Is there really a way of failure-proofing something as a startup?

Corporates today are not worried about what the other corporates are doing. They are instead worried about what startups are building in garages and hence, after trying to do everything to keep up with their pace, are now funding them.

In the highly interactive session, Stressed on what startups should focus on and where they are going wrong.

Customer co-creation

“Instead of focusing solely on the product, startups should think about doing other fundamental things right from the idea stage. This can be summarised in six points, namely co-creation, pricing relevance, ease of use, market acceptance, identifying customer needs, and tech-friendliness.”

Startups know what they are building and desperately want to sell it but what they need to know before anything else is why they made it. Believing in why you did what you did is pivotal.

Products have rationales and customers have emotions; tap that! If you think rationally in business, you will have a hundred people doing the same thing, but if you capitalise on emotion, you will be different.

If you are building a startup, there are certain questions which you need to ask yourself. They include:

* What need are you addressing?
* Are you satisfying a REAL need?
* Is your product impacting the lives of your customers?
* What is your competition doing?



Investor Co-creation

Most startups toil for years together, build a product, and then begin hunting for investors. This is a flawed method.

“You know how important an investor is to your startup. So, why wait for him? Involve investors from the idea stage so they know what you are doing from the start. People like to do business with who they are familiar with. Also, interacting with investors from the start gives you a lot of additional insight on what’s happening in the ecosystem and lets you understand what exactly they are looking for.

Traction: This is not about how much you have made but how much you are likely to make.

Mentor creation: People who can bridge the gap between customers and investors with their experience.

Their own passion is important, but obsession is not. Understand, if it has to be a commercial enterprise, it has to solve the problem of customers.

But what after a successful launch and a few great years of operations? How does a startup continually do well?

It’s not about getting it right at once. As long as people keep evolving, you cannot stop working. Every day is a new day.

While we are all aiming at achieving success and avoiding failure, They are both results that are not under our control. However, what we can control is our actions, and the more the precision with which we carry them out, the further we go in avoiding failure.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from YourStory

Startups, guide your way to cloud.

Isn’t this such an exciting time, when so much is happening in the startup arena? Technology-based startups bet on their ideas and work towards giving life to their dreams over a period. Ideas which are given shape via technology and placed on the tarmac as a pilot roll-out are tested for their relevance and acceptance from the consumers and businesses. This is where the idea of a public cloud comes across as a boon for tech startups that are either testing the waters with their beta products or productionising their solutions. A public cloud offers unprecedented compute and is the perfect platform for startups to take off. It is just not about compute boxes but capitalising on unique offerings that matter the most to them from a solution standpoint.

At the time when these pilots are rolled out (with ‘beta’ or ‘trial run’ tags), there is no sense of scale or directional indicators on compute capacity. Some may invest in market studies leading up to forming an opinion on the way forward, but at best they are ballpark and based on one’s awareness of the domain. Often, the question is about the pilot creation, where the pilot travels a certain distance, but is now being challenged for it longevity while the business leaps to garner bigger deals. This is the time and phase where startups go back to the drawing board, to assess how they can stand up to the upside they are witnessing on their businesses.

Getting access to public cloud is comparable to getting access to a theme park with unlimited rides. But it all depends on how they are utilised and perceptions are formed on the basis of ones’ tryst with specific rides.  Startups look for quick ways to deploy and get their solutions/services up and running. This article presents some of the field learnings from a technology standpoint in the form of recommended practices startups should keep in mind when they begin their journey in the cloud.

* Adapt a universal component designThis is one area architects and designers need to think through. A typical approach taken by a startup is not get tied to a specific platform. Depending on factors indicated under #4 (‘Cloud credit management and cost optimisation’) below, you tend to move your workloads from one cloud platform to another. Migrations or move-overs are not easy and come with certain costs (time and effort). At times, having used native services on specific cloud platforms might make the movement harder. If you have taken a stance not to use platform native capabilities, it might work in your favour during migrations, but at the cost of not capitalising on the power of cloud beyond pure boxes (hosting workloads in VMs).

This is where the need to make your workloads universal comes in handy. What does ‘universal’ mean in this context? It is about realising the core capability (main business function) by way of using certain peripheral native services (storage, integration, and data services) to complement the core functionality. When you take this approach, the core remains independent of a cloud platform and it can only be called complete by leveraging peripheral services. So when you move from one cloud platform to another, you take the core, which is at the heart of your solution, and wire it up with required peripheral (managed) services. This is true heterogeneity in the context of public cloud. In hindsight, it is also important to establish basic know-how of at least two cloud platforms to realise this model.

* Time to market — building vs buying (adopt managed services)

At times, it is fashionable to say that we have built it all in-house instead of using any readily available solutions. While it is important to demonstrate technical prowess leading to intellectual property creation, you have to balance it to address ‘time to market’ (TTM). TTM is very important for tech startups in view of competition and this is where ‘Managed Services’ or ‘PaaS’ comes in handy. Why waste time when someone has already done it the hard way? You are better off using it and moving on with stuff which is far more important to your business than going the route of reinventing the wheel.

Don’t get bogged down and stay on the trail of demonstrating technical prowess, but demonstrate agility by using proven frameworks and softwares that are out there. PaaS offering lays out services which can be readily consumed. Hence, if you are grappling with multiple ideas, you are better off realising them sooner in your efforts to test the waters.

