Proto.in

We had a meeting with about 20 folks representing various elements of the ecosystem – the startups (especially the ones that are still in the ideation stage), a few folks from the Angel Investor Community, and also met with some exclusive interviews with the Press, in an attempt to understand and receive feedback to improve on what Proto could contribute and effectively provide more – all in an effort to match expectations with deliverables.

The Overall reception of Proto was quite good. Everyone does seem to understand and appreciate the effort that is going into Proto.

In Terms of further contributions,

Some of the common points that came out was the basic awareness that is required in terms of setting up a venture. A lot of people seem to be struggling to find the answers to questions such as the procedure in incorporating a company, the various finance options available, suggestions and advise while bootstrapping a company, putting together a business plan (especially the financial projection part), sound advice when it comes to raising funds – including how to pitch to a VC, the DOs and DONTs, and what are the various clauses that you need to be aware of, and even simple things as to what a “term sheet” and etc mean. We are already working on a couple of ways to see how we can accomodate this. There does seem to be partners within our own network that we have, who can definitely help in this aspect.

The Second aspect came from the Media front. It does seem to be a raging question as to why the media doesnt give startups the attention it requires. I am not sure if that is all together true. With the right platform, the media is open to give your case a representation. At the end of the day, it comes down to what their viewers and the general population requires. Startups and entrepreneurship are still not quite the popular lifestyle of choice. But we can definitely contribute towards that – but the timelines of impact and change, are still quite subject to a lot of other factors. There seems to be a lot of hope though in this direction.

One of the discussions also led to how the barcamps have effectively helped to contribute to this ecosystem in a very fruitful manner. Bangalore for example, has had two successful technology ventures thanks to the support and feedback that the bangalore barcamp team and attendees have been able to provide. The scope of such informal and supportive networks, simply cannot be neglected. It was and always has been a mandate of proto to support these efforts, and we will continue to work together with initiatives such as Barcamps, Mobile Mondays etc. This was a positive affirmation towards where we are heading.

There were a few companies that seem to be looking into acquiring their first set of customers or clients. This is where there is quite a challenge. It almost treads on lead generation. But we surely will look into if we can converge some of the mindshare in proto into effectively creating a network that could increase the chances of acquiring clients. We have done this informally, but we need to focus on making this more effective.

We also had some meetings with some folks in the Media – Economic Times, Business World and HT Mint. The support from these folks have been truly amazing and heart-warming. We really appreciate it.

Today is a day full of meetings with some venture capitalists and also with TiE Bangalore to finalize on our roles to play. A rough draft of the agenda for the event will be drawn up before today ends, and will be finalized before the end of next week.

Will update more on this tonight.