13 Movies Entrepreneurs Must See
MEN BEHIND
MANKIND PHARMA
Fly High with the Aviation Boom
NOVEMBER 2010 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 Rs 100
THE
CZAR
Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook has changed the way you do business
How You Can Make and Save Money with Social Media
table of contents 25
INSIGHTS 22 THE GARAGE
Ankush Chibber talks of his first attempt at starting up, falling down and the lessons learnt.
24 QUALITY TRUMPS QUANTITY
Surajit Agarwal on the relevance of audience profiling in web marketing.
25 BANKANOMICS Bharat Banka lists the traits entrepreneurs can borrow from wildlife photographers.
SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIAL 46 THE ZUCKERBERG SAGA
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg brought about a revolution in marketing and communication that no business can today afford to overlook. Here's how it happened. By Team Entrepreneur
48 10 DOS AND DON’TS FOR
53 THE DOS AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL MEDIA A quick look at the rules entrepreneurs should stand by while embarking on the social media journey. As told to Ankush Chibber
54 PROMOTED TWEETS
Tips to make the most of your Facebook marketing efforts.
The micro blogging site's new model hinges on user engagement. Does your content fit the bill?
By Scott Gerber
By Allen Moon
49 SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FOR
56 SOCIAL MEDIA = BETTER
FACEBOOK PAGES
ENTREPRENEURS
BUSINESS
Startup founders are often best placed to leverage social media platforms.
Use social media to market your products and services.
By Kiruba Shankar
50 FACEBOOK ADS:
SUCCESS SECRETS FROM A FACEBOOK INSIDER
Learn how to target users through profile information and drive traffic to your page through ads. By Elsa Wenzel
6 Entrepreneur + November 2010
By Sana Salam, Bindi Mehta and Ankush Chibber
60 FIVE MARKET RESEARCH TOOLS FOR TWITTER Cut through the clutter and reach your exact audience with these tools. By Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson
26 NETWORK OF ENTREPRENEURS Sankrant Sanu on anti-hierarchical and socially relevant business models. 28 VENTURES, HEROES AND A HAMMOCK Richard Branson talks about the people who inspire him, where ideas strike him and how he unwinds. 30 INCUBATION, NOT PLACEMENTS! Nandini Vaidyanathan on the need for entrepreneurshipcenters in tier II and III cities. 32 FLIPPING THE FUNDAMENTALS Vijay Anand on revisiting assumptions and disruptive innovation you.
IN CONVERSATION 34 “SOME OF THE GREATEST
INNOVATIONS DIE AT BANK PARKING LOTS” Alyse Nelson, CEO and President of Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-profit that advances women’s economic, political and social status around the world, talks about providing skills and networking support. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR 36 THE GAME CHANGER
Surbhi Bhagat, founder of online educational portal Univexcellence, is one among the 10,000 deserving women world over Goldmand Sachs is trying to empower. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
34
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR 38 SEEDS OF SUCCESS SEED helps corporates map socio-economic risks of projects and engage in active rehabilitation and integrated development. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
GREEN SIGNALS 40 NOTCH UP THOSE CARBON CREDITS It is time for entrepreneurs to sit up and take notice of the vibrant global carbon trading market. By Rajnish Changrani
OPPORTUNITIES 36 72
42 THE NEW AGE AVIATORS A host of entrepreneurs are building businesses around the aviation sector. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari and Shonali Advani
MONEY 88 GET FUNDED RIGHT NOW
Global online platform GrowVC comes knocking on the doors of Indian entrepreneurs. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
90 KEEP YOUR CREDIT CLEAN
Keep your personal ďŹ nancial slate clean. Build a good credit report score. By Rosalind Resnick
91 VENTURE FUNDING, ONE DOLLAR AT A TIME MicroVentures links startups to angel investors. By Jason Ankeny 62
93 THE NEW, NEW ALTERNATIVES A new breed of lenders. Is it a revolution in the making? By Gwen Moran
GETTING THERE 62 THE GIANT LEAPS OF MANKIND Mankind Pharma toppled the popular industry business model to trace its journey to success. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
OFF BEAT 72 LESSONS FROM REEL LIFE
Pick any of our 13 classics that leave you with valuable lessons on entrepreneurship. By Prerna Raturi Entrepreneur + November 2010 7
table of contents
115
HOT STARTUP OF THE MONTH
102 ON A HOTEL TRAIL
THE ULTIMATE 'HOW TO' BUSINESS GUIDE
There is someone tracking the hotel inventory in the country. By Shonali Advani
102
115 Buy a Domain Name
106 HEAR, HEAR
Four IIT-M entrepreneurs are out to help people with oral communication disabilities. By Shonali Advani
117 Take your brand to customers 118 Co-create value with your customer 119 Use trade shows to promote your business 120 Start a business in Tamil Nadu
CLASSROOMS
123 Create a Founders’ Agreement
76
TECH DEPARTMENT 76 RIDE THE WAVE?
