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ditorial Board
IN THIS ISSUE Moving to Web 3.0 Jumanjee - Live Learning Games
¨ Mr. Senthil B. Kumar
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· Chief Technology Analyst ¨ Mr. Brian Lee
Fostering Entrepreneurship : Cover story on USGEA
· Global Entrepreneurship
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¨ Dr. Dennis Toutant
· Global Healthcare
Online Education :
¨ Dr. Tony Tran
Education for the Next Generation - California 13 University of Technology
· Information Technology ¨ Dr. Hasnain Rizvi
· International Business
Edutainment : CalU Breaking Into Hollywood
¨ Dr. Fathiah Inserto
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ditorial Production
Books : Knowledge that Works - K Publications
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· Managing Editor ¨ Cecelia Seaver
E-learning : It’s an LLS; Not an LMS - NETed Live
· Chairman
· Executive Editor
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¨ Pardeep Kullar
· Assistant Managing Editor
NETed The Next Big Thing in InterNETeducation
¨ Rehana Khan
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· Senior Writers ¨ Hasnain Rizvi ¨ Karen Chien ¨ Joseph Jude
Internet : Futile Internet Acquisitions
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· Senior Copy Editor
Who is in the lead? - Top 5 Web 2.0 Stories 29
¨ Katherine Kwon
· Creative Director
Venture Capital : Isolating the Variable - Going Global
¨ Maria Reverberi
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· Project Director ¨ KVG Shan
Interview : Meeting Mr. Kumar, A Young and Successful Entrepreneur
· Project corodinator ¨ RajaArul
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By: Joseph Antony Jude
The Knowledge Marketplace
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J
umanjee is a live, interactive online learning community. It is a knowledge marketplace for the learner and the expert. It bridges the gap between social communities and learning networks via knowledge transfer and exchange.
Live Community for Learning Jumanjee is an innovative social community where knowledge experts can upload, design and build content for sharing knowledge and bring in learners. It offers a live platform for collaboration, rapid authoring tools for creating game based interactive learning content, and many new web 2.0 technologies that can bring traffic and unique users to the site every hour throughout the world. Jumanjee provides open access to all and a personalized learning dashboard for each networker.
New Technology and Tools Jumanjee is preloaded with tons of content resources and simple to use content creation and publishing tools. Some of the initial tools for Jumanjee are: · J-Catalog is designed to generate leads for career colleges and academic institutions of higher education. This is where private schools, colleges and experts provide all their institutional information, programs and services, in an interactive catalog format that has an option to include recorded videos and live digital counselors. · J-Studio enables knowledge experts to organize all of their materials into a flash presentation. They can drag and drop a video, voice over, power point, PDF, and etc. · J-Live offers live video conferencing tools for Subject Matter Experts and others to conduct live interactive sessions. People can join in to see the likes of a leadership seminar or instruction on a heart surgery, from all over the world. · J-Café is where experts and learners meet to share, collaborate and explore. It is where all the free stuff takes place, like meeting a bunch of people at a cafe and conversing with one another to learn about something new, over coffee. · J-Campus provides a live learning system where more formal learning activities take place. This is where learners pay to access knowledge provided by institutions and corporate experts. For example, an industry coach could conduct a private seminar or video conference strictly on a paid basis here. Someone could also sell a report, or a higher education institution could conduct classes for certificates or diplomas, but not degrees, for fees.
Target Group Jumanjee is created for the following target groups. Our primary target is to bring in knowledge experts such as Distinguished Trainers, Distinguished Faculty, Distinguished Teachers, bloggers, content creators, instructors, and e-learning instructional designers, to build, share, and sell their content via Jumanjee. Jumanjee initially plans to drive traffic by bringing students and working 6
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will help the network of users grow stronger and adds to in its knowledge repository on a daily basis .
Viral Marketing Strategy Jumanjee has set up a viral marketing strategy to drive in g reater channels of users from various industries, including K-12 education, IT professionals, and general learners. Jumanjee will offer virtual community development tools and technologies for groups, industries, corporations, and related affiliates to build networks. adults who are seeking education or vocational training to get in to new careers, thereby generating leads to private and public higher educational institutions, K-12 schools across the US, Asia Pacific and India. Throughout the different phases, Jumanjee has strategies to bring in related communities to adopt Jumanjee as their platform for gaining popularity, uploading, creating and sharing knowledge content such as self-publishers, subject matter experts, content providers, techies, book readers, publishers, employees, executives, HR, and others.
Accessible Tools Jumanjee enables each user to set up their own personal virtual learning module to access, create, and share content on topics of their interest via ready to use, built-in learning, authoring, and publishing tools.
Personalized Resources Additionally, Jumanjee includes a free live learning, networking, and socializing site with professional tools for serious professionals (target audience), creative collaboration (learning games), learning (content bank) and knowledge sharing – all in one site – to function as a knowledge repository.
There is a unique need for major IT and multinational corporations and small/medium sized enterprises to adopt Jumanjee as their platform for building knowledge communities in the medium to long term. It’s a creative platform for learners seeking personalized education, as Jumanjee offers a gateway for information on specific content. Learners can network with other like-minded individuals and experts to gain a plethora of knowledge. Jumanjee provides different portals for learning to which the members have both public and private access.
Finally Jumanjee will tap into the market by bringing learning through knowledge sharing among Social Networking Sites and is expected to grow virally over the years, projecting hundreds of thousands of participating users. Jumanjee is set to become a gateway for knowledge experts to come, share, collaborate, explore and prove their skills in specific content area expertise. Web 3.0 is all about intelligent web infrastructures and Jumanjee is virtually designed to fill the gap that other earlier portals have not been able to deliver.
Nurturing the network Jumanjee will provide tools and resources, programs and course catalogs, game-based authoring templates, 1000 college courses and learning sites, flash paper for ebooks and e-magazines, and marketing and advertising tools. These content development tools and resources 7
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aking an Impact: The “Up and Coming” Entrepreneur USGEA: Fostering 21st Century Global Entrepreneurship Edited by: Karen Chien
USGEA (United States Global Entrepreneurs Association) was created with the “up and coming” entrepreneur in mind. There are organizations, agencies and universities that provide support and resources for the traditional entrepreneur. It's the “up and coming,” or non-traditional entrepreneur who lacks access to the resources, knowledge, and support necessary to develop their inspiration into a functional business, and promote its growth and development on a continual basis. USGEA is tailor-made for this type of entrepreneur. There is a need in the growing global economy to support the growth and development of “up and coming” entrepreneurs such as Women, Youth, Minorities, and Emerging entrepreneurs (W.Y.M.E). All too often, this special group of aspiring entrepreneurs does not get the attention, assistance, or access to information and resources needed to substantiate their efforts and ensure success. That is why USGEA has come together as an organization promoting 21st century global entrepreneurship.
Organization In 1999, the Internet-global Technopreneurs Incubation Center (ITIC) was started with the objective of promoting and supporting emerging technopreneurs
located in Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia. Within a short time, ITIC had a membership of 3,000 drawn from around the globe and had funded 25 successful startups. It has now merged with USGEA, a nonprofit organization aimed at bringing together business experts, young entrepreneurs, and the academic community. These educators, researchers, admin-
strators, and policy makers have partnered with business leaders to bring international markets and businesses closer by motivating international business movements, encouraging globalization and competitiveness through international trade and commerce, to support mutual business assistance 8
through economies of scale.
