“How many national scale, socially relevant, market oriented, impact making businesses can you name in India?” is a question that I asked at a recent gathering of friends. This is partly due to the fact that the only answer that springs to my mind is “Amul“, partly out of a certain confidence that the other person too cannot name any other business and partly out of a genuine desire to know. This question has intrigued me for some time now. Why haven’t there been many more Amul’s in our country? God knows there are enough and more social problems to be solved!

Amul was created by government initiative and by the passion of people like Dr Kurien. It wanted to bring out change in the way milk was produced and distributed on a massive scale. The vision was big, there was passion, there was capital (direct and indirect), there was terrific leadership, sustained and involved engagement with the grass-roots, and the formation of partnerships to create the impact via the business. If we are to get out of depending on the government for everything we have to think entrepreneurial.

Amul Ad on Michael Jackson's Death

So the question can be reframed to: cannot similar and more impact be delivered by engaging and unleashing the entrepreneurial energies of millions by providing the right leadership, vision, management, partnerships, and capital?
After all, how different are the basics from any other vision of a passionate entrepreneurial team? India, according to some estimates, has the largest number of NGOs per capita. Most of them are doing a glorious job in their respective domains, impacting the lives of citizens in localized spheres of activity. But given the size and multitude of problems confronting India a different approach is also surely required. One that unleashes the entrepreneurial energies of the people and dove-tails into the market economy. One that creates financial sustenance if not independence. Entrepreneurship is an acknowledged method of job creation and income (if not wealth) creation.

One such approach is micro-finance. Micro-financial institutions focus on creating micro-entrepreneurs by providing access to micro-credit. While there are mixed reports on the overall impact of such programmes (which have a lot to do with the operational aspects of programme implementation) MFIs as vehicles have the ability to impact very significant numbers of people as the Grameen Bank has shown.

But what if one could create a socially relevant “for-profit” entity with all the discipline and rigour of any market driven capitalist venture? One who’s mantra is scale, growth, brand building, market competitiveness, quality, and so on? One whose sole objective of profit making is to benefit the vast numbers of producer groups that develop the products for the entity that in turn drive revenues and profits?

For this to happen, the following attributes are desired:

a) Focus: Laser like focus and clarity on the objectives of the entity -market facing and social. Example: “We will build a profitable branded national children’s garments business with revenues of Rs 1000 crore in 10 years” is a market focus while “We will positively impact 250,000 producer groups in these 10 years by ensuring that 90% of profits are ploughed back into these groups” is the social focus.

b) Scale: Inherent in the goals above is scale viz, Rs 500 crore, 100,000 producer groups.

c) Transparency & Integrity

d) A well rounded, passionate, relevantly experienced and qualified management and advisory team

e) Measurement systems and processes

f) Leveraging of technology to drive scale and bring in efficiencies

g) Partnerships with providers of complementary goods and services

h) Developing a unique value proposition for its offering based on design, quality, price competitiveness

Interestingly enough, investment capital is usually attracted to profit making businesses that demonstrate the above attributes. Making profits is critical because it ensures sustainability of efforts. No one can keep pouring money into ventures without being able to measure outcomes. Profits are a key measure of outcomes.
Abandoning the charity mind-set is another key matter. Asking people to contribute for a “good cause” and for the sake of the soul is one thing while asking them to be investors in a socially relevant profitable business is another. But then what will the investors get out of this venture apart from feeling good? What if investors were entitled to say, 6% dividends after the social obligations were met? What if a detailed business plan was made available to investors explaining the business logic like in the case of any other entrepreneurial venture?

I believe that the entrepreneurial energies of producer groups, socially sensitive management teams, and other stake holders will be harnessed for a new paradigm in social entrepreneurship. Capitalism is an efficient creator of wealth while socialism ensures more equitable distribution of this wealth. A marriage of the two is surely desirable but needs integrity, capability, efficiency, and transparency. The good news is that such ventures are already being conceptualized even in India and the day is not far off when we will see the creation of many 21^st century Amul’s in different sectors.

What do you think?

[Guest post by Sanjay Anandaram, entrepreneur-turned-VC, Republished with author's permission]
[Reproduced the article (was published a year back), since it's relevant to the current fortnightly theme]

Social Entrepreneurship in India – Reality Check

Related Posts

1. Defining Social Entrepreneurship – What it is, What it is not.
2. Seed stage investment in India : Reality check
3. Want to Work in a Startup? Some Reality Check (No! Not by Guy Kawasaki)
4. Social Entrepreneurship – Definition and Examples
5. Academics and product development in India – Reality Check

- MoMo Bangalore is organizing a half-day event @ IIM Bangalore (July 25th).

