Vijay Ramachandran (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} vijayr) wrote,@ 2009-01-14 16:58:00 |
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More useless startup gyaan
I was at Headstart 09 last weekend, demo'ing my company, WisdomTap's, product search capabilities. We even got nominated as one of the top 10 product startups in India! While we personally had a great time interacting with the visitors, and made some important contacts, a few things about startups in India stood out:
Let's take these one by one. First, the number and variety of startups - surely, its a matter of time before we have a monster hit out of India? However, there is a palpable lack of experience in selling and marketing (my company included). The other big problem is lack of an audience in India. In general, there are more technical guys than sales/marketing types at a startup. Hope that this changes, and fast.
Next, the way people are awed by VCs. It was almost as though VCs were expected to be the enablers of startups in India. All the VCs I interacted with seemed like nice guys (i.e., not the kind of pricks you read about at the Funded), and some of them had some excellent knowledge to share (Ashish Gupta of Helion had a kick ass keynote which was very poorly attended). However, my impression after trying to raise money is that VCs want to invest at later stages, when the risk is less, and expect a bigger share of the company, than expected by most startups. i.e., there was very little chance of any of the startups at headstart getting funded by a traditional VC. So, why do Desi startups still look at the VC community with stars in their eyes? I think that part of it is the excellent PR the VC community worldwide has received. The other part is probably the lack of marketing, sales, and finance people in the startups - so perhaps we tend to believe that getting a VC to fund us would somehow magically enable this aspect of the company...let's stop worrying about VCs, and start worrying about customers and how to acquire them, people!
Another important aspect which must be made very public is that there is a big mismatch in the expectations of an Indian startup to get funded, vs a traditional style VC funding them. There are just too many more mature organizations - not necessarily in technology - competing for this money, and they are less risky from an investors point of view. Also, the amount of money required to run a startup is far less than one thinks. I think that there is a huge opportunity to create some kind of Angel Exchange in India.
Lastly, the UI fiasco. Given the talented graphical designers, and the ability to learn about UI best practices from across the world, its a shame that we're not seeing something better. Oh well.
Lastly, more power to the headstarters to continue helping the nascent tech startup scene in India.
PS: My company, WisdomTap, provides a product search engine which helps you decide which products to buy. If you're looking for reviews, ratings, and recommendations for digital cameras and lenses or mobile phones, do check us out. We also provide this same service to ecommerce retailers to help them increase conversion rates on their site.
I was at Headstart 09 last weekend, demo'ing my company, WisdomTap's, product search capabilities. We even got nominated as one of the top 10 product startups in India! While we personally had a great time interacting with the visitors, and made some important contacts, a few things about startups in India stood out:
- The number and variety of startups was mind boggling. Its just fantastic to see such energy and innovation out of India. And, to think, that this is just a fraction of the actual Indian startup scene. Heartening indeed!
- Venture Capitalists are revered and worshiped as though they're stars.
- Almost universally, the UI was "raw". I can't remember any company who's UI had the necessary pop.
Let's take these one by one. First, the number and variety of startups - surely, its a matter of time before we have a monster hit out of India? However, there is a palpable lack of experience in selling and marketing (my company included). The other big problem is lack of an audience in India. In general, there are more technical guys than sales/marketing types at a startup. Hope that this changes, and fast.
Next, the way people are awed by VCs. It was almost as though VCs were expected to be the enablers of startups in India. All the VCs I interacted with seemed like nice guys (i.e., not the kind of pricks you read about at the Funded), and some of them had some excellent knowledge to share (Ashish Gupta of Helion had a kick ass keynote which was very poorly attended). However, my impression after trying to raise money is that VCs want to invest at later stages, when the risk is less, and expect a bigger share of the company, than expected by most startups. i.e., there was very little chance of any of the startups at headstart getting funded by a traditional VC. So, why do Desi startups still look at the VC community with stars in their eyes? I think that part of it is the excellent PR the VC community worldwide has received. The other part is probably the lack of marketing, sales, and finance people in the startups - so perhaps we tend to believe that getting a VC to fund us would somehow magically enable this aspect of the company...let's stop worrying about VCs, and start worrying about customers and how to acquire them, people!
Another important aspect which must be made very public is that there is a big mismatch in the expectations of an Indian startup to get funded, vs a traditional style VC funding them. There are just too many more mature organizations - not necessarily in technology - competing for this money, and they are less risky from an investors point of view. Also, the amount of money required to run a startup is far less than one thinks. I think that there is a huge opportunity to create some kind of Angel Exchange in India.
Lastly, the UI fiasco. Given the talented graphical designers, and the ability to learn about UI best practices from across the world, its a shame that we're not seeing something better. Oh well.
Lastly, more power to the headstarters to continue helping the nascent tech startup scene in India.
PS: My company, WisdomTap, provides a product search engine which helps you decide which products to buy. If you're looking for reviews, ratings, and recommendations for digital cameras and lenses or mobile phones, do check us out. We also provide this same service to ecommerce retailers to help them increase conversion rates on their site.