Philosophy USGEA's founding philosophy is to PRESENT (Promote, Revolutionize, Encourage, Support, Evolve, Nurture, and Transform) entrepreneurial LIFE (Love, Intelligence, Faith, and Ego) to global citizens. This founding philosophy represents the organization's fundamental mission to empower and facilitate small, medium, and large international businesses to conduct business with the intent of being globally-inclusive and to abide by globally-acceptable principles. USGEA's vision is to support W.Y.M.E. Entrepreneurs through a network of revolutionizing business owners, professionals, executives, and other individuals worldwide. This is the embodiment of its faith that education, support, and the promotion of globally-minded principles will enable W.Y.M.E. Entrepreneurs to be successful, bringing peaceful, universal cooperation and global harmony.
Goals USGEA’s objective is to promote global harmony through inter national entrepreneurial cooperation and the collaboration of thousands of talented individuals within a structured entrepreneur education and support program. With this in mind,
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USGEA aims to achieve its goals by: · Building the world's largest network of global entrepreneurs · Offering complete business assistance and support services · Assisting entrepreneurs at every step of their careers · Encouraging a self-supporting culture among its members by implementing a process-driven member network suppor t system · Providing on-demand global entrepreneurship and leadership education, training, and certification · Making use of the G.I.V.E. (Global Incubation and Venturefinancing Program for Emerging Enterpreneurs) member support program with 24-hour qualified assistance, member initiatives, and in-house strategic business units.
Membership
Benefits
To accomplish its goal, USGEA invites up-and-coming entrepreneurs, established global entrepreneurs, globally-minded companies and organizations, schools, universities, and individuals of academic and business communities to become new members. Although membership is open to all those interested in promoting global entrepreneurship, USGEA particularly seeks new international and W.Y.M.E. entrepreneurs who will find USGEA's network of support most beneficial. Rates for membership in USGEA vary depending on the position of the individual or organization. USGEA includes a level of free membership to facilitate aspiring entrepreneurial students and encourage strategic partners and senior members to act as mentors to new members.
Membership in USGEA gives individuals and organizations a chance to be part of the movement that will foster a new era in global interconnectivity, eradicating global disconnect in favor of bringing global markets and businesses together. USGEA's members are the next generation of leaders and mentors who use 21st century mediums of e-learning to share and gain knowledge with others around the world. The benefits of USGEA membership begin with access to this broad international network of entrepreneurs, business professionals, consultants, academicians, associations, trading houses, and others interested in global entrepreneurship issues.
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Services USGEA members also have their own business promotion
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listing on the USGEA website that reaches thousands every day. Members are able to:
prestigious level of membership available and is exclusive to a hand-selected group of corporations that maintain high regard with USGEA.
· Access the membership directory - an invaluable resource for networking in today's business world. · Use the membership logo for business cards, flyers, plaques and certificates, to display their qualifications as a USGEA member · Access USGEA'S CEO Express, which provides valuable information on new market strategies · Receive 24/7 assistance and support through the Ask Experts Forum · Access the “blog spot”
Resources and Upcoming Projects USGEA continues to work on its diverse dynamic and resourceful entrepreneurial and educational programs such as the SEED Capital Program; GBusiness Services for global marketing and channel development assistance; G.O.T. IT (Grow-OperateTransfer Information Technology) projects for strategic offshore outsourcing; NRI (Non Resident Indians) Connect; India Connect; China-Gate; Singapore Connect; corporate education and degree programs and scholarships through CalUniversity; e-Commerce and iMarketing Services. National and international USGEA chapters offer members further local support for their global entrepreneurial endeavors.
Special membership also includes free use of a virtual office address for business communication; limited telephone answering and fax services, and coaching. Select membership is by invitation only to a few business members, providing advisory services and direct leads to potential angel and venture capitalist funding partners. Invitation to corporate membership is the most
For more information, please visit: .http://www.usgea.org 11
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ducation for the Next Generation “The biggest challenge [in distance education] is the lack of vision and the failure to use technology strategically.” – A.W. Bates.
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he California University of Technology (CalU) was created in 2005 with the philosophy to provide education to anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Initially CalU started as an online education institution and is currently working to establish satellite study centers via academic alliances all over the world. CalU currently offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional doctoral degree programs. It is one of the first global open universities that is 100% live and interactive. Since the beginning of its operations, the University has experienced rapid growth and plans for continued growth in the years to come.
the world, and fewer open online universities offering American degree programs. In the next four years, CalU will draw from this population to build its student base.
History and Programs The California University of Technology filed for state licensing to begin operation in the State of California in 2002. CalU received state approval in 2005 and established content development and delivery methods via partnership with NETed, Inc., a learning management system platform provider. The University continues to develop student-centered and outcomebased technologies for effective program delivery and
Rapid Growth Market In a market where the trend for online education is growing exponentially, the California University of Technology is striving to lead many emerging markets – China, Southeast Asia, and India – apart from the United States, in providing effective, quality education at affordable costs to students on a global scale. Research shows that almost 3.5 million students studied online during the Fall term of 2006. It is expected that online learning will continue to grow at a rate of 9.7% or higher. Based on its track record and statistical data of the last two years, CalU is expected to experience a substantial growth in its student population in the next four years, achieving up to 5,000 new enrollments by 2010 (15,000 by 2012).
Global Demand The demand for an American education on a global scale has never been greater than it is now. Students from all over the world want to earn a degree from an affordable, accredited American University. Time, money, and distance prohibit most of these students from earning an American education. As a result, the demand for online education programs has increased. Currently, there are very few open online universities in
Graphs representing the profile of students who applied for admissions and enrolled in 2007 13
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content presentation. CalU currently offers three undergraduate and two graduate degree programs in 18 areas of emphasis (majors) under five schools: Business, Information Technology, Healthcare, Politics and Public Management, and the Hollywood College of the Entertainment Industry. The degrees offered are:
Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Engineering Information Technology Bachelor of Science - Management Information Systems Master of Business Administration Professional Doctorate of Business Administration
National Accreditation For any good educational institution to be credible, there are a few key factors that must be considered. The foremost one is accreditation. In the case of CalU, the University is anticipating the completion of their national accreditation from the Distance Education Training Council (DETC) by early 2009, having achieved step four of a six step accreditation process. With DETC Accreditation, students of the University will have an opportunity to access Title IV funds and receive federal and state financial aid to assist them in program costs. This also will give CalU the ability and opportunity to increase its tuition rates by up to 50% in the next few years. CalU plans to further apply for regional accreditation with the Accrediting Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in the 2009 – 2010 academic year. Having an experienced and compliance-oriented team, the University has established standards and protocols that are accreditation compliant, ensuring a streamlined regulatory process.
CalU Staff, 2008
base of 100 distributed adjunct faculty members servicing over 5000 students. The student to faculty growth rate is calculated to scale, as more students enroll, more faculty members will be brought on board. CalU keeps its expense ratios low by using a faculty compensation model that is tied into enrollments. CalU plans to appoint distinguished faculty members in specialized fields of business, information technology, healthcare management, and international and entertainment management.
Competitive Advantage – Business Model Global Partnerships One of CalU’s most important strategies is its model for global partnership development. CalU is exploring strategic alliances domestically and abroad with established institutions to develop its student base and plans to access their student population through academic alliances with private schools, colleges, and universities. The CalU management team has a direct
Distinguished Faculty Another component of school credibility is its faculty. At CalU, the Student Advisory Faculty is currently comprised of more than 25 industry professionals, all of whom hold advanced graduate and/or doctoral degrees. By 2010, CalU’s goal is to have a 14
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presence in India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other Southeast Asia countries, and will pursue partnerships with qualified educational entities in the upcoming years. CalU has already established an alliance with the American Institute of International Management (AIIM) in Chennai, India, and has signed agreements with over 20 institutions in Southeast Asia via Singapore and Shanghai and in central Asia via Chennai, India.
established an impressive presence within the global market.
