[Ara- -wind]

Originally Posted by nex

Sorry, It slipped off my mind to post about my meeting here.

Met with K. Thyagrajan Iyer, Chief Executive . Explained my project, told that I have an almost ready prototype and that I will be giving a demo to some prominent ppl sometime this month. Then explained my background that I'm in a position to take risks at this time because I dont have much financial responsibilities, for family or otherwise. Then asked him how exactly nirma labs can help.

Apart from whatever is there on the website, he told me that 4 projects are incubated as of now. Two of them are ready with the funding and will be incorporated very soon.

I told him that I wanted to reach the market as soon as possible and therefore 6-7 months long "grooming" program wont be quite suitable for me. He told that its not a very intensive program and I will get time to focus on my project. (I am still not convinced :neutral They consider projects for incubation every 10 months. and once a project is selected, they provide all kinds of help, legal and otherwise. They provide office space and they organize meetings with established entrepreneurs and other business ppl. They'll help in getting more business contacts.

Guess, I'm not exactly the right candidate they are looking for. He said, they focus on people, not ideas. So one should be open-minded to consider new ideas. True, but right now I'm focussing on the things at my hand. I'm not convinced with the "grooming" thing. Time is what I don't have.

Ask me if you have any questions. You can call up tyagi sir anytime and ask for clarifications. PM me if you want his number.

hey nex... what kind of support are you looking for from NIRMA, maybe we can help each other out here, coz if its investment, and you have a good idea, i know people who would be prepared to help you out etc.. etc. ALSO i understand your reservations about the grooming thing, and what kind of markets are you targetting with your product.
if you think i can be of help post here / PM me some details (very minimum though)

@ deepu, no there is nothing confidential. after all, i want advertisement for my company, and what better way than talking about it. We are a market research organization. Simply put, we conduct surveys, and in addition provide analysis and solutions based on our findings

[ohmygoditsgulu]

Originally Posted by Ara- -wind

@ deepu, no there is nothing confidential. after all, i want advertisement for my company, and what better way than talking about it. We are a market research organization. Simply put, we conduct surveys, and in addition provide analysis and solutions based on our findings

Where are you based ?

[RagnRoll]

wogay......so lots of action taking place here.
moi completely absent from the proceedings.
as a matter of fact, i got kicked by iim-k this week.

@nex
neways, nex dude, can u just give us a rough estimate
of what and how much investment is needed and what
business is this (well, privacy issues notwithstanding)

@ara-wind
what sort of market analysis do u do? actually i didnt
understand ur company model. care to explain a bit.

[ananta]

Well first n foremost i would like to thank guy_next_door83 to start up this thread.Hope this make sense.
NUTURING ENTERPRENEURSHIP.
It is pretty evident from the number of IIM grads declining juicy job offers that they have more than a few plans up their sleeves.However,the going is always tough when you plan to venture on your own,atleast the initial stage of setting things up from the scratch.So,what pushes the few who believe in their plans and ensure that they realise the same on the floor?"Enterpreneurship is about commiting oneself 110% to the bussiness proposition that one is offering to the market place.The odds are heavily against an enterpreneurship-he/she is often a novice,unconnected,with not much brand value,straaped on resources etc..In this context,the commitment and the burning desire to prevail nd succeed is what will carry him/her thr in the initial years".Although we may have the architecture to support and guide aspiring enterpreneurs,we must agree that academicians could do with some briefing about established models that have been adopted globally to create a culture that inspires and guides enterpreneurship.
What Venture the other way?
"If u were to ask a fresh graduate ten years ago,about the number of employers that he/she would probably work for his/her lifetime,the answer would be one or two,but if the same question was asked,we would arrive at a comparatively bigger number.THe concept of a lifetime employer has been eliminated as no single job provides one with that kind of security anymore.Enterpreneurship helps you persue something that you are passionate about and provides you with the novel satisfaction of doing of doing something yourself"
Agreed enterpreneurship has its benefit but Indians are typically not accustomed to moving ahead to moving ahead on their own,especially with multinationals providing them with comfortable platforms to utilise their potential to their maximum,leading to most giving up on their solo plans to take up offers.So does the fear of failure wiegh heavier than the zest to do something on ones own?
"To counter the fear of failure that may exist, integrating enterpreneurial experiences should be shared with the students as early as possible in their academic programs.This will allow many students to experiment with the creation of ventures in an environment where the downside risks are lower and overtime the sucess stories that emerge at graduation will support and encourage others.Universities can create an enterpreneurial ecosystem that includes education,facilities and events where students and local enterpreneurial network can meet and exchange ideas nad experiences".
It Can Be Taught
All said and done,it has been argued by experts whether enterpreneurship can actually be taught.They say you can either be an enterpreneur or not.No one can help you become one."One does not have to be a born enterpreneur.There are systematic frameworks and manoeuvred checklist of best practices that have wirked globally.You,ofcourse need to have certain individual traits to be an enterpreneur but a lot of us seem to have those traits.Also about the social societal context,one should not worry too much.The Indian society is changing and it is changing rapidly.The impact of economic liberalisation and globalisation has been phenomenal on the Indian psyche.It is hard to quantify it but u can sense it all around you.So you will see risk aversion going down and the indian youth becoming far more amenable to taking calculated risks when making their career choices.Agreed it can be taught but who would be ideal faculty members to deliver such courses?"Enterpreneurship can be better taught by faculties,who have prior experience as chief executives/partners of an enterprise.As for architecture, a smaller class is better as it will be more interactive,something that is crucial to the success of the course.Encouraging the students to work with successful enterpreneurs,arranging for meeting VCs/Angel investors and helping them with their bussiness plans during the course is necessary".
How do you do it?
Enterpreneurship needs to be encouraged from all avenues."Two key ingredients are critical to foster success:Firstly,an enterpreneurial mindset, and Secondly,A strong enterpreneurial ecosystem.In early stage technology ventures,enterpreneurs who have an open,creative mind and the passion for making something happen for their venture are most likely to succeed.When coupled with bussiness skills and networking of advisors or investors,i.e. a strong enterpreneurial ecosystem,the enterpreneur is well positioned to create value through the entrepreneurial process."

[deepu]

@anantha -

If i am not wrong this article came in ET few days ago.

Yaa it makes sense but it wud have been much better had you quoted that this article is lifted from ET .

[harshg]

I am sorry I joined late... but have some quick questions for all involved and active:
1) how have you budgeted your projects
2) how have you scoped your projects
3) is there any roadmap do have you designed tollgates for your project plan
4) how do you raise capital to finance yur projects

not prospecting; neither intruding plain and simple curious ...

[ananta]

@deepu
Well frankly i actually thought of mentioning it but i guess it slipped out of my mind to mention it.Anyways thnx for doing it.Ya it is from ET and my purpose to post here was if somebody dont read ET or if someone have missed out the article.Well my purpose was to share it with everyone but if it really matters where is it from then ya its from ET.

[Ara- -wind]

Originally Posted by ohmygoditsgulu

Where are you based ?

hey, me based in mumbai presently. will mostly be in bangalore for the next month and then will move to calcutta, for two years

[deepu]

@anantha

fine. continue with the good work.

@Arawind

well so you are on the move . Best of Luck

[harshg]

Bhailogon... .how do you arrange money for your projects... has anyone actualy gotten a venture financed.. or are all of us in the Blueprint stage.

I think I read about a prototype being developed... was it from your own money???