entrepreneur november 2010

MEN BEHIND MANKIND PHARMA

13 Movies Entrepreneurs Must See Fly High with the Aviation Boom

THE CZAR

How You Can Make and Save Money with Social Media

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook has changed the way you do business

NOVEMBER 2010 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 Rs 100

THE SO

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INSIGHTS22 THE GARAGEAnkush Chibber talks of his first attempt at starting up, falling down and the lessons learnt.

24 QUALITY TRUMPS QUANTITYSurajit Agarwal on the relevance of audience profiling in web marketing.

25 BANKANOMICS Bharat Banka lists the traits entrepreneurs can borrow from wildlife photographers.

26 NETWORK OF ENTREPRENEURSSankrant Sanu on anti-hierarchical and socially relevant business models.

28 VENTURES, HEROES AND A HAMMOCKRichard 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 FUNDAMENTALSVijay Anand on revisiting assumptions and disruptive innovation you.

IN CONVERSATION34 “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 ENTREPRENEUR36 THE GAME CHANGERSurbhi 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

table of contents25

46 THE ZUCKERBERG SAGAFacebook'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 FACEBOOK PAGESTips to make the most of your Facebook marketing efforts. By Scott Gerber

49 SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURSStartup founders are often best placed to leverage social media platforms.By Kiruba Shankar

50 FACEBOOK ADS: SUCCESS SECRETS FROM A FACEBOOK INSIDERLearn how to target users through profile information and drive traffic to your page through ads.By Elsa Wenzel

53 THE DOS AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL MEDIAA quick look at the rules entrepreneurs should stand by while embarking on the social media journey.As told to Ankush Chibber

54 PROMOTED TWEETSThe micro blogging site's new model hinges on user engagement. Does your content fit the bill?By Allen Moon

56 SOCIAL MEDIA = BETTER BUSINESSUse social media to market your products and services.By Sana Salam, Bindi Mehta and Ankush Chibber

60 FIVE MARKET RESEARCH TOOLS FOR TWITTERCut through the clutter and reach your exact audience with these tools.By Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson

SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIAL

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34 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR38 SEEDS OF SUCCESSSEED helps corporates map socio-economic risks of projects and engage in active rehabilitation and integrated development.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

GREEN SIGNALS40 NOTCH UP THOSE CARBON CREDITSIt is time for entrepreneurs to sit up and take notice of the vibrant global carbon trading market. By Rajnish Changrani

OPPORTUNITIES42 THE NEW AGE AVIATORSA host of entrepreneurs are building businesses around the aviation sector.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari and Shonali Advani

MONEY88 GET FUNDED RIGHT NOWGlobal online platform GrowVC comes knocking on the doors of Indian entrepreneurs.By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

90 KEEP YOUR CREDIT CLEANKeep your personal financial slate clean. Build a good credit report score.By Rosalind Resnick

91 VENTURE FUNDING, ONE DOLLAR AT A TIMEMicroVentures links startups to angel investors.By Jason Ankeny

93 THE NEW, NEW ALTERNATIVESA new breed of lenders. Is it a revolution in the making?By Gwen Moran

GETTING THERE62 THE GIANT LEAPS OF MANKINDMankind Pharma toppled the popular industry business model to trace its journey to success.By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

OFF BEAT72 LESSONS FROM REEL LIFEPick any of our 13 classics that leave you with valuable lessons on entrepreneurship.By Prerna Raturi

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7Entrepreneur + November 2010

THE ULTIMATE 'HOW TO'BUSINESS GUIDE115 Buy a Domain Name

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

123 Create a Founders’ Agreement

TECH DEPARTMENT76 RIDE THE WAVE?Samsung is betting big on Indians taking to the Wave. By Ankush Chibber

78 “WE HAVE ACHIEVED THE RIGHT PRICING STRUCTURE HERE”Amit Midha, President, Dell APJ CSMB, Dell Greater China and South Asia, talks about the firm's business strategy in India. By Ankush Chibber

80 THE POWER OF THE PORTABLEAre you a mobile entrepreneur? Pick your tool from a range of portables.By Jonathan Blum

84 FIT TO BE TETHEREDAn app that lets your laptop tie into your smartphone’s 3G connection to use the latter’s data service plan.By Dan O’Shea

85 HOW SAFE IS YOUR BUSINESS?SMEs need to adopt a holistic approach to IT security.By Nilendu Mitra

CLASSROOMS94 BE GLOBALLY ORIENTED, YET LOCALLY AVAILABLEHealthcare offers a host of entrepreneurialopportunities.By Ved Prakash Arya