* DevOps

This is the most talked about but less adopted stream in the startup world. A sense of urgency is at the centre of any startup and an essential ingredient for them to compete. Down the line, you may realise the aspect of disciplined approach to execution, and the lack of it in your effort to release something quickly. As your business grows, you will realise that TTM is increasing and you lack agility in the process followed. This is where the need for DevOps is felt and an essential ingredient in the overall SDLC. The sooner startups bring in this culture, the better would be their road ahead when it comes to scaling their systems and being responsive to business demands.

* Cloud credit management and cost optimisation

Major public cloud vendors provide usage credits to help startups jumpstart. It may last for a while, and is considered a major cost saver in the startup world. However, one should be mindful of the fact that these credits have an expiry and at some point, they must shift this cost into their routine burn rate. One crucial recommendation for startups here is to leverage these credits and invest in experimentation. You have to invest time to explore ways and means to scale, secure, grow, and instil value into your overall offerings.

In addition, the experimentation should also lead you into discovering the most cost-effective way to run your solution. This is critical to address the reality when credits run out and you have to pay from your pocket, because you are assured that you have the most economical solution in place.

* Minimise tech breakdowns

 Cloud provides more than one solution to a problem. Hence choose the one that justifies the cost as well as meets your performance requirement. Be it B2B or B2C, your differentiator may eventually be ‘availability’ and ‘responsiveness’. Hence it is important to build your system considering they would fail. Transient failures are evident and ensure you know the failover or recovery path in times of crisis. Your systems should carry the tag of ‘fail safe’, since factors like ‘availability’ and ‘responsiveness’ have a direct impact on the perception your users will have of your product and the reputation.

Cloud is evolving and so should startups. Cloud platform vendors are offering innovative solutions and a great amount of effort is going into democratising the software for application developers. Startups face a plethora of challenges and have to ensure the boat sails with certain stability. Based on my observation of the field, startups need to give thought to the above described areas. It is always desirable to do it right the first time, though learning from failures gives great insights on the way to success.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from YOURSTORY

How Entrepreneurs Made A Comeback After Business Failure.

Sydney entrepreneur Laura Moore came back from disaster to launch a successful health coaching business.
Running a small business can be one of the biggest, and most rewarding, challenges you can take on.

Imagine then, pouring your heart, time and life savings into developing, launching and growing your business, only to watch it either come close to failure, or worse, go under.

"I put on weight, was experiencing extreme fatigue, constant bloating and poor digestion, brain fog and erratic moods, which was seriously affecting my performance both personally and professionally," she said.

"To the world, it was business as usual, but behind closed doors I was battling with trying to exit the franchise, constantly worrying about my team and clients and how I could ensure they were impacted as minimally as possible, and struggling daily with my health. I now realise there was still a big part of me that felt like a failure."

Moore said she now uses what she learned during that dark time to help others through her new performance and health coaching business, Uppy.

"I learned how to manage and overcome the thoughts and behaviours that had led me to that point in the first place -- perfectionism, unrelenting standards, self-sabotage, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, procrastination, over-working," she said.

"I've always wanted to run my own business and this setback wasn't enough to kill that dream.

"The fire was kind of a blessing because it allowed me to get amazing insight very early on into my business career, so I now know the key areas I need to improve on (or delegate!) in order to make my new and future businesses run efficiently and successfully, and in a way that serves me personally too.


"I'm sick of seeing people struggle because they've been misinformed or they don't know there's another way, so I created Uppy as I believe everyone has a right to the knowledge and support that can help them live more."

Even experienced entrepreneurs can face failure. Entrepreneur Pawl Cubbin had to completely re-think his marketing plan when his Canberra nightclub started to flounder

Pawl Cubbin, serial entrepreneur and founder of advertising agency ZOO Group, also faced the burn of a failing business 12 years ago when the shine wore off his Canberra nightclub Academy 11 months after opening.

"It was a massive endeavour to get it going: Canberra's not a big place and we opened this nightclub in an underground cinema," he told HuffPost Australia.

"It had heaps of atmosphere and the novelty value was big, so it went well for the best part of 12 months -- everybody came and it was a big deal. We killed it.


"But after 12 months the novelty wore off; everybody had been multiple times and even though it was unique in Canberra, it was reduced to a certain demographic and that wasn't enough to sustain it."

Cubbin said the business floundered for three months before he could come up with a plan to save it.

"It was an expensive project ... we'd invested too much to close it," he said.

"It did too well too initially for us to close it. You've got to identify what you're doing wrong -- you've got to take some blame.


"One of the guys I worked with said 'I think this is the demographic we want, let's put that out there and promote that' and we did. And it was the right thing at the right time, so we were lucky."

Disclaimer: - Following article come from THP

Investing in a Startup Isn’t as Dumb an Idea as People Say It Is.

Are you thinking about investing in startups, but are hesitant because of all the fear mongering around startup investing out there? I’m sure you know what I am talking about. There are plenty of people out there who will tell you things like:

“When you invest in startups, expect to lose all your money.”

“Your returns as an angel investor are typically negative, so don’t bother.”

“Angel investing is stupid… don’t do it (even though I made 5X returns angel investing).” And I quote this from an actual conversation.

If startup investing is so risky and so dangerous, why do you hear about so many Silicon Valley millionaire and billionaires getting rich doing it? And why are these typically the same people telling you not to bother getting involved?

The answer is simple: they have learned to do it the right way, and they don’t really want anyone else infringing on their turf. Why is that? Well, it’s because they want to keep the secret intact. The secret to investing in startups the smart way.

