Key strategies for budding

entrepreneurs

StartingUP

Presented By

Venkat & Srivalli

Founders,eFarm

Entrepreneurship Awareness Program

Introduction : The FoundersVenkata Subramanian , COO

MS (Computer Science), SUNY Albany, Newyork , 2003

B.Arch , IIT Kharagpur , India , 1995

Over 12 years experience (1995-2007) in IT industry in roles such as Program management, Portal development for BFSI clients, Outsourcing and Consulting

2

Srivalli , CEO

MBA (ICFAI), 2000

B.Com Taxation, NMKRV, 1997

8 years experience in Sales, Marketing, & Operations. Has run two start-ups and organised

fund raising for NGOs as part of CSR programs.

Technology & Operations

IT / Call entre

IT Dev. & Testing Team

Operaions

Purchase & Delivery Team

Call centre

Call centre / BPO staff

Domain Consultants

Marketing and HR

Marketing HR

Interns

Finance

Currently Better known as …. ‘Hi-Tech Subziwallahs’ of Chennai

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Most Promising

Startup 2011

Can privatizing agriculture solve

marketing problems?

Farmer’s Notebook , M.J. PRABU

A network of collection centres and distribution centre in Chennai and surrounding districts, procuring daily from over 2500 farmers and supplying to leading retail outlets,hotels, caterers and restaurants in the city.

WHO ARE POTENTIAL ENTREPRENEURS ?

Audience activity with students

World Most Famous College Dropouts who became successful entrepreneurs …

•Dropped out of Harvard after 2nd year in 1973

•In 2007, thirty years after he left Harvard, he would finally receive his degree (an honorary doctorate) from his alma mater.

At the commencement, said, "I'm a bad influence. That's why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.“

•The software company he built runs almost every PC today

•dropped out of Reed College after just six months because of the undue financial strain on parents

• found NeXT Computer and Pixar

•.. Apple, ipod, iPad ….

• Steve Jobs

• architect, thinker, inventor, futurist, engineer

• Expelled from Harvard not once, but twice

• string of bad business ventures and years of depression following his daughter's death

• Inventor of Geodesic dome

• Buckminster Fuller

• enrolled in Fullerton College to study physics.

• He would drop out, marry a waitress and eventually become a truck driver for the local school district

• he saw Star Wars in 1977 and decided to join movies

• Director of award winning sci-fi movies like avatar, titanic , terminator , aliens …..

• James Cameron

• did his schooling in Chorwad but couldn’t continue to college, as he couldn’t afford

• started by selling bhajias to pilgrims visiting Girnar peak.

• came to Mumbai in 1959 with Rs 500 in his pocket and today his business empire is worth over Rs 62,000 crore

• Dhirubhai Ambani

SO WHATS THE BIG IDEA ?

Are you ‘Passionate’ about your Idea ?

• Spa = ‘Thel Malish’ ?

• Waste Recycling = ‘Kabadiwallah’

• IT firm = ‘Software Coolie’

• Starting a business is like “Falling in Love”• Don’t chase something which is NOT yours• Follow Your Instinct

Ideas Need Not Be Unique .. But Implementations Are

• Software – Microsoft v/s IBM

• Search engine – Google v/s Altavista

• Social network – Facebook v/s Orkut

Often ‘first movers’ loose the advantageSmart Entrepreneurs often ‘improve’ an existing idea !!

Building a Team

• What we can learn from ‘ants’ …

• Founders : Friends v/s Family v/s Professionals ?

• Whom to recruit

– Brand college grads or Tier II ?

– Family v/s Outsider : Pros and Co

• One good person knows another good one : Referrals

BEFORE YOU MEET YOUR FIRST INVESTOR

Learn Excel and How to make nice charts ;-)

MONTHSALES (IN Rs) M-O-M % Inc Net Profit

Base March

136400April

321700135.85% 27300

May

40580026.14% 48400

June

46220013.90% 13100

July

52640013.89% 30200

Aug

59665013.35%

Sep

66370011.24%

Oct

73075010.10%

Nov

82500012.90%

Dec

92500012.12%

Jan

104000012.43%

Feb

119000014.42%

Mar

137500015.55%

Actu

als

Pro

jecte

d

15 crores target in 3 years

Know Your Numbers

• Credit/debit

• Profit & Loss

• Balance sheet

• Cash Flow statement

• Read a good book which explains ‘Finance for Non-Finance people’

A Simple Vision / Missionstatement

What is your GOAL ?