Corporate Education CalU’s goal is to aggressively explore and take full advantage of emerging markets, technologies, and unique course delivery mechanisms. For that reason, CalU has established a corporate education and professional development division called CorporateEd that is designed to meet the demand for all-encompassing, endto-end solutions for the growing global corporate training and education market. The strategy for CalU’s growth via corporate education training will come by maximizing the benefits of being a U.S. based, specifically California, entity enhanced by its technical resources and partnerships, and the emerging markets in Southeast Asia.
Global Enrollment Model CalU offers high quality, affordable education to students via off-shore production and development. CalU leverages strategic alliances and unique off shore vendor relationships to ensure that the back-end development, integration, and implementation costs of maintaining a robust technology infrastructure are kept low. Based on a global enrollment model, CalU has set up an enrollment strategy to achieve a student population of 5,000 by 2010 and 15,000 by 2012. CalU plans to develop 25 international alliances, 10 corporate education alliances, and 15 local articulation alliances by 2010. The number of alliances is expected to grow more rapidly after 2010, as by then, CalU will have already
Online Marketing In order to enhance CalU’s growth and expansion in all markets, the University has formulated a strategic marketing plan for student enrollment and business development. Student enrollment will be generated via pay-per-click campaigns, and a unique Internet marketing technique for low-cost lead generation. 15
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Marketing and recruitment resources include a specialized team in website search engine marketing, search engine optimization, telemarketing, counter displays, college and career fairs, and trade show events. Additional methods will include recruitment agents by country and state, direct mailers, distribution of marketing collaterals and promotional seminars, and magazines and newspapers advertisement. This marketing mix has already helped to decrease cost per leads to considerably lower than industry averages.
University Administration (The Team)
Mr. Senthil Kumar, Founder & CEO Dr. Finian Tan, Co-Founder Dr. Michael Zullo, CoFounder & Chancellor Dr. Tuan Tran, Chief Academic Officer Mr. Brian Lee, Vice President, Business Operations Mr. Frank Seringa, Vice President, Business Development Mr. Eik Lim, Managing Director, Academic Alliances Ms. Adlina Chew, Manager of Academic Alliances Ms. Kimberly Holloway, Registrar
Dr. Dennis Toutant, Dean School of Business Administration, Business Management Dr. Fathiah Inserto, Dean School of Business Administration, International Business Dr. Hasnain Rizvi, Dean School of Information Systems and Knowledge Management Mr. Quynh Tran, Dean School of Business Administration, Accounting and Finance
Expansion – the Next Stage Having established an open online University in southern California that grants American degree programs to global students, CalU is now planning to open a corporate education alliance in Chennai, India. The university plans to have a CalU Extension in Singapore before the end of 2008, furthering expansion into China by 2009. In addition to its international footprint, CalU is also exploring local articulation agreements to develop further alliances in the domestic market with similar profiles in the next four years.
Financial Status and Summary Revenues and Profits CalU is expected to expand its student population to 5,000 by 2010 and 15,000 by 2012. Revenues generated from tuition and fees by increased student enrollments and via satellite campus partnerships (approximately 80-100) will make CalU cash-flow positive by September 2009. CalU’s projected income for 2010 include revenues of $11 million with a net profit of $6 million, and a targeted financial growth summary of $12 million in net profit by 2012. CalU is projected achieve IPO towards the end of 2011 and a profit to earnings ratio of 20 at that time. The market capitalization is expected to be at approximately $500 million by 2012. CalU has closed funding from Vickers Ventures and Mercury Investments in January 2008. Another Term Sheet was signed by a private investor from Asia in May 2008. Additional funding for $5 million is required for further business and infrastructure developments, international expansion projects, and growth of marketing and lead generation programs to reach the CalU goals set for 2012.
Tuan A. Tran, PhD, DC Chief Academic Officer (CAO) with California University of Technology
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California University Breaks Into Hollywood By: Rehana Khan
“No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight of the soul.” Ingrid Bergman
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eb 2008, Los Angeles, California: California University of Technology, a leading online education provider, has officially launched Hollywood College of Entertainment Industry, (HCEI) as its new division. Confirming the launch, Mr. Kumar, Co-Chairman and CEO of California University of Technology, said that “The entertainment industry is one of the largest in the world and not many universities or colleges offer a formal education or traning to students who wish to pursue a career or job in this industry. Hollywood College is a futuristic effort in this direction. We seek to train business professionals specifically for the international entertainment industry by building on the expertise gained from Hollywood professionals through a high-contact approach with the world of business entertainment”. The HCEI will collaborate with Hollywood2 Bollywood (H2B) Entertainment Group and Rigberg Entertainment Company towards the strategic realization of efforts in this field. H2B Entertainment group is an international production company that seeks to connect Hollywood entertainment with emerging global entertainment industries to create high quality studio productions. As strategic partners, H2B and HCEI plan to go international. United they will bring global cinema together and develop a universal entertainment trend.
This year, H2B will focus on the South East Asia and India markets. HCEI will also be introducing an MBA degree, with emphasis (major) in Entertainment Arts and Business. The degree will focus on training creative professionals to do business in the entertainment industry. To keep up with current trends in the entertainment industry, which is highly technology oriented, HCEI is developing a new concept called “Entertainment on the New Media” as well. Talking about the ‘Entertainment on the New Media’ concept, Mr. Kumar explained, “We are still in the initial stages of planning and hope to take the entertainment industry to a higher level by enabling the performing arts to take advantage of the evolving technologies of the Internet .” To mark the official launch of HCEI, California University of Technology will award honorary doctorates to professionals in the entertainment industry this year. The award will be given to two celebrities, one belonging to Hollywood and the other to a celebrity of international recognition. (For further information on California University programs of study visit: www.caluniversity.com) 17
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Knowledge that Works:
By: Cecelia Seaver
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-Publications, the brainchild of Senthil Kumar, CEO of California University of Technology and NETed, are informal, tangible, knowledge endowments for the digital age. The publications are a series of short, on-demand, rapidlearning guides powered by Kumar’s expertise, and cover a range of topics including finance, entrepreneurship, business spirituality, and integrated success (i-Success) for professionals. Mr. Kumar sat down with Entrepreneur21’s (E21) Cecelia Seaver to discuss K-Publications.
