Entrepreneurs Unplugged 2011 – 8 Nov

Next Tuesday, Start-Up@Singapore will organize ‘Entrepreneurs Unplugged’, a panel discussion with the topic ‘Dream Big, Act Now: Converting Ideas into Businesses’. The speakers will share their take on entrepreneurship and cover diverse topics such as how to get out of comfort zones and how to decide on whether an idea is feasible.

 

Mr David Yim of Udders Ice-Cream, Mr Tong Yee of School of Thought, Associate Professor Albert Teo from NUS business school, Mr Ben Tan of Hauslab D&B Pte Ltd (Design & Build) and Mr Geoffrey Kung of REVERSE Cooperative are the panelists for this event.

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Event Details

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When: Tuesday, 8th November 2011
Time: 630pm-830pm
Where: Hon Sui Sen Auditorium, NUS Business School, 1, Business Link, Singapore 117592 (Map)
Register here.

 

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MPs touched on entrepreneurship at recent Parliamentary debates

At the most recent Parliamentary debates that concluded in October, entrepreneurship was one of the topics that were touched upon by Members-of-Parliament.

Broadly speaking, they are calling on the Singapore government to do even more to help foster an entrepreneurship-friendly environment in the country.

First to the podium was Teo Ser Luck, the Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry. While he recognized that entrepreneurship has now become “something of a buzz and an in-thing” among both the young as well as the old, he also admitted that much more can be done to foster innovation and risk-taking.

“The fact remains that the number of actual entrepreneurs is still much smaller than what we hoped for. I believe there is still a gap that we should try to close and maybe we can do more,” he said in his speech.

To illustrate his point, he highlighted the example of a two-man web design company that folded because they had no access to funding. They could not get loans because the company was, in a way, a sole-proprietorship.

They could not get grants either because they would have to spend first and get reimbursed later, which is tough on cash flow. Finally, they could not get any startup funding because they were simply not innovative enough.

More should be done to help this kind of entrepreneurs, he said, and that includes changing societal and cultural attitudes.

“The point I would like to make is that the social stigma of a business failure in Singapore can sometimes be as bad as that of a HIV carrier’s or an ex-convict’s,” he added.

Government agencies can also chip in to provide support to startups by providing access to contracts and networks.

Mr Teo related an incident where a green startup tried seeking help from a government agency to secure a major project in a developing country. The company was turned down simply because they were “unheard of” and had no track record, despite having in-house R&D specialists and experienced employees.

Nonetheless, another government agency took a different approach, helping a startup secure contracts and test pilot programs.

Yee Jenn Jong, a non-constituency MP from the opposition Worker’s Party and a businessman himself, also broached on entrepreneurship in his speech.

He highlighted how rental costs are often too high for startups and SMEs, and raised an incident whereby the Jurong Town Corporation, a national developer of industrial infrastructure, divested many of its properties to Real Estate Investment Trusts, causing rental costs of former JTC spaces to go up as a result.

Like Mr Teo, he also talked about how government officers tend to be risk adverse when dealing with smaller companies. For instance, even if an SME offers a solution that meets specifications at lower costs, the government agency often shuns these companies in favor of large government-linked companies (GLCs).

“To promote the growth of SMEs, the government could look at ways to allow GLCs to participate only in tenders above certain minimum values. Or GLCs and cooperatives should withdraw totally from non-essential market segments if SMEs are capable of fulfilling local demands,” he suggested.

Photo: Pittaya

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Maximising Your Entrepreneurial Mindset Seminar with Rick Yamamoto – 4 Nov

Rick Yamamoto is in town and he will speak in the seminar entitled “Maximizing Your Entrepreneurial Mindset” this Friday evening.

 

Rick has been identifying talent in the investment industry for the past two decades. As the manager of a US$2 billion pension fund, Rick substantially improve the fund’s performance, moving it from the 77th percentile up to the 9th percentile during his eight years.

 

Currently, Rick helps identify talented emerging firms for the world’s largest pension funds, allocating more than US$6 billion to the best investment managers. Rick has three decades of experience as a financial executive in investments, banking, corporate finance and venture capital.

