Author Archives: Harinath

First Post from Nokia E71

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I wrote a very big post earlier and it failed. The trial version of Wavelog does not allow me to save and hence had to exit the editor and come back to write.
Well, to begin with, I got a new Nokia E71. Yesterday, tried to search for blogging clients for Symbian and i found two – Scribe and Wavelog from Telewaving. After unsuccessful attempts to install Scribe (certificate error), I now installed Wavelog. This tool is really cool. It is very easy to install and use, but costs $16.50. Well, i don’t mind as long as its working. I found two hitches, there is no Support/Contact us information and the license is only for one phone. Now that i am going to use my E71 for long time, am planning to buy. But before that I have a month to try out.

I feel all features of the application should have been given and the duration of the trial could have been reduced. You cannot save and once you exit the application, you need to create your login credentials again 🙁

Social Entrepreneurs in India – Part 1

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I was searching for a central repository of Social Entrepreneurs in India to understand various social concerns which are being addressed. Unfortunately, when I searched for the above text “Social Entrepreneurs in India”, I could not get the relevent links, except for one link which gives me a simple, small list on Wikipedia.

I decided to make a central repository of all Social Entrepreneurs and Enterprises in the country and highlight their work and dedication. I started with Ashoka list which is available on their site and compiled a list of 247 Ashoka Fellows. I do not want to put up the list here, but want to highlight the area’s in which they are working:

FieldOfWork-AshokaFellows

HeadStart – Compute 2009

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HeadStart has been our annual event for showcasing Startup Talents in the country. We started organizing the annual event since 2008, along with ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Bangalore Chapter.

Why HeadStart and ACM?

HeadStart is a community of Entrepreneurs, Investors, Industry Professionals and Evangelists. We came together to contribute back to the community which has brought us to this level and given us lives.

ACM is a focused group which concentrates on future of technology and how it fits into today’s world.

As an Entrepreneur, it is very important for us to understand the Business Model, writing the Business Plan, speaking to Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors, bringing the product/service to the end user, legalities in building your organization, employee management and last but not the least – the future of your innovation.

You have a cutting edge idea and you are excited about it. You speak to various stakeholders and lo! you idea has hit everyone. What next? You are starting up your baby. That’s great news. One important and key aspect you need to consider is what is the future? Today, we see many Insurance companies advertising –For your retirement solutions and your child educational / child future plans, do contact us. In the same way, you need to understand the future of technology to ensure safety and security to your baby (your enterprise) and yourself. We feel safe when we have life insurance and few plans for our children, but we ignore our tomorrow.

Yesterday, I met an aspiring entrepreneur and he invited me to be his Devil’s advocate (I am not going into details of his idea or our conversation with due respects to him). He shared his idea with me and I honestly did not see a tomorrow in that. I did not see a strong bonding of the idea with the stakeholders. But he is passionate. Passionate about the idea and his tomorrow. I am sure he would succeed in what he is doing, but definitely few of my questions have kept his bells ringing.

During HeadStart – Compute 2008, we had two eminent personalities from GE to speak on the future of Database. The two scientists shared their research information on how the future of Database would change. This is what is needed for an Entrepreneur.

A classic example of not looking into the future is the Y2K. Many organizations realized and started working on this issue a bit late in the 90’s. What if these organizations had the guidance to think about this earlier during their startup stage? Things would have been different. If everyone took the necessary precaution, I am sure there would not have been many people who would have got job’s in the west during late 90’s.

HeadStart and Compute are dedicated to create the perfect ecosystem for Entrepreneurs. If you recollect the Project Triangle, then it is very easy to relate to what we do. We do exactly the same – Ensuring for a healthy startup focusing on the key parameters – Technology, Capital and Eco-System.

HS Model

Be there on the January 09-10, 2009 and participate to help create the ecosystem for Startup’s.

Innovation Series #7: Innovation Gap – Part 2

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I wrote about how the “Auto-Rickshaw” saw stagnant innovation in the last two decades of playing active role in commuting across the country. In this post, I will be short and sweet on my observations in mobile space. 

I am fortunate to be part of HeadStart, a not-for-profit organization working towards building entrepreneurial eco-system in India. We have been active more close to one-and-half years and during 2008, I interacted with many entrepreneurs and budding entrepreneurs. 