The topic is : ‘3G in India – Reality Check’. (details)

- Proto

Proto is scheduled for July 25th at Persistent Systems office, Pune.

- Google Analytics

Google is organizing a day long event in Gurgaon on August 8th (details)

- WiCamp

WiCamp (pronounced as we-camp) is an un-conference (started by Wipro) where like-minded people share their practices and perspectives on the subject of Innovation and Creativity.

Upcoming event is scheduled @ BITS Pilani on Aug 9th

-MTEP 2009

Events Guide – MoMo Bangalore, Proto, MTeP and more

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1. Events: MoMo Bangalore and WebCamp Chennai
2. Upcoming Startup Events: Proto (July 25th), Headstart (June 20th)
3. Events Roundup (July): TiE-Cannan, Proto.in,VAS Asia 2008
4. Events: Saturday Startup, TiE, Proto Deadline
5. Proto Nominations Open for Startups

Alabot is platform agnostic

alabot

and is compatible with any IM as well as email/sms or web client and can potentially “talk enable” any application.

Alabot uses NLP as the core platform and has built layers of human-like direct conversation and the funding will be used for R&D and rolling out very focused applications for the telecom industry.

Read our earlier review of Alabot

Alabot Secures Fund from Global Innovation Fund

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1. Alabot: Intelligent bot for your ‘information hungry’ soul
2. NASSCOM & ICICI’s 100+ crore Innovation fund for Indian startups
3. Bharti launches 200 crores fund to promote innovation in telecom
4. SchoolMate secures funding from Chennai Fund
5. Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund secures 75 crore for Investment in IT sector

The project will see scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and IIT Delhi coming together under the aegis of the a newly formed organization called Zerone Corp.(source)

If at all India manages to develop this chip, it can also be used for developing low-cost mobile phones as well as high-tech defence precision systems.

Specification

Designers will likely adopt Sun Microsystems’ OpenSparc processor design technology (the open-source version of Sun’s UltraSPARC T1 and T2 microprocessors) along with the Linux operating system and MySQL open-source database software (source).

The Reality

This isn’t the first time Indian govt. has announced a big bang plan of launching it’s own chip. Also, the much hyped ‘Fab city’ which was supposed to house private water fabs have now moved to solar energy projects.

Is this another bureaucratic sale in the name of technology? Only time will tell.

Indian Government to Invest $200mn in Building it’s own Microprocessor

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5. Open Source Ranking – India Ranks 23rd, Future dependent on Govt Initiatives

We will be conducting these events in a more formal/structured fashionin the future.

Here are the top stories from the last week

Startup/Entrepreneurship Related

• UnpluGGd – The Event for Entrepreneurs [Presentation]
• Your Facebook Friends get a new Life with Lifeblob app
• Social Entrepreneurship – Definition and Examples
• Cultural Differences between Indian & Silicon Valley Startups
• Defining Social Entrepreneurship – What it is, What it is not.
• Effective Marketing Tips for Startups & Small Businesses
• Q2 2009 Investment in India @ $888mn – IT and ITES takes the crown
• Savita Bhabhi founder comes out in the open, shuts down Save Savita Campaign
• Nine dot Nine Acquires Webchutney promoted iGovernment.in
• FIIT JEE raises 100 crores from Matrix Partners

Product Strategy

• The Art of Product Positioning – Do you know the right position?
• ToI and HT goes for redesign [Review]

India Online

• Rediff Redesign – Minimalistic, but Unreal? [Review]
• News Roundup: Mobile Sales Fall 75% in Maharashtra, Nano Ganesh from Tata Tele..and more
• Website Monitoring Service, Alertyx will call you when your site goes down [100 Invites]

Most Read:

• Nokia N97 : Mobile Phone + Web Tablet [Review]

Weekly Recap – Rediff Redesign, Articles on Product Strategy..and more

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4. Weekly Recap : Must Read Articles, Market Reports..and more
5. Weekly Recap of articles, forum discussions, jobs etc.

Since this was the first event, we intentionally kept the topics a little generic (each slide in the presentation is a topic in itself)- but next time onwards, it will be far more specific.

