thE DIsruptErs: doinG thinGs differentlY
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august 2013 volume 4 issue 12 `100
Changing the
Beat Vijay Nair and the Only Much Louder crew are tapping india’s youth with music and more P38
aLsO 5 hot startups to watch out for Vijay Nair CEO and Founder Only Much Louder
P85
exim bank chief tca ranganathan on what ails indian exports P82
coNTeNTS INSIGHTS
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IN focuS
cover STory
36 The Assemblage A number two to the market leader Sula, Grover Zampa Vineyards has created a place for itself in India's winery sector By Shonali Advani
SecoNd leAd
16 Enabling Change
Richard Branson encourages social entrepreneurs and tech entrepreneurs to collaborate to make better financial sense
18 Time to Batten Down the Hatches
R Jagannathan writes about what is needed to get the economy back on track
20 Passion and Big Business
Ravi Kiran tells you how to keep the passion alive and also grow your business
38 We Own the Beat
Vijay Nair and Bobby Talwar of Only Much Louder are connecting with India’s young through independent music. Read about the journey of the company that organizes NH7 Weekender, is behind The Dewarists and so much more By Ankush Chibber
22 Beyond Passion
Anurag Batra says that entrepreneurs need more than just passion to make it big
54 Inside Job
IN coNverSATIoN 30 ‘We will be profitable in the next 12-18 months’
Manish Sabharwal says that it is better to get the work done than to wait to do it perfectly
Alok Kejriwal lists a few Western Classical symphonies that entrepreneurs must listen to as there are lessons to be emulated
By Avanish Tiwary
By Ann Handley
WomAN eNTrepreNeur
87 Sebi Angel Investing Norms: Greater Clarity Needed Nandini Mansinghka delves into whether the market regulator is only seeking to plug a black money route with the Sebi Angel Investing Norms
Struggling with creating the right content? It may be brief or elaborate‚ but clarity is a must
56 The Great Escape It’s time to get out of your comfort zone. Find out how By Erika Napoletano
57 Get It Out There Is your big invention still only at the idea stage? Learn what you should do next By Carolyn Horwitz
29 The Halo Effect
Harshada Sawant advises entrepreneurs on what they should do in case they are not successful
By Gael O’Brien
55 You Asked for It
Bharat Banka says one must set achievable milestones and work hard to reach the goalpost
86 Failure is Not Taboo
Get some answers to questions on conflict of interest and ethical issues
Nikhil Rungta, Chief Business Officer at Yebhi, talks about how the firm is adapting to the winds of change in India’s e-commerce space
26 Vision and Mission
Ajai Chowdhry speaks about the contribution of angels to the entrepreneurial ecosystem
Disrupters don’t necessarily invent groundbreaking technologies. They make them better in ways others couldn’t imagine. We bring you a list of some disruptions
STrATeGy
23 Done is Better Than Perfect
24 Lessons from Symphonies
46 The Disrupters
SpecIAl feATure 32 I’ll Stick With You Divya Kashiv of Krishna Printernational brought back an ailing label printing firm to life By Ashna Ambre
SocIAl eNTrepreNeur 34 Seed Culture Richard Alderson and Pooja Warier are encouraging entrepreneurs to do good through UnLtd. India with funds and support By Shruti Chakraborty
8 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
58 Chug De! India is witnessing a craft beer movement brought on by a number of microbreweries which have proliferated on the landscape By Shonali Advani
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62 Calling the Shots
88 Virtual Treatment
Filmmaker-entrepreneur Dibakar Banerjee constantly tries to deliver the maximum bang for the minimum buck
A slew of online healthcare providers are coming up with customized healthcare services By Avanish Tiwary
By Sudipta Datta
72 ‘Windows 8 has not done enough’ Steve Felice, President and Chief Commercial Officer for Dell, talks about BYOD, emerging markets, and why doomsday predictions about personal computers are a tad bit exaggerated
64 Everyone, Say Hi to kevin
The first day on a new job isn’t usually very easy. We have some advice that might ease the pain By Ross McCammon
innOvaTOrS inc 66 gold Spot
Attero Recycling extracts and resells precious metals like gold and silver from your electronic waste
By Ankush Chibber
hOW TO 108 Relocate Your Business Shift your office in a methodical manner
By Avanish Tiwary
GeTTinG There
92 Spend and Earn
Pouring Pounds from the UK has come to India to make a place for itself in the cashback market with Cashkaro.com By Shruti Chakraborty
94 Ethical Hacker
22-year-old Saket Modi aims to secure Indian cyberspace networks with his startup, Lucideus
By Meeta Wasan Gujral
70 Elevating the Mundane
110 Be an Equal Opportunity Employer
By Sulekha Nair
Delhi-based Seat 14A is offering men a choice to change their wardrobe online
mOney
By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
Create a non-discriminatory HR environment By Latha Rajan
112 Deal with the Falling Rupee Don’t let the declining rupee worry you
Deepikaa Jindal took stainless steel outside the confines of the kitchen with her venture‚ Arttd’inox
75 The global Link
We take a look at the current changes in the world economy and how they are affecting India By Kanishk Agarwal and Harsh Agarwal
