Articles
I just finished the Manaslu Circuit Trek
I often talk of mountaineering, and it's parallel to the business that I am building, but this is not such a post. I went in thinking it was a physical thing. Somewhere around day four, that story fell apart. A few things stayed with me. 1.
An Unexpected Encounter in the Hills 🌄
I had no idea my vacation in Darjeeling would turn into one of the most inspiring weekends I've had in a long time. Out of the blue, I got a message from a gentleman named Ashish Syangbo. He lives in a small town near Darjeeling. We'd never
I am hearing / reading the words "gratitude", "purpose" a lot now a days - on Linkedin.
Have people suddenly changed so much? Or this has become the latest buzzword to use in social media posts to look grown-up and self-aware. Or I am just being cynical? Or are these posts written by AI and hence following a trend. Anyways, fo
Haal Khata: The Ledger of Renewal 🌸
Why an old tradition still matters in a modern world As the Bengali New Year — Poila Baisakh — arrives, many Bengali households and shops still observe a beautiful, symbolic ritual: Haal Khata. For those unfamiliar, Haal Khata (হালখাতা) li
13th Incubator Seedfund Management Committee meeting organized by AIC-SMUTBI.
It’s a great honor to get an opportunity to help find the right businesses to receive the angel investment from government (tax payers money!) These meetings are a once-a-month affair. I enjoy these meetings for several reasons: 1) It
What does a Founder / CEO do when the operating plan of the business is owned by a capable team?
– Strategy (making key choices/bets) – Identify what’s changing, and what’s not going to change, and how will company respond to it – Human capital development, and succession planning, specially for leadershi
How do you want to build your dream business?
I am happy for those who build unicorns and decacorns. I wish I can build one, one day. But I will prefer to build it my way. 1) I will bootstrap, 2) Build a solid profitable business, 3) Reinvent in every market cycle, 4) Keep the business
Mountaineering and Entrepreneurship are two sides of the same coin.
In 2023, a mountaineer and loved member of Indian entrepreneur community, Anurag Maloo met an horrible accident on top of Annapurna (one of the deadliest 8000+ mts peak). Firstly, Why would someone attempt to climb a mountain where 1 in 3 m
Equipment failure in the pharmaceutical industry can have significant consequences.
Here are some facts that highlight the impact of equipment failure in this industry: 1. Cost of downtime: Unplanned downtime can cost pharmaceutical companies an average of $150,000 per hour. This includes direct costs such as lost producti
The first thing you can do to address the perils of a ‘trust deficit society’ is to pay-it-forward.
How can you selflessly do something to help someone without any expected outcome or return? The effect is viral. The beneficiary will feel good and will most likely extend similar behavior to someone else in his/her network. This creates a
TiECON Kolkata 2023 was a celebration of entrepreneurship.
It hosted 500+ delegates, 30+ speakers, and eco-system partners to bring interesting conversations and learnings on a platform. I had a great opportunity to engage in a fireside chat with Prashant Pitti of EaseMyTrip.com. We spoke about &ld
Every job, however small, teaches you something valuable.
Today, I and Vivek Bajaj, a dear friend, recorded a podcast episode for his Face2Face MSME series. One of his question triggered some memories, and I felt it will be great to share my learnings from my four jobs! My first job was a part-tim
Sales isn’t a hustle. It’s about human connection. 🤝
Forget the clichés of pushy pitches and endless follow-ups. Real sales isn’t about “getting to yes.” It’s about being the why behind a customer’s success. 🌟 Here’s the truth: Great salespeople don’t
Kaise hoga, Jaise hoga, Aise hoga – The key to getting things done.
I have another simple way of classifying team members based on their ability to get things done. This is a theory by my good friend Alkesh Agarwal (and all credit to him), which I have tried to extend a little. There are three kinds of tea
Are you enabling your channel partners to be successful? This can be your biggest leverage in your growth function.
The Slack vs. Microsoft Teams story reminds us the value of distribution. Distribution trumps design and innovation in most cases. Its a partnership game – and can come in different variants – distributors, dealers, franchisee,
Where is Service in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?
Like many entrepreneurs of my generation, I was always in awe of SaaS business model. And of course, wanted to build one. In fact I got an opportunity to see some of these companies being built from close quarters due to my part-time angel
The Art of Leadership: Balancing Strategy and Execution
“If I get into this granular level, how will I scale? Let me hire the best people and let them do their job.” “I understand this problem the best, hence I am the best one to do or guide it.” These are two extreme pos
Why do the best laid plans fail?