Here is the presentation that was used at the event for driving discussions:

What’s interesting about the event was that people started opening up and shared real life challenges (unlike the several other events which are limited to gyaan + business card exchange)

- Special thanks to TiE Bangalore for providing the venue and OCC Bangalore for the support.

UnpluGGd – The Event for Entrepreneurs [Presentation]

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1. UnpluGGd – The Event for Entrepreneurs
2. Announcing..Announcing and Announcing..
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5. Indian Startups – Go Singapore [Unconference Event]

Here are the details -

Theme :: Top Myths in Product Startups!
The topic will cover basic set of myths/assumptions that startups (tend to) live with, for instance

• ‘I am the end user’
• Good Product = Great Business!
• Adding Features = Product Improvement
  …and lots more!

Venue: TiE Bangalore Office, Divyasree Chambers,Bangalore (Thanks to TiE for providing the venue and for the support).

Driving Direction:http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=107947660034248474808.0004547bfbb2745919b33

Event Format: Moderator driven, Super Interactive.

Date: July 18th, 2009, Saturday (sorry for such a short notice, but then we aren’t asking you to plan for air travel ! )

Timing: 10 AM – 1 PM.

Total # of seats : 30

Contact # - 984 5206443.

Supporting Partners: OCC Bangalore and TiE

Why ?: You might want to read our earlier article on why this kind of an event
To cut the long story short, our exclusive focus is/will be on operational aspect of running a startup and ‘real life’ challenges (and not on ‘blue sky visioning’).

Please use the form below to register for the event

UnpluGGd – The Event for Entrepreneurs

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1. UnpluGGd – The Event for Entrepreneurs [Presentation]
2. Announcing..Announcing and Announcing..
3. IIM A invites Entrepreneurs for Leverage 09, B-Plan Event
4. Startup Event: Headstart Nomination Closes May 24th
5. Indian Startups – Go Singapore [Unconference Event]

Lifestory of your Facebook Friends

What’s interesting about the app is that it does lead to discovery of your friend’s life/pictures (though the invite popup is an irritant).

Do you think Lifeblob should be plugging itself to more socionets (instead of creating another one)?

The startup has also launched developer API (link) that allows developers to programmatically create new timelines and also access data from existing timelines.

Using the API, developers / website owners can integrate the timeline component into websites and build tools around it to create an entire timeline based workflow within their sites. The API also lets you extract data from existing timelines, complete with relation details, to build creative visualizations that leverage these relations.

Do take a look and share your opinion on the new launches.

Your Facebook Friends get a new Life with Lifeblob app

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2. CinnamonTeal launches DIY Platform..and more startup updates
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4. Social Clusters on Facebook. What do you want – More Clusters or Friends?
5. Invites for this week: LifeInLines and LifeBlob

Here is a small FAQ that will tell you why, what and how!

Why?

There are tons of events – so why another one?

Our exclusive focus is/will be on operational aspect of running a startup and ‘real life’ problems.

For instance, questions like

• How do I create sales collateral (also: what is sales collateral!) ? Sale strategy?
• How do I hire my first employee? He isn’t a cofounder, so what about designation?
• How do I structure salary?
• How do I price my product?
• I need to take my VAS product to operators. Can somebody give me inside dope?

…and lots of ‘How to”

Like I said earlier, these are day to day questions which are far more relevant once you start up! Let’s learn from each other.

What

Is it open to all? Yes and No.

Yes, if you are a startup and ready to share your side of the story. Each event will be built around real life case studies and issues startups actually want resolved.

No, if you aren’t ready to share your side of the story.

[Be assured that nothing from your stories/experience that you do not want shared will leave the room.]

This is a sort of closed-yet-open, a gated community where we want to ensure that every event is content focused. Every event has certain takeaways and only focused crowd attends that.

Is it only for startups?
Yes.

Is it Free?
To start off, yes. In future, maybe no.
We might charge a token fee to ensure that we weed out the ‘timepass’ crowd. Most importantly, you will pay for the quality of content (and that’s a test for us as well, i.e whether the content is good enough or not).

Event Format?
Moderator driven, but we assure you that it will be interactive (just the way pluGgd.in is)

How

Come over to the first event scheduled for this week.

Venue: TiE Bangalore Office, Divyasree Chambers, Bangalore (Thanks to TiE for providing a venue.]

Date: July 18th, 2009, Saturday (sorry for such a short notice)

Timing: 10 AM – 1 PM.