Samsung is betting big on Indians taking to the Wave. By Ankush Chibber
78 “WE HAVE ACHIEVED THE RIGHT PRICING STRUCTURE HEREâ€? Amit Midha, President, Dell APJ CSMB, Dell Greater China and South Asia, talks about the ďŹ rm's business strategy in India. By Ankush Chibber 80 THE POWER OF THE PORTABLE
Are you a mobile entrepreneur? Pick your tool from a range of portables. By Jonathan Blum
84 FIT TO BE TETHERED
An app that lets your laptop tie into your smartphone’s 3G connection to use the latter’s data service plan. By Dan O’Shea
96 LOOKING TO SCALE UP YOUR
SUCCESS STRATEGIES
98 “AN ILL-PLANNED INDUCTION
68 LIFE BEYOND THE SHELF
Procter & Gamble is re-creating its iconic brands Tide and Mr. Clean as dry cleaning and carwash franchises. By Jason Daley
10 FEEDBACK 11 RESOURCES 12 NEWS IMPACT 16 SME DOCTOR 20 STUMPSPEAK 130 BACKSTAGE
COVER DESIGN
124 TRIBUTES TO MASTERS Cool products based on popular icons. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
Koh at InterContinental Marine Drive. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
ď‚&#x; ď‚&#x;
ď‚&#x; !
NIRMAL BISWAS # ! ! " $ % % # #! !!
RESULTS IN LOW PRODUCTIVITY� Induction marks the beginning of your employee’s journey. Make it matter. By Nirmit Parekh
126 GOURMET ISLAND
ENTERPRISE? Seven steps to get there. By Rana Kapoor
SPEND IT
REGULARS
8 Entrepreneur + November 2010
LOCALLY AVAILABLE Healthcare offers a host of entrepreneurialopportunities. By Ved Prakash Arya
86 GETTING THIN Dying to get thin? A guide to the work ready thin PC. By Jonathan Blum
85 HOW SAFE IS YOUR BUSINESS? SMEs need to adopt a holistic approach to IT security. By Nilendu Mitra
94 BE GLOBALLY ORIENTED, YET
COVER IMAGE
GETTY IMAGES
128 MICRA MAGIC Will the Nissan Micra deliver? By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
resources [Info that’s handy]
THE EMERGING INDIA AWARDS, 6TH EDITION honor SMEs that have demonstrated excellence and have proved to be an inspiration for the next generation of SMEs, bringing them at par with top global organizations. After an in-depth performance evaluation by CRISIL, India’s leading rating agency, 25 entries were short-listed in each business category. Following further scrutiny, three finalists will be selected in each category and then face an expert jury panel. The winners will be felicitated at a grand award ceremony in Mumbai, which will be attended by leading personalities from diverse fields, policy makers and top entrepreneurs. The jury panel includes industry experts like Rajiv Memani, Country Managing Partner, E&Y; Ved Jain, Ved Jain & Associates; Anu Aga, Director, Thermax India; Harit Nagpal, MD, TATA SKY; Virendra D. Mhaiskar, Chairman & MD, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd.; and R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki. The jury meet will take place on October 29, 2010 at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai.
T
he CNBC-TV18 Emerging India Awards are back to celebrate the people who are empowering India and taking the country giant leaps forward with their businesses. The Emerging India Awards have set a benchmark that small and medium enterprises across the world aspire toward. They provide SMEs with better access to capital, technology, global markets and quality manpower while uniting this dispersed community on a single platform. In their 6th edition, the awards will
Website: www.emergingindia.moneycontrol.com
THE TIE ENTREPRENEURIAL SUMMIT 2010
T
he fifth TiE Entrepreneurial Summit (TES), one of the largest entrepreneurship symposiums in Asia, will take place in New Delhi on December 21-23, 2010. “Enterprising India: Changing the Nation, Leading the World” will be a 3-day mega event that will focus on entrepreneurial opportunities present across industries. Enterprising India aims to showcase and celebrate the growing number of enterprising Indians. The event will include: Made-in-India: A platform to meet inspiring Indian entrepreneurs
Keynote speeches by N.R. Narayana Murthy, Amartya Sen, Chanda Kochhar Panel debates on a variety of domains and growth-enablers for SMEs Opportunities to showcase your enterprise Gurukul sessions by top entrepreneurs Opportunities to meet investors Financial clinics with banks Mentoring and networking interactions Date: December 21-23, 2010 Venue: Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi Website: www.tiesummit.org
TiE INSTITUTE KNOWLEDGE SERIES ON ‘SCALING UP’
TiE Mumbai’s education program started off with a vision of being an ‘Entrepreneur’s platform of learning’. It is aimed at educating and inspiring budding entrepreneurs through the experiences of successful entrepreneurs. The faculty for the TiE Knowledge Series is drawn from a rich database that consists of TiE charter members, sponsors and a wide network of experts. Date: November 27, 2010 Topic: Marketing & Branding: Understanding brand positioning and competitive advantage Building value brands Optimizing the promotional mix to better engage stakeholders Using social media in order to optimize the marketing plan Website: mumbai.tie.org
To read more, grab the November issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + November 2010 11 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
INSIGHTS BRAND XXXX BRANSON
Ventures, Heroes and a Hammock The British billionaire opens up about what motivates him and how he lives his life. By Richard Branson
P
eople often ask me what drives me—what motivates me to undertake new challenges. They also like to know how I got to where I am today and how I like to spend my time away from work. Here is a glimpse into my life and some tips for yours.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU? The opportunity to learn new things, try new ventures and meet new people. I have been very fortunate to have led an interesting life. Part of that has been because of my willingness, and Virgin’s willingness, to keep trying new ventures.
