Overthrowing the incubation regime November 24, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Business, Entrepreneurship, Everything 2.0, Heart Capital©, Incubation, Innovation, Mentoring, Thought leadership, heart capital.Tags: Business and Economy, business incubation, entrepreneurism, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship 2.0, fish, funding, Government, Incubation, India, India 2.0, Innovation 101, Leadership, Mentoring, support, Thought leadership, United States, Venture capital
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From an earlier post Business Incubation 101 that forms the preamble of my incubation idea. Thanks for all the offers of support – shows me that the idea resonates with many.
1. First bring the academia out of the safety of the cocoons we’ve woven around them. Have them check out what the world looks like. Today’s world. Today’s India.
2. Next, focus towards incubating ‘people’. They should be the real focus. Find real mentors. People that have been in the entrepreneurial world even if they have failed. They are the best teachers. Not professors of colleges. Don’t talk about incubating business. Leave that to the Western world.
3. Next, teach people to fish. No point in teaching fishing in your living room aquarium. At least walk them out to a brook. Pick up all the university incubation centres and physically put them off campus. That’s where the world exists. Not in the time warped government funded institutes.
Entrepreneur-ism is not socialistic. And capitalism doesn’t necessarily mean greedy or mercenary - especially in the context of India’s ethos. Make entrepreneurship an attractive lifestyle and stop being condescending irrespective of the preamble of our constitution. That goes for all those holier-than-thou bankers and VC’s.
Calling all India-preneurs November 24, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Business, Entrepreneurship, Heart Capital©, Incubation, Leadership Innovation, Mentoring, Thought leadership, heart capital.Tags: Entrepreneurship, Incubation, India, India 2.0, Leadership, Mentoring, support, Thought leadership, Venture capital
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If there’s something India needs it is theez. Indiapreneurs!
I think we’ve waited long enough. I was at an event organised by the students of NIT Trichy early September and was pleasantly surprised to see how clued in this generation is. The problem is that our academia is still stuck in a time-warp. These kids need active mentoring and incubation support from professionals who have been there, done that. We need to move incubation facilities out of educational campuses and transplant them firmly into the ‘real’ world of business. A few friends and I are working on providing space and infrastructure as well as functional support (HR, Admin, IT etc.) and plan to pilot this in Delhi, Coimbatore and Hyderabad, starting 2010.
Ideas, suggestions, support and comments please.
Let’s cut our noses. Yes Prime Minister! October 31, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Copenhagen, Global Warming, Nature, Sustainability, Sustainable Innovation, climate change, environment.Tags: India, Globalization, environment, climate change, United States, Carbon emissions, Economic development, Indian economy, International Energy Agency, Indian environment, Monsoon, Jairam Ramesh, Greenhouse gas
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Two of my favourite subjects here – the fascinating global warming debate and India’s bollywood style negotiation script. Hopenhagen is around the corner and will make Kyoto passe. We love being underdogs because like our movies, the hero comes from behind in a good-over-evil victory lap while the crowd applauds his heroic antics.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, and I fully intend the pun.
US spews Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere when India sleeps. [Pat on back .. I'm getting good at puns]Now India wants America to pay for their long and sinful polluting behaviour. And guess what, if they don’t, we’ll have an equal right to kill the planet first so we’re even. That’s the craziest example of serving our self interests I’ve come across. It’s almost like saying that since I just found out that my neighbour has been raping my mother for 20 years, the way to punish him is by killing my own mother. (more…)
Designers w/o Borders September 30, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Business, Companies of the future, Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship, Globalisation, Innovation, Thought leadership.Tags: Design, Ideafarms, India, Indo-Dutch collaboration, Industrial Design, Industrial Designers, Innovation, International Design, New Business Models, Sunil Malhotra, Sustainability
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World Trade Centre, Rotterdam, 25th September 2009. Indo-Dutch collaboration summit focused on Industrial Design. Hmmm … (Design Crossover).
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- A view of the audience
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- That’s me on the right!
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- Raijmakers & Oberdorf
Why they invited me to speak is still somewhat of a mystery considering I dropped off the Industrial Design radar towards the end of the last millennium. I guess it could’ve been because my company, Ideafarms, has been able to maintain a growing relationship between India and Europe over the last 8 years through projects and partnerships with Dutch and German corporations.
I’ve never been a champion of networking – I’ve actually often criticised some of my friends for using networking to get ahead – but am quite overwhelmed having been in the midst of some of the most ‘conscious’ designers of today. Jeroen 
Raijmakers of Philips and Jos Oberdorf of NPK Design are inspiring to say the least. I’m grateful to Ruchita Puri for the opportunity to meet them at the event.
From whatever was presented, it looks like good design can be really good business. There’s a case to be made out for a design collaboration without borders. Couple of good reasons here …
1. European design reflects high quality, the idiom being minimalistic and functional. Whereas India’s design sensibilities are more embellished. Their combination will raise the aesthetic appeal without compromising design values.
2. Pure economic tenets come into play when we see the sheer number of people both on the supply side (design talent is plenty in India) and the demand side (India is emerging as one of the largest markets). Leveraging the ‘great Indian talent pool’ is an opportunity.
3. The life sensibilities of India’s cultural make-up have always been in the mould of sustainability, something the world has woken up to only recently. Add to this the rich craft-based traditions and you have a universal design paradigm that’s as powerful as Buddhism.
Jump into this conversation folks. You don’t want to be left out. Really!
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Business Incubation 101 (India) August 18, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Business, Entrepreneurship, Everything 2.0, Globalisation, Heart Capital©, Innovation, Innovation 101, Thought leadership, heart capital.Tags: bankers, Business and Economy, business incubation, entrepreneurism, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship 2.0, fish, funding, Government, IITs, India, Innovation 101, United States, Venture capital
4 comments
This post is India centric.
Thinking lag is a serious condition. I remember how the older folks used to tell us ‘in our times things were so much cheaper’. Look at how the Government patronises unsuspecting academia and students by announcing Goals 2020 and supports it with Funding 1920. It’s not even smart political thinking. Call it Politicalaggard thinking.
Mayawati will spend Rs. 2000 crores (USD 400 million) dotting the UP countryside with ego-stroking statues of herelf and her mock leather handbags while the Government announces 1 crore for business incubation. Here …
The government has now formulated a scheme to set up around 100 incubators in the country to encourage the development of new businesses. It has earmarked a budget of Rs 1.13 crore for 2007-08 for providing grants to 50 universities and training institutes for setting up these incubators!
[read the original evangelising here]. And don’t miss ‘proud’ exclamation mark. (more…)
