Startup Events This Month

So August, Seems like a fun-filled month, and there seems to be quite a bit of activity happening on all corners of the country. Here goes:

Bangalore:

1. The Bangalore Open Coffee Club meet is happening this coming Sunday in Bangalore. I so far see close to 30 people who are attending the event, and since I am also travelling am quite keen to check out how the folks in Bangalore run the event. If you are from around, this is definitely a place to get plugged in, to be in touch with fellow entrepreneurs and ask questions regarding whatever support you might require in terms of starting up and running a company.

Date: August 3rd, 2008

If you are interested, do an RSVP at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/936234

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NASSCOM is organizing their third Product Enclave, and there have always been a good number of fabulous speakers and talks, and more so amazing people to catch up with in the corridors of this event. This time it is happening on the dates of August 11th and 12th in Grand Ashok in Bangalore.

The event does have a registration fee, but considering that its a two day event, it would make absolute sense to be there if you are a company which is at the cusp of breaking forth into the growth stage of your journey.

Some of the key speakers for the event are, Alok Mittal, Bharat Goenka of Tally, Kiran Karnik, Sharad Sharma of Y!, Subash Menon of Subex Azure and the likes.

Registrations are now open, and More details after the link.

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Chennai

The Chennai edition of the Open Coffee Club has probably been one of the long running ones so far. As usual, and just like clockwork, the group comes together on the first sunday of every month – which will be on the 3rd of August. More information on the get together is at http://chennaiopencoffee.ning.com

Date: August 3rd, 3pm

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Delhi

After Proto.in, I guess the folks in Delhi really have taken up a vow for new heights. After the overwhelming success of the Startup Lunch 2 in Delhi, The folks there are quite interested in putting together the third edition of the Startup Lunch on the dates of August 30th. If you are a startup, or someone who is looking to join a startup – this would be the most ideal place for you to be at.

For more information, do contact Avinash at ,

More Information about the Startup Lunch can be found at http://startuplunch.proto.in

Note:
Is there any other event on the grassroot level happening in your city, or one that you are part of. Do let me know.

3 Comments

admin, July 30th 2008 | Posted in india, proto, proto.in, resources, startups, upcoming events

Proto.in Innovation Jam Session

They said that people need to do a rapid fire round of Idea Generation. Most folks were skeptical, but when it did happen, the line up behind the microphone to pitch ideas, only kept growing longer and longer.

Kudos to Amit Somani and Kiruba Shankar for Fabulously Moderating this session.

Innovation Jam

Summary:

What is this about?
What do you do when you get a bunch of really smart, energetic, passionate entrepreneurs in a room? Well you get them to do a “power” brainstorm to try to identify trends, tough problems to solve and in general how to move the needle in a significant way.

How will this be run?

* Any one who has an idea should describe the pain point, trend, observation with one use case (how will this help someone – a consumer, a business, whoever). Moderator(s) will only validate to make sure we capture the spirit of the idea. Be as specific as possible …
* As soon as an idea is proposed – people can “Build on an Idea” or “Jump to on to a related idea” – hence the Jam :-)

The moderators will facilitate to keep the Jam moving and sort of “on topic” …

Read more…

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admin, July 29th 2008 | Posted in india, proto, proto.in, proto2008se, startups

Proto.in July ‘08: In Pictures

So Finally received the set of CDs from the Photographer and have uploaded all the pictures that were taken at Proto.in onto flickr. For those interested to go through the moments, its at http://www.flickr.com/photos/protoin/sets/72157606413894392/

Now that the weariness has worn off and I am in renewed strength, going through the picture is nothing but sheer amazement, just at the level of participation of the audience in everything – especially when I can’t seem to put a name to most of the faces. I’d say that’s a good thing, a very good thing.