Topic for the first event

Top Myths that Product Startups Live with
The topic will cover basic set of myths/ass-umptions that startups live with (like ‘I am the end user’!)
The exact case study for this will be announced tomorrow.

Like pluGgd.in, the event will be less of gyaan, more of real-life situations.

I want to attend..how to?

We only have 30 seats for the first event. You can leave a comment here or mail me (ashish at pluGgd.in)

For more details, you can call me  Nine 8 Four 52 06443.

Announcing..Announcing and Announcing..

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3. Startup Disco – Happening Today [Be There!]
4. @Startup Forum : Angel Investor looking for Startups, Office space available in Bangalore..and Lot More
5. Indian startups calling Product Managers/Architects/Sales/Marketing chaps..

Today, Social Entrepreneurship has become a buzzword. Some consider buzzwords to be nothing more than marketing gimmicks. I feel buzzwords are good, period. Buzzwords help you make your point and get the message across succinctly. More important buzzwords play a role of catalystsand help propel an emerging trend to reach mass acceptability. In long term the most important factor that decides the fate of a trend is how meaningful and relevant it is. In the rest of the discussion I would like to focus on the broader definition of Social Entrepreneurship and dispel some common myths.

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

There have been numerous attempts at defining Social Entrepreneurship. For the course of our discussion lets pick the broadest:

“Social entrepreneurship is the work of a social entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact s/he has on society.”  – Wikipedia

There are 3 key components that emerge out of this definition and are more of less common when it comes other variations of the definition of Social Entrepreneurship:

* the problem

* a sustainable solution

* social change

Is Social Entrepreneurship really a *new* trend?

Strictly speaking no. Considering its broad definition no one can deny that its practice is far more ancient.  The roots and first usage of the term ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ can be dated back in the literature of social change in 1960’s and 1970’s. What is rather new is the trend of categorizing these socially entrepreneurial ventures as Social Enterprises fuelled by a recent influx of capital availability to fund such initiatives. Add to this mix an emerging trend towards sustainable businesses, triple bottom line and Base of the Pyramid economics and what you get is a explosive mix of buzzword compliant newsworthy story. Sarcasm if any in my earlier sentence is not intended but merely is a reflection of a true representation of the landscape.

Does Social Entrepreneurship equate to starting Non-profit organizations?

Social Entrepreneurship by its nature is essentially only bound by the social mission and theory of change. The general perception of equating Social Entrepreneurship to starting Non-profit organizations probably arises out of the strong social missions that these organizations pursue. Although, it is not wholly inaccurate there are far many examples of for-profit sustainable revenue generating enterprises with a social value generating structure prompting us to re-think the traditional models and conceptualize new hybrid business models.

Examples of Social Enterprises:

Aravind Eye Hospital & Aurolab

Social Entrepreneur: Dr.Govindappa Venkataswamy (Dr. V) & David Green

Type of Organization: Trust

Location: Madurai, India

Website: www.aravind.org

Mission: Making medical technology and health care services accessible, affordable and financially self-sustaining

Founded in 1976 by Dr. G. Venkataswamy, Aravind Eye Care System today is the largest and most productive eye care facility in the world. From April 2007 to March 2008, about 2.4 million persons have received outpatient eye care and over 285,000 have undergone eye surgeries at the Aravind Eye Hospitals at Madurai, Theni, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Puducherry. Blending traditional hospitality with state-of-the-art ophthalmic care, Aravind offers comprehensive eye care in the most systematic way attracting patients from all around the world.

SKS India

Social Entrepreneur: Vikram Akula

Type of Organization: For-profit

Website: www.sksindia.com

Mission : Empowering the poor to become self-reliant through affordable loans

SKS believes that access to basic financial services can significantly increase economic opportunities for poor families and in turn help improve their lives. Since inception, SKS has delivered a full portfolio of microfinance to the poor in India and we are proud of our current outreach. As a leader in technological innovation and operational excellence, SKS is excited about setting the course for the industry over the next five years and is striving to reach our goal of 15 million members by 2012.

AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited)

Social Entrepreneur: Dr. Verghese Kurien

Type of Organization: Co-operative

Website: www.amul.com

Amul has been a sterling example of a co-operative organization’s success in the long term. It is one of the best examples of co-operative achievement in the developing economy. The Amul Pattern has established itself as a uniquely appropriate model for rural development. Amul has spurred the White Revolution of India, which has made India the largest producer of milk and milk products in the world. (source: Wikipedia)

Grameen Bank

Social Entrepreneur: Muhammad Yunus

Type of Organization: Body Corporate

Website: www.grameen-info.org

Grameen Bank (GB) has reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. GB provides credit to the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh, without any collateral. At GB, credit is a cost effective weapon to fight poverty and it serves as a catalyst in the over all development of socio-economic conditions of the poor who have been kept outside the banking orbit on the ground that they are poor and hence not bankable. Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of “Grameen Bank” and its Managing Director, reasoned that if financial resources can be made available to the poor people on terms and conditions that are appropriate and reasonable, “these millions of small people with their millions of small pursuits can add up to create the biggest development wonder.”

As of May, 2009, it has 7.86 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2,556 branches, GB provides services in 84,388 villages, covering more than 100 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh.

Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad

Type of Organization: Society

Website: www.lijjat.com

Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad is a Women’s organisation manufacturing various products from Papad, Khakhra, Appalam, Masala, Vadi, Gehu Atta, Bakery Products, Chapati, SASA Detergent Powder, SASA Detergent Cake (Tikia), SASA Nilam Detergent Powder, SASA Liquid Detergent. The organisation is wide-spread, with it’s Central Office at Mumbai and it’s 67 Branches and 35 Divisions in different states all over India.

The organization started of with a paltry sum of Rs.80 and has achieved sales of over Rs.300 crores with exports itself exceeding Rs. 12 crores. Membership has also expanded from an initial number of 7 sisters from one building to over 40,000 sisters throughout India. The success of the organization stems from the efforts of it’s member sisters who have withstood several hardships with unshakable belief in ‘the strength of a woman’

Note: The above initiatives were hand-picked to show diversity. There are numerous other initiatives small and big that would probably come to light through the rest of the articles in this series.

Other Interpretations of the term Social Entrepreneurship

Now that you have looked at a broad definition of Social Entrepreneurship and also looked at some socially enterprising ventures, I would urge you to take a look at other attempts at defining the term. This primarily includes attempts by people and organizations which have been at the forefront of this revolution.

• Echoing Green – What is Social Entrepreneurship?
• Ashoka – What is a Social Entrepreneur?
• Skoll Foundation – What is a Social Entrepreneur?

About the author

Akshay Surve is on a pursuit of making meaning through his initiatives. He works in different roles from being a code junkie to that of being the founder of SocialSync, a social venture startup supported by Unltd India. Recently, he is working on innovative ways to raise funds for non-profits through mainstream social media at GoodCompany Ventures in Philadelphia. He can be reached through email at akshay@socialsync.org

(image credit: YSEI Guide Book)

[If you want to contribute to this theme, get in touch (ashish at pluGgd.in)

Social Entrepreneurship – Definition and Examples

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5. India celebrates Entrepreneurship

Having spent a lot of my time with startups, entrepreneur teams, investors both in India and Silicon Valley. I thought to put together a comprehensive list of the key differences I noticed between the culture of these startups. For clarity sake by Startups I am referring to pre VC funded early stage companies..
Startup ecosystem in the Silicon Valley has evolved over the last 25 years and today the ecosystem is very evolved with colleges, angels, VC investors, entrepreneurs, employees etc all working in harmony no wonder startups like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo etc have born and nurtured from there.

The Indian Startup Ecosystem is still in its nascent stage. At this stage I am not commenting on business models, ideas and execution but more the Cultural aspects.

Here are 4 key points of cultural differentiation.

Open v/s Closed

Silicon valley Entrepreneurs are generally very open in most cases – a lot of information about the Entrepreneurs and their products is available on their websites, blogs. Having been involved in a much more matured startup ecosystem they understand that while Ideas may be many they key is the team and execution. The only way they can recruit great talent, get top investors, create buzz around their company is to be OPEN. Everyone in the key management team is clear about the product, strategy and what they are trying to do.