By Dinesh Thakkar
81 Debt vs Equity: Which is Better?
114 Put Together the Best Team for the Job
By Nikhil Kothari
The right people with the right attitude are essential By Naeem Zafar
One is safe and the other‚ risky. Pick the one that is right for you
bank chaT
By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
96 Easy Ensemble
98 Courtroom Classes
Rainmaker is helping the legal ecosystem with specialized online courses By Ashna Ambre
Special repOrT 103 ‘Franchising in India can grow to $50 billion in 5 years’ A CII conference on franchising looked at how the franchise model may define the future of retailing in India By Our Staff Writer
105 Mold-Tek Packaging is SME of the Year
116 Use Pinterest for Your Business
CNBC-TV18 entered the 8th year of recognizing and awarding entrepreneurs from the SME sector with the Emerging India Awards 2013
Pinterest is a good way to display your products
By Our Staff Writer
By Avanish Tiwary
SpenD iT cOver creDiTS
118 Mock Bars and Hip Music Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide’s property‚ Aloft in Ahmedabad is a colorful hotel By Avanish Tiwary
COVER DESIgn Arko Provo Mukherjee IMagIng Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur COVER IMagE Mexy Xavier
82 ‘Confused policy signals have handicapped Indian MSMEs’ TCA Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director of Export-Import Bank of India‚ tells us what really ails exports‚ Indian MSMEs and more By Sourav Majumdar
10 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
reGularS 12 FEEDBaCk 13 RESOURCES 14 aSk EnTREPREnEUR 120 BaCkSTagE
insights
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Branson speak RichaRd BRanson Founder of the Virgin Group
Enabling Change
Collaboration between tech entrepreneurs and the social sector makes eminent financial sense
A new generation of entrepreneurs is using approaches from the commercial world and employing technology to tackle social and environmental problems
EntrEprEnEurship isn’t about sElling things—it’s about finding innovative ways to improve people’s lives. Until recently, most people in business focused on products and services that would appeal to consumers, and this resulted in the creation of many great companies and a lot of jobs. But attitudes are changing. A new generation of entrepreneurs is using approaches from the commercial world and employing technology to tackle social and environmental problems—these areas used to be the exclusive territory of government agencies and charitable organizations.
the same time it created a lucrative new revenue stream. This shift has opened up new avenues for the company, which is using its charging stations to power refrigerators that store vaccines for the community. Business and government must encourage established entrepreneurs and young talent to focus on problem areas like health, education, climate change and social care. How can we speed up this process and make even more of an impact? There seem to be three key obstacles facing entrepreneurs who want to get social enterprises off the ground.
offEring jobs and hopE No matter what the structure of the company—whether it is for-profit, nonprofit or a creative melding of the two—entrepreneurial solutions are offering engagement, jobs and hope in areas where we had none. The example set by Econet Wireless, which is led by Strive Masiyiwa, is one of my favorites. A couple of years ago, Econet, a telecom company based in South Africa, started to develop and distribute solar charging stations in the region, providing power for cell phones, lights and other devices. These stations are helping to transform the lives of people living in rural areas where the supply of electricity is erratic. Econet shifted its business model to drive change for people and the planet, and at
WhErE is thE monEy? Entrepreneurs often struggle to raise seed money for such ventures, as it is far tougher to get funding for social enterprises than commercial counterparts, despite the fact that the financial returns can be just as big. We need to encourage more initiatives and competitions such as Google’s Global Impact Challenge, which set out to find four nonprofits in the UK that would be awarded £500,000 each to help them tackle some of the world’s toughest problems through technology. The quality of the entrants was amazing, and the winners ranged from CDI Apps for Good, which teaches children how to code, to the Zoological Society of London, which uses tracking
16 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
devices to monitor and protect endangered wildlife. it’s Who you knoW It is tough for the leaders of a social enterprise to know who to speak to within tech businesses and vice versa, so it’s important for government and business to create links between technology entrepreneurs and those leading social change. It simply makes financial sense to encourage collaboration between those skilled in tech and those working in the social sector, since it will spark new ideas— everything from online giving platforms to education analytics businesses—and result in the creation of jobs. The solutions to this problem don’t have to be costly or elaborate. Online forums, networking events and conferences would all help to forge ties between the two sectors. nEEd for mEntors Every startup team needs a mentor: Someone to help team members to understand and overcome those tricky early situations and, later, to coach them through the process of expansion. Using business skills to grow a social enterprise is a fairly new idea, and so the teams that found such startups need help solving problems and getting the job done. Successful tech entrepreneurs should be encouraged to mentor entrepreneurs.
