Link'n'Surf - the product that we all have been building at Wirkle, is now ready for its Alpha launch. Link'n'Surf builds a social network around media such as user-generated content and makes it available 24X7 while you are on the move on to your mobile device.
And yeah, we also have a Link'n'Surf Buddy, you can check what all she writes as she pokes around every good or bad corner of Wirkle.
Looking at my resume, lot of people often ask me - why did you do a startup in mobile space? And there's just one answer - fascination and a strong belief!
I remember the days when SMS first arrived in India and people said SMS is crap - limited keys , limited text and what's the use; and something in me said - it's going to be powerful. And then the days when I bought this expensive little device so that I can be the first one amongst my colleagues to buy a colored screen mobile handset and on the way back home, while tinkering with the device I missed my bus stop by limits. It took me an hour to reach back home that cold chilly winter night. And yeah I felt a lot happier when I saw my father using SMS though my efforts of teaching him to email have already failed. I can count a lot of such short experiences and on every such occassion there was always a feeling that there is something more that we can do with mobiles.
Another important influence in my life and in lot others I guess has been the Internet. Most people think of internet as either websites, content or network. I regard internet to be synonymous with "people and information" and the way it has socially transformed all of us. This social transformation - this is what is the real power of internet and this is the power that needs to be brought on to the mobile device. Mobiles today are communication devices and they would become one day information superhighways and transform everything around us.
And this one dream one way or the other led to the start of Wirkle and Link'n'Surf.
As we move ahead in this journey, we all at Wirkle look forward to your valuable feedback, suggestions, advice and criticisms.
Wednesday 18 January 2006
Friday 13 January 2006
India Mobile Data Cost Trends
I have been always a bit apprehensive in terms of weather India can make a mark in terms of data growth in the mobile segment. Cost of GPRS used to be a major bottleneck.
In US, the unlimited GPRS charges vary from around $20 - $25 per month. And in India the charges are around Rs 500 per month ($11-12). The cost is huge for both markets.
But recently I came to know that companies like Airtel do offer unlimited GPRS package for just Rs 99 per month ($2-3 approx.) for corporate plans (companies that offer their employees corporate mobile connections). I think that's a very positive trend and will help in boosting mobile data usage.
One another stuff that's going positive is that atleast Airtel has automated the process of doing settings for GPRS. Last week, I changed my sim card in multiple handsets, and I got sms with the GPRS settings automatically. Six months back I had to call customer care everytime I wanted GPRS connection on a new handset or do a manual sms to get the settings.
I will look forward to the day when GPRS is supported free of cost with every mobile sim card (the cost is included in the carrier's standard package) and the carrier can still make money by providing services based on GPRS.
In US, the unlimited GPRS charges vary from around $20 - $25 per month. And in India the charges are around Rs 500 per month ($11-12). The cost is huge for both markets.
But recently I came to know that companies like Airtel do offer unlimited GPRS package for just Rs 99 per month ($2-3 approx.) for corporate plans (companies that offer their employees corporate mobile connections). I think that's a very positive trend and will help in boosting mobile data usage.
One another stuff that's going positive is that atleast Airtel has automated the process of doing settings for GPRS. Last week, I changed my sim card in multiple handsets, and I got sms with the GPRS settings automatically. Six months back I had to call customer care everytime I wanted GPRS connection on a new handset or do a manual sms to get the settings.
I will look forward to the day when GPRS is supported free of cost with every mobile sim card (the cost is included in the carrier's standard package) and the carrier can still make money by providing services based on GPRS.
Wednesday 11 January 2006
Social Networking - Is it Wildfire?
Got to know these latest numbers about the growth of social networking sites from this link.
MySpace has now reached 47.3 million members and growing at 160,000 members per day!!
If this isn't wildfire, than what's more?
Even lot of indian youngsters (including some of my friends) are spending hours at social networking sites like Orkut, Hi5 and the others. And today I came to know about an interesting fact from one of my office colleagues. His friends are apparently using Orkut much more than their yahoo messengers! Surprised!
Beat these young indian software engineers who are now using sites like Orkut much more, as their companies have blocked access to yahoo messengers!!!
