion of Bio mimicry. How technology takes shape and how consumers want o see what the want and demand what they see.

Most of the notes above are my interpretations and my examples. Feel free to shoot your thoughts.

As I followed the games, I understood that this time it is going to be a different one. As expected, all “favorites” were out in either the league or Super 16′s. One team which has stood out was the Spain and there are definitely lessons to be learned from them. Here are the top 6 Leadership Lessons I learned:

Persistent – Even though they lost their first match, it is their Determination to win what mattered. The only thing which they concentrated was the game. Who ever the opponent is, the game came from the heart.

This is exactly what is needed from a Leader. No matter what the situation is, who the opponent is and what the game is, you need to have the determination to handle the game. Winning and Loosing are two sides of the game and there is nothing like he/she is stronger than me, more educated than me, have more experience than me.. These are all reasons we give ourselves. The fear of loss in us becomes the strength to the opponent and this is what takes the game away. You need to be confident of yourself and play it with your heart and no matter what, success is yours.

Consistent – Consistency comes from the mind. The Determination to always excel is what makes you a winner. Failure is the stepping stone to success, and if you close your mind thinking that the game is over, it is long over. Consistency is a must quality in each of us to make the difference and this does not come in a day, it is a constant practice. Also, when you are being consistent, you do not change the rules of the game, but you change the way you play. Just imagine if Gandhiji stopped his ‘Non-Violence’ strategy because he is not able to move forward? Would we have got Independence? He kept to the rules of the game, but kept on sharpening his playing skills which ultimately achieved what has to be achieved. From the beginning the Spanish kept to their cool side and only concentrated on being the wall to the opponent. They used every opportunity to hit a goal.

n FAILURE = 1 SUCCESS – It does not matter how many times you loose, but it matters if you have won the crucial game or not. In real life, no one wins everyday, but just because of that, if you stop practicing being consistent and determined and kept on changing your strategy, you will NEVER win. Only when you fail many times will you know how to be successful. Do you think it was any different with the Spain matches?

Goal! – You should DEFINE and quantify what you want to achieve and this is the key to success. But, this does not mean you bend the rules to reach your goal. In movies, we see always the Villan bends rules to become the winner, but the Hero always plays the game following the rules, and who wins? Even though movies are fictitious, the fiction comes from real life. The Spanish always got their goals (remember, they hold a record this year for scoring the least number of goals and still winning what matters) when they wanted to. They has to work hard for it, but when you are just determined to get it, you know you would get it.

TEAM WORK – Last but not the least, its all in the Team. Team should stick to their roles and live up to play the best of their capacity all the time. If one starts thinking that I am superior than the other, that’s it, the game is all over. Each one in the Spanish team came from different parts of the country but played together for one club until they achieved what they want. It’s all in the TEAM and there is never an Individual Winner, also will never be.

Play the way, the Game needs to be Played – You are playing a very truthful and committed game, but opponents are not always the same. You do not run away from a mosquito, but you do run when you see a Tiger. Why? In the last two games which mattered, the Spanish played the way the opponent was playing. With Germany, there were no fouls at all, but with the Dutch, the match holds a record for the maximum number of cards. However, one key aspect here one needs to remember, this should not deviate from the way the game needs to be played. You mend your game and not the rules!

Stay Cool – ALWAYS: If you noticed the games played, Coach played an important role and the one thing you notice is that he has always been cool.  No game can be played in tension and no game can be won with a disturbed mind.

The most important aspect of Leadership is keeping yourself Cool and Lite, else every decision you take turns out to be a disaster.

Recently, I spoke with a group of Web Application experts from RedBus on how can we reduce cost while testing web applications. How much ever the technology has advanced, few basic aspects remain the same and when you do them correctly, you can reduce huge over-head’s.

You may use any engineering model for your development (Spiral, Waterfall, Agile etc), but your test strategy should include the basics and get it right. The fundamental aspects of Inspections, Reviews and Checklists become very important.

Reviews
This is one of the oldest and proven forms of Testing. Reviews demand understanding of the domain and the technology by each and every stakeholder of making the system work as required. Reviews happen within the team and also by a knowledgeable source – Peer-Reviews and Expert Reviews. Peer reviews are within the team by an Architect or the Designer and also a review by an expert in the domain and the system will add a lot of value. One other review is by the end-user. Requirements are gathered by the Business Analyst or the given by the End-user. Having a review of the functionality of the system by the End-user will ensure that you building the system right and adds value to the end user. In case of the web application and it is our solution, a review of the functionality by your friends or family will give you a third perspective.