To read more, grab the August 2013 issue of Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
insights
NEW THINK R Jagannathan
Editor-in-Chief, Web & Publishing, Network18
Time to Batten Down the Hatches
India Inc must wait for the current reforms to start delivering
The 1991 reforms raised our growth average from 3-4 percent to 5 percent; later reforms raised this to 5-6 percent. Without any reform by the UPA, we will go back to—or, rather, remain at— this level over the next two years
This is noT a good Time To be doing business in India. Not because the India story is over, but because no matter what we do, things may get a lot worse before they get better. Just as the cure for overconsumption is a lean diet for some time or even a fast, the cure for living on economic steroids for nearly a decade is slower growth. Slow growth is good for us as it enables the economy to find its natural rhythm. The UPA government has been a disaster—especially over the last five years—because it believes that the cure for all problems is more money. Oil prices rising? Print more money to pay for subsidies. Farm debts high? Write them off with more printed money. Corporate debts high? Write them off with public sector bank money and then use printed money to recapitalize tottering banks. No jobs in the economy? Not to worry. Government will provide work through NREGA. Poverty and malnutrition? Hang on. Food Security Bill coming up. Business not investing? Homes not selling? Will pressure the RBI to ease money, never mind that consumer inflation is still high and savings rates are falling. Rupee on crash course? Open the taps to foreign hot money flows. Rupee still crashing? Rush to Washington for more dollars. More dollars means more rupees printed.
18 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
shorT-Term cure In every situation, the UPA government’s stock answer has been to print more money, cheaper money. Unfortunately, the answer to binge drinking and a hangover is not more drinks on the house, but a cold shower and some good sleep. The Indian economy needs the cold shower of serious reforms and better sleep conditions, i.e. an economic slowdown to recover good health and vigor. Putting it back on steroids is not the answer. Seeking short-term foreign money fixes is not the answer to capital outflows because it can only compound the problem as the country’s debt balloons again past $400 billion as against foreign exchange reserves of $285 billion. The reason why the Congressled UPA thinks money is the answer to every problem is delusional. The UPA came to power just when global growth was soaring and wrongly came to believe that its redistributive policies were the reason for the high growth. This is, of course, largely untrue, for the high-growth phase of UPA-1 was largely an aberration, which had nothing to do with UPA’s policies. It would have happened no matter who was in power. To understand why, let’s look at the entire period from 1991 to now, and how various governments have performed in terms of GDP growth.
various capTains In Manmohan Singh’s first stewardship of the economy—when he was finance minister from 1991 to 1996 and had ushered in Big Bang economic reforms under the leadership of Narasimha Rao—the average GDP growth rate was just 5.24 percent. Reforms clearly did not lead to spectacular growth immediately, for in the previous five-year period (1986-91), the economy grew at the same five percent average. Before reforms 5 percent; after reforms 5.24 percent. What’s the difference? However, this is the point: Reforms deliver after a lag. In the next government—Deve Gowda’s and IK Gujral’s—the average growth rate was 6.15 percent. In short, growth accelerated in the next period by one percent. It was the result of Manmohan Singh’s reforms. In the six-year NDA period, average growth between 19982004 was 6 percent. So what’s the difference between the Gowda period and Vajpayee period? Very little. growTh curve We know that in the NDA period, there were many reforms. The Golden Quadrilateral infrastructure project was launched. Many state companies were privatized—Maruti, VSNL, IPCL, IBP,
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Balco‚ Air India’s hotels subsidiary. The Electricity Act was redone to allow consumers to choose their suppliers and state electricity boards were allowed to clean up their debts. The government also legislated the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. In contrast to the current external account deficit, the UPA actually inherited a current account surplus in 2004. As the benefits from these reforms flowed after a lag in the UPA-1 regime, Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram began to think that 9-10 percent growth was their birthright, reform or no reform. The last nine years of the UPA can be broken up into two clear segments—in the first half (2004-2008) we had 8.85 percent super growth; in the next five years, we had a 7 percent average. Add the current year’s likely growth of 5-5.5 percent, and the average growth for the sevenyear period will be more like 6.5-6.6 percent. Not too different from the NDA period. And it’s the result of no reforms during UPA-1 and UPA-2 till late last year. The real difference between Gowda, Vajpayee and the latter half of Manmohan Singh’s regime is very little—and the growth rate has been between 6-7 percent. It is only the 2004-08 period that stood out with its 8.85 percent performance. Does this prove that UPA did better than the other governments, including its own second half performance from 2008-2013? Unlikely. Reality check The conclusion I would draw is that the real growth rate the Indian economy is capable of achieving with its current state of political consensus is 5-7 percent, with 6-6.5 percent being the normal rate of growth without
too much reform. The 8 and 9 percent rates achieved during 2003-08, or even 2004-08, were outliers and can largely be attributed to global factors. When the world is booming, India booms. One reason for the higher growth in 2004-08 is that the UPA had not begun wasting money on political schemes such as MNREGA or farm loan waivers or such things. If the UPA had begun these activities in 2004 instead of 2008, the growth figure could have fallen to 7-8 percent even faster—well before UPA-2. RefoRms, the key Can we do much better? Sure. But for this we need reforms, reforms, reforms. We need three kinds of reforms: The first reform is in energy pricing. From oil to gas, energy prices are being subsidized, and till this is fixed, we are going to keep slowing down. A growing economy needs more energy, and you won’t get more energy without freeing pricing. Next, we need to allow the markets to regulate land and labor pricing. Labor laws need to be eased because if you cannot fire labor, nobody will hire them. As for land prices, they are firmly in the grip of politicians. In cities, for example, a simple way to reduce land prices is to allow more FSI (floor space index), but politicians who hold benami land won’t allow that since it will reduce their benami wealth. The last reform relates to allowing a free market in farm produce—once again, the government interferes too much with agricultural products, from procurement to fixing minimum prices to restricting free movement of food grains.
