My first sms breakup

It is no shock that Mobile phone usage in India is mindblowing. It seems that everyone has a Mobile Phone - from the driver, to the maids, to the autorickshaw drivers to the small roadside street vendors. With 30% mobile phone penetration overall , or 300M or so users, it is low compared to other countries - but in the metros it seems to be all about mobiles. To put the number in prespective, India has already overtaking the US in absolute terms of users, ranking it #2 in the world next to China.

So with all these mobile phones around - SMS is also a big phenomena. I will come back to all the junk SMS that I recieve on a daily basis - but generally speaking the educated class is quite familiar with SMS and uses it quite frequently as a means of keeping in touch. And for those that cannot read/write and also for the rest of us that are too lazy to type - there is also voice SMS. Voice SMS is just like leaving a message - but really much better - you don't have to hope that the other person will NOT pick up. And I ofcourse got an junk marketing SMS only two -three days ago from AIRTEL ( my mobile carrier) - that I too can send voice SMS for only 75 paise/SMS ( about a 1.5 cents) by just putting * before the number. It is really quite simple.

So when my designer decided one fine day to just quit on me - there was no phone call - just an SMS saying that she is sorry that she will not be able to finish the job since her workers have already left for Diwali and that she is really tied up with other jobs. Just like that with an SMS - she decided to quit on me. No phone call or anything. Since most of the stuff works on word of mouth - there are really no contracts or anything like that. YOU work on a trust based system. Since, we were both referred to each other through a common friend - there was no question of not trusting the other person to deliver. But I guess I was dead wrong. But I guess what bothered me the most - that she did not call to discuss with me what are the options - NOTHING. Just an SMS out of nowhere. The unprofessionalism of the whole thing. AND not to mention that the entire process has set me back by more than one month.

A highly specialized society

I don't know about you but when most of us think about India - high efficiency and high degree of speciality do not really come to mind. But more and more I am finding out - that this is really the case. I think that it became obvious to me when I went to two different salons for beauty treatments .. yes .. the torture that we must through as women. Ok - I am totally bullshitting here - cause anyone that knows me - knows that I love to go to spas.

So what was so different about the Indian experience - the high degree of efficiency and super specialization. Take for example - when I went to get my roots touched up - there were I kid you not - four different people to take care of me. Ofcourse, there was the colorist - now he is the one at the top of the food chain here since his is the time that was the most precious and needed to be optimized. There was a helper that he could shout out to mix the color, another to get me coffee (miost important) and another to wash my hair. But my colorist had to also double as a stylist so he had to blow dry my hair - so ofcourse there was another assistant to hold the hair-dryer while he worked on my tresses. I must say the result was fabulous and the time saving was mind blowing. All in all, in the one hour I was there - the color expert - had to spend no more than 10 or 15 minutes with me!

Ok .. still not convinced. I also have gone to get a facial, a pedicure and a manicure. In the US, you may have gone to one of the Chineese run salon - which are pretty efficient I must say. But this was the best. Again, my master treatment giver - never left my side - whether it be she needed a hot towel, a change of water or any other tool. She was with me the entire time - with many lackeys running around for her getting her whatever she needed. Sometimes, it can feel a bit disruptive - but boy are things fast.

I guess that there are some positives to having a lot of labor that one can have the right level of person for the right job.

The State of the Internet in India

I will try to summarize what I have gathered about the state of the Internet from the TIE sessions that I have attended in the last few days. Since my venture is focused of NEW MEDIA - these were the sessions of keen interest for me. Please don't quote me .. as I write what I heard and have not verified any of the information.

