I build companies, back founders, and write down what I learn.
Twenty-nine years, one operating company of 750+ people, six more ventures, and a hundred-odd investments. I still run the business — which is why the writing here is about decisions rather than theory.
I Did Not Choose Kolkata. I Chose to Keep Building.
People often ask why I chose Kolkata to build Indus Net Technologies (INT.) Why not Bengaluru for talent, Mumbai for customers and capital, Gurgaon for proximity to decision-makers, or even Silicon Valley? The honest answer is simple: I did
I chose to keep INT independent of outside investors
We built INT in 1997 and stayed founder-led ever since, choosing our own way of operating instead of optimising for an investor-driven one. Over time, independence became an operating principle. → We invest for the long term, on our own ter
The New Moats in the AI Era
When people say "moat", they usually mean things like: - first-mover advantage - better features, better UI/UX, faster release cycles - network effect - exit / transition friction The problem is: In this AI led cycle, a lot of that is
I trained a personal GPT on 28 years of my writing
I fed nearly 400 pieces of my own writing into a personal GPT I built. Articles, podcasts, frameworks, talks, posts collected over the years. I wanted to see how close an AI could get to thinking like me. It got remarkably close on the surf
Mountaineering and startups break you at the same point; I learned it after working with 500+ clients
I started Indus Net Technologies (INT.) in 1997 after an accident. I taught myself HTML after getting bedridden from an accident and convinced a modem seller to share a booth space at a Kolkata expo. I started there and got my first client
Why INT's "Sweet Middle" is the Best Place to Be — For Us, and For You 🚀
We've all seen the extremes in the world. On one end, the giants — too big to bend, too slow to move, too risk-averse to try anything bold. Layers of hierarchy, project managers managing project managers, and decision cycles running in mont
No Two Entrepreneurial Journeys Are the Same. Stop comparing. Start celebrating.
As an entrepreneur, you’ll often find yourself standing in a room full of stories—each one inspiring, challenging, and wildly different from the next. Yet, we see leaderboards and rankings for entrepreneurs, as if success in thi
When I started Indus Net Technologies (INT.) 29 years ago, I didn't know what venture capital was
People often assume bootstrapping teaches financial discipline. It certainly does. But I think the bigger lesson is capital allocation. When every investment comes from your own cash flow, every decision becomes deliberate. Every hire, new
I have eliminated working, revenue-generating parts of INT. and not just once.
Mid-market companies usually have one product or business line that built them. The oldest, most reliable, and the one everyone in the company has worked on at some point. That is usually the thing holding them back. It pays the bills, so n
Performance = Outcome × Effort. Ignore Either, and You're Guessing.
Performance is often judged by numbers—targets hit, revenue closed, deadlines met. But numbers alone can mislead. Here is one of my framework - I look at performance through two inseparable lenses: 1. Outcome (the numbers): Clear, measurab
AI Is the Third Major Technology Shift of Our Lifetime. Are You Leveraging it Right?
Every major technology wave creates two kinds of leverage. Optimization and Expansion Both matter. But they create very different outcomes. - The PC revolution did. - The Internet revolution did. AI will too. But most companies are curren
The Right Way to Start: Problem First, Idea Second.
Never start with an idea. I regularly get pitched with new and unique ideas from aspiring entrepreneurs and my team mates. In the majority of the cases, the idea is the wrong place to start with. Thinking why? Idea = Solution. Where is the
Your team generated 200 reports this quarter
A few months back, I sat through a review where a team proudly showed me twenty AI-generated reports, decks, and campaign drafts. All produced in a week. I asked one question - What did you learn while making these? The answer made me reali
For years, I thought better leadership training would create more ownership
I have run leadership training at Indus Net Technologies (INT.) for years. We sent people to programs, brought in trainers, and ran workshops on decision-making and ownership. The sessions were useful. They changed how people thought. But t
3 decades in business taught me something uncomfortable: knowing what to build is easier than…
Every year, there was something in the business that still looked good on paper but was quietly taking attention away from what could come next. It took me years to understand that trade-off. One framework that gave me a way to act on it is
Every enterprise at London Tech Week had a six-figure software stack
I was at London Tech Week last week. Two days of sessions, and a lot of corridor conversations with CIOs, CTOs, founders, and enterprise buyers. The question everyone came in with was simple: how do we get real ROI from AI? Most enterprises
Skill is the first thing that's mentioned on a resume, but it's the last thing I pay attention to now
This took me twenty years, and a few painful hires, to learn. I have hired the wrong person more than once. They cleared every round. Strong CV. Sharp answers. The right degrees. And then they were gone in eighteen months. The ones who stay
India's AI talent pool is among the world's largest
Vinod Kumar, from PwC's manufacturing practice, was on a podcast recently. One point he made deserves its own conversation. India's manufacturing is at 16% of GDP. The target is 25%. The national ambition is 25%. Vinod Kumar is clear that t
A 10-year-old in India is designing a tycoon game on Roblox
Inside the game, players pay to unlock special passes. He earns Robux, Roblox's virtual currency. That Robux can be spent inside the platform, and eligible creators can convert it into real money through Roblox's DevEx program. Roblox paid
One of Balaji's relatives lost his leg in a factory accident
I sat down with Balaji D Loganathan, founder of Spritle Software and SeeWise.AI for a podcast last week. I have known Balaji for a few years through Stanford Seed. AI for him was never a hype trade. It started with something personal. Years
I just finished the Manaslu Circuit Trek
I often talk of mountaineering, and it's parallel to the business that I am building, but this is not such a post. I went in thinking it was a physical thing. Somewhere around day four, that story fell apart. A few things stayed with me. 1.
The biggest risk in AI-generated code is not speed. It is false confidence.
I've watched the same mistake repeat itself in different forms. A new tool arrives. Everyone rushes to build faster, but nobody asks what comes after. Vibe coding is the newest version of the same mistake. You describe what you want, AI wri
The Real AI Strategy Starts With What Won't Change
Just got back from AIBoomi in Chennai - with a lot of clarity. Spoke to a bunch of tech leaders, besides the traditional midnight adda. Same underlying tension: AI is moving fast. Most businesses are not. What's the strategy? The session by
Marketing in India is not evolving. It's being rewritten.
In my recent conversation with Shivaji Dasgupta, we explored a few uncomfortable but powerful shifts that every business leader should pay attention to: → The idea of "target segments" is collapsing. India is becoming a unified market in ho
The tech job market looks contradictory right now
1) Companies are laying off thousands of employees. 2) Those very companies are aggressively hiring fresh graduates. 3) And many freshers are still struggling to find jobs. How can all three be true at the same time? Because something dee
Most leaders say they want their people to grow
Very few are willing to do what actually causes growth. Because real growth is disruptive. - It creates tension. - It introduces discomfort. - It can temporarily reduce stability. And yes — it is not always popular internally. If leader
Personal branding is critical in today's everyone-is-media world
This enables clarity in how others perceive your value, capability, and relevance. And I did it all wrong. Let me dissect it for you — and share what I learnt. I asked many people what they think I do. Most think I do digital marketing an
When industries shift, companies have to reinvent themselves
Any company that does not reinvent itself (whether small or large) is going to die. It is not about the size, but rather about the intent and the choices they have made. Smaller companies can make choices much more easily because their down
Kill Your Own Business. Before Someone Else Does.
Let's talk about something most founders avoid: - You need to be willing to kill your own business. - Not emotionally. Strategically. In today's environment, especially with AI moving at breakneck speed, standing still is the fastest way
Most businesses don't struggle because of competition
They struggle because of a few quiet, repeated decisions. Here are some counter-intuitive decisions one need to take to kickstart stalled growth. Last week I spoke to a room full of entrepreneurs (BNI Global members). I shared some life-lea
Over the years, INT. has evolved dramatically in its people and practice.
It is extremely satisfying to me, not because it has won us several awards, but because it has evolved me and many more in INT. as serious leaders. The evolution of looking at people as: resource -> talent -> asset -> partners -> owners
You cannot fix a problem with a software
You fix it with culture, strategy, change management, and process. Software can help with process streamlining, automation, tracking, etc. So if a Software company comes and says, including my company Indus Net Technologies (INT.), that the
Improve or Transform or Innovate?
There is no "one answer", as a lot depends upon your industry, rate of disruption in your category, and your risk appetite. I got some thoughts in a session led by Stefan F. Dieffenbacher, a renowned framework thinker, and a collaborator wi
Strategy is About Making Hard Choices, Not Fancy Plans
🎯 Strategy is About Making Hard Choices, Not Fancy Plans Here are three choices (out of many) that really played out in my journey, and are decent examples. 1️⃣ "Where to play and how to win" is not theory. It's a commitment. Around 2012,
The Next Interface Revolution Is Here
In 70+ years of computing, the way we interact with computers has barely changed. 1940s–70s: Punch cards One-way communication. We spoke to digital machines in their language. Ones and zeroes! 1980s: Keyboards & screens Type in data and
After decades of running an IT service business, we crafted a tech product ground-up to solve our own problem
We scaled it to solve learning for mid to large enterprises. And it works - because it genuinely care for its users. Three public listed enterprises are already using this. Introducing MobiLearn - a gamified, insta-style, micro-learning pla
This Dhanteras feels different
Today, as I judged the finale of INT's AI Hackathon, I felt something deep — a mix of pride, joy, and confidence about where we're heading as a company. Over the past few weeks, ~70 internal teams and ~250 INTians — competed fiercely to bui
How well do you delegate?
