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On the 15th

of August 2008, for the first time

ever, a consul general (Neelam Deo for India)

rang the closing bell at the US stock market. As

recognition of the fast growing Indian economy,

the giant billboard overlooking Times Square

also had the Indian Tricolour being displayed

with the text India Independence Day. The

recent upheavals in the market notwithstand-

ing, it can be clearly seen that the Indian econ-

omy has been on a steep rise since the past 5

years and is brimming with promise to accom-

modate more influx to synergise this growth. In

a country of billion odd people like ours, where

millions live below the poverty line and millions

more are unemployed, where do we start to

bring about a change so that the country keeps

surging ahead? One of the obvious answers is

to get more jobs for people. To do this, there is

need for enterprising individuals among us whowill be responsible for generating wealth from

within the country. Entrepreneurship is a critical

element of a growth economy, and many be-

lieve India is poised to unlock a Silicon Valley

like entrepreneurial boom through the next 10

years. The beginnings are already in place, steps

have been taken in the right direction and

change is afoot.

But what about the problems brought about by

inflation? India has produced the most impres-

sive set of corporate results anywhere in the

world, in the recent past. However government

policies and nature of coalition government,

deprive India of more encouraging economic

Volume 2, Issue 3

DOES INFLATION SPELL DOOM FOR

20 Aug, 2008Sneak Peak

How to Write a Bplan - Page 2

Innovation Speed in Start-Ups - Page 3

Mr. Shwetang Jain interview - Page 5

TheEntrepreneur

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policies. So what are the entrepreneurial options

left for a young Indian? Going deeper into under-

standing the nature of Indias entrepreneurship

and the current economy will give us a better

idea about the future prospects of an aspiring

entrepreneur.

Mrs. Sramana Mitra, a successful Indian entrepre-

neur in the Silicon Valley, believes that the excess

capital chasing Indian start-ups and the lack of

fundable deals is clearly manifested in Indias

entrepreneurship today. Going by past trends,

consumer internet turned out to be a big trend

from last

year, for In-

dia, while

S r a m a n a

feels that non

-tech sectors

like retail andreal estate

are also big

m o n e y -

making op-

portunities in the future.

Talk about retail and real estate hogging the lime-

light in the future; it seems to be universally ac-

cepted. Land has, from ancient times, been

deemed as a symbol of wealth. Even today, its

one of the most orthodox yet sure-fire commodi-

ties to invest in. Mr. Michael Sexton, President,

Trump University also seems to agree..

Continued on page 4

INDIAS ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOM ?

Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a

habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character,

reap a destiny - Chinese Proverb

Have you con-sidered thesepoints while

writing a B-plan?

- PAGE 2

Key factors thatdetermine inno-vation speed in

Start-Ups

- PAGE 3

Recent activitieshave keep spiritof entrepreneur-ship soaring high

- PAGE 5

A few of theupcoming eventsto look forward

to

- PAGE 4

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Writing a business plan is a fundamental step to en-

suring your business has every chance of succeeding.

Common statistics state that 9 out of 10 businesses

fail on the first 5 years of operation, and of the re-

maining 10%, 90% fail in the following 5 years

Why? There may be a number of reasons - from poor

customer service,

inadequate product,

poor logistics man-

agement and cost

control. However, the

number of businesses

that do not define

their goals and map

out their path to

success is phenomenal. Taking the

step to define your business goals,

plan where you want to go and

what you want to achieve will place

you in an increased position of fu-

ture success and realization of your

dreams.

Below is a list of the areas you need

to consider when writing your busi-ness plan. These steps will help

define the business goals, the rea-

son for existence (of the business),

and define the direction you will

take.

Step 1- Define your vision

You may know inside your head

why you want to start a business, and what business

it will be. However, your staff will not know this infor-

mation, and after a time, you too will also forget

some of the details. Write down what your mission is

your purpose and vision for the company. This sets

the tone for all business and actions taken on a daily

basis, working toward achieving your mission and

purpose.