Quite a few of the entrepreneurs and wanna-be entrepreneurs I met are into mobile space and working on one feature or the other. Many are quite optimistic of the solutions they provide and how the end-user can benefit by their innovation. Even the potential investors are very active in mobile space. 

Well, being an active GPRS user, I am happy to try various applications and how friendly they are to me. I love the BTIS map on my mobile and the Google search tool bar which really helps to me quickly search for what I want. There are a whole range of mobile products which come in handy too. Fring is one application which is useful for people who which to be connected to friends all the time and Twitter has made its mark. 

There are other useful applications being developed too. Take a look at Numo, a mobile platform for BulkSMS and SMS Reminders for key aspects of life (Health, Pet Health etc). 

I do not have a list off my finger-tips to share with you the other innovative ideas, but would like to focus on a simple case study and Destructive Innovation coming from a major player in search – Google.

Population of Bangalore is around 62 Lakhs (6.2 Million). For benefit of this illustration, let us consider that 100% of the population carries a mobile. In the 100%, let us assume that 50% (3.1 Million)use GPRS service. In the 50% user base of GPRS users, how many actually take time to search for a particular service / product in the area they are currently located? I am not under-estimating, but let us assume that around 50% of the 50% GPRS users use the service, which brings the number close to 1.5 Million (1,500,000). This is a classic example of the Bottom of the Pyramid concept. We are looking at the top of the pyramid user base and estimating the idea to be changing the way we live. What we need to remember here is the middle and bottom of the pyramid users who are not even knowing about the service. So, the target population for a value added service on mobile (with GPRS account) is very less. 

Google, on the contrary came up with an innovative solution – Voice Search. This search is already launched in Hyderabad, India. We have other search companies like – Just-Dial etc, and differentiating the search is up to you, as a user. Now, this is what I call Destructive Innovation. Just look at the outreach for this value added service – it is 100% of the users. Added to the service, the number users have to call is a toll free number too. In simple words, without spending a single penny, any mobile user can use this service. How different! 

Innovation is just not about an idea reaching the end user, but how well it dissolves in the DNA of the system is what need to be identified.

Innovation Series #6: Innovation Gap – Part 1

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I am writing this post with an intent of sharing my thoughts on small innovation gap’s which I commonly see (I will definitely not be able to list many gap’s, but if you notice a gap, then please post it as a comment for this post).

Wikipedia has a good introduction to Innovation and hence, will not go in detail.

What inspired me write this post is the amount of attention Innovation is getting these days and the number of aspirants thinking of doing something different from others.

Auto-Rickshaw

Let us look at a common example – For how long have you been seeing an auto-rickshaw, aka ‘auto’? (If you not an Indian, probably its a good idea to search on google for some pictures of auto). Well, let us say for our understanding that it has been close to 20 Years since there have been autos. Search for some pictures of the earlier auto’s and when you compare the look and feel to the current day’s auto’s, you will not find any major changes except for few ‘look’ changes. Every time we get into an auto, we know how dangerous it is and also few times, very uncomfortable. Try speaking to any auto drivers, you will understand how frustrating it is for them too. You sit in the auto for couple of minutes to reach your destination, but just imaging the plight of the driver who drives it all day long – during summers, rains and floods. There are not many options to customize the auto too (even though we have more auto’s in the country than cars, which have quite a number of re-design / re-model shops). Now, I am not speaking of extravagant modification’s, but bare minimum things.

An example I can quote here is the wiper on the windshield. Did you notice that the wiper is not automatic unlike the car? It has to be moved using a small handle inside to clean the glass. First of all the vehicle is a three-wheeler with a handle. Gears on the left side and accelerator on the right side with also the front break. Is there a way the driver can leave the handle on one side and continuously keep cleaning the glass? Its not only a pain, but the most dangerous.

When you look at the drivers seat, you also understand that there is no appropriate care taken to design the same. The distance between the seat and the handle is a bit longer and it poses great health issues to the driver, especially if he/she has a moderate body structure.

