iSPIRT works to transform India into a hub for new generation software products, by addressing crucial government policy, creating market catalysts and grow the maturity of product entrepreneurs. Welcome to the Official Insights!
iSPIRT does not fit into known mental model for many folks, they often ask what exactly is it? Few say it is hard to pin it inside a known category or even describe it in words. The 2017 annual letter contains thoughts on what iSPIRT stands for. Some more explanation below on the why …
Continue reading “Explaining iSPIRT – ‘Olympic Gold Quest’ for India’s Product Winners”
When #iSPIRT announced a roundtable on ‘Building & Scaling Growth Teams for Saas Founders’ with Ashwin Ramesh (Synup) leading it, I was thrilled to join it, assuming it would be a direct take off from Ashwin’s session at #SaaSx4. Well, we were not disappointed. I am sure the other participants share my feelings on the …
Before writing something down about our experience at the recently held Product Nation Camp (PNCamp) product teardown session, I think it would be better to give a short perspective on the overall event from the viewpoint of a fairly reclusive startup in the B2B Saas space. UrbanPiper has been around for some time; however, for …
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses There is a pretty high chance you have heard the quote and an equally good probability that you yourself have used it to support or demolish an argument on “customer knows best”. It is quite interesting to note how quotes …
Customer feedback is gradually becoming the cornerstone of growth initiatives. A new research published in the Harvard Business Review found that the act of just asking for customer feedback in itself is enough to help keep customers satisfied and coming back for more — even when they do not respond to your request. Several theories of consumer …
Continue reading “Customer Feedback: How To Collect And What To Do With It”
Just came back, feeling happy, from Hyderabad after doing the #PNcamp3. The drive from the airport in the evening to Gachibowli was pleasant and I got to see lot of construction in the city. I felt like I was driving in the Silicon Valley highway with wide roads and people driving in their lanes. In …
Amazing but how? This question pops out of every startup founder’s mind while reading success stories. Persistence, determination & hard work, great to know, but nobody tells the real thing. Where are the techniques? With any magic, the logic behind is what a technician always looks for. So, where is the secret formula of startups …
Continue reading “The curious case of B2B SaaS Startup’s inside sales and marketing”
Attending a #PNCamp is like going to an amusement park. You know you are going to have a great time. But everything that happens still manages to amaze you in a way you do not expect. In this post, I will share my experience at the recently held #PNCamp3 at ISB, Hyderabad. This was the …
Continue reading “Forget the Product, Obsess about Customer (Problems)”
The Industrial Revolution was possible because organizations could be built and managed effectively. Today too, problem #1 in business is creating the organization in the right way. changing landscape, in the 19th century (photo credit: thomasgenweb.com) The first time I saw this chart below, a light bulb went off in my head. It shows the …
Continue reading “On Organizations and Lessons from the Industrial Revolution”
“Diversity is an intellect multiplier, especially when the diverse groups can collaborate well” – Mark Sareff This year the International Women’s day was a different experience for me, no panels stating gender diversity facts most people are painfully aware of. Instead I had the proud privilege of being invited to do a fireside chat and …
Continue reading “Diversity with Collaboration Unlocks Innovation and Drives Business Growth”
The software product industry is swiftly graduating from desktop to cloud based applications. Interestingly, there is also a hand-in-hand shift in the associated sales and marketing strategy around these products. Till some time back, a typical B2B sales cycle was heavily dependent on building relationships, and hand-holding the prospects through the product implementation. In this …
Most probably a bad contract is at the heart of the Stayzilla (SZ) and Jigsaw Advertising (Jigsaw) dispute that’s a hot topic of discussion for the members of India’s fast growing startup ecosystem. Jigsaw supplied advertising related services, SZ did not pay. SZ announced intention to “reboot” and Jigsaw used its might to register cheating …
Continue reading “Dear founder, have you got your contracts right?”
iSPIRT brings #PNCamp3 to Hyderabad for the first time. There are clearly established trends that successful SaaS startups have started to emerge from India on the global front – with products that are world class and leaders in their categories. These are very early stages of a transition from a IT services world to a SaaS software …
On March 14,2017, Chennai police arrested an Indian startup founder and CEO on charges of defrauding a supplier of Rs.17.2 million. The available information revealed that the startup had not paid one of its suppliers for its advertising services for over 1-1/2 years. When the startup announced plans to shut down (CEO called it “rebooting”), the …
Continue reading “Startups – new problems of governance and ethics”
Recently was having a conversation with a Private Equity friend and was trying to explain the challenge that has captured my imagination and full attention, ie exits for software product startups in India. He felt that the data about the exit structural deficit that I was trying to point out felt too bearish to be true. My counter …