Step 2 - Set your goals and objectives for the busi-

ness

Think big. Do not let your own limitations impact on

what you think your business is capable of achieving.

Define what you short (less than 12 months), me-

dium (1-3 years time frame) and long term goals

(usually 3-5 years timeframe) will be. Think of topics

such as how much revenue do you want to generate?

How many outlets will you have? How much passive

income will it produce for you in the future? How many

customers on your database will you have? What will

be your geographic area of influence? These goals will

be a combination of your personal goals for your own

life blended with that of the life of the business.

Step 3 - Define your USP

In order to stand out form the crowd, it is imperative

that you know and define your USP Unique Selling

Proposition. What it is that you offer and provide that

is different to other people in the market? It may be

that you offer additional services to your core product;

it may be that you have a more personalized customer

service approach; it may be your after sales service and

warrantee on the product. What is it that your cus-

tomer will be attracted to above other

businesses offering the same service

or product? Once you know this, then

you can use it as a focus for your cus-

tomers to recognize you and remem-

ber you.

Step 4 - Know your market

Have you ever thought up a brilliant

idea and began to investigate it, onlyto find out that another business has

already started with that exact same

idea? This happens daily to many peo-

ple, but do not be discouraged. The

marketplace is huge and can support a

number of businesses providing the

same service. Look at petrol stations

and dry cleaners as an example. So, get to know the

market your market. How many competitors are there?

What do they offer? What have the trends been in the

industry? What might be the future trends and pre-

dicted growth/decline of the industry? Are there any

benchmarks you can base your business performance

on, such as profit margins, expected turnover per busi-

ness size, and so on? Once you have a broader picture

of the market you are entering into, you will be better

equipped to handle and maximize your potential busi-

ness growth.

Contd

For further reference :

http://www.powerhomebiz.com/082005/

businessplan.htm

How to Write a B-Plan

Business planning is a vitalcomponent of starting andgrowing a successful enter- prise. Many different varia-tions of business plans ex-ist, so you must carefullychoose the right one that

serves your purpose andenterprise. A well-executedbusiness plan will enhancethe odds that your venturewill take a successful path

and satisfactorily fulfill yourgoals.

The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesnt do - Thomas Edison

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Research-based start-ups are new businessstart-ups that develop and market new products

based on proprietary knowledge or skill. Such start-

ups form the basis of technopreneurship, which has

received a great deal of attention from academics in

the last couple of years. Although considerable re-

search has been done in the field of resources, strat-

egy and industry environ-

ment of new firms, littleattention has been paid to

the factors which control the

speed of innovation in start-

ups. Innovation forms the

heart of every techno-

preneurial venture and

hence it is essential to study

the forces which affect it.

It is widely accepted

that tangible assets such as

starting capital and the stage of product develop-

ment at founding and intangible assets such as team

tenure, experience of founders, and collaborations

with third parties are important antecedents for in-

novation speed in startups. Intuition suggests that

starting capital and stage of product development

encourage innovation speed. Moreover, its under-

stood that team tenure and experience of founders

lead to faster product launch. And of course, alliances

with third parties should also affect innovation speed

positively. But research says otherwise.

Now why is innovation speed so important?

Innovation speed is directly related to the time re-

quired to market or time between firm founding and

product launch. This might seem strange but it takes

months to market the product even after product

creation. Especially for new ventures, time to marketis a crucial factor for these reasons (i) gaining early

cash flow for greater financial independence, (ii)

gaining early market share, and (iii) to increase the

likelihood of survival. Moreover slow product devel-

opment leads to increasing costs and no immediate

financial returns.

There are several ways in which a firm may

obtain the required financial resources, such as self-

financing, loans, obtaining angel-investments and ven-

ture capital, and of course grants. It is seen that most

firms which have to expand quickly go for venture capi-

tal. However, surveys indicate starting capital has no

significant affect on innovation speed. This discrepancy

is best described by the following reasons, (i) ventur e

capitalists may push firms to ramp up their commer-

cialization efforts, diverting

attention and investmentsfrom R&D toward marketing

and sales, which may delay

product completion, and (ii)

venture capital and high

amounts of initial investments

might be associated with

more ambitious projects,

which inherently face longer

development times.

