Funding your startup

Now that I have an idea

That’s close to my heart and soul

How do I get the money

To let the ball roll

He says:

There are 3 sources ofmoney

            Your Money

            Their money

            Someone else’s money

            Yourmoney is the money you have

Their money is their ownmoney

Someone else’s money issomebody’s money,

No one knows whose money.

Each kind has its own vicesand nices

Tostart a business, its best to use your own money

But make sure you don’t useall your money

Being a miser, is wiserthan anything else

Better to be a miser at thestart than to

Close your business withouta shot

Anticipate your expenses

Double it and prepareyourself

Find ways to cut your cost

And spend as less as youcan

With an open mind, you canfind ways

To pay in kind instead ofcash

To barter something insteadof paying by cash

To provide a serviceinstead of cash

The more you do this at thebeginning

The better chances you haveat finishing

Barter, Bargain & payin kind

To keep your costs down

Never offer equity at thisstage on.

The time to go looking for“Their Money”

Is when you need money tostay afloat

And to manage your cashflow

It’s better to borrow thismoney than sell equity

As it is their money,managed by themselves

He will want the most outof it and so

Will cut you a deal thatwill suit him more

Better to borrow from himthan to sell!

The time to get “Somebody’s money” is

When you have options togrow

Opportunities galore

And its cash that stops you

And it’s time to grow

Then my dear it’s time toget “somebody’s money”

Somebody’s money is managedby some-one else

To keep getting somebody’smoney

He needs to show a goodreturn

So he seeks out those who seekto grow

And fast growth is what hisheart goes!

This is the time when youdecide

If you want to keep going

If you want to take a digand move out

Go looking for greener pastures

That could be closer toyour heart

Than the one that startedit all!

When taking somebody’smoney

Never take the deal offeredto you

It’s always better tohaggle a bit

And you surely will get abetter deal

See, they are dealing notwith their own money

But somebody’s money

So negotiate they will

And offer a better deal

When you haggle with themover the deal!

Hmm, now I understand

The difference between my own money

Their money and somebody’s money

And also when to use which money

 

How can Crossword compete with FlipKart.com?

The only thing I indulge myself is in buying andreading books. Lots of books! I love going to a bookshop, browse their bookcollection, read a few pages of a book and buy it if I like what I see. Thereare times when I got so immersed in the book that I read the complete book atthe bookshop itself. I loved the cozy chairs that these bookshops provided withso many books to browse and read.

Of late, I have seen that the stock of books atbookshops like Crossword has been on the decline. I also find myself and all myfriends (who buy a lot of books) buying most of our books online from vendorslike Flipkart.com. One of the primary reason is that we get good bargains(discounts ranging from 5-50%) depending on the popularity of the different titles.They ship the book almost same day to your home. They offer an entirely differentexperience to the shoppers.

What does this result in? You find that more and morebooks are being sold online. Though Crossword also has an online store wherethey offer equally compelling bargains, they are losing sales to Flipkart.com. Thisis because of the fact that these websites are considered a necessary way tofight the online bookstores but are not promoted the way flipkart management promotestheir websites (as it is their only mode of survival).

One possible reason why Crossword does not promotetheir online store could be that they perceive that this could possibly hurttheir sales in their physical stores. What they do not realize is that this isanyways affecting their sales of the physical stores and they are losing thesale to their competitors.

This same trend that happened in the US is beingrepeated in India.

Now the question is what could Crossword do tosucceed from the situation they find themselves in?

In my opinion, they could do one the following:

• Get out of the books business and re-design their stores to sell otherhigh margin products like kid’s toys, clothing, coffee shops, etc. 
• If Crossword wants to continue to sell books, then they need to change their business model & their Go-to-market strategy and could do the following:

• Convert the bookshops to coffee shops that stock books, have cozy seats where youcan sit, relax, have a cup of coffee and read a book for as long as you want to.Run a marketing blitz to promote the new model. Coffee sales in the storesshould be able to cover the cost of running the store. Install automated check-outcounters where customers can order the books they want from within the storesto.
• Only sell the top 20 best sellers at the store. Anything else onlyavailable for delivery. This allows me to come in, browse, read a few chaptersof a book, order a cup of coffee and decide which book I want to buy. I thenplace the order at the counter (could also be a kiosk) and go home. The booksget delivered at my home. I get the best of both the worlds. The comfy feelingof browsing for books the old fashioned way and ordering books with the bestdiscounts, the modern way.
• If customers don’t come to you, you go to where your customer is! Install kiosks at differentmetro stations, malls, offices, bus stops (near lifts) where people can orderbooks or magazines while waiting for the bus, train or while having some coffeeat the office cafeteria.
• If you can’t compete with them, join them! Close all physical books storesand become an online bookseller themselves and go crazy with media (incl. socialmedia) blitz.