The two days of Proto.in in Delhi was sheer joy. I guess that’s what makes this entire slogging process worth it. As much as myself and the wonderful team that has been at it for the past two years did our part, it wouldn’t have come anywhere close to what it was without the team in Delhi, which was pretty much our source of inspiration. Special shout goes out to Digbijoy, Puneet, Piyush, Shivaas, Dr. Anil (FITT), and all the guys who pretty much landed a solid day or two ahead from out of town to “help out”.

Really, when these sorts of things are happening, I can’t but be happy that the “community” is finally coming together – which means, we are all set to kick into the next gear, and that only means many more amazing things to come. Hang around, and you will witness it – The startups winning, I mean!

PS: The videos are being encoded. They will be out in a few days.

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admin, July 29th 2008 | Posted in proto, proto.in, proto2008se

New India: Giving Startups Their Faces.

Collage

So, the folks here at the Proto.in team realized something a few months back. Entrepreneurship is a rising phenomenon today here in India. And not only that, Startups themselves are almost at the verge of being considered mainstream – I mean just look at the sheer number of dedicated television programs, events, activities, magazines, all being launched targetting that audience. All is well and good, but.. but but.. when you think of an “entrepreneur”, who comes to mind?

Are we, all theory and very less practical, all over again? Not really. There are enough entrepreneurs, just not celebrated enough. So we thought we’d take the initiative to put some faces on the spotlight.

This edition of Proto.in, we had four such posters made, and in the future, we want to create an entire wall full of startup entrepreneurs with all their glory – attitude and all.

So if you are an entrepreneur, you qualify. Here’s how.

1. Take a high resolution picture of yourself, along with your team – facing the camera.
- If possible, be casual. We are a startup for God’s sake. So lose the suits, and be cool, casual, and look into the camera. Don’t pretend you are Ambani’s long lost brother in suits and talking on cellphones and such (if I am this specific, trust me, we’ve seen enough of such pictures! ) :) Poor Nandini only knows too much of this.

2. Send me an email with your name, your quote, the name of your company, along with the website url of your company.

3. Even if you are not a proto.in company, its okay, you qualify as long as you are an entrepreneur and are running a company not more than five years old, and it is indian.

4. If You want some samples to look at, here goes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/protoin/sets/72157606385181319/

Lets take startups mainstream. What say ye?

7 Comments

admin, July 27th 2008 | Posted in india, proto, proto.in, proto2008fe, proto2008se, startups

Presenting, The Batch of Proto.in Companies Jul ‘08

Company – Muziboo
Product – Muziboo
Incorporated Year – 2007
Founder/CEO – Prateek Dayal, Nithya Dayal
What They Do – Muziboo is a website offering feedback to amateurs and professional musicians. You can upload your music (MP3 files) and get comments from peers. You can also find band members and seek help from other members at Muziboo.

Company – Datatype Equipment Private Limited
Product – Lipikaar
Incorporated Year – 1983
Founder/CEO – Santosh Dawara, Anjali Gupta
What They Do – Indic language expression for online and desktop users. The patented product allows a simplified typing method for both monolingual and bilingual users. Number of languages suported are 2,000.

Company – Lifeblob
Product – Lifeblob
Incorporated Year – 2007
Founder/CEO – Pranav Bhasin
What They Do – Provides you way to organize your life. Its a blogging, picture and video sharing engine where all your posts are arranged as a timeline

Company – Ferox Foods Pvt. Ltd
Product – Makhana Flakes and Popcorns
Incorporated Year – 2008
Founder/CEO – Bhism Narayan Singh
What They Do – A food processing company plans to launch Makhana flakes and popcorns as a quality breakfast cereal in the next six months.

Company – AKVENTURE Info Pvt. Ltd
Product – Lootstreet
Incorporated Year – 2008
Founder/CEO – Kaushik Mukherjee, Arun Balakrishnan
What They Do – An online e-commerce company founded by IIMA grads, LootStreet offers a virtual marketplace for buyers and sellers to come together.

Company – Storrz.com- JustOnDemand Technologies
Product – Storrz
Incorporated Year – 2007
Founder/CEO – Chandan Maruthi
What They Do – Storrz is a Social Shopping Platform that allows people to explore, share and shop online.

