British website Babyfy is hoping to tap into that marketing potential by publishing expert reviews on baby products, giving the complete lowdown on every brand of stroller/pram/pushchair and dozens of other product categories.
Babyfy’s real user value could lay with its reviews of hospitals and the services they provide expectant mothers. Besides offering statistics on aspects such as the ratio of Caesarean vs. natural births, the chart-like reviews focus on occasionally overlooked areas such as parking and visiting hours. Visitors can also rate various aspects of their experience at a hospital and provide their own written comments. The site is currently still in beta: some product categories have yet to be reviewed, and advertising isn’t yet up to the site’s potential. Entrepreneurs bent on setting up a new website for parents-to-by in other countries might also want to review services like childbirth classes, paediatric clinics and day care centers. The key thing is to get users to review hospitals and other services, much like travellers review hotels on TripAdvisor. Consumers are feeding more and more of their purchasing decisions with online reviews posted by their peers. (See trendwatching.com's infolust briefing for more.) Time to bring the power of transparency to every last product and service category!
Website: www.babyfy.com
Via-Springwise
Sunday, September 16, 2007
The Entrepreneurial Challenge
Navonmesh 2007 - The Entrepreneurial Challenge
International Convention
Navonmesh is an International Entrepreneurship Convention with a plethora of events to inspire budding and aspiring entrepreneurs to understand challenges in transforming a startup into a truly global venture. Events: 1. Baazi - An international Business Strategy and Venture Capitalist Challenge. Prizes Worth Rs. 1,20,000. 2. Anubhav - Panel Discussion. 3. Exposure to how incubators like SINE, IIT Bombay are encouraging entrepreneurship in India. 4. Networking sessions.
Speakers
C K Prahalad
C K Prahalad is the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distin...
>Read bio J.M. Lyngdoh
The former Chief Election Commissioner of India, J...
>Read bio
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram has been credited with leading Indi...
> Read bio Sam Pitroda
The name, Sam Pitroda, can be better explained by ...
> Read bio
Ashank Desai
Ashank Desai is the Founder and Non-Executive Dire...
> Read bio Avnish Bajaj
Avnish Bajaj is a Founding Managing Director of Ma...
> Read bio
Audience
Anyone interested in entrepreneurship.
Special Instructions
For further details visit: http://www.sjmsom-avenues.org/competitions/navonmesh.html
EVENT DETAILS
Date : Oct 27 - 28, 2007
Time :
Venue : Shailesh J. Mehta School of Mgt
City : Mumbai
Open to : Public
Organised by : Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay
Public fee :
NEN member fee : No fee
Contact Details
Vaibhav Jha
E : vaibhav.jha@iitb.ac.in
International Convention
Navonmesh is an International Entrepreneurship Convention with a plethora of events to inspire budding and aspiring entrepreneurs to understand challenges in transforming a startup into a truly global venture. Events: 1. Baazi - An international Business Strategy and Venture Capitalist Challenge. Prizes Worth Rs. 1,20,000. 2. Anubhav - Panel Discussion. 3. Exposure to how incubators like SINE, IIT Bombay are encouraging entrepreneurship in India. 4. Networking sessions.
Speakers
C K Prahalad
C K Prahalad is the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distin...
>Read bio J.M. Lyngdoh
The former Chief Election Commissioner of India, J...
>Read bio
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram has been credited with leading Indi...
> Read bio Sam Pitroda
The name, Sam Pitroda, can be better explained by ...
> Read bio
Ashank Desai
Ashank Desai is the Founder and Non-Executive Dire...
> Read bio Avnish Bajaj
Avnish Bajaj is a Founding Managing Director of Ma...
> Read bio
Audience
Anyone interested in entrepreneurship.
Special Instructions
For further details visit: http://www.sjmsom-avenues.org/competitions/navonmesh.html
EVENT DETAILS
Date : Oct 27 - 28, 2007
Time :
Venue : Shailesh J. Mehta School of Mgt
City : Mumbai
Open to : Public
Organised by : Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay
Public fee :
NEN member fee : No fee
Contact Details
Vaibhav Jha
E : vaibhav.jha@iitb.ac.in
VC's Talk And Advice For Entrepreneurs
Avnish Bajaj, Matrix Partners:
My advice to entrepreneurs? May be I shouldn't be telling them because it will become harder for me to negotiate…
But you know the negotiation will be around valuation.