• The number of Internet Users depending on whom you believe is somewhere in the range of 30 - 100M. Quite a large range, but noone really knows for sure.
• The inflection point for the Internet is about 80M based on learnings from China. This number was thrown around at a couple of different sessions. This is when the Internet becomes an attractive medium for advertisers. Internet usage is still in its early days in India. In the next 18 - 24 months, it is expected that India will reach the inflection point.
• Access to the Internet via the mobile will also continue to grow - again we expect the mass numbers to be in the next few years as we have better browsers, Querty keypads and cheaper phones.
• Only the #1 and #2 sites will be profitable in a specific category or horizontal sites. Niches / Verticals are the way to go.
• Reliance stated that ZAPAK has 4M registered users and is doing over $2M USD in advertising. Advertising is picking up on the Internet. The overall rate of advertising in India is growing at 18%. The growth of Internet advertising is double or triple this number.
• Growth of BB users will happen via mobile (ie. 3G or wimax) - it is highly unlikely that this will be the landline phenomena that we are used to in the US. Although, the IT minister did promise that in the next couple of years that the Internet connectivity will be available at the village level.
• There was some concern about the content on the Internet. Currently there is no killer application. It is thought that Entertainment will be the key driver not E-commerce. There was a lot of debate about local language content being one of the key drivers of growth. Currently, there is not enough compelling content for the masses.
• In terms of areas of investment, it seems that education sector and the favorites web2.0/KPOs was mentioned many many times. Sequoia invested $18M or so in TutorVista and still feels that there is tremendous headroom in this sector. Also, according to Educomp (the market leader) - that the market is fragmented with no player with more than 2% market share. Growth in population, usage of technology and the fact that usually education is recession proof will provide many new areas of growth.
• Another areas rasing eyebrows is what is know referred to as the CtoG and the GtoC sector. Big brother is everywhere and the Internet will be no exception. There will be lots of opportunity in the Government to Consumer segment.
• Raising VC financing will be tough. It will be a must-have to have a product and a well defined revenue model. It will be the survival of the best and brightest.

And on a totally unrelated note, India is now the 5th largest market for Louis Vuitton Goods after #1 -Japan, and #2 - France. It just goes to show that there are plenty of people that can afford Luxury goods. From this I can only extrapolate - that there are plenty of people at the top of the pyramid avialing of services such as the Internet .. but know how to get to those at the bottom of the pyramid.

The Value of a man that can drive

I am so terrified to get behind the wheel of a car on the roads of Delhi, so my only recourse in Delhi is to be driven around. It is not terribly expensive (about Rs 7000/Month or about $150/Month) - so it worth my peace of mind and the peace of the city for me not to be behind a wheel.

But being driven around is only part of the perks of having a driver I am just learning. My driver is also a MAN FRIday - meaning my right hand man. He will run my errands for me - like going to the chemist shop or to the grocery store. More importantly, I never have to really worry about parking - he drops at the front steps and picks me up right where he left me. Ofcourse, he has a mobile to constantly keep in sync with me. But the best part is that he goes and picks up fresh lunch for me. I guess all these tasks also keep him busy during the day - ok maybe he does not feel the same way.

There are some downsides. My total mobility depends upon him. If he is late, I am late to the office. And more than that - my whole life is in his hands given the crazy driving that happens around here. SO is my physical safety since Delhi is still not the ideal place for a single woman after 8 or 9 pm. But the worse part is no privacy - he also always KNOWS where I am. There is no lurching away.

Having a driver net net is really awesome. I guess the tradeoffs are worth it. I am beginning to enjoy this - so much so - I am beginning to think how did I ever survive without one!

Its not all doom and gloom, atleast at TIE

I am attending the three day TIE event that is happening here in Delhi. For those of you not familiar, TIE stands for the The Indus Entrepreneurs - a networking place for Venture capitalist and entrepreneurs. The theme of this year's conference is "Entrepreneurship Comes of Age". The conference seems to be well attended with atleast 400 or so delegates (ha, ha .. attendees, but delegates sounds so much more official). The buzz however seems quite muted from the Bay Area TIE events that I have attended. It is a reflection of where the market is at.

The key question on everyone's mind at the conference is are Venture Capitalist still investing. And the answer is , drum rolls please, yes somewhat. But still the audience is still not convinced. Lucky are the few that closed their funding rounds before August. As per Darwin's theory, it is only the strong that will survive, and this recession, or depression, since it is not really a recession in India since the country is still expected to grow at 5-6% per year. But from the way everyone is talking it sure feels like a recession.