clear understanding of what they want to do in the future. Still, the material is designed to create a framework for success for whoever decides to apply the principles. Some of the strategies covered in the series are a “build your own career” map, how to become a millionaire in five to ten years, rapid strategies for lifelong success, learn to earn, and learn how to earn. The second, Business Spirituality for CEOs (Top Executives) encompasses five laws. Adapted from the guiding principles of ancient themes including many religions, none of these laws takes precedence over another, all are equal. Our ancestors, thousands of years ago, left us a wealth of spiritual knowledge for modern business practices and applications. First is the “Law of Reality:” don’t live in a virtual world and avoid bias regarding who you are, what you are doing, and what works. In other words “Realize the Reality.” The “Law of Giving and Receiving,” refers to giving first, before thinking about receiving. There is a close connection between giving and receiving. We witness this every day in business-to-business, business-toconsumer, and interpersonal relationships: give and you will receive, but don’t expect anything! Giving enables receiving, expectations thwart it. Next is the “Law of Detachment.” It is easy to preach but hard to practice I have to admit, and I am still refining this skill. In order to be detached you must look at situations from the outside, assume a different perspective, and you will inevitably see things in a different light. Another aspect of the Law of Detachment involves negative energy, or something that is not meant for, or does not benefit you. Looking at a situation with detachment allows you to use negative energy to your advantage. It’s almost like shaking hands with your worst, or an unknown, enemy, one that is all around you at all times but invisible. The fourth law is that of “Kharma and Dharma.” (Kharma, is the belief that what you do and say affects everything around you on a cosmic level, and Dharma refers to one's righteous duty, or any virtuous path.) This
E21: Mr. Kumar, what motivated you to create K-Publications? Kumar: The basis for K-Publications is the desire to prepare people from all walks of life, including young people, to “think global, go global, day one.” In order to accomplish this one must have a global thought process as their personal philosophy. The whole approach, learning, cultures, economics, people, processes, etc., has to be global. Whether or not you have adopted a global approach is reflected in every aspect of your life. Taking a global approach in one aspect of your life is not sufficient, it must encompass your perspective on language, how you perceive your business, an adaptive business plan, your ability to adapt to different cultures, and a fundamental belief in diversity. My business activities encompass five languages and cultures, a good framework for others to follow if they wish to “think global, go global, day one.” E21: I understand that K-Publications are designed st to help 21 Century entrepreneurs. Could you tell us a little more? Kumar: Certainly. One K-Publication is the “Just-nHour” Series. First in this series, Learn-2-Earn, targets young Americans and high school graduates worldwide. Not everyone is going to benefit from this series: high achievers who are goal oriented are much more likely to apply these concepts than someone who does not have a 20
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law is based in a firm belief that what you give is what you get. For example, if your product delivers more than what is promised you will reap the benefits in increased sales and an enhanced reputation. In addition, you will be judged by how much you give back to society, both as an individual and as a corporate entity. Last, in applying the “Law of Outcomes,” one must realize and evaluate the impact of an outcome. For example, any decision we make has the potential for success or failure, a positive or negative outcome. Special care must be taken to evaluate the negative outcome: is it worth taking this chance, does it make sense, is the potential there for harm? Third in the Just-n-Hour series is “Orchestrating Body, Mind, and Soul: Unlimited Success for Working Professionals.” Based on three triads, (See the Body, Mind and Soul Triad illustrated below.) the concept is that the triads must be in balance in order to achieve success in our personal and professional lives. “Transforming Dependence 2 Independence,” last in the series, is designed for women although the concepts can be applied by anyone. I feel that many women are held back by their fear of success. Women should embrace and overcome this fear or “LOVE the FEAR of SUCCESS” in order to leverage the benefits of being
a woman. These benefits include special government programs and loans for women-owned businesses, and professional associations that cater to the special needs of women. Opposition to a woman’s professional success often comes from their families who fear that a career will negatively impact their lives. Kumar advises women to “sell the benefits” of success to family and friends in order to reduce this opposition. In addition to advice on how to Love the Fear of Success, the series includes a simple guide for setting up a virtual office so that even the smallest entrepreneur can go global. E21: Are there other series that entrepreneurs can use to get started? Kumar: Yes, we also publish the Now-r-Never Series. The focus of this series is the need to be “distinct” or plan to be “extinct.” In other words, do it now or you will never be able to do it. st Become an E21 (21 Century) entrepreneur by thinking global in order to go global. One of the key concepts of this approach is GG – Green Digital (paperless) and Global Digital (connected to the world) – or the belief that conservation of our planet, monetary success, and a global perspective are a not in conflict, in
Triad of iSuccess 21
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fact, they support each other. In addition to GG, the charter for an E21 initiative includes three levels of team bulding, creative jobs, business plans that raise money, and advice on how to frame your business. “Templatized,” step-by-step guides help the E21 entrepreneur with 21 chapters, 21 days to success, and 21 golden rules. This is a series for the Next Generation entrepreneur, someone who wants to be ahead of the game, “Born to Win.” E21: Are there any corporate entities behind the scene in addition to K-Publications?
Kumar: Yes! There are a number of organizations that offer support to the 21st century entrepreneur. One of them is iGlobal. I have been the chairman of iGlobal for nine years. Companies that partner with iGlobal (iglobaltech.net) receive strategic funding from Angels and Venture Capitalists worldwide. Most of these iGlobal funding partners have become much more than financial strategists by providing entrepreneurs with excellent personnel and allowing them to leverage off their extensive network, thereby giving the E21 entrepreneur the jump start needed to stay ahead. If a startup has a promising disruptive technology or idea, I provide angel funding. Once the entrepreneur is profitable, they qualify for venture capital and I introduce them to venture capitalists such as the Vickers Financial Group. In this way iGlobal serves as an incubator for entrepreneurs. USGEA (http://usgea.org/) is another behind the scenes organization. There is a need in the growing global
economy to support the growth and development of “up and coming” entrepreneurs, such as Women, Youth, Minority, and Emerging entrepreneurs (W.Y.M.E). USGEA provides the resources this special group of entrepreneurs needs to become successful. (See “Making an Impact”) E21: Which categories of entrepreneurs do you think need special guidance or help? Kumar: As I mentioned earlier, W.Y.M.E. are an underserved segment of entrepreneurs. They do not receive the funding or access to other resources that they
need in order to succeed. Help is available to W.Y.M.E. entrepreneurs through USGEA, a not-for-profit organization that brings together entrepreneurs and much needed resources. E21: Other than through your books do you invest time in grooming W.Y.M.E. Entrepreneurs? Kumar: Yes, they can go to the USGEA website and join for a small fee. (Students, senior citizens, retirees, and stay-at-home moms can join for free.) As a member they will receive support and expert advice, 24/7, form experienced entrepreneurs and professionals. Members can also submit their business plan for review. My executive assistants are also available to provide support services beyond those offered on the USGEA website.
Cecelia Seaver is the Managing Editor of Entrepreneur21. 22
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NETedLive: “It's an LLS not an LMS” “Web 2.0 based Live Learning System” NETedLive, created by NETed, is a hosted, on-demand, live learning system which enables institutions to migrate from enterprise learning solutions or hosted LMS services to a risk-free integrated learning environment.
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has a front-end capability for using customized SEO (search engine optimized) micro-sites to provide lead generation that is automatically injected in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) infrastructure. This system, referred to as EnrollmentGenie, allows a seamless experience for a learner to express interest, progress through registration, then enroll and pay for a course through a completely automated process. Alternatively, it allows for the intervention of a recruiter, registrar, or other authority in an academic environment to authorize and process enrollments. The system comes in two different implementation modes, one customized for the traditional academic environment and another whose configuration is more suited to corporate training and development.
ETed - Why do we need it?
The general standardization of the LMS (Learning Management System) has created more than a few weaknesses. The long arc of legacy based development is often slow and continues to utilize content and technologies that have been surpassed by more suitable, and more robust, technologies. Web 2.0 tools were generated by the force of collaboration and have created real time experiences for the expectation of on-demand media rich experiences. The widespread use of faster broadband connections throughout the world has paved the way for more bandwidth intensive applications to be delivered via the web, releasing many of the media delivery restrictions formerly placed on web application pioneers. Technologies such as Silverlight and Flash have provided a rich application base with the capabilities of customizing tools and templates for use in content development.