Avoid Blah .. Blah .. Blah …

Elevator Pitch |What is <your company> ?What does the Company do?

In ONE sentence explain your product / service

Who is the customer ?

Key pain points for end customers addressed ?

Top 3 MAJOR value additions of your service or product

Current status / competitors

How are you different from the ‘crowd’

How will you make Money ?

How much money do you need to ‘start’ and get to ‘break even’ ?

Your 1st Investors

• Family – Father , Father-in-law !

• Friends

You can’t fool them.. They know too much about you..Will give you money either to encourage you or just to avoid being ‘bugged’ by you !

Professional Investors

You get money for just being cute

You sing Baba black sheepAnd u get money

If you pass exam you get your toy

Start making money and support your self and your family

Retire = Exit

Angel VC PE IPO

Remember :Investors want their money ‘BACK’ with ‘RETURNS’

Fear of ‘Fa(i)lling’

Successful entrepreneurs are those who have FALLEN many times ,but still get UP and move on …

Running a new business is like learning to cycle

first time …

None has ever learnt cycling without FALLING

The Ideal Entrepreneur

Have the discipline of a soldier ….

.. Ready to jump into fire …

.. But still ‘enjoys’ doing the impossible !

eFarmEnabling FArmers to Reach Markets

Part II

The Making Of eFarmThe Inside Story Of a Social StartUp

Why I Became An Entrepreneur ?

• Coming from a typical ‘Tam-Bram ‘ family , It took me 12 years of preparation to feel I am ‘ready’ to be an entrepreneur.

• An ‘empty’ feeling within that ‘I have not accomplished anything with my life’

• Motivated by other entrepreneurs

• The ‘India Inc’ rising stories in press

• Movies – Swades !!!

• Growing support structure for startups – mentors, incubators, forums, magazines

Why a ‘Social’ Business ?

• NGOs – driven by passion & cause , very fulfilling but lack sustainability, funds to operate

• Corporates – Driven by financial profitability as success, but no commitment to social upliftment

• Social business : Best of both worlds

Why ‘Bottom of Pyramid’ ?

• Poverty is relative – an analogy : Bill gates v/s AzimPremji v/s ME v/s Muniyamma v/s Unemployed MBA (?)

• Poor people Pay MORE for LESS

• CK Prahlad and the BOP mirage – BOP as a ‘buyer’ v/s BOP as a ‘seller’– Farmer BUYING cellphone or insurance

• v/s

– Farmer SELLING rice

PROBLEM STATEMENTWHY IS THERE A CRISIS IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE ?

Only a crystal clear question yields a transparent answer

– Zen saying

Pain areas | The Agri Supply Chain Current State : Too Many Steps , Too Little Value Addition

Wholesalers to Retailers

Terminal markets to neighborhood wholesalers

Regional mandi to Terminal markets near

large cities

Harvesting of Vegetables

A local mandi auctioning

Local to Regional mandis for Auction

• Unorganized , unregulated , unprofessional & unprofitable•A Middlemen’ dominated market•Adhoc /Arbitrary Decisions on quality & price

1

2

3

4

5

6

Retailers to Dining Table

7

Loss in transit 40%

Price hike

End to end

> 400%

So many solutions , but why still a crisis ?“Blind men and the elephant” syndrome in agri

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Without reliable

and LIVE data

any agri

interventionOr

agri-business will be

A

failureCold chain

GM foodsSubsidies,

Loans, grants

Increase yield

FDI in Retail

Export market

R & D

Contract farming

Reality CheckIndia’s largest

industry is running with

NO DATA==

DAILY CRISIS

Number #1 problem of Agri Industry THERE IS NO ACCURATE DATA OF SUPPLY OR DEMAND

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Who are the ‘REAL’ farmers ?

What are they growing ??

What is available RIGHT NOW ?

Who are the END buyers ?

What are they buying ?

What price is END customer willing to pay ?

What is the cost of growing for farmer ?

How to arrive at correct pricing for produce ?