Imagine a rocket launch or an airplane with out the review… Reviews exist in all industries and this is one of the most accepted and cost-effective way of testing.

Inspections
Inspecting the system is again a task of the expert. Inspections provide opportunity for ad-hoc testing and ensure all requirements are covered while building and not at the end.

Checklist
Checklists help in ensuring you check for the key functionality, but not at an intense level. For example, if you are building a user log in functionality for your web-site, the checklist will read something like this:

1. Page load with all required fields?
2. Correct User Name and wrong password?
3. Incorrect User Name and random password?
4. Blank User Name and Password fields?
5. Blank User Name and random Password?
6. Blank Password and random User Name?

In a checklist, you do not get into the details. You will check for the appropriate error messages which need to be shown. Checklists are most effective when you make them as comprehensive as possible. Try speaking to a Pilot and he will tell you how their checklists are designed.

The above are the common Cost effective testing method’s. Threat modeling and Penetration Testing are two techniques which are important for web applications. In Threat modeling, you will design various models of how the application can be intruded once deployed. Considering these models, you test the application. However, it is not practical that few people can think of all the various ways an application can be intruded. Hence, a good threat model does not mean that the application is safe in all aspects.

Recently, I was reading The Checklist Manifesto by Dr. Atul Gawande and it shows the power of checklists. Dr. Atul showcases his experiences of usage of checklists in Construction, Airplane’s and Hospitals and this is an amazing read to see for yourself, how these small checklists make life so easy to work.

Today, we have the new parameters of Entrepreneurship shaping up. Innovations are shaping the future. People are not only expecting better solutions for problems, but smarter ones. The future of Entrepreneurship and Innovation lies in creating the market and just not bringing out new solutions.

What is Creating New Market?

Let me start with an Illustration – Today, in developing countries, HealthCare is one of the primary focus for building a healthier future. However, with no strong HealthCare framework for meeting the demands of hungry consumers, HealthCare organizations (Hospitals and Medical Schools) design and operate very independently. What misses is the “integrator” for providing Quality HealthCare. Each organization has its own way of handling medical records and the system. Instead, “single-point” solutions is the need of the day. This is not the problem in India, but across the world.

The next aspect of Innovating for the future demands “Education”. Educating the customer gives better mileage to the Innovation rather than creating something and leaving it for the customer to read and understand.

One of the most recent advertisements (advertisements are the closest to Customer Education) I saw and loved its thoughtfulness is the Volkswagen Polo Ground Clearance advertisement. VW came to India just few Years ago and they have been really bombarding commercials (which make sense to Indian Customer) of their brand and in just a very short period of time have become a very common name. Mercedes, Honda, Toyota have been in India for long enough but still not many people cannot identify the car (at least few models). What i am referring to here is the time to market and customer education (awareness).
Any Innovation does not make sense unless it reaches its target customer and also creates a sizeable customer base.

How to Create your Market?

• Create a prototype of your idea (can be as simple and stupid as you want, but which gives a near picture of what the final Innovation would look like).
• Associate your Innovation to a cost.
• Educate your potential buyer on how it can ease out their effort in addressing the problem you are solving (Provide the USP)
• Sell!
• Ask them to try and give you feedback.
• Will they buy your Innovation at the price you have fixed or do they think twice and bargain??

After you win confidence of your potential customers, try it with outsiders (colleagues, acquaintances etc) and see what their reaction would be. Will they buy and use?

The last aspect what you need to consider is the longevity of your Innovation. How long will it take your customer to come back? If your customer has to come back regularly, what is that which makes them come back to you and not your competitors? How long can you sustain your customers before loosing them? Will they come back?

If your Innovation is a one time solution, how effective it is and what is the your Business Model to add enhancements and keep your market going?

…This chain goes on.
Remember to always Educate your customer on what particular problem your Innovation will solve, which makes meaning and this will help you see a new world of opportunities opening up.