Level 1 - Do it Yourself Level 2 - Delegate Tasks Level 3 - Delegate Decisions Level 4 - Delegate Objectives Level 5 - Delegate Vision You may be in transition between levels. Growth comes when you build a team, build trust, and move fr
Convenience vs Independence - What you read is what you become
We have moved from the age of Memorized knowledge > Printed books > Digitized info > Search engine > GPTs Though convenience and speed of getting information/knowledge has increased, we have consistently lost independence of thought with ea
Today INT completes 28 years
But, let me make an attempt to share with you - what I am proud of. 1) Bootstrapped for 28 years and counting 🥾 2) Growth every single year 🤞 3) Profitable every single year 💰 4) Litigation free, compliant, and proactive governance 5
Dashboards are supposed to guide decisions. Most does not.
I was recently talking to a business owner, trying to understand his business better. I asked a simple question: "What were your sales numbers?" The answer came — but it wasn't clear if it was good, bad, or even close to target. That's was
What if every word you spoke - even the ones you whispered - was recorded
We're closer to that reality than most people realize. AI meeting tools are no longer just "helpful note-takers." Tools like Plaud can record conversations silently—no bot joining your call, no flashing red dot. These are wearable devices a
Data is like a coin – it always has two sides
When we look at company metrics, we often stop at the side that makes us feel good. But the truth is – data always has much more to say than what's on the surface. If we don't ask what's on the other side, we risk fooling ourselves. For yea
Managing Performance in the Age of AI
The way we measure performance has always been tied to the nature of work — and that nature has changed dramatically over time. First era → Operational work Tasks were repetitive, well-defined, and measurable. Quantity mattered more than an
From Campus to EdTech in 45 Days
Colleges and universities today face a hard truth: - Students have the attention span of a goldfish. - Traditional long lectures and PDFs are boring. Unless their life is on the line, they wont read it. - Most learners sign up for courses b
Why Most Review Meetings Fail (and How to Fix Them)
I've sat through (and even run) enough review meetings to realize one thing: they often achieve nothing except draining time and energy, if not done right. Here's when review meetings become a complete waste of time: 1) When there's no sing
Synergy vs. Possibility: The Two Lenses Every Leader Must Learn to Switch Between
Most businesses — especially well-run ones — are obsessed with synergy. That's not a bad thing. In fact, synergy thinking is the default mode of any operator: What do we already have — clients, teams, tech, channels — that we can reuse? Whe
AI projects are failing—not loudly, but quietly and often
Last week, I shared some learnings from AI initiatives we've run over the past couple of years. These were not theoretical ideas. These were real projects, built for real businesses, by real teams. Some succeeded. Some taught us what not to
All In. Brick by Brick.
Manish Vij started with offline trading in Indore. Girish Mathrubootham began with a Java training centre in Trichy. Neither chased the "next big thing" from day one—they simply followed what life threw at them. They were open. Curious. Wil
Sales and marketing have long been misunderstood—and misrepresented
Especially in how we're taught about them, or how the perception is built during academics. And this needs fixing. Sales is looked down upon—as something pushy, low-end, transactional. Often compared to door-to-door hustling, treated like a
Building a company is hard
Building a scalable and sustainable company is very hard. Building a scalable, and genuinely good company that does not suck, is super super hard. (the last one is the kind that becomes an institution, an inspiration, goes beyond profits, a
Internal vs External: A mental framework I use to spot org decline well before it shows up in numbers
There are three clear signals. 1. Internal Pace of Change < External Pace of Change The market is evolving—technologically, culturally, competitively. If your team is still using the same tools, approaches, and thinking while your customers
An Unexpected Encounter in the Hills 🌄
I had no idea my vacation in Darjeeling would turn into one of the most inspiring weekends I've had in a long time. Out of the blue, I got a message from a gentleman named Ashish Syangbo. He lives in a small town near Darjeeling. We'd never
I am hearing / reading the words "gratitude", "purpose" a lot now a days - on Linkedin.
Have people suddenly changed so much? Or this has become the latest buzzword to use in social media posts to look grown-up and self-aware. Or I am just being cynical? Or are these posts written by AI and hence following a trend. Anyways, fo
Skip India Movement - A counter thesis
There is a lot of discussion on Linkedin and Twitter about - tech companies skipping Indian enterprises due to endless "proof of concept" cycle. Let me dissect it for you from ground zero. We are not a startup, but we have also faced simila
As businesses grow, people tend to loose control
It is easy to become inefficient as business scale. Effort - Outcome correlation changes, but we hardly notice. Initially one keep getting same or more outcome even when the effort on the ground reduces - because outcome is a lagging metric
Employees forget 70% of corporate training within 24 hours
Traditional training methods don't work with today's shorter attention spans. Enter microlearning: 3-7 minute, single-objective modules designed for how our brains actually process information. This approach has fascinating origins in cogni
First principles thinking unlocks innovations everyone calls "impossible."
Here's how to apply it like Elon Musk and why it matters: When SpaceX landed a 15-story rocket booster in 2015, experts were stunned. For 60+ years, aerospace companies treated $65M rockets as single-use trash. "Physics makes reusability im
Why the Current AI Wave May Go Bust
Every major technological revolution has seen its early waves crash — not because the technology lacked potential, but because of three recurring patterns: infrastructure insufficiency, over-expectation and under-delivery, and human adoptio
This AI genius crushed elite AI lab internships...
Aravind Srinivas was a prodigy from the start. Growing up in Chennai, cricket statistics sparked his love for numbers. After ranking among top students at IIT Madras, he earned his PhD at Berkeley and landed rare internships at elite AI lab
Curiousity is the ultimate leverage
When I first entered the Insurance sector, I found it dry, boring, and utterly confusing. I honestly couldn't understand why such a "dull" industry was such a big deal in the economy. But instead of turning away, I leaned in. Not because
Your brain is being hacked by 7 psychological triggers that control your decisions.
A professor went undercover for 3 years to expose how companies manipulate you. In 1984, Robert Cialdini infiltrated car dealerships and telemarketing firms to observe professional persuaders. His research uncovered 7 principles that trigge
Kevin Mitnick didn't need guns to become America's most wanted hacker.
He used ONE psychological trick that exposed the fatal flaw in Fortune 500 security: At 12, Kevin discovered how to ride LA buses for free by punching blank transfer tickets found in dumpsters. This early "hack" revealed a crucial insight:
My 1000+ person tech company started as an accidental solution to a problem no one was solving.
The year was 1997 in Kolkata, India. Internet penetration was less than 1%. Most businesses had never heard of websites. I rented booth space at a computer expo without having an actual business to sell website design. That day, I landed my
Have you ever been accused of being a micromanager?
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky doesn't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Chesky isn't your typical Silicon Valley CEO. He's a designer with an art school background. When investors panicked at his management style, he shattered Silicon Valley'
Haal Khata: The Ledger of Renewal 🌸
Why an old tradition still matters in a modern world As the Bengali New Year — Poila Baisakh — arrives, many Bengali households and shops still observe a beautiful, symbolic ritual: Haal Khata. For those unfamiliar, Haal Khata (হালখাতা) li
Want to Boost Your Conversion Rate?
Imagine you invite someone to your home and ask, "Would you like some tea?" They can simply say yes or no – and a no is a no! Now, reframe that question: "What can I get you - tea or coffee?" The choice isn't about whether they'll drink som
The Three Levels of Client Relationships: Leverage to Pitch, Win, and Walk In
In the world of sales and marketing, long-term client relationships aren't built overnight. They develop step-by-step, through trust, value, and partnership. Think of these relationships as evolving through three critical levels of leverage
E-learning is everywhere. But is it really working?
Let's be honest—most e-learning content is long, boring, and hard to retain. And that's exactly why it doesn't deliver the outcome it promises. So what's broken? The way we consume content has changed. But most learning systems haven't. T
Do you trust your doctor to make a better diagnosis than AI?
Maybe you shouldn't... A groundbreaking study from Stanford tested 50 physicians against AI on diagnosing complex medical cases. The results were eye-opening: • Doctors without AI: 74% accuracy • Doctors with AI tools: 76% accuracy • AI w
13th Incubator Seedfund Management Committee meeting organized by AIC-SMUTBI.
It’s a great honor to get an opportunity to help find the right businesses to receive the angel investment from government (tax payers money!) These meetings are a once-a-month affair. I enjoy these meetings for several reasons: 1) It
What does a Founder / CEO do when the operating plan of the business is owned by a capable team?
– Strategy (making key choices/bets) – Identify what’s changing, and what’s not going to change, and how will company respond to it – Human capital development, and succession planning, specially for leadershi
Call centre executives can drive more sales:
1. Develop product knowledge: It’s important for call centre executives to have in-depth knowledge of the products or services they are selling. This will enable them to answer customer queries effectively and provide the necessary in
How do you want to build your dream business?
I am happy for those who build unicorns and decacorns. I wish I can build one, one day. But I will prefer to build it my way. 1) I will bootstrap, 2) Build a solid profitable business, 3) Reinvent in every market cycle, 4) Keep the business
A simple 4 step framework to elevate yourself:
✅ Surround yourself – With people, books, podcasts, work that inspires and helps you grow as a person. ✅ Think – Your surroundings will influence your thinking for the positive or negative. ✅ Do – What and how you think wi
Three forms of intervention to complete a business cycle.