Reality Check•Farmers cannot do “everything”. They need professional help and organizational support

•Farming needs to become self sustaining and HENCE a business activity•High uncertainty and risks = Very low investor interest•Years of neglect & low esteem = educated youth avoid an agricareer =Labour problems

Need role models and pioneers to build the road to recovery

Pain areas | The Farmer’s ‘REAL’ crisis

Pain Areas | Customer Spectrum Huge domestic demand, Escalating prices & Unmet needs

Low Income Group

• > 40% in volume

• Buy from neighborhood markets (evening)

• Pay more for less quality

Middle Income Group

• ~ 20% in volume

• Buy from street vendors

• Price + Quality conscious

High Income Group

• ~5% in volume

• Buy from retail chains

• Quality & variety conscious

Hotels & caterers

• ~25% of volume

• Buy from wholesale mandi

Food & Drink processors

• ~5% of volume

• Product specific buyer

• Large volume + fixed price range

Export

• ~1% of volume

• Best quality / specific products only

Organised retailers are crowded in this spaceCompetition high

Efarm targets entire B2B segment and currently untapped areas

THE SOLUTION

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

“Desi” Problems need ‘Jugaadu’ solutions

Key Innovations

1) Weighing machine = standardise agri business transactions !

Bundles, baskets , bags Kilograms , Counts

2) Simple grading = right quality to right customer!!

Mixed grades S / M / L (Or) excellent / OK /bad

3) Simple technology = widest usage !!!

PCs, Websites Mobile phones , Voice, SMS

Value proposition | Connecting the Dots

Farmers

Rural Produce

Collection Centres

Quality

Inspection/ Grading

Cleaning / Packing

Routing

Long haul

Transportation

Urban area

Distribution centre

Small retailersLocal vendors

Food Processing

units

Exports

Bulk buyers

(Hotels / Caterers /

Retailers)

Compost/Manure

from waste

eFarm Common Services

Planning &

CoordinationResearch

Call centre /

CommunicationTechnology

Training &

Support

Local

Distribution

Every stakeholder is alternately a buyer or seller of agro goods, linked together by a common system. Thus :

Develop Online supply chain Technology backbone with offline distribution mechanisms

Create a network of farmers, intermediaries, logistics providers, distributors and retailers

Provide common support services like marketing , training , technology and agri business consulting

‘Organize’ the ‘un-organized’ rural to urban supply chain

Manage the network to ensure sustainability across the chain

Rural Collection Centres

Collection centres

Chennai Distribution Centre

Distribution centre

Kisan To Jawan : Retail Outlet For Indian Army

Value addition Cut

vegetables

Peeled

onions

and garlic

Agri waste

collection

and

composting

Value added lProcesing team at our Mylapore centre

Natural

Ripening

Of fruits

Training / Workshop

Enabling MORE farmers Reach WIDER Markets..

In Seconds

eFarmDirect

efarmDirect is a

B2B online platform which uses simple ICT tools to

CONNECT farmers with all the agrisupply chain stakeholders to build a

nationwide farmer’s marketing portal

What is eFarmDirect ?Key problems for farmer 1) Limited choice of buyers2) Lack of Labour3) Rising Input Costs of agro-supplies4) Rising Transport Costs5) Unviable market prices

All other Industries use ICT tools and Software

applications to manage operations

Whereas,Farmers have not been IT enabled and are cut

off from the ‘new’ world

Buyers

Suppliers Transporters

Labour

eFarmdirect.comWeb portal | Call centre| SMS

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Some Real World Examples of How Technology has enabled comman man in India

…eFarmDirect is a combination of such business models to solve the ‘farmer’s crisis’ 45

Removing the agents : IRCTC train ticket booking No more touts . No more queues !! Hassle free train ticket booking from home or browsing centre ! India’s Most successful e-commerce venture

B2B Business directories : Justdial / India martAny business/trade information is just a ‘phone call’ away . Details available over call centre or via SMS

Logistics : Call Taxis ( Meru / Fast Track etc.,)Cabs available on-call .Timely pickup/drop, Economical fares – combination of technology & well trained staff for great service

Brown Collar Job Board : Babajobs.comJob portal for brown collar job seekers – connects maids, drivers, plumbers, technicians to customers via call/mobile/sms .