Some key takeaways:

• Its all about execution we all know. And the panels of TIE reaffirm this boldly. 99% of the time you can rest assured that someone will, and most probably multiple people, will have the same idea as you. But very few people will be able to create an efficient, operational and commercially viable business out of it. So always know that there is competition .. but just go ahead and create the best product/service that you can.
• I also enjoyed the comment that business is really about common sense. But it is unfortunate that common sense is not really all that common.
• People first - before anything else, ie. meaning before raising money. A good team is paramount. And the current correction in the market is providing much needed respite to the labor situation - aka - people's expectations regarding salary are much much more reasonable.
• Corruption still seemed to be a major topic. Quite a few questions were posed regarding this in the India context. All one can say is that things are getting better but far from where they need to be.
• The right time to be an entrepeuneur is ofcourse when you have that fire in your belly. But more practically after you have had 4 -5 years of experience.
• The right time to spot an opportunity is when you are strong and the competition is weak. Which is NOW!

Hiring an Executive Assistant

In the my first two weeks of working in India, I quickly realized that I need an assistant. There are so many trivial details to manage - like making travel arrangements, managing calendars & meetings, ensuring lunch arrives on time and the list goes on and on. The list of details to be managed are mind blowing - so I decided to get me an assistant. But the person that I am looking for is far more than an assistant - it is really a Mini Me. Since, Internet is sporadic - I would like that person to be able to handle my email and in a crunch jump in and solve an excel or powerpoint crisis. To much to ask for - let's see. Today, I start interviewing candidates.

The candidates that I am interviewing have served as Executive Assistants to other CEO's. Couple of issues from the get go - 1) comfort with the English language 2) travel times to the office and 3) flexibility in schedule.

Firstly, let's say I am very dissapointed. The quality of talent at the lower-end of the totem pole is dismal. But to be fair - most of them are used to being Secretaries not Executive Assistants. I found that they are really lacking in soft skills and interviewing. One person even called me HONEY .. boy .. I thought that was really bold. Thank God that it was a woman - otherwise I would have really taken offense.

I was awestruck by the amount of time that it would take for any of the candidates to reach the office. The three I met today ranged between 1.5 hours to 2 hours. That would entail 4 hours of travel every day. And when I asked would they be comfortable with this, they all replied "No problem, maam, we are used to this."

Secondly, hiring a female is tough. I know, I know that you are thinking that I am being unneccessarily harsh - but my problem is that my schedule is erratic and so are the hours of the job. I don't want to worry about the safety of someone trying to get home after 8:00 pm or so. This will limit the talent pool available to me.

But tomorrow is another day .. let's see what happens then.

Don't you know who I am

"Don't you know who I am. ", I heard the guy at the table next to us tell the waiter. The guy was clearly irritated. But the phrase - don't you know who I am - is something that I am rather getting used to. It seems that everybody in Delhi is a somebody. And this guy definitely thought he was. So much so, that not only the waiter knew who he was but so did the rest of us at the restaurant. As he screamed, " You know that I am the head of a large investment bank in Delhi and I am not going to take this shit... how dare you .. how dare you overcharge me. I am not going to pay for this. " And after which, he started swearing at both Manager and the staff. Wow. Ok .. the stress levels of the market are getting to everyone .. but chill man .. but we were all enjoying the tamasha that he had created. I feel sorry for the poor girl that was with him, she must have been his wife.



But the fun for all of us continued. The manager was not one to cave in and demanded payment of the bill and if the man said another "galle" (swear word) - he would call the police. Things were really getting out of hand. All of a sudden our table was swarmed with 8 -10 waiters providing air cover. We were sitting outdoors and really were enjoying a nice calm evening. But this free entertainment, was quite riveting.



Shocking to me was that the manager was just not trying to get this beligerent banker out of the restaurant as fast as he could. But he too has playing the macho male. Let it go man, let it go. I think that the bill was for what - two beers - ok .. a whole Rs 500 ( aka $10) .. and for that the manager was fighting with the banker. Poor Customer Service. And even worse training for the staff. They did not seem composed at all to handle such a situation. And so the staff continued to escalate the fun.



The manager decided to take things a step further. "You will not leave till you pay this bill and I will also report you to the POLICE. You deal with them." And then he left - telling his staff not to let this guy leave. Oh boy is all I could say. The banker clearly had anger issues - and - I would not have been surprised if he lept up at the other tables at what we were looking at.



The banker was also in no hurry to leave and was on the phone calling God knows whom. I guess the list of the other who's who of Delhi. His wife sitting prettily was just tapping away on her iPhone. I guess she was used to this by now.