HOW IMPORTANT IS MONEY TO YOU?
“Often I find that if you are really passionate and committed, you do better— and have a better chance of making your venture pay the bills.”
I pursue what I am passionate about, whether that will make money or not. Often I find that if you are really passionate and committed, you do better—and have a better chance of making the venture pay the bills. Money has enabled me to start up and support a number of philanthropic causes through Virgin Unite. I hope we can play a part in leaving the world in better shape than we found it.
WHOM DO YOU ADMIRE PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY? I admire many people both personally and professionally. One of the best things about my life is getting to meet many incredible people on my travels and through work. We now employ almost 50,000 people worldwide and, as often as I can, I pop into the offices to meet and talk with the staff. Not only do they all give 150 percent and really believe in what they are doing—which helps keep me going—but they’re also great fun and love a party, which keeps me young. (Well, young at heart, anyway!) Outside of my friends, family and staff, here are a few of the people I admire: Freddie Laker, the founder of Laker Airways, one of the first “no frills” carriers; Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid activist who spent 27 years in prison before he became president of South
28 Entrepreneur + November 2010
Africa; Desmond Tutu, the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, who chaired his country’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee; Peter Gabriel, the successful English musician and songwriter (once the lead vocalist and flautist for the progressive rock group Genesis) who now produces and promotes world music and humanitarian causes; the late Mo Mowlam, who was the secretary of state for Northern Ireland when the historic Good Friday Peace Agreement was signed in 1998; and the aviation genius Burt Rutan, an American aerospace engineer who designed the Voyager, the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, and the sub-orbital spaceplane SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space twice within a two-week period. All of these people have exhibited courage, talent and a zest for getting things done that I really admire.
WHO OR WHAT WOULD YOU SAY INSPIRES YOU IN LIFE? I have had great support from my family and friends. Two very different characters spring to mind. First is the late Steve Fossett, a dear friend and fellow adventurer. We first met when we were competing for ballooning records. In the end we combined our efforts, and Steve flew around the world in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, on one tank of fuel, without stopping. He kept pushing and challenging himself, taking on the impossible and often achieving it. He has motivated me to try to do the same! Nelson Mandela’s life and story also have inspired me tremendously. He went through many hardships with great dignity and strength. He has devoted his life to making his country and our world a better place. Recently, we worked together with Peter Gabriel to set up the Elders, a group of former world leaders who are using their knowledge and experience to resolve conflicts in the world.
It is fascinating—extraordinary—to listen to this group of eminent global leaders and to see what they are trying to do in order to mitigate the causes of human suffering.
WHAT IS A TYPICAL DAY IN YOUR LIFE? IS THERE SUCH A THING? I don’t think I ever have a “typical day.” But when I’m home on Necker Island, I find it is the perfect place for work, play and life. I always wake up early—I love that quiet time in the morning. Let’s face it: I have the most beautiful office in the world—a hammock overlooking the British Virgin Islands! A fantastic place for reflection, it sets me up for the day and the surprises that are bound to happen. I come up with more ideas on that hammock than I ever would anywhere else. Plus, there’s also the advantage of being well-positioned from Necker Island to deal with all the time zones that the Virgin Group operates in. I like to start my day with a swim. After breakfast, I hit the phone. I still far prefer talking to people to using e-mail. I don’t have set start and finish times. At the end of the day, I like to play tennis to unwind, then grab a drink as the sun goes down.
HOW DO YOU RELAX? Since I travel so much, there’s nothing better than heading home to spend time with my family and friends. I love to go kite surfing with my son Sam and my nephews, play a game of tennis with friends, or sail around the islands. These are all good ways to unwind.
