This is a continuation from my previous post on Sun startup essentials workshop that happened in Bangalore a few weeks back. Misplaced the notes that I had written down and found it only now…that’s the reason for the delay!
Sanjay Nayak mentioned that the bandwidth availability in Indian homes (metros) should get to 10Mbps within 12-18 months. That would have a significant impact on ecommerce in India.
Sanjay Nayak’s keynote was followed by Sanjay Sharma’s talk on Sun startup essentials program. He stated off talking about why web 2.0 is not a bubble (lower entry barrier, online ad growth)
Sun is doing a great work with its Sun startup essentials program trying to help the startups with not just discounted Sun hardware and hosting but also engineering support absolutely free of cost. If you are building your startup on Sun platform, participating in SSE program would be of immense value.
Sanjay Sharma’s talk was followed by a panel discussion on technology choices for startups. No clear guidance came out of the discussion and so not worth writing about.
Next up was a panel discussion on Go-to Market strategy for start-ups. It was an interesting session where the panelists and the moderator discussed on things like Understanding customers (Awareness leading to Interest leading to Users who turn to remain Loyal), Time to Market, Tackling competition (through positioning) and Keeping the idea secure (Patents)
T.C.Meenakshisundaram of IDG ventures gave a short but effective talk on what is an investment ready business. The key points to consider according to him are:
1. Great team (3-4 founders covering the critical aspects of the business)
- Team should have worked together or studied together
- Have complimentary skills
- Think differently
2. Business Idea
- Disruptive businesses (3-5 companies in the business take 80-90% of the market share)
- Early stage
- Potential to be in top 3 in 24 months
- Faster, better, cheaper/ Taking advantage of intersection fo 2 businesses coming together
3. Proof of concept (have a prototype or early customers or launched with some traction)