NETedLive - How is it built? The Live Learning System itself is based on a PHP platform so that it comes with all of the SCORM compliance and asset tracking and management capabilities that users familiar with other LMS platforms are accustomed to as well as the scalability and extensibility provided by a PHP-MySQL environment. The model that NETed is delivering is a hosted environment via the web allowing for users and institutions to implement the structure with literally no up front cost. The “pay as you go” option allows for users to simply pay per enrollment. If students enroll, then part of their cost pays for the LLS, thus scaling the costs.
NETedLive - What is it? One company located at the forefront of this development is NETed, Inc with their new NETedLive platform. Building on their experience in developing proprietary LMS built on earlier web technologies and learning content, they have moved into Web 2.0 by integrating many of the popular media rich and collaborative technologies into a flexible and customizable integrated learning environment. This has prompted a revolution in the industry, referring to this new system as a “Live Learning System” which distinguishes itself from the traditional LMS by being real-time, live, and on-demand as opposed to the earlier static environments.
NETedLive - What does it give you access to? Access to NETedLive also comes with access to NETed's iDEAL content library. Currently the library represents a fully developed set of 150 turnkey courses in more than 20 subject areas with over 15,000 hours of e-learning content. While customizing and uploading their own courses is certainly supported, users of
NETedLive - Who is it for? For academic institutions, or those whose training relies on internet lead generation for intake, the system 23
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NETedLive need not develop their own content prior to delivery and they are literally able to start running courses as soon as they have processed their registration. Further, content is not restricted to the traditional e-learning course materials and assets, any provider of content can contribute to the knowledge repository and sell their materials in the content marketplace. The site can be utilized as an access and distribution point for e-book and book publishers, e-learning content providers, digital video content providers, and independent content developers in addition to academic and training professionals.
capable of providing next generation collaboration and content experience to learners that has the multipurpose extensibility for training professionals, academic institutions, and corporate training environments. The global knowledge content repository allows providers of content and those with content needs to access a wide variety of solutions to implement for delivery. Any training provider looking for cost scalability and reduced risk, but also to have access to a robust real-time, live, and ondemand system with all the appeal of Web 2.0 capability would find NETedLive a good investment.
NETedLive - How do you market it? NETedLive - How much does it cost?
But what is the marketing potential of NETedLive, when the world of E-Learning has already witnessed the rise and fall of many collaborative e-learning portals? NETedLive should hit the market at high speed, considering the efficiency of the system to be launched and the popularity of its parental firm NETed, which enjoys a strong base in end-to-end e-learning solutions.
NETedLive's unique no cost/no commitment model allows training professionals and institutions to go live when they are ready and have customized the system to meet their needs. If they enroll students in courses provided from the library, they pay the $59 fee per student per course, otherwise there is no additional fee. Being a content provider in addition to an LLS developer, custom course development is also part of the model, and custom courses are simply charged a slightly higher fee after development of $89 per student per course. For other content delivery providers and sale transactions from the global knowledge repository on the site, NETedLive simply charges a transaction fee between 25% and 40%.
The author is Vice President of Business Operations, California University of Technology
NETedLive - What does it do? NETedLive has produced a live learning system
By: Brian Lee
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The Next Big Thing in InterNETeducation By: Frank Seringa
EdNET - How did it all get started?
Technologies Group. EdNET developed many ERP products for its clients mainly the “Nautics Enterprise Ship Management System” which had modules such as a Crew Management System and the Vessel Tracking System. Another widely used product was “ERMAnywhere” one of the first browser based J2EE applications for the retail and distribution industry with modules including Finance, Distribution, MRP I and II, Ecommerce and E-business applications. In 2001, EdNET was partially acquired by a leading training company in Singapore called Savant Infocomm Technologies.
In 1996 an Education Network known as EdNET, a worldwide network of IT education, training and certification centers was established, with franchise centers in many countries including the U.S, Canada, U.K., Norway, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and India. EdNET established education partnership alliances with Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Lotus and CIW to offer Information Technology Certifications, Internet Software Services Training and Certification. The company also offered testing services through its network of Authorized Prometric Testing Centers. In 1998, EdNET expanded its business operations into various IT domains that included system integration, software development, ERP product development, internet application development services, offshore development and outsourcing services, and manpower consulting services under EdNET Solutions and
Qsofttraining.net - How did it evolve? In 2001, some of the EdNET training centers were transformed into Qsofttraining.net Training Centers. Qsoft was offering specialized Microsoft.NET training solution even before the .NET framework was officially launched in 2002. Qsoft was a pioneer in offering
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E-Commerce Certifications online (under the name ePro) and networking, internet security, and web application programming both through classroom and online delivery models. Qsoft offered Certifications via its VUE Authorized Testing Center. In 2002, Qsoft was renamed iUniversity, which initially offered Global Business Training, IT and Management Training and Online Certification Programs under a new company called Benchmark Online Pte Ltd, incorporated in the Republic of Singapore. Benchmark Online was a next generation “Enterprise Learning & Knowledge Management Solutions Provider� catering to small & medium institutions and scaling upwards to cater to large corporations. Technology, Pedagogy and Education were the three main dynamic precincts behind Benchmark Online, which gained the trust and support of investors on the Singapore Economic Development Board.
backbone for their learning and support initiatives. Others have chosen to partner with NETed as a custom content developer, contracting with NETed to create libraries of E-learning content for their core client base.
NETed - What does NETed have in mind? NETed Inc., to cut it short, is an established leader in E-Learning and Internet Marketing Services that holds a respectable niche even among its competitors. Headquartered in California, NETed offers unique serviceled solutions with a major focus on its Integrated College Solutions namely, iAdmissions, iMarketing, iLearning and iDeal eLibrary and related services. NETed is also a familiar name for universities, educational institutions and large and medium scale corporations where it offers its innovative Edutech Solutions.
NETed - How was it born?
NETed - What does it offer?
In 2003, the content and software development component of Benchmark spun off and created NETed, which has since evolved into its own entity. NETed Learning Services is a leading provider of Learning & Knowledge Management solutions. The company has signed various partnerships over the years with major IT vendors like Sun, Ingram Micro, Oracle, Microsoft and others. Some of these vendors have chosen to license NETed's core technologies as the
The company's expertise includes offering technobusiness consulting solutions such as Corporative Adaptive Learning Framework (CAL) that comprises NILE, integrated Collaboration and Realtime E-Learning (iCORE). The NETed group has more than 10 years of experience and expertise in the IT industry in multiple domains and has established a direct presence in the US, Singapore and India to support its international customers.
NETed - Who is the team behind it all? The company is constantly striving to improve the standards of learning. Neted has established an extensive network of R&D centers supported by a dedicated team of solutions architects, project managers, software developers, subject matter experts, instructional designers, visual designers, content developers and other professionals. These are tied together with a stateof-the-art workflow and task management system 26
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to ensure lessons learned are quickly disseminated across the organization.
NETed - What's its future look like? Anyone who knows the pulse of the online learning community can easily foresee the future of NETed and NETedLive-vibrant and rocking, taking the world by storm!
"NETed is poised to become the destination for education-starved consumers worldwide.� Frank Seringa, Managing Director of NETed.
