ENTREPRENEUR SPECIAL.. LESSONS FROM A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR … Manish Sabharwal

LESSONS FROM A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR … Manish Sabharwal

Good judgment comes from experience & experience comes from bad judgment. So, don’t be afraid to make mistakes as you embark on your journey

Entrepreneurs Create Two Kinds of Ventures—a Baby or a Dwarf. And The Difference is Not More Money
An unforgettable scene from Arms and the Man by GB Shaw has veteran Swiss mercenary Captain Bluntschli saying, “You can always tell an old soldier by the inside of his rucksack. The young ones carry cartridges; the old ones, grub”. Basically, he echoed the old adage that good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. The opportunity to create a new venture after having done one before is a chance to do things differently. Looking back at our two adventures—our first one, India Life, had revenues of Rs 50 crore after five years while our second one, TeamLease, reached Rs 500 crore—we have learnt that all entrepreneurs make the conscious or unconscious choice of creating two different kinds of companies: a baby or dwarf. Both are small, but one is going to stay small and the other is just getting started on growth. The difference between a baby and a dwarf is not more food—more money—but in DNA. Obviously, a key difference between India Life and TeamLease was luck and better timing. There are five differences between our two ventures that made the difference to scale:
Spot the Opportunity
If you want to scale, make sure you pick a space with huge upside. India Life focused on HR outsourcing, which was an interesting opportunity, but TeamLease is trying to fix India’s people supply chain—a massive problem with huge complexity. It is what the recent book Idea Factory called a “Wicked Problem”, a problem that needs an inter-disciplinary solution and lots of time and resources. Hard work and smarts are always important, but there is hardly any upside in putting lipstick on a pig. So pick a wicked problem. And even better if you can pick a problem that matters to society.
Pick the Right Team
Steven Spielberg says that directing a movie is 90% casting. This is no different from entrepreneurship, where a key task is kissing many frogs to find your princess. Since we had done our frog kissing in India Life, TeamLease has people with different skill sets who balance the poetry (ideas) and plumbing (execution). Also, this time we have planned for a transition in early stage roles: convert a high-energy startup into a structured institution too early and you take away its birthright but too late and you take away its destiny. Essentially, we learnt that people matter more than money.
Colour of Money
Most entrepreneurs obsess about money but few realise that the colour of money is more important the quantum of money. Finding an investor who understands that a company is not a spreadsheet and building one is hypothesis testing—you can’t prove anything right but have to prove it wrong. We took institutional money when we were a piece of paper at India Life; we waited six years before doing that in TeamLease. This meant we chose our investors as much as they chose us.
Organisation Structure
Better organisational metabolism—faster and more effective decision-making—comes from clear roles and responsibilities, forums for conflict resolutions and a leadership team comfortable with making trade-offs. The ‘everybody-does-everything’ chaos of India Life was replaced by a much clearer organisation structure at TeamLease with regular and formal forums to resolve conflicts and make trade-offs. We have not got everything right, but TeamLease is a better place to work than India Life and this enabled us to attract the ‘adult supervision’ so important to scaling.
Balance Ambition & Risk
The biggest difference between India Life and TeamLease has been our appetite for risk. We are young enough to think about the next 20 years but old enough to have the credibility of having created a venture. We focus on winning rather than trying not to lose. We are frugal with capital because we know that entrepreneurship is the art of staying alive long enough to get lucky. But we also understand that entrepreneurship is a leap into the unknown so if you are going to jump from the 10th floor you might as well jump from the 50th floor! What is happing in India today is not once in a decade or once in a millennium but once in the lifetime of a country. This offers unique entrepreneurial opportunities. TeamLease is obviously a child of lower hiring standards. But it is also a child of India Life; an experience that made us wiser, older and therefore more dangerous. But more importantly, it freed and enabled us to make different but bigger mistakes.

