APRIL 2011 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 8 Rs 100
E&Y ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Sun Pharma’s Dilip Shanghvi on overcoming obstacles to build a global brand
IN CONVERSATION Planning Commission’s Arun Maira calls for a cooperative model to build large enterprises
STRATEGY
A whisky maker from Karnataka has taken the Scots head on – and won
Buffett
India in
Warren Buffett discloses his plans for India in an exclusive interview
ALSO: How to Use Foursquare for Business How to Poach a Rival’s Employee How to Set Up a Representative Office in the U.S. How to Choose Your Cloud Vendor How to Hire and Manage Temps
table of contents 27
START IT UP 60 WHAT’S YOUR TYPE? Ever thought of matching your venture to your entrepreneurial personality type? Well, do you really know what entrepreneurial personality you are? We help you figure it out. By Bill Wagner 70 DO YOU REALLY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? Are you fit to be your own boss? Here’s a basic checklist to match score. By Cliff Ennico 72 THE ONE-PARAGRPAH STARTUP
PLAN Are you ready to do away with the frills and get down to the core of your business? Summarize what you want to achieve in a single paragraph and get going. There is no time to lose! By Scott Gerber
INSIGHTS 23 THE LORD VOLDEMORT OF FINANCIAL MARKETS Bharat Banka on the possibility of the U.S. dollar losing its position as a global reserve currency and reactions to this phenomenon.
24 LIFESTYLE INFLATION
Ranjeet S. Mudholkar on how a red flag should be raised if lifestyle expenses distort your savings structure.
26 MENTORS ARE A NEW SPECIES Nandini Vaidyanathan on the difference between mentors, coaches and consultants. 27 WINNING CUSTOMERS’ TRUST Richard Branson on how transparent communication can help win customers over. 28 MOVING BEYOND COURTSHIP K. Kumar on getting off the starting block in the entrepreneurial journey.
IN CONVERSATION 34 ‘HANDOUTS AND CHARITY TO THE
POOR WILL NOT ENSURE INCLUSIVE GROWTH’ Planning Commission member Arun Maira talks about bridging the gap between the shining and not-so-shining India and an entrepreneurship-led development model. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR 38 DESIGNS ON SCALING UP Designpreneur Sonia Manchanda’s firm Idiom Design and Consulting helps enterprises design their souls right before moving out to capture the market and scale their businesses. By Shonali Advani
EXCLUSIVE! 30 'INDIA IS A DREAM MARKET'
Warren Buffett speaks about his investment plans in India. 6 Entrepreneur + April 2011
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR 40 WASTE NOT! Nirmala Kandalgaonkar’s Vivam Agrotech makes it possible for consumers to process waste in-house, use the output productively and leave a greener footprint on the planet. By Bindi Mehta
40
ON SITE 44 OF SUSTAINABLE OLYMPIC
PROPORTIONS As London gets ready to host the Olympic Games of 2012, its people are successfully navigating the challenge of painting the Games green. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
GREEN SIGNALS 48 MANAGE YOUR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION We are not telling you to stop your electricity consumption. But there are ways of becoming a smart consumer and saving both money and the environment in the process. By Harit Soni and Kishlaya Sharma 74
INFOCUS 50 A GREEN VISION It is time to pack your bags and scout the English shores for business partnerships. The UK’s sustainability initiatives offer plenty of opportunities to Indian entrepreneurs. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
OPPORTUNITIES 54 DIAL S FOR SUCCESS
The telecom sector is abuzz with action. All entrepreneurs need to do is look beyond the basic voice and data services to strike gold. The consumer is evolving and so are his needs. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
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CLOSE UP 80 THE SUN HAS RISEN
Dilip Shanghvi is a man of purpose. He built Sun Pharmaceuticals with a simple business goal and today stands tall in the pharma space without making any noise. By Ankush Chibber
SPECIAL REPORT 84 ‘VISION IS THE ART OF SEEING THE INVISIBLE’ Guru Mantra 2011 saw Captain Gopinath, the father of affordable flying in India, talk about the several opportunities our country offers to entrepreneurs on a daily basis. By Shonali Advani Entrepreneur + April 2011 7
table of contents SUCCESS STRATEGIES 74 AN INDIAN BRAVEHEART
115
Amrut Distilleries, a homegrown spirits company, is taking the Scots bang on in their own territory and all over the world. It wasn’t easy to get there but working toward a favorable consumer perception of the brand certainly helped. By Ankush Chibber
THE ULTIMATE ‘HOW TO’ BUSINESS GUIDE
78 GLOBAL FOOTPRINTS
Reckitt Benckiser has treaded a path where its brands are more popular than the company itself. Drawing from cultural best practices of its various operations, the company is today a flourishing global player. By Chander Mohan Sethi
112 Poach Your Rival’s Employee 114 Use Foursquare to Promote Your Business 115 Measure Your Business’ Brand Influence Online
TECH DEPARTMENT
116 Choose Your Cloud Computing Service
88 COMMUNICATOR 2.0
The Nokia E7 is a notch above the company’s previous handsets and packs in a good punch for entrepreneurs too. By Ankush Chibber