Higher stage of prod-

uct development significantly

reduces the time to market the product but this is true

only for non-software firms. Surprised? For software

firms, it is seen that the launch of a beta version con-

siderably delays product launch. This is obvious be-

cause customer involvement leads to repetitive modifi-

cations to the product which ends up delaying product

launch. This situation does not apply to non-software

products probably because for such products repetitive

modifications are often impossible or pricey and hence

customers don't get to dig in their noses too much!

Thankfully, team tenure and experience counts

and assists innovation as predicted by common sense.

A better team shall always lead to more efficient prod-

uct development. But alliances with third parties may

hinder innovation speed. Collaborations with private

firms show no effect on innovation speed. Collabora-tions with universities slow down innovation speed but

this must not be taken as a setback because such col-

laborations can be considered a long term investment

and may show profitable results in the long run.

Reference : J PROD INNOV MANAG 2007;24:30331

Innovation Speed in Start-Ups

Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners. Robert T. Kiyosaki

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Does inflation spell doom for Indias entrepreneurship boom...Continued from page 1

..to the above thought, suggesting investing in real estate as a way of benefiting during the current heavy infla-

tion period. Its what the millionaires and billionaires are doing today. So, is future of entrepreneurship in real

danger? Does the current inflation spell doom for those willing to establish start-ups now? Clearly, the answer

is no!

Despite facing innumerable challenges, the entrepreneurial energy that now radiates across all activities from

almost all parts of India is greater than what one has seen over the past four decades. Mrs. Sramana is indeed

very optimistic about Indias entrepreneurial potential. The enormous successful growth of most existing Indian

companies, as also the promising start and rise to fame of many young Indian entrepreneurs both domestically

and abroad in a very short span of time, is a very encouraging sign to say the least. So, the answer is not to bide

your time waiting for the tide of inflation to ebb down to manageable levels, its infact to try to use inflation

itself as a stepping stone to get a head-start.But will this trend last? Certainly for the next few years, says Mr. Omkar Goswami, in a BW article.

He believes Indias entrepreneurship is now second to none. So, maybe you are indeed in the right country for

entrepreneurship at the right time.

References : http://indianeconomy.org/2007/03/27/entrepreneurship-in-india/, http://www.trumpuniversity.

com/blog/post/2008/07/benefit-from-inflation.cfm, http://

www.businessworld.in/index.php/Of-Entrepreneurship.html

Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners. Robert T. Kiyosaki

Concipio is the annual b-plan competition organised by Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur. First round sub-

mission deadline for this event is 31 August, 2008. Selected teams from this round get exposed to a one anda half month mentorship period , mentored by successful and seasoned professionals which include successful

industrialists and alumni of IIT Kharagpur, before going on to present their final plan at E-Summit 08.

http://www.ecell.iitkgp.ernet.in/concipio/

Envision, the Product Design competition organized by Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur aims to provide a

platform where participants can showcase their ideas of next-generation products. A brief technical summary

of the product is to be submitted online before 31 October, 2008.tHowever, teams will have to present a

working model or assembly parts of their products during the final judging at E-Summit 08.

http://www.ecell.iitkgp.ernet.in/envision/

Eclairez, is a Social Entrepreneurship Challenge aimed towards those individuals who have the gumption to

empower those at the bottom of the pyramid as well as earn profits for themselves while doing so. First round

submission expects participants to submit an online summary of their idea before on or before 25 October,

2008. The participants will then get a chance to perk up their business plan with our mentorship board, com-

prising of Social Entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists, and finally convert it into a successful social venture,

after a brief presentation at E-Summit 08.

http://www.ecell.iitkgp.ernet.in/eclairez/

Pensez, is the annual Case Study Competition organised by the Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur. This years

problem statement is Analysing the impact of web-based technologies on technology start-ups. Preliminary

round expects a brief write-up of about 500-700 words is to be submitted before 17 October, 2008. A final

presentation of the dossier and report will have to be given at E-Summit 08.

http://www.ecell.iitkgp.ernet.in/pensez/

IN THE PIPELINE...

