Disclaimer

Hi All VCVIjay Reader,

I hope you enjoy all articles, links & research reports which have posted.

I would like to clarify one thing on posting of articles -- I am NOT a writer & have NOT wrote any articles on this blog. I usually get interesting articles from other websites and post it here. 

The main purpose of this blog is to get all daily interesting information on one page so that people do not have to visit 15-20 sites daily just to read different articles. I have got many feedback from visitors on this issue & they seem happy for the same.

I hope I have made my position very clear on this issue.



Regards,

Vijay Veerachandrab
 Blog Founder & Editor

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My Space Valuation

Click here to view article online: Encouraging Stupidity: Analysts Up in Arms Over 'Outrageous' MySpace Valuation

Paul Kedrosky submits: Lots of people are understandably up in arms about RBC analyst Jordan Rohan's absurdly oversized estimate of News Corp. (NWS) owned MySpace's value. In doing so, however, they are missing the point, and meanwhile encouraging more of this sort of silliness.

Like Henry Blodget during the bubble did with Amazon (AMZN), and other analysts did later with Qualcomm (QCOM), etc., putting up oversized estimates of a company's value is mostly a marketing move for a financial analyst, not an exercise in company valuation. The number doesn't matter; it is simply a piece of red meat to attact the media pack, like me saying, Tim Draper-style, that one of my portfolio companies is worth a billion dollars (which it is, of course). Come talk to me!

Pretending otherwise and writing rationally (or intemperately) about "look at me" numbers using logic, critical thinking, and financial sense is silly, like dancing about architecture. Like Mark Twain said when explaining why he doesn't vote, "It just encourages them."

Elevator Pitch.. Kinda like it..

lay out the paying statement

Key things for elevator pitch

What problem you are trying to solve

what is the value proposition
How does your venture solve it


1)succinct

2)Easy Understand

3)Greed inducing ( Investor make money)

Irrefutable --> Answer questions,, dont raise questions...


Source: Elevator pitch from You Tube via Kedrosky

A little bit of me...

Roll of Honour : Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

From Ettimadai to the United Nations Organisation, New York

Vijaychandran of BE (2004) batch, who is currently enrolled for MS programme at the University of South Florida is selected by the United Nations Organisations to execute a key project. He happens to be the youngest intern at the Information Technology Dept. in United Nations Office of Legal affairs.




Vijay's reflections on Amrita
Students are built by the institutions and I can tell that in this context, Amrita can really be proud of moulding such fine individuals and technocrats. I am sure that in the coming years Amrita Alumni will be all over the globe and sure enough, they will be excelling in their chosen fields. The four years were really like being in fire for me, frankly I struggled a lot through the rules and restrcitions there and but now I realise that it was the best which I can get that time. They were meant for my better tomorrows and once we get out of the campus we realise that all the rules and restrictions were there to enable us confront the realities in the world.

I am happy to see education there getting enriched with more research activities. Facilities in the college is really comparable to any other colleges. I am also touched by the untiring commitment of some of my faculty members who helped me out even at during odd hours amidst their hectic schedule.

Vijay on his Education and current work:
I am a full time international graduate student in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Dept. at the University of South Florida. I aim to complete my MS degree in Industrial Engineering by Spring 2006. In the coming Spring 2005 semester, I have been accepted into the very prestigious internship program at the United Nations Organization (UNO) Secretariat Headquarters in New York City. I believe that I am the only student from the college who has been presented with such a great opportunity. The period of the internship will extend from 10 January 2005 to 10 April 2005 at the Information technology Department in United Nations Office of Legal affairs.

The focus of my project at the UN is to develop and implement a new web based search algorithm to query the existing database, sort publications and provide search results to the user. In addition the work will also involve implementation of security protocols to authenticate and restrict user access.

This internship would allow me an unprecedented opportunity to observe the working and management of an international organization. The interdisciplinary nature of my internship program and the project in UN will be excellent training for my MS thesis research. The challenges, which I will face, and the actions that I will take to overcome them, will be a great experience and further boost to my research work here. I would be able to apply the resulting insight and knowledge specifically to the student community by sharing my research experience with my program colleagues.

