This article is the twelfth in the Startup Series on FirstPost’s Tech2 section and first appeared on March the 16th, 2017. Asking for help is an essential founder survival skill. But founders often do not know when to seek help, whose help to seek, whose help to accept, and how to evaluate and pay for … Continue reading Getting help for your startup
Category: technology
Of diamonds and responsible eternities
Millennials, often described in media as hapless, poor and unfocused, reportedly dropped a cool $25 Billion on diamond jewellery in 2015. This indicator of current and future demand for sparklers notwithstanding, we are nearing the peak of natural diamond mining. It raises the question as to why synthetic diamonds have not taken off. After all, … Continue reading Of diamonds and responsible eternities
Going global
This article is the eleventh in the Startup Series on FirstPost’s Tech2 section and first appeared on March the 1st, 2017. As we have discussed earlier in this column series, founders benefit from creating a scaffold, a structure that enables future success at scale, without them needing to come back later and fix things that … Continue reading Going global
Brand leadership has to change
A few years ago, shortly after the 2008 crash, American Express in the United States paid many of its less profitable customers to close their accounts and go away. The move garnered much attention and analysis then. It was seen as a de-leveraging move. Whatever hubbub surrounded the brand then has since died down and … Continue reading Brand leadership has to change
Helmsmanship of a modern luxury organisation
Change is afoot in the luxury industry. Fewer than 5 weeks into 2017 and several luxury firms' CEOs have left or are leaving. It is just days since we heard that Chloe Creative Director Clare Wright Keller in Richemont was to quit and while I was writing this piece, Riccardo Tisci's departure from Givenchy was … Continue reading Helmsmanship of a modern luxury organisation
The real story in India’s demonetisation saga
“Who benefits if we all go cashless?”, asked a friend* of mine. This is indeed the money question in India’s demonetisation saga with its moving goal posts. “I am not here for the enrichment of Visa, MasterCard etc.,” she added. Apart from convenience and fraud protection, the economic case for an individual consumer is near … Continue reading The real story in India’s demonetisation saga
Startup on a shoestring: building the MVP
This article is the sixth in the Startup Series on FirstPost’s Tech2 section and first appeared on Nov the 15th, 2016. “You may be a business man or some high-degree thief, They may call you doctor or they may call you chief, But you're gonna have to serve somebody”. Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan is not … Continue reading Startup on a shoestring: building the MVP
On fancy job titles
This article is the fourth in the Startup Series on FirstPost’s Tech2 section and first appeared on Oct the 19th, 2016. In one of my corporate venturing roles with a large Indian conglomerate, I served as the country manager of a European country. That was also the job title on my card and in my … Continue reading On fancy job titles
Autonomous cars and luxury marques
Aston Martin, James Bond's car of choice (except when he went through a BMW phase), showcased a powerboat at Monaco Yacht Show this year. Writing in the Financial Times, Philip Delves Broughton laments that Bond's legacy is being junked by this luxury marque and outlines the dangers of brands diversifying into unrelated categories, especially those … Continue reading Autonomous cars and luxury marques
Authenticity and Vedic wisdom for luxury brands
Alicia Keys, the talented musician and singer, was in the news recently for having chosen decidedly to eschew makeup. In a monograph in a newsletter, she said she feels no need to cover up any more. She talked about her journey to self discovery and finding her authentic self which did not need to be … Continue reading Authenticity and Vedic wisdom for luxury brands