If you want to get involved in startup investing and actually generate out sized returns, you need to work at it. That means taking the time to educate yourself completely about this highly complex and variable asset class. You need to get up to speed on how to perform due diligence, how to evaluate a term sheet, how to understand different deal structures, and just to have an overall awareness of current trends and developments in the startup market. It can really be a full time job. This is why venture capitalists exist and are often handsomely paid.

You need to develop relationships, help people who can do nothing for you, offer tons of free advice, make introductions, accept coffee meetings, read everything, and most importantly, get to know A LOT of people. During that time you will probably meet a few who are special. It’s almost like they vibrate at a higher frequency. Once you get used to knowing what to look for, you’ll get pretty good at spotting them right away. These are the folks you want to invest in.

So what things do we look for when selecting companies for investment on 1000 Angels, the company I co founded? Here’s a short overview:

— Stellar founder. If you don’t feel something that excites you when you get to know the founders, they are probably not the right person to invest in. The reason you have that special feeling is because this person has some really unique skill, vision, or vibe that is seriously impressive, and you are subconsciously aware of it. Listen to your heart.

— Attractive market. A market that has relatively few competitors, and in which the founder can establish some sort of competitive insulation or advantage is key. I shudder inside when I hear someone has invested in the 20th “me-too” company in a particular space. Recipe for disaster.

— Traction. What has the team actually accomplished? If they are just coming to you with an idea on paper or a binder-thick business plan, run for the hills. Invest-able companies are those who have proven they can acquire customers, provide value, and maybe even generate revenue. Your investment dollars are hopefully being used to fuel growth of a tested business model, not to make costly mistakes.

— Deal structure. Uncapped convertible note? Forget it. $15 million pre-money for a company that has no traction? Run the other way. There are a million reasons deal structure can torpedo a deal, and learning about all of them usually involves experience, and doing your homework. There have been plenty of cases where investors have bet on companies that resulted in multi-million dollar exits, but no return for early investors who took a ton of risk. You could write a whole book about these cases. Maybe I will…

These are just a few important tips on how to make smart startup investments that can be a great addition to your portfolio. And while I won’t tell you should should invest your child’s college funds in a startup portfolio — and you should realize you could lose all of your invested capital — if you are careful, diligent, and leverage the resources available it’s not outrageous to expect a decent return on your investment. The goal of startup investing is to build a portfolio and develop wealth over time through smart investing in people that you trust and believe in.

There are a lot of resources out there that can help you get started. Startup investment groups and platforms, blogs, webinars, and masterclasses can point you in the right direction. And don’t forget, diversification is key to this strategy. You can’t just invest in one or two companies and hope they work out. It’s really hard to pick the winners, but with some careful attention, you can try to avoid the losers. And avoiding the losers is a key part of making sure that your diversified portfolio performs well.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from FORTUNE

The UAE entrepreneur who draws inspiration from other female leaders

ABU DHABI // Souad Al Hosani is an exemplar of an Emirati women who is at the top of her chosen profession.

Born and raised in Abu Dhabi, her entrepreneurial outlook has taken her to the presidency of Nexus Business Services, which provides start-up and operational support for companies; the managing directorship of its Nexus Agencies element, and a member of the board of directors at Safetic International Safety and Security consultancy.

She is 28.

"Sometimes, when I work hard and feel exhausted, I feel like taking a break to refuel myself and be ready for the upcoming days, but I am a workaholic," she says. "I love people and I love business. I can never have a break."

A graduate in human resources management from the Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, Ms Al Hosani has worked as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mubadala Development Company, the British embassy in Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Amwal Holdings.

Be Someone, That People Start Admiring To Be Like You

Having completed a training programme for women entrepreneurs, she also received a United Nationals Industrial Development Organisation certificate, while being honoured with a Young Achievers Award by the American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi. Last year, she was named best female service provider in the UAE.

"After seven years of being in business, I have learnt and enriched my knowledge a lot, with the support of my family, friends, and the community," says Ms Al Hosani.

"My different experiences in the public and private sector have helped me develop, nurture and maintain significant and valuable business and government contacts.

"These opportunities have allowed me to network with professionals around the world, giving me a clear picture of what foreign investors are aiming to achieve by relocating abroad."

Her world is a non-stop one, a whirlwind of meetings and events. But it has allowed her to become a truly global citizen as she promotes the UAE, and gauges the overtures of companies looking to invest in the country.

"I try to switch off at weekends, but I am still available when needed," she says.

The rewards, she explains, are the smiles on her clients’ faces – and the knowledge that her efforts may empower other Emirati women.

"Being a strong female entrepreneur and sharing my experience with people inspires me," she says. "Our leadership has always supported women and encouraged women development on a personal and business level.

"I am so proud about the number of Emirati female leaders we have nowadays – especially our Minister of Youth, who is 22 – and I am proud to be Emirati."

Disclaimer: Following article come from THENATIONAL

Try Not To Fail, Come To Success!

Jeffrey Seller is Broadway royalty.

He's the producer of "Hamilton," the runaway smash hit musical about the founding of America that is expected to generate over a billion dollars in revenue.

In addition to "Hamilton," Seller is the producer of "Avenue Q," "In The Heights" and "Rent." All four shows have won Tony Awards for best musicals.

Despite his intimidating track record of success, he is not infallible.

In a podcast with Kara Swisher, executive editor of tech site Recode, Seller said that for each of his big successes he's had equally bad failures.

"I fail all the time," said Seller. "And I have to be willing to fail in order to succeed."

Indeed You Are Not Infallible, Together We Succeed

As the producer of "Hamilton," Seller is responsible for the business end of the equation. He needs to organize sales, marketing, salaries, etc. Every show he runs is like a start-up: He has investors that he needs to pay back.