The worst thing that they can do is not to doanything and continue to do business as usual. Because, it is end of Business as usual for Crossword and  will resultin only one thing – Slow & painful death.

Hope someone is listening! 

What can Business Model Innovation projects learn from Film making

I came across an interesting approach to business model innovation being promoted by the folks @ Board of Innovation. They use the analogy of making a film to a business model innovation project. I really like this analogy. 

 

The advantage of considering your business model innovation project as producing a film helps the project in the following ways:

1. Makes the entire process more fun and exciting.
2. Provides us a process to follow when the team falters.
3. As with producing a film, you need a team of people with a diverse sets of skills to come together and work to move a vision to the realm of reality and continuously work together to achieve the vision.
4. There is no ambiguity about if they will succeed. They work with a belief and certainty that they will finish the project.
5. As with producing a movie, you need to be vary about running over-budget or over-time. Both can be very harmful to the project.
6. As the success of the film depends on how it is marketed, so is the success of the innovation project dependent on how it is marketed internally.
7. As with any film, the financial success of the project is not guaranteed, so it is with the Business model innovation project.But you still put in your best foot forward and are prepared to accept failure.You learn from the failure and move on.
8. Films make money not only on the box office, but from merchandising, TV rights, DVD rights, streaming rights, music rights, etc. So, it is with innovation projects. You can almost always find different usage of what you have created or learned in the innovation project to some other project/division in your business.

You can find the entire process being advocated by the Board of Innovation below:

The most Awesome way to experience an Innovation project (by @nickdemey)

View more presentations from Board of Innovation .com

Wisdom to Start

I have searched for a teacher far and wide

read countless books

and listened to countless men

Talk about starting a business!

But I am yet to meet a man

Who’s done it all

Ran some successfully

Sold some successfully,

Lost money in some

And willing to share his wisdom!

Introduction

One day, a friend of mine

told me about an old man

Who had started a number of businesses

Some highly successful & some barely so

Some utterly failing & some marginally so

Some he sold for a killing

& some to stay afloat

He was open and willing to share his wisdom

With anyone who was willing to probe

So, with not much expectation

I ask for an audience

Anytime that suits you

Comes back the reply!

The meeting:

So, with a pen and a paper

And an open mind

Armed with a lot of questions

I head out to his office

To meet him, to greet him

To learn from him!

With admiration & affection

Doubt and temptation,

I introduce myself & say

I want to know about

starting and running a business

What to do & what not to

When to start & when to stop

I have a lot of questions

For which I seek answers

So that I and my friends 

Can start and run businesses

With more success than failure

Spreading more joy than sadness!

Purpose

He looks at me

His eyes so kind

With a voice so soft

He asks:

“But why do you want tostart a business?”

I say:

“How does it matter?

Is it important to know the answer?

What difference does it make

If I want to make more money or name

or if I want to create more jobs or go after fame

or if I want to “Make a dent in the universe”

what difference does it make?

He says:

It makes as much difference

As it makes to plant the rightseed

If you want apples, you needto plant an apple seed

You need to plough yourfield for an apple tree

Sow the seeds of an appletree

Apply the right manure andprepare the field

So that you can grow anapple tree!

If you want to harvestwithin the year

Apple tree is not for you mydear!

Timing

This I understand sir

Now that this is clear

Can you tell me sir

When is the right time to start a business

Is it when I am young, fresh out-of-college

With a fresh mind and no responsibilities

Or is it better to work for someone else

To Learn on the job

To make your share of mistakes

On someone else’s cost

Though it may mean you spend some years

And end with more Responsibilities in life

Or is it when my hair is grey and

My heir is turning young

When is the right time to start a business sir?

He says:

Just like there is no age tolearn

No age to die

There is no age to start abusiness

Some start young

Some not so young

If you do all it takes,

It’s never too soon

It’s never too late

Hmm, now I understand sir

As with everything else inlife

It doesn’t matter when youstart, where you start

What matters is what youstart, how you start

And whether you finish,whatever you start!

What you need to start

Now that I know, it doesn’t matter when you start

Please tell me what do I need to start

Do I need money or ideas?

Do I need a team or should I do it alone?

What should I know and what should I do?

