Indian School of Business [ISB], organized the India Conference on Innovation, Intellectual Property and Competition in Delhi. The objective of the conference was to offer a roadmap to manage innovations at various stages in the value chain, which calls into play the various tools of the Intellectual Property System. The role of Intellectual property, from producer to the end user, in relations to innovation was addressed through a daylong conference.

In his keynote address, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India, mentioned that Government is working on having regular interactions with the Start-ups, who are at the forefront of innovations, primarily on regulatory aspects, which helps them in their business initiatives.

Dean Rajendra Srivastava, Dean of the Indian School of Business in his opening address, said

There is a need to integrate insights from West and East to address the tussle between competition and protection. There is a need for a dialogue between the competing interests of the society, corporate and the individual level for the required value migrations. Our Lab is the Market Place and we need to look at ways we could manage ideas.

Dr Girish Sahani, Director General, CSIR & Secretary, DSIR, said

CSIR stands No.1 in R&D Patents and this was possible because of the mind-set change in the scientists to bring about synergy into production systems and focus towards more product based innovations vis-a-vis process based. CSIR is currently positioned at 75th in the Global R&D institutions.

Speaking on innovation ecosystem in India, Dr Rishikesha Krishnan, Director, IIM Indore, pointed out that much of the innovation in India is dominated by the multinational companies. However there is immense scope for frugal innovations in India especially happening at the start-up levels.

Dr Rishikesha Krishnan, Director, IIM Indore, said

Start-ups are becoming increasingly visible. The future of innovation is in e-commerce, Fintech, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning etc. Many companies are looking at India for their R&D needs.

Professor Anil K Gupta, Founder Honey Bee Network & Executive Vice Chair, National Innovation Foundation, said

We must not focus on frugality which is only for customers but also look into the manufacturers. There is a need to bridge the formal and informal innovations happening in India.

Ms Geeta Gouri, Former Member, Competition Commission of India and Director [Tariffs], APERC, in her address opined that creating new markets is also an important responsibility of the competition commission. Taking the examples of the cases at the Competition Commission on automobile after market and Google search engine, Ms Gouri said

Anything dominant will result in abuse, but the innovator must get the required credit for his innovation.

Mr Vivek K Kamath, Managing Director, Merck Sharp and Dohme Pharmaceuticals [India], opined that there is a need to focus on both large as well as niche categories healthcare intervention. Mr Vivek K Kamath said

Policies are forward looking right now, but enforcement gap maybe the challenge. We need to  do better on the enforcement dimension especially related to Intellectual Property Protection, Patented product pricing and clinical trials which will create a robust Indian healthcare innovation ecosystem.

The conference saw a galaxy of speakers speaking on various aspects of innovation ecosystem – IP Index, clusters, Chinese exceptionalism, piracy, healthcare innovation, app economy, trade agreements, intersection of technologies, inequality among others. The interactive conference was attended by around 150 delegates representing industry, academia and the Government. This is the inaugural edition of such a conference organized by the Indian School of Business.

Do you have a dream of starting something on your own? Do you have that spark in you? Are you in short of money to pursue your business? Always remember that most of the biggest companies were started on a very short budget.

If you have that passion in you, budget constraint won’t be able to stop you from winning, period.

Let’s discuss a few pointers you need to consider if you are starting your business on a budget

Paperwork is optional

Unless you are dealing with some legal way or something, it is not mandatory to get your business registered. Many of the small business were started without any paperwork done. Once they validated their idea, they proceeded to get their site registered.

I see guys getting into all the paperwork without even validating their idea. Later on all the effort of registration and paperwork is wasted if the business doesn’t turn out well.

You don’t need an office

Jeff Bezos started his empire from garage and same is with Larry Page. Don’t hesitate to make garage your office if required. You can always opt for those swanky offices once you run in profits.

As most of the businesses these days run on laptops and phones, you can also get this done sitting in the comfort of your home! I understand that some guys hesitate sitting in garage or home, but if you are really serious about the work, you will be able to do it no matter where you are sitting.

Be ready to make your hands dirty

While in corporate world, there is a specific task assigned to each of the employee. But when you are starting up, you have to do it all yourself. Sometimes you be the sweeper and sometimes a telecaller. Man, this is startup and you have to get into multiple roles unless you are a Ambani or Tata.

