Quickies about the man President-Obama !!

The Afro-American, is now the most powerful man in the world - the President of USA.His victory is seen as a hope for change across the world. Here are few interesting facts about him which many of you may not be aware of.

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics.
• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball.
• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili.
• He is left-handed - the 6th post-war president to be left-handed
• He has read every Harry Potter book
• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad
• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice creams
• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president - he didn't
• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee
• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry
• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes
• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers
• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds

Are small businesses really small?

The reality behind the curtain where small businesses are considered as small is different.Infact the large businesses are small and small businesses are really big.I know this may sound astonishing and you will be scratching your head to comprehend the previous sentence.Well, to put it in simple words,it is found that in any country,SMEs(small and medium enterprises)covers the bulk in terms of numbers ,while the large businesses form a small share of the total.A data from OECD shows that if the number of employees are the indicator of the size of a business,then in manufacturing enterprises large businesses are just 5.6% of the total.(large businesses implies one who employs 250 or more people).

Less than 10---------------23.6
10 -19.....................................27.9
20-49---------------------24.4
50-249..................................18.5
More than 250------------5.6
(Less than 10 means 23 % of all manufacturing enterprises in India by number had less than 10 employees).

But Indian manufacturing sector is more skewed towards larger organization sizes.This could be because of lower levels of automation and the general business environment.But there is huge space for even more small,medium and micro enterprises and their contributions will be even more significant adding to the economy of the country.

Posted by:Jaspreet

Happy Republic Day

Proto.in - India's Premier Startup Event (Day-2)

DAY 2 - The 2nd day of Proto.in - The 5th edition of India's Premier Startup Event started with an announcement that the number of tweets on Twitter (protodotin) was the highest ever pan India for yesterday. The day started with Bob Young, Lulu (Co-founder of Red-hat Software) followed by Mr. Ashish Gupta of Helion Ventures focussing on the various aspects of do's and dont's for a startup. Mr. Ashish Gupta explained the happiness of owning a Startup by the most accurate definition of Happiness - It is the distance between expectation and delivery.

The Showcase of The Event's TOP 6 Startups were NuAlgae, Remindo, Oohaa Service, Inkfruit, Fachak and Taroby. The most impressive of the lot were Inkfruit and most of the VCs look convinced with their idea of designing T-shirts online and then selling it in the offline and online space.

The Post lunch session started with interesting conversations on mindboggling topics and had a lot of public opinions coming in. It was followed by the Shotgun Startups and Innovation Jam. Soon I realised the day had ended.

The Proto.in team did a fabulous job in conducting the entire event in the most professional way. Mr. Vjay Anand, The Curator and Mr. Kiruba Shankar anchored the event in the best possible way and it was indeed a pleasure interacting with both of them. The guests, invitees, sponsors and everything were near perfect. Ohh, Did I miss lunch ? It was the best :)

Team - Grey Oasis is looking forward to the 6th edition of Proto.in - India's Premier Startup Event in July 09 at Mumbai.

Proto.in - India's Premier Startup Event (Day-1)

DAY 1 - Over the last 2 days Team - Grey Oasis was busy attending Proto.in - The 5th edition of India's Premier Startup Event. Indeed, it was a fabulous experience being seated in the company of 200 big and small startups in India. The schedule of events for both the days was packed with a few big speakers and conversations which left a strong footprint on my mind.

Mr. Atul Chitnis, Senior VP, Geodesic started the event with a presentation titled "The World is Changing". We do not know about the insane world outside, but it did change our thought process to a great extent. Some of the key learnings from this presentation were-

1. If the product is good and price is right, people will buy.
2. A product is lot more than just the code.
3. You can create markets.
4. It's not the tools that you use. It's how you use them.
5. All lessons will be forgotten. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

The key concept here was - Today is History. Startups whether product or service should focus on building the needs of tomorrow. He also made a vey bold statement, "VC Funding is not a viable business model".