He says:

To start a business my dear

You don’t need money or idea

You don’t need team or anysuch thing

To start a business my dear

All you need is a“Will-to-win” & an “open

mind”

With a will-to-win and anopen mind

Everything else is a matterof time

Cometh the hour, cometh themoney

Cometh the hour, cometh theidea

Cometh the hour, cometh theteam

This is so good sir,

Once I have an openmind

And a will-to-win

What do I do next sir?

He says:

Let’s get back to myquestion

Sit back and think about thereason

Why do you want to start abusiness?

Now, write that down on apiece of paper

Fold it & keep it inyour wallet

Now, don’t you ever forgetthat piece of paper

Take it out, read it aloud

At every step of the way

When the options are clear

And the choice not so clear

This piece of paper is yourguiding light

This will take your ship toyour port all right!

Now that you have yourguiding light

With an open mind, startthinking all night

Come up with ideas aboutbusiness you

want to start

And then write them all

Keep up the thinking with anopen mind

And Don’t bother with all that you write

Take a few days, take a fewweeks

Till you hit an idea andthat hits you

One that is impossible to do

One that doesn’t leave you

That my dear is the business

You need to do!

Hmm, Now I understand

The business idea comes from the knowledge

Of what I want

And is not based on logic or thought

But based on the feeling of my gut!

I am not sure if that is the way

As I am not sure if my gut will show me the way

How do I get over this doubt

Help me sir, with your thought!

He says:

The thing you call your gut,

Is not just your gut

It’s your connection to yourinner-self

It’s your connection toyourself

The more you trust your gut

The more you trust yourself

The more you trust yourself

The more calm and happy youget

That’s that state that ourGod wants for us.

So my dear, throw yourdoubts aside

And think with an open mind

The one thought that sticksto your mind

Could be the one thatunlocks your soul

Treat it with respect &so it shall treat you

Once decided, have a will towin

And get started on the wayto win!

Hmm, now I understand

With an open mind,

A will to win and a

Business close to you

Theres only one thing

That could stop you

And that is YOU!

He says:

That’s right! Nicely said!

With a fire in the belly

An open mind, a will to win

And a cause that’s close toheart

All the Gods are with you

And the only thing that canstop you

            IsOnly YOU!

Inspiring stuff – Initiative & leadership in Action

Gaming & social concepts applied to make test drives fun

I bought a car last month (Skoda Fabia). The entireexperience of buying the car was less than satisfactory on many counts. I wasonly able to take a short test drive (2Kms) around the showroom. This was thesame case with all the dealerships. When I asked that I would like to take a longertest drive and in different road conditions, I was always indicated that itwould be difficult to manage & turned down. The sales folks went on ranting about the car technology, engine capacity and all the other features of the car not bother to even understand my needs.

For a layman like me, these do not mean much as I donot know if for my driving requirements a vehicle with a higher torque isbetter or how does the size of the wheel base affect my driving performance. Idid try to learn these things and make an objective decision. But in the end, Iwent on instinct and bought Skoda Fabia as I thought that it gave me thesmoothest drive and I felt most comfortable in that car as compared to allother cars (in my budget).

There has been no change in the way cars have beensold for a long time. Now, after so many years, Ford has come up with a way tomake it fun to test drive their car and instead of talking about the carsfeatures, lets prospects experience the features by themselves and share their experiencewith their friends as well. They have used the gaming concepts in designing theuser experience which I think is working very well.

What more could they do to make the car buyingexperience more enjoyable and fun?

11 things you could do to beat the stress due to traffic jam

1. Build a playlist of your favorite music, one thatpumps you up and listen to it when stuck in a traffic jam.
2. Use the record voice mode on your phone (most phoneshave it) to record your thoughts on any topic. You could even record your to dolist for the day on the phone. You could also record a love note for your hubby(or loved one’s) and send it to them as a voice message or play it to them onceyou reach home.
3. Keep a book handy (for all you book-lovers). Read wheneverstuck in a jam where the traffic does not move at all. If stuck in a slowmoving traffic, better to avoid reading the book. 
4. Find a video camera and find a way to mount it inyour car so that you can record yourself while you drive. You could mayberecord a love message for your loved one or a video podcast.
5. I use my BB device to read & respond to tweetswhen I am stuck at a traffic signal or a jam. Takes my mind off the traffic and so no stress due to traffic. 
6. Download interesting audio podcasts, audio books orsomething similar on a USB and listen to it while driving. This provides you theadditional time to learn something new while driving. You gain some moreproductive time.  
7. Introspect. Use this time as your sacred time tointrospect on your priorities for the day (in the morning) or look back at theday to understand what you did, why you did and how could you have done abetter job.
8. Get a driver. Read, listen to music, play, tweet orwork sitting in the back seat. The salary that you end paying him is much lessto the stress you put yourself in and the time you get back to do somethingimportant. You could even use the drive to write a book (if you always wanted towrite one), article, create a presentation, draw something, click some picturesdepicting life on the road.
9. Invite a friend or a colleague to drive with you.Use the time to get to know each other, do a little chit-chat and evenbrainstorm. Nothing like a friend to keep you company at these stressful times.This is also a way to do your bit for mother earth.
10. Exercise! Take a deepbreath (inhale & exhale). Then suck your tummy in and count till 10.Release your tummy and re-do. Do it till you reach your destination. This willstrengthen your ab muscles. Deep breathing will relax your body. 