 

He is a veteran in coaching individuals towards greatness, and his passions revolve around creativity, exceptional performance, systems thinking and entrepreneurship. This seminar is organized by Kennel, a collaborative workspace for creative entrepreneurs.

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Event Details

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When: Friday, 4th November 2011
Where: Blk 8D Dempsey Road, #03-03
Time: 7pm-9pm
Fee: S$20
For enquiries and to RSVP, email Renyung at ren@experienceunion.com

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Mozilla establishes physical presence in Taipei

After setting up its third offices in Asia Pacific – Tokyo, Auckland and Beijing – Mozilla Foundation announced it is continuing to  expand its presence in the region by opening an office in Taipei.

Although Mozilla’s Firefox browser only has 12 percent of  Taiwan’s browser share, putting it in third place behind Internet Explorer and Chrome, key reason behind the expansion decision is the attraction of Taiwan’s IT achievements and quality talents in software. The aim of the branch office, Mozilla’s ninth in the world, is to assist Taiwanese software developers in developing more open source application software and innovating on open platform internet technologies.

Opportunities are created by Mozilla’s collaboration with local developers and teams, such as working on Boot-to-Gecko (Android-based web desktop app and Gecko rendering engine) and mobile projects. Mozilla could hire dozens of new developers based on their requirements by Chairman and CEO of Mozilla Online Ltd, Li Gong. Mozilla Online (Mozilla China) is Beijing-based subsidiary of the Mozilla Corporation which promotes Mozilla Foundation values (openness, innovation, participation) and Mozilla Corporation products, primarily Firefox. The subsidiary customizes the Firefox browser’s security, privacy and language localization features to meet local market/user needs.

Taiwan already has its localized Firefox site with Conference for Open Source Coders, Users and Promoters (COSCUP), the biggest open source conference in Taiwan.

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Toyota Releases “Social Network Racer” For Facebook And “FT86 World Report” For iPhone

Toyota [J] has released a promotional pro racing game “Social Network Racer” for Facebook.

“Social Network Racer” is designed to enhance global recognition of the “FT－86II Concept” model, which will be officially opened to the public at the Tokyo Motor show in December.  Users compete for time with others on the virtual circuit, and the person who clocks in at the fastest time will be registered as a record holder in the game.  By acquiring points it’s also possible to remodel your machine.  In addition they are also holding the “TOYOTA CHAMPIONSHIP,” targeted at foreign Facebook users.  The champion racer can, by lottery, be invited to the Tokyo Motor Show and participate in the world premier of the “FT－86II Concept.”

What’s more, Toyota has released the iPhone application “FT-86 World Report,” about the new model FR Sport, also scheduled to make its first appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show in December.  Download is free.

In “FT-86 World Report,” users become a reporter, take photos of FT-86s running throughout the world, and submit them in this AR (Augmented Reality) App.  When the app starts up and you peek through the iPhone camera, a virtual FT-86 appears over the actual scenery on the iPhone screen.  When you save this picture and post it on the FT-86 World Report Site, it is added to an interactive movie open to the public all over the world.

Translation authorized by VSMedia

Toyota Releases “Social Network Racer” For Facebook And “FT86 World Report” For iPhone

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#PiHackathon: All You Need To Know About Zomato API

As we approach the Hackathon event [November 4th (3 PM onwards), Nov 5th & 6th], we’d like to share details of the partner’s API/what it offers and open up for questions/participation and collaboration etc.

But before we share Zomato API details, we’d also like to tell you that the best hack using the Zomato API will get an iPad2 for free!

And now, about the API (details as shared by Zomato team):

What is the Zomato API all about?

The Zomato API (http://zomato.com/api) was made public with the intention to help developers create innovative web and mobile applications using Zomato’s content. Using the API, developers can access the most updated content available on Zomato in real time directly from within their apps. They can access information such as restaurant listings, location coordinates, reviews, discounts, photos, menus and pretty much everything else that we have for our customers.

The API also lets developers search Zomato’s rich database comprising of ~20,000 restaurants, covering 10 major cities in India, based on various criteria.