MySpace.com
Nov. 2004: 4.9 million
Nov. 2005: 26.7 million
Facebook.com
Nov. 2004: N/A
Nov. 2005: 11.1 million
Xanga.com
Nov. 2004: 5.8 million
Nov. 2005: 7.9 million
Bebo.com
Nov. 2004: N/A
Nov. 2005: 1.5 million
Friendster.com
Nov. 2004: 966,000
Nov. 2005: 1.5 million
Tribe Networks Inc.
Nov. 2004: 62,000
Nov. 2005: 515,000
Linkedin.com
Nov. 2004: 123,000
Nov. 2005: 354,188
Orkut.com
Nov. 2004: N/A
Nov. 2005: 83,000
Source: comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, Inc.
MySpace has now reached 47.3 million members and growing at 160,000 members per day!!
If this isn't wildfire, than what's more?
Even lot of indian youngsters (including some of my friends) are spending hours at social networking sites like Orkut, Hi5 and the others. And today I came to know about an interesting fact from one of my office colleagues. His friends are apparently using Orkut much more than their yahoo messengers! Surprised!
Beat these young indian software engineers who are now using sites like Orkut much more, as their companies have blocked access to yahoo messengers!!!
Tuesday 10 January 2006
Necessity is the mother of Invention
An old quote but very much true. Necessity drives invention. I have often wondered what makes great products, and more than that - what drives great entrepreneurs to make great products. It's like the whole world is doing one thing and then suddenly something out of the blue comes and changes the whole world!
Is it an individual's own perception or is it a team effect or an ecosystem that leads to the development of great products. More then the market demand I think its an individual's own belief that leads to great products and most of the times its like an individual feels a need for something and he just creates it unknowingly without realizing that product or service would be useful to a lot others.
I haven't had the experience building a great product or haven't been in the company of such people but I have always been motivated by people who had been doing ground breaking innovations (mostly the ones that have a huge social impact on common people).
Every small step you take leads into this direction one way or the other.
Earlier I had a short experience where in my last job at Salzburg Research, just out of frusturation (unable to find any good tool for visualizing RDF) I started building a tool for visualizing RDF (RDF Gravity) on a nice Friday evening. And by sunday evening, within just two days I gave a small demo to my head, even though he liked it but I didn't heard the WOW effect. And that gave me enough food to keep on going. And then soon one of my brilliant colleagues Rupert joined in and we both kept on building it at nights and on the weekends. After a while the tool became atleast internally quite useful and then was later made available for general use. I hope it has been useful if not thousand but to atleast a few hundred people.
Looking into the past it seems quite fascinating how one small thing leads to another small thing.
Currently in my current venture, WIRKLE, we are trying to bring people and information together on the mobile world. Wirle has seen tremendous changes, from idea to implementation, life has been quite dynamic - but I guess that's a part of the startup. Even Wirkle grew out of dicussions where me and my friends got together and thought to pursue this startup. I have always been motivated by how a small digital device like mobile phone is used by people in lot different ways. I get fascinated when my father who is a PC novice, uses SMS to bid for auctions.
Right from our IIT times, we have been quite fascinated by people who have built great companies. Even during IIT we tried to do a starup that failed with the dot com burst, but that experience gave us our first entry into the real world. And this time we have been fully committed to keep moving on irrespective of any hurdles that come through.
Till now it has been a great experience and I look forward to the future with a much greater anticipation.
Is it an individual's own perception or is it a team effect or an ecosystem that leads to the development of great products. More then the market demand I think its an individual's own belief that leads to great products and most of the times its like an individual feels a need for something and he just creates it unknowingly without realizing that product or service would be useful to a lot others.
I haven't had the experience building a great product or haven't been in the company of such people but I have always been motivated by people who had been doing ground breaking innovations (mostly the ones that have a huge social impact on common people).
Every small step you take leads into this direction one way or the other.
Earlier I had a short experience where in my last job at Salzburg Research, just out of frusturation (unable to find any good tool for visualizing RDF) I started building a tool for visualizing RDF (RDF Gravity) on a nice Friday evening. And by sunday evening, within just two days I gave a small demo to my head, even though he liked it but I didn't heard the WOW effect. And that gave me enough food to keep on going. And then soon one of my brilliant colleagues Rupert joined in and we both kept on building it at nights and on the weekends. After a while the tool became atleast internally quite useful and then was later made available for general use. I hope it has been useful if not thousand but to atleast a few hundred people.
