Was wowed by Deshpande's simple yet powerful speech and interaction at the TiE Chennai organized event on February 5. Amazing how someone who's been living in Boston for 30 years is so much in touch with the grassroots issues in even small town India - and more importantly able to come up with practical solutions to them.
My top takeaways from the many that he provided:
India's Creme-De-la-creme is Taking Charge
2% of Indians are Globally Competitive. And the cream of this segment is now applying its intellectual and financial resources to tackle some of key problems of the bottom of the pyramid. The advantage that we enjoy, as compared to say China, is that citizens here enjoy the freedom to take action (and, as required, also partner with the state) to deliver these basic services.
The Govt should have an M&A arm to acquire NGOs!
Just like how big corporations (especially in developed countries) keep a keen watch on the innovation experiments being made by venture capital-backed startups and acquire the successful ones (to bring innovation capabilities into their fold), the Indian Government too should watch the various experiments being carried out in the NGO sphere in various parts of the country and acquire the successful ones and help scale them nationally!
Size (of company) no bar for being a mentor
Even an entrepreneur whose company's turnover might be just Rs.1/2 crores is a "big guy" - and hence qualified to be a mentor - to an entrepreneur running a much smaller business (for example one which is dependent on day-to-day cash flow). The former can teach the latter basics of accounting, management, etc. Teaching itself is a great form of learning and hence provides ROI to the mentor! Super stuff.
Thanks Desh!
PS: D.Murali has put up the video recording of the event on Youtube here.
Arun Natarajan is the Founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence, the leading provider of data and analysis on private company transactions, valuations and financials in India. Click Here to learn about Venture Intelligence products that help entrepreneurs Reach Out to Investors, Research Competition, Learn from Experienced Entrepreneurs and Interact with Peers. Includes the Free Deal Digest Weekly Newsletter: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.
My top takeaways from the many that he provided:
India's Creme-De-la-creme is Taking Charge
2% of Indians are Globally Competitive. And the cream of this segment is now applying its intellectual and financial resources to tackle some of key problems of the bottom of the pyramid. The advantage that we enjoy, as compared to say China, is that citizens here enjoy the freedom to take action (and, as required, also partner with the state) to deliver these basic services.
The Govt should have an M&A arm to acquire NGOs!
Just like how big corporations (especially in developed countries) keep a keen watch on the innovation experiments being made by venture capital-backed startups and acquire the successful ones (to bring innovation capabilities into their fold), the Indian Government too should watch the various experiments being carried out in the NGO sphere in various parts of the country and acquire the successful ones and help scale them nationally!
Size (of company) no bar for being a mentor
Even an entrepreneur whose company's turnover might be just Rs.1/2 crores is a "big guy" - and hence qualified to be a mentor - to an entrepreneur running a much smaller business (for example one which is dependent on day-to-day cash flow). The former can teach the latter basics of accounting, management, etc. Teaching itself is a great form of learning and hence provides ROI to the mentor! Super stuff.
Thanks Desh!
PS: D.Murali has put up the video recording of the event on Youtube here.
Arun Natarajan is the Founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence, the leading provider of data and analysis on private company transactions, valuations and financials in India. Click Here to learn about Venture Intelligence products that help entrepreneurs Reach Out to Investors, Research Competition, Learn from Experienced Entrepreneurs and Interact with Peers. Includes the Free Deal Digest Weekly Newsletter: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.