INDIA has to find it’s four STEVE JOBS : Guy Kawasaki

Times Of India had a very interesting interview with Guy Kawasaki when he was on a visit in Mumbai.Though many lines are quoted from his book “Art of the Start” , yet the interview is quite entertaining as well as very informative.I was a bit late to read the article and hence, thought it would be a good idea to share with other lazy people in the crowd [like myself ] , who might have accidentally missed the article.

Note:
“You”,”him” and other such references are to Guy Kawasaki.

Some interesting excerpts below:

But the crowning glory of his Mumbai trip was a visit to Dhobhi Ghat that set him wondering about the ‘business analytics’ involved. “How can you send a pair of jeans there and get the same one back,” he wondered.

“And that too without RFID chips, no barcode scanner,” he said. India still managed to surprise him and it takes a lot to surprise a man who has had pitches made to him about buying out Israel!

Can you trace any commonality between revolutionary companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google?

Yes, the commonality is completely contrary to most people’s idea of venture capital. Which is every one of the mentioned companies had two co-founders who were not proven. They were nerds. So Google was founded by two PHD students in computer science, and Steve was a college dropout.

Bill Gates was also a dropout. It was not like Bill Gates was VP of say Data General and decided to write personal computer software. Looking at these companies, you should invest in unproven teams, in unproven markets, and unproven technologies.

Contrary to what VCs say, which is invest in proven teams, proven markets, and proven technologies. That’s the digital divide.

What stage of the entrepreneurship cycle do you think we in India are?

I haven’t been in India long enough to say. Statistically there should be four Steve Jobs in India because we have 300 million people, and you have 1.2 billion. So there are four Steve Jobs in India. You just have to find them.

What’s your take on Web 2.0?

No one wakes up in the morning and says I need a Web 2.0 application. They may say I need something to balance my cheque-book, I need something to manage my inventory, I need to create a personal profile. I can understand that; but nobody wakes up and says I want a Web 2.0 experience today.

What are the few steps that an entrepreneur should get right?

Prototyping is the first thing. That’s the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth thing. The sixth thing is to write a business plan. And don’t even think of the exit plans, it’s a joke. Statistically, the logical exit plan is bankruptcy.

Entrepreneurs should focus on the prototype because a prototype will tell you whether people will use the product/service or not. It proves to the investor whether you are serious or not. Prototype is the key, not the business plan and definitely not the research either.

You can read the complete interview here, here, here and here