Once these three reforms are done, India can aspire for 7-8 percent as our normal rate of growth. Higher rates depend on a more favorable global environment—which is not happening anytime soon. Let’s remember: The 1991 reforms raised our growth average from 3-4 percent to 5 percent; later reforms raised this to 5-6 percent. Without any reform by the UPA, we will go back to—or, rather, remain at—this level over the next two years. In 2012-13, we had five percent growth; the IMF says this year we should have 5.6 percent—and this could be an optimistic case scenario. But not impossible, since election-time spending could boost growth once again by printing money and implementing the Food Bill and Direct Cash Transfers. However, if growth picks up this year by pumping the economy with election-eve steroids, it only means storing trouble for the future. The next government will have a right royal fiscal mess on its hands—and the real possibility of a further deceleration. And let’s not forget, any major fiscal slippage this year could tank the rupee—which is worse news for import costs from oil to gas, and growth. A revival this year means postponement of the pain, and starker choices for the next government. This is why I believe India Inc. needs to batten down the hatches and wait for the current round of reforms to start delivering. But delivery dates will be post-2014, or even 2015. For now, growth will continue to remain anemic. And it’s good, as it allows the economy to adjust to the new realities.
To read more, grab the August 2013 issue of Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
One reason for the higher growth in 2004-08 is that the UPA had not begun wasting money on political schemes such as MNREGA or farm loan waivers or such things
Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013 19
Amit KumAr
woman entrepreneur
I’ll StIck wIth You
Stepping into her father’s shoes, Divya Kashiv took a risky decision and brought back an ailing label printing firm from the brink of a shutdown • AshnA Ambre
O
ne of the most revolting things on television today, especially to liberal sensibilities, is the clear gender bias on some of the more regressive soaps. Sons, it seems, are the ones who are the outright custodians of the family and all that it holds—it is like we are back in the ’50s and earlier. Thankfully, real Indian life is looking less and less like that. As more women come into the workforce, daughters like Divya Kashiv are stepping up to take charge of more than just the household. CEO of Krishna Printernational, a Delhi-based self-adhesive labels maker, Kashiv has a story that we hope is replicated more often.
32 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
After graduating from the University of Delhi in 1999, she went on to pursue higher studies in marketing at Delhi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. Her first job was as a project manager in Indiamart, a Noida-based online retailer. Her father, meanwhile, was running a label printing business for more than three decades. As India’s economy galloped in the first half of the 2000s, it seemed as if her father’s business would be left behind with the multiple challenges of increased competition, newer processes and fastchanging technology in the printing space. Finally, after running the business for over 36 years, Kashiv’s father decided
to wind up the business in 2008. “It was a very emotional decision for him, but he knew he had to take it. But the thought of the business shutting down was a nightmare for me,” says Kashiv‚ who asked her father to hand over the reins to her. “I was married by then, had a family and other responsibilities; yet I took the plunge,” says Kashiv. She tells us that even though she has seen the business since childhood, she had no advantage of any sort—she had no knowledge about the printing business and had to start from scratch just like an outsider. Predictably, the first few months went into understanding the nature and technique of the business. She
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saw that the basic problem was of coping up with a more competitive and developed environment.