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• Social Media workshop for NGO professionals in New Delhi : 27th Aprilhttp://j.mp/90Qof5
• Will Foursquare Badges Really Help Newspapers? http://j.mp/dD9Lyr
• Best Buy Awards 10 Youth-Led Teams Funding to Expand Social Ventureshttp://j.mp/bsGrxP
• There is No GPS for Innovation http://j.mp/9aFCww
• Mary Roach: 10 things you didn’t know about orgasm http://bit.ly/2L2YDg #TED
• Innovating your Business Model http://bit.ly/9bPIz3
• Can Social Media hinder Innovation http://bit.ly/b2LW9V
• Are you linkedin to Innovation?http://bit.ly/apDixw
• Storytelling in Social Media http://bit.ly/d779hE
• What if Innovation was the norm? http://bit.ly/c0r4xx
• CKP’s testimony to the need for foresight in management http://bit.ly/bMFDxa
• Are you going to Innovate? http://bit.ly/cOkwtm
• Intangible Innovation http://bit.ly/dc9yzy
• Five things I don’t know about HealthCare http://bit.ly/asr8u6
• Indian Outsources should look for Rural Talent http://bit.ly/97kEFq
• How Poverty is Calculated in India http://bit.ly/9vvSSq
• Dasra is inviting applications for its Social Impact Program upto June 30 2010.http://bit.ly/atp2xT
• 9 Ways to breath life into your Blog http://bit.ly/clgQ6o
• The art of Overshare http://bit.ly/cvhhdj
• The future of Social Software http://bit.ly/9EXxks
• 26 Reasons why Brainstorming Sessions fail http://bit.ly/cbTwbG
• Amazon’s Smart Innovation Strategy http://bit.ly/cRHcHJ
• Guiding Principals of Open Innovation http://bit.ly/a9hRSJ
• Top 10 Innovation Imperative http://bit.ly/aCy1Q6
• 35 Critical Thinking Strategies http://bit.ly/bBSnAo
• Innovation is Solving Problems without Constraints http://bit.ly/92GEGs
• What is Pricing Mode? http://bit.ly/brvr8Z
• A Tribute to CKP http://bit.ly/dnikln
• Your Competitors are your Customers http://bit.ly/9S3lTO
• 20 University startup’s from VentureLab Invite you to VentureConnect 2010http://bit.ly/9NlteM
• The State of Internet http://bit.ly/agGaHt
• BlackBerry Vs iPhone http://bit.ly/bLZoZM
• Microsoft launches Social Networking Platform for Politicians http://bit.ly/d9XBUN
• Idea Valuation - http://bit.ly/drdP7r #StartupSaturday
• Importance of Storytelling to Innovation http://bit.ly/b9ZXD9
• World Innovation Forum Scavenger Challenge #1 http://bit.ly/9v3Rao
• 2010: The year of Innovation and Entrepreneurs in Middle East http://bit.ly/aY6j41
• Dell Partners with Entrepreneurship Development Board to help Entrepreneurs in Indiahttp://bit.ly/cC5V37
• 6 Ingredients for Successful Innovation http://bit.ly/cjHYpy
• Why ‘Top Down’ Innovation is Difficult http://bit.ly/cD5UeS
• Building Deep Innovation Capabilities http://bit.ly/9WU1aM
• 5 Key Questions for Quick Decisions http://bit.ly/bKUdUw
• Avoiding Innovation Chaos http://bit.ly/bNYl4z
• Where’s your Innovation Friction? http://bit.ly/dtoeYV
• Seven Tips for Proving Your Business Model http://bit.ly/awljft
• Open Innovation Frustration http://bit.ly/b5vLl6
• Experiments – The Key to Innovation http://bit.ly/bBlCOc #Innovation
• Wolfram Alpha Wants to Be a Google Maps for Data http://bit.ly/bAbjBC
• 10 Simple Google Search Tricks http://bit.ly/aP6oMg
• Cisco Opens Entrepreneurship Institute http://bit.ly/c56jQ0
• What makes great Employees? http://bit.ly/dxsLbJ
• 50 Photography lessons you should take for fun http://bit.ly/d3xNi3 #Photography
• Innovate How you Innovate http://bit.ly/bwgiKB #Innovation
• The four currents of a Culture of Innovation http://bit.ly/azGrT0 #Innovation
• How to build your capacity to make ideas Happen http://bit.ly/9BiJik #Innovation
• Innovation Perspectives: Designing your Organization and Culture http://bit.ly/bnpvIm
• Seth Godin on the Power of remarkable ideas http://bit.ly/amdxj1 #Innovation
• Twitter attempts to filter Tweets http://bit.ly/9038QU #Twitter
• 11 Ways to Implement a Culture of Innovation http://bit.ly/8XUxN1 #Innovation
• Innovation Equality http://bit.ly/9JqbxV #Innovation
• Innovation Metrics – A Whole Brain Strategy http://bit.ly/cXX4WT #Innovation
• The age of Innovation http://bit.ly/bXXIWE #Innovation