118 Set Up a Representative Office in the U.S. 120 Undergo Valuation for your Company 123 Hire and Manage Temp Employees HOT STARTUP OF THE MONTH
90 SLIDE AND BURN RIM is looking up the value chain with the Torch. BlackBerry lovers, here’s a first taste of where the company is headed. By Ankush Chibber 92 GETTING UC RIGHT If you are at the UC threshold, choosing the right UC framework could make all the difference. There are cost benefits in store. By Minhaj Zia 94 CUPCAKE KING Imagine tech being a vital ingredient in a bakery’s operations. CakeLove works just like that. By Ankush Chibber 95 SCAN WHEN YOU WANT TO
A hand-held imaging tool from VuPoint Solutions puts the control of scanning in your pocket. Literally. By Jonathan Blum
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106 SEAFARER’S INC.
96 TO SAY A WORD
Reverie’s tech solution seems destined to solve the texting woes of India’s multilingual population. By Ankush Chibber
The global shipbuilding space has a new force to reckon with—Vedam, a venture launched by three young naval architects from IIT Madras. By Bindi Mehta
100 LOW ON FAT, HIGH ON SUCCESS
110 RETOUCHING LIVES
Frozen yogurt chain Cocoberry has opened up a new market for itself with some smart strategic moves. By Sana Salam
Do your photos need retouching? Log on to KeyIndia Graphics’ increasingly popular web portals and get the better picture. By Bindi Mehta
102 AID FOR THE ELDERLY
A boon for senior citizens, Care2Cure is bringing healthcare access and health management services to their homes. By Bindi Mehta
REGULARS 10 FEEDBACK 11 RESOURCES 14 NEWS IMPACT 18 SME DOCTOR 22 STUMPSPEAK 130 BACKSTAGE
SPEND IT 126 CHAKRA POWER
The stunning, plush new rooms at The Park, Kolkata, draw inspiration from ancient Chakra methodology. By Prerna Raturi
128 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE The Skoda Yeti is a SUV that’s quite unlike the soft roaders traversing the Indian streets today. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
INSIGHTS BRAND BANKANOMICS BRANSON
Winning Customers’ Trust How publicity stunts helped build the Virgin brand. By Richard Branson
Q: I recently became my own boss, joining forces with my brother. I am enjoying this experience very much, but we are struggling with finding ways to draw attention to our business and earn customers’ trust. I’d like your advice on dealing with this. - Randall De Freitas Trinidad & Tobago
A: Congratulations on your new venture. Setting up a new business is tough, and most fail within the first year— usually due to a poorly executed plan, a lack of public awareness, or shortage of money. At the start of my career, I always tried to address the first two problems by making sure we had a great product/service and that everyone knew about our businesses by way of great publicity and cheeky advertising. I believed if we addressed these two critical issues, it would be easier to tackle the third challenge: generating enough cash to keep the business going. On the whole, this method worked. In assessing where Virgin didn’t get it right, a clear pattern emerges: Our businesses didn’t succeed when the Virgin difference was hard for customers to grasp—products like drinks, cosmetics and clothing. These businesses had limited marketing budgets and due to the differentiation problem, we couldn’t create lasting awareness of and interest in them. By nature, I’m not a numbers man, so I didn’t measure the success of a new venture by the money we made. In Virgin Music’s early days, we wanted to create great places to listen to music and meet friends. My sense was that if our staff liked our stores, there was a good chance our customers would, too. At Virgin Records, this attitude meant we signed bands we thought were fun, like The Sex Pistols and The Rolling Stones. Then, we would create a stir about them. This brings me to a secret to lasting success:
Securing your customers’ trust, which should be part and parcel of your differentiation and marketing. At Virgin, we first did this somewhat accidentally by relying on openness and simplicity in our communications with customers. As we’d created companies that everyone on staff was proud of, we were all deeply concerned about quality and customer service. And our marketing focused on why the businesses were different. When I was preparing to launch Virgin Airlines, Sir Freddie Laker, the late veteran aviator, gave me a key bit of advice. He said Virgin didn’t have the budget to compete with mainstream brands, but the clever use of challenges— like our attempts at setting world records for crossing the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by boat and balloon—and humorous stunts and ads would help raise our profile. It did. We often made headlines, spending a fraction of what our rivals did on marketing. I also encouraged customers to e-mail me directly and advised our CEOs to do the same; this strengthened our ties with customers. Over the years, we won their trust, and their confidence gives us added impetus to give back. I believe this strategy of differentiating and marketing your product with a view of winning customers’ trust is the way to build a sustainable business. Keep your message simple, direct, honest—and very public. If you do, you and your brother should go far.