What is new in the Zomato API?

We have just included Events to our API. Along with the restaurant details, developers can now get information such as Event listings, categories, venue details, featured/popular/recommended events and top events in the city. Events API is currently in beta. The final structure of the API might be quite different from what we have right now, but we will also support the current version of the API for a few years down the line.

How do Zomato’s mobile apps use the API?

 

Zomato’s mobile applications use the same API which we have opened up for developers. Our API acts as a layer through which our mobile apps access our database. The API takes the http request as input and breaks it into different variables:

1. Basic Request: – This could be a call to get the number of active cities, or a search for a restaurant based on a keyword, etc.

2. Filter parameters: These are flags on which a search is restricted. For example, a keyword based restaurant search could have a filter for a bar or a buffet

3. The Response Format: XML or JSON

4. API key: A request is processed only if it has a valid API key (sent in the request header)

Once we have have extracted all this information from the request, the API constructs and fires a query on the database. The results are then returned in the specified format. The app then parses this response and displays the data to the user.

Sample request :

https://api.zomato.com/v1/search.json?city_id=1&q=italian restaurant&cc=1

1. Basic Request: Search for restaurant

2. Filter parameters: city_id = 1 (delhi)

search keyword = “italian restaurant”

cc = 1 (accepts credit cards)

3. Response format: JSON

Details of all the features provided by our API is provided in the documentation (http://www.zomato.com/api/documentation), along with example code. Further, we have also provided an API Sandbox (http://www.zomato.com/api/sandbox), where you can test your requests.

What can you create using the Zomato API?

We want to create an eco-system of developers and apps who use our content and also help us create content for our platform. With the API, developers can now easily leverage Zomato.com restaurant database into any ‘local’ application. A few other possible applications of the API are listed below:

• A city guide or an augmented reality app
• A local deal app where users can check user reviews and menus for a restaurant which has a deal on offer
• An app linking Zomato’s data to that of Foursquare and Facebook through their APIs. So your friends can share where and what they’re eating and check in (since we also provide restaurant coordinates)

So get your thinking hats on at the Hackathon and unleash your creativeness! The most creative/best use case of our API will win an iPad2 and we also plan to promote innovative applications made with the Zomato API through our website, facebook, twitter page.

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Hackathon Agenda

• Get together the evening of 4th November and find a team (or get yours)
• Get your business idea sounded with mentors, PI team, others [Hint: This is your pitch session].
• Get together on 5th morning.
• Start coding.
• Go Home (after 7/8 PM or so).
• Get together on 6th morning. Start coding.
• 6th Nov – evening 4 pm – have a prototype ready.
• Demo to mentors, investors, audience, others from 6 pm to 9 pm.
• Sleep.

Got Questions?

Ask here (in the comment section) or @Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/unpluggd/

How to block your seat?

Make a choice:

            

Related posts:

1. App Review : Zomato
2. Mojostreet Makes Its App Available on All App Stores, Zomato Tells Us to Focus on Blackberry
3. InfoEdge To Invest $3 Million in Zomato
4. Foodiebay Rebrands to Zomato
5. Introducing Zomato, Our Hackathon Partner [+ Your Chance to Win An iPad]

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India’s Proposal at UN Assembly – Government Should Takeover Internet

Indian government has formally proposed to ‘takeover’ the Internet at the UN General Assembly – i.e bring Internet bodies under UN arms.

MP, Dushyant Singh, India’s spokesperson proposed the establishment of a new institutional mechanism within the United Nations for global Internet-related policies, to be called the United Nations Committee for Internet-Related Policies.  The goal of such a mechanism would not be to control the Internet, but to ensure that the Internet was governed in an open, democratic, inclusive and participatory manner.  The proposed committee would take on the task of developing international public policies to ensure coordination and coherence in cross-cutting Internet-related global issues, and addressing Internet-related developmental issues, among others. (link)