So what's gone wrong when Seller failed? What mistakes did he make as an entrepreneur?

"I didn't follow my heart," Seller said of his mistakes.

He cited the musical "High Fidelity," which ran on Broadway for only a few days. "My heart said, 'This isn't working,' but my head said, 'Keep going.'" He said he didn't like the movie the play was based on, but he believed in the artists so much he charged ahead anyway.

The lesson: "Every time I don't follow my heart, that's when I am bound to get in trouble."

Disclaimer: - Following article come from CNBC

GITEX 2016 launches new startup movement.

GITEX Technology Week will launch and host GITEX Startup Movement, a startup gathering which will host over companies from 30 countries, bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, mentors and buyers for the first time in Dubai.

The GITEX Startup Movement will convene over 400 startups and more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors and mentors from the global startup ecosystem. The exclusive set-up will highlight the most innovative startups around the world and provide them a platform to sell, form partnerships and attract investors. Participants will also be able to pitch for prizes, attend an interactive conference to address challenges faced by entrepreneurs and meet leading industry figures. The initiative has already garnered interest and momentum from supporters across the globe including Business France, Cross Trade agency in Singapore, Digi Robotics in the UAE, Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Japan’s Jetro agency, Marco Trade Export in Morocco, Star Systems agency in Iran and STC from KSA.

Amjad Shacker, Corporate Communication GM, STC, said, “InspireU is an STC initiative to promote, support and develop digital startups and nurture and consolidate the startup ecosystem in the MENA region and create sustainable value. We believe that “to inspire is to empower” and we do that by providing the directions and tools to budding entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams. STC strongly supports the launch of the GITEX Startup Movement and is proud to co-present the top tier prize of the event to the best global startup.”

“The need for local and regional startup ecosystem consolidation, learning from global best practices, and exposure to global investment network, is imminently evident. STC considers GITEX Startup Movement addressing this need; it will help regional players to learn and mature as well as expose them to the global buyers and investors. STC will showcase the achievements of InspireU by showcasing its incubatees, connect them to the broader network, attract future deal flow and share the roadmap for the future. STC is participating in the Global Startup Movement to inspire and be inspired,” said Shacker.

Keep Calm
And
Get Your
Startup
On

The Arab world has a burgeoning youth demographic. More than 60 per cent of the 350 million population is under the age of 25. Young millennial Arabs are online, mobile, using technology and becoming entrepreneurs with the strong support of government initiatives.  The UAE leads the way in the region on revolutionary smart cities transformation and diversification of economies. Across Middle East and Africa, entrepreneurs are at the heart of the digital revolution as ICT spending increases across the region.

“Startups from all over the globe, women, youth and Arab entrepreneurs are a very real force of change that is making a positive impact in our society. They need supportive ecosystems to nurture and enable their growth and success. GITEX Technology Week has a strong legacy as one of the leading international tech events and is uniquely positioned to turn the spotlight on startups. With a force of 146,000 technology professionals and 22,000 C-suite executives at GITEX, Startups gain immediate access to a powerful industry network and massive technology marketplace, entry into growth markets in Middle East & Africa, and can future-proof their business plans, products and services.” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice-President, Exhibitions and Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre.

“The Tesla Foundation is proud to be a part of the GITEX Startup Movement. The foundation is focused on building the bridge between private and public organizations to create new technologies and companies and the Middle East & Africa presents a unique opportunity. We have been graced with the strength of government support and the burgeoning entrepreneur scene that is in the region. As a science and technology Foundation focused on robotics and automation, “Cyber-Physical Systems,” GITEX enables us to expand our network by connecting with innovators, entrepreneurs, and companies to include in the Tesla STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Farm System,” said Keith Kaplan, CEO Tesla Foundation.

The public sector in the UAE is already committed to facilitating a conducive environment for entrepreneurship through its AED 2 billion knowledge fund, which is part of the country’s National Innovation Strategy, and aims to accelerate the startup movement towards a sustainable knowledge-based economy.

Further positive announcements such as the establishment of venture firm 500 Startups’ $30 million fund in the Middle East and North Africa, Uber’s $250 million investment in the region and home grown UAE startup, Souq.com who recently secured $275 million investment to be the highest valued internet company in the Middle East, are testaments to rising MENA entrepreneurship scene where vibrant and growing economies present untapped and unchartered opportunities.

Delegates at the event, will also have the opportunity to visit country zones and showcase pods that will feature the most exciting startups offering drones & robotics; IoT, AR, VR & AI; finance; retail; healthcare; education; energy; travel & hospitality; media & marketing; and transport & logistics, to name a few.

GITEX Technology Week is expected to attract more than 146,000 visitors from over 140 countries, including 22,000 C-suite executives and 3,500 exhibitors from 55 countries.

GITEX Technology Week will be held on 16th to 20th October 2016 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Disclaimer: Following article come from CNME

Startup with $10 million in funding shuts down: “From first bite to the bittersweet finale”

An on-demand private chef startup that had secured more than $10 million in funding has shut down and issued a dire warning for other tech companies operating in the food space.

Silicon Valley-based Kitchit offered a platform where chefs could visit users’ homes and cook for them, and has served 100,000 meals since its launch in 2011.

The startup raised over $US8 million in total, including a funding round it closed in December 2014.

But due to an increasingly cut-throat market and a lack of investor interest, Kitchit has shut down, another in a long line of similar startups calling it quits.

Startup Problems? Contact Us!