Every business needs all three forms of intervention – Bhramha (Creator), Vishnu (Protector), and Mahesh (Destroyer) to complete a cycle. But there are few problems: 1) Every Founder loves playing the role of creator, but lacks the ex
Mountaineering and Entrepreneurship are two sides of the same coin.
In 2023, a mountaineer and loved member of Indian entrepreneur community, Anurag Maloo met an horrible accident on top of Annapurna (one of the deadliest 8000+ mts peak). Firstly, Why would someone attempt to climb a mountain where 1 in 3 m
ChatGPT, as a versatile language model, can offer several ways to assist industry operations.
🎯 Customer Support: ChatGPT can be employed as a virtual customer support agent, providing real-time assistance and answering common customer queries. It can handle a wide range of inquiries, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex
Equipment failure in the pharmaceutical industry can have significant consequences.
Here are some facts that highlight the impact of equipment failure in this industry: 1. Cost of downtime: Unplanned downtime can cost pharmaceutical companies an average of $150,000 per hour. This includes direct costs such as lost producti
The first thing you can do to address the perils of a ‘trust deficit society’ is to pay-it-forward.
How can you selflessly do something to help someone without any expected outcome or return? The effect is viral. The beneficiary will feel good and will most likely extend similar behavior to someone else in his/her network. This creates a
The next big frontier.
I am truly amazed at how society at large has embraced entrepreneurship over the last couple of decades. However, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs are still choosing the old, matured, and ‘less risky’ domains. For example
After working with over 60 startups on their positioning/messaging across countless industries, we have discovered some key insights:
1️⃣ Your product’s capabilities stand out MOST when you compare them directly to the weaknesses of your customer’s alternatives → This is the core of “differentiated value” as April Dunford calls it → It also takes a
Harsh leadership truths I know at 47 I wish I knew at 27
1) As a leader, you must role-model the behaviors you want to see. Don’t expect reliability if you’re unreliable yourself. 2) Great leaders practice extreme ownership. The team owns the victories. The leader owns the failures. 3
🔅How to build Go To Market (GTM) Strategy – Part1🔅
Product Managers build great features & products but usually miss giving attention to GTM assuming great feature will work automatically. So sharing some thoughts based on my experience of what worked ❌ What GTM Strategy is NOT ? 🔸 ide
New Experiment: Applying OKR for Personal Goal Management
In 2025, I plan to apply my version of OKR on myself. Keeping ONE key objectives for the year, a few leading indicators, and three key result areas (micro projects) every month to drive me towards that ONE objective. This shall enable me t
AI is Great, It’s Inevitable, But Don’t Let FOMO Get to You
Feeling like you’re late to the AI party? Trust me, you’re not alone. Every few years, a new technology makes a big splash, and it’s easy to feel like you’ve missed the boat if you’re not on board right away. B
Why I Believe AI Should Be Open Source?
AI has been part of my work and life for a while now, and every day, I see both its potential and its risks. One thing that keeps bothering me is how easy it is for AI to influence people without them even realizing it. Think about it&mdash
AI Adoption Challenges in MSMEs: What’s Holding Them Back?
We did 40+ AI pilot projects for mid-large sized IT companies. Most companies want to invest in AI, but most are struggling to get ROI out of it. They have massive potential for growth using AI, but many hit a wall. Why? Lets break it down:
Discovering My First Product-Market Fit: A Journey of Serendipity
When people talk about product-market fit, it often feels like a planned expedition—market research, strategy brainstorming, meticulous iterations. But my first encounter with it was anything but planned. It was an accident, a lucky b
Degrees Fade, Skills Get Obsolete, Job Titles Change—Here’s What Truly Stays with You 🌍
A decade ago, no one imagined AI tools like ChatGPT would write code, create designs, or draft business strategies. Today, entire industries are being disrupted overnight—customer support, software development, digital marketing, and
Delegation Done Right: The Secret to 10x Growth (Here’s How!)
Leaders think they’re delegating. They assign tasks, follow up, and things seem smooth. Yet, the company isn’t scaling. 🚨 Why? Because delegation isn’t just about handing off work. It’s about what you delegate and ho
Leverage In The Age Of AI
Information and Location is no more a leverage. Internet has democratized it. Knowledge and Intelligence is no more a differentiator. AI is tapping into world’s knowledge and reasoning ability, and turning it into a commodity. Executi
Software development industry just got disrupted. AI is eating the software business.
We will see a new breed of software developers and creators. They need not necessarily be engineers, but will have empathy ❤️, deeper understanding of the problem 🧐, and a desire to solve them. They will have an ability to imagine a better
My Biggest FOMO: An investment opportunity
Missed Talent ✅️ I can deal with missing out on trends. I can live without the latest AI tool. I won’t lose sleep over skipping an industry event. But missing out on great talent? That keeps me up at night. Nothing fuels a business li
Embracing the AI Revolution: Transforming Knowledge Work!
The AI revolution is upon us, mirroring the transformative impact of the Industrial Revolution. Just as assembly lines automated manufacturing tasks, AI is now streamlining knowledge-based processes. Be it market research, software developm
Process is a Means to an End – Not the End Itself
Last week, I was with a client who shared an experience that left me utterly shocked. We’re building a large e-commerce marketplace project for them. As part of this, they needed a payment integration partner – someone who&rsquo
The Mirage of Market Size: Lessons from 1997 to Today
In 1997, when I started INT., I was a wide-eyed entrepreneur trying to figure out how big my web design business could grow in a city like Kolkata. To be honest, it wasn’t for some grand business plan—I just wanted to know where
Timeless Wisdom in a Fast-Changing World
In a world where change is constant and chaos often feels like the norm, it’s tempting to chase every shiny new trend. But I’ve found that when the noise gets overwhelming, the best thing to do is to pause, take a step back, and
The Costliest Mistake You Can Make in Business: A Wrong Hire
Hiring the wrong person isn’t just an expense—it’s a domino effect of challenges: lost money, derailed processes, cultural misalignments, and missed opportunities. And yet, most of us still approach hiring reactively, trea
Everyone want growth – but the key is – how can you achieve growth with less waste of resources (i.e. time, money)!
For growing business, It might seem like a great idea to change multiple things at once – expand into new markets, launch new products, and hire more people! 🚀 But here’s the catch: doing too many things at the same time can act
The Premium of the Unknown: Why Stories Trump Numbers in Startup Valuation
I’ve always been fascinated by how markets value startups and mature businesses so differently. One phenomenon that stands out is what I like to call the “premium of the unknown.” Here’s what I mean: When something i
Every job, however small, teaches you something valuable.
Today, I and Vivek Bajaj, a dear friend, recorded a podcast episode for his Face2Face MSME series. One of his question triggered some memories, and I felt it will be great to share my learnings from my four jobs! My first job was a part-tim
Sales isn’t a hustle. It’s about human connection. 🤝
Forget the clichés of pushy pitches and endless follow-ups. Real sales isn’t about “getting to yes.” It’s about being the why behind a customer’s success. 🌟 Here’s the truth: Great salespeople don’t
Kaise hoga, Jaise hoga, Aise hoga – The key to getting things done.
I have another simple way of classifying team members based on their ability to get things done. This is a theory by my good friend Alkesh Agarwal (and all credit to him), which I have tried to extend a little. There are three kinds of tea
My 1-3-9 System of Talent Rating & Management
Talent rating for the knowledge industry cannot be done on the linear scale of 1-2-3-4-5. The difference a good talent can make compared to an average one is exponential – be it quality, quantity or impact. Therefore, such talent must
Sales Struggles? Fix Your Marketing First!
Ever wondered why your sales team is struggling despite their best efforts? The root cause of most sales problem is poor marketing. Here is why: 1. Not understanding customer needs: If marketing doesn’t take the time to really unders
Are we promoting our teams to their level of incompetence?
In corporate world promotion = progress. Progress can happen with increase in responsibility, and growth in quality (skill) or quantity (efficiency) of work. Most promotions lead to improvement in responsibility and pay. However, blindly
Are you enabling your channel partners to be successful? This can be your biggest leverage in your growth function.
The Slack vs. Microsoft Teams story reminds us the value of distribution. Distribution trumps design and innovation in most cases. Its a partnership game – and can come in different variants – distributors, dealers, franchisee,
Where is Service in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?
Like many entrepreneurs of my generation, I was always in awe of SaaS business model. And of course, wanted to build one. In fact I got an opportunity to see some of these companies being built from close quarters due to my part-time angel
The Art of Leadership: Balancing Strategy and Execution
“If I get into this granular level, how will I scale? Let me hire the best people and let them do their job.” “I understand this problem the best, hence I am the best one to do or guide it.” These are two extreme pos
Why do the best laid plans fail?
I am not the most organised person. But there are some fundamental ideas about planning that I learned through reflection. 1) Short-Term vs. Long-Term Expectations: We often expect too much from ourselves in the short term and too little in
Strategy vs. Planning :: The Compass vs. The Map
In business, the terms “strategy” and “planning” are often thrown around interchangeably. But they are not the same. Think of your business plan as the road map. It lays out the steps, milestones, and resources you&r
The Secret Sauce to Growth: Hiring Right Sales Talent
When it comes to driving growth, hiring exceptional sales and growth talent is non-negotiable. We all know the usual skills that we should look at. Yet, there are a few critical skills that one often overlooks during the hiring process. The
Capital vs. Talent: What Really Drives Growth in Scaling Businesses?