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Futile InterNet Acquisitions “Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is incapable of using the Internet is regarded as backward.” Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal By: S. Hasnain Rizvi, PhD
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ith the global economy taking a nose dive, led primarily by the sub prime crisis in the United States, it is time to review internet acquisitions made by some of the leading global enterprises. While the likes of Bill Gates and Prince AlWaleed bin Talal tout the internet as becoming the town square for tomorrow’s global village, a little research clearly outlines that the majority of internet acquisitions have not delivered the expected value. James Nicholson has written on internet acquisitions gone wrong. Nicholson founded three successful startups, the most recent of which was NetVentures, a pioneering e-commerce software company that was sold to CNET Networks in 1999. Along with his entrepreneurial accomplishments, Nicholson has worked as an executive at CNET. Nicholson defines a failed internet acquisition as one that contributes little or no long term growth to the acquiring company. A general rule of thumb for any acquisition is that if it does not synergize with a company's long term strategy, then it is likely to be quickly forgotten. So, before leaders consider acquiring fledgling internet companies, it is worth reviewing some acquisitions that did not work out as anticipated. Some of the ineffective internet acquisitions that received considerable coverage are listed below: · Skype - Skype was acquired by eBay in late 2005 for $2.6 Billion. This may be one of few decisions eBay's exceptionally successful CEO Meg Whitman may regret. eBay has yet to effectively publicly articulate a plan that would justify the acquisition price and how it expects to seamlessly integrate Skype's calling service with the core auction business. · Hotmail - Sabeer Bhatia sold Hotmail to Microsoft for $400 million in 1998. While the sale made Bhatia an th overnight celebrity before his 30 birthday, the acquisition has done little to improve Microsoft's internet portal efforts. · Lycos - Terra Networks acquired Lycos for $4.6 billion in 2000. Specialists expected that the combination of Lycos with Terra's dominance in Latin America would create a powerful company. Things did not quite work out as expected and in 2004 Terra sold Lycos to South Korea's internet portal company Daum Commu-
nications for $105 million. · Netscape - In 1998, AOL acquired Netscape for $4.2 billion. This acquisition surprised many because by the time AOL bought Netscape, Microsoft's free Internet Explorer browser had already captured the market. As was the case with a lot of what happened during the height of the dot com mania, it appears that AOL had no clear plans for Netscape. · AOL - TimeWarner and AOL merged in 2000 with a lot of publicity and fanfare. In hindsight, the timing could not have been worse since that was when the whole dot com bubble started to burst. As AOL's business started to unravel, Time Warner had to hold on to its fledgling acquisition. Time Warner finally seems to be turning things around. · Broadcast.com - This internet audio and video streaming company was acquired by Yahoo! in 1999 for $5.04 billion. Most analysts in Silicon Valley were surprised with the price Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner managed to get out of Yahoo! in the heyday of the bubble. · GeoCities - This story could have been written differently if Yahoo! had managed to leverage the social networking revolution. Acquired by Yahoo! in 1999 for $3.56 billion, GeoCities got lost in the large Yahoo! maze and let the likes of FaceBook, Orkut, Marzar and LinkedIn pass them by The list of ineffective internet acquisitions goes on with such notables as Bluemountain.com, MySimon and Excite's acquisition by @Home. Moreover, the verdict is still out on several recent high profile acquisitions, such as YouTube.com and MySpace.com. It is accepted the world over that change is absolutely vital for the success of all organizations today. Acquisitions are one way change is manifested. Yet to truly thrive in change, people need to be told the nature of the givens, the constraints and the overall goals. Leaders involved in such intricate internet acquisitions need to review the lessons from the history of failed alliances in order to ensure they avoid the same pitfalls. Leaders need to ensure that they give their top managers the freedom, responsibility and authority to act. This is feasible only if your people are competent and empowered. 28
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Gaining Momentum: Who's in the Lead? The Top Five Web 2.0 Success Stories for 2007 By: The Editorial Team
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o what exactly is Web 2.0? More than anything, it's a revolution in the tech world. Web 2.0 is a platform in web technology and design that facilitates web-based communities and hosted services in an effort to promote creativity, collaboration, and sharing. It is a misconception that Web 2.0 is a new type of technology. The technology has been around since the start of the web, but its use is only now gaining momentum through “the philosophy of mutually maximizing collective intelligence and added value for each participant by formalized and dynamic information sharing and creation.” (Hogg et al, 2006) Aside form the usual Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, Skype and LimeWire crowd, here are the top five notable leaders of Web 2.0 worth mentioning.
avoid it? It's actually much easier than chasing or being chased, and it's called Flickr, a new Web 2.0 based technology that allows users to “tag” people in their photos. Flickr, Yahoo's photo-sharing site, is their best semantic umbrella application and the best application of semantic categorization for photo-sharing on the web. The site is set up in such a way that browsing it is easy and fun. Flickr's lead in photo sharing offers a few add-on bonus options like enriching the community through pools, clusters, and groups; preserving rights to your photos through Creative Commons, free and professional accounts, and open API.
NetVibes Know the art of personalization, of putting your special touch on it? Know who's made it easy to do for your web page? NetVibes. With RSS and Ajax technologies entering mainstream usage, a smarter, more personalized start page has taken the lead with NetVibes. NetVibes is a Paris-based company that has created an accumulation tool that enables each user to create a personalized page by pulling news feeds and data from web services into modular boxes. These boxes have customizable display options and update automatically NetVibes supports nine different languages. Users are able to pull in any RSS feed on the web, in including Flickr photos, Alexa charts and to-do lists, and Writely documents. NetVibes has interfaces for Gmail and Yahoo webmail services and to top it all off, no user registration is required.
Flickr Did you know there's another way to get tagged, other than by running around on the playground, trying to
Writely The ground-shattering idea behind Web 2.0 is that the web can take over application hosting duties from the desktop. In simple terms, your Microsoft Office documents, lists, e-mails, contacts, and spreadsheets take up residence on the internet. Having your desktop available online means it's accessible 24/7 regardless of where you are or whose computer you're on. Appropriately named, Writely is a browser-based word 29
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processor. Everything you'd expect from a word processor you get with Writely, including spell check, formatting, and image inserting. Writing has never been easier. Writely also makes it possible to collaborate with others. Colleagues can log in, collaborate, and edit a document together and then publish the final piece either online or in print. Obviously a must have and it's free!
Odeo Podcasting has been around for a while, but it has never been easier to access than now. When it first entered the market, people interested in podcasting needed a working knowledge of audio editing software, and familiarity with peak limiting, compression, and EQ techniques, subjects generally reserved for recording engineers. Obviously, the idea
managing audio feeds, an elaborate podcast directory, and a contact manager tool that facilitates sharing audio between friends. Dramatizing their competitive lead, Odeo offers a viable component that allows mobile users to record a podcast from their cell phone. Wow.
Del.icio.us Ever think of browsing through a bookmark ecatalog? Neither have I, but it is possible with Del.icio.us. Del.icio.us saves you from drowning in a pool of bookmarks for all of your favorites, YouTube videos, MP3's, and any other page you want to earmark for a repeat visit. Del.icio.us takes a minute to grow used to (What is social bookmark sharing anyway, right?) but once you've gotten the hang of it, you're hooked. Del.icio.us offers easy posting from the browser bookmark bar, the capability to sneak a peek at what your friends are reading, and organization for the crazy stuff you love finding by running tag searches. All this adds up to a truly useful web app. With del.icio.us, you'll never lose another webpage, as it links the API that gives you RSS feeds, blog posting functionality, and import/export capability between sites in your web browser. Social bookmarking is remarkable. Who would have ever thought! didn't really reach the masses. Odeo has simplified podcasting for the commoner. With Odeo you can record and share audio using simple, browser-based tools. All you need is a browser with Flash installed, an internet connection, and a microphone, and you can start podcasting. The Odeo site has tools for sharing and
Hogg, R Meckel, M., Stanoevska-Slabeva, K., Martignoni, R,. 2006. Overview of business models for Web 2.0 communities. Proceedings of GeNeMe, p. 23.