In a lengthy and insightful blog post, founders Brendan Marshall and Ian Ferguson detail the startup’s journey from “first bite” to the “bittersweet finale” and the reasons behind its demise.

It begins with the team’s plans to create “the world’s largest – and its first decentralised – restaurant” and their early success with these plans, with 30-40% gross profit margins.

“An accomplishment that was unrivalled by many food companies at scale, to say nothing of food-tech startups,” the founders say.

“We believed that these were the early indicators of the venture-scale business we’d been searching for.”

But it all started to come apart, with the founders saying the company’s funding runway ended just as the industry faced some troubling times.

“We’ve navigated five years and made the most of every dollar raised,” they say.

“Nevertheless, investment runways are finite, and unfortunately ours reached its end at a moment of substantial upheaval in the food-tech world.

“While Kitchit’s business fundamentals have always been strong, our scale has been too limited to outshine the tumult around us.”

It comes as several other startups playing in the food space have been forced to shutter operations, including SpoonRocket in March due to a lack of funds, Competitor Dinner Lab earlier this month and Kitchit rival KitchenSurfing.

The founders’ blog post concluded with an ominous warning for other startups operating in the space.

“So we close our doors with a mix of sadness for our customers, chefs and employees on one hand, and on the other a recognition that our market is simply not ready to sustain a venture-scale business,” the founders say.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from SC

The One Thing That Separates Startup Winners From Losers.

The Entrepreneur Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “How important is it for startups to be in Silicon Valley?” is written by Gene Wang, cofounder and CEO of People Power.

I’ve been in five startups, including three that I’ve founded in Silicon Valley. And although Silicon Valley has a legendary mystique when it comes to startups, founding a company there is less important now than it used to be.

In order for startups to be successful, they must target a compelling market need, build a superstar team, access capital to fund operations, create world-class products or services that win customers, and eventually have a successful exit. Silicon Valley has no real advantage in discovering what a market needs. In fact, living in Palo Alto, I sometimes feel that I live in a bubble, separated from the rest of the world by a reality distortion field.

Leaders Know How To Be a Successful Entrepreneur

Startups need great teams of people. And it’s true that there are lots of great people in Silicon Valley, particularly in technology. However, it’s also easier for these people to move on to other shinier startups when times get tough. And every startup encounters tough times.

Capital is the lifeblood of a startup. And it’s certainly true that Sand Hill Road is lined with VCs giving out money for a living. However, these VCs invest in perhaps 1% of the startups that they see. And according to CB Insights, almost $15 billion in venture financing was invested so far in 2015 from investors outside of California and New York. Furthermore, there are startup incubators everywhere, crowd funding, helpful angels, government grants, and eager corporates who may be easier to work with. My company People Power just successfully raised Series B from a number of great Chinese investors, who bring with them important go-to market connections in China, today’s largest economy by some measures.

Silicon Valley certainly has no inherent advantage when it comes to building great products. In fact, my company develops world-class products and services using a distributed team of talented engineers with our chief technical officer in Seattle, vice president of engineering and chief architect both in Toronto, chief experience officer in Portland, and a growing team of talented Chinese engineers in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen. The cloud gives us the freedom to develop from anywhere 24/7, and group collaboration tools keep us connected, supplemented by regular face–to–face meetings.

Similarly, our customers are everywhere—they are not consolidated in Silicon Valley. As People Power is an Internet of Things company, and most “things” are manufactured in China, having a strong team in place to help drive China’s growth is a huge advantage for us over our competition.

Eventually a successful startup goes public or gets acquired by a larger company. As a four-time CEO, I have successfully exited my last three startups: One startup went public (Computer Motion based in Santa Barbara, later acquired by Intuitive Surgical); a second company was sold in two halves (Photo Access based in Mountain View—hardware acquired by Agilent and the photo–printing service now part of American Greetings); and a third startup was sold to HP (Bitfone based in Orange County, acquired by HP for 16 times trailing revenue). I believe People Power could be my most successful startup yet, but not because we are headquartered in Silicon Valley.

The main thing that separates startup winners from the losers is persistence. Never give up and never surrender, as there is always another move. While Silicon Valley will always have a mystique and continues to offer advantages, there are disadvantages as well. Startups everywhere can and should be successful. The key success factors are in creating a great solution to a big need, building an awesome and committed team, accessing capital from the many places it is offered, winning customers to drive sales, and finding the right exit at the right time for you. Good luck wherever you are.

Gene Wang is currently the CEO and co-founder of People Power. He was previously chairman and CEO of Bitfone, an industry leader in mobile phone device management—which sold to HP in 2007 for $160 million—and CEO and chairman of Photo Access, which sold to Agilent in 2000. Gene was CEO of Computer Motion, a leader in medical robotics, which he led through a successful IPO in 1997.

Disclaimer :- Following article come from Fortune

Remember these four lessons if you are planning a start-up

Everyone's betting big on India's start-up culture. And we do have young entrepreneurs mushrooming across the country. Some become names to reckon (read Snapdeal and Flipkart, Housing.com) with while others fade away with time. While ideation, execution and sustainability are the basic mantras for a start-up, it is the nitty-gritty involved in these stages of a new company, which makes a start-up a roaring success.

"In the complex world of entrepreneurship, it is difficult to avoid operational and strategic missteps. But the real reason a large number of entrepreneurs feel dispirited is the feeling that their enterprise has gone the wrong way. Whether it is the product/market fitment, scalability, or other managerial issues, one should not give up before all the key elements have been tried and tested," said Utkarsh Joshi, Principal at the HR Fund.

BI India lists down the basic factors that come into play when one thinks of starting a new venture.