He said that his multi-ethnic, multicultural country, as a democratic society with an open economy and an abiding culture of pluralism, emphasized the importance of strengthening the Internet as a vehicle for openness, democracy, freedom of expression, human rights, diversity, inclusiveness and socio-economic growth.  The governance of such an unprecedented global medium that embodied those values should be similarly inclusive, democratic, participatory, multilateral and transparent in nature, he said, emphasizing that India attached great importance to the preservation of the Internet as an unrestricted, open, and free global medium that flourished through private innovation and individual creativity.  In order create the proposed committee, India called for the establishment of a working group to draw up the detailed terms, under the auspices of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

Adds dot-nxt:

A very similar proposal to that proposed this week was published by a joint group of the Indian, South African and Brazilian governments just prior to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Nairobi last month and caused some controversy when it clearly implied that the proposal came with the support of civil society and the technical community

Its recommendations, which also foresaw all Internet organizations being pulled under the control of a new government-run United Nations body, were disowned by civil society and they then received a definitive thumbs-down from the broader Internet community during the IGF open session on “critical Internet resources”, during which the Indian government representative stated that the paper had only been put out for discussion.

Despite the very negative response to that paper, however, the Indian government pressed ahead with discussions on the exact same lines at an IBSA Summit on 18 October in Durban, South Africa. And the result of that meeting was the proposal put to the UN General Assembly.

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Indian government’s tryst with Internet freedom came into its ‘real’ (austin) powers with the amended IT act which gave government powers to block ‘any’ website. Creating a governing body (in the name of bringing coherence in cross-cutting Internet-related global issues) is essentially an attempt to bring Internet organizations under UN body and that defeats the very purpose of Internet being open and providing a level playing ground.

Why does government want to create borders around Internet?

Related posts:

1. What Are The Attributes of a Winning Proposal
2. India To Have an Internet Kill Switch
3. 117 Indian Government websites Hacked [Till June 2011]
4. Company Incorporation in 24 Hours? Forget that, Says Indian Government
5. Blackberry Gives In, Government can Snoop into your Email and Chat

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Annoyance With Daily Deals And Group Buying Sites [Landing Page Optimization]

[Guest post by Rounak Jain, an undergrad student at BITS Pilani, Goa. He talks about the issues with landing page of Group buying and deals sites from a user's perspective. Reposted from his blog.]

Hey daily deal/group buying websites,

Why do you have to make it so hard for non registered users to navigate through the deals on your portal? I get that your user base is a very crucial stat in your slide decks when pitching to investors, but that doesn’t mean you force a user to register without even telling him or her what are they signing up for. Nor does it mean that when a user registers, you lock him/her into your service and not allow account deletion.

Take for instance Crazeal.com, Groupon India’s new avatar to get rid of its “sasta” image. When I visited the site for the first time, Crazeal showed me deals for what I’m guessing is the city closest to mine, but right when I’m ready to click on something your site pops up an alert prompting me to handover my email id to you.

That would have been fine if you would have clearly indicated that the email id is optional and not mandatory for a user to browse through your site.

Your alert has no close button, just a big sign up button with a text field and a link saying “Already Registered?”.

Let me tell you what was my (an unregistered user’s) thought process on seeing the alert. I clearly didn’t want to handover my email id to you (I’m already having a hard time deleting indiaplaza mailers), nor was I “Already Registered”, so the only option you left to me was close the tab and forget about your deals.

While writing this, to be sure of the accuracy of whatever I am writing I visited your site on different browsers and the alert did pop on all of them (only first time on each browser though). Out of my curiosity, I clicked on the “Already Registered?” link and guess what? It doesn’t bring up a sign in page, but simply fades the popup away!

Either your UX designers suck, or you have chosen to not put a straight forward close button. Either way, not a good experience for a non-registered or for that matter a non-logged in user.

Take another site, Fashion And You. I could rant about how unfit is that name for a site that sells mobile phones with clothes, but let’s move onto your main problem. I understand your use of Google Ads to acquire customers, in fact I got to know of your site through those ads and even clicked on the ad whose image I’ve embedded below:

What I expected was a page that summarized all the features of the phones in the ad along with attractive pricing, but what did I get? A bizzaire landing page which again prompted me to register or login. Have a look for yourself:

 

No way of getting me to the deal you lured me into clicking on without giving away my information.