Manish Sabharwal
(Sabharwal writes on behalf of his many co-founders)
CURRENT DESIGNATION
Chairman, TeamLease Services
FIRMS FOUNDED
TeamLease and India Life
ONE THING I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
Hire senior people earlier
MOST EXCITING SPACE TO BE IN
3Es (Employment, Employability and Education)

ET120728

TECH SPECIAL..Mozilla’s Firefox Mobile OS to battle Android clout

Mozilla’s Firefox Mobile OS to battle Android clout

The switch to operating system is understandable: Its share of the desktop market is falling, thanks mainly to the Chrome software

The corporate chiefs of Apple, Google and Microsoft are betting billions of dollars and thousands of highly-paid engineers on their competing mobile operating systems. Despite these high stakes, Mozilla, the non-profit organisation behind the open source Firefox web browser, is planning to take a seat at the table with its own smartphone software. The first pictures of the underdog emerged this week and enthusiasts can now download early versions to test. At first glance, it looks every bit the modern smartphone operating system, with an interface that recalls elements of iOS, Android and Windows Phone. The question is whether Mozilla, with 2011 revenues of $121m, can really compete with the big three, who between them enjoyed sales of more than $200 billion last year. Mozilla’s reason for taking on the task is clear. Its share of the desktop market is falling, thanks mainly to its biggest benefactor (via the deal that makes Google the default search engine for Firefox users), Google, and its rival software Chrome, which has enjoyed a rapid rise to become the world’s most popular web browser. Meanwhile, as Mozilla loses ground on PCs, its corporate rivals are carving up the mobile market. Smartphones and tablets are now widely viewed as the most important computing platforms. “A lot of the innovation, or even most of it, that we’re seeing now is happening in smartphones and tablets,” said Ian Fogg, a mobile analysts at IHS Screen Digest. Mozilla’s mission is to popularise web standards and open source software, but just creating alternative browser apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone is not going to do it. Only Android rules allow Mozilla to offer a full mobile version of its browser anyway; Apple and Microsoft exercise stricter control over what capabilities third party apps can have. What’s more, although data is hard to come by, it’s clear only a small minority of smartphone owners ever switch from their default browser app. So to stay relevant, Mozilla is creating its own mobile OS. Like Android, Firefox Mobile OS, is based on Linux, the operating system that anyone can contribute to or adapt because the source code is free. Unlike Google’s leading mobile operating system, however, Firefox Mobile OS will not play host to “native apps” that are specially developed for it. Instead, it will use the new web coding standard, HTML5, to allow developers to create apps that, in theory, could work on any operating system. Other smartphone operating systems can run web apps already, but they are typically less capable than native apps as they are unable to plug into the advanced software and hardware features. Mozilla says Firefox Mobile OS will be different. “[It] unlocks many of the current limitations of web development on mobile, allowing HTML5 applications to access the underlying capabilities of a phone, previously only available to native applications,” it said. That may make app creation simpler and so appeal to developers, although the crucial question of how they will get paid for their work remains open. Mozilla has already won support for Firefox OS from another key constituency: mobile networks. This month it announced big names such as Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Sprint, and Telefónica were on board. In the West, that is already the case, and given the financial mismatch, there is little chance of Mozilla matching the established players. But opportunities abound in the developing world, where cheap Android handsets are only now reaching the market, and Apple and Microsoft devices are attainable for only the very richest. Mozilla is overt in its focus on this relatively untapped seam, boasting of the ability of its technology to “deliver compelling smartphone experiences at attainable prices”. “As billions of users are expected to come online for the first time in the coming years, it is important to deliver a compelling smartphone experience that anyone can use,” said Gary Kovacs, Mozilla’s chief executive. So while it might seem there is no space for yet another smartphone competitor here, industry watchers are keenly interested in Mozilla’s progress. Daily Telegraph “There’s a risk Android could become a monopolistic player in these developing markets,” said Ian Fogg. “RIM is still popular there but it has real problems.” “Mozilla have decided they aren’t going to go head to head with iOS and Android here. They’ve decided the way they can compete in mobile is to jump to the next big thing which is these developing markets.” “They might find the Firefox Mobile OS is really good enough to match the established players down the line, and then they’ll have the innovator’s dilemma.” But that is some years away. The first Firefox Mobile OS handsets are due out in Brazil early next year.

Christopher Williams DNA120724

EDUCATION SPECIAL…FREE ON-LINE COURSES FROM REPUTED US UNVERSITIES..and

EDUCATION SPECIAL…FREE ON-LINE COURSES FROM REPUTED US UNVERSITIES..and

My FB friend Vaishali Swaminathan had requested me to put up information about on-line course on my blogsite as she claims many of my student friends visit my blog site and is the best way to pass on valuable information to many benefactors.

The information she has passed on is given in this blog.

