India is an emerging economy, yes sure it is. You doubt? And now India goes International with the first ever F1 hosted at the Buddh International Circuit. I was there yesterday which was the first practice session and well, this is one experience which can’t be described in words and hence here’s the video!
The Future Never Dies, at 56 It Just Begins
October 6th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink
A life well worth living is the one, when the world stands up and remembers you when you are not really around in your physical essence. I dedicate this post to Steve Jobs, as we all knew him. The greatest innovator, who saw the iPhone, before the world cold say multi touch. Who knew his customers, he knew the nerve and he did create a dent in the universe.
I have always been a services guy in my career, but my fascination for products, to be precise, productized services, really began with Steve’s presentations. You are a hero Steve and you will always be. May God Bless you with all happiness, rest and peace and more innovations in heaven’s above
Glad to have lived my lifetime knowing you Steve.
TiEcon Delhi and Superman – What I Learnt!
October 4th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink
I am pretty excited about this post, writing this, after completing India’s Largest Entrepreneurial Event, TiEcon Delhi 2011 just the last night. It was one helluva of an effort. Not herculian, but nothing less. I must thank each and everyone who put in sleepless nights and endless days. Also appreciation for each one of you who saw value, registered for the event and came in with all the excitement. There sure was entrepreneurial energy all around.
After a successful event in many ways, I am sharing my learning’s and experiences which I believe are crucial for any entrepreneur in every stage of the business.
Pre-TiEcon. Especially for someone like me who has been in the Internet space, getting into the ‘doing a mega event’ mode was new. But that’s the fun. Learning something new every day of life.
Planning with a clear direction is critical
It was all about planning and planning with details while keeping the key objective in mind all the time. Losing focus was never in question. When you are sitting with some interesting industry leaders who have defined success in their domains, to plan out an event, well, you seldom can afford to lose focus. The entire TiE team was involved in the process and so the shape emerged of TiEcon Delhi 2011 – Entrepreneurship – Transforming India.
Let me tell you this, once the title was set, never again was a moment when anyone diverted form it. From planning sessions to approaching speakers, the broad vision for the event was always in mind.
Execution is the key: before that comes Ownership
Everyone says execution is the key. But ownership is everything. Everyone in the initial TiEcon steering committee took charge of a role, which added value to the event overall. And yes collectively everyone delivered. There always were challenges in terms of schedules, times and the rest, but when the leadership is focused it all came together.
And let me emphasize on the leadership bit. TiE Delhi – NCR has Geetika Dayal, leading the charge and she ensured at all times that everything is put in perspective and the focus does not gets lost. The ownership was defined and was evaluated at all times.
Lesson #2 hence is that there has to be ownership across the board, but there must be a strongly defined leadership which puts everything in place and ensures that focus is never lost. Hence the overall ownership always must be maintained.
Plan A might change when you least expect it: you must have a plan B, C, D
The plans you make WILL change. They will. Period. At TiEcon, speakers plans changed, we had to make last minute changes, but again there always were strong networks placed before, to ensure that if we are faced with a contingency, we do deliver. Hence planning for a situation before it occurs is always the right thing. You always must have back-up plans which will deliver.
When you have to reach on time, you will get traffic jams: you must know alternate ways to still reach on time
A night before TiEcon, the entire TiE Delhi – NCR team was at office and we were to leave for the Taj and just then, as a sudden change in plans, I had to leave to the printer’s office to get some stuff picked up. I also had to pick up my stuff from home and then reach Taj in all of 1.5 hours flat. I sat quietly for a few minutes and marked my way.
Though when I reached near Apollo, Sarita Vihar, the route which I had to take to reach to the printer’s office was jammed and this is at 11:15 in the night. Now since I knew of the situation beforehand, a quick decision had to be made. I had 2 choices: either to call up office and ask someone to pick up the stuff OR I find another way out.
These are moments when Google maps don’t work and only what you know of the area, works. I remembered, many years back my school bus used to take us from behind the Kalindi Kunj area, through Jamia University and suddenly struck a whole new way. And wallah, I was at the printer’s office in about 20 minutes.
Keep everyone informed, that’s what technology is meant for: this will enhance your decision making
While all of this was happening, me and the entire team was constantly on call and we knew exactly where who was and what who was doing, such that if someone had to pitch in with extra support, we could. And we did.
Let the master play the game, be a support system to him, that helps, don’t try and be everything
Nitin, from the TiE Delhi – NCR team is a logistics champion and we all say that with all the confidence. We ensured that while he is setting up the stalls, registration profiles etc. at 4:30 AM, we were there to help in quick decision making.
