Vision India 2020: Oishi

During the dotcom heydays, two companies had caught my eye: online diamond jewelry retailer BlueNile and online gift retailer RedEnvelope.

Multi-Billion Dollar Venture Ideas for Indian Entrepreneurs

For Indian entrepreneurs looking for scalable venture ideas, here is a list to work on. I have modeled one venture for each category, which you will be able to access from the Vision India 2020 series:

Vision India 2020: AdiShakti

By the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, the negative impact of a fossil fuel-based energy economy was crystal clear. Led by California, but closely followed by players elsewhere, aggressive research in renewable energy had begun. Solar energy was one of the most promising sectors of renewable energy.

Deal Radar 2008: PaidContent

PaidContent—the flagship site of ContentNext Media Inc.— is a blog site that covers news on media related technology worldwide. It was founded by editor and publisher Rafat Ali in 2002 in a bid to raise his personal profile and find a new job. Four years later Ali made PaidContent a business and founded ContentNext Media,

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Vision India 2020: Thakur

In June 2008, I was in Kolkata for my aunt’s funeral. As ever, our (very large) family congregated over several meals. Whether it was birth or death, or any other family event, these meals had always acted as catalyst for our bonding, and held for us a place of supreme importance.

Catching Up On Readings: Vision India 2020

In case you are reading today, Happy July 4th. And here’s some reading to catch up on: Vision India 2020: Renaissance, Gangotri, Maya Ray, Elixar, Bioscope. Entrepreneur Case Studies: Carol Realini (Obopay), Steve Hafner (Kayak), Ramu Yalamanchi (Hi5), Francisco Martin (Strands), Samir Arora (Glam) and Jacob Jacobsson (Blaze DFM).

Alibaba Enters India

Alibaba.com (HKSE: 1688), China’s leading B2B e-commerce company, announced its first quarter results early last month. Revenue for the quarter increased 53.2% to RMB680 million (~ $99 million) and EPS rose 118.6% to HK$6.47 (~ $0.93) for the year.

Vision India 2020: Bioscope

Professor Raj Reddy at Carnegie Mellon University first urged me to look at micro-franchise as a vehicle for economic development. Today, micro-finance has become a world-renowned phenomenon, especially with Dr. Yunus’ Nobel Prize two years back. [You can read my interview with Raj here.]