I am not the most organised person. But there are some fundamental ideas about planning that I learned through reflection. 1) Short-Term vs. Long-Term Expectations: We often expect too much from ourselves in the short term and too little in
Strategy vs. Planning :: The Compass vs. The Map
In business, the terms “strategy” and “planning” are often thrown around interchangeably. But they are not the same. Think of your business plan as the road map. It lays out the steps, milestones, and resources you&r
Capital vs. Talent: What Really Drives Growth in Scaling Businesses?
When scaling a growth-stage company, it’s easy to assume that capital is the kingpin. I always used to think this in the early days of Indus Net Technologies (INT.) But let’s rethink this for a moment. Yes, capital is crucial,
Biology – Chemistry – Physics – Maths of Startup Investing
Everyone has their own investment philosophy. And someone as versatile and active as Rohit Chanana had to have a very interesting one. I met him at DLF Golf Resort Ltd in Gurgaon recently, and this is what I learned from him. Angel investin
Taking & Giving Advice – Knowledge, Experience, or Ideas
Knowledge gets multiplied when shared. And this is the reason, humble professionals and leaders are open to ask and share advice. Here are a few ground rules that can make it effective, based on my “experience”. 1) When seeking
The Right Way to Start: Problem First, Idea Second.
Never start with an idea. I regularly get pitched with new and unique ideas from aspiring entrepreneurs and my team mates. In the majority of the cases, the idea is the wrong place to start with. Thinking why? Idea = Solution. Where is the
War & Peace in Business – What should be your leadership talent strategy?
Business (can be a function within the business) goes through different times. One of the lenses to look at it is “war” and “peace” times. “War time” is when the business is facing a major challenge or op
How to get Seed Capital without pitching to Angel Investors?
After my first business attempt failed, even before taking off, in the first year of my college (~1996), I was left with nothing but a modem. While I was mourning my loss, through some conversations I came to know that an internet connectio
Few things to think about before you start Angel Investing.
I started exploring angel investing sometime around 2009. And it was never about investing or building assets/wealth. I have seen its evolution from “want to be part of this journey” to a “desirable asset class” over
Hackathons – How it has worked wonders for us at Indus Net Technologies (INT.).
Firstly, in my context, hackathons are not necessarily technical / coding challenge. It is much beyond. I consider hackathon as – “a small team coming together to solve a problem in a creative or innovative way, in a time constr
Why is Angel Investing NOT a typical asset class?
I got exposed to angel investing ~2010 through Sameer Guglani when he launched Supermorpheus (used to be called The Morpheus Gang in those days), and I am happy that I got into it. This part of my career introduced me to some of the smartes
How will AI impact Human Capital Management?
First thing first – We overestimate in short term, and underestimate in long term. It is as true for change, risk, as well as our own productivity. AI will definitely have an impact on most aspects of our life, over time. Possibilitie
My first business failed even before booking a single penny in revenue.
Internet services were made available to citizens of India on 15th August 1995. I entered college in 1996, and someone told me that it is cheaper to use email over ISD (international calling) to stay in touch with friends who went to the US
Do you have a ROI on your branding investments? Here is what we do at INT.
First of all, let me explain what branding is *not* according to me: 1) it is not advertising 2) it is not agency, creative, awards 3) it is not prime time commercials 4) it is not viral social media posts 5) it is not performance marketing
The Familiar Novelty
This Friday, I was attending the TiE Kolkata member mixer. I learnt a new term from the invited speaker, and a well respected entrepreneur, Sunil Chandra Saha – “The familiar novelty”. The discussion was around an interest
What should a scale-up company CEO essentially do?
– Sense the world to create a compelling future vision – Create and fine tune strategy to achieve the vision – Get the best people s(he) can get onboard, and align them to the strategy The above are non-negotiable. Other i
How to be fearless?
Many businesses start to flatten out or even start declining after an upcycle. There can be several reasons for that, but one reason that stands out is ‘fear’. The entrepreneur stops experimenting and taking decisions due to the
Finance is an interesting (and funny) profession:
1) People who have not run companies, analyze and make comments on who is gonna make it and who will die. 2) People who are not yet rich guides others to invest and become rich. Many who guides have themselves not invested. Conclusion: List
How AI/ML is transforming Insurance Underwriting
Choose the right premium, build the right marketing campaign and elevate the value! — insurers are facing challenges maintaining a balance between providing enhanced customer experience and operating at the profit margin. When we talk
A Pawn is more valuable than a Knight!