The site she recommends is  www.coursera.org

They provide free courses online. Several participating univs. Some of the courses you get a completion certificate if you satisfy their requirements which are decided by the course co-ordinator. It is very well organised and right now the best range of courses are available from some of the best universities in the world (16 universities e.g., Princeton, Caltech, Duke, University of Toronto, University of Edinburgh)

The courses are  across 16 categories i.e

Biology & Life Sciences, Computer Science: Programming & Software Engineering, Economics & Finance, Health and Society & Medical Ethics, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Analysis, and Scientific Computing, Business & Management, Computer Science: Systems, Security, Networking, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Medicine, Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Vision, Computer Science: Theory, Electrical and Materials Engineering , Information, Technology, and Design, Physical & Earth Sciences

120 courses are available

Vaishali’s personal experience is given below:

“I completed the Affordable Care Act course. The course was for 8 weeks.

 I really enjoyed the ACA course. the content was excellent. A great reading list and very good video lectures to sort of paraphrase everything in the reading list. Every week you had essay assignments and you got a grade based on peer evaluations. Assignments are very challenging and the course requires at least 3-4 hours a week...

Currently working on the Introduction to Finance course, which is for 10 weeks.The videos in the finance course are sufficient. No extra reading.

But the course content requires you to put in considerable time each week especially if you want a grade. But if you are willing to put in the time you really learn a lot.

I am learning a lot from this and it would be great if you could share info about coursera so that other also benefit from it”

MY PERSONAL BIG THANKS TO VAISHALI FOR HER SUGGESTION

FINANCE SPECIAL...First lesson of investing: Asset allocation

First lesson of investing: Asset allocation

    Several people think that asset allocation is simply a theory. Nothing can be further from truth. When the money is spread across various types of assets, we control our investments better and the overall risk is reduced.
    The past five years have demonstrated the power of allocation to most investors. In 2008, equity crashed while commodities boomed; in 2009, debt crashed as equity returned; in 2010, equity boomed again, even as commodities corrected; in 2011, gold appreciated while equity crashed; and in 2012, debt is doing well even as equity is languishing. Ask a lay investor the steps he should take to protect against these violent swings in return, and the answer is likely to be either of the two-book profits early or master the market timing. Both the views are incorrect. Different assets do well at different points in an economic cycle, and it is risky to time the market. An investor who has exposed himself to various assets will do immensely better.
    How should one allocate money to various assets? Assets work in two waysthey either generate regular income or grow in value over time. A bank deposit does not grow in value, generating only regular, periodical income. Investment in gold does not generate any income, only potential growth in value over time. Equity shares primarily generate growth, but can also provide income by way of dividends. Property may offer both types of returns-from rent and capital appreciation-though rental yields may be too low in the initial years of investment. Thus, asset allocation begins by asking what you need and, therefore, what your allocation should be.
    It is important to align the allocation with the purpose for which the money is needed. Income assets are suitable for short-term, low-risk needs that require a regular cash flow. Income assets are also suitable for situations where the capital cannot be subjected to risk. Growth assets, by definition, will grow in value over the years, but it will not be a straight, risk-free line. The value of growth assets may fluctuate in the short term, while the appreciation in value may be significant over the long term. Hence, these are suitable for long-term goals.
    It is obvious that asset allocation not only varies with needs, but may also change with time. An investor saving for the higher education of his child needs growth when the investment is accumulated, and income when the child enters college. An investor saving for retirement needs growth assets when he is putting money aside, and income assets when he retires and needs regular income. The most common errors in asset allocation occur when it is seen as static. Several investors, who think that a precious goal like a child’s higher education should not be subject to the risk of growth assets, end up saving a higher amount than needed, sacrificing their other financial goals.
    The simplest rule is to ask when the income will be needed. For a salaried person, whose need for income is met by deploying the human asset, the need is for growth assets like equity, property and gold. A retired investor, whose requirement for income is to be met by the investment corpus, needs assets that generate regular income. The dominant asset should be determined by the investor’s need for growth or income. This is called the core portfolio, which is aligned with the strategic needs of the investor. A retired investor, who seeks an income over 30 years into retirement, will need his corpus to grow over time, so some money should be in growth assets. The smaller allocation is the satellite portion, which needs a close review. About 60% to the core portion and 40% in satellite is a good rule to work with. Such an approach does not need a market view and should do fine across market cycles.
    What are the common errors? First, investors like to measure their investment according to the income and dividend they get. Choosing a reinvest option, growth or cumulative option, helps. Some products like the PPF earn interest on reinvested interest and are good choices for customers who like a steadily growing asset. Second, investors mistake the compounded growth rate of a
growth asset to be its steady rate of return. If an adviser tells you that equity gives a 15-16% return, this is an average over a number of years. Third, asset allocation requires review and planned rebalancing. An investor, who is saving in growth assets for retirement, should not hope to switch from growth to income in an instant on retirement. The process needs to be done gradually over time.
    What are the benefits of asset allocation? First, investments are aligned with investor needs and enjoy the benefit of attention. They do not sway with fads and fancies. Second, since different assets do well at different points in time, the portfolio is diversified and faces lower risk. Third, participation in various assets ensures a stable rate of return aligned with the investor’s needs. This may result in an optimal level of saving. The wrong choice of assets often leads to overfunding of goals like retirement.
    — An exposure to various types of assets gives better returns since the risk is lesser