HOW DO YOU SPOIL YOURSELF? DO YOU HAVE ANY GUILTY PLEASURES? I enjoy the occasional bar of chocolate—or one of my wife Joan’s amazing fried egg sandwiches! 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 + November 2010 29
cover story
10 Use these tips to make the most of your Facebook marketing efforts. By Scott Gerber
D S AND D N’TS
FOR FACEBOOK PAGES F
acebook may have 500 million users, but having an outpost on the social media site won’t necessarily increase sales or referrals to your website. But the right tools, used strategically, can help make Facebook an important part of your marketing, lead acquisition and customer-service strategies. Here are some dos and don’ts for your company’s Facebook page…
Take advantage of Facebook Places. This location-based application allows users to “check in”—or alert their network—wherever they are. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, turn patrons into Facebook promoters by giving them freebies or specials offers if they check-in from your location, using Facebook Places. But be sure to connect your check-in page to your company page, otherwise those Facebook users who click check-in links on their News Feeds and Walls will be taken to a generic Facebook page that doesn’t contain either your keywords or your branding.
1
Use Facebook for customer service. Online support forums and livechat services can be costly. But Facebook can help you communicate easily with customers who become your fans on the site. Facebook’s Wall, forums, status updates and other features let you answer technical and other queries, post new product upgrades or offer a frequently-asked-questions section. Additionally, your fans can help each other out.
2
Go “tag” crazy. Tagging is simply to identify a Facebook user in a photo or video, an action that triggers an update to the user’s News Feeds. Tag your business and your customers in videos and photos as often as possible. Why? Tagged photos and videos, especially those
3
48 Entrepreneur + November 2010
tagged by your fans, have a higher likelihood of being seen by more people. If you decide to launch a Facebook promotion, try to find ways to integrate tagging into the plan.
Befriend Facebook group administrators. Search out influencers on Facebook and offer them specials, coupons and other perks they can offer to their Facebook groups. A status update, Wall post or even a message from a group’s administrator will return better results than a mass message to their members from you.
4
Add a well-placed “Like” button to your website and newsletters. Don’t just throw a “Like” button on your site, integrate it into the customer experience and surround it with a call to action. For example, place near your mailinglist sign-up form. Users are more likely to click a “Like” button while opting-in for a subscription. Test, track and adjust this tactic until you see results.
5
Let your Facebook Wall be the first thing newcomers to your page see. The company page Wall is usually busy with status updates and user comments. Instead, use Facebook’s page settings to set up a “welcome” page (see “How do I change the default tab”). Make sure it inspires action. Perhaps you can post a short YouTube video about your company with a vanity URL to a big promotion website or design a custom background showing users how to sign up for your mailing list.
6
Turn off your user comments function. If you promote your brand online, odds are good that you’ll receive some negative feedback. Whether or not these comments are warranted,
7
SOCIAL
MEDIA
TIPS
FOR ENTREPRENEURS your responses and communication with these individuals will demonstrate your commitment to customer service. Use the Facebook Events tab for RSVPs. If users register for events that you list on Facebook, you will not capture their data for your mailing list. Always require registrants to sign up for events on your own site.
8
Send mass messages to your network. Most users will never even look at your messages. Should you be compelled to send a message, make sure it offers something of real value. Clearly state that value in the message subject line. Avoid general brand messages and announcements, or you’ll lose supporters.
9
Link Facebook Ads to your Facebook page. Targeted and compelling Facebook Ads may get you results. But link them to a page on your website that hosts information about the promotion and encourages users to take action in as few clicks as possible. You must also remember to push users from Facebook to your turf—a web page—where you control the content, environment and functionality. Doing so may provide a higher probability of converting leads into sales and acquiring consumer contact information.
10
©Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved. SCOTT GERBER is the founder of Sizzle It!, a New Yorkbased sizzle reel production company specializing in promotional videos for PR and marketing professionals. He is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, public speaker and author of Never Get a “Real” Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business and Not Go Broke (Wiley, 2010).
Startup founders are best-placed to leverage social media for the improvement of their business. By Kiruba Shankar
AS A FOUNDER, BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED. There’s no one more passionate about your vision and your company like you. Hence, you are best-placed to convey that vision and the unique attitude that your startup possesses. Don’t fully delegate it to another employee or outsource it. Take help, but be intimately involved in social media. MAKE THE MOST OF THE FREEDOM. One of the advantages of running a startup is that you don’t have the baggage of a big company. There are no series of permissions to be secured, no layers of bureaucracy and no corporate communication diktats to be maneuvered. You are free to convey your points of view. Ask the employees of any big company and they’ll tell you that it’s a privilege. Now, go make the most of the freedom. KEEP THE CONVERSATIONS ACTIVE. It is one thing to start up, but a completely different thing to keep the conversations active. Getting onto social media is a two-edged knife. If you aren’t active, then it hurts you more than helps you. THINK LONG TERM. Social media is like running a marathon. You’ll need to keep at it consistently. Though you’ll be crazily busy with your startup challenges, this is one area you should not ignore. THINK OFFLINE AND ONLINE. Social media is part of a bigger game plan. This means that you must give sufficient respect to offline promotions as well. For example, you must speak at conferences, use PR to reach out to traditional media, write columns etc. But for each of these, you can use social media effectively to propagate your offline presence strongly. BLOGGING IS IMPORTANT. Platforms are transient. Remember Ryze, the professional network? That’s gone; today everyone’s using LinkedIn. Remember Orkut? That’s passe and now it’s Facebook. Pretty soon there will be cooler stuff that’ll replace Facebook and LinkedIn. But blogging on your own website remains constant. Never ignore blogging. It acts like old wine, bringing in good SEO benefits to your site. KIRUBA SHANKAR is the CEO of Business Blogging Pvt. Ltd., a Chennai-based social media consultancy firm.
