All Posts by Himanshu Sheth

|In: Off Theme|Last Updated:
Few days back, I had posted about ThoughtsPrevail being ranked #1 on Technorati surprised Hold on, don’t be surprised since, this was just a minor hiccup from Technorati side….

Now it seems some things come naturally to me and everytime when I start blogging,I find something unusual wink !!! This time around it was Blogger in association with Opera browser that blanked out all my Icons cry

So next time around,you have something to test in an unusual way , do drop me a mail lol Time to switch back to normal & conventional way of blogging !!!

|In: Article|Last Updated:
Mentorship is one of the most widely discussed topics in every Unconference but was extensively discussed in Open Coffee Club (OCC). One attendee in the OCC had 5 years of Entrepreneurial experience but none of his ideas really took off.The reason that he indicated was guidance & lack of proper market study.

He had an excellent suggestion that though his ideas did not really do well, he could still lend a helping hand to the other entrepreneurs by being a mentor & advisor for them(so that they don’t commit the same mistakes that he had committed). Also, IMHO even if you have a vague idea of what you wish to do(either part time or full time), the first thing to be done should be to enter the Ecosystem, which helps you network and learn from other Entrepreneurs.These (Ecosystem and Mentorship) were two of most discussed points in an article by Sanjay Anandaram of JumpStartup in “The Financial Times” ; a small excerpt below:

Why we need Mentors ?
Usually, those that do not succeed realise that they have been chasing the wrong opportunity with the wrong business model and wrong team much much later in the game, if at all. What if they had been made aware of the pitfalls and dangers early on and been prepared to deal with them? What if they had had the benefit of experienced counsel from mentors and advisors? While having mentors and advisors is in itself no guarantee of success, having the right mentors can often reduce the agony of late unhappy realisations of the state of the business.

Are Indian entrepreneurs not open ?
Why are Indian entrepreneurs shy about involving advisors? While the entrepreneurial eco-system here is not as mature as in the US and the culture of mentoring is not as widely prevalent, the fact remains that most entrepreneurs are hesitant to have advisors.

Lot of learnings from the article(apart from the small gist given above) so do not miss the complete article here and here

|In: Apple|Last Updated:
This was a really surprising news that the iPhone was hacked by a 17 year old George Hotz.Few people said that they felt that only Microsoft was buggy but now even Apple product comes with bugs however,this is a hack and not a bug !!!

As reported by the Mercury News,

Hotz seems an unlikely candidate to have hacked the world’s most hyped product. The recent high-school graduate had little experience hacking cell phones, and by his own admission he feels more comfortable with a soldering iron than a piece of computer code.

Hotz’s effort speaks to more than simply what a teenager can accomplish with ingenuity, determination and Internet access, analysts say. They say it echoes some of the frustrations among consumers with the closed system that AT&T and Apple have created.

The video below shows how George Hotz managed to hack the iPhone:

Read the complete story here

|In: Bangalore|Last Updated: | 2 Comments
There are a couple of events that are scheduled in Bangalore as well as Chennai.Some of them are seasonal events – Open Coffee Club and Blogger’s meet , happening on the 1st & 2nd September,2007 respectively.Some of the other unconferences & conferences are listed below:

a. SearchCamp , Chennai:

After a series of unconferences – BlogCamp , BarCamp , Podworks , WiKi Camp , Proto ; the Knowledge Foundation has another feather in their cap – SearchCamp. As the name suggests, the crux behind the two day unconference is a single word – SEARCH.

What is SearchCamp:
SearchCamp is a two day event aimed to bring together the best minds from the Search Engine Marketing(SEM) space to talk about search engine advertising, including optimization and marketing issues. This event is the first of its kind in India and will feature workshops, debates and keynotes on the present state and evolution of Search Engine Marketing.

When & where is it held ?
6th and 7th October,2007 in Tidel Park, Chennai. The charges for the event is Rs 500/- sad

It would also be good learning for people like me who are not so much versed with the SEO fundamentals …..

Interested in SearchCamp ?
If you feel interested than follow the link to register for SearchCamp

b. Oota 2.0 (Let’s talk Technology over lunch) :

If you feel there is a typing mistake than think again biggrin Oota means food in Kannada language.Oota is an unconference loosely based on Lunch 2.0 in the Silicon Valley.

What exactly is Oota 2.0?
Oota 2.0 in simple terms is discussing technology over Oota(aka Lunch).So,along with the tasty lunch you also get to meet new and interesting set of people.In a nutshell, Oota 2.0 can be termed as Lunch 2.0 LAN(Lunch Area Network) smile

When & where is it held?
Friday, September 7th, 12:00PM – 2:00PM in Indiranagar (Venue yet to be finalized) … No charges apart from the your Oota bill wink

Interested in Oota 2.0 ?
If you feel interested than follow the link or send a mail to oota 2.0 to register for this Grand & Technological Oota

c. Silicon India leadership Summit (Conference) :

As the name suggests Leader Summit would showcase some of the industry leaders speaking on topics ranging from leadership to outsourcing.

