EMERGEOUT Conclave – First Edition

While talking on Indian Phenomena of Daring, he highlighted: Indian IT industry dared to offshore client critical software development work to India BPO Industry (the industry he had firsthand experience) was not to be left far behind to canvass for real time and back office processing to be moved offshore He shared his own daring journey from American Experience to GE to Wipro Spectramind and now at Quattro. His formula to dare: Identify Uncontested -> Formulate Strategy -> Execute/Implement. He stressed on the importance of Reconstructing Market Boundaries (gave an example of how a guy in Jalandhar uses Washing Machine for making Lassi) and Managing the Big Picture, in addition to Executing the Strategy. Without taking too much time he concluded the session and gave lots of time for Q&A. A gentleman asked What according to you is the value proposition for tomorrow?. Mr Roy said that today domain knowledge and capability to execute are critical to the success of any business; the time of price point/cost arbitrage is over. When asked about the importance of Idea Vs Execution Experience, Mr Roy said that there is no right answer to this. Depending upon on the situation, either can be leveraged (in conjunction with the other) to build a great business. When asked on the example of killer instinct by any Indian company, Mr. Roy mentioned about NANO, a revolution in which somebody stood and said that I will make available Rs 1 lakh car, a concept which most of us would have called stupid and silly. Mr. Karnik summarized the spirit of session by saying that when tides are difficult, it is the best time and opportunity for the birth of new, world-class businesses. That is what is the essence of entrepreneurship. Like earlier sessions, he also highlighted the importance of attracting and retaining talent.

Navyug Mohnot CEO & Founder, QAI India: Navyug started by mentioning that along with same car, same house and the same wife he has the same company as well J. Navyug shared how he started QAI when he dropped out of college while pursuing his PhD in US. He started QAI by selling the laser printer he bought in US for Rs 98,700. He took the audience through his 7 strategies of what works for entrepreneurs. Believe, intend, wish, visualize Think through the business model and all things related. Set BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) People are not your Most Important Resources Its the RIGHT PEOPLE – Navyug personally made only 3 sales calls across all the geographies. He focuses on People, creating leaders in the company. Build brand from day one and every day thereafter He reaffirmed the comment made by Subroto that brands are not made by PR agencies, but by the entrepreneur. Never compromise your standards and values. Ececute, Execute, Execute Reinvent, Re-imagine, Re-Define yourself constantly. Manage competencies, not career.

Madan Padaki, Co-Founder & CEO, MeritTrac: Madan started with his background. Engg, Wipro, Infosys and then MBA from S.P. Jain He shared how in the golden (pre bust) dot-com era he and his founding partners spotted an opportunity to build a knowledge based organization as India was growing into a services industry where people is the key. Identifying the Skill Assessment as the niche was the beginning for MeritTrac. And then followed the laser sharp focus: We will never do training, recruitment business although lucrative but conflicts with the assement business. Madan mentioned the importance of developing the network. In 2004, they sponsored NASSCOMs HR conference when the conference bill was 35% of their profit bill. Help Genuinely: He helped a PhD. Student with some data collection in India, and a chain of events from there put him in touch with HSBC, and finally HSBC funded them. Madan then mentioned that importance of Managing the Image. Having an advisory panel consisting of people who are well known, and it helps you grow your credibility. Use press effectively. Talk to people about your business everywhere. Wow your customers and win in the long term! There is no better sales person than a satisfied customer. In the end, it is all about the passion you have as an entrepreneur. Madan shared his experience of 2001, when MeritTrac was 15 days from cash burn-out, and they had to stop paying salaries to their 15 employees and yet those people stayed along with them through the down period. Ultimately, those initial people became the integral part of the strong foundation on which MeritTrac grew year after year and everyone shared the rewards of the success.

Question: What should be the strategy of SMEs who dont have marketing budgets, and can be eaten up by big players who can spend tons to get in front of the customers. Answer: Navyug responded by saying there is no Silver Bullet. Entrepreneur needs to focus on everything: differentiation, innovation and execution. Question: In the current scenario and financial meltdown, how do you continue to get business from abroad? How do companies prepare for 2010 when SEZ status goes away? Answer: Partha – There is no one answer for this. Market is tough, and needs one to be creative. Also, look at the market in India. Question: All the panelists are still CEOs, so they have not given up their management role? Answer: Madan mentioned 4 stages of an entrepreneur. I will do it. I will get it done. Have the team to do it. It will happen. CEO doesnt get in details. Figure our what will happen.

Q&A with the panel on Evolving a Strategy for Startups & Emerging Companies

This session focused on the various aspects an entrepreneur needs to consider as they go through the lifecycle of building the company. The panelists spent time talking about the 3 key areas that an organization needs to worry about Building an organization Sales People & Talent Gowri Shankar Subramanian introduced the speakers and panelists.

Anand Deshpande, Persistent started by talking about his experiences from 1990-95, and laid out the key sales aspects emerging companies need to think about. He talked about how trust was the core foundation of how he got his first few customers. His first customer was O2 Technologies, who he had known before while he was interning with HP. Second customer was a fellow grad student he had met during his academic years. His third customer was Microsoft, and really helped him grow, since he now had credibility. Anand mentioned the importance of network effect as a great sales tool. For a business need to happen, you need Need, Budget and Authority. For most start-ups in early phase, you will have to create a Need. A founders job is to sell. Sell to new employees, and sell to customers. This is a role not to be delegated in the early stages of a company. SMEs need to differentiate themselves. Its a key success criterion for all SMEs. Also, an SME needs to be persistent.