All Posts by Himanshu Sheth

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

Source : The Economic Times Network,www.economictimes.com
Dated : 16/11/2006

Indian immigrants to the US account for 28% of all foreign-founded private start-up companies in a climate dominated by immigrant entrepreneurs, according to a new study on the hot-button issue.

The study found that over the last 15 years, immigrants have started one in four (25%) US public companies that were venture-backed, representing a market capitalisation of more than $500 billion.

Topping that, a survey of private, venture-backed start-up companies in the US estimated that a staggering 47% have immigrant founders.

In that group, “India was the most prevalent country of origin with 28%, followed by the United Kingdom (11%), China (5%), Iran (4%.) and France (4%.),’’ the study says. No numbers were given for public venture-backed firms, but even in that category, “the most common countries of origin are India, Israel and Taiwan’’.

The findings back the long-held view, based on more limited surveys in Silicon Valley, that Indian immigrants are a significant force in Americans’ start-up culture. Indians have been founding companies in the US outside the Bay area for decades, going back to Amar Bose’s Bose Corp in Massachusetts and the Suhas Patil-founded Cirrus Logic in Utah.

The study also found that immigrant founders are responsible for building a high percentage of the most innovative American companies, with 87% operating in sectors such as high-tech manufacturing, infotech and life sciences.

Global Indian Takeover :

• In the last 15 years, one in four US public cos, with a market cap of $500 bn, has been started by immigrants, led by Indians, Israelis and Taiwanese.
• Study found 47% of venture-backed start-up firms had immigrant founders. India (28%) was followed by UK (11%), China (5%), Iran (4%) and France (4%).
• Nearly half of the immigrant entrepreneurs arrived in the US as students and more than half of them started their businesses within 12 years.
• 87% of immigrant founders operate in high-tech manufacturing, IT and life sciences.
• They hold an average of 14.5 patents. 69% of these individuals have become American citizens.

|In: Personal|Last Updated: | 4 Comments

People in India were very much excited about Reliance Infocomm Ltd. launching its mobile in the market.The same excitement was there when Mukesh Ambani led “Reliance Retail ” announced the requirement of land for their retail outlets.

Just in a single day,record no of hits were seen on their website.May be I thought,US retail giant Wal-Mart may get a stiff competition from our Desi Reliance Retail.

Relaince Retail shop opens in Hyderabad:
Few days back(on the 4th November,2006),Reliance Retail opened its first retail outlet in Hyderabad and the response there was fascinating.When I saw the interview of the people(on CNBC TV-18) who purchased from Reliance retail,there was a big sense of satisfaction on their faces.

Reliance Strategy:

  • The price of the commodities and other goods less than the other competitors like Kishore Biyani led Future Group,Food World,other kirana stores.For example. There is a difference of 2 rupees on one Kg. of Rice between Reliance Retail and Food World.
  • The ambience out there is very good.
  • Plus,last but not the least and the most important point is Reliance Retail knows its customers well.They offer Reliance Retail membership cards which would give more benifits to the customers.This is a missing feature in all its competitors.

A sudden rainfall (for Reliance Retail) in the month of November:

The arrival of Reliance Retail was causing a big concern to Kishore Biyani , when he was seen on the “India Retail Forum”.

But all good things come to an end or should I say “The way to sucess is not easy and you cannot take a leap to reach the top“.Now the question is “Suddenly after this fascinating start of Realince Retail,what happened”?

The CEO of Reliance Retail Rajeev Karwal(the man who made Electorlux Kelvinator Ltd,sometimes also called as King of consumer durables) is moving out of Reliance Retail after a small stint of 10 months with Reliance Retail(Source:Economic Times Network,09/11/2006).
He was the one of the first high profile persons roped in by Reliance and Ajay Baijal would be the CEO of the Retail arm of Reliance.

This came as a shock to the industry insiders and the reason for his quick exit is not known(Source:Economic Times Network,09/11/2006).But definitely,this is the time for Reliance Retail to regroup its strategies as well its team since , “It takes time to create good brand value but it does not take more time to loose Brand value!!!”