When scaling a growth-stage company, it’s easy to assume that capital is the kingpin. I always used to think this in the early days of Indus Net Technologies (INT.) But let’s rethink this for a moment. Yes, capital is crucial,
The Art of Decision-Making: Mental Models vs. First Principles
In today’s fast-paced world, making timely and effective decisions is crucial. Indecision can lead to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and stagnation. Two powerful approaches to problem-solving are Mental Models and First Princ
Empowering the Frontline: The Key to Digital Transformation Success
Why are some of the most amazing products not delivering ROI? Keyword is adoption The question is WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) Most of the time software is bought by senior management, who want the frontline workers to key in informat
Biology – Chemistry – Physics – Maths of Startup Investing
Everyone has their own investment philosophy. And someone as versatile and active as Rohit Chanana had to have a very interesting one. I met him at DLF Golf Resort Ltd in Gurgaon recently, and this is what I learned from him. Angel investin
The Science of Sales Performance Management: Sales – Effort vs. Booking vs. Cashflow
If you are selling to an enterprise, managing sales performance needs you to understand two important concepts: – Leading and lagging indicators – Sales cycle and cash cycle It is very common that leaders create an aggressive sa
Taking & Giving Advice – Knowledge, Experience, or Ideas
Knowledge gets multiplied when shared. And this is the reason, humble professionals and leaders are open to ask and share advice. Here are a few ground rules that can make it effective, based on my “experience”. 1) When seeking
War & Peace in Business – What should be your leadership talent strategy?
Business (can be a function within the business) goes through different times. One of the lenses to look at it is “war” and “peace” times. “War time” is when the business is facing a major challenge or op
The Art of Selling Services in a Competitive Market.
In a crowded services market, it becomes a challenge to identify the service that you should pitch to a client to maximize your chance of winning. I follow a method which I call “The Golden Triangle” which is the common overlap
Leading Change in a Dynamic World
Newton’s first law of motion and your business. – Why is it so difficult to start? – Why is it so difficult to drive a change in an organisation? – Why do some of the biggest companies fail? Because: “An object
How to get Seed Capital without pitching to Angel Investors?
After my first business attempt failed, even before taking off, in the first year of my college (~1996), I was left with nothing but a modem. While I was mourning my loss, through some conversations I came to know that an internet connectio
Few things to think about before you start Angel Investing.
I started exploring angel investing sometime around 2009. And it was never about investing or building assets/wealth. I have seen its evolution from “want to be part of this journey” to a “desirable asset class” over
My L+2 model of growing leaders.
In my simplest definition, a leader is one who can: – step up, take ownership, and get things done – create more leaders Getting things done ✅ is easier to achieve amongst the two. The more difficult task is to create more leade
Hackathons – How it has worked wonders for us at Indus Net Technologies (INT.).
Firstly, in my context, hackathons are not necessarily technical / coding challenge. It is much beyond. I consider hackathon as – “a small team coming together to solve a problem in a creative or innovative way, in a time constr
Factors I consider while choosing a Sales Channel
There are several options for selling a product or service – direct, bidding, expos, dealer network, partner network, online, referral, affiliate, brand stores, shop-in-shop, etc. 1) Volume: What is the volume of business available i
Why is Angel Investing NOT a typical asset class?
I got exposed to angel investing ~2010 through Sameer Guglani when he launched Supermorpheus (used to be called The Morpheus Gang in those days), and I am happy that I got into it. This part of my career introduced me to some of the smartes
What’s keeping you awake at night? Are you managing the right risks?
Entrepreneurial life is full of sleepless nights that go into worrying about a score of problems and risks lurking round the corner. Here is my mental model around risks: 1) 90% of the problems/risks that come up on the horizon, and occupy
How will AI impact Human Capital Management?
First thing first – We overestimate in short term, and underestimate in long term. It is as true for change, risk, as well as our own productivity. AI will definitely have an impact on most aspects of our life, over time. Possibilitie
My first business failed even before booking a single penny in revenue.
Internet services were made available to citizens of India on 15th August 1995. I entered college in 1996, and someone told me that it is cheaper to use email over ISD (international calling) to stay in touch with friends who went to the US
Do you have a ROI on your branding investments? Here is what we do at INT.
First of all, let me explain what branding is *not* according to me: 1) it is not advertising 2) it is not agency, creative, awards 3) it is not prime time commercials 4) it is not viral social media posts 5) it is not performance marketing
Driving Growth – One Dimension at a time
Growth gets everyone excited. But it needs investment of cash, time, and effort. The extent of these investments depend upon the number of variables involved (and the possible values of these variables) in the growth strategy. Lesser variab
How do you show up at work? With hands, brain, and heart?
One can go to work with a combination of hands, brain and heart at work. And, that determines what he delivers and creates value for the organisation. Hands: refers to “doers”. They will do what they have been asked to do. They
The Familiar Novelty
This Friday, I was attending the TiE Kolkata member mixer. I learnt a new term from the invited speaker, and a well respected entrepreneur, Sunil Chandra Saha – “The familiar novelty”. The discussion was around an interest
Explore vs. Exploit
It is critical to strike a balance between exploration and exploitation for a team member. Everyone wants growth, which comes with exploration – i.e. doing the new, learning, taking chances, and building new capabilities. This is the
What should a scale-up company CEO essentially do?
– Sense the world to create a compelling future vision – Create and fine tune strategy to achieve the vision – Get the best people s(he) can get onboard, and align them to the strategy The above are non-negotiable. Other i
How to be fearless?
Many businesses start to flatten out or even start declining after an upcycle. There can be several reasons for that, but one reason that stands out is ‘fear’. The entrepreneur stops experimenting and taking decisions due to the
Finance is an interesting (and funny) profession:
1) People who have not run companies, analyze and make comments on who is gonna make it and who will die. 2) People who are not yet rich guides others to invest and become rich. Many who guides have themselves not invested. Conclusion: List
How AI/ML is transforming Insurance Underwriting
Choose the right premium, build the right marketing campaign and elevate the value! — insurers are facing challenges maintaining a balance between providing enhanced customer experience and operating at the profit margin. When we talk
Do not write another report till you read this
It is often seen that managers write a report based on the set protocols by the company, or based on what their supervisor has demanded. Let’s ask — Why do they ask for this report? to understand your performance to understand p
The Rebel Economy
Today’s economy can be best described as the “Rebel Economy”. People seek decentralization and democratization of power. There is a tsunami against traditional authority. And this is changing the world like never before. L
Exploration vs. Exploitation
People want to explore new things, experiment with themselves, and learn new things. Companies want to exploit, as they have a commercial obligation to fulfill, and they have the accountability of ROI. True happiness lies somewhere in the m
A Pawn is more valuable than a Knight!
The COVID crisis ignited my long lost interest in Chess, and I enjoyed learning and playing on chess (dot) com. Recently, I was playing a game where I lost some key pieces early on. I was left with my King and a Pawn. My opponent was left w
My 10 Commandments of Reading
I love reading books. Some of my learnings on choosing, reading, and benefiting from books: 1) Quality is more imp than the Number of books you read 2) It’s imp to read, understand, think, and create your own thoughts; then reading fa
Productivity – Sprints & Flow
I work best in sprints. And my most productive sprints happen when I achieve a state of flow. It is critical to find what gets you in a flow. Some people get the best done when they are in flights, others get flow when they work out of a co
Banks of the future?
What shall banks do when technology companies become banks of the future? They have plenty of choices actually! 1) Banks become technology companies. This is a very predictable response – you enter my turf, I enter your turf – a
Giving back – Building a start-up ecosystem
I come across many who want to contribute towards building the start-up ecosystem in a given geography or in general. And, I have a lot of respect for their enthusiasm. If you are one of them, you can do the following to REALLY make a diffe
I had a blast at DamaniTalks!
I had a free flow discussion with Anirudh about entrepreneurship, my unconventional take on investing, and shared some interesting anecdotes from the INT. journey of over two decades. I was a little scared, but Anirudh got me comfortable. H
Indus Net Technologies Unlock Updates!
Indus Net Technologies Unlock Updates! 1) From 1st October, promotions (and pay appraisals) are back! 2) It’s Work From Anywhere (WFA) for INTians. But in cases of handling complex situation, teams are advised to work in close collabo
Exposure vs. Experience
I see many CVs with a lot of experience, but they seem to be out of sync, primarily because they do not have enough exposure. When we speak to our clients who build dedicated teams to build/maintain their products with us, we emphasize on c
Why is it important for digital marketing agencies to have deep tech capabilities going forward?
There are lots of areas where digital (or any) marketing agencies can leverage technology to complement their offering. 1) Create unique marketing automation journeys on top of existing open-source products, and have full creative control o
Emerging Digital Transformation Being Witnessed By The BFSI Sector
In the digital era of 2020, where technology is driving change in almost every industry, BFSI is not lying behind. Rather, it is one of the prime sectors where digital disruption has forayed at a rapid pace and transforming the way it funct
Migrating 600+ team members to Work-From-Home in three days!
Around a month back, we were conducting a “Dreamweaving” session for Indus Net Technologies. This is a session where INTians come to weave a dream for INT of the future. One dream was “INT to become a 100% remote work comp
Indus Net Technologies (INT) Will Continue To Serve You As-Usual During The COVID-19 Outbreak
We are living in unprecedented and uncertain times. Within two weeks, a novel virus has split the world apart. It has changed things like never before. The challenge we face today globally with the pandemic will transcend all boundaries &nd
My way of assessing professionals
The tough question is: What is your assessment of Mr. X? Do you think you can work with him? I have always answered it from the “gut”. However, there were always few fundamental principals behind them. With time, I have been abl
How to get your first job?