“Keep your message simple, direct, honest—and very public.”
©Entrepreneur Inc. All rights reserved. RICHARD BRANSON is the founder of the Virgin brand, which houses over 360 companies. If you have a question for him, you can e-mail him at BransonQuestions@Entrepreneur.com. Please include your name and country with the question. Entrepreneur + April 2011 27
buett india
30 Entrepreneur + April 2011
PhotoŠ Shamik Banerjee
‘India is a dream market’ In an exclusive chat, billionaire Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, tells Shereen Bhan why he wants to invest in India.
Shereen Bhan (SB): India is one of the most vibrant democracies, albeit a chaotic one. It is one of the world’s fastest growing markets, you have Ajit Jain in Berkshire Hathaway, yet it has taken you till 2011 to put India on the Berkshire Hathaway map. What has convinced you or rather who has convinced you to do so now? Warren Buffett (WB): I have some pretty convincing
associates, including Eitan Wertheimer of Iscar Metalworking and Ajit Jain. Bill Gates too joined in and said he would like to meet me over here. But the reason I am here is because of TaeguTec. SB: Can you give us some sense of how soon we could see Berkshire Hathway making a significant investment into India? Will you be looking at majority control on whichever company that you do decide to invest in? WB: Just within the last 10 days or so, we began an
insurance operation here in India. I do not know where the next opportunity is going to come from. It was almost five and a half years ago that I received a letter from Eitan Wertheimer of Iscar Metalworking. I didn’t know I was going to get that letter, it just came in and we are ready to go. The same thing will happen in India, I will hear from somebody, I will be meeting a lot of people in the next few days and maybe from the next week or a year from now, one of those people may contact me. That is the way. SB: Are you certain that you will make an investment in India in this financial year? WB: Our checks were clear, I can promise you that. SB: The average group of people present here is about 40. So, what was Warren Buffett’s dream when he was 40? WB: I have always been doing what I love; so it’s never
been that if I want to get there—to some next plateau — then I will be happy. I have been happy as I go along and it’s been a work in progress. It will never end. Berkshire is an organization that will grow beyond my lifetime. It is not like I have any specific goals for next year
or the year after. I just know that if I keep showing up, good things will keep happening. SB: Recently, you made an investment in BYD which is new as well as in clean technologies and electric vehicles. Comment. WB: Fortunately, I have a partner who is a lot smarter
than I am. My partner Charlie Munger, who is 87 and going very strong, understands most aspects of technology. So, BYD was his idea and I have never made a mistake following Charlie. I am not good at tech matters. I don’t have to be smart about everything; I didn’t deliver my wife’s baby! So, I believe in using people who are smarter than I am. I am reasonably good at spotting the people who have those abilities which I lack. We do not want to do anything that curbs the enthusiasm and the innovativeness of the people who work with us. We get the best people and when you get the best people and let them be, you get the best result. SB: The auto sector in India is one of the fastest growing in the world. Would it be a focus area for you? WB: It is unlikely that I would go into that myself. The
ownerships are pretty well established in that field. If one of the families that controlled an auto company, for some reason, thought that being a part of Berkshire Hathaway would help their company grow over time, I am just a phone call away. SB: Do you see new challenges for cross border businesses? WB: There will always be people in all countries that
resist change. There will be an element in United States or in other countries that resist the idea of more trade between countries. I am in exactly the opposite camp and believe that we will prosper as we do more and more business with each other. Various countries have various advantages and no country can do all things by itself. As world trade expands, it will mean a better life for people around the world. I have seen more of it in my own lifetime. World trade has expanded during my lifetime significantly, including in the United
To read more, grab the April issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + April 2011 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
31
in conversation
“Handouts and charity to the poor will not ensure inclusive growth” A member of the Planning Commission with a mandate to look after industry, urbanization, tourism and culture, Arun Maira talks about ways to bridge the gap between India and Bharat, need for enterprise-led development and why charity as a means of upliftment of the poor is a bad idea. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
34 Entrepreneur + April 2011
Photo© Aarti Koul