–Himanshu J Sheth
(09/11/2006,6:20 PM)

|In: Management|Last Updated:

Source : www.economictimes.com
Dated : 31/10/2006

“Why should I work more than what the company pays me for?” You must have heard this comment in your workplace. Even my friend cribs, “When the company doesn’t recognise our work and doesn’t acknowledge it monetarily, then, why should I work beyond its expectations?”

Increasingly, such an attitude appears to be the new gospel at workplaces and ought to be recognised as a trend that is haunting most employers.

“Most of us work and wait for month-end salary because we are recruited and paid for that. It’s a give and take relationship we share with the company and there is no emotional bonding.”


“So if company treats us well, then we will work up to its satisfaction. And if it plays dirty games, then it cannot expect us to treat it fair.” Such was the reaction of an employee working in a leading PSU firm in Mumbai when ET.com asked why most employees are not committed to their companies.

There are many employees who think this way and the attitude is growing fast not only in Indian companies but abroad too. An employee loyalty study released by London-based research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) reveals that a majority of US workers admit to having a low level of commitment to the job they do and the company they work for. The study also unveils that even satisfied employees are not necessarily hard working or committed to a company’s bottom-line performance. As a result, we get to see organisations battling for workforce share, just as they battle for market share.

Nevertheless, the level of commitment varies from an employee to employee. Dinesh K Vohra, author of ‘Success in just 6 steps away’ says, “Employers also need to understand that the level of employee involvement and commitment will not be uniform for all times. There would be phases when a number of employees will feel low and it will impact their productivity, but that is natural. They will also commit silly mistakes, but the leadership has to be considerate towards them if they are honest in acknowledgement and are willing to mend. Even machines do not perform with 100 percent efficiency all the time. ”

Employees need a caring leadership and work atmosphere to perform their best. High achievers are always groomed through a congenial work atmosphere and motivational leadership.

Employer Vs. employees Vs. bosses

Employees consider the employer as the boss. But the organisational structure has many bosses at every level. Nalini Srivatsav, a working professional from Bangalore talks about her dilemmas: “Although I want to work for my company but the bosses who are also part of the same system do not allow me to be. I am unable to work due to lack of co-ordination and understanding by my immediate seniors and boss. Just based on this, can an employee’s commitment be questioned?”

This kind of vulnerability has to be accounted for in an organisation. The level of commitment also depends upon on the leadership of each boss in the hierarchy. It’s not true that satisfied employees are committed and non-committed employees are unreliable to a company.

Fortune 500 companies have significantly higher levels of employee commitment. Workers at these companies give management higher ratings on issues of business ethics, innovation and competitiveness. The TNS study which surveyed 20,000 workers across 33 countries exposes the level of commitment in employees globally. It classified employees as ‘ambassadors’, ‘company oriented’, ‘career-oriented’ and ‘disengaged’ to measure the level of their commitment.

The survey revealed that globally there are 44 per cent of ambassadors (the most committed – those who are fully committed to the company and to their work.), 8 per cent of company-oriented workers (the next most committed group, which includes those who are fully committed to their company – more so than their work and career.), 14 per cent of career-oriented (includes those who are more interested in furthering their career and their needs over the needs of the company) and 35 per cent of disengaged (the employee segment that no company wants, but has in abundance. They are neither committed to their company nor to their career.)

While not everyone can or will become an ambassador, it appears from TNS study that enhancing those factors that drive ambassador commitment would increase the commitment of all other segments. Commitment is a two-way process and one must go the extra mile to create and maintain it. Do not forget the fundamental fact that commitment, trust and empowerment go hand-in-hand. It is probably the only way to achieve true corporate excellence.

|In: Business|Last Updated:

Source : www.economictimes.com
Dated : 11/10/2006

For thousands of teachers here, tuitions have become a dollar spinner, thanks to the growing demand for online tuitorials from USA, UK and Europe. According to an online tuitorial site, nearly 100,000 teachers from India and Pakistan were expected to set up their own internet businesses during September-October, the time when the new academic session begins in America, to teach students there.