You have to get your first job. At times, this is the most difficult task-at-hand. IMO, the reason for this is the lack of basic marketing principals applied to yourself – segmentation, positioning and differentiation! So what can you
Marketing lesson from our cabbie
Last year, when we were in Sydney for CeBIT Australia 2012, we paid a bomb (almost $80) for our airport transfer. So this time, we acted wisely and booked a cab in advance. Since we are staying in a hotel managed by a Korean guy, he sent us
Career 101 – Career Tips for IT Professionals
I have mostly been on the “hiring” side of the table. Based on that experience, I am listing down few career tips – mostly around soft skills. Again, the tips are directed towards professionals in IT industry, but it shoul
Technology Trends for 2012
I was thinking of writing this post for quite some time. But, @twitter has made me lazy. However, I have finally taken out time to summarize some technology trends that I see emerging and strengthening in 2012. Mainstream adoption of mobile
How to improve marketing?
This is an impromptu blog post in response to a question asked by Abhinaba Dey on a Facebook forum. Though the question was addressed for start-ups, but I feel this can be extended universally. Will love to know your thoughts on this: Quest
1-2-3 of Exhibiting
Our exhibiting season starts on Tuesday with TFM&A and CeBIT. We are excited about it (like every year) and look forward to connect with hundreds of existing clients and prospects from around the world in more than a dozen shows. So, he
Is “happy employee” a myth?
Being healthy does not mean that one has never been sick. It means that one has had many more healthy days than the days in which one has been sick. Similarly, a happy employee does not mean one has never had any problems at work. It means
My interview @ Mixergy.com
Recently, I was interviewed by Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com. Here is the video for you. Please post all your reactions at Mixergy only (link given below), so that the conversation stays in one place and everyone can relate to it. You can al
Software 2.0 – Transformation of Software Services
Recently, I got an opportunity to speak at an event organized by Computer Society of India, Delhi Chapter. The theme of the event was “Software 2.0” and I made a small presentation on “Software 2.0 – Transformation
Introducing Outsource Gupta (aka OG!)
Indus Net Technologies has recently introduced Outsource Gupta! – a funny comic strip, where we laugh at ourself, i.e. the business of outsourcing. This is updated weekly on our Outsource Gupta website @ http://www.outsourcegupta.com/
Bootstrapping 101
In a follow up to my previous blog post about “Bootstrapping Myths“, here are some tips for those bootstrapped startups. I have applied many of these techniques myself, and hence suggesting the same: 1) Speed is critical When yo
Bootstrapping Myths
Recently I was asked to speak about “Bootstrapping a Service Business” by Startup Saturday. Though I knew (fuzzily) about bootstrapping as a concept, but I never knew the real meaning. Strange! “Bootstrapping or booting r
A branding lesson from Ramayana
Interesting topic? Let me get straight to the story – Here is an extract (super summary!) and synopsis from one of the chapters (Yuddha Kand i.e. the ‘War Episode’, which describes the war between Rama and Ravana) of Ramay
Winning Strategies – A career perspective from Arun Agrawal
Last week, my friend Arun Agrawal agreed to do a guest post on my blog. I found the subject interesting and aligned to the taste of my readers. So here it goes: Winning Strategies What is your formula for incredible success in any field tha
Interview on SEO Outsourcing by Kelvin Newman @ SiteVisibility
I was recently interviewed by Kelvin Newman @ SiteVisibility. Here is the link: http://www.sitevisibility.co.uk/blog/2010/02/09/a-crash-course-in-seo-outsourcing-offshoring-with-abhishek-rungta/
Quick tips for SEO content writing
I recently delivered a training on SEO content writing to my content team. Here is the presentation for you!
Interview in ‘Advantage Bengal’ – A publication by Indian Express Group
I was recently interviewed by Indian Express group for their publication “Advantage Bengal”. Here is a transcript of the interview for my blog readers! 1. As an IT entrepreneur what do you feel are the key strengths of Bengal as
A short interview
I got a very interesting interview (questionnaire) from TiE Delhi. I think this is smart and I enjoyed answering it. So here it goes: I was born in Kolkata. When not in office, I like to be at home. Favourite holiday destination – Dar
Seeders – Angel fund and incubation for the tech startups!
I had precisely three envelope entrepreneurial ambitions! I call them envelope as each of them encompass several small ambitious projects. All three are aimed to change the world in my small way and make it a better place: To build a succes
India – supremacy or oblivion?
I have always felt that India today stands at the cross road of supremacy and oblivion. The final result may not be as dramatic as the two superlatives I have used, but they will surely have a major impact on the world. The main reason for
Kolkata Bloggers’ Meet
Hello Friends, A fortnight back, I was having some communication with Kamanashish Roy (@doubts) and he told me about his interest in organizing a Kolkata Bloggers’ Meet. The idea struck a chord in my mind as I always wanted to organiz
Talking @ Internet World on Three Dimensions of Internet Strategy
Friends, I will be speaking @ Internet World in the Web2.0 theatre on 28th April 2009 from 16:40 hrs on “Three Dimensions of Internet Strategy” The talk will revolve around an approach that let businesses put together a comprehe
FREE Website Clinic @ Internet World 2009
Hello Friends, I will be holding a FREE Website Clinic from 28-30th April at Internet World (Earl’s Court, London) at our booth. I will be helping website owners improve their website one-step-at-a-time by giving them up to five actio
Braving the downturn – More recession strategies
I recently shared few ideas with fellow IT companies about braving the downturn in a NASSCOM event. The takeaway from the presentation was – Stick to fundamentals. Business is simple. If we complicate it for the sake of some buzzwords
Web Design Outsourcing – My Presentation @ CeBIT Offshoring Forum
I recently did a presentation @ CeBIT Offshoring Forum in Hanover as how web design firms can save and scale up their operations and business during the worst financial crisis that our generation has ever seen. The presentation is here: If
SEO Tips – Straight from the horse’s mouth
I recently came across this wonderful compilation of what Matt Cutts has said about search engine optimization in his blog over years. Jaimie Sirovich of SEO Egghead Inc. has done this compilation and is available on his blog at: http://www
Google still shows you porn links for simple queries
Recently I found out from Galvin’s blog (a fellow SEO professional) about porn links coming up for simple Google searches like ‘tube’ which he keyed in to find out the London tube map. Out of curiosity I tried the same to
What’s next? Social Media Fraud!
Over years, we have been subject to several frauds. It can be a political fraud when someone do horse-trading of members of legislative assembly / parliament to reach the coveted majority mark in the parliament. Or cast their influence to g
Technology is as good as its implementation
There are so many people working to get a new technology out to masses – a new invention to make things better. However, in my experience I firmly believe that: Technology is as good as its implementation. Many a time, little imaginat
Joomla templates overtakes traditional web templates in competition!
I was checking template trends on Google Trends and my intuition was positively reinforced. Joomla templates have officially overtaken traditional web template in search volume. The graph below is self explanatory. (click above to see live
Why am I enjoying the downturn?
I was wondering last day – Why am I enjoying the downturn? Today I got the answer at Seth Godin’s blog. Because it brings around change. Status-quo is being challenged. Things will not work the way they used to work. Innovation
Bestseller website template design trends
I was analyzing the sales history of TemplateKingdom.com. I could not resist myself from analyzing the common style elements that are common among the best-sellers on my website. Here is the list: Three column templates are in demand. White
How to have an economical stay in the UK (mainly London)?
United Kingdom (UK) is an expensive economy with high cost of living. For business visitors, it is important to have an economical and comfortable stay. Based on my experience, I am putting together some tips for fellow business travelers.
Interesting visualization of Facebook activities
A very interesting visualization of Facebook traffic. Is this the future of web stats? And it can be interesting if the same video is shot over time-line with specific location kept constant. And yes, a facility to fast forward and slow mot
Good explanation of the credit crisis
I recently came across this interesting series of video that explains the current credit crisis. It is worth a watch.
TemplateKingdom.com crosses 10,000 registered users mark
Hello Friends, One of my pet projects – TemplateKingdom.com yesterday crossed 10,000 registered users mark. I am happy that our product has been able to make a difference in so many lives. I look forward to expand its reach further in
Street smart strategies for the recession
Hello Friends, Here are some street smart strategies to survive the recession: 1) Invest in marketing. Your competitors are not doing so to save money. You shall go ahead and make the kill to get maximum leads and exposure. As we know offen
Random tips on starting and running a business
Recently, I met Rahul Kapoor. He is an interesting guy. And we met in an interesting way. He commented on one of my blog post and we got connected. When he was traveling to Kolkata, I invited him over for a chat. During our course of discus
My interview at new-web-business.com
Hello Friends, I have recently given an interview to Viraj Sawant of new-web-business.com on my views as "Blogging as a career". I found the interview interesting and have expressed my opinions strongly. Feel free to have a look: http://www
The entrepreneurial pledge
I have recently taken an entrepreneurial pledge led by National Entrepreneurship Network (nenonline.org). Please go ahead and take this pledge at http://nenonline.org/eweekPartner.do?method=fetch&businessFn=eweekPartnerRegister
Slumdog Millionaire – a sadistic satire
The hype around Slumdog Millionaire hit me and I ended up in the theater to watch the Anglo-Indian movie which bagged the Golden Globe and is nominated in several categories (ten nominations to be precise) for the Oscars. To be honest, I we
Implications of the Satyam fiasco
Satyam fiasco was a shocker for me. I have been closely monitoring it for quite some time as a scam of this magnitude can have a ripple effect in the Indian IT industry. There has been thousands of reactions from all over the world. I logge
Kolkata on terror radar
As per latest news Kolkata is up on the terror radar. But I feel Kolkata is relatively safe from a mass scale terror attack. Two reasons that come to my mind – Reason 1: Kolkata is a safe heaven for terrorists operating from Pakistan
Internet strategy for small business
Friends, I have recently written an article for SME WORLD (November 2008 – January 2009) issue of Financial Express. It should be a good read for any small business if they want to put together an Internet strategy for their business.
Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary
Hello Friends, I am glad to let you all know that I have been honored by the Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary International District 3291. It was presented to me at a function at Rotary Sadan, Kolkata on 25th October, 2008. I will like
HR review of IT Industry in India – An environment of mistrust
I was reflecting upon last one year and how IT industry has changed in this duration from HR perspective. Among many thoughts, the most visible one (and the most concerning one as well) was the all-time-low employer-employee trust level. On
CreateOnlineBuzz.com – A new approach to blog marketing
Dear Friends, We have recently completed an innovative project for one of our prestigious client 9.9 Media. It is called CreateOnlineBuzz.com. CreateOnlineBuzz.com is an initiative to create a high value eco system for the bloggers and adve
Recent Media Coverage – NDTV Profit
Recently there has been some media coverage of my company winning the #1 IT SME in India Award by Dun & Bradstreet. Here is a coverage shot by NDTV Profit, one of the leading news channels in India.
Why Microsoft loves Ireland?
I was just thinking as why Microsoft has based one of its R&D center out of Ireland. Then as I sat in the bus on the way to the airport, reading some advertising displays it became very clear. Reason: Because the Top Level Domain (TLD)
Indus Net Technologies is #1 IT SME – Dun & Bradstreet
It is the first official award I have won for my entrepreneurial efforts! Indus Net Technologies has been selected as the #1 IT SME (Small and Medium sized Enterprise) in India 2008 by Dun & Bradstreet in a glittering Award Ceremony in
Will you like to save a child’s life?
I will not wait for your answer. I know you cannot see a child die when he can be saved with medical intervention. But the fact is that millions of newborn infants die worldwide due to Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). These are a lethal cons
Google Chrome does not support Google Toolbar
I thought only Microsoft messes up their products / releases. I could not understand, why will Google release such a major product i.e. a browser to compete against Microsoft and the Firefox without support for their own toolbar. Also, afte
Google Chrome – A quick review
I was reading about Google Chrome. > Some blog says that it has snapped up 2.8% market share in 24 hours. Amazing. Isn’t it? > Some feels they have dumped and back-stabbed their partner, Mozilla / Firefox So I decided to try it
Quillpad – Type in Indian regional languages
Today I came across an online tool called Quillpad. This online software let you type in most Indian regional languages (including Hindi, of course). The quality of application and usability has blown me away! I think such applications will
Started using Twitter
I have finally started using Twitter. My twitter page is http://www.twitter.com/abhishekrungta To be honest, I do not think Twitter is a great thing. Micro blogging does not catches my fancy, since it does not help me to add any value to my
How not to write a business plan?
I am always interested in investing in new venues. Few days back, I stumbled upon a bunch of entrepreneurs who wanted to develop a 3D action game. It looked like a freaky idea and I was all game for it. I asked them to put together a basic
Abhinav Bindra wins first ever individual olympic gold for India
Today, Abhinav Bindra won the 10m air rifle gold and became the first ever individual from India to win a gold medal at Olympics. I think this is the most joyful event in the history of Indian sports. More so because, it was a painful thoug
You got to pay me to pay me! – The TalkMobile story.
For my stay in the UK, I bought a TalkMobile Pay-As-You-Go mobile connection. (Quick tip: It is the cheapest option to call abroad while you are in the UK. All incoming calls are free for you. And yes, It just takes few minutes to get activ
Demands of top Human Resource Management Professionals
Today was an interesting day at the NASSCOM HR Summit 2008 in Chennai. There was a session on HR Leadership: Paradigm shift from process recruiters to business leaders. When the Chairperson of the panel, Mr. Pratik Kumar (EVP HR, Wipro) ask
Saturation of the social networking fad
There is a mad rush towards online social networking space. Every second person wants to get on the bandwagon with his own social networking website with a silly-sounding name. In my opinion, most of these sites are just a fad and are not b
Travel, travel and travel
Hello Friends, Sorry for not updating my blog for quite some time. I had a hectic schedule for last one month with Internet World in London, followed by a family holiday in Dubai. Before I could recover, I am visiting the NASSCOM BPO Strate
Speed or distance – what do you want?
I found this very interesting quote in someone’s signature whom I met on a business networking website: "If you want to go fast, travel alone; but if you want to go far, travel together." – African Proverb How true – speci
Do you send handwritten seasonal greetings to your clients?
Do you send handwritten seasonal greetings to your clients? It may sound to be very simple, regular stuff. But it is surprising that still a large percentage of small businesses fail to use such an opportunity to strengthen their relations
Is he really a business baazigar?
Guys, Recently some of my employees got unsolicited call from a gentleman called Manish Gupta, who wants to woo them away from my company to his startup. Of course like every normal human being, my colleagues also need a reason to go and wo
Use EasyBM today to boost your productivity
I came across this rocking website called EasyBM (www.easybm.com), a FREE online service, which can help you in boosting your online productivity to new levels. I generally do not get excited about something so quickly. My exposure to new i
Use META DESCRIPTION as your advertisement copy!
<META DESCRIPTION> tag lost its shine after the emergence of off-page factors (like link popularity) for rankings in SERPS. In fact it lost its purpose to a great extent when Google started using contextual content from within the pag
Top SEO Blogs!
In a fast changing world of SEO, the best way to keep your knowledge up-to date are the authoritative blogs on the subject. I stumbled upon a nice post by Daniel from DailyBlogtips.com, who has done a thorough research and listed Top 25 SEO
The REAL Programmer automates his job
Just a random thought: Programmers are supposed to use their programming skills to automate business process for their clients. Therefore, a good programmer should be one, who takes an initiative of automating his own work and never repeats
How to generate exhaustive keyword combinations?
When creating an exhaustive keyword list for your AdWords / PPC campaigns, you might face a tedious job of creating all possible combinations by joining two words / phrases to cover the keyword that your prospect might key in. This can be a
Managing vs. Leading – What an organization needs?
I regularly hear about terms like Manager, Managing, Management, Management Team, etc. The dictionary term for manage is "cope: come to terms or deal successfully with" and "pull off: be successful; achieve a goal" In my opinion, the word &
Sky-high bids on Adwords! Do they work?
The bids on AdWords are soaring to new heights everyday. Some advertisers are even shelling out up to $10 per click. So, naturally the question arises – Is this complete madness or is there any logic behind such aggressive advertising
Gallery submission to improve web site traffic and/or rankings
Attractive designs do get attention. It can also get good visitor-customer conversion if some best-practices are followed. But the question is – how can attractive designs get traffic to your website? They can! or, They can at least h
TemplateKingdom revisited
I have recently revamped my five year old venture TemplateKingdom, which has till date sold 5000+ original template designs to companies and various template sites around the world. And so TemplateKingdom 2.0 is right here. Come, buy the re
New kind of website spam
I just made a blog post – Buying and selling websites. Within minutes, I got a trackback. I was a bit puzzled at the lightening speed. I thought – how can someone read my entire article and blogged about it in less than a minute
Buying and selling websites
In recent times, I have seen a growth in marketplaces which help website owners to buy/sell websites. It looks like a good idea, as it allows website owners to reshuffle their portfolio of websites and offer services / products which are mo
Cookie that fails to crumble
It is a true incident about, how a cookie shop messed up its sales! CookieMan is a fast growing cookie brand in India. They have a small outlet at Chennai airport. Till recently, before boarding the flight, I used to buy some delicious cook
Search engines opening up!
Yahoo announced that they are opening up their search results for third party data integration. This will allow third party to contribute to Yahoo search experience and make it more useful for their users. It will be interesting to see how
India’s Union Budget 2008 – Preparing for Lok Sabha Election 2009
Today, Finance Minister P.Chidambaram presented the Union Budget for FY 2008-2009. A full copy can be downloaded by clicking here. Some highlights of the budget are listed below with my comments: Revenues New tax slabs for Income Tax: No ta
CSS reference
Recently I came across this excellent CSS reference website: http://reference.sitepoint.com/css I highly recommend this website since it has been written by two of the world’s most renowned CSS experts — Tommy Olssen and Paul O&
HTML 5 – Web developer’s paradise
W3C HTML Working Group has recently released HTML 5 working draft. This is a very important step forward; the same is available for review and comment at http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-html5-20080122/ The new standard addresses the need of we
Project management softwares reviewed
Proper project management is key to a successful project. To manage multiple projects and teams which are geographically spread across the globe, you need a quality project management tool. As a medium sized web development company, we look
Open-source products are great. But know the limitations before you use it.
Apart from doing software / web development on Open-source platform, Indus Net Technologies also customize and implement open-source products for clients on demand. Some popular (and free) open-source products are SugarCRM, Drupal, osCommer
Offshore outsourcing in India – going through a tough time.