Right before that, I was quickly roped in by Manish to ensure that we ‘sex up’ the session presentations a bit, which were a little bland before. Since I can quickly work on content, change designs around, I spent about 2 hours in a quiet Taj room and got the work done, while knowing that Manish, Digbijoy and Shivam are taking care of the badges downstairs.
Teamwork: you must know the nerves
Since each one of us knew exactly, what the other was working on, we knew what was happening and what needed urgent attention. The team had full confidence in each other and the ownership was un-questionable.
Teams are not just you, they are many like you and you have to ensure you engage them enough. Talking of the team, obviously a small TiE Delhi – NCR team could not have pulled off such a large event by themselves. We were happy to have some real action oriented college students and professionals who volunteered with us and Shivam from our team took the charge of directing them the right way and yes we got much support
.
Shivam incidentally has joined TiE a few months back and did a great job of getting the younger chaps together to deliver what was intended.
Its important to take feedback and act quickly, you must know just the right buttons to hit, when time is critical
One of our key networking features of TiEcon was: TiE Connect, which many people used, but not all could use it the right way. Couple of delegates approached me and the team, to help them find people who connected with them to set meetings. Some of them we were able to get together by quickly working out the TiE database and thanks to Goutam from TiE team, 2 of our delegates were much thankful to the quick TiE team, which helped them meet an interesting investor.
When it pains, it pains, its a part of what you set out to achieve!
I remember my colleague, Manish’s words, ‘this Taj bed is so soft that I feel as if, I am drowning in it’ and its not a joke. With your heels paining badly, when you are utter tired after much work, a 5 minute of a rest on a comfortable cushion feels as if the cushion is calling you in its arms.
The TiE team went on working through-out the 2 days, while ensuring that we were present at every corner of the space where people needed us.
People support you, if you are there for them!
At several events before, I have heard that delegates don’t appreciate if their badges are not in order etc. well, this happens in every large format event, hic-ups are a part of life, aint’ they, but the lesson learnt by being at the registration desk almost throughout all major moments during the 2 days was, if you are polite in your way of handling the query and get results fast, the delegate won’t mind co-operating along, while you create other opportunities for him.
I remember a statement by Aditya Ghosh of Indigo Airlines here: we studied our customers and learnt that the customer might want to talk of the skirt length of the air hostess, but what he finally pays for is the comfort, safety, service and on-time performance.
The TiE team went ahead and provided just that, starting from registration desk to the respective halls where the sessions were on and it all went smooth!
Innovation and keeping the Cost Low is the key!
Just a few days back Jeff from Amazon said some very exciting words about how to innovate while creating world class products and still keeping the costs low. TiE Delhi – NCR did something very exciting which created much value for the delegates. We leveraged the power of social networking (especially fb and twitter) to announce special bidding rounds every-day, which helped us create buzz in the environment and helped many entrepreneurs and young start-ups who were finding it hard to pay the required amount for attending TiEcon Delhi 2011, get the passes at a far lesser cost.
It helped us market by reducing our cost and pass on the benefit to the entrepreneurial community, for which we are passionately committed.
You must know your customer, Period.
You must know your customer. Paridhi, Digbijoy and Amit from the TiE team collated all available information about the delegates. This really helped the whole team ensure that we provide as much as possible, a WOW experience to everyone on the spot.
But where does the Superman in the title go?
Well, it was about being Supermen when it mattered the most. The moment was captured and handled well and ON TIME. Yes there sure were small hic-ups, but yes we learnt and the fantastic feedback we are getting from all quarters of the ecosystem is great!
Look forward to seeing you all more actively engaged while creating many new opportunities.
If you wish to know more about TiE Delhi and be a partner in growth, visit the website and call us at : 0120 – 4066500
The Woman of Today in India: Independence and Hurt
August 6th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink
This blog post is not about marketing, its not even about New Media, which I write on, but this is about life. I have been lucky enough to see the evolution of a trend which is great, but has many in-built flaws.
If you really give it a minute of your time and think, then you will see a particular trend in everything in this world. The things we go through, what we do, its all a trend. Everything in this world has its own good and attached with it its own bad (or not so good) however you want to put it.
Lets talk about Independence
I am proud to be the citizen of one of world’s largest and strongest democracies, where people sacrificed their lives many years back to give us freedom. I can see dreams and do what I want to today because I have been bestowed with the freedom to do this. But over a period of time, I have strongly felt that whatever comes to us easily in life, we start taking its presence in our life by default. The appreciable value of the same thing goes down!