96 LOOKING TO SCALE UP YOUR ENTERPRISE?Seven steps to get there.By Rana Kapoor

98 “AN ILL-PLANNED INDUCTION RESULTS IN LOW PRODUCTIVITY”Induction marks the beginning of your employee’s journey. Make it matter.By Nirmit Parekh

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115

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SPEND IT124 TRIBUTES TO MASTERSCool products based on popular icons.By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

126 GOURMET ISLANDKoh at InterContinental Marine Drive.By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

128 MICRA MAGICWill the Nissan Micra deliver? By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

REGULARS10 FEEDBACK 11 RESOURCES 12 NEWS IMPACT 16 SME DOCTOR 20 STUMPSPEAK 130 BACKSTAGE

HOT STARTUP OF THE MONTH

102 ON A HOTEL TRAILThere is someone tracking the hotel inventory in the country.By Shonali Advani

106 HEAR, HEARFour IIT-M entrepreneurs are out to help people with oral communication disabilities.By Shonali Advani

COVER DESIGN

NIRMAL BISWASCOVER IMAGE

GETTY IMAGES

SUCCESS STRATEGIES68 LIFE BEYOND THE SHELFProcter & Gamble is re-creating its iconic brands Tide and Mr. Clean as dry cleaning and carwash franchises.By Jason Daley

table of contents

86 GETTING THINDying to get thin? A guide to the work ready thin PC.By Jonathan Blum


THE ULTIMATE 'HOW TO'BUSINESS GUIDE115 Buy a Domain Name

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

123 Create a Founders’ Agreement

TECH DEPARTMENT76 RIDE THE WAVE?Samsung is betting big on Indians taking to the Wave. By Ankush Chibber

78 “WE HAVE ACHIEVED THE RIGHT PRICING STRUCTURE HERE”Amit Midha, President, Dell APJ CSMB, Dell Greater China and South Asia, talks about the firm's business strategy in India. By Ankush Chibber

80 THE POWER OF THE PORTABLEAre you a mobile entrepreneur? Pick your tool from a range of portables.By Jonathan Blum

84 FIT TO BE TETHEREDAn app that lets your laptop tie into your smartphone’s 3G connection to use the latter’s data service plan.By Dan O’Shea

85 HOW SAFE IS YOUR BUSINESS?SMEs need to adopt a holistic approach to IT security.By Nilendu Mitra

CLASSROOMS94 BE GLOBALLY ORIENTED, YET LOCALLY AVAILABLEHealthcare offers a host of entrepreneurialopportunities.By Ved Prakash Arya

96 LOOKING TO SCALE UP YOUR ENTERPRISE?Seven steps to get there.By Rana Kapoor

98 “AN ILL-PLANNED INDUCTION RESULTS IN LOW PRODUCTIVITY”Induction marks the beginning of your employee’s journey. Make it matter.By Nirmit Parekh

102

115

76

SPEND IT124 TRIBUTES TO MASTERSCool products based on popular icons.By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

126 GOURMET ISLANDKoh at InterContinental Marine Drive.By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

128 MICRA MAGICWill the Nissan Micra deliver? By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

REGULARS10 FEEDBACK 11 RESOURCES 12 NEWS IMPACT 16 SME DOCTOR 20 STUMPSPEAK 130 BACKSTAGE

HOT STARTUP OF THE MONTH

102 ON A HOTEL TRAILThere is someone tracking the hotel inventory in the country.By Shonali Advani

106 HEAR, HEARFour IIT-M entrepreneurs are out to help people with oral communication disabilities.By Shonali Advani

COVER DESIGN

NIRMAL BISWASCOVER IMAGE

GETTY IMAGES

SUCCESS STRATEGIES68 LIFE BEYOND THE SHELFProcter & Gamble is re-creating its iconic brands Tide and Mr. Clean as dry cleaning and carwash franchises.By Jason Daley

table of contents

86 GETTING THINDying to get thin? A guide to the work ready thin PC.By Jonathan Blum


The CNBC-TV18 Emerging India Awards are back to celebrate the people who are empowering India and taking the

country giant leaps forward with their busi-nesses. 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

honor SMEs that have demonstrated excel-lence 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 evalua-tion 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.

Website: www.emergingindia.moneycontrol.com

THE EMERGING INDIA AWARDS, 6TH EDITION TiE INSTITUTE KNOWLEDGE SERIES

ON ‘SCALING UP’

TiE Mumbai’s educa-tion 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 compet-itive advantage

Building value brands Optimizing the promo-

tional mix to better engage stakeholders

Using social media in order to optimize the marketing plan

Website: mumbai.tie.org

The fifth TiE Entrepreneurial Summit (TES), one of the largest entrepreneur-ship 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 opportuni-ties 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, 2010Venue: Siri Fort Auditorium, New DelhiWebsite: www.tiesummit.org

THE TIE ENTREPRENEURIAL SUMMIT 2010

[Info that’s handy]

resources

11Entrepreneur + November 2010To read more, grab the November issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

People often ask me what drives me—what moti-vates 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?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 profession-ally. 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

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 humani-tarian causes; the late Mo Mowlam, who was the secre-tary 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 engi-neer 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 space-craft to enter the realm of space twice within a two-week period. All of these people have exhib-ited 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 adven-turer. We first met when we were competing for balloon-ing 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.