Offshore outsourcing – a concept that made IT & India synonmous with each other in the first decade of 21st century is loosing its glamour quotient consistently. It seems that by 2010, hundreds of software companies will run out o
SEZs are not good for Small & Medium sized IT Enterprises
With the uncertainty over the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme after the union budget, a mad rush towards Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is very much expected. I have been studying about SEZ or last three weeks and two things
Virtual Tables – A problem solving technique for small networking groups
Among all the social-business networking sites, I find Ecademy and LinkedIn to be the best ones. Ecademy is my favorite since it has very nicely integrated offline networking in its system which results in creating trusted networks. I exper
Take a positive attitude to work
I often hear from people: I hate my job. I don’t feel like going to work. I have no excitement in my career. It is the same old grind. This happens more so often because most people are doing things that they never wanted to do in the
Can entrepreneurship be taught?
I was recently speaking on "Myths & Facts of Entrepreneurship" in Entrepreneurship Summit 2007 at IIT Kharagpur (KGP) on behalf of NEN. Overall, the event was nice, but it made me think over few points. 1. Can we really teach entreprene
Visiting London from 13th October till 23rd October 2007
Hello Friends, I will be visiting London from 13th October till 23rd October for some business meetings. If you – are an existing client of Indus Net Technologies (or any of our service brand) OR are a business considering outsourcing
Effectiveness of online candidate search databases offered by job sites
IMHO, online candidate search is a great service. I currently use two such websites and shell out almost $5000 per annum for the same. I always do a solid cost / benefit analysis and I have found that I am saving almost $15-$20K on my recru
The Hari Sadu advertisement – Instilling the right culture?
Everyone who watches television in India must have come across the "Hari Sadu" advertisement aired by Naukri.com. This ad became very popular for its creativity and also won the award from the Advertising Club Kolkata. Here is the full stor
Businesses can never be in equilibrium
Business organizations can never be in equilibrium or achieve stable position. Either they are moving up or they are moving down, depending upon their innovation quotient. If you are trying to keep things stable, they won’t remain so
Usability flaw in Sphinn.com signup page
I have recently signed up with this wonderful social media website Sphinn.com which aggregates news and articles on search engine marketing and social media landscape. The site has got excellent content and an active community. However, whi
Google fooled by transparent links & hit counter spam
I recently came across a post by Loren Baker of SearchEngineJournal about Google Loves Transparent Links and Hit counter Spam. It is shocking to see that Google has not been able to tackle such crude level of spam. We hear about site ageing
How to handle social networking redundancy
I was reading about Ed Kohler’s post about social networking update redundancy. I think there can be a simple solution. To do this we may need a simple new standard format of data syndication, which can be a simple derivative of RSS.
Former Harvard student sues Facebook
Divya Narendra and his two other Harvard friends (Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss) have sued Facebook alleging that their founder, Mark Zuckerberg have stolen their business plan and source code. You can read the full story at rediff.com. I wa
Goldrush – Pixels, words, and now individual pages
It all started with pixels. Alex Tew started selling pixels with milliondollarhomepage.com to earn some quick money. Public relation clicked and he became a success story with a wild frenzy among people to own a "piece of history". The "me
Embracing Pain For Entrepreneurs
I came across this quote today at BusinessPundit. We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. – Kenji Miyazawa How true 🙂 When you start a company, you get rejected by almost everyone: Bankers: They want to lend you mon
Which “Google Apps” program do you use the most?
I recently read Ed Kohler’s comment where he has ranked the importance of various "Google Apps" programs in the following order: 1. Docs 2. Presentation 3. Spreadsheet However, I beg to differ. In my personal experience I have found s
Is “joining bonus” a right tradition?
I have noticed that several companies offer joining bonus to a prospective employee to join early (or shall I say "immediately"). I was wondering if this is a right tradition? Is this ethical? I see it this way – A guy is working in C
Why should you network online?
I think online networking is the best thing that has happened on Internet in last few years. I see several benefits of networking and spending time to meet new people and build professional and personal relationships. You can make new frien
Reliance & Naukri steps into social networking marketplace
Reliance’s BigAdda, Rediff’s iShare and Naurki’s Brijj.com are the latest dotcoms to hit the Indian social networking marketplace. It may trigger the next dotcom explosion with many more mindless dotcoms in line with these
Learning in the age of information overload
Blogs have fueled the growth of peer-to-peer information flow in form of news, knowledge packets, ideas and individual point-of-views. However it has also resulted in "Information overload" which drives a normal person nut as he is at risk
Are you what you always wanted to be?
You ask any student – What do you want to be? You will get a quick reply – Doctor Software Engineer Singer Pilot Teacher Etc. Why do different people want to do different things? Because – they "want" to do that. They have
Who needs whom? An acid test!
There is a big debate over India becoming an IT super-power. Every few days I will meet an over-excited guy who is impressed with the growth of Indian IT companies an think that they will take over the world soon! Let us do an acid test to
West Bengal – Poised to take a leap in IT & ITeS?
Department of Information Technology, Government of West Bengal (www.itwb.org) is doing a remarkable work in supporting and nurturing IT industry in the state of West Bengal. Their investor-friendly approach and innovative action-oriented l
Paper napkin business plan
I have often seen people struggling with their business plan. I have a bit unconventional take on the subject. May be, because it has worked well for me till now. So here is what I sugget: A business plan does help. However a business plan
HCL – Poor tagline, Poor advertising
Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) is one of the top-five IT companies in India. Recently I saw their latest media campaign which says: HCL – a $4 billion company. I have never seen such a poor tagline before. In fact it was amusing an
Some nature photographs to refresh your soul
Here are some photographs from one of my trips –
McDonalds burger – Vegetarian or normal?
Here is a funny incident that took place when I was exhibiting at CeBIT 2007 in Hanover. I was in Hanover with my friend – Srish Agrawal for CeBIT 2007. After a tiring day at the exhibition hall, we were looking for a decent dinner. T
Manufacturing Ideas!
How many times have you heard? He is successful because he has the first mover advantage. I have a bright idea. I will seek venture funding and make it BIG! There are so many simmilar businesses around? There will be a lot of competition fo
Visa Power, Mastercard emotions
Recently I was trying to make a payment for a company purchase online using my MasterCard. Inspite of having a positive balance the transaction did not get through. I tried my sisters card (which again is a MasterCard) and it still wont go
Investment advise based on my first hand experience
I am not a very stock market savvy person. But in recent months, I did some stock investments. I made good investments and bad investments. I learnt few basics from my mistakes (I may be still wrong, IMHO) which I would love to share with a
Usability Tips – Review of a signup form
I recently came across a signup form. It was not bad, but could have been much better. Here is an evaluation of the same so that others can avoid the mistakes that has occured in this signup form. It was a quick review. If you can find out
Usability Nightmares – Error handling of a signup form
I came across a Web2.0 website called ProjectStat.us (Trying to express that it has something to do with project status – a nice cool trick). I liked the overall concept and was curious to find out how it works. So I decided to sign u
Frustration with elevator!
It happens to me every time.. I am in an elevator which is going up, and it will stop at a floor in transit and a guy will peep in his head asking if the elevator is going down! 10 seconds wasted! Think of the frustration if it happens five
Avoid starting your business during high-tide
A quick tip for budding entrepreneurs: If your business starts at the right time, you can extract maximum growth by getting ready when the industry segment gets the peak demand. I strongly suggest that a new business should be started durin
Eight Random Things
Gautam Ghosh has tagged me to write about eight random things about me! So here it goes – 1. I am a trekking addict. I have travelled extensively in the Himalayas. Unfortunately I did not get an opportunity to peek across the mighty H
I joined Kiva.org
Today, I was browsing through and stumbled across a website called Kiva.org Kiva.org allows individuals to make $25 loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordab
Check out Voki
Hi, I recently stumbled upon Voki (www.voki.com) which seems like a nice widget. It comes from Sitepal (www.sitepal.com). Actually I have used Sitepal in past. Unfortunately it didnt work great for me (nothing wrong with their product, but
Plains can look beautiful too!
Plains can look beautiful too! These pictures were taken from a moving car. If you want any of these pictures in higher resolution, feel free to contact me.
The Kumbha of South India
Picture of the kumbha konam. This is considered as the kumbha of south India.
Om and Trishul made of diyas
Hindu scared symbols of Om and Trishul made of diyas (earthern candles)
Is India loosing its low cost advantage for software outsourcing?
India has been regularly "labeled" as the ultimate software offshore outsourcing destination. Advantage India has been expressed in terms of location, better adaptation to english language, cost, quality talented pool and a young population
Where is the growth focused?
There is a mad rush out here. Large swanky new shopping malls are opening every month to give the desired lifestyle to the next-generation Indians who believe in “work hard – party harder”. An average middle class Indian i
A path to heaven
The lush green valleys of the Western Ghats (South India) indeed gives a feeling of heaven. It is not a surprise why people call it "God’s own country". A picture showing – a path to heaven!
Sunrays playing in the Munnar hills
Here is a nice picture of sun playing in the Munnar hills. Worth watching — Feel free to use this picture anywhere you wish or ask for the hi-res if you need. A credit will be appreciated.
Neel Kurinji – A flower that blooms once in twelve years
On my recent trip to Munnar (South India), I had the fortune to see the bloom of Neel Kurinji (blue-kurinji). It is a shrub like plant which blooms with a blue flower once in twelve years! If you want to experience the same, you will have t
Most important soft skill in life?