So as an investor, I will put up 10 points, all of which are important to me. And if the entrepreneur is only thinking: 'valuation, valuation, valuation', I will make sure I will get nine in my favor and then give a little bit on valuation. So a smart entrepreneur needs to realize that negotiation is actually a package deal of all these 10 terms.
The important terms?
Things like what is the instrument in which the VC is investing - almost always preferred stock; what are the rights of that preferred stock; what are the things that the entrepreneur will have to seek the VC's permission to do; the size of the option pool; the conditions under which the entrepreneur and the VC can fire each other: What happens if new money has to be raised? What happens if the entrepreneur wants to sell out? What happens if the VC wants to sell out? All of these are extremely critical.
Balaji Srinivas, Aureos Capital
Say there are three VCs who are interested - you obviously look at which VC gives you the maximum amount of money for your company's shares, and you go with him. And that is how deals are generally done.
But from an entrepreneur's perspective, it is important to know the expectations of that VC: what are the terms he has put in, that could hurt the entrepreneur three to four years down the line?
For example, there could be performance expectations. One VC could say: I will give you x valuation. And another one could say: I will give you 3x valuation, but you have to perform 2x. And if you don't perform, maybe he will make your life difficult, and maybe take away some of your ownership
Alok Mittal, Canaan Partners
It's not just money; it's way beyond that. Choosing a partner is much more critical, in my view, than focusing on whether I can get an exact term.
If the business does well, you are going to make enough money. You are going to make enough money that you don't care beyond that; the terms won't matter so much. The key is to have the right partner.
Avnish Bajaj
Obviously don’t be stupid.
I would never ask somebody to take more than 25% below what they could get from somewhere else. But at the same time, don't just look to get the highest price for your company, focus more on working with the right people who can help you grow a business. That would be my advice.
Alok Mittal
Maintaining discipline is an elusive goal. It is especially hard for first time VCs to keep exercising that discipline. Booms and busts happen because sentiments fly.
But I think there is another important element: all partners must agree before a deal is done. Hopefully if I am not exercising restraint and discipline, my partners will.
My advice to entrepreneurs? May be I shouldn't be telling them because it will become harder for me to negotiate…
But you know the negotiation will be around valuation.
So as an investor, I will put up 10 points, all of which are important to me. And if the entrepreneur is only thinking: 'valuation, valuation, valuation', I will make sure I will get nine in my favor and then give a little bit on valuation. So a smart entrepreneur needs to realize that negotiation is actually a package deal of all these 10 terms.
The important terms?
Things like what is the instrument in which the VC is investing - almost always preferred stock; what are the rights of that preferred stock; what are the things that the entrepreneur will have to seek the VC's permission to do; the size of the option pool; the conditions under which the entrepreneur and the VC can fire each other: What happens if new money has to be raised? What happens if the entrepreneur wants to sell out? What happens if the VC wants to sell out? All of these are extremely critical.
Balaji Srinivas, Aureos Capital
Say there are three VCs who are interested - you obviously look at which VC gives you the maximum amount of money for your company's shares, and you go with him. And that is how deals are generally done.
But from an entrepreneur's perspective, it is important to know the expectations of that VC: what are the terms he has put in, that could hurt the entrepreneur three to four years down the line?
For example, there could be performance expectations. One VC could say: I will give you x valuation. And another one could say: I will give you 3x valuation, but you have to perform 2x. And if you don't perform, maybe he will make your life difficult, and maybe take away some of your ownership
Alok Mittal, Canaan Partners
It's not just money; it's way beyond that. Choosing a partner is much more critical, in my view, than focusing on whether I can get an exact term.
If the business does well, you are going to make enough money. You are going to make enough money that you don't care beyond that; the terms won't matter so much. The key is to have the right partner.
Avnish Bajaj
Obviously don’t be stupid.
I would never ask somebody to take more than 25% below what they could get from somewhere else. But at the same time, don't just look to get the highest price for your company, focus more on working with the right people who can help you grow a business. That would be my advice.