The COVID crisis ignited my long lost interest in Chess, and I enjoyed learning and playing on chess (dot) com. Recently, I was playing a game where I lost some key pieces early on. I was left with my King and a Pawn. My opponent was left w
My 10 Commandments of Reading
I love reading books. Some of my learnings on choosing, reading, and benefiting from books: 1) Quality is more imp than the Number of books you read 2) It’s imp to read, understand, think, and create your own thoughts; then reading fa
Productivity – Sprints & Flow
I work best in sprints. And my most productive sprints happen when I achieve a state of flow. It is critical to find what gets you in a flow. Some people get the best done when they are in flights, others get flow when they work out of a co
Giving back – Building a start-up ecosystem
I come across many who want to contribute towards building the start-up ecosystem in a given geography or in general. And, I have a lot of respect for their enthusiasm. If you are one of them, you can do the following to REALLY make a diffe
I had a blast at DamaniTalks!
I had a free flow discussion with Anirudh about entrepreneurship, my unconventional take on investing, and shared some interesting anecdotes from the INT. journey of over two decades. I was a little scared, but Anirudh got me comfortable. H
Indus Net Technologies Unlock Updates!
Indus Net Technologies Unlock Updates! 1) From 1st October, promotions (and pay appraisals) are back! 2) It’s Work From Anywhere (WFA) for INTians. But in cases of handling complex situation, teams are advised to work in close collabo
Emerging Digital Transformation Being Witnessed By The BFSI Sector
In the digital era of 2020, where technology is driving change in almost every industry, BFSI is not lying behind. Rather, it is one of the prime sectors where digital disruption has forayed at a rapid pace and transforming the way it funct
Migrating 600+ team members to Work-From-Home in three days!
Around a month back, we were conducting a “Dreamweaving” session for Indus Net Technologies. This is a session where INTians come to weave a dream for INT of the future. One dream was “INT to become a 100% remote work comp
My way of assessing professionals
The tough question is: What is your assessment of Mr. X? Do you think you can work with him? I have always answered it from the “gut”. However, there were always few fundamental principals behind them. With time, I have been abl
Marketing lesson from our cabbie
Last year, when we were in Sydney for CeBIT Australia 2012, we paid a bomb (almost $80) for our airport transfer. So this time, we acted wisely and booked a cab in advance. Since we are staying in a hotel managed by a Korean guy, he sent us
Career 101 – Career Tips for IT Professionals
I have mostly been on the “hiring” side of the table. Based on that experience, I am listing down few career tips – mostly around soft skills. Again, the tips are directed towards professionals in IT industry, but it shoul
How to improve marketing?
This is an impromptu blog post in response to a question asked by Abhinaba Dey on a Facebook forum. Though the question was addressed for start-ups, but I feel this can be extended universally. Will love to know your thoughts on this: Quest
1-2-3 of Exhibiting
Our exhibiting season starts on Tuesday with TFM&A and CeBIT. We are excited about it (like every year) and look forward to connect with hundreds of existing clients and prospects from around the world in more than a dozen shows. So, he
Is “happy employee” a myth?
Being healthy does not mean that one has never been sick. It means that one has had many more healthy days than the days in which one has been sick. Similarly, a happy employee does not mean one has never had any problems at work. It means
My interview @ Mixergy.com
Recently, I was interviewed by Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com. Here is the video for you. Please post all your reactions at Mixergy only (link given below), so that the conversation stays in one place and everyone can relate to it. You can al
Introducing Outsource Gupta (aka OG!)
Indus Net Technologies has recently introduced Outsource Gupta! – a funny comic strip, where we laugh at ourself, i.e. the business of outsourcing. This is updated weekly on our Outsource Gupta website @ http://www.outsourcegupta.com/
Bootstrapping 101
In a follow up to my previous blog post about “Bootstrapping Myths“, here are some tips for those bootstrapped startups. I have applied many of these techniques myself, and hence suggesting the same: 1) Speed is critical When yo
Bootstrapping Myths
Recently I was asked to speak about “Bootstrapping a Service Business” by Startup Saturday. Though I knew (fuzzily) about bootstrapping as a concept, but I never knew the real meaning. Strange! “Bootstrapping or booting r
A branding lesson from Ramayana
Interesting topic? Let me get straight to the story – Here is an extract (super summary!) and synopsis from one of the chapters (Yuddha Kand i.e. the ‘War Episode’, which describes the war between Rama and Ravana) of Ramay
Winning Strategies – A career perspective from Arun Agrawal
Last week, my friend Arun Agrawal agreed to do a guest post on my blog. I found the subject interesting and aligned to the taste of my readers. So here it goes: Winning Strategies What is your formula for incredible success in any field tha
Interview on SEO Outsourcing by Kelvin Newman @ SiteVisibility
I was recently interviewed by Kelvin Newman @ SiteVisibility. Here is the link: http://www.sitevisibility.co.uk/blog/2010/02/09/a-crash-course-in-seo-outsourcing-offshoring-with-abhishek-rungta/
Quick tips for SEO content writing
I recently delivered a training on SEO content writing to my content team. Here is the presentation for you!