Vijaychandran Veerachandran,
Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations Organisation, New York

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Cencus of internet userr aka users online

The Stalwart submits: It's official. There are currently 713m online users. This internet census was done for people 15 years and older, so keep in mind it ignores younger members. We are given the internet population broken down by country: #1 is the US, #2 China, and #3 Japan.

We took it one step further, and made the following spreadsheet, looking at each countries internet population vs. the total population. The Netherlands comes in as the most connected community with 66% of the population online (this is only including 15+ yrs old users vs. the total population). Next is Canada at 61% and Korea at 53%. The US comes in at 52%. A screenshot of our spreadsheet is below. Original data for internet users at the link above.

Indian gurus grace MNC board rooms- The Economic Times

Indian gurus grace MNC board rooms- The Economic Times

Indian gurus grace MNC board roomsAdd to Clippings AMANPREET SINGH AND VINOD MAHANTA TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006 02:17:46 AM] /photo.cms?msid=2027039 NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Call it the Indian tone at the top. A clutch of Indian gurus now grace the oak panelled board rooms of Fortune 500 companies, imparting strategic direction and adding diverse views to these companies. While western gurus such as Michael Porter, Tom Peters and Gary Hamel have graced boards of leading companies, Indian gurus are increasingly finding favour. Kellogg’s dean Dipak Jain serves on the board of Hartmax Corporation, John Deere and Company, Northern Trust Corporation and Peoples Energy. Similarly, strategy guru CK Prahlad is on the board of NCR Corp and World Resources Institute. And the author of ‘Ten rules of Strategic Innovators: From Idea to Execution’, Vijay Govindrajan, is not just a professor of strategy at Tuck but also on the board of Mainstay Partners and Executive Development Associates. Prof Jagdish Sheth of ‘The Rule of Three’ fame is a professor at Emory and on the board of Cryocell International and Adayana Inc. Can Harvard Profs be far behind? Nah, Tarun Khanna serves on the board of Westbridge Capital Partners International, Bunge and Educasia Inc. While his colleague Krishna Palepu and is one of the board of Enamics, a US tech startup. But it’s a win-win situation for both, the academic as well as the company. “The professors get a lucrative assignment and an insight into the operations of a company, while the company gets a management consultant to sit on its board,” says Sunil Chandiramani, national director, risk and advisory services, E&Y. No doubt, companies in mature economies have recognised this trend of adding academics to their thinktank. An increasing number of Indians in top notch B-schools are excelling at academics, doing cutting-edge research and this has resulted in more Indian faces on global boards. “Indians on global boards is not a dominating but a rising trend. India is a hot market and there is a need to tap not just the Indian mindset but the diverse skill set as well,” says Poonam Barua, regional director, India, The Conference Board, an international firm that specialises in corporate governance. So while Piyush Pandey might be the latest Indian to join a global board at Ogilvy and Mather, it is actually the intellectual thinktank of India which has managed to break this glass ceiling. So, one of the internet posterboys and hotshot marketing teacher, MohanBir Sawhney, a professor at Kelloggs is on the board of quite a few technology startups in the US as well as a part of the Techbrains advisory board at Merrill Lynch. According to Ms Barua, Indian companies define their global thinking in terms of overseas revenues, while a diverse global board that reflects markets as well as consumers is the correct benchmark of a global company. But then Gyan has been always an Indian speciality.



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Business Technology Guides - Top 10 ecommerce tips

Business Technology Guides - Top 10 ecommerce tips

Guides & Tips
Top 10 ecommerce tips

Choose a database driven eCommerce solution
There are many “cheap” ecommerce store building packages available off the shelf. These require you to install software on your PC. Database driven solutions allow you to update your store in real-time wherever you are in the world via the convenience of a web browser.

Adopt the KISS approach (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Keep your ecommerce project simple to start with and adopt a phased approach. You should concentrate on incorporating the core website functionality first so you can take orders from day one. Other features can then be added later on.

