The Recent Trends in Entrepreneurship in Karnataka

This is an interaction that I recently had with Kanchana Dwarkanath - A dynamic News Correspondent with Times of India and Times Jobs

I have put forth the same questions and reply from my end along with the link to the article published in Times of India recently    http://www.techgig.com/readnews.php?category=Other+Technology+news&tgnews_link=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.timesjobs.com%2Fskill-knowledge-and-ability-is-key-for-entrepreneurs-jagirdar%2F&tg_type=rss&tgnews_id=46601

1) In the current market why is opting for entrepreneurship a good option.

Post 2008 global recession the market dynamics have changed forever. Disruptive innovations have flooded the market and life cycle of organizations have come down to just 4- 5 years of business relevance, this includes and Products/services as well. In this circumstance the competencies to cope with this rapid change and survive needs multi tasking skills, networking and business knowledge abundantly to stay ahead in a fierce competitive environment where the markets and margins are shrinking. Business entities are now encouraging their employees to have high entrepreneurial and innovative skills as an added quality to reach optimization in results. So besides functional knowledge like HR, Marketing, Finance, etc one has to also contribute in the strategic role of business procurement and optimization. This "need" requires quality workforce which differentiates the Boys from Men. This has widened the gap of employability in the industry.

Secondly to rapid changing business environment, innovation and creative ideas have gathered a center stage in the last few years at the University campus and also at the corporate. Large enterprises like IBM, CISCO, Infosys , Wipro are encouraging ideation at the campus and funding these initiatives thereby making entrepreneurial options extremely vibrant.

The future forecast is also clear that the growth engines of the economy will be micro enterprises and MSMEs.

India has come of age in the ecosystem building of entrepreneurship in the last 10 years. Several universities are promoting incubation at their campus. Vishweshvariah Technological University (VTU) has made it mandatory for Engineering colleges to have incubation center in their campus.. The current breed of youngsters have heavy personal choices and freedom that was not witnessed until now, so the natural choice for them is to take the entrepreneurial road to have the best of the work life and a life full of freedom. The trend “to do your own thing” is visibly gaining momentum in even 2 tier cities.

2) How to choose the service/product that best suits your skill as against just following the herd?

One has to seriously evaluate owns ones competency (Skill + Knowledge +Ability) before making the final choice. All of us have a hidden winning formula and that emerges with high exploratory approach. So while we encourage people to experiment and take a dive and participate without inhibition into challenges and opportunities that allows the flowering of their awareness. Some people find bringing a smile on someones face makes them glow and happy, so natural choice for them is to venture out into service industry or hospitality similarly, another feels to meet people , travel, having intellectual sports may choose marketing of products. Logically driven and a creative flair might opt for more to do with finance and insurance, software etc.

In short pick whatever that makes one feel complete in self expression and not what everyone are following or doing.  

The potential market for your products or services can be defined as the pool of consumers or businesses who would consider purchasing them. In other words, they have a need that your business might help them address. It is key to clearly define your market before endeavoring to conduct research. For example, if want to open an athletic store, you need to decide if you will cater to runners, swimmers, golfers, tennis players or all of the above as well as if you will focus just on one segment like footwear or broaden to include apparel, equipment and more. Once you define the scope of your potential business and the corresponding potential market for your products and services, you need to determine why a consumer or business would purchase from you rather than a competitor. Do you offer the lowest price? Unparalleled service? A unique product mix not available elsewhere? Before investing significant time and money in actually starting your business you need to find your niche and determine your clients’ willingness to pay for your offering.

 

Kishor Jagirdar

3) Why do several start ups fail (3 steps they miss?)

1.  A Small or Unscalable Idea

Investors tend to bias ideas that throw out the largest nets possible, in terms of potential customers.  They would much rather back the next Google GOOG -0.55% whose product appeals to everyone and anyone, than a small niche business that only appeals to a very narrow market (e.g., whitewater rafting business on the Ganga River).  Niche businesses are OK if you are going to run it as a lifestyle business for yourself, but not to attract professional investors.  And, investors tend to prefer businesses in sizable industries that are easily scalable, translated as more technology-driven than human-powered, where they can drive higher margins over time.

2.  No Competitive Research–Wrong Market Positioning

Often times, entrepreneurs launch businesses they think are good ideas, but they never took the time properly research the market.  Investors don’t want to back the 10th startup in a space, they would much rather back one of the first movers.  Especially, if one of the others in your space has already raised a boat load of venture capital to fire bullets in your direction.  And, in all cases, you want to make sure you are clearly differentiated from the others (e.g., better product, better value, different target client) and that your plan is defensible against future market entrants who may follow you after your preliminary success.

3.  No Go-To-Market-Strategy

Entrepreneurs are typically so focused on building their product that they don’t think far enough ahead to their go-to-market strategy, and how that will help them to achieve a proof-of-concept to attract growth capital.  You always need to raise enough capital upfront to not only build your product, but to effectively test your sales and marketing tactics.  This will allow you to demonstrate your business is seeing nice preliminary growth and traction, and that you have tested and identified a profitable customer acquisition plan with affordable economics.