Interview in ‘Advantage Bengal’ – A publication by Indian Express Group
I was recently interviewed by Indian Express group for their publication “Advantage Bengal”. Here is a transcript of the interview for my blog readers! 1. As an IT entrepreneur what do you feel are the key strengths of Bengal as
A short interview
I got a very interesting interview (questionnaire) from TiE Delhi. I think this is smart and I enjoyed answering it. So here it goes: I was born in Kolkata. When not in office, I like to be at home. Favourite holiday destination – Dar
India – supremacy or oblivion?
I have always felt that India today stands at the cross road of supremacy and oblivion. The final result may not be as dramatic as the two superlatives I have used, but they will surely have a major impact on the world. The main reason for
Kolkata Bloggers’ Meet
Hello Friends, A fortnight back, I was having some communication with Kamanashish Roy (@doubts) and he told me about his interest in organizing a Kolkata Bloggers’ Meet. The idea struck a chord in my mind as I always wanted to organiz
FREE Website Clinic @ Internet World 2009
Hello Friends, I will be holding a FREE Website Clinic from 28-30th April at Internet World (Earl’s Court, London) at our booth. I will be helping website owners improve their website one-step-at-a-time by giving them up to five actio
Web Design Outsourcing – My Presentation @ CeBIT Offshoring Forum
I recently did a presentation @ CeBIT Offshoring Forum in Hanover as how web design firms can save and scale up their operations and business during the worst financial crisis that our generation has ever seen. The presentation is here: If
SEO Tips – Straight from the horse’s mouth
I recently came across this wonderful compilation of what Matt Cutts has said about search engine optimization in his blog over years. Jaimie Sirovich of SEO Egghead Inc. has done this compilation and is available on his blog at: http://www
Google still shows you porn links for simple queries
Recently I found out from Galvin’s blog (a fellow SEO professional) about porn links coming up for simple Google searches like ‘tube’ which he keyed in to find out the London tube map. Out of curiosity I tried the same to
Why am I enjoying the downturn?
I was wondering last day – Why am I enjoying the downturn? Today I got the answer at Seth Godin’s blog. Because it brings around change. Status-quo is being challenged. Things will not work the way they used to work. Innovation
Bestseller website template design trends
I was analyzing the sales history of TemplateKingdom.com. I could not resist myself from analyzing the common style elements that are common among the best-sellers on my website. Here is the list: Three column templates are in demand. White
How to have an economical stay in the UK (mainly London)?
United Kingdom (UK) is an expensive economy with high cost of living. For business visitors, it is important to have an economical and comfortable stay. Based on my experience, I am putting together some tips for fellow business travelers.
Good explanation of the credit crisis
I recently came across this interesting series of video that explains the current credit crisis. It is worth a watch.
TemplateKingdom.com crosses 10,000 registered users mark
Hello Friends, One of my pet projects – TemplateKingdom.com yesterday crossed 10,000 registered users mark. I am happy that our product has been able to make a difference in so many lives. I look forward to expand its reach further in
Random tips on starting and running a business
Recently, I met Rahul Kapoor. He is an interesting guy. And we met in an interesting way. He commented on one of my blog post and we got connected. When he was traveling to Kolkata, I invited him over for a chat. During our course of discus
The entrepreneurial pledge
I have recently taken an entrepreneurial pledge led by National Entrepreneurship Network (nenonline.org). Please go ahead and take this pledge at http://nenonline.org/eweekPartner.do?method=fetch&businessFn=eweekPartnerRegister
Slumdog Millionaire – a sadistic satire
The hype around Slumdog Millionaire hit me and I ended up in the theater to watch the Anglo-Indian movie which bagged the Golden Globe and is nominated in several categories (ten nominations to be precise) for the Oscars. To be honest, I we
Implications of the Satyam fiasco
Satyam fiasco was a shocker for me. I have been closely monitoring it for quite some time as a scam of this magnitude can have a ripple effect in the Indian IT industry. There has been thousands of reactions from all over the world. I logge
Kolkata on terror radar
As per latest news Kolkata is up on the terror radar. But I feel Kolkata is relatively safe from a mass scale terror attack. Two reasons that come to my mind – Reason 1: Kolkata is a safe heaven for terrorists operating from Pakistan
Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary
Hello Friends, I am glad to let you all know that I have been honored by the Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary International District 3291. It was presented to me at a function at Rotary Sadan, Kolkata on 25th October, 2008. I will like
HR review of IT Industry in India – An environment of mistrust
I was reflecting upon last one year and how IT industry has changed in this duration from HR perspective. Among many thoughts, the most visible one (and the most concerning one as well) was the all-time-low employer-employee trust level. On
CreateOnlineBuzz.com – A new approach to blog marketing
Dear Friends, We have recently completed an innovative project for one of our prestigious client 9.9 Media. It is called CreateOnlineBuzz.com. CreateOnlineBuzz.com is an initiative to create a high value eco system for the bloggers and adve
Recent Media Coverage – NDTV Profit
Recently there has been some media coverage of my company winning the #1 IT SME in India Award by Dun & Bradstreet. Here is a coverage shot by NDTV Profit, one of the leading news channels in India.