1 of 10,000 As her first move, Kashiv replaced the existing machines with more modern, new equipment using funds that she and the family had accumulated over the years. The second move saw her put in new processes and also create an online presence. “We spent about `40 lakh to `50 lakh over one and a half years to put all new processes in place,” she adds. Even as rival competitors were now coming out with newer designs and better quality of label material, the company was almost stuck in a time warp. “Replacing and revamping an existing business is difficult and very time-consuming,” says Kashiv. Kashiv was aware that she needed more than her instincts and work experience to fix the business. One year into the makeover, she applied for Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Program, which has a goal of training 10,000 women from predominantly developing countries in business and management. In 2009, she received a scholarship under the program to study business management for small enterprises at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. The experience and learning created an immense impact on Kashiv. Before the program, she felt she was lagging behind in areas like negotiating skills and employee motivation. The program helped her fine-tune these aspects.
Reining in the resistance Kashiv was confident about what she had learnt and came back to begin executing new policies and processes. But
this was not as easy as attending a program. Running and changing a business dominated by men—who were Glued on t h as been clients, employees, vendors la bel m arke T he Ind ia n t per yea r and labor—was one of the 10 percen g row ing by biggest challenges she would ea d la bels h av face. “All the employees were Glue-appl ie e t sh ar used to my father giving orders. 57 percen accou nt When I stepped in and made sitive la bels P ressu re-sen ent changes there was a lot of resisately 31 perc for approx im tance. In fact, many of the laborls and ot her ers even quit their jobs and left,” Sleeve la be ta ke a la bels each recalls Kashiv. u n identi fied sh are The reason for the resistance 6 percent up less was obvious. The processes li ng m akes In-mold la be the m arket Kashiv put in place compelled percent of than one laborers to improve productivity and the new machines Source – Label & Narrow Web, 2012 required labor to be more time efficient and less complacent. Goldman Sachs program, says Kashiv’s But Kashiv remained undeterred. When motivational levels and her ability to the attrition rates grew, she brought in take risks and try out new ideas have held women and paid them the same wages. her in good stead. “I realized that their productivity was Kashiv has been running the busi50 percent more. This led me to give a ness for five years now and manufacthought to employing more women. My tures labels for companies in the business decision created a lot of chaos within of consumer durables, logistics, airlines, the existing workforce but eventually, it cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals. made the men gather speed with the new The company has increased its portfochanges that I was making,” she says. lio to provide a range of barcode labels, Today, Kashiv employs 40 people in vinyl stickers, personalized stickers and all. “It took me all of two years to gain other self-adhesive labels. She tells us of acceptance from our employees,” she her growth plans for the firm that include says. Kashiv says she faced resistance increasing the customer base, making the on the external front too. “Clients were business more cost-effective, strengthunsure of dealing with me. They avoided ening existing processes and having a getting into long-term contracts. But with greater variety of labels. Kashiv adds time, things have settled and today we that she wants to grow steadily and build serve about 30 clients,” she says. things step by step with adequate technolOut of the box ogy. “I know there is stiff competition, but Vidya Iyer, Faculty at Fortune Institute of the fact that we are already serving some International Business and mentor at the big clients speaks for our work.”
To read more, grab the August 2013 issue of Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013 33
COVER STORY we own the beat
vijay Nair CEO and Founder, OML
38 Intelligent entrepreneur ď‚„ August 2013
www.entrepreneurindia.in
we own the
beat The people at Only Much Louder are going to get even louder until everyone notices how they are upending the business of reaching out to India’s young and upwardly mobile •
Ankush Chibber
Mexy Xavier Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur
To read more, grab the August 2013 issue of Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013 39
second lead
The
DisrupTers PrePare to do things differently
Disruption isn’t cool. Historically, disruptive ideas and companies haven’t been those behind the groundbreaking technologies or products—i.e., the cool stuff. Disrupters aren’t usually first to market with a new invention. They are, however, visionaries who grasp how an existing idea can be made better or cheaper or accessible to millions. History is littered with examples: Ford’s assembly line and stripped down Model T brought cars to the everyman. Steve Jobs took the computer mouse, at the time a custom-built and expensive gadget, and had someone figure out how to make it for less than a quarter of the cost. Amazon.com didn’t create online shopping, but it did bring millions of products to one storefront and deliver a better price. The same goes for our disrupters here. They saw opportunities, ignored by existing players in their fields, to get in, grow big, change the game—and get rich along the way. 46 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
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Disrupter: Keir Dillon Company: FrenDs Big iDea: HeaDpHones as must-Have women’s FasHion aCCessories
Sound I
Style with
• Jennifer Wang
t has happened before. In 2003 Skullcandy introduced colorful, stylish headphones to a dull, monochrome market and topped $80 million in revenue within five years. Many imitators entered the fray, creating a roaring industry for headphones that Futuresource Consulting valued at $6 billion in 2012. Now, Keir Dillon and his six-person team at Frends are on a mission to seize a large swath of the
market with premium headphones for women that are treated more like designer handbags than the “shrink-it and pink-it” products that had plagued the category to that point. Frends’ bestselling $149 Layla headphones, for instance, sport specially engineered audio drivers that allow for a thinner silhouette. Wrapped in soft leather, they’re designed to prevent the dreaded hair-snagging of traditional models and are accented with hand-polished, antiqued metals. Instead of a plastic clamshell, Frends products are packaged in textured, cream-color boxes with magnetic closures and come with protective carrying pouches that resemble clutch purses. “We have a humanized approach to design,” Dillon says. “We want to use materials people can relate to, like leather, denim, cashmere, and then integrate vintage metalworking and jewelrymaking techniques.” In fact, the company sought out jewelry-makers to manufacture the intricate gold-metal detail that wraps along its Ella ear buds. Frends products hit Apple stores and Best Buy in October 2012; by the end of the year, the Encinitas, California-based company had revenue of $1.6 million. Sales are expected to skyrocket this year thanks to distribution at popular clothing stores such as Fred Segal, Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters. The company also has inked a deal to sell its wares at upscale chain Intermix, including items to be created by fashion designers Barbara Bui and A.L.C.’s Andrea Lieberman. “We’re positioning it as a covetable accessory
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Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013 47
SPECIAL FEATURE
De!