ENTREPRENEUR (E): IN EMERGING INDIA, WE STILL SEE A DICHOTOMY BETWEEN INDIA AND BHARAT. WHAT WOULD BE THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND INFLUENCING THE REPUBLIC’S FUTURE? ARUN MAIRA (AM): There are three types of India, not two. The very small number of people at the top of the economic strata, who buy what they like, does not merely comprise industrialists but also professionals like CEOs of big companies, who get paid very well. The second category is that of the very poor, those who are at the bottom of the pyramid. The third group is a very interesting one, comprising the Indian middle class. That is the part which will determine what sort of India we get in the future. The middle class is full of individuals who look at the rich of the country and aspire to become one themselves. Their attitude is of vital important. If a country has relatively less number of poor, you can make do with charity. The problem with our country is that the poor is in such large numbers that you can look after one but not after all. Charity will not work and their needs cannot be addressed by assistance. The pattern of the economy must change so that those people are accommodated by the system itself and lifted further. The model of development and objective of growth is what we have applied ourselves to. We have to set a model of development in which the middle class must support and connect with others. Whatever model the government or the Planning Commission adopts, the middle class should be able to relate to it; their aspirations must be met. We come to the big question about how governments and leaders decide what India’s aspirations should be. We should not follow a socialist method where people are given more handouts and charity. These methods do not allow the members to be productive to growth. Our per capita income is still very low and we have a long way to go. We can be delighted about the size of our economy, which can be the size of the U.S. and China in 20-30 years, but even at that, if we divide our economy by 1.2 billion people, we would still be one-fifth as rich as they are. We would only be rich if everyone in the country has enough.
E: IS ENTERPRISE-LED DEVELOPMENT ONE OF THE ANSWERS TO THE PROBLEM? AM: Enterprise-led development is indeed an answer. How do we include people in the growth of the economy? The charity model necessarily means you need to have a large enough pie to divide. My model, however, is one where the pie comprises opportunities in terms of number of jobs. If people have an income, they will automatically contribute to the growth story. With such income, people will be able to buy education, healthcare and so on. We have to approach the model of development which generates more enterprises and more employment in the country. We have a very different approach to the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) where we have taken 10 conditions of the economy which cut across all sectors. This includes aspects like health, education and infrastructure. We then look at the condition of the
economy with respect to these sectors. We also look at conditions of demographics and skills across each of these sectors, conditions of market, availability of finance in each of the sectors, conditions of enterprise and innovation in each of these sectors and so on. Enterprise and innovation is one of the critical lenses we would be looking with.
E: SO, WILL THE 12TH FIVE YEAR PLAN BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE HAVE SEEN BEFORE? AM: It is premature to say that it will be very different. The approach we have been taking for the last two plans is what needs to change. It has resulted in growth, but that growth has not been as inclusive as we would have liked it to be.
E: IT IS PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANT TO RAISE LITERACY LEVELS IN BIHAR AND ENSURE SAFE DRINKING WATER IN RAJASTHAN THAN TO TURN DELHI AND MUMBAI INTO BEIJING AND SHANGHAI? AM: India’s demographic pattern shows that there are more young people living in the poorer states. This is true since poverty and lack of education means more births and, subsequently, more youth. The condition of health and education in the states which have been left behind needs far more focus because if we do not pay attention to these children, they will go on to be the demographic dividend that we talk of in the future.
E: IN MANY SPHERES TIER II AND TIER III CITIES ARE FINALLY EMERGING OUT OF THE SHADOWS OF THE METROS. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT? AM: Tier II and tier III cities have to use the right yardsticks to compete with metros. Sanitation, water and clean roads should be some of the yardsticks. The Ministry of Urban Development has conducted a survey among cities on the three parameters of sanitation, water and solid waste disposal. This goes to show that they have started with the most fundamental issues.
E: DO YOU THINK THE NEW BREED OF ENTREPRENEURS OF THE 1980S AND ’90S SEEMS TO BE A MORE CONFIDENT GROUP? AM: Confidence comes from the feeling that if you do something it will work. The environment itself is making success more conducive than 20 years back. Entrepreneurs need to understand that their success is due, in some part, to the economic environment, which is a great enabler.