Indian Startup Entrepreneurs are generally very Closed very little information is available about the startup and in most cases the ‘About Us’ section of the company has no or little information. Except for the CEO most other team members have little idea about the company and its vision. Generally very secretive about what they are trying to do.. and are very protective about their ‘Ideas’

Outgoing v/s Timid

Silicon Valley Startups are very aggressive. Regular press releases, company and founders blog, update emails, Invitation to Close Beta and many other activities to actively engage customers, investors and employees are very common. Most of their entrepreneurs are active in all major industry events not just startup and investor events. Their are a lot more articulate in their presentation and overall packaging of the company and themselves. Their plans are deep,detailed and well researched. At the same time you experience a very ‘Cowboy’ like attitude entrepreneurs

Indian entrepreneurs are generally very shy not very good with media and public interactions. They are all present at investor and startup show but rare to attend relevant industry events. During your talks with them unless you are a VC or investor information from them is hard to come by. Very few of them involve external group of people to interact with their product in form of private beta. Quality of presentation and overall packaging is much toned down with a lot more emphasis on numbers and excel sheets. Most plans are superficial and lack attentional to detail. You normally get a conservative and guarded feeling once you meet these entrepreneurs.

Logical v/s Emotional

Silicon Valley Startup entrepreneurs are more logical than Emotional about the company, the idea and the overall approach. When confronted with alternate ideas, theories, suggestions they reaction is more positive as they don’t tend to take suggestions or advice ‘personally’. While negotiating with clients, VC’s, investors they tend to take more rational decisions.

Indian Startup Entrepreneurs are very Emotional about everything. In most cases you have to given them any advice or suggestions at your own risk as they tent to take these things personally. Its very difficult for them to accept criticism about their company/idea as they get emotionally attached to their ideas. Also they are a nightmare to negotiate with investors as their emotional side always tends to be in conflict with the realities of the market.

Social/Lonely

Silicon Valley Startup entrepreneurs are generally ’social’ its not uncommon to see competitors CEO hanging out together. A lot these Entrepreneurs bat for each other, share booth space in events, keeping their homes open to other startups, share office space, lobby together for common causes, have co-sponsored parties and events. They are active in openly supporting other startup companies and entrepreneurs

Indian Startup Entrepreneurs are a lonely bunch living in their own little worlds. In most cases Each one is to its own very little co-operation among non-competing startups.

A lot of the above differences are also partly due to the early stage of the evolution of the startup ecosystem in India. I am sure 20 years back Silicon Valley would have been similar. But with every year and with organizations like TiE, Angels, incubators and startups events like startup proto.in headstart etc. I see our young entrepreneurs learning very fast. And I think eventually the ecosystem in India will be a hybrid system a mix of western and Indian values! The success of Indian Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley is probably a good indication of this trend.

What’s your take?

–Note from Ashish—

Bangalore startups – keep yourself free this saturday. We are announcing something, something that is focused on the last point mentioned by VIshal, i.e. social vs. lonely, and beyond.

—

img credit: lucky8prods.com

[Reproduced from Visha's blog]

Cultural Differences between Indian & Silicon Valley Startups

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Rediff’s Falling Pageviews

Inspite of all the ‘sizzling’ slideshows, overall pageviews are not going up! Infact, its headed south and has now plateaued (source: comscore*).

Rediff site traffic - Pageviews (total)

Rediff’s Unique Users Statistics

Rediff site traffic - Unique User Statistics

Pretty much the same numbers as May 2008! (Must read: Have Indian Content Sites Hit the Ceiling?]

What’s drastically fallen has total minutes spent per user (data), so there has to be a big big

The Redesign

Rediff Redesign - Clean..but..is it useful?

The focus, as you see is on search and categories.

The bet is very simple – content game hasn’t worked (the good news is that it’s not working for others as well). Search has higher CTR (clickthrough rate) and that’s where the monetization might work for Rediff (though the search intent falls under Google’s purview!)

Having said that, Rediff’s search is actually a web search – (search for MBA shows only 3 results from rediff, including news and QnA and nothing from content) and the focus is less on own content search, something that I really fail to understand (Rediff is not a search engine, after all!)

Is the move away from content game? Maybe (more personalization? maybe)

Will search play work? Surely not (unless you have capability to beat the ‘G’ god).

What about Rediff’s applications? This is one area where Rediff has’n’t done any innovation, or even a catch-up (launched some stupid apps).

Having said that, what’s really cool about Rediff redesign is the neat homepage and cleaner layout – commendable job to the team, though I am not at all sure for how long can they they maintain the clean layout (revenue pressure).

What’s your take on Rediff redesign?