“Educational Services Outsourcing (ESO) definitely seems to be the next ‘in-thing. Education is a growing sector and the demand for Indian educators is on the rise,” says Kiran Karnik, President, NASSCOM. “Indian educators are respected globally and held in high esteem. We must capitalise on this opportunity,” he says. “ESO market is estimated to be USD eight billion dollars and Indian teachers are currently offering services to countries like US, UK , Canada , and the Middle East,” says Shantanu Parkash of Educomp, an e-learning major.
“School tuitions is the main sector for Indian teachers as in higher education, accreditation with the American Education Council is compulsory. It is just the beginning of ESO and many small players have entered into the field,” says Nicholas George, Vice President, NIIT. There is very high demand for tuitions in maths, science and English.

Though the main demand is from USA, newer markets of Netherlands and Europe too are fast opening up for Indian teachers, says George.

Low cost of tuitions and very good teaching skills of Indian teachers is what attracts American students and parents to them, says George. Thus when the rest of the India sleeps, many postgraduate teachers sit wide awake before their PCs, giving interactive online tuitions to children seated before similar computer modules, continents apart in the USA.

A number of online sites have come up where teachers can register, stating their expertise in a particular subject. The sites sub-contract work from SES (Supplemental Education Services) in the US. Schools unable to improve student performance are falling back on tuitions for help.

There are over 75 such tuition centres across the US. Called SES providers, they charge students up to $40 an hour to take classes. Wire the work to India over broadband links and it can be done for half the cost.

However, there are some Indian educational technology companies which have directly approached the schools in the US, he says. The Education Market Research of US estimates the K-12 market size at USD 2 billion annually. K-12 is the North American designation for primary and secondary education.

The infrastructure for EPO includes broadband connectivity and a workstation with a whiteboard that replaces the traditional blackboard. The student and teacher can speak to each other continuously using a hands-free headset, much like talking on a telephone.

The student and teacher also write questions and answers on the same workspace displayed on both the student’s and teacher’s computer screens using a digital pencil (like a stylus) and a digital writing pad (that’s the whiteboard, similar to a mouse pad).

The trick lies in training the teachers to handle American students. Most companies in India put them through a training programme. The focus is on attitude – training teachers to teach students online in real time, solve problems in US books, engage in group meetings and understand common mistakes that the students make, which is followed by voice and accent training.

The online tutorial interaction uses both voice and data. Exercises are done on electronic notebooks which are available at both ends. “Indian teachers are doing a very good job and the students and their parents are also satisfied with their high standards of teaching,” says Anju Agrawal, who takes maths tuitorials for American students from here.

Market for high quality digital content for all subjects (mapped to the learning standards of the particular country) will see huge demand and consequent growth. Online tutoring for all subjects(beyond Math and Science) will also pick up, notes Parkash.

|In: Blogging|Last Updated:

Source : www.economictimes.com
Dated : 10/10/2006

This will surely be music to bloggers’ ears. Imagine using your mobile to post a blog entry from the lawns of Taj Mahal or a snap from the crescent beaches of Kovalam. Sharing your thoughts and pictures with the world is set to become instantaneous, with telecom operators in India planning to roll out mobile blogging, or moblogging services.

Blogging allows people to share images, videos and their thoughts with a group of friends or with everyone on the net using the world wide web. A mobile weblog refers to content posted to the Internet from a mobile phone or PDA. Reliance Communications (RCL) is set to be the first operator to host a blogging site in India.

“Our subscribers, who have MMS and video capability, will be able to send blog entries using mobile telephones. In case of other phones, only text blogging is possible,” Mahesh Prasad, president — Reliance World, told ET.

RCL has partnered with the Hyderabad-based mobile content provider IMI Mobile for moblogging. RCL will charge Rs 5 per MMS/SMS for posting a blog. Users will have to MMS picture or video to 1234 with the keyword ‘mblog’ and they will be automatically registered on mblog. A return SMS specifies the user’s password and the website URL for her blog.

“Bloggers can have a ‘buddy list’ specified from the phonebook, which can include both Reliance and non-Reliance subscribers so that everytime a blog is posted, they get an SMS alert informing them to check out the specified URL,” he explained.

To view the blog, one has to visit www.relianceinfo.com/mblog and key in their password. “The community of bloggers is growing. We want to ensure that pictures taken on mobiles are not left just in the phone. They can be shared through moblogging,” said Mr Prasad. Over 8m of RCL’s nearly 25m users access Reliance Mobile. “We are optimistic that a large chunk of these customers will use our blogging services,” he added.