Company – Tiriyo Technologies Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
Product – Recruiter Pilot
Incorporated Year – 2006
Founder/CEO – Dinesh Neralla
What They Do – Human resources management company which has launched its product to help in candidate sourcing, resume extraction and resume searching

Company – The Hiring Tool
Product – Hiring Tool
Incorporated Year – 2008
Founder/CEO – Nupur Panjabi, Sumit Panjabi
What They Do – A yet to be launched product targeted at connecting employers directly with recruitment agencies, placement consultants etc for their hiring needs

Company – NextBit Computing Pvt. Ltd.
Product – gCOSign
Incorporated Year – 2006
Founder/CEO – Vishal Borker
What They Do – An intelligence driven out of home media company targeted at high end retailers and shopping malls. They have a centrally controlled server which enables them to control hardware and thus save costs. They also have a system which enables ad networks to control the number of “impressions”, of advertisements running on their networks, giving significant leverage and business models to emerge in this slow market of display advertisement.

Company – Four Factions
Product – Apnabill
Incorporated Year – 2007
Founder/CEO – S.K. Jain
What They Do – An online utility bill payment and prepaid mobile recharge platform. The company has tied up with several mobile aggregators. Will be moving into other verticals of bill payments soon.

Company – Eko India Financial Services Pvt Ltd
Product – SimpliBank
Incorporated Year – 2007
Founder/CEO – Abhishek Sinha
What They Do – A microfinance company which uses mobiles for banking solution. The co has a partnership with Centurion Bank of Punjab and targets low income people

Company – Blink Media Pvt Ltd
Product – Intelligent Shopping Cart
Incorporated Year – 2007
Founder/CEO – Devang Raiyani, Hemang Shah, Sawan Rupar
What They Do – Interactive shopping cart accessory for retail outlets which advertises seconds before purchase

Company – Picporta
Product – Picporta
Incorporated Year – 2006
Founder/CEO – Pulkit Gaur
What They Do – Image search site based on content which lets you upload pictures, edit images and batch processing.

Company – MindHive Labs Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Product – LordsOfOdds
Incorporated Year – 2007
Founder/CEO – Hariharan Krishnamoorthy
What They Do – It is a virtual betting and fantasy gaming portal. The portal organises betting on various things such as politics sports etc

Company – Crederity Inc
Product – Crederity Card, Crederity Trust
Incorporated Year – 2006
Founder/CEO – Rakesh Antala
What They Do – provides certification against ID and resume fraud. The company has developed proprietary fact verification technologies enabling people to verify identity and credentials including background, education, and employment history.

Company – Soliton Technologies
Product – Spot-It
Incorporated Year – 2004
Founder/CEO – Dr. Ganesh Devaraj
What They Do – High cost and difficulty usability of existing vision systems. The company makes hi-tech cameras that are used by clients such as GE, IBM, Ford among others.

4 Comments

admin, July 24th 2008 | Posted in india, proto, proto.in, proto2008se, startups

Proto.in Talks : In Slides

There were two sessions, which used slides and some of the folks had requested for it. So here it goes. As for the the rest of the talks, we’ll be converting them into a format that we can host online and share them. Do stay tuned.

At the Helm of a Fast Growing Business – Bhavin Turakhia, Directi

The Art of Financing Your Itch: A Bootstrapping Story – Gaurav Bhatnagar, Tekriti Software

8 lessons in funding your own dreams

1 Comment

admin, July 24th 2008 | Posted in Proto.in Talks, india, proto, proto.in, proto2008se, resources, startups

Proto.in Talk: Reconciling Investors and Entrepreneurs – Sanjay Anandaram

So, the toughest Act that one could possibly Imagine being an entrepreneur, and especially one if you are to raise funds – the need to find the balance and commonality between your goals, visions and ambitions and those of your investor.