To read more, grab the November issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + November 2010 49 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
cover story
SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook, Twitter and the like are not teen fads. Wake up and smell the money these tools are bringing to businesses in India and abroad. By Sana Salam, Bindi Mehta and Ankush Chibber
T
he Oxford English Dictionary simply defines social media as ‘websites and applications used for social networking.’ Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein have famously defined social media as a group of internet-based applications which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content. When it comes to business, however, these definitions are really putting out what social media means.
“PEOPLE POWER”
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter etc
That’s how an entrepreneur explained the relentless march of social media through the world of business. No more, he said, will the customer be fed bile as he/she can now easily throw the same back at the business. Albeit in harsher words, what the entrepreneur was trying to explain is that the old way of engaging customers is now over. You can no longer just talk to him through the idiot box or the pink sheet. You cannot brainwash. You have to engage. You have to talk to him personally. At various stages of his day. Without interrupting him. And always with his permission. This entrepreneur more or less hit the nail on the head with his explanation of social media in the context of businesses. The conservatives like to dismiss social media as just another fad. They call tools like Facebook and Twitter transient mediums that will eventually fade away and be replaced by new ones. A gentleman from an old warhorse of an advertising agency once said that a bunch of teens on Facebook make zilch of a difference to a big business. Really?
20% others:
MIND THE GAP
Courtesy: Sridhar Seshadri, Head, Online Sales & Operations, Google
Earlier this month, U.S.-based clothing retailer Gap Inc. released a new logo on its Facebook page that it called “a more contemporary,
40:40:20 Your digital marketing effort should be:
40% paid: SEO, SEM
40% free:
Web and mobile apps, e-mail marketing
56 Entrepreneur + November 2010
modern expression,” when compared to its original iconic logo. Bad luck, though, that no one else thought so. In an unbelievably short period of time, Gap was flooded with a few thousand negative comments about the logo. Within a couple of days, Gap was being bombarded with negative comments on the logo on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and almost every second design blog. People went creative with their feedback too. There were user-generated logo contests, a parody Twitter account and a Crap Logo Yourself website, which were going viral at an alarming speed. Initially, they tried to play to the gallery by letting the fans suggest alternative designs while saying that they did “like their version.” But the fury of the onslaught was such that within a week, Gap announced on the same Facebook page that it was reverting to its old logo across all channels with immediate effect.
PEOPLE: 1. BIG BUSINESS: 0. Gap is the largest specialty apparel retailer in the U.S. and the second largest in the world. It has about 1.5 lakh employees and operates a little over 3,000 stores across the world. Yet it yielded to, as that advertising gentleman said, a bunch of teens on Facebook. The aforementioned can be interpreted by some as an example of how easily a customer can be aggressive with a big business in the social media age. However, the defensive and corrective measures taken by Gap because of the virtual onslaught have worked in its favor. Would it have preferred the backlash against the logo to come in its sales figures? Social media is here to stay. And whether some people agree or not, it is here to make some money and save some money for businesses, big and small.