Meanwhile, Greg Young, the CTO of Tata Teleservices (TTSL) said, “While we do not provide a hosted blogging site, with an appropriate handset our customers can access the internet and update their blogspots using the superior data capabilities provided by the CDMA technology.”

The same is true of Hutchison Essar, whose subscribers are using the mobile to make blog entries. TTSL, however, remains bullish on moblogging. “We recognise the exponential growth of the blogging community and emerging internet and 3G services. We look forward to bringing to customers innovative services following the completion of the policy on 3G spectrum and our deployment of this new technology,” Mr Young added.

Idea Cellular is offering moblogging through www.mygamma.com, a mobile networking community. Idea users can log on to this website and upload their pictures and messages and share ringtones. The service can be subscribed to for Rs 10 for a week or Rs 25 for two weeks (with online points). The company receives around 3,000 renewals every month for this service.

As of now, telcos in India are not looking at moblogging as large revenue generators. “It is being offered as a service required by the fast growing bloggers community,” Mr Prasad said.

|In: Technology|Last Updated:

Source : www.reuters.com
Dated : 10/10/2006

Google bought hot young video-sharing website YouTube on Monday in a $1.65-billion stock deal that the companies proclaimed was a natural for the evolving Internet.

The acquisition married Google’s online search prowess with a video-sharing website renowned for devotees but not revenues. “With Google’s technology and search leadership we will have the resources to take our services to the next level,” YouTube co-founder Steven Chen said during a telephone press conference with Google executives.

“We believe this is just the beginning.” YouTube soared to online popularity after its launch in February 2005. The company claims that more than 100 million videos are watched daily by visitors to the free website, which features content ranging from silly home videos to snippets of Hollywood films, television shows and concerts.

Google said that it was drawn to YouTube because it was the clear market leader and had put together a “remarkable team” in a short time.

“We think one of the keys to comprehensive search experience will be video,” said Google co-founder Sergey Brin. “On the whole it is hard for me to imagine a better fit with another company. YouTube really reminds me of Google just a few short years ago.”

Google’s stock price rose slightly to $431.75 a share in trading that followed the announcement of the deal, which came after the close of the financial markets in New York.

“It will be interesting to see what happens next and what happens in the copyright world,” outspoken billionaire investor Mark Cuban wrote in a fresh weblog entry titled “I still think Google is crazy.”

“I still think Google lawyers will be a busy, busy bunch.” Cuban has referred publicly to YouTube as a lawsuit magnet because users freely upload digitized videos, television shows and other copyrighted material.

The blockbuster deal was announced on the same day that Google and YouTube unveiled agreements with major studios to post copyrighted music videos online.

The agreements were seen as efforts to pre-empt accusations of rampant copyright infringement at the online video-sharing sites and enlist studios as potential beneficiaries of the trend.

The pacts will rely on advertising to generate revenues by encouraging users to click on companies’ links alongside the videos. YouTube was putting new systems in place to “fingerprint” copyrighted material so it could be tracked, said YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.

Google and YouTube engineers already have dozens of ideas for handling ads, searches and videos, according to Google chief executive Eric Schmidt. “Most people believe that this is just the beginning of a video Internet revolution,” Schmidt said. “I think there is a whole new ecosystem and we are expecting to be a part of it.”

“Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture,” Hurley said. YouTube will continue to operate independently with its headquarters in San Bruno, California, after the acquisition is complete, according to Google.

In Silicon Valley tradition, YouTube was launched on its meteoric rise from a garage. In its first foray seeking external funds, the company raised $3.5 million from Sequoia Capital in November 2005. In the newest deal, though, Google will pay for YouTube with shares of its own high-flying stock.

By purchasing YouTube, Google would be able to apply its proven prowess for generating revenue through online advertising. YouTube meanwhile will provide Google traction in the online video-sharing market, where Google’s own video service has failed to take off.

“This is the next step in the evolution of the Internet,” Schmidt said. “It is a natural next step.” The deal is expected to be culminated by year-end provided it clears regulatory requirements.