I was trying to think out – What is the most important soft skill in life? Some options I came across: Communication? Public speaking? Problem solving? Team management? Time management? The list was getting too long! I tried to find a
What can we do for India?
Dear Friends, I got this email today in my mailbox. The mail says that this is a speech from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India. I am not sure about the source, but the message is definitely thought provoking. I think it is somethin
Entrepreneurship at its best!
Entrepreneurship knows no barriers! Last year while searching for an office in Annanagar area of Chennai, I came across an entrepreneur who is remarkably different and inspiring. He reaffirmed my belief that entrepreneurship does not need b
Indus Net Academy – A step closer to my dream
There has been a lot of talk over the BIG IT talent pool in India. Every bureaucrat and market research agency in the country shows towering numbers of colleges and students that they produce. But the burning question is – Is this tal
Hostorix launches fail-safe linux based reseller hosting
I recently visited Hostorix.com. This is a new hosting company from an Internet marketing veteran – Armand Morin. I was impressed how Armand has identified a pain that most webmasters feel – Downtime! Aren’t we all worried
Wait a little before you buy your Apple iPhone
iPhone is the hottest desirable gizmo at this point of time. As per AppleInsider (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2415), Apple is going to make 47% – 49% margin on each iPhone sold. So, if you are not in a big hurry, waitin
Amazing – Human-like Emotional Figures made from Fruits & Vegetables
Art knows no barrier. I came across this fantastic gallery from Saxton Freymann. Gallery URL – http://www.rit.edu/~ksh8863/saxtonfreymann.html Saxton Freymann creates this human-like figures out of fruits and vegetables. He creates em
Case study – Increasing perceived value of a service offering
I am staying at the executive housing of ISB – Hyderabad today. It is managed by Sarovar Park Plaza (http://www.sarovarparkplaza.com/). The room is great and the service is impeccable. But what caught my fancy is a small plaque on the
A fiction with shades of fact – “The Fourth Estate – Jeffrey Archer”
Recently, I finished reading “The Fourth Estate” by Jeffrey Archer. It was a nice read – a bit long though. At some places it becomes boring. The overall storyline is interesting. What is more interesting is its simmilarit
GMail usability flaw – “Mark as read” menu
I feel this is a usability flaw in Gmail’s "Mark as read" contextual menu item. For all the contextual actions, once the action is done, the checkbox status is turned back to default – i.e. not-checked. However when you "Mark as
Messed up signage in a hospital
A signage as critical as this has been done more in "style" than keeping quick – common understanding in mind. This is a signage at the main gate of the hospital. It is trying to show two arrows – one towards, the Emergency / Bl
Poor metaphor for “Gift-voucher”
Recently, I saw a funny metaphor for "Gift-Voucher" when I visited Shoppers Stop in City Center. It is a poor example of using a graphics / icon to symbolize a concept. The graphic of a "hanger" gives no reason to relate it to a "gift" or a
Simplify contact forms for better conversion
Eoghan McCabe has covered some good conversion tips in his blog post – User Interface Simplicity Gone Wrong. He has explained how website conversion rate can shoot up if the contact forms are simple and to-the-point. Everyone is in a
Healthy cash flow is a must for a successful business
Yesterday, I was attending an interactive session with Mr. Vinod Dham (Yes! the same guy who invented Pentium chip and Flash memory). It started with a nice inspiring story – How Vinod accidentally stumbled into engineering and ended
My own caricature!
I recently got a caricature done by Simon Ellinas. It rocks What do you think? I highly recommend his service. Is is a real pro!
A view of the regional provident fund office at Kolkata
My relationship with the Provident Fund Office dates back to 2004, when I went ahead to get my company and employees registered under the Employee Provident Fund Scheme in order to get them the much desired social security. But what I saw t
Changing political priorities
It is funny to see how politicians change their fundamental political beliefs to get political mileage. In 1970-80, the Community Party of India and their allies ruled the state of West Bengal with a strong leftist policy. Strikes were a co
Knowledge capsules – Fast start kits
In this age of information overload, it is nice to see some “read it – implement it” kind of quick start guides at http://www.faststartkits.com/ These guides are easy-to-read and are only 2-3 pages long. Most of them do no
When Gmail makes life difficult
I am a big fan of Gmail because of its speed and simplicity. However Gmail makes life hell lot of difficult in some cases – 1. The Threading Bug While threading, Gmail creates threads based on the “Subject” of the email. I
When will the call center outsourcing bubble burst?
A lot has been talked about call center outsourcing. We have heard and seen how it is changing the lifestyle statement for the young Indians who are now earning a handsome salary and (many of them) living a bohemian lifestyle! On the other
Google Answers is no longer accepting questions
I recently came across Google Answers (http://answers.google.com/answers/) and found that they are no longer accepting questions. So Google closes down its Google Answers service. Though I did not sense this coming, but once I saw it, I fel
What to do – How to do – To do!
We work in a knowledge economy and it is very important for a manager to classify people around us to know what are their capabilities. This classification can help in identifying the right person for the right job. Again the same can be us
Indian ISPs censoring blogs – The complete story
On July 15th, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) had sent ISPs a list of sites to be blocked. R H Sharma, senior engineer with MTNL, said that the list of sites ran into some 22 pages. – A blog at Rediff India This directive le
How to use Gmail to send and receive mails under your own domain name
Hi Folks, Gmail is fast. Gmail is easy to use. Gmail is virus and spam free. Gmail is web based and universally accessible. But, for most internet users, the biggest turn off is the fact that you cannot use your own domain name with Gmail.
Want to rank sites by quality? Check spelling and grammar!
Hi Folks, Google is doing everything in their capacity to weed out spam and return meaningful results for search queries. However it seems that they missed on an important aspect! Concept A good quality website will definitely have proper (
Indian companies may soon be able to experiment with AI use cases that today's compute costs make…
Reliance Industries Limited has announced a large investment in AI compute in India. The interesting part, for me, is not just the scale of the infrastructure. It is what happens to the economics of AI when compute becomes more affordable a
Companies are spending heavily on better AI models
Most AI discussions are still about models. I think the real challenge lies elsewhere. MIT NANDA found that 95% of AI pilots showed no measurable to P&L impact. The bigger gap was not model capability alone, but getting AI to integrate with
The world is spending billions to own AI infrastructure
Billions are going into NVIDIA's chips right now, data centres are coming up everywhere, and compute is being called the new oil. India needs that infrastructure too. But I do not think spending the most at that layer is our only path to wi
People assumed the AI race was about who builds the smartest model
For the last two years, we've spent an extraordinary amount of time debating models. GPT or Claude? Open-source or closed-source? Who has the biggest context window? Who tops the benchmarks? Those conversations still matter, but they're no
Everyone is talking about agents and autonomous systems
It begins with a simpler question: where is your user still typing too much, searching too much, or repeating work the system should have removed already? That is where AI creates value fastest. At Indus Net Technologies (INT.) this is how
95% of companies saw 0 returns after spending $30-40 billion on AI pilots in 2 years.
I have sat in enough boardrooms to see how it works. Business wants working software in weeks, & technology cannot compromise on security and scale, but finance refuses to fund large speculative builds upfront. Everyone is right, but nothin
People want Indian founders punished for building D2C instead of deep tech
Every few weeks, this argument shows up again online. Indian IT companies missed the AI race. Founders only build D2C, quick commerce, and easy money. Nobody wants to solve hard problems. I think that criticism is aimed at the wrong place.
Most of what I learn about where technology and business does not come from a keynote
This June, I will be traveling across Amsterdam, Vienna, London, New York, Charlotte and Delaware. It will be a busy month: 2 exhibitions, 30+ meetings, 5+ countries. I have been doing trips like this for a long time, what has changed is wh
A kirana owner in a 10-foot shop is now running his inventory by talking to his phone in Marathi
That is where Indian AI starts becoming really interesting. Two companies, almost the same week, showed where Indian AI is actually going. → Tohands is rolling out its AI‑powered smart calculator to target 1 million kirana stores nationwide
A production line running 24 hours can now catch defects faster than any human inspector
McKinsey & Company's research shows AI-driven predictive maintenance can reduce machine downtime by up to 50% and cut maintenance costs by 10 to 40%. These are not pilot numbers. These are results from deployed systems in the automotive, el
490 million Indians are labeled "high-riskers" by banks, which refuse to lend to them.
Traditional credit scores require a loan history. These workers are paid and earn in cash, remaining invisible to old systems. India's largest untapped lending market is not a new customer segment. There are 490 million workers who run kira
12 years ago, KritiLabs was managing 2 oil terminals
I had the privilege of speaking with Srikrishna Varadharajan, Founder and Director of KritiLabs Technologies, on my podcast last week. Shri has been in tech-commercial roles for nearly 2 decades. And KritiLabs are into IoT services with big
I spoke at a college seminar recently
Here's what I told them. 👉 Education is important. It gives you social acceptance, a stamp of credibility, and confidence. It sets the baseline, provided it is delivered right. Education alone will not carry you very far. 👉 What really coun
TiECON Kolkata 2023 was a celebration of entrepreneurship.
It hosted 500+ delegates, 30+ speakers, and eco-system partners to bring interesting conversations and learnings on a platform. I had a great opportunity to engage in a fireside chat with Prashant Pitti of EaseMyTrip.com. We spoke about &ld