India is seeing a quiet movement which is putting beers on our tables that don’t taste like soap water or make us feel guilty about the employees of a certain airline • Shonali advani
T
ill the late 2000s, the Indian exposed upmarket, urban consumers to a palate was privy to only one variety of beers other than the standard beer—industrial lager. Mass lager that was available. They are playing manufactured and sold in a role in starting a beer culture in India, millions of cases. But four years ago, a albeit still small.” Gidwani, the former new gun walked into town, a more exotic Managing Director of Carlsberg India, cousin we had only heard of fleetingly adds that his portfolio of 50 comprises of before—craft beer. The craft beer revolution in India, at least most of us hope it’s one, is Featherweight being spearheaded by the quick India’s per capita proliferation of microbrewconsumption eries trying to capture a new of beer is segment of drinkers, called beer snobs by some. These microbreweries, or in comparison to brewpubs by western definitions, are brewing beer in small quantities on premise, Czech Republic: typically 1,000 liters per batch, 156.9 liters and then serving them fresh on tap to consumers. In the west, microbreweries are small Australia: scale breweries that produce 109.9 liters and bottle craft beer catering to a specific state, county UK: 99 liters or town. Pradeep Gidwani, Coach and Luxembourg: Co-Founder, The Pint Room, 84.4 liters a cafe selling bottled beer Source: Top 10 Beer Drinking Countries - Per capita consumption ratesays, “Microbreweries have [Per person, per year]
1.5 litres
58 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
15 bottled craft beers which contribute 60 percent to his topline. There about 20 microbreweries in India today. This might still be a sliver in comparison to the 1,167 brewpubs in the US as of May 2013, according to Brewers Association, but the good news is there are many in the works, as we write this.
By the people, for the people For now though, these 20 brewpubs and their preservative-free, full bodied, flavored beers will do in what is a disruptive effort to get a fair share of the 1.5 liters of beer that an Indian consumes every year. Also in their sights are brown spirits, which have ruled Indian drinking habits for long. “Consumer preferences in metropolitan India have over the last decade or so undergone a tectonic shift and the idea of a better beer sits bang in the middle of this macro trend,” 36-year-old Suketu Talekar, COO at Pune-based Doolally Brewing Company, explains. In effect, what craft beer entrepreneurs are trying to do with beer is what sommeliers have done with Indian wine,
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Joshua Navalkar
and home-grown designers have done with fashion—cater to the choices of an average metro consumer who is well-traveled, astute, clued in with global trends and is on the lookout for world class products to satiate his aspirations. As such, brewpubs and craft beers have received a rousing welcome in cities where they are legally allowed like Bengaluru, the beer capital of the nation; Gurgaon, which has its late-night BPO staffers and Pune, which is home to a large student population and the expat-tourist crowd. Many of these microbreweries are being started by people from the very same crowd. Michigan-based Arbor Brewing Company (ABC) entered Bengaluru with a brewpub in December 2012, when Gaurav Sikka, a patron of ABC during his student days at the University of Michigan, proposed the idea to its founders. ABC India started brewing its American style craft beers in March 2013, which now generate 40 percent of the company’s revenues. Sikka also holds a small inventory of bottled lagers but their sales are negligible, five to six pints a week. “You need to find a target market. You can’t plant yourself in any corner as you need a critical mass of people, else it is difficult to sustain,” affirms 28-year-old Sikka, Managing Director, Arbor Brewing Company India. But Bengaluru’s microbrewery movement was truly started by another company—The Biere Club, that was founded by Arvind Raju, 31, and his sister Meenakshi Raju, 33, who wanted to be independent of their family business in hospitality. The Rajus started in May 2011, when the city did not house any brewpub. Today, there are five–six brewpubs already and a few in the offing. “It is a `40-45 crore business in Karnataka alone,” mentions the younger Raju, Director, The Biere Club. Another notable name in Bengaluru is the Toit Brewpub under pH4 Food & Beverages Pvt Ltd, that opened in residential-cum-commercial area Indira Nagar in March 2011. Started by Sibi Venkataraju, 32, Arun George, 32, Mukesh Tolani, 33, and Glenn Williams, 55, Toit stocks bottled beer too, but 98 percent of beer sales are generated from in-house brews, which
Doolally Brewing Company Monthly sales: 6,000 to 8,000 liters Revenues FY13: `2- 3 crore
not deolali: Brewmaster Oliver Schauf (left) with Suketu Talekar
they started selling in December 2011. Craft beers, Venkataraju, Co-Founder and Director Toit, says, contribute 35 percent to overall top line.