E: THERE HAS BEEN MUCH DEBATE OVER THOMAS FRIEDMAN’S CONCEPT OF A FLAT WORLD BUT IMAGINE FRIEDMAN’S MICROCOSM IN A MINIATURE MODE; YOU INTERPOLATE A FLAT WORLD INTO A FLAT INDIA. WOULD IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? AM: Thomas Friedman’s concept of a flat world was in the context of information connection, material flow and product flow. That means if we can have just one market, business dealings would
To read more, grab the April issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + April 2011 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
35
social entrepreneur
WASTE NOT! Nirmala Kandalgaonkar’s Vivam Agrotech ensures solid waste management to create a greener environment. By Bindi Mehta
I
magine running an enterprise where earthworms are your primary workers! And you have to protect them from birds and rats. Going a step further, you have to understand their production cycle and lifecycle. Sounds unusual? Well, Nirmala Kandalgaonkar does exactly that. Hailing from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra, Kandalgaonkar runs a solid waste management company titled Vivam Agrotech that is functional in the areas of vermicompost, compost, biogas with electricity generation, carbon credits, municipal solid waste management and waste water treatment. Kandalgaonkar started Vivam Agrotech as a sole proprietorship firm in June 2001. Today, it is a private limited company expecting to clock revenue worth Rs.30 lakh for FY 2010-’11. The seeds of her entrepreneurial journey were sown during her tenure of social work in the villages of Kandhar taluka in Nanded district of Maharashtra. Kandalgaonkar served as a member of the RSS and went to these villages to teach their women various skills and make them literate. “There was always one thought lingering at the back of my mind. Couldn’t we give these women an opportunity to earn? What could be an optimal and sustainable means of livelihood for them? Most of the locals were involved in agriculture and using chemical fertilizers in their fields. This was affecting the soil. This led me to think that if vermicompost units were installed in the village, they could process their agri-waste in-house and produce manure (compost) from the same for their crops,” says Kandalgaonkar. She started Vivam Agrotech in her own terrace by building a vermicompost unit, buying earthworms from the market, and giving the compost/manure produced to the
40 Entrepreneur + April 2011
women in Nanded to test it in their fields. Her initial investment was Rs.50,000 and a major part of that was directed toward R&D costs and travelling to various agricultural universities across the country to gather inputs from academia. “Once the model was successful, the village women would be able to replicate it in their fields. The feasibility of a vermicompost unit lies in the fact that raw material is easily accessible and free while the finished product finds a market locally. There is no hassle at either end of the supply chain,” explains Kandalgaonkar.
VERMICOMPOST SOLUTIONS After dedicated research, scientific study and experimentation, Kandalgaonkar started making rectangular vermicompost units of size 5”X20” and 2 feet deep called ‘Mahakay’ and selling them to farmers and rural women. These were made from steel mesh and had a waste processing capacity of 2-3 tons per month. The cost of each unit was Rs.15,000 (at that point); however, the government offered a subsidy to farmers to buy these units. The company employed four people who manufactured these units in a workshop in Aurangabad. “There are about 250-300 varieties of earthworms in India. From these, only two to three varieties are good for vermicomposting. Effort was needed to identify these, to understand the lifecycle of earthworms, the optimum temperature and moisture levels for their survival and reproduction, and the testing of various inputs and outputs in a simulated environment,” she says. In the first year of operations, they sold 12 units. In 2002 (second year), this figure went up to 40 units and the company broke even in the same year too. “Our initial orientation was toward serving the needs of Photo© Neha Mithbawkar
NATURE CARE: Nirmala Kandalgaonkar
To read more, grab the April issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + April 2011 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
41
start it up
WHAT’S YO
TYP D
oes personality matter in becoming a successful entrepreneur? Recent studies say yes, successful entrepreneurs share a number of common personality traits, and these traits are the predominant indicators of their success. People who choose business ventures that are in sync with their true personalities tend to experience the greatest level of success and fulfillment. Every personality type—and therefore, every person—has the potential to grow a successful business. You just need to determine the right opportunity. Self-awareness guides us in understanding what’s needed to bridge the gap between who we are and what the opportunity requires. Our research shows that most entrepreneurs who reach their goals are often natural leaders and strong problem-solvers, and they work well under pressure. For those who don’t have this type of personality—which is most of the population—it is critical to understand the requirements for being a successful entrepreneur. You must select an opportunity that suits your personality, then select the right people to surround yourself with. My book, The Entrepreneur Next Door Door, shows you how to determine your personality and, more importantly, how you can adopt behaviors that entrepreneurship requires to maximize opportunities for success.