Founding and management team

People are the biggest asset of any company. And when the company is new, the right kind of leadership is extremely essential. "Many experts believe that two people in the founding team are considered ideal as with increasing number of founders, the company's value is shared accordingly. However, what is really important to be mentioned is that more than the number, it is critical for the founder of the company to carefully choose the right mix of co- founders with him/her who bring in the right expertise and culture to the table. Founders need to realize their strengths and weakness," said Joshi.

This is also true for the management team that is at the core of any business. Right people with the right kind of expertise and experience can either make or break any start-up. The

"A well-informed management team is considered good on strategy's and would be able to minimize the risks at various aspects of business. It not only starts with putting together a right product but also validating its usability at several instances (before and during development) for necessary checks and balances and thereafter right planning to enter the market. The management also owns the responsibility for scheduling the above aspect for rightful gains," said Joshi.

Besides, a good management team plays a pivotal role in the kind of talent the company ultimately gets, thus penning down the fate of the start-up.

Valuation and funding

Valuation of a company is very important at every stage of its life cycle. It is this valuation that gives confidence to investors to fund a certain start-up. Every year, several start-ups that receive seed funding at the time of inception, fail to raise funding at later stages. This happens because the valuation of the start-up has dropped significantly for investors to bet their money on it. But there have been times when a company, whose valuation had dropped, manages to gain more after taking corrective steps, thus attracting the investors' attention once again.

"Companies progress and fail at various stages of funding, reflecting on their valuations. Though it varies from one industry to another, increase in valuation is an important milestone to be worthy for next round of funding. However, it is also required to mention the risks of blowing up the valuation too much, which leads to a potential investor/VC shying away at times and making it difficult to go for the future round of funding," he explained.

But how do we measure a company's valuation? Well, it's simple! The company's ability to make inroads in a certain market, handle business risks tactfully while expanding successfully add up the numbers.

"Proven ways to lower the cost of operations and customer acquisition speaks loud of a profitable business. Such a business is scalable and needs further funding to speed up the growth or expand. Though it is possible many times to raise money at lower valuations too, but running out of cash does not include signs of a progressive company. Conserving and spending money judiciously is the art that is learnt on the go," averred Joshi.

Choosing right investors 

Every new entrepreneur needs guidance and the right investor provides exactly that. An investor with the requisite background, industry expertise or specialization in business ventures offers advice, inputs and guidance based on their experience with various companies they work with. Or they could be because they were successful entrepreneurs themselves.

"In addition to money, proper hand-holding and guidance should be something that every entrepreneur should look for. It is important to differentiate between the ones who seem to know enough about the project/industry to cast an opinion but not substantial to help manage a situation," asserts Joshi.

Besides, when prominent people from the industry associate themselves with a start-up, not just the valuation of the company but also its business grows by leaps and bounds. And then, there's no stopping!

Customer acquisition

This one is tricky but then when has running a company been a cakewalk! The cost of acquiring a customer should be low. With digital media penetrating the businesses aggressively, reaching out to the right customer is not a big deal. Try content marketing or word of mouth if it works for you but remember the bottom line is—cost of customer acquisition should be lesser than the lifetime value of the customer.

"Judging the market right in terms of need for the product, its usefulness, timing, market size, and pricing leads to consistent and successful customer acquisition, as these are all cohesive factors.

"Rather than various marketing gimmicks - a well-defined process that leads to scalable ways to acquire the customers and thereafter monetize them at a higher level than the cost of acquisition is the solution. PR also plays an important role in the same. A press coverage is about positioning from the company's point of view and perception from the reader's point of view. However, it is important to see how much does the coverage talks about the progress made in the business. Startups need to judiciously manage and mention the press coverage while fundraising, evangelizing among others," said Joshi.

Citation from Business Insider : http://goo.gl/8LRfxh

Kuwait Infra Push to Growth and Development

Government plans to generate 15% of energy via renewable sources 

Kuwait has approved the construction of a series of power plants, desalination facilities and other infrastructure projects worth a total of around 3 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($9.9 billion), the finance ministry said yesterday. Like neighboring Gulf countries, Kuwait is struggling to meet soaring demand for electricity and the planned projects will add around 3,580 megawatts of capacity, as well as waste treatment and developments for the education ministry. The ministry did not set a timescale for most of the initiatives, except for a sewage plant which will start by 2020. It also did not say how they will be funded beyond saying 50 percent of the finance will be raised through stock market offerings.

Kuwait National Day Liberation Day Celebration

Among the projects, Kuwait plans a second phase of the gas-fired Az-Zour North power and desalinated water plant that has an initial capacity of 1,800 megawatts. It will also build the first phase of the Khairan power plant with 1500 MW of capacity, which will use different types of fuel, and the Al Abdaliyah power plant with a capacity of 280 MW, of which 60 MW will be from solar energy while the rest will be fed by gas. Kuwait plans to generate 15 percent of its energy needs via renewable sources by 2030, with the first of up to 100 solar-powered fuelling stations operating by 2017, Oil Minister Ali Saleh Al-Omair said in June. A pilot 70 megawatt project in the Shagaya desert zone west of Kuwait City was expected to be completed by next year.

The minister also said that preparatory works of partnership projects between Public and private sectors have borne fruit - 'thanks to the legislative and executive authorities that enacted a law to set up a body to run these projects.' The body has formed its structure in accordance with the international standards to help Kuwait implement projects in a competitive and professional manner, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said.