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On the 9th

of August 2008, we were honoured to

have Mr. Shwetank Jain, CEO P2P Power Solutions,

alumnus IIT Kharagpur, amongst us answering queries

to a jam-packed gathering of 1st

year students at V1

auditorium, on the occasion of Freshers Induction

Program. Shwetank won

Conipio 2005 through

which he got his start up

initially funded. 90% of

the young audience said

they too would like tohave a start-up of their

own at some point of

time!! These are a few

excerpts from the question-answer session with Mr.

Shwetank on that day.

1.Please tell us something about P2P Power Solution?

A: It basically developed from my b-tech project which

I did in 2006.It deals with power handling, improving

efficiency of machines & reducing grid pollution.

2.Whom does your industry caters?

A: It caters to basically steel industry, paper mills,

printing press any hardware industry and even the

medical industry.

3.When did you think of starting a company of your

own?

A: I wanted to do something of my own since my 2nd

year of my college & was actually looking for a good idea

which I got in my third year from Prof. Poddar.

4.How did you manage the initial funding?

A: The initial seed loan was provided by IIT Kharagpur.

Now I have some funding from the WB mutual funds but

they have only been sanctioned not issued.

5.At what stage is your business sales currently?

A: At this time I have sales order of Rs.60 lakh with

around 30 lakh implemented and we aim to take it to 1

crore by the end of this year.

6.What role does the MBA play in business?A: For doing business you dont need to do MBA because

its mostly theoretical knowledge and that doesnt help

you anyways its just your brain which comes for your

rescue at places.

Even I joined XLRI last year because of persuation from

my parents but I had to leave it anyways because I could-

nt do the two things simultaneously.

7.Whats the advantage of opening your own company?

A: You directly become the CEO of your company what

else?

And once your company starts doing well you become

independent .

8.Does one need a great personality to have a start up

on his own?

A: As far as I think, its not needed that much, Its your

mind which actually works but yes, you should be confi-

dent and be presentable to others.

A KGP alumnus tale from student to CEO

A mans worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

On 14th

August 2008, eve of Indias 61st

Independence Day anniversary, Entrepreneurship Cell organised Entrepre-

neurship-Pledge, 2008,a pledge to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship. The pledge was to be followed by a dis-

cussion on Is the present Indian Economic scenario viable for Entrepreneurship?

The event commenced with a small presentation on the functioning of Entrepreneurship-Cell which was followedby a speech by Prof. Dhrubes Biswas (Prof In-Charge, Incubation & Entrepreneurship Programmes ,SRIC) in which he

not only outlined the various facets of an entrepreneurs personality but also talked about the Education Enter-

prise Model, and the foundation of E-Cell. To make this model functional, he added that it was important for stu-

dents especially from institutions like IITs and IIMs, to venture into entrepreneurship. Subsequent to these inspira-

tional words was the E-Pledge where all present pledged to contribute to the building of an enterprising India.

We had the good fortune of having one the most vibrant and revered professors of IIT Kharagpur Prof. G.S.Sanyal

share with us his honest opinion on the importance of entrepreneurship in the growth and development of our na-

tion and the ways to encourage IIT graduates to view entrepreneurship as a serious career option.

To oblige us with their august presence and valuable opinions, we had the honour of having Prof. Amit Patra

(DEAN Alumni Affairs), Prof. D. Biswas , Prof. Kalyan K. Guin (Vinod Gupta School of Management), Prof. Gautam

Sinha (Vinod Gupta School of Management), Prof. Suman Chakraborty (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering) and Prof.

K.D. Raju (Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property and Law) to serve as the bench of panelists for the discus-

sion.At the end of the discussion, the panel entertained queries from students to clarify their doubts and dilemma.

The discussion was concluded with the playing of the national anthem.

Entrepreneurship Pledge

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