Passing Fad or New Fashion?

Happy Diwali, Friends!!

There is a new virus in the Kerala air – or is it a pandemic sweeping across India, nay the World? For this article I shall limit the discussion to my recent experiences in Kerala.

The disease is called Entrepreneurship and it’s pretty infectious!

On Saturday I was in Trivandrum, attending the 2^nd StartUp Coffee meeting, which is conducted for entrepreneurially inclined folks by the “My Next Big Idea” (MNBI) Team. It was a mixed bag of attendees – looked like an assortment of stuff one could expect at a Garage Sale. There were couple of suit-clad guys lending a patina of respectability to the gathering, but otherwise it was jeans and T-shirt affair.

The ball was set rolling by a garrulous young Brit named Alexie who shared his experiences as an entrepreneur – his trousers rolled-up to the knees like he was expecting 2 feet of water in the room at any moment; or was he just taking precautions against the flood of ideas expected from the enthusiasts gathered there.

Alexie went on for so long that another participant (also an expat) quipped – “If anyone is planning a long journey by Indian Railways please take him with you. He can keep you entertained.”

However, bulk of the attendees were Keralites, in the 25-35 age band, working on IT projects. Two ideas were presented during the meeting:

– An electronic device that would help the Police to track and penalise drivers who exceed the speed limit – the device would interact with the car’s electronics and with devices located on the road to make decisions. The idea sounded similar to the Salik system deployed on Dubai roads, but the technology this man intends to use is different.

– A web-based application that helps you decide whether the Samsung S3 is better that iPhone 5 or whether you should stick to your neighbourhood McDonalds instead of heading for the recently opened Sushi Restaurant. The young entrepreneur explained that the software running in the background picked up relevant information from discussions within your peer group on Social Media and then used complex algorithms to arrive at the decision.

Both were quizzed by the audience during and after the presentation and the attendees offered suggestions which they thought would make the offerings more robust and acceptable. I felt that the first presentation lacked depth and conviction and that this wannabe entrepreneur will be doing himself a disfavor by taking it in the current form to the investors. Or was I writing off a movie by just seeing the early rushes?

The 2^nd presenter made a slick presentation; his product is online already for people to use. Currently the decisions users could ask for  were focused on popular items such as college-to-study-at, electronic goods and restaurants.

My friends at MNBI are searching for robust investment opportunities. In the first meeting held two weeks back another entrepreneur had presented a next gen Business Networking site which, he avers, would take the fight to LinkedIn’s front-door.

Many times during the meeting, and afterwards, I wondered whether the cynicism I felt was on account of my age – did I belong to a different era? This bunch seemed so gung-ho and upbeat. They were daring enough to jump blindly into the deep-end of the pool without worrying about consequences.

Do they know something that I don’t? I am a Keralite too but these youngsters seemed so differently wired and I am happy for them.

My home state seems to be shaking of its staid and safe ways – the new generation believes that they can step outside tested and risk-free avenues provided by mainstream jobs and are heading for the horizon-less terrain of big dreams.

The Government Agencies and Venture Capitalists too are queuing up with big-bucks and support measures. Petro Dollars, Seafood Exports, Tourism and a little bit of IT have been our contribution so far – but all that is changing.

Are the youngsters aware of the flip side – are they blinded by the valuations of Google, Facebook and Twitter and weird prices at which web-based applications like Instagram were being gobbled up by these giants.

How many will hit pay-dirt and how many will fizzle out unnoticed in the fathomless realm of the worldwide web?

Books like Jugaad seem to fuel this bunch to think “radically” – but don’t many of them end up being mere copycats? The line between poorly hashed-up imitations and customised adaptations of popular products / ideas is pretty hazy.

But this bunch and many of the young set I saw and heard at TiECon Cochin 2012 didn’t seem to think there is a downside. They were riding the crest of a new wave and for them it is just up and up. I wish them all success.

I am not against this new trend among youngsters to start a business instead of seeking a steady job – in fact there are very few steady jobs left in the world. I too quit a regular job five years back and took the plunge. There is much more to Entrepreneurship than recognition and revenues. It’s not a turf meant for everyone and very few actually make it to the big league. Are these youngsters aware of the challenges and the pain involved in the process. Kerala is traditionally risk-averse and middle-of-the-road; this behaviour by youngsters is radically different. It is liberating, but will it go the distance?

All I am asking them to do are the following:

–          Have they confirmed the motives and the key drivers?

–          Is their product differentiated and robust?

–          Will they be able to persist sufficiently long?

–          Have they weighed the financial implications?

–          Has the market been studied thoroughly?

–          Do they have a realistic & professionally prepared  plan?

Many of them are just taking the plunge with half-baked products and poor understanding of the market. Most of them dream of selling their big idea to a industry leader and riding off into the sunset with the megabucks they pocket from the deal. May their stock keep growing!

I see huge opportunities for Business Consultants in this segment in grooming and shaping the paths of these daredevils – right now many of them resemble loose cannons.

I also had some concerns about the success of this StartUp gathering in the format I saw that day and privately offered some inputs on how it can be turned into a meaningful interface between established entrepreneurs, investors and bright-eyed newbies who dreamt of unleashing the next wave.

Is this a case of “Fools dare where Angel Investors don’t fear to tread?”

Is it a new Kerala on the ascendant? Will this virus thrive?

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