Place and taste Depending on how you look at it or who you speak to, the microbrewery game is being led by one or the other of two— location and quality. Entrepreneurs are right now rushing to cash in on localities where no other brewpubs exist. For example, Narayan Manepally and partner Paul Chowdhury, makers of Geist Beer, a bottled craft beer, are slated to start a brewpub each in JP Nagar and Sarjapur in Bengaluru shortly this year. “These areas are under-represented as far as brewpubs go but are upcoming with good demographics—a crowd with disposable income and corporate offices,” Manepally says. Sikka tells us that the central location, as it is for most hospitality brands, was important for Arbor Brewing Company. As a startup brand, he could not afford to be demographically isolated. Even Toit, by far one of the more vibrant pubs in the city, gets its regulars from the
vicinity even as customers do come from all over. Luring and delighting drinkers also involves a relentless focus on product innovation and most brewpubs have an average of six-eight beers on tap at a time, though their product portfolio can run into hundreds of styles. Entrepreneurs tell us that beer is no longer an unsophisticated mixture of malt, hop, yeast and water, but complex concoctions of fruits like mango, orange peel, apple or local produce such as rice, millets, coffee or even jaggery. Doolally’s Talekar says, “Using unique local ingredients is the centerpiece of our product road map and every quarter, we brew a beer that has a unique local twist.” Talekar tells of a chance encounter with a quintessentially Maharashtra grain, bajra, that led them to concoct India’s first millet beer. Likewise, the Russian Imperial Coffee Stout on the ABC menu is infused with coffee from Coorg. Then there are specials, seasonal or festive, at all brewpubs. Brewers brand each brew with catchy character names too. “So people build an affinity towards it,” Toit’s Venkataraju explains. Toit introduced Basmati Blonde, a rice beer that is
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Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013 59
innovators inc
Gold s p o t
Attero Recycling extracts and resells precious metals like gold and silver from your electronic waste • AvAnish TiwAry
S
unil Thakur runs a computer repair shop in Patna and sells at least 10 kilogram of electronic scrap every year before Diwali to local scrap vendors. For this, he gets `8 per kilogram on a good day. This is the story across India. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said that India has 3,000 unorganized scrap vendors who process 0.8 million tonnes of e-waste. Rohan and Nitin Gupta, siblings and co-founders of Attero Recycling, a fiveyear-old company that recycles electronic waste, are trying to change this game.
Wealth from Waste The IndIan WEEE (WasTe elecTrIcal and elecTronIc equIpmenT) recyclIng markeT WIll groW beyond
$100
million by 2013
Source: TechSci Research: India Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling Market Forecast and Opportunities‚ 2017
66 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013
Established in 2008, Attero Recycling collects e-waste from their collection centres located across India and recycles it at its plant in Roorkee. It all started when elder brother Rohan wanted to discard his old laptop. After talking to various repair shops and scrap vendors, he was told that such goods are literally beaten and broken down to pieces. This process, Rohan says, is hazardous to both—the person working on it and the environment. According to him, almost all the electronic goods have
traces of metals like lead, chromium, cadmium, mercury, etc., which need to be handled in an environment-friendly manner. “Initially, this was about being concerned about the environment rather than running a business. “Later, we realized if we used the right technology and developed the right practices, it can be turned into a viable business proposition,” says Nitin Gupta, Co-Founder, Attero Recycling.
Building technology At first the duo thought they would just dismantle the discarded electronic goods and then, perhaps, sell the smaller parts. But as they talked to more people, they found out that many of
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Amit KumAr
Amit KumAr
Leaning on a bright future: Nitin Gupta
these goods have precious metals that can be extracted and sold later. “More than 60 precious metals, including gold and silver, are used in electronic products and we thought there is a lot of potential in building technology
to extract these metals,” says Rohan, Co-Founder, Attero Recycling. He claims there are just five companies worldwide who are doing this, and they are the first ones in India. For the next two years, the brothers worked on the Research and
Development (R&D) of recycling technology and procuring government permits. “We had to get all sorts of clearances and a lot of time was invested in building the technology that we boast of now,” says Rohan.