= BETTER BUSINESS BIG BRANDS BUCKLE UP
SOCIAL BOOK PIC T U
G: A
UD
RES
C R OWD
S O UR C
ED C O
N TEN
O V ID E
T BL O
G PL
ATF O
RMS
LIVE
CA
S T IN
IO &
COMMENT & REPUTA TION
M ARK S
BL O GS / TIONS ER S A
W IK I
CONV
Indian big businesses are also slowly warming up to using social media beyond just trying to make use of their digital marketing budgets. Mahesh Murthy, Founder, Pinstorm, a Mumbai-based digital marketing firm, says that the adoption of social media management has been largely around a few sectors, namely banking and financial services, telecom, retail and IT. “IT services firms have focused more on B2B media like LinkedIn and global executive forums, while consumer brands in India have started investing in efforts on Facebook,” he says. One such brand is Tata Docomo, the GSM cellular division of Tata Teleservices Ltd., which made a huge social media push at the time of its launch in India in mid-2009. As a late entrant to the mobile market, the folks at Tata Docomo reveal that they knew they could not have completely relied only on mass media mediums to connect with the market. Gurinder Singh Sandhu, Head, Corporate Marketing, Tata Teleservices Ltd., tells us that they wanted to measure the brand not by ‘just connections’ but by conversations too. “When we launched our services, the level of activity on social media was very limited and advertising-led,” he says, adding that the company focused on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Orkut in its social media strategy. “Our motto was to reach out to every corner of the web and to every possible target group, not as a corporate brand but as a friend who is willing to engage the consumer in a one-onone dialogue,” he adds. “This could be anything and everything pertaining to the brand—be it the tariff, its offers, its deficiencies, etc.” Judging by numbers alone, Tata Docomo had done well for itself by investing in social media. Its social media base across the tool stands at 10 million and it grows by almost 10,000 direct members daily. But, as Sandhu
BL O G CO
MUSIC
MMUNITI
CAUGHT IN THE WEB
ES
E V EN T S
MICROMEDIA MS
EN T S
D O C UM
LIFESTREA
Social media sites offer great marketing options for startups. But look beyond FB and Twitter too!
T ER
O V ID E
T WIT
AG GR
C TO
EGAT
ION
SPECI FI
MS /
S
V OI
CE
V ID E
SOC IA
L NE T W
ORK S
NICHE NETWOR
KS
C US T
OMER SERVICE NETW ORKS
LOC AT
O
ION
says, the benefit of using social media goes beyond the numbers. He points out that even as traditional media can help a marketer gather mass reach, social media can help marketers reach out to the opinion leaders. “The strength of this medium comes from it having a higher probability of being viral, conversational and dynamic in nature,” he says.
SHOW ME THE MONEY While no one probably argues that the depth of connect with social media is higher than that of traditional media, many in the Indian business world still argue whether it has a
To read more, grab the November issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + November 2010 57 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
HEALTHY PROFITS: R.C. and Rajeev Juneja bask in the success of Mankind Pharma.
The Giant Leaps of
MANKIND Most pharma companies ďŹ rst launch a product in urban markets, then take it to rural markets. Mankind Pharma reversed this step, creating a successful venture in the process. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
62 Entrepreneur + November 2010
PhotoŠ Shamik Banerjee
getting there
W
hen Sanjiv Kaul, former regional director, Ranbaxy, was chairing a pharma division meeting in 2001, he came across Mankind Pharma for the first time. One of Mankind’s products was listed as a competitor for one of Ranbaxy’s products. But he was assured that there was nothing to worry about since Mankind was a small company focusing mainly on Uttar Pradesh. Six months later, at another pharma division meeting, Kaul again came across Mankind Pharma and this time there were two products which were competing with Ranbaxy. Kaul knew that this was the birth of a company which he simply could not wish away and that Mankind was one company which needed to be tracked. Years later, Kaul led ChrysCapital in investing around Rs.108 crore in Mankind Pharma.
THE BEGINNING Born in 1955 in Meerut, R.C. Juneja, Mankind Pharma’s Founder and Chairman, is a science graduate who went on to become a medical representative in 1975 at Kee Pharma and a first-line manager at Lupin. His first brush with entrepreneurship started when he teamed up with two of his brothers to form Bestochem. At 18, his younger brother Rajeev joined him at Bestochem and did much of the administrative work. “Coordinating between small companies and medical representatives was my main task. From serving tea to booking transportation for medical representatives, I did it all,” recalls Rajeev. Soon Rajeev decided to become a medical representative himself in Bestochem and worked from 1984 to 1995 in the company. “I served the company not just as a medical representative but also as a first-line manager,” says Rajeev. In 1995, Rajeev along with his brother left Bestochem in the hands of their third brother to form Mankind Pharma. While R.C. Juneja looked after the finance and production at the company, Rajeev was responsible for marketing. “We started this venture from scratch with no manpower and zero infrastructure,” says Rajeev.
STARTING UP “Forming the core of the business took about two years. When we started out, we had only 52 people working for us. Despite this, we were pleasantly surprised to see a turnover of Rs.4
VALUE ADS
IN FULL FORCE! Mankind’s raunchy contraceptive ad has enhanced its brand recall value among customers. LAUNCHED in 2007, the overthe-counter (OTC) products of the company have been doing well and in its third year in this domain, the company already has a Rs.175 crore business around it. With six products under the portfolio, the OTC sector has antidandruff products, condoms, ED drugs, oral contraceptives, pregnancy determination kits and sweeteners. Among its most popular advertisements is the Manforce condom advertisement which managed to bring brand recall among customers. “In the category concerned, the actual user of a condom is the woman, the man only wears it. The entire campaign was structured over how a woman is pleasantly surprised with the use of condoms and we thought it would be great to get women talking about it. The reaction to the advertisement was very positive and people liked and appreciated the boldness of the brand,” says Azazul Haque, Creative Director, Mudra, who had designed Mankind’s advertisements. “You need to have an advertising strategy once you decide to enter the OTC market. Without advertising in TV, magazines, newspapers and outdoor, you cannot sell such products,” says Rajeev. He further adds: “In the future, we are strongly planning to focus on the OTC market as the outcomes look great and we are interested in developing this market. However, pharmaceuticals will always remain our core business,” says Rajeev.