Similarly, get things like branding and website by yourself too. I have used Canva’s Free visiting card maker to get some awesome cards done within seconds and used DesignEvo to make logos. Want a website done? Get website builder and do it yourself. Similarly you can do a lot of things by your own.

Want a website done? Get website builder and do it yourself. Similarly you can do a lot of things by your own.

Save Save Save, negotiate where you can

A penny saved is a penny earned, right? Negotiate everywhere. Always remember you are on a fixed budget. Buying computer parts? Search for wholesalers in your area. Always look out for wholesale places as there are always such places where the prices are low.

Similarly, ask your vendors to give you credit for a month or so. This will help you keeping cash in hand. Also, keep a check on minute expenditures. These small ones look negligible but they might result in huge expenses collectively.

Learn new things instead of outsourcing

As I said before, you don’t have to get everything outsourced when you are starting up. Learning new skills helps a lot. I know many startup guys who designed their website, who designed their logos, who painted their office.

There will be times where you will need expert’s help. For that, there are communities related to every industry. Just be bold and ask your query. Yes this is time taking, but who cares? When you are moving, it is good, whether it’s slow or fast 🙂

Do a lot of networking

Once I met a developer who turned out to a great guy. We met at local dev meetup where I offered everyone free hosting coupons I got from a friend who just started his web hosting company. The developers were so impressed, one of them offered me help to create my blog.

In a nutshell, networking helps a lot as you can help people as per your expertise and they can help you as per theirs. This is a win win situation where no one has to spend money to get things done!

Starting a business is no doubt a tough task. I have seen many guys sinking and getting back to their 9 to 5 within months of starting up. Don’t let any constraint hinder your way, keep your will as strong as stone and dive into the sea of entrepreneurship. All the best!

About the Author

Prince Kapoor is a Freelance Marketing Analyst and Blogger. While not working, you can find him in gym or giving random health advises to his colleagues which no one agrees on :). If you too want some of his advises [on health or on marketing], reach out to him at @imprincekapur

3M signed a MoU with the Government of Karnataka at the ongoing three-day Bengaluru Technology Summit.

As per the MoU, 3M will provide a ‘Booster Service Kit’ and conduct, on a ‘pro-bono’ basis, mentoring sessions to start-ups in the areas of commercialization process, stage gate discipline, building a business case and accelerating product launch, competitive and pricing analysis, and differential value and options analysis. This will be conducted as per the program and schedule mutually agreed by the parties involved.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Priyank Kharge, the State Minister for IT, BT and Tourism, said

We are pleased to announce a partnership with global conglomerate 3M. It is our hope that start-ups in the State will benefit from the wide range of mentoring sessions by industry specialists from 3M in the areas of commercialization, stage gate discipline, building business cases, competitive pricing analysis and differential value analysis.

3M is a multinational conglomerate corporation that transforms technology into solutions. It supplies an array of innovative products across applications such as electronics, healthcare, industrial, safety and security.

Government of Karnataka announced its partnership with the Business France India to develop and intensify mutual beneficial cooperation on 5 programmes under the umbrella of the French Tech.

This MoU sees promise in the dynamic start-up ecosystem which has emerged in France over the last few years as well as the strength of Karnataka as a start-up hub. .

Five areas of collaboration have been identified for the MoU, which include:

1. French Tech Tour to India – For participation in the BengaluruITE.biz
2. French Tech Ticket – Promotion of French Tech Ticket & NAIN and other incubators/accelerators in Karnataka
3. French Tech Hub – 22 French Tech Hubs have been setup in the world and the first in India will be established in Bengaluru
4. International collaboration
5. Learning and commercial expedition

Honorable Minister Priyank Kharge, ITBT & Tourism, Government of Karnataka, said

Bengaluru has been the innovation and start-up hub of the country and has proven to be a preferred location for start-ups. We intend to provide best in class exposure to our start-ups for cross learning, incubation and partnerships. In this regard, the partnership with Business France India will enable Karnataka start-ups to leverage the inherent strength of France in education and R&D. The establishing of the French Tech Hub in Bengaluru will provide a single point access to innovations in France.

About Business France India

Business France is the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy. Its three key responsibilities are to:

• Support French or foreign companies with their international development
• Facilitate job-creating foreign investment in France
• Promote France’s attractiveness to business