Do you think auto’s have suspension? Well, if you think so, check it out next time. There is suspension for all the wheels, but only because they have to be and not to address the actual reason for having them 🙂

If I go on, there are even more – the headlight is as small as a moped (miniature version of a bike) and there is no luggage space too.

This is what I call “Innovation Gap”.

There are various factors which govern the Innovation Gap – Competition, acceptance, target audience market saturation are to list a few.

  • If there is no competition and the manufacturer is almost a monopoly, then the chances of Innovation are very low.
  • Naturally, when there is no acceptance in the market, then there is no motivation for Innovation
  • Target audience makes a very huge impact. When you know the customer will adjust, again there is nothing motivating for innovation. Also, there are products/services in the market which get the customer to get accustomed and thereby reducing the thought process for innovating new aspects to the product/service.
  • Market saturation – When you know the market size and very well assured that it would not grow, you tend to do things which are easy for you rather than enhancing the product and trying new things.

Out Auto example above is a classic illustration of how Target audience and Market Saturation drive Innovation. Also, there are not many companies which manufacture auto’s and hence the existing manufactures have no motivation to enhance the product. I agree that over the last 2 years, there have been 5/6/8 seater auto’s coming into market, but the design is sill the same (well almost, the handle bar is replaced with a steering wheel).

I will conclude this case study here, but assure you that there is more to come..

Going the iPod Way

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Long ago, not so long ago, when the world was just welcoming mp3 players, I was in London and felt the need to have a portable music player which I can carry along. I brought a Creative Zen 20 GB player which can play WAV and MP3 format music. On Windows operating system, when you plug it in, it opens the windows explorer where you can organize your music or you can use NOMAD. Over the next few months saw the arrival of iPod. Initially, I felt it is just expensive and just another MP3 player (even though I am a huge fan of Apple). I refused to even look at it in the stores or even read about the machine which changed the world of music.

Two incidents made me look at iPod:

1. I brought my MAC Book last year and lo! it was a bumper for me. I could not organize my music as NOMAD (which is used to organize music on Creative range of products) is not supported. I then searched and finally got an alternative to use my Creative on the MAC. Read more about this in my earlier post NOMAD for MAC.

2. Last year, I got a music player for my car and it came with the USB extension to play music players. I was able to connect my USB stick and play music, but unfortunately my creative player is not recognized. It really pained me. I searched on the web, but was not successful in finding a solution. Probably an AUX out should have helped, but never got that.

Finally, just a month back, got a iPod 120 GB classic. Well, I thought 120 GB is quite a good amount of space and only now realizing that I am sure to exhaust this space in 2009 for sure. Already have close to 2,200 songs and the most facinating part of iPod for me is the ability to organize PodCasts. I have good number of subscriptions and I am so very happy that I can carry my Podcasts without my computer now 🙂

Overall, in the last one month I have become obsessed with my iPod and looking forward for many more intersting encounters with the machine which made a huge difference in my life.

Last but not the least, have loads of movies on the go 🙂

Interesting OpenSource Sites

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Over the period of time, organizations have evolved and changed the way they played the game. Once upon a time, organizations were masters in what they produced and most of the time played their cards well. With the growth of Internet, organizations have not only capitalized the advantages, but also working day and night to grow along with their competition.

One fine day, Sony and BMG, the leading music company woke up just to see how MP3 (a particular compression technology for music tracks) shook the roots of their empires. They knew all about the technology, but were over confident that their homes were the safest places and over-looked how the new technology was building its strength under their own homes. When they realized, they cried foul, but it was too late.

IBM was struggling with its server software, which was not a huge success in the then market. Intelligently, it was following the success of Linux and Apache, the open source Web server software. IBM did not give up on any of its hopes and understood the rules of the “Open Source” game. It quickly acted and came into an agreement with Apache and soon, IBM’s server hardware was rolling out with Apache running on Linux. IBM has dedicated teams that Contribute to Linux and Apache. An intelligent move that only bettered IBM’s market place rather than hampering it.

When the concept of Open Source initially came out, many organizations did not pay serious attention. How can people around the world write software when it is not controlled or checked by anyone?  This is an Interesting question, which cannot be answered in a line or two.

Over the series of my posts, we will discuss and share ideas on how Open Source will be the major contributor to tomorrow’s world.