What do you think, a user would sign up blindly without even knowing the quality and the value of your deals?

Take on the other hand Flipkart.com, a site which is not entirely similar to yours, but it does sell products online. Let alone browsing through Flipkart’s catalogue, you can even order a product from their site, without signing up. I’m pretty sure there are other sites like that as well.

So please think over what you present to a user as a user and not as the people behind the sites.

Related posts:

1. From Local Deals To Selling Products – Group Buying Pivoting Already?
2. Business Model 101: What’s the deal with the Group Buying sites in India?
3. A Look At Unique Characteristics Of Group Buying Sites [Why Is It Different?]
4. TRAI Regulation And Impact On Daily Deal Sites [30% Traffic Fall]
5. Runpapa Brings Pull Based Group Buying For Cars and Bikes

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Internshala Wants To Bring “Meaningful” Internship To Students

In India, internship is often looked as a good way to pass time and even companies tend to look at interns as cheap laborers – interns are often used to do stuff which even admin team refuses to do.

But this has to change and Internshala, a startup by IIT-ISB alumnus wants to change things at ground level.  While the site is currently modeled as a blog, but it’s more of a PoC (right now) and the product part should be out based on PoC’s results. Nevertheless, the team should focus on building a brand (have a logo/remove adsense) and focus on a meaningful experience to even those students who aren’t so serious about internship.

Here is a brief QnA with Internshala team on their business model/future plans:

Pi: Tell us about the people behind Internshala. Tell us about the founding team (are you guys full-time into this?).

Founding team are IIT alumni. I am an IIT Madras graduate (class of 2006) and have 5 years of global work experience (Capital One (UK), Barclays Bank, Aviva Life Insurance) in Business Analytics domain before taking the plunge and deciding to pursue Internshala full time in 2011. My Co-Founder, Ankur Khator, is a Computer Science graduate from IIT Bombay  (Class of 2005) and has worked with companies likeTrilogy & Microsoft. He is involved part time.

Pi: What’s the trigger behind starting this?

Both I and Ankur (we have known each other for 10 years now) have always been excited about Entrepreneurship for a long time and the value an entrepreneur creates for a society. The idea came from personal experience of a very close friend from IIT who was recently doing his MBA from LBS and was looking for an internship in India in November 2011 and had tough time finding one. 1 million+ students look for an internship every year without any organized help, this needs to change and we will change that.

Pi: What’s the business model? You aren’t charging for the internship listing – so is it more about building a database (right now)?

Yes, at present focus is on building a scale and proving the concept. We’d look at ad-revenue in year 1 though.

Pi: How do you define ‘meaningful’ internship? Aren’t you filtering out a LOT of candidates (who mostly look for certificates and use this time to prepare for CAT/GMAT/GRE etc)

A meaningful internship is where the company derives the desired benefit (be it evaluating a student for a final hiring or getting a meaningful project done in a cost effective manner) and student gets to apply classroom knowledge to real world problems. We are NOT interested in companies who think of interns as cheap/freelabor or students who do it for a certificate. We are building screening, referral and feedback mechanisms in the portal to ensure that.
To quote the vision -
At the core of the idea is the belief that internships, if managed well, can make a positive difference to the student, to the employer, and to the society at large. Hence, the ad-hoc culture surrounding internships in India should and would change. Internshala aims to be the driver of this change.

Pi: Future plans.

Build scale and get a critical user base (both from the demand (student) and supply (companies) side) and prove our conviction in out Vision Statement right. To achieve that we are reaching out to hundreds of companies (all sizes) and students from all over India. A revamp of website to give it more professional looking feel and features is also on the cards.

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Do give Internshala a spin and use the service, if you have meaningful internship opportunities available.

Also see: Twenty19 – Internship Search Portal (Review)

Related posts:

1. Twenty19 – Internship Search Portal (Review)
2. PhokatCopy – Discounted Print outs for College Students (Advertising Supported)
3. Microsoft To Give Away Free Windows Phone To Students In India [Catch them Young]
4. Point10 Solutions – All things Engineering Students
5. 5 Android Apps For Students [Appnomy Collection]

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