The British billionaire opens up about what motivates him and how he lives his life. By Richard Branson

Ventures, Heroes and a Hammock

“Often I �nd that if you are really passionate and

committed, you do better—and have a better chance

of making your venture pay the bills.”

INSIGHTS


XXXXBRAND BRANSON

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 head-ing home to spend time with my family and friends. I love to go kite surfing with my son Sam and my neph-ews, 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 [email protected]. Please include your name and country with the question.


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 head-ing home to spend time with my family and friends. I love to go kite surfing with my son Sam and my neph-ews, 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 [email protected]. Please include your name and country with the question.


Facebook 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 acqui-sition and customer-service strategies.

Here are some dos and don’ts for your com-pany’s Facebook page…

1Take 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.

2Use Facebook for customer service. Online support forums and live-chat services can be costly. But Facebook can help you communi-

cate easily with customers who become your fans on the site. Facebook’s Wall, forums, sta-tus 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.

3Go “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 vid-eos and photos as often as possible. Why? Tagged photos and videos, especially those

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.

4Befriend Facebook group adminis-trators. 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.

5Add 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 mailing-list sign-up form. Users are more likely to click a “Like” button while opting-in for a subscrip-tion. Test, track and adjust this tactic until you see results.

6Let 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 set-tings 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.

7Turn off your user comments func-tion. If you promote your brand online, odds are good that you’ll receive some negative feedback.

Whether or not these comments are warranted,

10D S AND D N’TSFOR FACEBOOK PAGES

Use these tips to make the most

of your Facebook marketing efforts.

By Scott Gerber


cover story

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 con-ferences, 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.

your responses and communication with these individuals will demonstrate your commitment to customer service.

8Use 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.

9Send mass messages to your net-work. 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.

10Link Facebook Ads to your Facebook page. Targeted and com-pelling 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 con-tent, environment and functionality. Doing so may provide a higher probability of converting leads into sales and acquiring consumer con-tact information.

©Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR ENTREPRENEURS

TIPS Startup founders are best-placed to leverage social media for the improvement of their business. By Kiruba Shankar

SCOTT GERBER is the founder of Sizzle It!, a New York-based 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).

KIRUBA SHANKAR is the CEO of Business Blogging Pvt. Ltd., a Chennai-based social media consultancy firm.


The 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 con-tent. When it comes to business, however, these definitions are really putting out what social media means.

“PEOPLE POWER” 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 try-ing 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 can-not 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 conserva-tives like to dismiss social media as just another fad. They call tools like Facebook and Twitter transient medi-ums 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?

MIND THE GAPEarlier this month, U.S.-based clothing retailer Gap Inc. released a new logo on its Facebook page that it called “a more contemporary,

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 bom-barded 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 correc-tive measures taken by Gap because of the vir-tual 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.

SOCIAL MEDIA = BETTER BUSINESSFacebook, 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

40:40:20 Your digital marketing effort should be:

40% paid: SEO, SEM

40% free: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter etc

20% others: Web and mobile apps, e-mail marketing

Courtesy: Sridhar Seshadri, Head, Online Sales & Operations, Google


cover story

BIG BRANDS BUCKLE UPIndian big businesses are also slowly warming up to using social media beyond just trying to make use of their digital marketing bud-gets. Mahesh Murthy, Founder, Pinstorm, a Mumbai-based digital marketing firm, says that the adoption of social media man-agement 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 divi-sion 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 com-pany 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-on-one 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

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 MONEYWhile 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

SOCIAL MEDIA = BETTER BUSINESS

CAUGHT IN THE WEB

Social media sites offer great marketing options for startups. But look beyond FB

and Twitter too!

COMMENT & REPUTATIONSOCIAL BOOKMARKS

PICTURES

LIVECASTING: AUDIO & VIDEO

WIKI

MUSIC

EVENTS

DOCUM

ENTS

VIDEO AGGREGATION

VIDEO

LOCATION

CUSTOMER SERVICE NETWORKS NICHE NETWORKS

SOCIAL NETWORKS

SMS / VOICE

SPECIFIC TO TWITTER

LIFESTREAMSMICROMEDIA

BLOG COMMUNITIES

BLOGS / CONVERSATIONS

BLOG PLATFORMS

CROWDSOURCED CONTENT



HEALTHY PROFITS:R.C. and Rajeev Juneja bask in the success of

Mankind Pharma.