To read more, grab the November issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + November 2010 63 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
money department [Where to get it, how to make it, how to keep it coming in]
Get Funded
Right Now!
GrowVC is a global online platform that promises to make securing funds easy for startups. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
IF
you are running a startup in India, chances are high that funding gives you maximum headache. To launch a dream product or service, entrepreneurs have to go through a seemingly endless rigmarole of meetings and cost analyses before they can get that check in their hands. A new funding process is now available that promises to ease the processes of funding and open the door to a global forum for its members.
GO GLOBAL GrowVC (Grow Venture Community) is a global online platform providing seed-funding to startups since its inception this February. Partnered and launched in India by Springboard Ventures Pvt. Ltd., the brainchild of Satish Kataria, MD, and Saurabh Agarwal, Director, GrowVC is bringing about a radical change in the methods of securing funding.
HOW GROWVC WORKS The GrowVC platform works in a transparent manner, helping startups and funders/experts alike to keep tabs on where the money moves. The online model is easy to follow, and allows members to be a part of the global community.
88 Entrepreneur + November 2010
1.
Premium subscription
HOW IT WORKS In this new model of funding, access is gained by subscription to full-featured global services. Registration to the site is free while the usage of various services is subscription-based. The subscription fees vary by profile, role, level and payment schedule, starting from Rs.900 per month. The GrowVC community gets 75 percent of the funds, while 25 percent is used to cover the costs of running the service. Subscribed members make all the selections as to what startups the community fund will invest in. The investments are owned and managed by the company directly or via partners or agreed members. When startups fail, there is no return on investment. If there is no ROI in such a scenario, the community fund covers its own losses. However, when startups generate ROI, this is divided between the company members and the top-ranked members, who get
2.
Subscription fee
75%
25%
Community fund
Costs
Member
Subscription fee STARTUPS, EXPERTS AND FUNDERS GAIN ACCESS TO ONLINE GLOBAL PLATFORM GROWVC ON A SUBSCRIPTION BASIS. MINIMUM SUBSCRIPTION IS RS.900.
75% OF THIS MONEY GOES TO GROWVC COMMUNITY FUND; REST 25% TO COVER COSTS OF RUNNING THE SERVICE. SUBSCRIBED MEMBERS SELECT WHICH STARTUPS THE COMMUNITY FUND WILL INVEST IN.
“WEB 2.0 COMPANIES OFTEN NEED ONLY SMALL AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO GROW DUE TO THE COST-EFFECTIVE NATURE OF THEIR BUSINESS MODELS.”
75 percent as commissions. The startups which manage to close 110 percent of their funding targets (direct and allocation) are then closed. On this global platform, startups can access a host of national and international investors, experts and mentors. Investors can also benefit from GrowVC by getting access to a continuous deal flow, irrespective of geographical or sector limitations. They can access detailed term sheets, have the liberty to contact startups as well as select and invite a host of experts to manage investments on their behalf.
principles of Web 2.0 to the area that’s historically been shrouded in mystery—VC funding. I want to bring a better and fairer environment for technology startups seeking funding.”
PLANS AND PROPOSITIONS Founded in February this year by a group of global equity and finance experts, GrowVC has ambitious plans. “We want to democratize funding and support for startups,” claims Jouko Ahvenainen, Founder & Chairman, GrowVC. He is an investor and entrepreneur across the U.S., Europe and Asia, with more than 15 years experience in international business management. Ahvenainen believes that Web 2.0 will significantly change all business, and finance cannot avoid that change. “Now is the time to create new open models to accelerate early-phase company funding,” adds the certified advisor for NasdaqOMX Stockholm and Helsinki earlyphase company lists. Adds Valto Loikkanen, Founder & CEO, GrowVC, a serial entrepreneur who has started several companies across Europe and the U.S. in the web and mobile fields: “Web 2.0 companies often need only small amounts of money to grow, due to the cost-effective nature of their business models, and the investment market hasn’t historically been suited to raising small amounts of capital. GrowVC applies the
3.