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Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013 67
Powered by
Cyber proteCtor Saket Modi’s Lucideus ensures your system is protected from threats that you did not even know existed. Find out how. pg 94
chaitanya dinesh surpur
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amit kumar
startups
Courtroom Classes W • AshnA Ambre
LegaL eagLe: Nikhil Chandra 98 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ August 2013
hen Rudy Baylor, a character played by Matt Damon in the 1997 American drama The Rainmaker, battles his first case against a corrupt insurance company on behalf of his client, all he has is his law degree and idealism to fight devious and experienced lawyers representing a large firm. Though Baylor eventually wins this trial, the movie ends with his decision to abandon practice and teach law instead with a focus on ethical behavior. Nikhil Chandra, 34, a law graduate
KULDEEP ChaUDhari
Rainmaker is filling gaps in the education space by tapping the legal ecosystem with specialized online courses
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Follow suit “India is at par with other countries, at least in the space of online learning. I think we are matching up to international standards for once,” says Chandra, Founder of Rainmaker. Since its inception, the legal education startup has raised close to $3 million or approximately `16 crore over three rounds of funding through a group of angel investors that include prominent businessmen and senior lawyers from the Indian legal fraternity. “We began research to identify areas of concern and real issues pertaining to access of content. We convinced IGNOU about our idea and launched a legal online diploma program for them in 2008,” says Chandra. The year 2008 was a bad year for
enrollment in law schools
53.5% oF law grads
3 of 5 current job Placement
Future job Placement
“There is demand from law schools who are keen to embed our programs into their curriculum” — Nikhil Chandra, Founder, Rainmaker Training and Recruitment Pvt Ltd.
business due to the economic crisis and growth for many was on a decline. However, Rainmaker being in a recession-proof sector like education was not badly affected. If anything, it had a reverse effect. “During tough market conditions,
make less than
2X the tuition Fees they Paid
Law schooL graduates: Facts oF the case
Price oF legal education
from National Law School in Bengaluru has a similar story, albeit less dramatic than Baylor’s. He joined a law firm after his graduation in 2002. “The exposure at Chambers of Zia Mody (CZM) was brilliant and in five years my learning curve accelerated,” recalls Chandra. In 2007, the economic environment in the legal fraternity went through a transformation. More people opted to join the profession and that created a need for legal content, especially in the field of corporate law. Inspired by this, Chandra snapped the opportunity as an early mover, quit his job that year, and launched Rainmaker Training and Recruitment Private Limited—a Mumbai-based startup, which has developed an online platform for legal courses called myLaw. net. This platform gives legal practitioners something no law degree can offer—an edge.
4 of 5
people prefer to enhance conventional skills to expand their knowledge and prepare for the future. Even though marketing this concept of learning online was not easy at that time, it was well taken,” he recalls. Chandra says that 60,000-80,000 law students graduate from India annually and the firm has over one million registered lawyers—a number large enough for Chandra to build content for specific courses with myLaw.net, 2009 onwards. The content is based on three specific areas of law: Skill-based (drafting and communication), fundamentals (constitutional and contract law), and corporate practices like securities, mergers and acquisitions, trade law, and foreign investment laws which are all
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Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013 99
108 Relocate
your business
112 Deal with the
falling rupee
114 Hire the Best
Team
116 Use Pinterest
for Business
Illustrations by: Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur
110 Be an equal opportunity employer
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backstage
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You know you are
bad for the environment when...
In our June issue, we told you about all those companies that are making this world greener for others. Here’s a quick guide to understand why you were not one of them • Ankush Chibber 1. There is a weekly brawl at your company’s parking lot between car owners and there are plans to get sponsors and make it a pay-per-view event 2. The last time someone came into check office air conditioning, Bill Clinton was telling the American people one thing about this lady called Monica Lewinsky 3. Some shady bloke from Dubai calls you to politely extort money because he mistook the mountain of paper trash behind your office for a new building 4. People at electricity distribution offices send you flowers and cake for your birthday, anniversary, Diwali, Easter, Holi, Onam, Bhaiyya Duj and Kumbh Mela 5. Your brilliantly lit high-rise sea view office if often co-opted by maritime authorities to use as a lighthouse to bring ships in during the monsoons 6. The computers at your office are being replaced not for efficiency, but because of graffiti like Shiju Thomas was here. June 12, 1999 or I love Sunny Deol 7. There was an eco-friendly audit check at your company and there was an office-wide search and rescue mission launched to find that solar powered calculator 8. You have not used natural light in your office for so long that most employees are now legally and medically classified by the state under Vampires/Zombies
chaitanya dinesh surpur
120 Intelligent Entrepreneur August 2013