NASSCOM Product Conclave 2009
Transcript of the Go-to-market workshop at the NASSCOM Product Conclave
The Go-to-market workshop at the Product Conclave addressed the Question that allows an enterprise to emerge from a startup – the facility that marks the coming-of-age in the life of a startup. The workshop started with Brand building, and covered the range of channels you can use to reach your customers – Direct, digital and partner. The session was rich with practical tips and specific businesses applications.
Notes from Nasscom Product Conclave 2009 – Overall Learnings
- There is no problem, i.e., (1) there are not enough good problems that startups are working on (2) there seems to be no shortage of funds, platforms and ecosystem partners willing to help startups, there are not enough good startups for them to support. The ecosystem is hungry for successes.
Guy Kawasaki’s Keynote at NASSCOM Product Conclave
“14 Sutras for Successful Business” from Naeem Zafar – Member of Faculty, Haas Business School, University of California, Berkeley
Excerpts from a 2-hour talk delivered at NASSCOM Product Conclave, October 27th, Bangalore
- Have a profound understanding of the market, not necessarily technology.
- Build a good “Team”, if you can’t find a partner, either there is some problem with “you” or your idea .
- Don’t start a business plan, get to it.
The Divide: CIO’s and Technology Vendors
Got back after an interesting session on “Candid Advice to Product Companies from CIOs“, held at Nasscom Product Conclave, Bangalore.
It is interesting because this was perhaps the first time when there was a collective meeting of the IT sellers and IT buyers, in a situation where there was no specific agenda to either buy or sell. This was a purely consultative event, though an event with a lot of possibilities of doing just that – buying and selling.
Why Kawasaki at the Nasscom Product Conclave ?
Bangalore played host to the Nasscom Product Conclave over the last couple of days, and it was a brilliantly organized event. The best part of it, imo, was the cross section of participants the event was able to pull in. Such major industry events usually get a little intimidating for the smaller, just starting out guys – but this conclave easily avoided that. The sessions were useful, deeper than usual, and because of these reasons, packed. The networking was very very active, and I pretty much caught up with everyone I’ve met and come across over the last four years!
India’s Product Initiative gains pace
We have had Subex in telecom fraud management solutions, Infozech in telecom billing, Ramco and Eastern Software (ebizframe) in ERP, Tally in accounting solutions, Nucleas Software and Polaris in financial solutions , and NewGen in business process management solutions.
Bootstrappers Guide to VC Hunt
It is like proposing to 20 women and you have no idea whether you’ll get lucky. This is one reason why budding entrepreneurs prefer funding their own dreams rather than chasing VC (venture capital) funds.
The innovators and VC firms discussed, debated and deliberated on VC funding versus bootstrapping at the Nasscom Product Conclave and Expo 2009 on Wednesday.
VC backed exits through M&A expected to rise
The IT boom during the last few years has helped the valuations of IT companies. However, with the markets down, their valuations are expected to be lower, which has increased interest among investors to take the M&A route since they can now take advantage of acquiring companies at a lower cost. The forecast for VC backed exits through M&A’s is expected to increase this year.
‘Price is not that matters, but value’
Introduce disruptive service and then work in the background to make it acceptable by the masses, experts advice. For companies aiming to be successful with new products in market, experts had a piece of advice: Introduce disruptive service and then work in the background to make it acceptable by the masses.