The agenda of the summit can be found here

When & where is it held ?
August 31, 2007 at Taj Residency,Bangalore

Interested in the Leadership Summit?
If you feel interested than follow the link to register for the summit. Registration charges is Rs 1000, for more details refer the following

This ends a short round up of some of the Unconferences & conferences happening in Chennai & Bangalore.

|In: Inspiration|Last Updated: | 2 Comments
Picked up the latest copy of Business Gyan (August,15 – September,14) .The issue has good insights into social entrepreneurship apart from the other business related stuff.There are some interesting quotes(in the magazine) which are worth taking a look:

1. No success in material terms is worth , if it achieved by unfair means : JRD Tata
2. Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal: Henry Ford
3. Education is when you read the fine print.Experience is what you get when you don’t : Pete Seeger

|In: BarCampBangalore 4|Last Updated: | 4 Comments
This is a thought that came to my mind during the talks at BarCamp Bangalore-4 which were focussed on “Business Plans”.But is it always about Business Plans?…let’s find the answer.Most of us have ideas in mind but where most of us lack is the understanding of the market penetration of the idea.Take the example of blogging, when people started blogging, no one would have thought that there was so much money in blogging.Now since we know that many bloggers are earning a handful of money , some bloggers[who get a decent traffic] may feel that “We can also go into full-time blogging” but this may not be the case.Blogging is not an easy job and it is always a tough decision “Do you go full time or work(on an idea) part time“?
Similar is the case with ideas.Each one of us have ideas but it is very important to understand the penetration of the idea in reality.Along with the penetration,there are lots of other environmental factors that you should consider:
  • What is your current status?
  • Do you have any dependents?
  • Are you married or engaged? and so on….
If you consider India , such factors are very important.I just happened to speak to one of the founders of a startup[in Bangalore] regarding a job opportunity for my friend and his first question was “Are you married?” and I understood the importance of that question.A girl may prefer a person having some average work profile(in an MNC) over a budding entrepreneur who is working on an idea that would change the world !!! When you talk about a startup , it is always in terms of stake rather in salary hence, many times you may have to settle down with a much lesser salary sad

The bottom line is “In India, though there are many startups taking shape day after day, (full time) entrepreneurship is still at a nascent stage”.Hence, along with the idea & it’s estimated growth , it is also important to understand “Why you want to take a plunge?” and “Are you ready to go full time [since, your idea would be better only if it is taken part-time , which means it may not be worth making it as a business]“.

The message is there are two sides of the coin “Business Plan” and “Life Plan“. “Life Plan” is your present and targetted future in a short plan.This is very important for any aspiring entrepreneur since, it would help him/her understand whether “(S)HE IS READY FOR A FULL TIME PLUNGE”

There is a 8 point life plan from Startup Nation comprising the following:

  1. Your Current Status
  2. Your Ideal Life
  3. Your Loves: What You Really Like Doing
  4. Your Skills & Capabilities: What You Do Well
  5. Your Track Record: What You Have Experience Doing
  6. Your Ideal Work Style
  7. Your Manifesto
  8. Key Moves to Get You Where You Want to Go
You can find a detailed explanation to points(1-5) here , points(6-8) here and a sample life-plan here. Time to review your life and than your idea; since, you have to decide whether you are ready for full time Entrepreneurship or Patro-preneurship [my terminology for part time entrepreneurship] !!!

Image Courtesy:
SG Entrepreneurs Group

|In: Business Plan Cometition|Last Updated: | 5 Comments
Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) , Mumbai is organizing a B-Plan Competition called Eureka.This is your chance to turn your dream into reality lol. Some details about the competition below:


What Is Eureka ?

Eureka! is the biggest Business Plan Competition in India and one of the Top Five in the Asia-Oceanic region in terms of participation, prizes and resources. It is intended as a platform to encourage youth from across the globe to flesh out their ideas in business terms and form global enterprises that combine technology,vision and business acumen.

Past success stories from Eureka:
Listed below are some of the past winners(and runner-ups) from Eureka:

Winners of Eureka,1999:
Voyager Infotech Private Limited
Eisodus Networks Private Limited

Winners of Eureka,2000:
Myzus Private Limited

Winners of Eureka,2001:
eInfinitus Technologies Private Limited
Duesco Private Limited
Herald Logic Private Limited

Winners & Finalists of Eureka,2002:
Embedded Robot Technologies (Winner)
Theranova (Winner)
Phonologies Private Limited (Runner Up)

Winners of Eureka,2003:
PowaiLabs Techsoft Private Limited
Whizlabs Software Pvt. Ltd.

Winners of Eureka,2004:
Rhizo Technologies

Schedule of Eureka,2007:
You can check the schedule here

More details of Eureka,2007 can be found here

|In: BlogDay|Last Updated: | 5 Comments
Do you have a blog or thinking of starting a blog?, than you are the one who is at least thinking of contributing to the “CHANGE ECOSYSTEM”….So, try to change the world before 31st August,2007 which is being celebrated as ‘BLOG DAY’.

Why Blog Day?
Blogs have gone leaps & bounds,and spread like fire but sometimes,we have the doubt as to whether ‘YOUR BLOG IS CROSSING BOUNDARIES’? So, go ahead and make your blog ‘Global’ by contributing to the blog day.
What will happen on the Blog Day?
As stated on “Blog Day” website:

One long moment on August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post recommendations of 5 new Blogs, preferably Blogs that are different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.

BlogDay posting instructions:
1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2007
3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
5. Add the BlogDay tag using this link:
http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2007 and a link to the BlogDay web site

Spread the message of blogging by grabbing a badge(for your blog) from here