Alok Mittal
Maintaining discipline is an elusive goal. It is especially hard for first time VCs to keep exercising that discipline. Booms and busts happen because sentiments fly.
But I think there is another important element: all partners must agree before a deal is done. Hopefully if I am not exercising restraint and discipline, my partners will.
Admish is a powerful college admissions community that brings together colleges, students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors at one place
Admish is a powerful college admissions community that brings together colleges, students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors in a single portal.
Like any other social network, the site is based on connecting people through personal profiles, but the site works toward different means and ends depending on who you are. If you’re a student, your profile goes beyond just being a friend-making mechanism and also lets you show off your skills, extracurriculars, and academic accomplishments to admissions officers (you can even upload photos and videos to back up your boasting). You can also discuss the application process with guidance counselors, other rising college freshmen, and admissions officers, and search schools by your chosen criteria to help you find that perfect match. If you’re a guidance counselor, you can use Admish to help keep track of your advisees and help them develop lists of good college matches. If you’re an admissions officer, you can use Admish’s search features to help identify the perfect students for your school. On every end, Admish has an array of options and features that help you stay on top of the admissions process, including: deadline reminders, financial aid information, and helpful articles written by professionals. The site is completely free of charge.
More at:http://www.admish.com/
Like any other social network, the site is based on connecting people through personal profiles, but the site works toward different means and ends depending on who you are. If you’re a student, your profile goes beyond just being a friend-making mechanism and also lets you show off your skills, extracurriculars, and academic accomplishments to admissions officers (you can even upload photos and videos to back up your boasting). You can also discuss the application process with guidance counselors, other rising college freshmen, and admissions officers, and search schools by your chosen criteria to help you find that perfect match. If you’re a guidance counselor, you can use Admish to help keep track of your advisees and help them develop lists of good college matches. If you’re an admissions officer, you can use Admish’s search features to help identify the perfect students for your school. On every end, Admish has an array of options and features that help you stay on top of the admissions process, including: deadline reminders, financial aid information, and helpful articles written by professionals. The site is completely free of charge.
More at:http://www.admish.com/
Eurobill---- Track Euro
With myEurobill they can keep their travels going, in a manner of speaking. Even after travelers have returned home, they can use myEurobill to keep track of where all those Euros they spent end up. To keep track of any Euro, just enter the serial number into the site’s database. Once someone else enters the same number, you’ll be able to see just how far that bill has traveled. Entering serial numbers doesn’t require registration, however, you’ll get more use from the site upon registration.
This site certainly has an interesting aim. It connects people in a new and fresh way. If people really start getting into the site it could have very intriguing results.
More at:http://www.myeurobill.com/
This site certainly has an interesting aim. It connects people in a new and fresh way. If people really start getting into the site it could have very intriguing results.
More at:http://www.myeurobill.com/
MobiBucks lets you pay for your purchases using only your mobile phone number and a 4-digit PIN
MobiBucks lets you pay for your purchases using only your mobile phone number and a 4-digit PIN. To use MobiBucks, you’ll need to register for the service online or at a participating store (don’t worry, it’s free). Then, add money to your account using cash, credit card, or transfer from your bank account (you can do this online or in the store itself). The merchant will enter in your mobile number and PIN into the MobiBucks machine, and you will immediately receive an SMS text message confirming the transaction. Additionally, you can manage your MobiBucks account online to keep track of your withdrawals and deposits.
Consumers love it because it's a free, convenient and secure way to pay without their wallet. Merchants love it because it helps them attract and keep loyal consumers that spend more with greater frequency.
Their goal is to help merchants improve the profitability of their businesses while also enhancing the customer's experience. We feel we can do this by converting up to 50% of merchants' cash transactions into electronic transactions.
More at:https://www.mobibucks.com/
Consumers love it because it's a free, convenient and secure way to pay without their wallet. Merchants love it because it helps them attract and keep loyal consumers that spend more with greater frequency.
Their goal is to help merchants improve the profitability of their businesses while also enhancing the customer's experience. We feel we can do this by converting up to 50% of merchants' cash transactions into electronic transactions.
More at:https://www.mobibucks.com/
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