Know your products and your market
Similar principals apply to setting up an internet business as those relevant for an off-line business. Know your potential marketplace and identify your customers. Do your research carefully and ask yourself the question, why would someone want to buy this product from my site?

Be different
Selling online typically involves adopting a lower pricing strategy but be aware there will always be someone willing to undercut you – what other differentiators can you offer to gain customer loyalty and new business?

Attract visitors and orders from day one by using pay-per-click
If it’s a new business consider a sponsored advertising campaign (pay-per-click) to drive buying traffic to your site from day one. Remember to allocate a realistic budget to cover this.

Outsource your pay-per-click advertising
Anyone can run their own AdWords campaign but knowing the tricks of the trade will save your advertising budget and give you “more bang for your buck”. A managed campaign will save you more than the monthly management fees and prevent needless wastage of your advertising budget.

Get your site optimised for the major search engines
With a view to the long term a search engine optimisation (SEO) project should be undertaken to increase your exposure in the natural (free) search listings and drive traffic to your site. SEO results cannot be guaranteed by anyone. Avoid any company or individual making these types of claims.

Choose a partner not a just web design company
An ecommerce solution needs to change with the times and adapt to your business as it grows. Choose a company with a view to building a long-term relationship rather than simply viewing it as a one-off project

Listen to the professional advice being offered during the project
Remember the purpose of the site is to generate orders so don’t get too emotionally attached to non-value adding details which may actually detract users from buying from the site.

Update your site regularly
Changing content not only attracts your customers back but also search engine spiders and bots, which can push your site up the search engine rankings. This can include maintaining the textual content of your site, adding articles of related interest as well as new products and services on offer.

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India is it Millionaires Hub.. No doubt its fuckin yes

Millionaires' club to take big strides- The Economic Times

EW DELHI: India is likely to witness explosive growth in the number of millionaires and their cumulative liquid wealth in the next three years. The estimated cumulative liquid wealth of the affluent class in India is poised to grow at 50% over the next three years to touch $322bn, up from $203bn at present, according to a recent report by Datamonitor. The total number of millionaires in the country is also expected to grow to 134,000 in ’09 from 83,000 at present.

• Cumulative liquid wealth to touch $322bn over the next 3 years
• Number of millionaires may grow to 134,000 in ’09
• Affluent population is expected to grow @ 12%


To tap the growing number of millionaires and multi-millionaires in India, American Express has announced that it will soon come out with a new range of products. “Yes, we are planning to launch products over the next few months,” said Rob Hennin, country manager, American Express India.

American Express commissioned a study to find out lifestyle trends among the affluent class in India, and the company’s new products in India will be designed on the basis of the results of the study.

“The affluent population is growing rapidly. In fact, it is expected to grow at the rate of 12% on an average across the mass affluent and high net worth individual segments over the next several years. Today, these consumers already account for nearly $203bn in cumulative wealth in India,” Mr Hennin added.

The number of Indians with liquid wealth of $100,000 and above are also rapidly increasingly and is likely to touch 1.1m from the present 711,000.

American Express, which has 71m customers worldwide, is betting big on India, courtesy the growing affluence in the country. “We have ambitious growth plans for India, and are investing heavily in technology, innovation and products,” Mr Hennin added.

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Business World, Indian Top Countrie

Rank Name Industries
3 Sterlite Industries (India) (SIIL) Diversified Metals & Mining
10 Bharat Heavy Electricals Heavy Electrical Equipment
13 Bharti Airtel Wireless Telecommunication Services
17 Reliance Industries Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
21 Tata Motors Construction & Farm Machinery & Heavy Trucks
23 Infosys Technologies IT Consulting & Other Services
33 Oil and Natural Gas Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
34 Tata Steel Steel
36 Satyam Computer Services IT Consulting & Other Services
43 Maruti Udyog Automobile Manufacturers
46 Larsen & Toubro Construction & Engineering
52 Grasim Industries Construction Materials
74 Bajaj Auto Motorcycle Manufacturers
76 ICICI Bank Diversified Banks
89 Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Pharmaceuticals
93 Gujarat Ambuja Cements Construction Materials
106 HDFC Bank Diversified Banks
112 Housing Development Finance Thrifts & Mortgage Finance
135 ITC Tobacco
140 National Aluminium (NALCO) Aluminum
141 Hindalco Industries Diversified Metals & Mining