Why Microsoft loves Ireland?
I was just thinking as why Microsoft has based one of its R&D center out of Ireland. Then as I sat in the bus on the way to the airport, reading some advertising displays it became very clear. Reason: Because the Top Level Domain (TLD)
Indus Net Technologies is #1 IT SME – Dun & Bradstreet
It is the first official award I have won for my entrepreneurial efforts! Indus Net Technologies has been selected as the #1 IT SME (Small and Medium sized Enterprise) in India 2008 by Dun & Bradstreet in a glittering Award Ceremony in
Will you like to save a child’s life?
I will not wait for your answer. I know you cannot see a child die when he can be saved with medical intervention. But the fact is that millions of newborn infants die worldwide due to Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). These are a lethal cons
How not to write a business plan?
I am always interested in investing in new venues. Few days back, I stumbled upon a bunch of entrepreneurs who wanted to develop a 3D action game. It looked like a freaky idea and I was all game for it. I asked them to put together a basic
Abhinav Bindra wins first ever individual olympic gold for India
Today, Abhinav Bindra won the 10m air rifle gold and became the first ever individual from India to win a gold medal at Olympics. I think this is the most joyful event in the history of Indian sports. More so because, it was a painful thoug
You got to pay me to pay me! – The TalkMobile story.
For my stay in the UK, I bought a TalkMobile Pay-As-You-Go mobile connection. (Quick tip: It is the cheapest option to call abroad while you are in the UK. All incoming calls are free for you. And yes, It just takes few minutes to get activ
Demands of top Human Resource Management Professionals
Today was an interesting day at the NASSCOM HR Summit 2008 in Chennai. There was a session on HR Leadership: Paradigm shift from process recruiters to business leaders. When the Chairperson of the panel, Mr. Pratik Kumar (EVP HR, Wipro) ask
Travel, travel and travel
Hello Friends, Sorry for not updating my blog for quite some time. I had a hectic schedule for last one month with Internet World in London, followed by a family holiday in Dubai. Before I could recover, I am visiting the NASSCOM BPO Strate
Speed or distance – what do you want?
I found this very interesting quote in someone’s signature whom I met on a business networking website: "If you want to go fast, travel alone; but if you want to go far, travel together." – African Proverb How true – speci
Do you send handwritten seasonal greetings to your clients?
Do you send handwritten seasonal greetings to your clients? It may sound to be very simple, regular stuff. But it is surprising that still a large percentage of small businesses fail to use such an opportunity to strengthen their relations
Is he really a business baazigar?
Guys, Recently some of my employees got unsolicited call from a gentleman called Manish Gupta, who wants to woo them away from my company to his startup. Of course like every normal human being, my colleagues also need a reason to go and wo
Use EasyBM today to boost your productivity
I came across this rocking website called EasyBM (www.easybm.com), a FREE online service, which can help you in boosting your online productivity to new levels. I generally do not get excited about something so quickly. My exposure to new i
Use META DESCRIPTION as your advertisement copy!
<META DESCRIPTION> tag lost its shine after the emergence of off-page factors (like link popularity) for rankings in SERPS. In fact it lost its purpose to a great extent when Google started using contextual content from within the pag
Top SEO Blogs!
In a fast changing world of SEO, the best way to keep your knowledge up-to date are the authoritative blogs on the subject. I stumbled upon a nice post by Daniel from DailyBlogtips.com, who has done a thorough research and listed Top 25 SEO
How to generate exhaustive keyword combinations?
When creating an exhaustive keyword list for your AdWords / PPC campaigns, you might face a tedious job of creating all possible combinations by joining two words / phrases to cover the keyword that your prospect might key in. This can be a
Managing vs. Leading – What an organization needs?
I regularly hear about terms like Manager, Managing, Management, Management Team, etc. The dictionary term for manage is "cope: come to terms or deal successfully with" and "pull off: be successful; achieve a goal" In my opinion, the word &
Sky-high bids on Adwords! Do they work?