Looking into the past it seems quite fascinating how one small thing leads to another small thing.
Currently in my current venture, WIRKLE, we are trying to bring people and information together on the mobile world. Wirle has seen tremendous changes, from idea to implementation, life has been quite dynamic - but I guess that's a part of the startup. Even Wirkle grew out of dicussions where me and my friends got together and thought to pursue this startup. I have always been motivated by how a small digital device like mobile phone is used by people in lot different ways. I get fascinated when my father who is a PC novice, uses SMS to bid for auctions.
Right from our IIT times, we have been quite fascinated by people who have built great companies. Even during IIT we tried to do a starup that failed with the dot com burst, but that experience gave us our first entry into the real world. And this time we have been fully committed to keep moving on irrespective of any hurdles that come through.
Till now it has been a great experience and I look forward to the future with a much greater anticipation.
Thursday 5 January 2006
Keep Moving Ahead
Got this nice poem from here .
Lehron se darkar nauka par nahin hoti,koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti,
Nanhi cheenti jab daana lekar chalti hai,chadhti deewaron par, sau bar phisalti hai.
Man ka vishwas ragon mein saahas bharta hai,chadhkar girna, girkar chadhna na akharta hai.
Akhir uski mehnat bekar nahin hoti,koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.
Dubkiyan sindhu mein gotakhor lagata hai,ja ja kar khali haath lautkar aata hai.Milte nahi sahaj hi moti gehre paani mein,badhta dugna utsah isi hairani mein.
Muthi uski khali har bar nahin hoti,Koshish karne walon ki haar nahi hoti.
Asaflta ek chunauti hai, ise sweekar karo,kya kami reh gayi, dekho aur sudhar karo.
Jab tak na safal ho, neend chain ki tyago tum,Sangharsh ka maidan chhodkar mat bhago tum.Kuch kiye bina hi jai jaikar nahin hoti,koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.
-Harivansh Rai Bachan
Wednesday 4 January 2006
Startup's biggest Asset - its TEAM
A brilliant post on managing startup teams.
Just taking some exceprts and trying to analyze in Indian context:
In indian context, what one needs is hard cash and no equity. There would be very few people who would be willing to compensate a part of their salary with equity. I am yet to find one!
Bonuses are just considered to be a delayed part of the salary, but its considered to be just there.
The above perhaps holds to a certain extent but not always. Having A players around delays your next job change but given a more cash rich opportunity people just jump.
Startup culture has just started in India (my friends are involved in 4 different startups at this moment), an ecosystem , success stories are yet to become a sole part. Once that starts, there will be no stopping point. Passionate people are bound to make a mark!
Just taking some exceprts and trying to analyze in Indian context:
For cash starved startups, having management and employees believing in the opportunity and team and being motivated by equity is key to success.
.....
I prefer the employee who will take less cash and a higher equity package.
In indian context, what one needs is hard cash and no equity. There would be very few people who would be willing to compensate a part of their salary with equity. I am yet to find one!
In terms of bonuses, I am not a huge fan of cash bonuses for companies losing money, especially in the early stages of development. As a company matures and hires additional executive talent cash bonuses become more important to retain top level executives. With respect to bonuses, there are no guaranteed bonuses, only performance-based ones.
Bonuses are just considered to be a delayed part of the salary, but its considered to be just there.
A Players like to work with other A Players. To the extent that you have a strong team and every hire is better than the next, I can guarantee that you will attract some great talent. A Players like to learn from other A Players and like to know that when their backs are against the wall, they have other team members with the experience and know-how to persevere.
The above perhaps holds to a certain extent but not always. Having A players around delays your next job change but given a more cash rich opportunity people just jump.
Startup culture has just started in India (my friends are involved in 4 different startups at this moment), an ecosystem , success stories are yet to become a sole part. Once that starts, there will be no stopping point. Passionate people are bound to make a mark!
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