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being a real, interactive one. Does that sound like a disruptive technology? Sure does. The hottest word on the market right now is “web 2.0”. Know the Solving the Equation for Next Generation difference between web Entrepreneurship 1.0 and web 2.0? Easy. What does the aspiring entrepreneur need to know to make it in Just look at two sites today's web 2.0 world? and compare. A web 1.0 Simply put, think global - go global. site will have the basics: an image, maybe even a few, and text links. If it's slightly savvy, there n today’s technologically robust, instant might be some animated graphics on it, too, like an arm gratification demanding, twelve second attention flying out to hand Inspector Gadget the newspaper. But span, too many options to choose from world, it's in its own world, the virtual world. Try to click on how can an entrepreneur survive the slowing, financially Inspector Gadget's microscope lens to read the stiff, ever so competitive economy and still come out on newspaper it won't take you anywhere. You can't read the top? From creating Facebook profiles to putting up headlines on the newspaper he's holding up. There's home-made TV sitcoms on Youtube, everyone from nothing there. Exciting, huh? Not really. Now, look at a small town kids to city life dwellers, from video game web 2.0 site. It will have the basics, as well, but with a champs to roadside hoopsters, from computer nerds to slight twist: mouse over the text and the words pop up, as class ditchers, from stay-at-home moms to top-chart if reading with a magnifying glass, or scroll over an image rock stars, from unbeatable angel investors to and a preview of the icon's representation can be seen at phenomenal venture capitalists, everyone is eager to a quick glance, or click on a headline and a video clip jump onto the next big thing. Many have tried, but few opens up. Click on Inspector Gadget's microscope lens have made it. Friendster tried, but Myspace made it. and see yourself getting a 360 degree view around the Yahoo invented it, but Google mastered it. Know what world in a matter of seconds, so you can choose what the difference is between those that try and those that news you want to read. Notice the difference? It's hard to make it? Disruptive ideas turned into web 2.0 miss. technologies implemented on a global scale. That's People are constantly boasting about how “they're definitely a mouthful. But it's the only way to have a well-traveled and well-cultured.” So many people these competitive advantage and make it in the demanding days want to believe they're global because they've spent st world of 21 century entrepreneurship. a summer backpacking in Europe. But does traveling to So, what's a disruptive idea? The term was coined by Europe really count as being global? Last time, I checked, Clayton M. Christenson in 1995 in one of his articles, the globe had much more to it and many more countries and then later defined in his 1997 book, The Innovator's than just Europe on it. So, in yesterday's world, being Dilemma. According to him, a disruptive idea or technoglobal meant traveling to a few countries. In today's logy, if you will, is an eventual, perhaps inevitable, world, making virtual connections with people in other process in which a long-standing product, service, countries is global or at least globally sound. For tomormethod, or technology gets overtaken by another row's world, interacting with people around the world via product, something new and seemingly noncompetitive live interface technologies counts as being global. If in the marketplace. The companies referenced above and that's the future of global, then what do we do to get the products associated with them are a case in point. there? Look for a solution, right? Who would have thought that such a simple idea as the We have all the parts of the equation now: disruptive addition of voice over internet protocol would turn idea + web 2.0 technologies + global market = new big something like a simple online chat facility into the next thing. All that's left is for us to solve it. How simple is big thing? Skype did. They took a long standing product, that? Not very. The missing piece of the equation is the AOL AIM, and restructured it to offer phone calling variable, the most important piece. What is it? One word: services through the computer to anywhere in the world. capital. Disruptive ideas are popping up every other Online chatting went from being a virtual experience to second, every idea is configured with web 2.0/3.0
Isolating the Variable:
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technologies. Everyone is thinking global whether they to build your technology and 18 months to take it public. understand the new meaning of the word or not, yet last Boom! If your idea can go public in as little as 36 months year only a handful actually become the next big thing. then more than likely, you've hit the jackpot. Want to know how they did it, how they solved the But the catch here is knowing how to take it public on equation? Simple, by working with a mentor capital firm, a global scale. The exit strategy can only be realistic if such as iGlobal. A mentor capital firm supports the you're thinking on a global level. For a venture capita-list development of disruptive technologies, and promotes to put up $3 million at a 10% share in your disruptive idea their commercialization in the global economy. It funcmeans that they are expecting your next big thing to be tions as a strategic funding partnership, bringing young worth at least $200 million in five years when it goes entrepreneurs of disruptive ideas into contact with public. Otherwise, their investment (five years from the venture capitalists and angel investors. A mentor capital time of investment) barely breaks even, if that. In order firm has partnerships with some of the industry's to have a realistic next big thing, the incubation and strongest and hightest potential investors and development phases have to be globally focused from entrepreneurs. They are leaders and experts in the field the start, otherwise it won’t work, not in today's of product development, market competitive world. It won't globalization, and financial advisory become the next big thing. services. This is the group that has “If you’re not coming with the The chairman of iGlobal, S.B. access to the big boys with the big Kumar, states that, “If you're not bucks and can get your idea from next big thing in mind, then coming with the next big thing in start to finish in no time with the think twice before you come,” mind, then think twice before you right business plan, for the right come.” in reference to aspiring capital investments, so that you can Senthil B. Kumar, Chairman of iGlobal Tech. entrepreneurs seeking funding. create the next big thing. Www.iglobaltech.net The power of a mentor capital Most start-up entrepreneurs firm shouldn't be underestimated. aren't aware of what the venture It's the key to the variable in your capitalist wants to see in the business plan. They create a equation. Solve it properly. great disruptive technology that has the potential to A mentor capital firm, like iGlobal, has services to become the next big thing, but they don't know how to implement an outsourcing model into your business take it there. More often than not, this is how great ideas plan. Without it, your idea is not global. If it's not global, die out, because they don't know how to get funding to then you're not even close to solving the equation go global, or sometimes even local. A mentor capital firm because you're missing the main component. Strategic can help budding entrepreneurs understand the value of offshore outsourcing and global distribution is the only their product or service in the real-time world, as it is way the big guys made it. The rest, those who didn’t make valued in the global economy, throughout the phases of it, erased a part of the equation. The equation was wrong development, growth, and marketization. from the start. If you really want to make it, then groups Every business plan must have an exit strategy, or a like iGlobal can help you. If you want to try it on your plan set in place to take your product or service, your own first, then go for it, but don't go crying to anyone disruptive idea, public. Without an M&A or IPO else when your neighbor leaves you in the dust because strategy, venture capitalists and angel investors won't he joined with a mentor capital firm and ended up even give your idea a second thought. In today's fastbecoming the next big thing, and you are still working out paced economy, turn-around time and exit time is crucial of your garage trying to come up with a new disruptive in the decision-making process of investors. Investors idea in the hope that maybe next time around you'll make are looking for ideas that have a business plan with a it. Isolating the variable isn't that hard. But not having the three to five year exit time. For the entrepreneur, the key key to solve for the variable is. Here, it is spelled out for is connecting with the right mentor capital firm that can you: capital. guide you through the development of a strategic business plan that will get you funding. Let's say that you have a disruptive idea and you work with a mentor capital firm to develop a 36 month business plan. That means, The author of this articles is a doctoral you need funding for the whole 36 months. What do you candidate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University. do? The mentor capital firm will get you connected with venture capatalists to raise funds. Once the money is By: Pardeep Kullar there, it's time to get to work. You now have 18 months 32
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Consult “If I can do it, You can do it.” This interview was conducted by Pardeep Kullar, a doctoral candidate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University.