Women and Independence
Before I write this, I must confess there is a lot I have learnt from the leading ladies in my life, my Mother, Sister, Wife and Many of my female friends. There’s a certain way of life for them. Anyway, now let me share a picture and this is not a myopic view of things, so hold before you react.
My Mother (just like you’rs) went through much in life, she saw phases when she lived her life and raised us up with almost no means. Obviously my Sister and I were brought up well. My Sister belongs to the generation which has values from her Mother but is changing and evolving with the times. My Wife pretty much belongs to my Sister’s times.
What’s common though in all the three ladies?
Well, they have all been raised up and been ‘looking for’ a certain kind of a feeling called ‘Independence’. For my Mother, Independence lets say is about having enough means to build a strong happy family. For my Sister, lets say to ensure while she is a working woman, she is project managing her home. For my Wife its pretty much the same perspective.
My Mother raised my Sister, telling her stories about what all she has faced and hence made her daughter strong enough to face the world. My Wife’s mother did the same. But what is changing now is, these stories along with the times we are living in are becoming inspiration for the birth of a small ‘Rebel’ inside the heart of the otherwise sane human.
I earn my own money, I am Independent!
I have heard so many women today speak of this and I am sure many of you would agree, that I want to earn my own. A girl in college says I don’t want to be dependent on my parents and a Girl getting married says, I don’t want to be dependent on my Husband.
Hold for a second and think, its the same girl who is growing up and one day will have her own family and will tech her daughter/ son one day that I had to go through so much in my times, I will make you guys strong enough to ensure you don’t.
Does money really makes you independent in life? Well, yes it might buy you many things, but Independence, well, probably not. And mind you, it also does not buys you confidence. It only buys you things.
I have my own life, my own decisions: I am the 21st Century Woman!
Agreed. And everyone has the right to live a good happy life. But in this whole ‘want’ of living your ‘own’ life and taking your ‘own’ decisions, you are being ‘reduced to only you’. I take many workshops for college students and corporate(s), I have seen the shift in the thought process. Education must have made us go getters and more enlightened, somehow I feel its making us more like rats in a race.
Especially in India, where we are all ‘bechara’s’. Somehow I feel we have been fighters (not in the literal sense), but we have many fights in our lives. The whole thing is, we are trying to ‘prove ourselves right’ all the time, by getting over the whole scene of ‘boss life mei bahut fight hai’. From a railway station to a college form line, there’s fight in every sense of the word.

http://www.ambuuncle.com/images/indian_women.jpg
And one day we get married!
While we are growing up through all these fights of life, one day we get married and the whole thing of raising up a successful family dawns upon us. Now lets re-visit, what I said in the starting of this post. When a girl gets married, the same mother will give her lessons of life, her friends will give her some. But what’s happening in India, as I see it, today is, what a professor of mine at college told me: “Paritosh, chances are that the woman you will marry tomorrow might have multiple relationships in her life before and she must have learnt from all of them, for you life is not the same as what I had”.
And I agreed to him and accepted the fact with just a line from my side, I said whether a woman OR a man, I don’t see much differences other than physical. What I would really want is to see women in this world really creating a beautiful world (because I strongly believe, men are a little lacking in this). The only rider I have for women is, have fun ladies, but do take care of the future, which is changing for all of us.
I hear so many people talking of how the world is changing and I instantly get reminded of a line I heard from a gentleman many years back who said, in Bhagwad Gita, Bhagwan Shri Krishna has predicted that generations will go down because the raisers (women) are changing.
Do I have issues with women leading the game?
NO! Ask my current boss/ colleague Geetika, she is a wonderful person to work with (not because she is my boss). Entrepreneurs don’t have this thing of buttering and all, we are straight talkers and so am I. I love the fact that women lead the game, infact I would love to see women creating a whole compassionate environment in the corporate jungle. But not at the cost of creating a future in the name of a feeling called Independence. Remember Money in the short term is NOT independence.
But I do have issues seeing the future!
What we do will come back to us within this lifetime, I strongly believe in this as well. And hence the next generations. More sharp, more intelligent (great), but into drugs, cigarette buts in schools, liquor is a fashion statement. And I am not saying this is all due to women, it is NOT. Men are as much responsible. But Ladies, you always say it and its true, you guys can create a far better world and a great happy future.