Real Estate Prices In Mumbai

Real estate prices in Mumbai double in a year- The Economic Times

Real estate prices in Mumbai double in a yearAdd to Clippings
GIRISH KUBER

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 02:55:14 AM]

MUMBAI: Mumbai’s property prices have soared 100% in the past 12 months despite a crumbling infrastructure, crater-filled roads, the bomb blasts and the declining quality of public services. The trend is sharper in business areas like Nariman Point, Bandra, Parel and Worli. Foreign companies eager to cash in on the economic boom are snapping up office space, boosting property developers who are rushing to the stock market to raise funds.

According to trade watchers, a square feet of space in Nariman Point now fetches Rs 25,000-40,000. The price is higher for sea-facing properties. Some residential apartments in Nariman Point are known to have fetched as high as Rs 60,000 sq feet, but experts say that these were in new buildings or involved prime property. Commercial property prices in old buildings are also fetching a huge premium, they say.

Chetan Suchak of Suchak Realties cited the lack of new properties coming up in prime locations as a reason for rising prices. “There has been no significant addition of office space in Nariman Point. This is pushing the prices up,” he said. “The property which was sold for Rs 8,000 per sq ft in Nariman Point last October has now been traded for Rs 20,000 per sq ft,” Mr Suchak said.

Prices have also shot up in the suburbs, though not as high as in central Mumbai. Realty rates range between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 per sq ft in the western suburbs of Goregaon and Malad. In central suburbs like Thane, prices are around Rs 3,800-4,000 per sq ft.

“Mumbai continues to attract business despite all odds,” said a state government official. There is a shortage of commercial space in the city though the housing segment is growing, he added.

“Many MNCs or business houses are scouting for space in Mumbai, further boosting demand,” an official from the industry department said. Lehman Brothers is among the major foreign players to have bought land in Mumbai. The US-based financial giant is understood to have signed a deal for a property at Worli for a price much above the prevailing rates, sources say. Another South India-based leading finance company has also booked office space at Nariman Point for a hefty price.

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MySpace Case Study..

            Came across this blog 3/4 times in the last week. I thought it just as another blog. But the article is brilliant in many ways. I recommend this for any entrepreneur. The site details the idea from its concieving stage , execution and exit with benefactors.

             In silicon valley there is a saying that, If you have to be lucky twice. Eventually it wasnt the case with Tom Anderson he made some money out of it.

 Let us see what is more coming from his side. I respect his brilliance and the challenges he had gone through in pulling out the deal. Read more from the link. Below I had given a snippet

Startup Review

MySpace Case Study: Not a purely viral start

Why profiled on Startup-Review.com

In less than 3 years time, MySpace has become one of the top 5 most visited sites in the US, racking up 48 million unique visitors and 27.4B page views in June 2006. While it will probably never come close to the profitability of Google, eBay, or Yahoo, it has the potential to be the Internet’s next “platform” company. It has made for particularly interesting case study material for leapfrogging early social networking leader, Friendster.

Interviews conducted: I interviewed several people who were close to MySpace in the early days, although no longer with the company. I would consider both of these to be excellent sources. I have also spoken to a number of people in the social networking industry – product managers at competitors, MySpace service providers, etc. I am also a board observer at a company that competes with MySpace.

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Ventur Capital 2.0...

