John Deschner, Chief Innovation Officer\Managing Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day discusses the Corporate Innovation strategy of his advertising agency.
Sramana Mitra: I have a question that I want to double-click on. One of the big differences in the Indian market that doesn’t exist in the US market is this abundant supply of cheap labor. Are you seeing business models and business ideas that creatively take advantage of that phenomenon to offer value to customers?
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Sramana Mitra: How long did the model go on? Issa Asad: I did that in 2007. Then I sold my company to a company called Blackstone. They wanted it for the technology. They were able to take it to a new level, which was beyond my reach. At that point, I took a new venture.
Sramana Mitra: It sounds like the original business model probably had a low TAM. Turning it into a financial institution opens up a much bigger TAM, right? Anirudh Suri: The initial focus in the Indian market is on affordable housing institutions and micro-financing institutions. Very quickly, they realized that just providing them credit scores was
Sramana Mitra: This is your first fund, right? Yanev Suissa: Yes. Sramana Mitra: Have you had any exits yet? Yanev Suissa: No, we’ve been investing for about a year. Sramana Mitra: Next question is about unicorn mania. How does a seed investor protect themselves in the event that there is huge amount of capital being
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Sramana Mitra: How did you get around those limitations? Issa Asad: I turned around and I started working with some of them. I said, “If I print my own cards and make my own brand, then I would only have to pay for usage.” I went to the carriers and I made contracts with them.