Maintain your relationships, whatever it takes
Ensure that whatever it takes, build strong relationships, because a broken relationship in your early days is an experience which you will at some stage share it with your kids, your daughters who will be raising a world of their own tomorrow!
I just wanted to share this on this Saturday, because this is one thought which disturb me personally, this is one thing I am seeing building around me and I will be the happiest to see folks roaming around happily with each other, creating a future of this country, which is truly BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL
Babe, Bikini OR JK Cement
July 3rd, 2011 § 5 comments § permalink
Now I know almost each one of you seeing this post must have seen either on hoardings or on YouTube or on television the strange advertisement wherein a Bikini clad babe (nothing hot about her) emerges out of the water and suddenly what pops is a message about JK Cement.
For those who haven’t yet seen this one and haven’t had another ounce of blood added to their system by laughing out loud, here’s the ad:
The first question which comes to my mind upon seeing this advert is : why the hell did they do this and who approved of this. Call the agency head, they need to learn a lesson or two. Anyway, all said and done, who handles the marketing for JK Cements, who actually approved of this ad. Did he/ she (I doubt if it was a She) think that a bikini clad woman will sell their cement.
I mean let me talk from personal experience. The place where I stay, about a year and a half back we got a new construction done from scratch. And obviously it was not all in the hands of the builder, I did my strong research. Went ahead knowing about many different Cements and which ones give what and finally in my list of the top 2, JK cements was not event there, infact in my list of top 4 there was nothing. A Cement is not just about strength, its about many other things. The composition matters.
So coming back to the point, this advert with freaking bill boards all over Delhi and to top it all, on the Delhi- Jaipur highway, with this woman a little darkened (did her skin tanned while being in the sun on the billboard?) makes no sense to me.
Advertising surely can be dumb, look at TATA Docomo’s advert’s with Ranbir Kapoor, if it sounds intelligent to you, well, then there’s a sense of dumbness in you!
Well, to end this one on a very confused note, well, I did not like either the babe, the Bikini was cheap and to talk about the cement, well, please read the post again!
Happiness Comes Branded Now: At Exclusive Discounts With Synergy
June 21st, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
Happiness comes branded now and I am not kidding. Take a few seconds to close your eyes, before you actually read this post further. Close your eyes and confess, how much time do you get for your family while you are working? Whan all do you really go out and have un-adulterated fun?
Which all times has this thought NOT cross your mind, that of savings and increasing prices and money management?
I bet, almost everytime. In the times that we live today, when almost everything around us is changing rapidly and the race to earn more towards a better future is where you will find everyone running, the great fun times with all the love with the family is becoming a concept.
Now save everytime when you have fun with family!
No, I aint kidding, now you can actually save every-time you either shop for clothes, have a fun time at a sports centre, take a health package, go for a dinner, buy flowers, get your hair done, order pizza, stay in hotels, work it out in Gyms, shop for music, movies, take ayurvedic massages. These are actually some of the most common things which we do with family, while we have the time.
Lets take you on a dinner in Delhi
A good dinner in Delhi for 4 people at a fairly well placed dine-in will cost about INR 2500- 3000. What if you save 20% on this bill, which will be INR 600 on INR 3000, which obviously is not a bad deal!
Penny saved is a penny earned
Someone very wise once remarked: a penny saved is a penny earned. And in times that we live today, being a little smart can help you save many of those pennies. From small to large, the most known retailers of the country today are reaching out to these discounts and deals sites to increase sales and footfalls. The list is endless.
The catch with these sites is they wait for a tipping point, as a group buying discount. You get the deal only if the tipping point reaches, else you get your money back
But obviously if I love something, I would not wait for many people to love it, before I have it with me for a discount. That’s where I feel the Amity Synergy Discounts Card wins the game. With almost every retailer across the country giving exclusive deals to Synergy Discount Card, all you need to do is to flash the same wherever you go and wallah, you will get anywhere between 10 – 50% discounts on some real useful products.
From Pizza hut to S. Oliver, Vibes to Yo! China, from Hotels in Jaipur to Book shops in Gurgaon the Synergy Card is active pan India.
Start Saving Now: Get Your Synergy Discount Card
Click on this link to get the Synergy Card: http://synergydiscounts.com/GetSynergyCard.aspx Happy earning
Banking for Me Should Be: Smart, Easy, Fast & Mobile!
June 20th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
Of all the things in the world, money makes everything go round and round. And well, in today’s times, when everything around you is growing, so is the inflation, when the top chart-buster song of the year is: mehngaai dayan khaaye jaat hai, you obviously need to ensure that you manage your money well.