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TWO FACES
Over the past eight years, the employees of my California-based behavioral consultancy, Accord Management Systems Inc., and I have interviewed and studied more than 1,500 entrepreneurs whose companies have sales of more than Rs.4.5 crore a year. We surveyed their emotional intelligence and brain dominance; chronicled responses to over 100 questions in an online survey. Because of this work, we now know why some entrepreneurs become multimillionaires, others do moderately well, some barely survive, and many don’t make it. More important, we understand how to predict the things that entrepreneurs can do, based on their personalities, to improve their odds of success. In our research, we determined that people basically come in two flavors: Generalists and Specialists. Generalists and Specialists are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Generalists are strategic thinkers. They are big picture-oriented, prefer environments where they can use their resultsdriven nature, enjoy autonomy and are risk-takers. Specialists are tactically oriented, prefer being responsible for areas within their areas of expertise and prefer environments that provide both security and stability. They are typically more risk-averse. We also examined four personality factors: dominance, sociability, relaxation and compliance. We all exhibit some degree
YOUR
PE
of these factors, whose opposites are acceptance, analytical, drive and independence, respectively. Generalist personalities will have a dominance factor that is much greater than their compliance factor. This is the source of their need to win and their belief that they are always right. They are self-confident and able to assume risk. The Specialist personality has a compliance factor that is much greater than the dominance factor. Doing things by the book is more important to them. They will try to do everything right, which means avoiding risks. With these factors in mind, we have identified seven broad personality types. Four are Generalists—more strategic or leadership-oriented. They are the Trailblazer, the Go-Getter, the Manager and the Motivator. There are also three Specialist per personality types. These are more tactical in their behavior—the true experts who enjoy the details and are typically very good at them. These three types are the Authority, the Collaborator and the Diplomat. The four Generalist entrepreneurial personality types start, own and run the majority of successful businesses. A smaller but impressive number of businesses are run by people who possess one of the three Specialist personality types. Here’s a closer look at the seven personality types our research has identified:
Anyone can start a business!
The secret is picking a venture that fits your entrepreneurial personality. Here’s how to determine yours By Bill Wagner tIllustrations by Chaitanya Surpur
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61
TO SAY
FONT FAVORITES: (l. to r.) Arvind Pani, Vivekanand Pani, & S. K. Mohanty
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PhotoŠNeha Mithbawkar
hot startup
A WORD Reverie may just have fixed one gaping hole in how mobiles work for most Indian users. By Ankush Chibber
S
ometimes, a business idea can stare so blatantly in your face that you can do nothing but miss it. There must be a few hundred entrepreneurs, and even budding ones, who know this is true. That feeling will hit you when you see for the first time what Reverie Language Technologies Pvt. Ltd. has to offer. Bengaluru-based Reverie is the brainchild of two brothers, Arvind and Vivekanand Pani and S.K. Mohanty who, we are told, is possibly the father of Indian language fonts. More on that later. To explain Reverie’s work without putting into perspective the problem they are solving is perhaps not doing justice to potentially one of the most innovative startups to come out of our version of the Silicon Valley. Vivekanand, who is the technology evangelist and CTO for Reverie, gives out the first bit of information connected to his startup. Did we know, he asks, that it takes 42 clicks on a multilanguage-enabled Nokia phone to type the word Hindustan in Hindi, and about 18 in English? We did not. What Reverie does, explains Arvind, Head, Strategy & Business Development, is provide a multiple language framework for digital platforms that can include mobile phones, PCs, tablets etc. This framework will not only allow for rendering multiple languages on such devices for text display, but also for text entry and other value adds such as contextual conversion of languages dynamically. “We are fixing the major problems multilingual users face in this country of not being able to read and write in their language effectively and easily across digital devices,” he says.