Uma Shashikant The author is Managing Director,  Centre for Investment Education and
    Learning TOI120730

CAREER SPECIAL..How to build the right image to climb the corporate ladder (3)

How to build the right image to climb the corporate ladder (3)

Tips on managing your online conversations and socialising with colleagues

7. PAPER WEIGHT: BUSINESS CARDS

Handing Them Out
In the age of electronic address books, cards are becoming passé, yet they are an important part of a business or social meeting. When giving out your business card — ensure the front of the card is facing the reader at the right angle. If possible, hold the card with both hands while handing it over.
Carrying Them
A well-maintained, sleek and uncluttered card case is imperative. Don’t use it to store other people’s cards. This reflects that you are busy networking and the person you are meeting is just another number on your list of must meets. Try and match the card case to your clothes and accessories — anything too bright and reflective, indicates you are trying to seek unwanted attention.
Design
For the card itself, a simple neat design is recommended. A dual-coloured print on card paper is regarded as the ideal design. Too much colour indicates flamboyance and youthfulness. The busier your business card looks, the more disorganised you will appear.
My Tip: Never put your photo on the card. People will remember you if you are important to them or if left an impression when you met them.

8.  BE CONNECTED: ONLINE NETWORKING

Making Contact
If you are making new connections, ensure you do not stalk the person you are trying to reach out to. A simple friend request on Facebook with an accompanying message introducing who you are is recommended.
    On Twitter, follow only those people you are keen to know more about. Randomly adding people, may increase your contact list, but will also reflect
    that you know just about
    everyone you shouldn’t.
Your Profile
Fill out basic information about yourself — who you are, where you live and what you do. Leave your religious and personal affiliations blank. Business associates are really not your ‘friends’
    and need not know more about you than they should.
    Customise privacy settings so people don’t post embarrassing videos, pictures and conversations. Never mention your mobile or direct access number, unless of course you like random calls and unwanted callers.
Updates & Tweets
Refrain from posting too many personal updates, tweets, videos and pictures. Not everyone is likely to be interested in knowing where you are, what you just ate, how you feel, who you met or how drunk you got at a party. Don’t randomly comment on everyone’s updates — your words will be noted and taken seriously. And don’t invite people to join pages or groups that you like or are interested in. They will find what they are looking for on their own.
    Sharing links to articles, reviews and general interest reading or research material (as long as it’s related to your line of work) is recommended and is a good way to both promote your work as well as show how interested you are in what you do.
Mobile Phones
Carrying a web friendly mobile shows that you like being connected. If you use BBM and have added your business contacts or colleagues, don’t post private pictures and information. Use instant messaging apps only to connect to people you know really well or interact with regularly.
My Tip: Spend time online, but live in the real world. Don’t close yourself to face-to-face interactions and handson experiences. Nothing’s quite like the real thing.