Managing Money
Now, in my life, I have my parents, my wife, my grandma, everyone has their own view of how to manage money. And interestingly when I hear of their views, I feel like wow, how have we as humans evolved overtime to reach to where we are and how was our parent’s time and their tryst with earning money and building things from bottoms up and what times do we live in, when we have increasing buying power in our hands and we are growing!
The Challenge With Managing Money:
The biggest challenge which I see and have encountered with managing money is to keep a constant track of it while I am constantly on the move. Let me confess, life has become so upwardly mobile that today I check about my health as well, on my mobile devices. As we are growing to the next level of growth, we are getting dependent on technology to simplify our lives.
Thank God, My bank is in My Pocket!
YES! I am not kidding and neither have I lost it and sure I haven’t yet gotten a free debit card with unlimited cash to spend. What I do have is, I am a customer with the Standard Chartered bank, since the past couple of years. While I have been banking with them, overtime, I realized that in my tenure with them, I have rarely gone to the branch. The online banking is so fast and quick, that it serves me everything and in no time.
Sure, I had my own doubts in terms of being a “private bank” and how will it survive the Indian shores, but as their campaign says, here for good, I believe it now.
A Fresh Breeze of Mobility
Recently I got to know that SCB has launched a mobile banking platform across all possible devices and platforms which we know of today called: Breeze! I mean from iPhone to Nokia to whatever you can imagine, its there! So effectively speaking, now I have the bank in my pocket wherever I go, whatever I be doing. Its simple.
Why am I so happy about it that it occupies a space on my blog, well, because I realize how easy will it now be for me to access my bank without any hassles.
How does it look like?
As I always do, a sneak peek into the whole new world of easy, fast and on the move banking in your pocket!
And obviously I expect my bank to give this to me at no extra cost, so have they. The app is free for download on any mobile device you use.
Happy breezing, I am personally satisfied that SCB understands, as we grow ahead and move faster, technology has to make our lives simpler and not complex. Good to be your customer guys, keep up the great work!
Reward your Employees With Synergy Discounts and Deals
June 18th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
A note for all those reading my blog, NO, I am not obsessed with deals and discounts but YES, I am onto my quest for really learning as to how are these companies making it so big. What are their business models and what’s really happening at the back-end?
My latest post on how I got through the Amity Synergy Card which offered these fantastic discounts was liked by many people and I also got some requests to probe in further. I hence made up my mind to go ahead and meet the team behind the idea and how they are executing it.
My Experience: Count by Count
While I met the super energized team behind the Amity Synergy Card, my first impression was a fantastic mix of Youth, Experience and a free minded and open to innovation investor. So as I went ahead understanding their strategic thought and how it all happened, I found it very interesting to know the story behind how it all started.
Good to know that this is not a card which initiated as an influence from many others in this domain
They started in-house and did a proof of concept at Amity University, which obviously is a behemoth. Its in one word huge. The proof of concept was to look at how Amity students use the card and to understand the audience. And wallah, the results were astounding. Students loved the concept.
What’s the proof? Well, the 82,200 fans on facebook page is enough proof, aint it?
Hmmm, so I asked the team about how did they think about taking it further?
In one tone, everyone answered, we were sure its going to work out and we rolled the Amity Synergy Discounts card as a B2B offering. Though we are also stepping to the B2C domain. Interesting to note this.
B2B, B2C and Now its B2E!!
There are many things which companies today do to ensure that their employees are motivated and that they perform their level best at all times. Various companies have different sets of incentivized structures which keep the employees engaged and motivated to perform. The Synergy Discount card makes a lot of sense here. If you reward an employee telling him, that almost whatever he purchases from now on, will be discounted, obviously he will be happy. You are a smart organisation if you are helping your employees save money when everything around seems to be only rising up in price.
Interestingly Synergy Discounts card has some very interesting examples of how its Co-branded with various medium sized companies and how it has worked out very well for them, the companies and the employees.
For Start-ups and SMEs its Makes Most Sense
The Card according to me makes much sense for start-ups and SMEs. Whether you are a services or a products business. Interesting discounts on everyday products that you buy obviously makes for a great return on human capital happiness investment.
How Can You Order This Card for Your Company?
You can actually send an Email directly to Abhishek Pandey at: apandey2@amity.edu and the rest gets taken care of.
Drop in your experiences and comments about the Synergy card and any other interesting ideas you might have of usage for the Synergy Cards team. I’d be happy to forward it to them!





