Roundtable Recap: Kolkata MUST Clinch This Time

I have been trying to get entrepreneurship development in Kolkata moving since 1995, when I started my own entrepreneurial career. At the time, I was one of the first to set up a Silicon Valley startup with a development back-end in Kolkata. The environment was hard. The infrastructure was poor. Now, all that has changed. Infrastructure is as good as anywhere else. Last night’s Kolkata 1M/1M pitch fest was attended by a couple of hundred entrepreneurs who came not only from Kolkata, but also from surrounding areas like IIT Kharagpur, Durgapur, Ranigunj, etc. It felt good to see the momentum and the energy level. Things are definitely improving in Bengal.

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Women of 1M/1M: Zuznow, Israel

Israel has become a hotbed of technological innovation, earning the nickname Startup Nation. Coming from a tradition of strong, capable women, Racheli Levkovich exemplifies both the Israeli technology entrepreneur and the powerful woman. Racheli is the co-founder and vice-president of sales at Zuznow and one of several promising female entrepreneurs of the 1M/1M program.

Racheli has worked extensively in the fields of sales and business development. She graduated with a degree in political science and international relations and a master’s degree in European studies, political science, and economy. >>>

1Mby1M Deal Radar 2012: Libelium, Zaragosa, Spain

Libelium is a privately held wireless sensor network platform provider. The company delivers, open-source, low-power consumption devices that are easy to program and implement for Smart Cities solutions and a wide range of M2M and sensor projects. All of Libelium’s products are modular, horizontal and easy to integrate into third-party systems.  The company is based in Zaragoza, Spain, but its products are deployed in 45 countries and supported by an active community of developers around the world. >>>

CrowdFunding: Trends and Opportunities

If you follow the technology startup industry, you have surely spotted the CrowdFunding trend by now. Made popular by KickStarter, numerous CrowdFunding sites have cropped up. We recently introduced you to Rock The Post, a site that works on a ‘donation’ model, whereby, the ‘crowd’ of investors funds projects, including causes like liberating Egypt. Typically, incentives include discounted early access to products, or the opportunity to be a part of something significant.

Currently, in the United States, only the ‘donation’ model of CrowdFunding is legal.

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1Mby1M Deal Radar 2012: Sapience Analytics, Pune, India

Productivity is a big deal in today’s business world. Employers want to know that their employees, while they are on the clock, are spending more time working than they are doing anything else. Even in a traditional office setting, that can be difficult. Sapience Analytics has a way to make that task a little easier.

Sapience, its eponymous product, enables companies to achieve 15%, 20% or even greater gains in work output. This is achieved without requiring any change in process or additional management overhead. Sapience is an enterprise class product that supports automated deployment and upgrades, and it connects to the organization’s internal applications such as ERP and HRIS for maximum benefit. Detailed analytics of work time is possible on multiple enterprise dimensions such as verticals, domains, technologies (for projects and business units), and roles, skills, and locations (for employees and teams). >>>

Pre-Seed Money via Crowdfunding: A Conversation with Rock The Post’s Alejandro Cremades

Today we are talking with Alejandro Cremades, the founder & CEO of Rock The Post, a crowdfunding platform for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Prior to Rock The Post, he worked as an attorney at King & Spalding in New York. During this time, he was involved in one of the biggest investment arbitration cases in history, Chevron v. Ecuador. He also provided advice on other complex international arbitration cases before the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and under the UNCITRAL rules, as well as international commercial arbitration under ICC, AAA and SCC rules.

Cremades has a law degree from Universidad San Pablo-CEU (Spain) and a master’s in international business & trade law from Fordham Law School.

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Trend Spotting: The Era of E-Sharing

From sharing maternity clothing to sharing car rides, this seems to be the era of sharing, and the Internet is playing the role of the grand facilitator. A few people have already spotted the trend and are coming up with new ideas.

Three such companies presented their products to me in the 1M/1M roundtables over past couple of months. Two of them are currently 1M/1M premium members: Drummond Gilbert pitched goCarShare in May 2012, Erin Lewis presented Fashion Forward Maternity in July 2012, and Marie-Janine Saris pitched Home Swappers Club in September 2011. Three entrepreneurs pitching e-sharing ventures in a short span clearly indicates how the popularity of eSharing is increasing among consumers.

Let’s explore more and see what the offerings in e-sharing sector are. >>>

1Mby1M Deal Radar 2012: Early Growth Financial Services, San Francisco, California

Not everyone is good at accounting and finance, and as a company begins to grow, keeping track of finances becomes a job that requires more than one or two people to complete. That’s where companies like Early Growth Financial Services (EGFS) come in.

Early Growth Financial services and its more than 30 employees provide companies with finance and accounting support on an as-needed basis. EGFS has extensive experience working with companies at all stages of development. The services that EGFS provides allow business leaders to keep their internal resources focused on doing business. The company offers a complete suite of services, from high-level financial strategy to day-to-day finance, accounting, and administration that can be outsourced without affecting business operations. From audit preparation to GAAP compliance, revenue recognition review to financial statements, Early Growth Financial Services works with companies to assess their needs and provide the right kind of support.   >>>