For now, the founders are fully focusing only on the mobile phone. In a demonstration shown by the three one afternoon in Bengaluru on a branded ‘multilingual phone,’ it became quite apparent what is the basic problem mobile users face when trying to communicate via any Indic language. For one, as Vivekanand points out, the usability aspect of such phones is deceptively low. The fonts are extremely hazy and nowhere as clear as printed text would be in the same language. Secondly, typing a simple word in any language other than English would give you sore fingers. Mohanty, who is type design head at Reverie, explains that the biggest issue between languages in Latin, and languages that follow the Indic and similar non-Latin scripts is that the latter are not linear like the former. These are complex scripts that are very difficult to display and work with. Reverie’s offering, according to Vivekanand, fixes this problem for good. Using the company’s proprietary product, an user could read text in all Indic languages, key in text in them, and even convert one language to another. “What we have done is standardized an entire range of complex scripts and designed types for digital devices of all ranges, screen sizes, and resolutions,” he adds. He shows another branded regular phone, this time with the Reverie solution and the experience was instantly much better. Not surprisingly, the clarity of text on the phone was extremely good. As good as the rendering of English characters. Apart from the
To read more, grab the April issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + April 2011 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
97
how to [... do just about anything]
Poach Your Rival’s Employee This is a delicate maneuver that requires you to tread carefully. By Bindi Mehta
F
or a startup, talent and domain expertise are often the most important resources. Finding someone who can fit into the startup culture and help take the venture to the next level can be quite a boon. This implies that the new hire comes equipped with experience and exposure to a certain extent. The easiest place to find a person who fits this bill would be your competitor’s premises. Your competitor’s star performer is passionate about your industry, knows the growth drivers and challenges 112 Entrepreneur + April 2011
that lie ahead, and could actually bring to the table previously overlooked insights about the market. Seems like a dream come true, doesn’t it? Hold on. Take a step back. Hiring your competitor’s employee actually means you are poaching people and poaching is not always a smooth process. We tell you how to go about this delicate and sensitive issue. 1. Assess your need. What is your hiring need? What is the background and experience you Illustration© Chaitanya Surpur
are looking for? If you have your eyes set on a certain individual in a rival organization, does he/she best meet your requirements? What are your alternatives to hiring that person? You must sit back and answer these and a horde of other questions. Hiring talent from a competitor is never a simple process. Before you take a step forward and various complications unfold, you need to be sure of what you are doing. Would it be easier to just hire someone from a different background and train them on the job? Would that be more cost-effective too? Get your basics right before you take the big step. 2. Approach on neutral ground. After all the deliberation, if you are sure you want to approach a particular candidate from a competitor firm and talk to them about the opportunity in your firm, do so on neutral grounds. What we mean here is that you certainly can’t walk into your competitor’s office and talk to his/her employees. The right way to do so would be to approach the candidate you have in mind at an industry conference or seminar where there is good scope for networking and exchanging notes on what is happening at each firm. By doing this, you will get a chance to understand if the candidate is interested in moving, what are his/her career expectations, what image does he/she hold of your company, what is his/her persona like and finally, what would be the best way to make an offer to the person. Another way of going about this process is to get a headhunter or placement agency involved. That way you can stay away from the scene till you know that there is a possibility of things working out. The headhunter can measure the potential employee’s interest level and be the communicating agent till you decide to take things into your own hands. 3. Check the legal terms. Most organizations make their employees enter into a non-compete agreement when they sign their employment contract. This could be an impediment for you if you are looking at hiring your competitor’s star performer or any other employee from a rival firm. What we mean is that a non-compete agreement doesn’t allow such an employee to join a competing firm or start a competing business till the lapse of a certain period after termination of employment. Such non-compete
agreements are legally binding and can drag you to court for trials that may drain both your time and money. If you are sure of hiring your competitor’s employee, and everything else falls into place except for the legal terms that may be stopping you, the best thing to do is to seek professional advice from a lawyer or engage the services of a corporate law firm. They would be the best people to guide you in this matter. It would also be helpful to ask the candidate to secure a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or formal relieving letter from the competitor firm. There could also be issues of IPR that may have to be sorted out. 4. Offer a fair deal. When you finally sit down across the table and talk to the potential employee, tell him/her everything you have to share about your company. It is not always the money that lures people toward newer jobs. It is more often the opportunity to experiment, try something new, innovate, handle more responsibilities, lead a team, etc that attracts people. The candidate’s personality has to gel with the culture of your company. Often, two rival firms targeting the same market and offering similar products/services function in totally different ways. An employee moving from one to another should be aware of this change and prepared to embrace the same. Also, if you are going to ask the employee to open up the competitor’s trade secrets, it could be the start of a dirty game. Remember, you are hiring the candidate for his talent, knowledge and experience, not for stealing trade secrets of the other firm. Such an act could be legally punishable too. 5. Evaluate your position in the industry. Hiring your rival’s employee may seem like a wise decision for the growth of your company. However, it comes packed with its fair share of risks and rewards. If you are a small player in a niche market, it could spark off a talent war whether you like it or not. Think of all possible repercussions before you take the final leap. There have been instances in many Indian industry verticals where repeated poaching has led to the cost of talent shooting up by two or three times. Is that the way you want to go? You could be setting an example in your industry, so be careful and put your thinking cap on before knocking on the doors of your competitor’s top performer.