9.  GET YOUR GROOVE: PARTIES & SOCIALS

When to Arrive
If it’s a formal setting, be there on time and follow the indicated dress code. You can arrive ‘fashionably late’ by about 20 minutes to a more casual occasion. However large the gathering, make it a point to let your host know when you have arrived.
    Exchange pleasantries with the host when you meet them — telling them that you made it a point to be there, even though you are on a tight schedule. This will make them feel both important and wanted.
Handling One-on-one Conversations
When you meet someone new, keep your conversation pleasant, short and brief. Begin with introducing yourself. If you know whom you are talking to, don’t pretend not to. Acknowledging someone or what they do or may have recently achieved will always earn you brownie points.
    Having said that, a mistaken identity will kill all chances of a positive conversation or a favourable end result. Never get too familiar with the other person, either with your words or your body language.
Managing Groups
If you are interacting in a group, stay as involved with the flow of conversation as possible. Acknowledge your participation by using few but firm words and sentences like: ‘yes, you are right’, ‘very much so’ etc. Move your head in an accepting manner, but don’t keeping nodding endlessly. You should know that it’s a good time to join or leave a group when there are long pauses between conversations. Excuse yourself in and out of conversations with a pleasant smile.
    If you are moving to another group, be gradual and discreet about it. Leaving a group to instantly join another indicates that you found the people or the conversation in the other group more convincing, interesting or important.
What to Eat & Drink
Never drink more than you should — office and work parties are not the place to let your hair or your guard down. Not eating (even if you are on a diet) indicates that you are uncomfortable being there or with what the host has laid out for you. Taking a couple of bites to make people happy. Try not to offend anyone.
When to Leave
Make it a point to stay for as long as you are expected to. Don’t ever be the first or last one to leave, unless of course the host specifically asks you stay on.
Your Parting Shot
Before saying your bye-byes, compliment your host for the food, décor or the setup — even if you noticed shortcomings. Make sure you sign off on a pleasant note. People will always remember your parting words.
My Tip: Subtly mirror the body language and actions of people you interact with. This is a powerful way of establishing the same status, building relationships and creating a rapport.

10. FOOD FACTS: MEALS, DINING & EATING OUT

Breakfast Basics
When meeting someone over breakfast, take your discussions straight to the point as most people rush through breakfast meetings, as a spill over here will eat into their day’s schedule. Don’t sit too close to the other person or talk too loudly. In most cases, people prefer their own space in the morning and only begin to get social by mid-day.
A Cup of Coffee
Meetings over tea/coffee should be kept short and brief. Taking slow sips will make the conversation last longer and indicates that you are ready to talk and aren’t pressed for time. Placing your cup down immediately after you drink from it indicates you are convinced and interested, while keeping the cup in your hand indicates that you are unsure or indecisive. As soon as the person you are meeting empties their cup, it’s time to wrap up the meeting.
The Drinks Code
Always ask, before you take someone out for a drink. It’s important to know your whisky from your rum and your white wine from red. Do your homework on brands, types, mixers and combinations. Choose a location or seat that is quiet (not dark) and a brand or drink you are familiar with and that you or the host don’t mind paying for. Unless you know them well, never invite someone of the opposite sex to discuss business at a bar — you are likely to be misunderstood, even though your intentions may be good.
Lunch & Dinner
To make them feel secure and reduce stress and tension, sit the other person with their back to a solid wall or surface. Most discussions come to a standstill once you start eating and nobody likes to talk with their mouth full. Try and complete all work related talk after you order and before the food arrives. Compliment the food, but don’t overdo it. You are there to talk business and not discuss your culinary tastes or personal food preferences.
My Tip: Even if you have been invited, always be the first one to offer to settle the bill — it indicates that you are secure and can take care of yourself.

11. SELF TRAINING: PERSONAL SKILLS

Time Management
Never be late for an appointment. Always plan ahead for accidental delays — traffic, weather and other unforeseen reasons. If you keep someone waiting, it reflects a disorganised nature. Some people make others wait to lower the status and confidence of the person they are meeting. Not in good taste at all.
Energy Release
However busy your schedule, make
    time for a good workout, a long laugh, a quick stretch, a leisurely massage, a steam bath, a game or sport and doing some deep breathing exercises. These are all good
    ways to clear
    the mind, beat
    stress and vent out anger and negative energies. Keeping physically (and mentally) active will lift your spirits, make you think sharper and react a lot faster as well.
Stay Connected
Update yourself on just about everything — current affairs, politics, economics, history, science, arts, sports and leisure. These subjects make great conversation starters.
    Be open to talk about things beyond your office, business or industry. The more people think you know — the more respect and authority you will command from them.
Personality
Act confident and you will be perceived that way. Learn to conceal your emotions and never carry your personal issues to the office. Try and look as bright and happy as possible — even at the end of the day or week. Greet, smile at and acknowledge everyone — not just those who matter, but even the person at the bottom of the pyramid.
    When you are speaking to them, always look people in the eye or place yourself right opposite to them, This reflects that you are sure about what you are saying and people will be easily convinced by what you are telling them.
My Tip: When you speak, your facial expressions should look slightly animated — people will believe your words if your face reflects what you are saying.

Yatan Ahluwalia ET 29JUL12