Meanwhile, Google Video “will not go away now, or ever,” Schmidt said.

|In: Technology|Last Updated:

Source : www.reuters.com

SEATTLE – Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) released on Friday the final test version of its upcoming Windows operating system and said the launch for the highly-anticipated upgrade is running on schedule.

Incorporating feedback from earlier test releases, the world’s largest software maker said it distributed Windows Vista Release Candidate 2, or RC2, for its testers to try.

“Microsoft expects the RC2 build to be the last interim release before the product is released to manufacturing,” the company said.

Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund said Microsoft will most likely ship Vista on time and distribute RC2 this week or next week, indicating that the Windows upgrade will be available for business customers in November and retail PCs by late January.

Microsoft said it continues to target that schedule for Vista, but said the final delivery date will depend on the product’s quality.

Windows Vista, already five years in the making, has been postponed by Microsoft several times and some industry analysts have speculated that the world’s largest software maker will again be forced to push back its release dates.

Microsoft Windows sits on more than 90 percent of the world’s personal computers and the Windows business accounts for about 30 percent of the company’s $44 billion in revenue.

|In: Technology|Last Updated:

Source : www.reuters.com

San Francisco: Web search leader Google Inc is in talks to buy YouTube Inc, the world’s leading Web site for video entertainment, for close to $1.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

According to the newspaper, the talks are at a sensitive stage and could break off. YouTube declined comment on the report. Google representatives could not immediately be reached.

YouTube was founded in February 2005 as one of dozens of Internet video start-ups.

It has exploded in popularity since last November by letting users share short video clips – both home videos and programming copied off television.

Rumors of a Google-YouTube deal appeared on Thursday on the TechCrunch blog of Web start-up powerbroker Michael Arrington, who said such talk was circulating among Silicon Valley venture capitalists after months of speculation that YouTube was an acquisition target.

“YouTube is the hottest property on the Web, one that could be worth much more than $1.6 billion if monetized properly,” said RBC analyst Jordan Rohan, adding he had no information on whether YouTube would be acquired. His calculation is based on combining YouTube’s audience and Google’s advertising prowess.

For Google, the acquisition of YouTube would thrust the Web search leader quickly into the emerging market for video advertising, where it has only a tiny foothold compared with Yahoo Inc and various Web start-ups, Rohan said.

“Essentially Google can give less than 2 percent of its market cap and keep this platform out of the hands of everyone from Yahoo to Microsoft to Viacom,” said Rohan.

“There is something to be said for that old playground game of ‘keep-away,'” he said. “Defense here matters.”

YouTube has asked for about $1.5 billion during talks with potential suitors in recent weeks, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Google shares rose $8.69, or 2.1 percent, to close at $420.50 on the Nasdaq on Friday.

MTV owner Viacom, still hurting after News Corp elbowed it aside last year to acquire top social networking site MySpace.com, recently dodged questions on whether it had courted YouTube – another of the most popular Web destinations for young people.

“It’s a very good company,” Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone said in a TV interview with Charlie Rose on Wednesday.

YouTube reports serving about 100 million videos daily and has drawn scrutiny from major media companies for copyrighted material appearing on its pages without their consent.

YouTube commands a 47 per cent share of the online video search market as of September 30, compared with 22 percent for the MySpace video site and 11 percent for Google Video, according to Internet measurement firm HitWise Inc.

The site serves about 32 million visitors monthly and has about $11.5 million in venture capital financing from Sequoia Capital. A Sequoia spokesman was not available to comment.

Google has previously preempted rivals from striking deals that could threaten its dominance in key Web segments.

In December, Google agreed to pay $1 billion for a 5 per cent stake in Time Warner Inc’s AOL unit in a deal that expanded their advertising partnership.

Mark Cuban, an Internet investor and the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, told the Online News Association in Washington, DC, that Google would be “crazy” to do a deal because of the legal challenges YouTube faces.

To control rampant copyright infringement on YouTube, Google would be forced to monitor what videos users upload to the site.

“Once you have to start monitoring, the whole business changes,” Cuban said of the risk to Google.

Cuban sold his pioneering Web radio company Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion to Yahoo at the dot-com era’s height in 1999.