• Key to Successful Innovation Leadership http://bit.ly/b8maZ3 #Innovation
• Rise of Innovation Ninja’s http://bit.ly/9P6D8P #Innovation
• Now Open Innovation Resource Center on nnovationTools.com http://bit.ly/bO9jPo#Innovation
• Empathy Driven Innovation http://bit.ly/d6NRPf #Innovation
• Finding time to Innovate http://bit.ly/cQt32f #Innovation
• The 8 Ugly Truth’s about Social Media http://bit.ly/9DCWZV #SocialMedia
• Amazon – Make Kindle Open Source to beat Apple iPad http://bit.ly/bzSeqx #Kindle #iPad
• Innovation How you Innovate http://bit.ly/b9zgLT #Innovation
• Innovation Perspectives – Kill your Innovation Champion http://bit.ly/9Cr6aZ #Innovation
• 3 Models for Applying Customer Feedback Innovation http://bit.ly/dy3dW4 #Innovation
• When selling your Innovation is your constraint http://bit.ly/bnhhU5 #Innovation
• Drastic Expectations for Growth and Innovation http://bit.ly/aUSw0o #Innovation
• How Non-Profits use Social Marketing to Promote Energy Conservationhttp://bit.ly/9oJ0dV
• RT @innovate: 3 Models For Applying Customer Feedback to Innovation -http://su.pr/1Wm0GW – Hutch Carpenter
• Social Entrepreneurship is Sexy – Notes from Panel Discussion at #HS2010http://bit.ly/dqyg4X
• The 5 Elements of Hardwork http://bit.ly/c0lLjZ
• Selling Innovation to your Boss http://bit.ly/bPCSMh
• Reducing the risk of Innovation http://bit.ly/d73wqr
• Innovating to Compete http://bit.ly/bq1OoS
• The importance of Innovation Skills and Best Practices http://bit.ly/dcQSo4
• An Innovation Manifesto http://bit.ly/bmk5wG
• 10 Top Reasons your Corporate Social Network should be an Innovation Social Network http://bit.ly/9tKlJm
• Innovation a Top 3 Priority – What about Metrics http://bit.ly/a78bXf
• Top Innovation conferences of 2010 http://bit.ly/9xye6I
• Free range Innovation http://bit.ly/9Pf0y7
• Adopt, Adapt, Improve and Innovate http://bit.ly/aKQ2J1
• The Innovation Paradox http://bit.ly/cWszgf
• Are you prepared to loose control of your idea? http://bit.ly/dDlFdN
• How fortune 100 companies are leveraging Social Media http://bit.ly/asHBzU
• Part 1/3 – Building Systematic Innovation Capability http://bit.ly/cEbpEd
• 8 Design Tips for Startup’s http://bit.ly/cXZpwO
• Challenges in Social Entrepreneurship track panelists… http://tweetphoto.com/14088506
• Should you Startup? http://bit.ly/bvoe0p
• Can you define Social Innovation? http://bit.ly/bFii8n
• Inspiring, Young Entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/csnyf9
• The importance of communication in Open Innovation http://bit.ly/aLx0Vv
• An exciting new ideation tool for the iPhone http://bit.ly/9DBQRV
• US looses Innovation crown to Iceland http://bit.ly/cyzPrd
• Open Innovation Side Effects http://bit.ly/bVHbUe
• Entrepreneurs and Innovations http://bit.ly/aHgwvL
• 5 “Must Haves” for a Strategic Plan http://bit.ly/dkIYRo
• The mad world of Innovation http://bit.ly/beruMg
• Radical Innovation is a Proposal, not a Product http://bit.ly/cAjcNo
• Harsh reality of Innovation http://bit.ly/bEV7aU
• Growing garden of Innovation http://bit.ly/cnX23k
• Februrary’s top 10 Innovation & Marketing articles http://bit.ly/c7jRPT
• Microsoft and creative Destruction http://bit.ly/a3PDyD
• Killing innovation by asking too many questions http://bit.ly/aWzyoX
• Simple justification for Open Innovation http://bit.ly/atAYVp
• How Google, Yahoo and Microsoft think of Real-Time search http://bit.ly/cPM5wV
• The importance of touch on mobile web http://bit.ly/bSWLoj
• Why B Schools setup Entrepreneurs to Fail? http://bit.ly/arBkCs
• Why do Business Incubators Fail? http://bit.ly/9qKJ3hWy
• Meet the 35 Semi-Finalists of Duke Entrepreneur Challenge http://bit.ly/ar5eqO
• Marketing through Experiences http://bit.ly/d5p9pa
• How smart Entrepreneurs can shift into the Green Economy http://bit.ly/cuqC7E
• 8 Essentials for ‘Greening’ the Company Website http://bit.ly/91V1Ps
• Echoing Green joing Social Entrepreneur API http://bit.ly/cgka30
• Have you registered for HeadStart 2010 - http://bit.ly/bkh21M #HeadStart