Do you think Hedge Funds and V C Funds have anything in common. Do u believe in second generation of anything.  Thanks Kedrosky and Peter Rip

EarlyStageVC: Venture Capital 2.0: Not So Separate, But Still Equal

An early stage investment's alpha and beta are not affected by the inclusion of a distressed debt instrument. Now suppose the insight about how to price the distressed debt arose from knowledge you gleaned from the early stage investment. Or suppose a profitable public market short position arises from the insight acquired from chasing, but ultimately being outbid in pursuit of a 'hot' late stage investment. Or suppose experience with a PIPE provides a source of market and customer diligence to generate ideas about potential new Series A companies to form and fund. I refer to this as a Crossover Model of risk capital. The crossover model is a model for Venture Capital 2.0.

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Real Estate Big deals in India

Blockbuster deals dot realty space- The Economic Times

Blockbuster deals dot realty spaceAdd to Clippings

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 04:06:37 AM]
NEW DELHI: The real estate mart has seen 11 major land transactions in the last one year crossing Rs 6,000 crore. Whether it is DDA’s recent auction of 61 plots for Rs 188 crore — way higher than the reserve price of Rs 70 crore, or the largest ever land deal —Unitech’s Rs 1,583 crore bid for 340 acres in Noida, it is action time in realty with more expected in future, say market watchers.

Unitech’s Rs 1,583 crore bid for a city development contract on Noida Expressway remains the leader among all land transactions. The record deal saw Unitech pipping DLF which had bid Rs 1,401 crore for the land.

The previous recordholder for the biggest ever land deal was Reliance Industries, which a 7.5 acre plot acquired in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla complex for Rs 1,104 crore. Struck in January this year, the deal saw Mukesh Ambani outbidding DLF, Gammon India, Emaar MGF and Anil Ambani’s Reliance ADA Group, then ADAE.

In August, Delhi Development Authority raised Rs 188 crore from the auction of 61 residential plots in six locations, way higher than the reserve price of Rs 70 crore.

Mumbai has been the hotbed of action in the real estate market. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of sale and development of 600 acre belonging to sick textile mills in the city. Some of those mill transactions make the cut for the major deals in the last one year or so.

Among these are Lodha Builders’ Rs 180 crore-bid for Apollo Mills and DLF’s Rs 702-crore purchase of Mumbai Textile Mills, Matoshree Realtors and Kohinoor Group’s joint bid of Rs 421 crore for Kohinoor Mills —all in June last year and IndiaBulls’ Rs 441-crore bid for Elphinstone Mills in July last year.

Other major deals include Parsvnath Developers clinching 123-acre in Chandigarh for Rs 821 crore in June this year, Oberoi Constructions‘ Rs 221 crore bid for the 23-acre Glaxo plot in Mulund, Mumbai, Kshitij Ventures’ Rs 221 crore purchase of a 25-acre Kurla plant and Rs 209-crore purchase of a 6-acre plot in Kolkata by Emaar MGF.

“Indian property sector is witnessing heightened activity as a result of higher real estate prices and a genuine improvement in the underlying demand conditions,” according to a CLSA Asia-Pacific markets report.

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Interesting I banking..In India also its making waves

It's raining dollars for I-bankers- The Economic Times

It's raining dollars for I-bankersAdd to Clippings
GEORGE SMITH ALEXANDER

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 03:57:56 AM]
MUMBAI: Global investment banks making a late entry into India are pushing up salaries to multi-million dollar level while creating a churn in the industry. V Anantharaman, who heads investment banking in StanChart India, is slated to take over as the head of investment banking for Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) in India.

If sources are to be believed, he is likely to be one of the highest paid bankers in town with a package of around $2m.

International players like CSFB, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers have opened shop in the country this year. Of these, Goldman has been on a major recruitment spree and now CSFB and Lehman have also joined the race. Goldman has taken in around 35 people on board in India. This is the second major hire by CSFB in India after Mihir Doshi who has been appointed as the head of CSFB’s business in India.

Mr Anatharaman is currently the MD, corporate finance and advisory for StanChart in India. A formal announcement is likely to be made this week. Prahlad Shantigram, who is also the MD, corporate finance in StanChart, will take over Mr Ananthraman’s responsibilities in StanChart.

According to sources, the investment banking team in India of CSFB is likely to be small and will rely more on its global and Asian network. It is also in the process of bringing in a senior banker to kick off its securities business in the country.

