9/15 Roundtable: Still A Few Slots Left

Folks, the September 15 Global Telepresence Roundtable still has a few slots in different cities. (Mumbai and Chennai are full.) Sign up ASAP if you want to pitch at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon, London, Boston, or Santa Clara, and email your slides to Praneetha Manthravadi by the end of the day.

Catching Up On Readings: A Peek Into India’s Job Portal

Why is Naukri so hot? Click on the full article to find out. >>>

ST-Ericsson (Part 3): Strategy And Outlook

By Guest Author Nalini Kumar Muppala

What is ST-Ericsson’s overall strategy? The final post in the series answers this question, provides some strategy pointers and offers a brief outlook of the JV’s prospects.

Enabling Customers

While the overall handset market shrunk in Q1 and Q2 of this year, the smartphone market grew. Although ST-Ericsson supplies four of the top five handset makers, only Nokia figured among the top five smartphone makers. And even Nokia saw its share shrink. >>>

VisionSpring: Successful Scaling Of A MicroFranchise (Part 2)

By Guest Author Praneetha Manthravadi

[The first part of the article introduced VisionSpring, what it is, and how it works. Today’s post explains how microentrepreneurs make profits from the “Business in a Bag” system and how readers can be a part of VisionSpring’s mission.]

So, what kind of profits do these microentrepreneurs make? It depends on purchasing power in the country they are in. For example, in India, microentrepreneurs who sell through the direct channel typically make $1 per pair of glasses. There are successful entrepreneurs who sell 50-100 pairs a month. The harder they work and the more they sell through the vision campaign model, the higher their profits. >>>

Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 4)

SM: You said that you like to get involved with companies early and help them solidify positioning; is that because you are good at it? Most VCs don’t do it, and even if they did they would not have a clue how to do it.

RK: It’s just what I do. I agree that most VCs do not know how to do it. The solution is simple; don’t go to most VCs. >>>

ST-Ericsson (Part 3): Continuing To Innovate

By Guest Author Nalini Kumar Muppala

Let’s continue from where we left off in the previous post, with an analysis of ST-Ericsson’s portfolio.

Innovation

Even as it juggles the enormous task of integrating various teams, ST-Ericsson needs to be commended for continuing to deliver innovative products. >>>

VisionSpring: Successful Scaling Of A Microfranchise (Part 1)

By Guest Author Praneetha Manthravadi

[Praneetha’s article is both a profile of an organization for microentrepreneurship and a call to action. Read on to find out what VisionSpring does and how you can get involved.]

VisionSpring, previously known as the Scojo Foundation, was started in 2001 by Dr. Jordan Kassalow. The organization was started from a revelation Dr. Kassalow had after visiting developing countries around the world with a team of doctors on eye care missions. The majority of patients simply needed a pair of non-prescription reading glasses, rather than complicated procedures. These glasses typically cost less than $10 in US drugstores. >>>

Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 3)

SM: Could you contrast your proposed process to a business plan?

RK: With a business plan, in a more conventional process, somebody would have identified a solution. It may not even be a solution to a real problem. >>>