Photo© Shamik Banerjee

MANKINDMost pharma companies first 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

The Giant Leaps of

When 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 com-peting with Ranbaxy. Kaul knew that this was the birth of a company which he simply could not wish away and that Mankind was one com-pany which needed to be tracked. Years later, Kaul led ChrysCapital in investing around Rs.108 crore in Mankind Pharma.

THE BEGINNINGBorn 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 admin-istrative work. “Coordinating between small companies and medical representatives was my main task. From serving tea to booking trans-portation for medical representatives, I did it all,” recalls Rajeev.

Soon Rajeev decided to become a medi-cal representative himself in Bestochem and worked from 1984 to 1995 in the company. “I served the company not just as a medical repre-sentative 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 produc-tion at the company, Rajeev was responsible for marketing. “We started this venture from scratch with no manpower and zero infrastruc-ture,” 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

Mankind’s raunchy contraceptive ad has enhanced its brand recall value among customers.

LAUNCHED in 2007, the over-the-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 anti-dandruff 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.

IN FULL FORCE!

VALUE ADS


getting there

To read more, grab the November issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in


Right Now!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 GLOBALGrowVC (Grow Venture Community) is a global online platform providing seed-funding to start-ups 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 meth-ods of securing funding.

HOW IT WORKSIn 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 gener-ate ROI, this is divided between the company members and the top-ranked members, who get

GrowVC is a global online platform that promises to make securing funds easy for startups. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

Get Funded

RESIDENCE RULE FOR COMPANIES IN INDIAThe Code provided that a company shall be resident in Indi

STARTUPS, EXPERTS AND FUNDERS GAIN ACCESS TO ONLINE GLOBAL PLATFORM GROWVC ON A SUBSCRIPTION BASIS. MINIMUM SUBSCRIPTION IS RS.900.

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.

HOW GROWVC WORKS

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.

1. 2.

Member

Premium subscription Subscription fee

75% 25%

CostsCommunity fundSubscription fee

[Where to get it, how to make it, how to keep it coming in]

money department


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 continu-ous deal flow, irrespective of geographical or sector limitations. They can access detailed term sheets, have the liberty to contact start-ups as well as select and invite a host of experts to manage investments on their behalf.

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 expe-rience in international business management. Ahvenainen believes that Web 2.0 will signifi-cantly 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 early-phase 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 compa-nies 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

principles of Web 2.0 to the area that’s histori-cally been shrouded in mystery—VC funding. I want to bring a better and fairer environment for technology startups seeking funding.”

SMALL SHARE OF THE PIEThe 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 busi-ness 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 spot-light. “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 rela-tions, which aim to make the journey an easier one for the entrepreneurs,” says Kataria.

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.

3. 4. 5.

“WEB 2.0 COMPANIES OFTEN NEED ONLY SMALL AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO GROW DUE TO THE COST-EFFECTIVE NATURE OF THEIR BUSINESS MODELS.”

Fail :(

ROI

Top-ranked members

Community fund ROI

25%

Good :)%

To read more, grab the November issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

ON A HOTEL TRAILMagicRooms is all set to revolutionize the current system of hotel inventory in India.By Shonali Advani

102

hot startup

Entrepreneur + November 2010

Booked 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 inter-net-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 MagicRooms attributes India’s current available inventory at 3 lakh hotel rooms, of which 1.5-2 lakh are used every day.

The portal is agnostic to any range or class of hotels that falls within the hospitality indus-try. Simply put, it aggregates the inventory of all ranges of hotels: boutique, budget and one to five star as well as serviced apartments and home stays. “We also inte-grate our website to an agent’s site and the front end is powered by MagicRooms,” adds Gupta.

Despite being as perishable as air tickets that get distributed immediately, travel agents were still using archaic, time-consum-ing methods to book hotel rooms. 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 noth-ing 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 promi-nence 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 book-ing 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

Photo© Sanjay Ramchandran

As per an April 2010 research report by Edelweiss Securities entitled ‘Room for Growth’ by analyst Manav Vijay, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) expects India’s Travel & Tourism (T&T) market to grow more than 100 percent by 2018 to touch Rs.2,70,657 crore against Rs.1,24,236 crore in 2008. To tap this opportunity, 25 international hotel companies are set to enter India either independently or in collaboration with a local party. WTTC also says in 2010, India’s T&T industry is expected to generate Rs.5,53,300 crore in economic activity.

ROOM FOR PROFITS


SOCIAL MEDIA IF...STAY AWAY FROM

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.

Illustration© Chaitanya Surpur

By Ankush Chibber

back+stage


entrepreneur november 2010

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