It was apparent that the restaurant was at fault. The banker had ordered a Kingfisher beer which was Rs 199 but was charged for a premium beer. Ok, big deal - I guess the banker had suffered much losses and hence an extra charge was the tipping point of his rage. I am just making that up - since we are all at the edge of the seat given the financial turmoil in the market these days. India has not been immune to it. Actually, the Indian index, the Sensex, has fallen almost 40 -50% from its highs. Many, many people have lost lots and lots of money.



But I have digressed, and now the Manager is back with the Police Officer. We all at our table laugh. Ofcourse the police officer is in cohoots with the Manager - they must go through this everyday. "What is your problem?" , asks the Police Officer to the irritated banker... " Nothing", says the banker, "nothing at all, but I refuse to pay more than what is the listed price on the menu for my drink."



" But then why did you swear at the poor fellow - he was just trying to do his job"... continues the Police officer. The back and forth continues between the police officer and the banker... and now we are all intrigued - at how long will both of these continue this. The Police starts to say that he will file a report against the banker. But the banker seems unphased by this. "Go ahead," the banker replies.



But the banker then tells the Police officer "that he too will file a report." A report since it is banned to serve liquor outdoors which apparently is happening in full view of the officer, and who has not done anything about that. I guess that the banker had a trump in his cards after all.

Now , now .. I guess how much will this cost the restaurant. I doubt that they will stop serving liquor outdoors - the question is how much will they have to pay. All I have to say, is the look on the officer's face was priceless and so was the glee in the bankers eye!

Its tough to write

I was requested by some of my friends to blog about my experience of moving to India. Why me? Because otherwise I am lousy at keeping in touch. Ok .. I am trying to get better at that .. as well as a host of other things.

I just reached India two weeks back. I can't say that there are any surprises so far, maybe because I am so used to coming to India for holidays. The traffic in Delhi is atrocious. No matter - how bad you think it is - it is worse than expected. I have not even dared to try to drive. I will try to get behind the wheel, but I am definitely not ready yet. So, I happily sit in the back seat trying to think to new ways to wile away one hour each way. Now I understand why so much business in India gets done on the mobile phone. It is a good way to keep on top on things. And to kill a lot of idle time.

Several things are new to me. For example, work does not start till 10:00 am and that some offices still work on Saturday. This was very frustrating to me in the beginning - but now I understand why. It would be impossible with all the tasks of family life coupled with the traffic to make it in any earlier. So I have now taken to going to the gym in the morning which is in the house. Ok - let me clarify, not my house - but my sister-in-laws house. I am staying their until my new apartment is ready.

Living at my sister's in law place is great . And I am availing of the luxuries such as a trainer every other day. I train with my sister-in-laws sister and her sister-in-law. Complicated. Yes I now. But these woman have a grand time egging on our trainer - whether it be about cricket or about marraige. The trainer is a sweet guy in his late twenties or possibly early thirties, and giggles at everything we say. Although, he is in good shape physically - he has a terrible time keeping us in shape. We rag on him way to much .. which he has smilingly puts up with. I guess we pay him a lot for this torture.

But anyway coming back to the trainer, he is from Kerala and his parents are searching for a suitable girl for him to marry. They had almost found him the perfect bride, but dowry came in the way. Now there are a couple of suitable brides and the only thing being negotiated in what will be the dowry. So this is our topic to harrass him with today. "Why can't he earn enough to support one girl - that he needs to get a dowry. Should we start a collection fund for him. How can he even think of such a thing?"

" TO which our trainer replies, " It is only right, maam, why should I not take dowry. Isn't it my right. It is the girl's fair share - no - isn't it. Think tomorrow, I will have children, then what? I too have four sisters - and we gave dowry for each of them. And then, the dowry would only help her (her here meaning whoever was his future bride) get started in something - maybe set-up her own business or something". Well thank God, atleast our trainer was open to the idea of his wife working. By know you know that our trainer thinks that there is nothing wrong with dowry- it is ofcourse tradition. But more so according to him - he has surveyed his client roster - which I must say - does consist a lot of the whos whos in Delhi - that 70% of his clients think that it is OK to take dowry. Actually not only OK - but actually right. Now ofcourse, we have asked him to supply us with a list of each and everyone of his clients that support this position.

Strange, that I have been but two weeks in Delhi, and already it is quite clear that somethings will never change.