The Showcase of The Event's TOP 6 Startups were LifeMojo, Yoplr, iFlapp, Lords Automotives, Noddler and India Khelo. If we would have been a VCs, we would have invested all our money into Lords Automotives who came up with a patented product - Green & Economic Fuel Kit for Two-wheelers.

The Post lunch session started with interesting conversations on interesting topics followed by the most interactive discussion forum. All in all, a brilliant event.

The chance of meeting some of the topmost Startup owners in India, knowing them and their business, a chance of commenting and then sharing a cup of coffee ... all of this was an experience of a lifetime.

Barak Obama - The 44th US Prez.

Forty-six years after the late iconic civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King - who was inspired by Mohandas Gandhi - delivered his 'I have a dream' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Barack Hussain Obama, whose campaign theme was 'Yes, we can," was sworn in at 11.56 am on January 20 as the nation's 44th president.

Obama thus became the first-ever African-American chief executive on the steps of the west front of the Capitol in the presence of over an unprecedented crowd of over two million. Immediately, preceding the presidential swearing-in were performances by Yo Yo Ma, Anthony McGill, and Itzhak Perlman, and just before Obama began his inuaugural address, the US Marine Corps Ban played 'Hail to the Chief,' amidst a 21-gun salute.

Read the entire speech here.

Let us hope he delivers the promises he has made.

God bless Obama & God bless USA !!!

India's Technology Reinvented - Gandhian Engineering

Indians had achieved breakthroughs in several cases, which were once considered impossible. Everyone would have felt India’s economic self-confidence as the India’s Tata Motors, unveiled the long-awaited “People’s car", the Tata Nano amidst the New Year celebration. Nano seems like a real car. Tata Motors in particular devoted itself to building cheap cars rather than efficient mass transportation. Gandhian Engineering is the term that's cropping up all over Cyberspace after the launch of Tata's radically innovative car ~ The Nano. Just as the Japanese popularized kanban (just in time) and kaizen (continuous improvement), Indians could export a kind of "Gandhian engineering, combining irreverence for conventional ways of thinking with a frugality born of scarcity".

Gandhian Engineering essentially means to solve big problems in a few years at affordable price and at less development cost. Stating that the challenge was to “Get More for Less for More and More people". The Nano earns the moniker of the world’s cheapest car clearly intended for the masses. And now with "Gandhian Engineering" Tata Motors has created the world's lowest price-tag car using High Technology. What do you think? Is the Nano a car of the future? Would you drive one?

Gandhian engineering, or appropriate design, could be a terrific mechanism for forcing product and business model development to cleave to the need profile of a target segment. It is a loose description for developing products aimed at the growing developing markets. For the nascent world of Nanotechnology, Tata has given a great push which we can cash on to create a greater understanding of "Nano applications in India,as it is an area which creates New Markets, New Opportunities and New products.

Posted By:Jaspreet

The Volatility Index

Keeping on track with my relentless drive to try and pull down Beta as an overstated tool for decision making, today I will discuss something that derives its essence from Beta or Market Risk, but provides a much more accurate and wholesome picture. The National Stock Exchange's Volatility Index (VIX) is tracked to find the Market Volatility. It is based on the Nifty 50 and is used to calculate the expected market volatility over the next 30 calender days.

A high VIX indicates market fear while a lower value indicates that the markets are cold. The thumb rule for VIX is:

20s indicate complacent market

mid 30s to upper 40s indicates market fear

above 50 indicates panic

Between July and October 2008 the VIX crossed the 70 mark 5 times.

Currently the VIX is at 51 which still indicates a state of panic in the market. This coincides with the fact that it has been so difficult for Sensex to break the psychological barrier of 10000 and for Nifty to break the 3000 levels.

Posted by Rahul

Time 2 Laugh :)

Who is Better ? You or Me ?

Comparisons are as old as the hills. Men tend to compare wives (though one suspects discreetly). Wives tend to compare their husbands’ salaries (one suspects directly). Parents tend to compare grades of their children (one is certain unfairly). Children tend to compare pocket money (one is sure bitterly) and cricket writers tend to compare cricketers and teams irrationally.

Comparisons are odious, but that’s not preventing brands from going all out and claiming their rival’s inferiority.