Also see: Review of ToI and HT redesign

* comscore – read top confusions in India online space

Rediff Redesign – Minimalistic, but Unreal? [Review]

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2. Weekly Recap – Rediff Redesign, Articles on Product Strategy..and more
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4. Rediff’s Annual Report – in Red. Time to change Gears?
5. Rediff goes Pakistan – Testing new UI as well? [False]

What is a Position and what is Positioning?

Position is, as the word suggests, a perception in someone’s mind and, without getting too technical about it, positioning is all that you do to create that perception.

How do you get Positioned?

If you look around, you can categorize your colleagues as per your perception of their traits. Some are funny, some are dull, some are smart, and some are just plain boring. So, when you’re bored, you’ll go to the funny guy and hope to have a good time. However, the funny guy may or may not know that you find him funny. But you do. Perhaps your other colleagues think so too. He’s been positioned as the funny guy.

What did he do to get positioned as the funny fellow?

He probably cracked a joke at the lunch table, or he probably forwarded some hilarious e-mails to a group, or he just looks funny and is usually jovial. What he definitely didn’t do is go around telling people that he’s a funny guy.

That’s exactly how brands get positioned too. It could be the tone of the ad, the smell or your product, the packaging, the color of your website – each of these elements positions your brand in a customer’s mind. Be careful.

Art of Product Positioning - Stand out in the Crowd

What do Iconic Brands do to get Positioned?

Which is the largest e-books store in the World?

Did you just say Amazon.com out loud in your mind? Well, they never claimed that. Then why do you think of them every time you think books? I’m sure there are many other sites that sell books online. So, what is it that Amazon did to make you believe that they are the largest e-books store in the World? Think about it. That’s exactly what you need to do with your brand.

The most difficult thing that the marketer needs to do about positioning is not to think of a slick statement/marketing line, but to get the organization to “walk-the-talk”. That’s what great brands do. If you can’t do that, I strongly recommend that you don’t use a positioning line. It may just piss customers off if they feel that you don’t live up to your lofty claims.

Can I communicate something without saying it?

Which is the most macho bike in the World?

Do images flash in your mind? Do you see big moustached hunks riding a Harley in a group? Hear the thud of an Enfield? Did Harley Davidson or Royal Enfield ever claim that they are a macho bike? They definitely didn’t. But it was implied from their ads, from the design of the product, the sound of the machine, from the people that actually rode them and suddenly every guy wanted to own one. So, it’s not necessary to claim something that can be communicated without saying it. However, you can engineer every move in a way that implies that positioning.

Royal Enfield - Early Birds (Art of Product Positioning)

There’s a reason why Femina sponsors crores at the Miss India pageants. It’s just another way of trying to claim their authority on Indian beauty. But people still buy Vogue / Cosmo to know about fashion and beauty.

So, don’t claim something you’re not just because you know it’s what people are looking for. If you want to claim it, first be it.

The best way to think about positioning is to think of a brand / company / person for each of these questions and then think what they did to get positioned that way. That’s what you need to do to your brand.

- Which is the largest website in the world?

- Which is the fastest website in the world?

- Which is the best website in the world?

- Who is the most suave bollywood actor?

- Who is the most wanted bollywood queen?

- Which is India’s most respect IT company?

One thing is for sure. No matter what your answers are, none of these brands / companies / people ever claimed these superlatives themselves.

Where do I start?

You can read Al Ries and Jack Trout for more on positioning. It’s an interesting read.

In my opinion, it’s important to understand what matters to your customers from a product perspective. Till you don’t put your finger on that, you haven’t found your positioning cause. And it may not be easy to zero-in on it. Each product has various segments and each segment may have a different need. Like most marketers you surely don’t want to run the risk of alienating any segment by bending towards either. By claiming the lowest price you may alienate the guys that look for quality service and vice versa.

So, what do you do? You wish there was a magic formula, but there ain’t.

Some of the angles you may want to consider are about what a customer wants and needs, what your product’s USP is, what your company’s strengths are, what customers perceive your product and company’s strengths to be and what your competitors claim.

Needless to say, you need to differentiate and stand out. How you do that can either be by claiming to be different or by actually being different. If you actually are different, then claim what differentiates you. If you aren’t different, then you’d be running a big risk by claiming something you aren’t so, think about what can differentiate you and that differentiator better be something that a customer cares about.

Do I own that word?

Every category has a word and you need to work towards owning that. The most banal, but best example is that of Xerox. That brand literally replaces the category of photocopiers with its name. Infosys / Wipro are the first names that come to mind every time you say IT. Levi’s probably owns the word jeans. Volvo owns the word luxury buses in India. Do you own the word that represents your category?