11. Lastly, start early so that you don’t have to be in a rush. Early birds beat the traffic as well. 

How do you beat the traffic stress? Do let us know by commenting on the blog. Maybe we can all learn some more about ways to beat the traffic blues. 

10 things Kingfisher could do to save itself

1. Limit the number of check-in counters at allairports to one or two. Build and use self-service baggage check-ins. Discourageuse of the counters by charging customers who still use the counters tocheck-in themselves and their baggage. This will help reduce their employee countand also the rent that they pay for the real estate to the airports.
2. Instead of providing a 5 course meal on the flight,provide vouchers to all passengers redeemable at either the originating orarriving airports to buy fresh food. This will help reduce their cost of servingthe customers and also enable customers to have freshly made food and offers alot more choice of food as well.
3. Stop using the sky-walks at the airports. Instead usethe bus to take their customers to the aircraft. This will save some cost incurred to the airports. 
4. Offer only radio, newspapers, magazines & some interesting books as the in-flight entertainment options on the flight. This will help reduce their cost of entertaining the customers. 
5. Sell advertising space on the aircraft (on seatcovers, over-head baggage counters, door of the pilots cabin, etc) to generate somemore revenue.
6. Offer equity to the employees who are willing totake a cut in their salary, rather than offer equity to the bankers. This willreduce the operational cost for the airline & also increase a sense ofownership among the employees. Fully motivated employees could make adifference in the airline failing or coming out with flying colors.
7. Offer debentures to the current shareholders of thecompany redeemable maybe in 5-6 years. This will reward your currentshareholders and not loose further share to the financial institutions.
8. Get help! Run an open innovation contest for allKingfisher customers & employees seeking ideas to help them cut costs andstill be a fun airline to fly in. This will foster a sense of belonging within thecustomers and help strengthen the bond.
9. Let go of some employees & don’t replace them.Start from the top! This will keep the damage to a minimum with the maximum impactin cost savings. This will also give the next level of employees a chance tostep up and take charge.
10. Stop cribbing! Stop seeking government intervention! Take responsibilityfor the current state of affairs and commit to get out of it on their own! 

10 things we can learn from the God of Cricket (Sachin Tendulkar)

• His commitment to the team and his game.
• His ability to remain calm, focused and fit, whichhas helped him to play more cricket than anyone else in the history of thegame.
• His hunger for more success, despite being the mostsuccessful cricketer in the history of the game.   
• His ability to unlearn old techniques and learn newones to stay relevant in the changing times.
• His ability to adapt to the game/situation (abilityto shift between offense/defense).
• His humility despite all his success, adoration andthe love of the entire nation.
• His continued passion for the game (which he has playedmore than anyone else in the history of the game).
• His intense competitive spirit on the field.
• His showing that leading is not the most important thing.The team winning is most important (when he stepped down from leading theIndian cricket team).
• His showing you that you can continue to shineindividually, if you keep performing and help the team win. 

Customer engagement at its best

Heinz has decided to launch their next ketchupproduct exclusively on their Facebook page. This product will be soldexclusively to customers through their Facebook page for about a month, postwhich it will be made available at select Walmart & Safeway outlets.

This intrigued me and I started to follow thediscussions on their facebook page. They have more than 830k likes!


The levelof engagement they have with their fans is also amazing. 


They respond to allqueries, post new competitions, ask people to post pictures, videos, storiesassociated with their ketchup and then genuinely like/comment on these posts.

Organizations who want to learn how to use Facebookto engage with their customers, should look at the way Heinz manages this page.

Kudos to you Heinz !!!!!