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ho would have thought that a high school rebel would become a Founder and C-level executive of a multimillion dollar company by the age of 21 back in the 90’s? Certainly not me. When I walked into Mr. Kumar’s conference room, he was at the tail end of one meeting, while at the same time going over some important information for another meeting with someone else. I stepped in and waited, a bit apprehensively, until he had a chance to acknowledge my presence, which he did immediately. One of the first things I learned in the business world was to pay attention to unspoken gestures. He not only made eye contact with me, but he also motioned for me to find a chair. I sat as he wrapped up the side conversation with one of his team members and then continued on with the rest of the meeting that he was bringing to a close. Once the room was empty, we began our interview. I went in trying to be very formal, while he on the other hand, preferred it to be more casual. He took a look at my prepared questions, and told me to put them away, opting for an informal chat. He felt that would be a more enjoyable interview. So I put my questions aside, and took notes instead. He asked me what I wanted to know. I told him I wanted to
know the “wow” factor of Mr. Kumar, not only as an entrepreneur, but as a person. He looked at me and asked, “What do you mean?” I told him I had just read the biography of another incredibly successful venture capitalist, and what “wowed” me the most about that man wasn’t all his entrepreneurial success, although there were many and all were notable achievements. What had really put the icing on the cake for me, was that in addition to being one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, he was also a family man and a normal
“Leave a legacy. Don’t just come and go.” person, with normal hobbies, liking swimming and playing in a band. So, Kumar said, “Leave a legacy. Don’t just come and go.” He repeated it two more times. I was taken back by it because I didn’t understand where this quote was coming from. Then he told me. “You wanted to know the ‘wow’ factor about me, right? Well, this is where it starts. My dad passed away when I was in the seventh grade, but there are a few things that he taught me that have always stayed with me.” I made sure to underline the quote - it was powerful in essence, and in the value it carried for him. One of my 33
original questions asked who Kumar looked up to as a role model. He said he didn’t really have any role model per se, no one in particular, but his dad has always been his “virtual mentor” because he lives with him even today. In addition, he told me that he wouldn’t be who he is today if it hadn’t been for his mom and his sister. They are two of the strongest and most dedicated women in his life and have shaped him into who he has become through their love, support, education, and guidance. Yet, speaking of women in his life, he goes on to tell me that he is one of the most fortunate men in the world to have a wife like his. “She’s so unassuming, caring, understanding, devoted, very helpful and loving,” he said. I ask if he has any children or if he wants a family and he says, “very proactive.” I asked him to explain. “My son – I tell him to do something and he’s already done it before I can even ask him.” Even though Kumar shared all this personal information, I still wasn’t “wowed.” So I steered the conversation toward his professional life. I figured that in order for the wow factor to kick in, I had to know him as a whole person, not just as a family man, but also of his childhood and professional achievements. Kumar has a diverse background of interests and experiences. With his spiffed-up
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image, no one would ever think that Kumar was anything other than IT and business. Boy, wouldn’t everyone be wrong. He’s got a performing arts side that he keeps tucked away. Kumar told me that when he was younger, he used to play in a band called, Emmanuel, as the lead guitarist. He was also the choreographer for a break dancing crew, known as “Rink Stormers.” While telling me of his younger years as a break dancer, he broke out with his shoulders to give me a quick move. It took some time for Kumar to tell me of his educational and professional history. When he got to it, he just kept on going. It was too much to absorb, but I tried to put together the pieces that really resonated. Kumar was one of those students in high school that every teacher dreaded having in class. He told me that his principal offered to return the tuition fees his mom had paid for him, if she would be willing to just enroll him in another school. That’s how bad it was. But, when he started college, he was totally different. He aced all of his classes with highest honors and finished his MBA by the age of twenty-two. Obviously, not the norm in America. In 1996, he started up his first company in networking and systems integration, AmphorTech. Following this initial success, he started his second company, EdNET Global Consulting and EdNet Solutions and Technology, while still in graduate school. In 1998, he had more than three thousand IT professionals working for him in the United States and Asia Pacific. He went from having the first IT training school in 1997 to having more than one hundred fifty education network systems worldwide by 2000. Kumar expanded operations in over ten countries in three years and offered IT certification to more than one hundred thousand IT professionals. While he was doing all that, he also managed to
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May - June 2008
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Mr. Kumar has several years of experience in core function technical information systems, corporate sales and business development, angel and corporate investments, as well as mergers and acquisitions, international venture capital fund raising and top management in many industries. Mr. Kumar has gone from being a technopreneur to a serial entrepreneur to a social business entrepreneur. He was the founder of EdNET Solutions and Technologies group in 1996, having a presence in both, North America and Asia Pacific. Mr. Kumar has established integrated business relations & partnerships with Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Microsoft and other leading IT companies. He also drives the technology and solutions roadmap of Benchmark / NETed Inc which was funded by the Singapore Economic Development Board. Before starting NETed Group in 2002, Mr. Kumar was the Founder and Chairman of the Silicon Valley based technopreneurs incubation and investments group called iGLOBAL. While there, he started several iGLOBAL startups and played a key role in ERM and other enterprise solutions development strategies as a Chief Solutions Architect. As an international angel investor in iGLOBAL, Mr. Kumar was founder and co-founder in several companies, including Benchmark Global, MyERM.NET, iMail, eVisions, California University of Technology, Qsoft InfoComm, and University Exchange. Mr. Kumar has been appointed as the chairman of the United States Global Entrepreneurs Association and has worked to build this non-profit organization as a vehicle for encouraging not only collaboration between existing entrepreneurs but also to function as a vehicle in creating opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs to gain access to information and resources to help them realize their dream. Mr. Kumar supports the growth of the organization through his technical expertise, hard work, leadership and motivation. Mr. Kumar is currently working on a few different projects, including H2B, NETedLive, Jumanjee, and AIIM. www.consultk.com
launch one of the first few browser-based ERM systems for retail and distribution, built on JAVA and pro.fit technologies, in 1999. At that time, web browser usage was not as common as it is today, but Kumar put it together, ahead of his time.
be a jack of all trades and a master of a few.” He told me that people always ask him, “Kumar, how did you learn?” and he says, “You learn by doing. That way you learn faster.” Kumar has gone from being a young rebel, to a dot.com technopreneur, and now a global iWorld entrepreneur.
Among his other startups have been iMail2me, eVisions, Bizfinity, Benchmark, NETed, and the California University of Technology. Kumar is the first Indian to open up an online university in the United States. His goal is to grant one hundred thousand graduate degrees worldwide, building on his philosophy, “Education for anyone, anywhere, and at anytime.” As Kumar put it, “Entrepreneurs play to win, while business people play to not lose”. He continued developing the idea, “To be an entrepreneur of the 21st century, you must have a disruptive idea or technology, and have a plan to make it global. 21st century entrepreneurs are people that think universal and know that their market is global. A 21st century entrepreneur finds a blue ocean out of a red ocean. The 21st century entrepreneur must
Even with all this information, I still wanted to know about his greatest achievement in life. Instead of giving me an elaborate story of some giant accomplish-ment, he was very modest, and humbly said, “I haven’t reached where I’m going, yet, so I can’t count my accomplishments as achievements.” Wow, I thought. Someone so driven, so experienced, so knowledgeable in the field of global entrepreneurship, sitting in a top level position could be so down to earth. The wow factor kicked in. It’s amazing to see such an ambitious and successful man express such humility. That is impressive. To sum it all up, Kumar is a consultant, a leader, a partner, and a supporter of everyone and anyone that has an entrepreneurial spirit. 35