Let me begin by listing few web organizations, which are built around interesting and innovative ideas.

Taking IT Global – Taking IT Global is a not-for-profit organization bringing people together to share and work on projects that are beneficial to the world. The idea revolves around people in the community listing their ideas and projects and community members come together to support and work on the projects.

SpikeSource – You have been using open source software. The key element is that the code changes every minute and new functionality keeps on getting added. How can you manage these changes? Spike Source is an open-source source code integrator. This integrator runs periodically and runs through various open source code, test and integrate the same to your base code. Sounds interesting? Try it out?

43Things – A Social Networking site with a difference. List your professional / personal goals, search for people with similar aspirations and work together. Also, you can keep updating your goals with the progress and get encouragement from your peer members.

InnoCentive – The most interesting site I came across. This is a web based innovation center. Organizations / people list their problem for which they are looking for solution and if you are a master in the subject, feel free to solve the problem. There are many chances you are paid if you provide the most innovative solution and also, you are a celeb 🙂 

NineSigma, InnovationXChange Network, Eureka Medical, YourEncore and Innovation Relay Centers are quite similar to InnoCentive. 

I really like the TakingITGlobal and Innocentive. Over the period of time, I will deep dive into OpenSource in various fields concentrating on HealthCare and Social Innovations

Banking on Social Change – Seeking Financial Solutions for All

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I am a bit late in writing about this project, but this is an initiative from ChangeMakers, an organization associated with Ashoka for providing Social and Financial Security for the rural poor. 

The competition is being supported by the Citi Group and there is a cash award of $5000 for the winning team/innovation. 

There have been around 280 entries from 43 countries who have sent their innovation and the panel selected 13 entries to the finals. Now, you can make a difference by voting for the best entries you think are the best innovations. 

Here are the final 13, out of which 3 are from India 🙂

1. Free Social Security to Disadvantaged and Rural Population, OASiS.

2. A Holistic approach to micro-insurance – Breaking the cycle of illness and debt, Healing Fields Foundation. 

3. Sampoorna Suraksha – Social Security for all occasions, Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project. 

You need to register with ChangeMakers first as a user and then you need to caste your vote. All project information and the implementation model is described in detail in the respective nomination description pages. 

Be a Change Maker and vote for the idea which you believe is the best and support the organizations dedicated to change the way we live.

eBook's and eBook Reader

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After a gap of more than 3 months, I am back to my blog. No reasons for the disturbance in updating my bolg, but just that every time I wanted to write, something was pulling me back. Today, I decided to write and wanted to start with something which interests me and also, might interest many others.

Recently, in June 2008, I moved my house and during the shift I realized how many books I collected over the last 3 and half years. I told the movers and packers that I would not need more than 10 big box’s for the move and after they packed everything, realized that 15 medium sized box’s are my books and print out’s of articles. I then realized that I need to do something urgently to control my book collection and started researching for eBook readers. Initially when I searched, the closest and the most interesting item I found was the Amazon Kindle. I spoke to Rajesh Jain after reading his blog post on the kindle. He mentioned that he was enjoying it and now, it is easier for carrying books rather than the traditional paperback or hardbound in his luggage while traveling. But, there is a hitch. This comes with a plan as Kindle comes with a CDMA Plan in the US to buy books online. As I don’t live in the US, I found this not so exciting.

Off-late, found few more eBook Readers on Wikipedia. Yesterday, I went to Target and found Sony eBook Reader and it was really attractive. The reviews were good, but I only had second thoughts because of the heavy price of $299 +Tax. While investing Rs.15,000+, I wanted to check various features and so, went slow before I brought it. Did some more research and found that few users of this machine had troubles opening PDF files. This device supports PDF, Doc files in common and many eBook formats (PDF, TXT, RTF, DOC, FB2, LRF, LRX, ePub, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MP3, AAC w/o DRM) etc. It comes with inbuilt 200 MB internal storage space and expandable up to 16 GB with SD Memory.