Sanjay Anandaram of Jumpstartup, did a talk on the same during this edition of Proto.in, and here’s the summary as made by Namitha Jagadeesh on her blog post:

Venture capitalist Sanjay Anandaram, who co-founded early-stage VC fund Jump Startup in the dotcom era, had an unfortunate post-lunch, drowsy slot but did a pretty good job of keeping the crowd awake with his blunt talk. Anandaram, who along with his co-founders did not raise a second fund with Jump Startup, keeps busy these days “helping some start-ups, advising a couple of funds and teaching entrepreneurship at colleges”. His session was on the near impossible task of ‘Reconciling investors and start-ups’.

The professorial streak was evident, as he explained the basics of startup-VC dynamics in an interactive classroom session of sorts.

Lesson 1: Be careful of your expectations

What do you expect from your VC?

(Audience answers) – Bring money to the table, add value, help me monetise my product, help with customer contacts and relationships, help with hiring

If you want the VC to do all this, the VC will ask you what the hell you are going to do for the company. The VC’s job is to write you a check to back your vision. Don’t take check and let him modify your vision and execute it for you.

Lesson 2: If the chemistry isn’t right, the arithmetic will not work.

Chemistry with your VC is the most important thing. The bad news is, the VC has the money, is on your board and has a lot of veto rights (such as first right to refusal of stake in future) in his favour, so make sure it’s someone you get along with. Being a CEO/Founder is a lonely job, and a VC should be part-psychiatrist, part good friend, part straight-shooter.

Read More, right from her Blog …

1 Comment

admin, July 22nd 2008 | Posted in Media, Proto.in Talks, proto, proto.in, proto2008se, resources, startups

Proto.in July Editon ‘08 Comes to a close.

I think I speak for most folks when saying that we were quite blown away by the response we saw for this edition of Proto.in. We’ve certainly come a long way, and have quite a long way to go as well.

There has been a lot of requests for the videos that we played during the event, and yep, they will be up on youtube soon and I will post a link to it.

If you couldn’t make it to the event and want to catch a glimpse of things, do search the blogs for the tag proto4, and there seem to be quite a bit of them floating up. The twitter streams were quite active with proto tweets making it one of the hottest global search trends for the two days – so twitter search should give you a lot of per minute insights as well.

We do want to get your input on a few things though – starting with the talks on day one, and as we move towards some of the things on the second day. If I may request, can you take a few minutes to fill out this survey and give your feedback – as to whose talks you thought made a lot of sense and were useful? It would surely help to improve things in the future, and as also a constructive feedback for the speakers looking to engage with the startup audience. Feedback Survey

… And for those of you who liveblogged and tweeted away to glory, the winning announcement is still due. Those who tweeted, can you provide links of all your tweets and leave them in the comment section of the blog post as well? We’ll announce the winners as soon as we can collate all this info and make a decision.

2 Comments

admin, July 21st 2008 | Posted in Proto.in Talks, india, proto, proto2008se, resources, startups

Proto.in Live

Update: Due to lack of bandwidth, we are shutting down the live stream. Sorry guys.

For Those wishing to check out what’s happening at Proto.in Live, here’s the link.

Event address for attendees:

Proto.in Live – July Edition ‘08

Date and time: Saturday, July 19, 2008 9:45 am

India Standard Time (GMT +05:30, Bombay)

Event number: 808 662 466

Event password: protoweb

1 Comment

admin, July 19th 2008 | Posted in india, proto, proto.in, proto2008se, startups

The Proto.in LiveBlogging Contest

So Gentlemen, here’s the first of the series of surprises for this edition of Proto.in. Liveblog! – It’s simple advise as that.

If you are liveblogging, here are the rules:

1. Use the tags “proto4″ for the post.
2. Post a link to the post in the comment of this post.

We’ll announce the winner for the contest at the end of the second day. Do stay around and look forward to the blogger’s marathon.

PS: If you are twittering, use the tag #proto4

23 Comments

admin, July 18th 2008 | Posted in Media, proto, proto.in, proto2008se, startups
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