Category: Indian internet

Mainstream media

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So salaries are being reduced in the mainstream media companies, earlier there was talk of layoffs too.  Unlike the developed countries where major newspapers are closing their print editions, the mainstream media has flourished in India in the last few years.

However, at least for the English language papers, it is going to be a struggle soon, since they cater to the same English speaking internet using population.  The only advantage is that most people spend a lot of time commuting in major metros, so newspapers are still very convenient for reading when you are stuck in a traffic jam.

IT firms

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IT firms and the Indian market –  I come from a non IT and internet background and have been very surprised how arrogant most IT and internet companies in India are. In engineering, even if you worked for the largest company in the industry and your customer was a very small company, you always tried to be flexible, listen to the customers requirement and make changes wherever possible.  I remember going to every hardware store in Ajmer searching for  a particular type of cable for wiring, after a customer had made a last minute change in location and the cable reel the vendor had bought from Mumbai was not enough. After all, the customer ultimately paid your salaries.

Looks like I am not alone, many other Indian companies face a similar problem. That is why  I don’t feel work experience in the biggest IT firms or internet companies helps, the Indian market is very different.

Tech/IT in India

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A post on investing in India . What is interesting is most of the startups have founders with a  software background or  are NRIs. The problem with working in a software company, however big or famous it is, is that you never see the full picture.  You are only handle the software coding part , the decision about the hardware , vendor finalisation, etc are taken by someone else. Most of the clients are not from India, so you do not know much about actual conditions in India.

On the other hand , if  at least a significant number of engineering graduates from top colleges had worked as engineers in India, they would have had a better understanding of the market.  Though the work is not glamorous, you handle entire projects, right from selecting and ordering the correct resistor with color code,  minimising project cost and providing documentation so that the cement plant operator in  Tehsil Gauriganj District Sultanpur (known in the media as Amethi), who you will never meet or communicate with , can understand and handle the equipment you designed without any problem.

They also underestimate the importance of the user / customer,  you may have the best technology in the world,  but if does not meet the market need , it will not succeed.

Indian internet startups

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There is a lot of hype in the online and offline media about internet start ups in India.  I have an internet business  but I do not have a background in programming or the internet, so my way of  looking at things is different.

When I started my business, I did not know any one personally from the internet sector and even now all my contacts are strictly professional, with  companies who pay me for advertising on my websites.

With all the limitations I have ,  I am fairly satisfied with the money I make.  I have been following the internet start ups and companies in India, some of the reasons why internet usage is still low and few will succeed are:

1. Most target a very small market.  If the market size itself is Rs 100 crore, even if you dominate the market, growth is limited.

2.  They are usually copies of  successful websites in other countries, little thought is given to the actual market.

3.  The reasons why people start an online business  seem to be all wrong –  because it is fashionable,  to get venture capital funding , to become famous.

4.  I have been tracking all major stories on start ups in India for the last year , all of them seem to think that having a nice software application and well designed website will make it successful and popular.   They do not realize that for the visitors,  the website should be useful , design is secondary.

5. Most start up teams seem to have very limited exposure – they only seem to be knowing people with a background very similar to theirs ( may be since people in India are very status conscious and rarely try to understand the viewpoint of  others who are not as lucky), this makes it difficult to develop a  product with a broader appeal.

6.  The internet companies seem to think they are online clones of the Indian software companies – to grow they need to hire people. My idea of  an ideal online business is one which I can control and manage anywhere in the world with an internet connection, once setup it should need little additional effort, but earn a regular income.

7. In the Indian startup scene today, from media reports it seems funding = success.  But it appears that startups are exploited .  If you believe in your idea, why go to others for money?  Most  software jobs pay well , if  you lead a frugal life, you can save enough . Unlike factories which require an investment of hundreds of crores,  you can start an internet / IT business with less than lakh rupees.