The bids on AdWords are soaring to new heights everyday. Some advertisers are even shelling out up to $10 per click. So, naturally the question arises – Is this complete madness or is there any logic behind such aggressive advertising
Gallery submission to improve web site traffic and/or rankings
Attractive designs do get attention. It can also get good visitor-customer conversion if some best-practices are followed. But the question is – how can attractive designs get traffic to your website? They can! or, They can at least h
TemplateKingdom revisited
I have recently revamped my five year old venture TemplateKingdom, which has till date sold 5000+ original template designs to companies and various template sites around the world. And so TemplateKingdom 2.0 is right here. Come, buy the re
New kind of website spam
I just made a blog post – Buying and selling websites. Within minutes, I got a trackback. I was a bit puzzled at the lightening speed. I thought – how can someone read my entire article and blogged about it in less than a minute
Buying and selling websites
In recent times, I have seen a growth in marketplaces which help website owners to buy/sell websites. It looks like a good idea, as it allows website owners to reshuffle their portfolio of websites and offer services / products which are mo
Cookie that fails to crumble
It is a true incident about, how a cookie shop messed up its sales! CookieMan is a fast growing cookie brand in India. They have a small outlet at Chennai airport. Till recently, before boarding the flight, I used to buy some delicious cook
India’s Union Budget 2008 – Preparing for Lok Sabha Election 2009
Today, Finance Minister P.Chidambaram presented the Union Budget for FY 2008-2009. A full copy can be downloaded by clicking here. Some highlights of the budget are listed below with my comments: Revenues New tax slabs for Income Tax: No ta
Offshore outsourcing in India – going through a tough time.
Offshore outsourcing – a concept that made IT & India synonmous with each other in the first decade of 21st century is loosing its glamour quotient consistently. It seems that by 2010, hundreds of software companies will run out o
Virtual Tables – A problem solving technique for small networking groups
Among all the social-business networking sites, I find Ecademy and LinkedIn to be the best ones. Ecademy is my favorite since it has very nicely integrated offline networking in its system which results in creating trusted networks. I exper
Take a positive attitude to work
I often hear from people: I hate my job. I don’t feel like going to work. I have no excitement in my career. It is the same old grind. This happens more so often because most people are doing things that they never wanted to do in the
Can entrepreneurship be taught?
I was recently speaking on "Myths & Facts of Entrepreneurship" in Entrepreneurship Summit 2007 at IIT Kharagpur (KGP) on behalf of NEN. Overall, the event was nice, but it made me think over few points. 1. Can we really teach entreprene
Visiting London from 13th October till 23rd October 2007
Hello Friends, I will be visiting London from 13th October till 23rd October for some business meetings. If you – are an existing client of Indus Net Technologies (or any of our service brand) OR are a business considering outsourcing
Effectiveness of online candidate search databases offered by job sites
IMHO, online candidate search is a great service. I currently use two such websites and shell out almost $5000 per annum for the same. I always do a solid cost / benefit analysis and I have found that I am saving almost $15-$20K on my recru
The Hari Sadu advertisement – Instilling the right culture?
Everyone who watches television in India must have come across the "Hari Sadu" advertisement aired by Naukri.com. This ad became very popular for its creativity and also won the award from the Advertising Club Kolkata. Here is the full stor
Usability flaw in Sphinn.com signup page
I have recently signed up with this wonderful social media website Sphinn.com which aggregates news and articles on search engine marketing and social media landscape. The site has got excellent content and an active community. However, whi
Google fooled by transparent links & hit counter spam
I recently came across a post by Loren Baker of SearchEngineJournal about Google Loves Transparent Links and Hit counter Spam. It is shocking to see that Google has not been able to tackle such crude level of spam. We hear about site ageing
Former Harvard student sues Facebook
Divya Narendra and his two other Harvard friends (Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss) have sued Facebook alleging that their founder, Mark Zuckerberg have stolen their business plan and source code. You can read the full story at rediff.com. I wa
Goldrush – Pixels, words, and now individual pages
It all started with pixels. Alex Tew started selling pixels with milliondollarhomepage.com to earn some quick money. Public relation clicked and he became a success story with a wild frenzy among people to own a "piece of history". The "me
Embracing Pain For Entrepreneurs
I came across this quote today at BusinessPundit. We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. – Kenji Miyazawa How true 🙂 When you start a company, you get rejected by almost everyone: Bankers: They want to lend you mon
Is “joining bonus” a right tradition?
I have noticed that several companies offer joining bonus to a prospective employee to join early (or shall I say "immediately"). I was wondering if this is a right tradition? Is this ethical? I see it this way – A guy is working in C
Why should you network online?
I think online networking is the best thing that has happened on Internet in last few years. I see several benefits of networking and spending time to meet new people and build professional and personal relationships. You can make new frien
Learning in the age of information overload
Blogs have fueled the growth of peer-to-peer information flow in form of news, knowledge packets, ideas and individual point-of-views. However it has also resulted in "Information overload" which drives a normal person nut as he is at risk
Are you what you always wanted to be?
