Everybody is talking about the entrepreneurship revolution going around in India these days, something which started in the silicon valley some years back. And no, India has not really come into the mainstream of the web 2.0 scene. Try asking a few people (probably bloggers, tech bloggers especially) and see what the answer is. No, I’m not here to write something about someone or try and prove something in this post, it’s just an observation, and not even classified as right or wrong, or good or bad. In this series of articles, I try and go deeper into the state of entrepreneurship (strictly the web 2.0 space) in India, the problems faced by the budding entrepreneurs, and the small consumer internet space in India which seems to be overflowing with all sorts of startups right now with no space left literally
For the past six days, I have been lurking around the land of opportunities (the same term used for the U.S, some years ago by the Indian janta), and no I was not really looking or a fat-paying job (though I wouldn’t mind the same). I was in search for a startup that was doing some quality work in the web 2.0 area (I use the 2.0 term so often and with ease, although deeper down it is not that staright-forward), and needed a guy to do things the right way (or probably their way). And I was not disappointed, as you can see there is a derth of young startups in Bangalore these days. Half of them although have a very doubtfull future, and the other half are somehow working things out. Not enough money, incubation problems, talent crunch. Just some (and the most important) of the problems faced by these startups. The fact being that I too am bitten by the entrepreneurship bug, although i really do not intend to dive down into the sea right now, makes me ponder and do a research into these problems.
Talent Crunch
Is that really a problem ?? When I read blogs, personal blogs, of the so-called technopreneurs, and I read something like “Brain-drain in India”, I am obviously surprised by thhe manner in which people write these things. On one of such blogs, I found out that the guy himself was in states for a decade or so, and then he returned to India to launch his own startup. And surprsingly he was very disheartened by the fact that brain-drain still happens in India. Somehow, this does not seem to be justified to me.
We all understand how important the quality of talent is for a startup. We know the difference between the “bright” and “right” talent. But in essence, these are all relative terms, and more than that these are terms that are used to showcase the startup culture. But in the very rare of cases, will you actually find such a thing happening. Yes, let’s face it, in India people do not want to take the risk of hiring a smart guy over a geek as of now. Yes, the culture of smarter people over geeks has not yet arrived in India. Just for an example, a friend of mine from college, joined a big It firm in India (one of those giants you know), cause he was not geek enough to get a job in a startup that he wanted. Now the guy is starting-up his own venture, after been reminded again and again of the same fact that he was not a geek at each interview. And just for the records, his business plan was selected at the ISB startup showcase recently. Not bad I guess, not bad at all for a “non-geek” after all. So, the moral of the story is, geeky is good, but smarter is better; and follow what you preach. So, either all these startups stop talking about Mr.Right and Mr.Bright, or simply do what they preach.
Talk about talent crunch and we hear about the Mr.Right been so epensive. It’s a simple world. The best brands come expensive. So why does a startup crib about talent crunch. Why do startups have to go about reasoning out as to how the IT industry (startups) needs people to work their asses-off with low-payoffs, take all the damn risks, live life on the edge. Why can’t startups really start paying people good money. Essentially, my observation about successfull startups is that the venture was funded by 3-4 guys, owned by them in partnership and then yes they worked their asses-off to get the thing up and running (building the gears and putting the car in the 1st gear). And after that, they went for the kill, hiring people, expanding, and the rest. This phenomenon seems to be just perfect. It’s strange that now people come up with ideas, don’t want partners, need low-paying-skilled workers, give them a fraction-of-the-fraction-of-the-profits later, lure them into all the good things (stock options) and all other stories like that. And then startups complain that they don’t find the right talent. I guess, it’s high-time for startups to understand that good things in life are not for free. Ready to shell out - will get proportionally better results later.
on Mar 16th, 2008 at 4:51 pm