Coming to the next aspect of my research, I wanted to check out how many titles of hardbound/paperback come in eBook format? There are few good sites which offer excellent collection – eBooks.com, Free eBooks.Net, e-Library.Net etc. However, almost all titles are double priced than the traditional paperback/hardbound. I didn’t expect this. Honestly, I was expecting the cost to be lesser because the cost of the paper used to print books including the ink is reduced. Unfortunately, all the titles I compared with traditional print and e Book format are double expensive than the print. I am a bit disappointed. However, I am sure that over the period of time, these will come down and hence postponed the purchase of eBook reader.

I think all of us must move towards ebooks and save planet by reducing the use of paper which controls the cutting of trees. It is a long way to go, but a small step is the beginning to a long journey.

If you find any interesting eBook readers, please share with all of us by posting a comment to this post.

You may download PodCast of this Blog Post here. 3 Minutes, MP3 format.

Innovation Series #5 – What is Entrepreneurship?

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The spirit of Entrepreneurship – the notion of human progress, development, achievement and change – motivates and energizes the people and organizations that improve our lives.

5 out of 10 people today want to be entrepreneurs. Why? Is the term fascinating or gives a social status? Is entrepreneurship new? No. It did exist since the beginning of human race. This post concentrates on speaking about what is Entrepreneurship all about, a basic definition and its dimensions.

There are by far many definitions of entrepreneurship, however, let us look at one of the best definitions which I ever read…

Entrepreneurship is the creation of an innovative economic organization for the purpose of gain or growth under conditions of risk and uncertainty.

Let us understand the underlined words above more in detail.

Creation means founding or starting or origin. So, this clearly means that if you are buying out an organization or if you are hereditarily taking over, you are clearly not an entrepreneur, you are simply a business person. However, there is one factor which can determine if you are an entrepreneur or not – the degree of change in the organization you are taking over.

If you would want to be an entrepreneur, you will need to create an opportunity. What kind of opportunity? If you are offering a new product or service or creating a new line of business. All these factors attribute to determine if you are an entrepreneur or not.

Economic organization means that you are creating an organization whose purpose is to allocate scare resources to bring out a new line of operation. What this means is that you might be creating a new business venture, a new line of operation in existing organization or even starting a not-for-profit organization.

Risk and Uncertainty are the conditions in which you begin your venture. They co-exist in any organization and go hand-in-hand. Risk refers to the variability of outcome. If there no risk in the organization, then the organization is operating in a risk-free environment and the organization is bound to grow over the period of time. Without risk, is there entrepreneurship? No. However, making calculated risks is what is recommended. If you are writing your business plan and you have not identified your risks and potential measures to overcome them, then the chances of you getting investments is very less. However, the more the number of risks you identify and device a contingency plan, the better is your execution.

Uncertainty is the confidence the entrepreneur has in his/her estimate in how the world accepts their offering. If there is no uncertainty, then it would be an everlasting profit making organization J Uncertainty is how markets works and this is what makes entrepreneurship exciting. The better you estimate your customers and how the world operates, the better are prospects of your organization profit making.

Where does Entrepreneurship exist?

Entrepreneurship clearly exists in countries which have higher economic freedom. Hong Kong, for example is the most economically free country, which clearly encourages entrepreneurs. Singapore, Bahrain, New Zealand, Switzerland, USA, UK, Taiwan, Bahamas and Netherlands appear in the top 10 countries in the world which provide the most economical independence.

On the flip side, North Korea is one of the most orthodox countries in terms of economic freedom. Angola, Azerbaijan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Vietnam, Iraq, Cuba and Laos add to the list of most strict countries in terms of providing economic independence.

Sam Walton’s 10 Best Rules

Before I end this post, let me list down the 10 best rules Mr.Sam Walton has mentioned for his success.

Rule 1: Commit to your business and believe in it.

Rule 2: Share your profits with your partners (employees)

Rule 3: Motivate your partners, challenge them and keep score.

Rule 4: Communicate everything

Rule 5: Appreciate your associates with well-chosen words.

Rule 6: Celebrate your success.

Rule 7: Listen to everyone and get them talking.

Rule 8: Exceed your customers expectation.

Rule 9: Control your expenses.

Rule 10: BREAK ALL THE SULES. Swim upstream and go up way.

To put it in Mr. Sam’s words, the above rules might not apply to everyone, and also might not be the success factor for every entrepreneur. However, these were his success tips…