You ask any student – What do you want to be? You will get a quick reply – Doctor Software Engineer Singer Pilot Teacher Etc. Why do different people want to do different things? Because – they "want" to do that. They have
West Bengal – Poised to take a leap in IT & ITeS?
Department of Information Technology, Government of West Bengal (www.itwb.org) is doing a remarkable work in supporting and nurturing IT industry in the state of West Bengal. Their investor-friendly approach and innovative action-oriented l
Paper napkin business plan
I have often seen people struggling with their business plan. I have a bit unconventional take on the subject. May be, because it has worked well for me till now. So here is what I sugget: A business plan does help. However a business plan
HCL – Poor tagline, Poor advertising
Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) is one of the top-five IT companies in India. Recently I saw their latest media campaign which says: HCL – a $4 billion company. I have never seen such a poor tagline before. In fact it was amusing an
Some nature photographs to refresh your soul
Here are some photographs from one of my trips –
McDonalds burger – Vegetarian or normal?
Here is a funny incident that took place when I was exhibiting at CeBIT 2007 in Hanover. I was in Hanover with my friend – Srish Agrawal for CeBIT 2007. After a tiring day at the exhibition hall, we were looking for a decent dinner. T
Manufacturing Ideas!
How many times have you heard? He is successful because he has the first mover advantage. I have a bright idea. I will seek venture funding and make it BIG! There are so many simmilar businesses around? There will be a lot of competition fo
Visa Power, Mastercard emotions
Recently I was trying to make a payment for a company purchase online using my MasterCard. Inspite of having a positive balance the transaction did not get through. I tried my sisters card (which again is a MasterCard) and it still wont go
Investment advise based on my first hand experience
I am not a very stock market savvy person. But in recent months, I did some stock investments. I made good investments and bad investments. I learnt few basics from my mistakes (I may be still wrong, IMHO) which I would love to share with a
Usability Tips – Review of a signup form
I recently came across a signup form. It was not bad, but could have been much better. Here is an evaluation of the same so that others can avoid the mistakes that has occured in this signup form. It was a quick review. If you can find out
Usability Nightmares – Error handling of a signup form
I came across a Web2.0 website called ProjectStat.us (Trying to express that it has something to do with project status – a nice cool trick). I liked the overall concept and was curious to find out how it works. So I decided to sign u
Frustration with elevator!
It happens to me every time.. I am in an elevator which is going up, and it will stop at a floor in transit and a guy will peep in his head asking if the elevator is going down! 10 seconds wasted! Think of the frustration if it happens five
Avoid starting your business during high-tide
A quick tip for budding entrepreneurs: If your business starts at the right time, you can extract maximum growth by getting ready when the industry segment gets the peak demand. I strongly suggest that a new business should be started durin
Eight Random Things
Gautam Ghosh has tagged me to write about eight random things about me! So here it goes – 1. I am a trekking addict. I have travelled extensively in the Himalayas. Unfortunately I did not get an opportunity to peek across the mighty H
I joined Kiva.org
Today, I was browsing through and stumbled across a website called Kiva.org Kiva.org allows individuals to make $25 loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordab
Plains can look beautiful too!
Plains can look beautiful too! These pictures were taken from a moving car. If you want any of these pictures in higher resolution, feel free to contact me.
The Kumbha of South India
Picture of the kumbha konam. This is considered as the kumbha of south India.
Om and Trishul made of diyas
Hindu scared symbols of Om and Trishul made of diyas (earthern candles)
Is India loosing its low cost advantage for software outsourcing?
India has been regularly "labeled" as the ultimate software offshore outsourcing destination. Advantage India has been expressed in terms of location, better adaptation to english language, cost, quality talented pool and a young population
Where is the growth focused?
There is a mad rush out here. Large swanky new shopping malls are opening every month to give the desired lifestyle to the next-generation Indians who believe in “work hard – party harder”. An average middle class Indian i
A path to heaven
The lush green valleys of the Western Ghats (South India) indeed gives a feeling of heaven. It is not a surprise why people call it "God’s own country". A picture showing – a path to heaven!
Sunrays playing in the Munnar hills
Here is a nice picture of sun playing in the Munnar hills. Worth watching — Feel free to use this picture anywhere you wish or ask for the hi-res if you need. A credit will be appreciated.
Neel Kurinji – A flower that blooms once in twelve years
On my recent trip to Munnar (South India), I had the fortune to see the bloom of Neel Kurinji (blue-kurinji). It is a shrub like plant which blooms with a blue flower once in twelve years! If you want to experience the same, you will have t
Most important soft skill in life?
I was trying to think out – What is the most important soft skill in life? Some options I came across: Communication? Public speaking? Problem solving? Team management? Time management? The list was getting too long! I tried to find a
What can we do for India?