 

Growth Harmon 

The body's higher committee has approved six projects and their tenders were offered at the beginning of this month, he added. He affirmed that these projects will be co-implemented by both Public and private sectors as the State of Kuwait seeks to boost the participation of the private sector in sustainable development. Kuwait also plans to create a quantum leap in terms of technologies used in these projects and services provided to citizens; transfer knowledge; create jobs for nationals; attract investment opportunities in the country and support local economy to alleviate burdens on the budget, he noted. This move will be in favor of the local economy, he expected.

Startup Strategy

KUWAIT, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Kuwait has approved the construction of a series of power plants, desalination facilities and other infrastructure projects worth a total of around 3 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($9.9 billion), the finance ministry said on Saturday. 

Like neighbouring Gulf countries, Kuwait is struggling to meet soaring demand for electricity and the planned projects will add around 3,580 megawatts of capacity, as well as waste treatment and developments for the education ministry. 

The ministry did not set a timescale for most of the initiatives, except for a sewage plant which will start by 2020. It also did not say how they will be funded beyond saying 50 percent of the finance will be raised through stock market offerings. 




Among the projects, Kuwait plans a second phase of the gas-fired Az-Zour North power and desalinated water plant that has an initial capacity of 1,800 megawatts. It will also build the first phase of the Khairan power plant with 1500 MW of capacity, which will use different types of fuel, and the Al Abdaliyah power plant with a capacity of 280 MW, of which 60 MW will be from solar energy while the rest will be fed by gas. 

Kuwait plans to generate 15 percent of its energy needs via renewable sources by 2030, with the first of up to 100 solar-powered fuelling stations operating by 2017, oil minister Ali Saleh al-Omair said in June. 




A pilot 70 megawatt project in the Shagaya desert zone west of Kuwait City was expected to be completed by next year.

Kuwait awards re-tendered airport project to same consortium at cheaper price

DUBAI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Kuwait's government said it had awarded a contract to build a new terminal at Kuwait International Airport to the same consortium that had an earlier more-expensive bid dismissed. 

Turkey's Limak Holding and local construction firm Kharafi National won the deal after bidding 1.312 billion dinars ($4.34 billion) for the work - 74 million dinars cheaper than the offer it submitted in November. 

The government dismissed all bids proffered in November without explanation - though Kuwait's Al Watan newspaper quoted ministry sources saying they had been too expensive and had not met technical specifications. 

 

Small Business Development

The government's Central Tenders Committee said late on Monday the Limak-Kharafi consortium had submitted the lowest bid during the re-tendering process. 

Kuwait has planned tens of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects in recent years but many have been held up by bureaucratic delays, political tensions and allegations by some members of the parliament of corruption and inefficiency. 

Startup Solu Bags $1.3M Seed

Another hardware startup is sparking up in Finland. Helsinki-based startup Solu has taken in a $1.3 million seed round, ahead of a planned product launch this fall.

Startup Solution 

The stealthy startup has not yet pulled back the curtain on what it’s building exactly but, after pinging our sources, TechCrunch understands it’s directly targeting the personal computer market with a new type of OS and its own hardware. Which sounds suitably ambitious for the land that can claim a former world number one mobile maker (aka Nokia).

Dropping some heavy hints of Solu’s target, co-founder and CEO Kristoffer Lawson notes the team started working on the concept 30 years after the launch of the Apple Macintosh “almost to the day”. “We have seen 30 years of one way of thinking. I think it’s time for a change,” he says in a statement.

A sweeping mission statement on its website adds: “Solu is aiming to change a complete industry with a unique approach and unique technology.”



Prior to this seed round, Solu had pulled in a six-figure pre-seed, back in September 2014, when the business was incorporated. Investors in its new round are lead KSV Finland, along with Vladimir Ashurkov, Sasha Markvo, Otto Hilska (Flowdock) and Timo Kiravuo (Aalto University), among others. Existing investor hardware startup accelerator BuildIt, which hothoused Solu, also participated, along with others from the previous round.

Solu’s founding team consists of Lawson (also Holvi co-founder), Javier Reyes (ex Nordic Director of TMF Group) and Pekka Nikander (Nixu founder). At this point the startup has 12 employees on its payroll. The board includes Nokia’s Sonja London, Taneli Tikka (serial entrepreneur), Jyrki Kasvi (Member of Parliament), and Sasha Markvo, along with Reyes.

Lawson says it’s planning parallel launch events in San Francisco, London and Helsinki. And if it keeps to its slated autumn launch timeframe there won’t be too long to wait to see what kind of kit Solu hopes will be disrupting the Mac and PC (albeit, both have arguably already been amply disrupted by mobile platforms).

EAT, PROGRAM, LOVE: THE RISE OF TECH START-UPS IN BALI

Instead of unwinding in the tropical paradise of Bali, entrepreneurs are opting to plug into the island's emerging tech start-up scene because of a thriving start-up ecosystem, low overheads and, of course, the allure of the beautiful surroundings.

"With the rapid shift in remote working and entrepreneurial hubs popping up all over, [Bali] has quickly become quite a fascinating place for start-ups," said Andrea Loubier, CEO of Mailbird, a Bali-based email client start-up told CNBC in an email interview.

After completing her college education in the U.S., Loubier worked forseveral years before taking the plunge to seek out opportunities in Asia.

It was in Bali that Loubier met Michael Bodekaer, founder of Livit, an Indonesian-based tech start-up ecosystem. He invited her onboard tolaunch Mailbird, a Windows email client program, which was her first experience of building a tech company from the ground up.

Infrastructure, co-working spaces and start-up ecosystems

The IT infrastructure in Bali has grown rapidly over the last three years,with more Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and fiber optic networks.