To read more, grab the April issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + April 2011 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
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chakra power The new rooms at The Park, Kolkata, focus on the ancient Chakra methodology. By Prerna Raturi 1
ell, if you didn’t know about Someplace Else or even Tantra in Kolkata—a slim chance, there—The Park on Kolkata’s most happening street has more to catch your eye. For, the flagship hotel of The Park Hotels, India’s only collection of contemporary luxury fivestar boutique hotels, has reintroduced its Indian specialty restaurant, Saffron, that offers regional cuisine from all over India. This comes close on the heels of the hotel launching its fourth floor north
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wing of 20 luxury premium rooms. The hotel had opened a brand new lobby and reception area that was unveiled in 2009. The bold new look with Swarovski ceiling lights and Tom Dixon mirror pendant of the hotel became a talking point along with the new street café, The Street, which links Park Street to the reception area. This time, it is the rooms that London-based designers Conran and Partners have worked on to wow. Based on the Chakra concept—which
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believes each of the seven colors in the rainbow represent the seven Chakras in our body—each room is dominated by one of the seven Vibgyor colors. As you walk on the black-on-black damask corridor to this new wing, you can make out the color of the room from the color on the illuminated room number. The plush interiors are in lacquered black, with the Chakra color being liberally used for wool rugs, bed throws, cushions and the table tops. Surreal silver-beaded curtains complete the look. But lest you think the business traveler will only get energy from the basic colors, look again. For, the rooms have state-of-the art features such as a 43-inch plasma TV, DVD player, in-room coffee
maker to high-speed internet connectivity. And then there are the bathrooms, equipped with relaxing rain and massage showers. The Residence, an all-suite deluxe floor, has been there for 14 years, and has 16 deluxe suites and one presidential suite. These designer suites are perfect for the business traveler with their facilities such as individual fax and a private jacuzzi and personal butlers in attendance. Here, you can also enjoy special benefits such as private dining options and complementary breakfast as well as Happy Hours at The Residence Lounge. You can also opt for Aura, the luxury spa, to awaken your senses and unwind. And you’ve always got Someplace Else.
NEW OFFERS 1 & 5. Luxury premium rooms at The Park, Kolkata 2. Saffron, the Indian specialty restaurant 3 & 4. The Street, the new cafe at the hotel
To read more, grab the April issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + April 2011 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
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TEST YOUR MOBILE MANNERS Shall we learn from Tiger and Favre? Take our sixpoint quiz to avoid a messy mishap. By Jason Ankeny
Reckless mobile device use is a growing epidemic that threatens the very fabric of life. Since you need to pass a written test to drive a car, operate heavy machinery and perform other everyday tasks, we decided there should be one to encourage more responsible mobile phone usage. Will you pass or fail? 1. You are meeting an important client for dinner when your mobile handset rings. You a. Send the call to voicemail b. Step away from the table to take the call c. Say, “Hang on, my bookie’s on the phone” 2. You are driving to the airport when an employee calls. You a. Accept the call using a hands-free headset b. Pull the car over and take the call c. Keep one hand on the wheel while typing a text message that reads, “Can’t talk, driving”
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3. You are sitting down with a prospective client when your phone’s Jimi Hendrix ringtone interrupts the conversation. You a. Apologize b. Make light of the situation c. Seize the moment to show off your air guitar skills
4. You agree to meet with a longtime client using the iPhone’s FACETIME VIDEO chat service. You open the call by saying: a. “You’re right—this is much better than voice calling!” b. “Isn’t technology amazing?” c. “Wow—you’ve gained a ton of weight!” 5. You buy a smartphone expressly to show off a. Your startup’s new mobile app b. Your company’s new mobile website c. Video clips of your cat, Mr. Snugglesworth 6. You use your phone to check in at a new restaurant via Foursquare, constantly update your location on Facebook and tweet details of your meal on Twitter. You are a. A product of the social media generation b. Deeply connected to the virtual world c. Self-absorbed
Illustration© Chaitanya Surpur