Catching Up On Readings: Creating Jobs In America

Among the 290,000 new jobs for U.S. workers in April were 80,000 jobs in business and professional services, the most added by any sector for the month. One business contributing to the creation of such jobs is Deal Radar company Rural America OnShore Sourcing, which competes with outsourcing firms in Asia and Latin America. You can read all of this week’s posts by clicking on the full article. >>>

Taking On Microsoft And Google From India: InstaColl Founders Sumanth Raghavendra, Kaushal Cavale, And Their Mentor Sabeer Bhatia (Part 4)

SM: Tell me more about the architecture underpinning your product. What enables you to do what you can now do in the browser?

SR and KC: We explored many options. The first thing that came to mind were plug-ins. Even though the browser is popular for HTML, there are numerous plug-ins that make a supplemental and Web experience. Flash and applets are examples of plug-ins. >>>

Vision India 2020 Book Review: Blog Business World

From Wayne Hurlbert’s review of Vision India 2020 by Sramana Mitra for Blog Business World:

“For me, the power of the book is how Sramana Mitra presents her visionary future for India in a story based format. Instead of simply describing potential opportunities that exist for proprietorships in the Subcontinent, the author brings her concepts to life in the form of potential business success stories.

I highly recommend the thought provoking, and idea packed book Vision India 2020 by Sramana Mitra, to anyone seeking entrepreneurial ventures in India, far beyond technology outsourcing. The business ideas presented in the book represent only a tiny fraction of the massive potential, yet to be untapped, in the giant Indian economy.
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Taking On Microsoft And Google From India: InstaColl Founders Sumanth Raghavendra, Kaushal Cavale, And Their Mentor Sabeer Bhatia (Part 3)

SM: Back to you, Sumanth and Kaushal. Once Sabeer became your mentor and your financing partner, how did the company’s strategy evolve?

SR and KC: Up to that point we were very conservative because we did not have a lot of money. We had shut down our services group completely because it didn’t make strategic sense. We wanted to focus on building the product. >>>

Forbes Column 2010: Taking On Microsoft, Google From India

A Bangalore startup aims to outperform tech’s software giants. Read more in this week’s Forbes column, Taking On Microsoft, Google From India.

Taking On Microsoft And Google From India: InstaColl Founders Sumanth Raghavendra, Kaushal Cavale, And Their Mentor Sabeer Bhatia (Part 2)

SM: How large did you build your service business in terms of revenue?

SR and KC: At the end of five years, we were well past $1 million in an annualized run rate. We had grown the team to just under 50 people. At that point, we realized that it was as good a time as any to move out from the services model and start developing on our own. >>>

Roundtable Recap: May 6 – Defining Value Proposition

Today five very early-stage entrepreneurs presented their businesses to me. They all still have much work to do to validate their businesses. I often tell aspiring entrepreneurs not to build anything until they have validated their business idea with potential customers. You need to find people willing to pay for what you have to offer first. I recommend all entrepreneurs read about all that RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte did to validate his business early on. You can find his story here.

Susan Hess was up first today, presenting Hiland Energy Investment. She has set out to create a geothermal power system in California by implementing an existing technology that utilizes holes previously used for drilling oil. After discussing the land leasing and permit challenges, she said she anticipates needing $15 million in financing to move forward. I don’t see how she can raise $15 million given that the company is simply a system integrator of other people’s technology. When I asked her what the value proposition is for an investor, what they will get in return, there was a good deal of fumbling around. An answer to this question should be on the tip of her tongue. Susan really needs to revisit my Clarify Your Story framework to develop a much more compelling pitch that lasts about three minutes, clearly outlining how an investor will make money, and includes real supporting data. Bottom line: not convincing.
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May 6 Roundtable Recording