You’ll find tons of agencies and case studies that will help you achieve this and it’s easy. But if you want to extract something invaluable from this article, it would be my suggestion to “create the walk before you do the talk”.

Product excellence is the start and the end of great positioning, because customers aren’t stupid.

What’s your opinion?

Read the earlier articles:

• Demystifying Branding – Startups, Are you Reading this?
• Effective Marketing Tips for Startups & Small Businesses

The Art of Product Positioning – Do you know the right position?

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5. Effective Marketing Tips for Startups & Small Businesses

“Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.” – Bill Drayton, CEO, chair and founder of Ashoka

There has been a constant debate over the definition of the term ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ – and how different is it from various other forms of nonprofit organizations or even social activism.

So what exactly is social entrepreneurship?

Social entrepreneurship is the work of a social entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact s/he has on society. While social entrepreneurs often work through nonprofits and citizen groups, many work in the private and governmental sectors.

The main aim of a social entrepreneurship as well as social enterprise is to further social and environmental goals. Although social entrepreneurs are often non-profits, this need not be incompatible with making a profit. Social enterprises are for ‘more-than-profit,’ using blended value business models that combine a revenue-generating business with a social-value-generating structure or component. – Wikipedia.

Social Entrepreneurship - Everybody has a role to play

While the above definition does a fair job of defining the term, it doesn’t gives a clarity on how different are nonprofits from social enterprises, especially when it comes to revenues as well as impact.

Short and Crisp Definition of Social Entrepreneurship

A social entrepreneur is any person, in any sector, who uses earned income strategies to pursue a social objective.

Why is ‘Earned Income’ an important criteria?

The ‘Earned Income’ is important because that’s what makes a social enterprise sustainable or self-sufficient.

Bringing in ‘Earned Income’ perspective differentiates Social Entrepreneurs and Nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofits are primarily reliant on philanthropy, grants, voluntarism, but social entrepreneurs, just like business entrepreneurs rely solely on their business model (and not just on philanthropy, though it could be a source of funding etc).

Social Activism is not Social Entrepreneurship

Mahatma Gandhi was a social activist, but not a social entrepreneur.

Social activists create (or attempt to) change via indirect actions – mostly by influencing others (like NGOs, government, customers etc), but the main difference is that do not necessarily ‘execute’ – they are mainly influencers.

So what’s Social Entrepreneurship?

Simply put, social entrepreneur is one who puts social mission at the center of his/her mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value).

Mission-related impact becomes the central criterion, not wealth creation. Wealth is just a means to an end for social entrepreneurs. With business entrepreneurs, wealth creation is a way of measuring value creation. – source (pdf)

The reason why it’s important to clear out some of the misconception around social entrepreneurship is because a lot of nonprofits and social activists tend to call themselves social entrepreneurs, without realizing that they aren’t one.

What’s your opinion?

References: J Gregory Dees (pdf), skollfoundation (pdf),

Image credit

Defining Social Entrepreneurship – What it is, What it is not.

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Earlier, state govt. hiked the VAT from 4% to 12.5%, thereby increased price to the customer.

Maharashtra is India’s biggest mobile market with 47 million users and monthly sales of around Rs 300 crore  – the govt. expected Rs. 370 crore by increasing the VAT(source)

Financial Irregularities in Telecom PSUs

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India reports that financial irregularities amounting to Rs 1,548 crore existed in telecom public sector undertakings (PSUs) for the fiscal ended March 2008.

BSNL, which contributes 98% of the irregularity failed to pay a government loan amounting to Rs 7,500 crore in spite of having adequate cash reserves in short-term deposits with other banks during the year 2005-06 and 2006-07 (source)

Nano Ganesh from Tata Teleservices

Tata Teleservices Ltd has launched a pilot project at Sojitra in Anand district of Gujarat that allows farmers to operate their irrigation pumps from remote locations without having to travel to the farm. (Read more about Nano Ganesh here)

Gitanjali Gems to acquire 70% stake in MobileNXT

Gitanjanli Gems is to acquire 70 % stake in Bangalore-based mobile phone retail chain MobileNXT Teleservices through its wholly owned subsidiary Gitanjali Lifestyle Ltd. Gitanjali Lifestyle has entered into an investment-cum-shareholder’s agreement with MobileNXT for this purpose (more)

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