It has already bought in Nilesh Jasani, who was head of research for the firm in Taiwan as head of research for India. After facing a series of regulatory problems four years ago, the Swiss banking major is looking at offering the whole suite of investment banking products and also at the options of a non-banking finance company (NBFC) in the country.

Credit Suisse had last year opened a non-funded NBFC — Credit Suisse Consulting (India) — to target high networth individuals in the country. As a part of the global revamp, all operations of the group in India would be rebranded under the Credit Suisse brand name.

Recently, Munesh Khanna, moved to join DSP Merrill Lynch as head of investment banking. Sunil Sanghai, former executive director at JM Morgan Stanley, moved to a key position in Goldman Sachs. Mr Ananthraman had joined StanChart in the latter half of ’03. StanChart has been focusing more on cross-border mergers and acquisitions rather than domestic M&As.

In fact, last year and also this year it is among the top three investment bankers in this category. The outfit currently has 13 i-bankers. With the entry of these new players in the country, salaries of investment bankers have seen a quantum jump in the last one year.

Pay packets of investment banking heads have jumped from around Rs 2.5 crore to over a million dollar, depending on negotiations. Similarly, salaries of bankers lower down have also seen a quantum jump.

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Angel Investors.. Thanks Valleywag

Heaven must be missing an...: These angel investors could fund your startup - Valleywag

« || next »
September 6 2006
Heaven must be missing an...: These angel investors could fund your startup

angel-ron.jpgToday in "Ask Valleywag," the advice column for Silicon Valley set, we help a startup kick up the funding a notch. Earlier this month, Valleywag reader Scott asked:

I am the co-founder of Kevo. We are launching in a few days. [Here they are.] Do you have a list of angel investors?

The search for an angel investor is a healthy part of every startup's growth. Angels are usually private individuals looking to invest thousands to hundreds of thousands in small companies in return for a share of ownership. They can be the only funding a company takes, or a step between bootstrapping and venture capital. Below, Sean Ness, the ringmaster at the monthly Stirr startup mixer, lists a host of angels for us (which we peppered with snark).

Individuals

* Ron Conway was the big daddy of them all, loved by some, hated by others for his role in the first boom. Here's some dirt on him. (Photo above by Dan Farber)
* Ram Shriram has taken his place.
* Josh Kopelman runs First Round Capital from Philadelphia.
* Aydin Senkut made his money from Google and word on the street is he just invests in lots of things, but doesn't know much. The Wall Street Journal's Pui-Wing Tam names him as one of a new generation of angels.
* Jeff Clavier is everywhere and pretty much meets with anyone interesting.
* Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote Google their first check (for a hundred grand).

Groups

* Band of Angels
* Sand Hill Angels
* The Angels' Forum

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How to write a Business plan..

Small Business administration

SBA - Business Plan Basics

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Dont waste space for loathing

Internet Pioneers on What Not to Do

Advice: Don't have a bunch of promotion and marketing fluff on your page. Just saying you're the best doesn't mean you're the best. Customers want to know how much it's going to cost, how long it's going to take to get to them, and if they're going to get good service.

Don't take up screen real estate that's not actionable, useful information. Don't make them click too much or make it too hard to find products. If they don't find what they want from the home page, they're going to click to the next site. They're expecting convenience. Make a compelling offer, because customers on the Internet are expecting a deal.

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Business Building Tools

Business Week , amazing tools for starting a business Online..

An Online Business for $3,000 

Secrets of Online Business Success

Treat your Web Site As One of Your Best Employees

Building a Web Presence on the Cheap

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Entrepreneurship, This story reminds me of my father

If you are an entrepreneur please read this story, The story of a Indian Entrepreneur very inspiring.

Rags to riches is some thing I heard and seen, I can literally see my father in him every word and every activities. He is always proud of what he had done. Only thing is that his way of entrepreneur is not through education but through hard work and becoming worldly wise. Some day I am going to write about him in detail and his entrepreneurial attempts. What he learned through experience and passed on me.