Comparative advertising is here to stay. The advertising industry in India, though it has used men, women and children in its ads, has been, till recently, fairly reluctant to compare its clients’ brands with the competition. Should you use it? Yes, if you have a demonstrable advantage. Yes, if your target audience can understand and appreciate your differences. But just remember that every action of yours could have a competitive reaction that is stronger and backed with more media weights. Don’t get carried away by the excitement of comparison, lest you get carried away by the competition.

Read the full article here.

Chasing the Rabbit

How can companies perform so well that their industry counterparts are competitors in name only? Although they operate in the same industry, serve the same market, and even use the same suppliers, these “rabbits” lead the race and, more importantly, continually widen their lead.

Chasing the Rabbit shows how to -

• Build a system of “dynamic discovery” designed to reveal operational problems and weaknesses
• Attack and solve problems at the time and in the place where they occur, converting weaknesses into strengths
• Disseminate knowledge gained from solving local problems throughout the company as a whole
• Create managers invested in the process of continual innovation
  

Whatever kind of company you operate–from technology to finance to healthcare–mastery of these four key capabilities will put you on the fast track to operational excellence, where you will generate faster, better results using less capital and fewer resources.

Excerpt from "Chasing the Rabbit" by Steven J. Spear

The Top 6 Marketing Initiatives in 2008

HT Brandline picks the top marketers of year 2008 as follows -

1. Zapak.com - The company created a buzz in the gaming industry and energised the industry through its online and offline efforts. The advertising model was not at all high cost but irreverent enough to attract attention.
2. Idea Cellular - The company explored the 'idea' of Inclusive Branding and communicated to the masses that the nation is changing and its time for the consumers to reach the self-actualization stage. And, then Abhishek Bachhan created some Dostana with the brand.
3. ISB Hyderabad - This six year old B-School has made itself reach the Top 20 B-Schools in the world on the Financial Times List. It is today looked as a beacon of management education in India.
4. LG - Product Innovation has been their main focus and this has helped them emerge in the Consumer Goods category as the No. 1 player. Its unique offerings combining technology and cosmetic appeal to optimal degrees have worked.
5. Titan Industries - I have always felt proud of being associated with this company in the recent past. This company is actually devoid of any market competition whatsoever. But, still it knows that re-inventing itself and its offerings is a key strategy to remain a life-style player.
6. Cafe Coffee Day - This brand has been built by zero advertising input. The brand that believes in being "in the face" through its product offerings. It has emerged as the market leader in the coffee segment and has made its competitors like 'Barista' to rethink their strategies.

Monetize your Blog

Who doesn’t want to earn a few hundred dollars per month without doing extra work. In the corporate world being promoted to a higher designation implies " earning more and working less”. Its a general perception, as that is when you are held responsible only when the people under you fails to do the required. I have found a clear and practical approach in doing this. Be it you who do it or you get it done via your people, but you have to be a part of it and then get your income. On the other hand, Passive income is the income that does not require your direct involvement. For example, network marketing, owning rental property. For start ups as well as for the ones who already are into their business they key to achieve financial freedom is to align and shift business model to create more passive income. If you are new to the idea welcome aboard!

Now is the time to think about how to apply this in your business. But if you are hunting for elusive income streams online there can many options available. At the very least, a high five-figure annual income is certainly an attainable goal for an individual working full-time from home. Isn’t that fascinating!!For people who are interested in blogging shouldn’t wait for anything, as the best time to start is now. The earlier you start working to build your passive income, the sooner you will reap the benefits with outstanding results.