Here is the link to my slides Idea Valuation

Ground Rule: All topics of discussion in this talk are practically applicable in your daily life too and just not Entrepreneur Ideas.

I started my talk with the definition of an Idea. What is an Idea?

The transcript, image, or picture of a visible object, that is formed by the mind; also, a similar image of any object whatever, whether sensible or spiritual.

Any idea, if it cannot be visualized in your mind is not worth taking forward. What you visualize need not be precise, but at least a skeleton image is not showing up in your mind, you need to re-think on your Idea. For instance, you are wanting to buy a car, but you have not decided the brand and make yet. However, when you think of buying a car, a skeleton model is up in your mind. The end result might not be exactly what you visualized, but without that skeleton picture, it might be practically impossible to get what you really want.

Components of Idea

Every idea has four basic components – Uniqueness, Meaningful, Acceptance and Future.

• What is the Uniqueness in your idea? You are doing your job or your are driving the car of your choice only because your organization found some uniqueness in your skill set and you are driving that car because it has few unique features which match you requirement.
• Meaningful – Your idea has to be meaningful. To dry yourself after a shower, you need not only have a towel, you can use a dryer or stand below a fan.
• Acceptance – One of the best examples is the “Free Hugs”. Fee Hugs was initially not accepted by many countries, it was even banned in few places due to various reasons, but the persistence of Juan Mann and his visualization of the happiness in one’s heart after the hug is what makes the movement a very successful one.

Testing Parameters

Three basic parameters to test your idea – Idea Preposition, Start-up Preposition and Self Preposition.

Idea Preposition

• Need – What need are you addressing?
• Idea – How viable is your idea and how much of the problem can it solve? (Note that not all ideas solve 100% of problems)
• Uniqueness – How different is your idea from your nearest competitor?
• Test – Finally, ensure that you give sufficient time for your idea to settle and test the viability of your idea.

If you notice the graph, Uniqueness occupies the biggest pie. During your Idea Preposition days, the more you concentrate on your uniqueness, the more better is your end result.

Start-up Preposition

• Start-up Cost
• Profit Margin
• Breakeven Point
• Test

While testing your Start-up Preposition, Start-up costs become the most important factor. When you are buying a car, the initial investment you make on your is more important that the maintenance costs. Even if you can afford maintaining (paying service bills) a high-end luxury car, but you are unable to raise funds for the cost of the vehicle, it really does not make any meaning.

Ensuring that your Start-up costs are completely in your control is the one key factor for your idea to become a reality.

Self Preposition

• Self Analysis
• Salary
• Work-life Balance
• Passion
• Test

When ever we take up new task, we always tend not to look at the viability of implementing it. When you are having a 12 hour work-day everyday, it really does not make sense to start another new task taking more time away from your resting time. This results in failure than success even if the idea is one of the best. Work-life Balance is the key is Self Preposition. Ensuring enough time for rest will help in thoughts settling which ensures better results.

Business Model Test Approach

Traditionally, there are two well accepted ways of testing your idea – Data Driven and Model Based.

• When you are starting something new, it is the Data Driven Model which you would choose. You need to do your ground work really well to ensure you have the right ingredients in place for building your Start-up. “Data” is the only answer and it will substantiate your idea to make it practical and implementable.
• When you are starting something similar to an existing business (Ex. Software Services or a Retail Chain or a Restaurant Chain), you may test your idea comparing with various business models in the space. Already businesses are existing and you are starting something similar. There is no harm in understanding, valuating and identifying gaps in your competitors business model to ensure you incorporate them in your business model.

Each of the above can be practically applied to any component of your Business Plan and Remember to TEST your Plan thoroughly before beginning your journey, because – In God we Trust and Everything Else we Test!

Here are the Video’s of my talk…

Idea Valuation – Part 1

Idea Valuation – Part 2

Idea Valuation – Part 3

Idea Valuation – Part 4

I thank Viswa for all his efforts in creating this video.