PORTAL DEMO

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What all products ?Vegetables and Fruits

Cereals & Pulses

Flowers and Aromatic products

Herbs ,Spices and Forest products

Plantation crops (cash crops)

Livestock & Poultry

Processed products / Value added products

Special category for ORGANIC PRODUCE47

More produces, categories will be added based on need

Over 5000 crops, varieties and farm based products are already listed

Who are the buyers listed in portal

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Organisedretail chains

Local shops

Vegetable vendors

M andi/ Major

markets

Traders

Wholesalers

Hotels

Caterers

Restaurants

Exporters

Food processors

Organic retail/whole

salers

Niche product buyers

Who are the agro-suppliers ?

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Input suppliers

Seeds

Fertilisers

Irrigation equipments

Drip

Pumps

Motors

Tools and Farm

equipments

Tractors

Machineries

Rentals /Lease

Storage

Cold storage

Warehouses

Ripening chambers

Institutions

Banks / MFI

NGOs

Agri-clinics / Labs

Consultants

DATA COLLECTION - FARMERProduction data

•Produce name, variety

•Grade

•Typical yield at harvest

•Harvest cycles

•Cost price at farm gate

•Organic ? Certifications ?

Farmer information

•Name

•Address

•Contact number

•Preferred mode of payment

•Bank / Post office details

•Photo

•Attestation

Other information

•Land type/irrigation type

•Banking information

How data is collected ?

•At farmer mela’s and

exhibitions

•Through partners like NGOs,

KVKs, Agri institutions, rural

banks and MFIs

•Through franchisees

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Basic Buyer-Seller Search and Features

Search by produce, availability, quantity, price

Farmer/buyer details with contact info

Demand / Supply projections for future planning

Map view for locating farmers by area 51

Advanced Features

Audio Visuals MarketingFarmers can add audio/videos/pictures about their produce / products to showcase uniqueness

GROUP view map small farmers to respective SHGs, Federations and Institution –enables ‘aggregate’ of quantities to meet larger demands as a ‘combined entity’

Rating and review mechanism farmers and buyers can provide feedback which builds transparency and identifies ‘good’ performers

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Roll Out Plan

Will create over 3 Million jobs in villages and rural areas in 4 years

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Livelihood Generation and Social Impact

• Creating Agri entrepreneurs in Rural Areas • Rural youth/ Women are trained as local representatives for data

collection/updation

• Revenue from commissions and value added services

• Providing Employment for Disabled and Under priveleged

• Call centres/BPOs operated by differently abled – visually challenged , speech/hearing impaired

• Job opportunities for those tapping unconventional talent pool of India

:

• Reverse migration to villages • Create labour pools of semi-skilled labourers for farm work who are

available ‘on-call’

• Create central equipment leasing model so that farmers can ‘hire-an-equipment and operator’ to reduce equipment costs

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Current Status as of Feb 2012• Inaugurated in Bangalore krishi mela by Vice Chancellor of

UAS, hebbal on 20 Nov 2011

•Stalls in major krishi melas – bangalore, nasik, Pune drew over 1 lakh farmers

•Over 5000 registered farmers , 1000 buyers, 150 suppliers PAID in pilot phase and operational

•Next version to be inaugurated at FOODS 2012 Global conference at MOP vaishnava

Awards and Recognitions

–Proto.in ‘Most promising startup of 2011’

–Best Stall award at Bangalore krishi mela and runner up in Nasik krishi mela

–Presented to Sam Pitroda’s Action For India Forum in New Delhi under’ innovations of ICT in Agriculture’

Pilot projects (under discussion/planning stage )

–Uttaranchal government’s aajeevika – pilot at Uttarkashi

–NABARD,Chennai – Pilot in Chennai and surrounding districts

–IFAD – Roll out in Project areas of IFAD in India

–NSDC – Rural jobs training and portal55

How you can engage with us

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For Further Details

•efarm company website : www.efarm.in

•efarmDirect : http://www.efarmdirect.com/

•FAQ

•Videos and Training materials

•Registration

•Facebook : www.facebook.com/myefarm

•Blog : http://groups.google.com/group/efarm

Venkata Subramanian Founder & MD /COO

venky@efarm.in

(M) 98847 61354

Srivalli Krishnan Co-Founder, Director /CEO

srivalli@efarm.in

(M) 7418844275

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