Fail :(
SMALL SHARE OF THE PIE The figures, too, speak for themselves. In the U.S., more than 350,000 angels invest around Rs.27,000 crore in about 50,000 fresh business ideas every year, claims the U.S. National Venture Capital Association. However, out of the estimated Rs.9,144 crore that was invested by the VC/PE fraternity in India between January 1-June 12 this year, only about one percent was invested in early-stage deals. GrowVC and Springboard Ventures feel that so far only startups in the domain of technology and IT have found some support, and it is only recently that other sectors (like social enterprises, clean tech and retail) are coming under the spotlight. “The scope for a global platform like ours is, therefore, immense. We are like the eBay of startups, waiting to empower both funders and founders of companies. We also offer a host of other services in areas like marketing, finance, legal, HR, operations and international relations, which aim to make the journey an easier one for the entrepreneurs,” says Kataria.
4.
5. ROI
%
Good :)
Community fund ROI 25%
Top-ranked members GROWVC MANAGES COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS. WHEN STARTUPS FAIL, COMMUNITY FUND COVERS ITS OWN LOSSES.
IF STARTUP GENERATES ROI, THAT IS DIVIDED BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND TOP-RANKED MEMBERS.
75% IS PAID AS COMMISSIONS FOR TOP-RANKED MEMBERS. GROWVC WINS ONLY IF THE MEMBERS WIN.
To read more, grab the November issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + November 2010 89 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
hot startup
ON A HOTEL TRAIL
MagicRooms is all set to revolutionize the current system of hotel inventory in India. By Shonali Advani
102 Entrepreneur + November 2010
B
ooked your flight tickets but struggling to find the perfect place to stay at during your family vacation? Help’s just a click away these days, thanks to MagicRooms, an online portal that allows you to choose your hotel accommodation easily and in minutes. The brainchild of serial entrepreneur Niranjan L. Gupta, MagicRooms is an internet-enabled Global Distribution System (GDS) for hotels, which he speculates will transform the way hotel bookings are currently made.
Gupta, the Founder and Managing Director of Bengaluru-based ROOM FOR PROFITS MagicRooms attributes India’s As per an April 2010 research current available inventory at 3 report by Edelweiss Securities lakh hotel rooms, of which 1.5-2 entitled ‘Room for Growth’ lakh are used every day. by analyst Manav Vijay, the The portal is agnostic to any World Travel & Tourism Council range or class of hotels that falls (WTTC) expects India’s Travel within the hospitality indus& Tourism (T&T) market to try. Simply put, it aggregates the grow more than 100 percent inventory of all ranges of hotels: by 2018 to touch Rs.2,70,657 boutique, budget and one to five star as well as serviced apartments crore against Rs.1,24,236 and home stays. “We also intecrore in 2008. To tap this grate our website to an agent’s site opportunity, 25 international and the front end is powered by hotel companies are set to enter MagicRooms,” adds Gupta. India either independently or Despite being as perishable in collaboration with a local as air tickets that get distributed party. WTTC also says in 2010, immediately, travel agents were India’s T&T industry is expected still using archaic, time-consumto generate Rs.5,53,300 crore in ing methods to book hotel rooms. economic activity. This discrepancy between two complementary commodities got him thinking. “Book a hotel room through any agent and he will still pull out a telephone index first, whether it’s for Shimla or Shirdi,” quips Gupta. Considering there was nothing available for travel agents in this regard, MagicRooms was launched in August 2009 to bring in the efficiency of air ticket distribution into the hotel industry. “If I can issue an air ticket in seconds, why can’t I do the same for a hotel booking?” asks Gupta. Around 25 years of industry experience gave Gupta enough mileage to understand the needs from an agent’s point of view. With one in-house technology expert, Gupta planned a two-month calendar for room availability with multi-payment options. In addition, the B2B portal’s differentiators include high prominence for travel agents. Every time an agent logs on to MagicRooms, his name is visible and continues to be when booking confirmations are printed out. “We are only facilitating a booking and not selling rooms,” emphasizes Gupta. The civil engineer-cum MBA degree holder knew he needed to focus on getting as many hotels as possible on board first. The startup claims to have over 2,500 hotels pan India on its list. It was challenging though, since target hotels for MagicRooms are spread across top cities and small towns. The firm deployed staff
ToPhoto© read more, grab the November issue of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur + November 2010 103 Sanjay Ramchandran To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
back+stage STAY AWAY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA IF... By Ankush Chibber
1. You have zero social skills in real life. Zero. 2. You have less than 100 contacts on your mobile phone. 3. You are inclined to swear a lot. In various languages. 4. Your best friend is your sister. Or your mother. 5. Your sense of humor can be best described as Jurassic. 6. You are inclined to slash your wrists as the first hint of criticism. 7. You are a closet Nazi, a douchebag or a religious fanatic. 8. You send out a minimum of five e-mail forwards a day. Spammer. 9. You have an Internet connection as quick as Mumbai’s traffic. 10. You think Twitter is your social media strategy.
130 Entrepreneur + November 2010
Illustration© Chaitanya Surpur