Dear Friends, I got this email today in my mailbox. The mail says that this is a speech from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India. I am not sure about the source, but the message is definitely thought provoking. I think it is somethin
Entrepreneurship at its best!
Entrepreneurship knows no barriers! Last year while searching for an office in Annanagar area of Chennai, I came across an entrepreneur who is remarkably different and inspiring. He reaffirmed my belief that entrepreneurship does not need b
Wait a little before you buy your Apple iPhone
iPhone is the hottest desirable gizmo at this point of time. As per AppleInsider (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2415), Apple is going to make 47% – 49% margin on each iPhone sold. So, if you are not in a big hurry, waitin
Amazing – Human-like Emotional Figures made from Fruits & Vegetables
Art knows no barrier. I came across this fantastic gallery from Saxton Freymann. Gallery URL – http://www.rit.edu/~ksh8863/saxtonfreymann.html Saxton Freymann creates this human-like figures out of fruits and vegetables. He creates em
Case study – Increasing perceived value of a service offering
I am staying at the executive housing of ISB – Hyderabad today. It is managed by Sarovar Park Plaza (http://www.sarovarparkplaza.com/). The room is great and the service is impeccable. But what caught my fancy is a small plaque on the
A fiction with shades of fact – “The Fourth Estate – Jeffrey Archer”
Recently, I finished reading “The Fourth Estate” by Jeffrey Archer. It was a nice read – a bit long though. At some places it becomes boring. The overall storyline is interesting. What is more interesting is its simmilarit
GMail usability flaw – “Mark as read” menu
I feel this is a usability flaw in Gmail’s "Mark as read" contextual menu item. For all the contextual actions, once the action is done, the checkbox status is turned back to default – i.e. not-checked. However when you "Mark as
Messed up signage in a hospital
A signage as critical as this has been done more in "style" than keeping quick – common understanding in mind. This is a signage at the main gate of the hospital. It is trying to show two arrows – one towards, the Emergency / Bl
Poor metaphor for “Gift-voucher”
Recently, I saw a funny metaphor for "Gift-Voucher" when I visited Shoppers Stop in City Center. It is a poor example of using a graphics / icon to symbolize a concept. The graphic of a "hanger" gives no reason to relate it to a "gift" or a
Simplify contact forms for better conversion
Eoghan McCabe has covered some good conversion tips in his blog post – User Interface Simplicity Gone Wrong. He has explained how website conversion rate can shoot up if the contact forms are simple and to-the-point. Everyone is in a
Healthy cash flow is a must for a successful business
Yesterday, I was attending an interactive session with Mr. Vinod Dham (Yes! the same guy who invented Pentium chip and Flash memory). It started with a nice inspiring story – How Vinod accidentally stumbled into engineering and ended
My own caricature!
I recently got a caricature done by Simon Ellinas. It rocks What do you think? I highly recommend his service. Is is a real pro!
A view of the regional provident fund office at Kolkata
My relationship with the Provident Fund Office dates back to 2004, when I went ahead to get my company and employees registered under the Employee Provident Fund Scheme in order to get them the much desired social security. But what I saw t
Changing political priorities
It is funny to see how politicians change their fundamental political beliefs to get political mileage. In 1970-80, the Community Party of India and their allies ruled the state of West Bengal with a strong leftist policy. Strikes were a co
Knowledge capsules – Fast start kits
In this age of information overload, it is nice to see some “read it – implement it” kind of quick start guides at http://www.faststartkits.com/ These guides are easy-to-read and are only 2-3 pages long. Most of them do no
When will the call center outsourcing bubble burst?
A lot has been talked about call center outsourcing. We have heard and seen how it is changing the lifestyle statement for the young Indians who are now earning a handsome salary and (many of them) living a bohemian lifestyle! On the other
Google Answers is no longer accepting questions
I recently came across Google Answers (http://answers.google.com/answers/) and found that they are no longer accepting questions. So Google closes down its Google Answers service. Though I did not sense this coming, but once I saw it, I fel
What to do – How to do – To do!
We work in a knowledge economy and it is very important for a manager to classify people around us to know what are their capabilities. This classification can help in identifying the right person for the right job. Again the same can be us
Indian ISPs censoring blogs – The complete story
On July 15th, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) had sent ISPs a list of sites to be blocked. R H Sharma, senior engineer with MTNL, said that the list of sites ran into some 22 pages. – A blog at Rediff India This directive le
How to use Gmail to send and receive mails under your own domain name
Hi Folks, Gmail is fast. Gmail is easy to use. Gmail is virus and spam free. Gmail is web based and universally accessible. But, for most internet users, the biggest turn off is the fact that you cannot use your own domain name with Gmail.