I wrote an article for IT Magazine outlining specific areas of innovation that we are seeing in startups on a systemic basis, and what seems to be most important aspects. Please find it here. Broadly, we see less of “invention” but more need to make incremental innovations on execution. The key areas for such innovation include:
- Concept localization
- Distribution
- Managing talent
- Marketing
Would love to get your thoughts around this.
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concept localization means copy from there and paste here 🙁
Interesting article, but needs to show actually how to do it. All the problems have been identified before, but howto overcome these ?
Problem in India is that all startups are done for money and not for passion, the first thing that is asked for is where is the money, google ads appear on the homepage the day after the website is launched (whatever launch actually means).
Media is poor, but as with other industries it will take time to evolve, and I guess it just needs to listen a little more, than going down the brain dead routes of old.
There are PR comps out there who will now deal with startups and offer reduced pricing if you are a startup, I’ve been working with one recently, if more of this type of work can be done maybe momentum will increase. VC also are to blame…sorry alok, they still want to bet on a sure (semi) thing, whereas risk abroad is better. You cant ask techies in India to draw up a business plan, when they barely know howto run a business, they have ideas, those need to be nurtured.
Also VC’s always look for a team, where in India are you going to find all these teams, how many people are there in India who have had a successful dotcom, if few, then obviously there will be a short supply of teams.
In short to get momentum going all components of the eco system, needed to rebase their criteria and have it targeted at the indian market…currently they are all following the valley.
Iqbal
Concept localization or adaptation to the indian scene is a very big area for innovation — and it would mean a mix of technology + plain old indian business models.
For example shaadi.com [technology] + shaadi_point [offline franchise of shaadi.com]
I think the key areas you mentioned would be quite appropriate for companies focusiing on the services side in the Indian market.
I liked how you described concept localisation, it helps tailoring proven concepts applied in otehr economies to the Indian market providing confidence to the enterpeneur as well to the investor.
While a comapny tries to localise the concept, it may be worth addressing the following:
– price sensitivity : Consumers expect prices of an offering from a new company to be significantly less than its bigger competitor.
-micro retailing requirement : You have to sell in smaller packs .. examples: telcom arpu to shampoo sachets to ‘loose’ cigarettes. This adds overheads and impact supply chain and distribution logistics.
– While Indian market is increasingly accepting new products and services, innovative way to help consumers try out new brands / product would be required.
Alok,
Great summarization.
I see a couple of additional problems:
– Professional quality base-level manpower: ex. How do you build a professional sales staff on the ground that speaks well, shows the customer basic respect, and is capable of selling and solving problems? All the good talent with this skill set seems to migrate to management or IT companies.
– Building a strong eco-system: Partners, synergies, understanding of the start-up landscape need additional development. One of the issues seems to be the distributed nature of start-ups in India – you seem them in all corners of the country. This is an issue to building a valley style concentration of talent and supporting services.
Cheers,
Samm.