"There are also many coworking and entrepreneurial initiatives in place to encourage the growth of tech start-ups," said Loubier.

For example, Livit collaborates with fledgling entrepreneurs and start-ups, providing them with mentors, specialist resources, growth acceleration and a space to work in one of Livit's six villas in Southeastern Bali.

Another successful start-up is Labster, a Bali-based tech science education company that generates scenarios with 3D animations to visualize life sciences and help students virtually go through their lab exercises.

Livit's ecosystem is unique because it functions as a coworking, co-living incubator program. Every need is taken care of, allowing participants to focus solely on their projects. Think of it as a work-and-play retreat with expert guidance on hand for the whole start-up team.

Many other coworking spaces in Bali also aim to create a conducive environment for tech start-ups to thrive, by actively promoting entrepreneurship, business networking and seminars through weekly events and conferences.

Strategic position

As an island province of Indonesia, Bali is in a good strategic position to attract IT talent, entrepreneurs and investments from Jakarta or Bandung, which have more mature IT infrastructure and investing communities. The greater Indonesian market also presents growth potential for Bali-based tech start-ups to tap into, or the location could be used as a launch pad to access the rest of Asia.

Bali might be an ideal haven in which to come up with new innovationsbut if the start-ups want to scale up, there are also limitations to overcome.

"They need to maintain and attract more IT resources to Bali, set up good business connections in other Indonesia cities and internationally, provide competitive customer service and support from their location," Yanna Dharmasthira, research director at Gartner, told CNBC in an email interview.

"Bali is somewhat remote in nature, compared to other cities, and the travelling expenses in and out of Bali should also be considered," she said.

"The island of gods" still has some way to go before claiming the title of Asia's Silicon Valley, but it is nonetheless a great middle ground for digital entrepreneurs to work in a beautiful, non-urban environmentand still be close to modern comforts and small luxuries.

CITATION FROM CNBC:http://goo.gl/rYk9Df

2015 FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INDEX

The Female Entrepreneurship Index (formerly known as the Gender GEDI) is the world’s most comprehensive diagnostic tool that measures high potential female entrepreneurship by analyzing entrepreneurial ecosystems, business environments, and individual aspirations across 77 developed and developing economies. Spanning multiple regions, FEI provides a systematic approach that allows cross-country comparison and benchmarking. The goal of the research is not to provide a headcount of female entrepreneurs worldwide, but rather to serve as a future-oriented tool to guide leaders, policymakers, and law-makers in identifying country-wide strengths and weaknesses and in developing strategies to create more favorable conditions in their countries to enable businesses founded by women to thrive.

  

2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index Research Shows More Support Needed to Enable Female Entrepreneurship Development Worldwide

• The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom named top three places for female entrepreneurs
• Globally:

1. The percentage of female entrepreneurs who are highly educated has increased 9%
2. The percentage of business gazelles (those who intend to grow their businesses by 50% and employ 10 people within 5 years) among female entrepreneurs has increased 7%
3. The percentage of female businesses that are in the tech sector has decreased 19%
4. Among female businesses innovativeness has decreased 13%

• The 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index is the most comprehensive diagnostic tool for high potential female entrepreneurship
• The 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index contains 77 countries, expanding upon the 30 countries in its predecessor – the Gender GEDI

The FEI names the following countries in its top ten for female entrepreneurs:

Rank	Country	Score
	United States	82.9
2	Australia	74.8
3	United Kingdom	70.6
4	Denmark	69.7
5	Netherlands	69.3
6	France	68.8
7	Iceland	68.0
8	Sweden	66.7
9	Finland	66.4
10	Norway	66.3

 The analysis reveals opportunities for improvement within several geographic regions.

• Europe can improve Opportunity Recognition – whether women recognize good opportunities to  start a business in the area where they live
• Latin America can improve Export Focus – female entrepreneurs that have at least some   customers outside the country
• Sub-Saharan Africa can improve Access to Finance – women’s access to bank accounts and financial training programs
• East Asia can improve Skill Perception – whether women believe they have the required knowledge and skills to start a business

About the Female Entrepreneurship Index

The 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index includes 77 countries. The Index focuses on high potential female entrepreneurs who are defined as ‘innovative, market-expanding, and export-oriented.’ The Index combines variables that measure agency and institutions in a composite index in order to capture the multi-dimensional aspects of female entrepreneurship development. Data comes from existing internationally recognized sources such as the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), World Economic Forum (WEF), World Bank, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Labour Organization (ILO), etc. The GEDI Institute is a research and consulting organization based in Washington, D.C. that assists governments, donor agencies, foundations, international assistance providers, and global companies expand economic opportunities for individuals, build future markets for societies, and propel economic development for nations. It uses an innovative methodology to advance entrepreneurship, thereby accelerating economic growth.

Methodology

The Female Entrepreneurship Index’s unique methodology brings together variables that measure individuals and institutions in a composite index that highlights issues relevant for high potential female entrepreneurship development and growth. Thirty individual-level and institutional-level dimensions are paired together into fifteen pillars that are further divided into three main sub-indices: Entrepreneurial Environment, Entrepreneurial Eco-System, and Entrepreneurial Aspirations. The novel Penalty for Bottleneck methodology is applied to the pillar scores so that the ‘bottleneck’ (i.e., pillar with the lowest score) penalizes the final country ranking. This approach encourages countries to address their weakest areas first since it will have the greatest effect on their final score.

Citation from GEDI - Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute : http://goo.gl/VDAL4T