categories
HOT TOPICS
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Building India’s Blue Nile: CaratLane CEO Mithun Sacheti (Part 2)
Sramana: I have followed Blue Nile for a long time. I have a friend who was an early investor there. Mithun Sacheti: What I saw from Blue Nile stuck with me for a long time. Things happen in different industries that transform the entire industry. If you really look at our industry, you will see
Building India’s Blue Nile: CaratLane CEO Mithun Sacheti (Part 1)
If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. [Also check out my Entrepreneur Journeys book, Seed India – How To Navigate The Seed Capital Gap in India] Mithun Sacheti is the founder of CaratLane, an online jeweler in India and one of the country’s leading ecommerce companies. Mithun grew up in the jewelry industry and prior to founding
Reinventing a British Company, American-Style: Steve Millard, CEO of Kognitio (Part 7)
Sramana: What is your strongest market outside of the U.S.? Steve Millard: We have a tremendous reputation in the U.K. Kognitio and Whitecross are well known, and we have around 40 customers there. We are the gold standard in analytics in that part of the world. The investment I am promising to our board is
Reinventing a British Company, American-Style: Steve Millard, CEO of Kognitio (Part 6)
Sramana: When you prospect by telesales, what lists do you have them work on? Steve Millard: Lists are generally awful and cost a lot of money. The folks we have, combined with expertise in the company, has given us a very deep Rolodex. We talk to VCs we know or customers we have done business
Reinventing a British Company, American-Style: Steve Millard, CEO of Kognitio (Part 5)
Sramana: What are some of the strategic changes you have made, and what results have you seen from those changes? Steve Millard: Some of the changes that have been made are strategy and targeting changes. Everything we did was focused on getting customers. I have found that a lot of companies that are not successful
Reinventing a British Company, American-Style: Steve Millard, CEO of Kognitio (Part 4)
Sramana: After you left IBM and joined Kognitio, what were your first impressions? Steve Millard: I quickly realized that this company was about to hit the rocks. We did not have a firm direction or a strategic plan. Combine that with our market environment and the recent marriage of Kognitio and Whitecross, and you will
Reinventing a British Company, American-Style: Steve Millard, CEO of Kognitio (Part 3)
Sramana: That brings our story to present day. What is the synopsis of the situation you are facing now? Steve Millard: The company has been around for 25 years and has always been successful due to strong, dedicated customers in EMEA. My joining was at an interesting inflection point of the company. Sramana: What was
Reinventing a British Company, American-Style: Steve Millard, CEO of Kognitio (Part 2)
Sramana: What prompted you to leave the startup space and rejoin IBM? Steve Millard: I was burned out. There is a lot of stress doing three heavy-duty startup roles. I was burnt out on the long hours, stress and pressure. I needed a break, and all three startups were successful. IBM came to me and