The beauty of automated income is it doesn’t include any sales, no employees, no products, no inventory, no credit cards, and no customers. And yet one can easily generate a growing income. Perhaps the best part of generating income from blogging is the freedom it brings. Here below are key points which contribute to earnings while blogging--
- Create a small website or a blog but definitely don’t limit your web site to just a blog.
-Pick a niche for your blog, but make sure it’s a niche with a broader platform so that you can build significant traffic. Usually aim for atleast 3 posts per week (don’t worry to much on the length of the posts)
- Sign up as affiliate in as many programs like amazon, clickbank etc(this leads to passive income)
- Build email lists( passive income)
-Other ways to generate income are: Google Adsense ads ,Donations, Text Link Ads etc.(will give you the residual income)

Posted By:Jaspreet

International Nuclear Disarmament: The Road Ahead

Obama’s regime might soon bring the next vital push to International Nuclear Disarmament and this might very well start with Iran and Syria being brought under confidence. This would be spearheaded by Senator Hillary Clinton, the ex First Lady of United States. The approach can involve of two strategies for such International peace initiatives. These are:

• Soft Power (Includes diplomacy, economic aid and commerce)
• Hard Power (Includes embargoes, trade barriers and use of lethal power)

The important question here arises that how will US gather International support for this when it itself holds the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. The second largest is by Russia and these two countries between them have enough power to destroy earth 5 times over if they enter Armageddon. Another concern is international peace diplomats expressing their concern on US using the Nuclear Disarmament platform as a means to pressurise Iran into giving up the thought of setting up a Euro based Oil Exchange. If Iran does go through with this, the only thing that might keep US from attacking it will be the nuclear arsenal it holds as a shield. An Iran stripped of nuclear power would be a much easier target than the one with a nuclear curtain.
The decades old Arab-Israeli conflict will be another major barrier and an atmosphere conducive to such talks would be when both nations are exercising a cease fire. This is highly unlikely to exist with the Palestinian group Hamas firing missiles into Israel.
Talks held before the Presidential elections in Tehran in June will hold the key to how actually the International Nuclear Disarmament strategy of the US chalks out. US understands that no major peace initiatives in Iran and Syria can be put into gear without it being a part of it.

Posted by Rahul

Amazing Facts About The Big 4

The Big 5 (Sorry 4) accounting firms have been on the top of every finance professional's mind for some reason or the other. There are a couple of true but amazing facts about them, not known to many. Known as the Big 4 accounting firms they are:

(Arthur Anderson which made it the Big 5 is now in archives).

Of course they set the global standards for transparency in business. But who is their owner? Shhhhh ... It is a well-guarded secret. Even though present in over 120 countries, for obvious reasons each one of them is headquartered in a tax haven. If you enquire any details about these firms in a tax haven like Panama, you may end up spending the next 2 years in jail. Understand how secret the ownership is!

They have paid billions of dollars as fines in the U.S alone to the SEC. In U.K they are being subject to investigations under the Fair Trade Practices Act. They are the subject of cartoons in the western press and lampooned by the media.

They have been found innovative in:

• Booking bogus sales
• Capitalizing revenue expenses
• Insider trading & related unethical practices
• Not accounting sales returns
• Inadequate disclosure of off-balance sheet items
• Assisting the management in asset stripping
• Failing to record liabilities or suppress liabilities

Well the list on their accounting "innovation" could go on ... That is if you do not reckon shredding of documents as an expert service. It is these 'credible' professional outfits that are in India, advising the Government of India on:

• Speed and directions of reforms
• Advisor to the planning commission
• Providing expertise to the disinvestment process
• Privatization and Globalization
• Policies for inviting FDI

So if you want to innovate your accounts hire these "experts", they would do a good job for you and of course make a fortune in the bargain. If you are corporate manager, you may have personally felt bombarded, sullied, trampled over, bullied and even decried at your own office by representatives of the Big 4. Simply because they are from the Big 4. Remember, they charge you and you pay even for the time spent on abusing you!

If you are a decision maker you might have noticed subtle hints to influence your decisions. Hiring the kith and kin of the decision makers is one of their tried and trusted methods. They are experts in the art of making friends and influencing people. They are too good at Dollar Diplomacy!

Their ownership is unknown, their competency is suspect and their advice bogus. Then, why do the financial institutions, banks and the corporates in India keep them as auditors, advisors or consultants? Why are they allowed to operate in India, and hired and respected by the Government of India? WHY?

Simply because we are not aware of these firms and therefore we are silent. The need of the hour is to create public awareness.

Posted By: Anirban Dutta