Sramana Mitra is an Indian entrepreneur and author who has founded and advised several technology startups. She discusses the current state of entrepreneurship in India, emphasizing the need for accessible role models and mentoring to encourage more Indians, especially youth, to pursue entrepreneurship. She advocates for bootstrapping businesses in the early stages rather than relying on venture capital, and has written books sharing entrepreneur stories and strategies to help develop the industry in India.

1. Sramana Mitra Entrepreneurship Development In India

2. Kolkata, 1970 Masters in EECS from MIT Returned to India in 1995 to start DAIS Indian IT industry was all about body-shopping then Not my interest Started Intarka in 1997 Raised VC in 1998 Started Uuma in 1999 Consulting since 2001 Over 80 clients including SAP, Webex, BestBuy, Cadence Writing since 2005 Where I Come From

3. On the brink of great entrepreneurial development Media needs to focus on entrepreneurship, not only Bollywood and Cricket Entrepreneurial movement still in pockets Needs to broaden, infiltrate homes Under 30 population more keen They need role models and encouragement They need education, mentoring Where India Is Today

4. All about accessible role models. And their secrets and strategies of success. Capturing the tribal knowledge of Silicon Valley. A scalable mentoring device. Entrepreneur Journeys

5. Sridhar Vembu, Zoho Harish Hande, SELCO (Both in EJ1) My Favorite Role Models

6. In Bookstores, published by Hachette, India Entrepreneur Journeys (Volume One) Bootstrapping, Doing More For Less (EJ2) Also, free online strategy roundtables for entrepreneurs Next: Dec 10, 2009 http://sramanamitra.com/entrepreneurship-strategy-roundtables Blog: Sramana Mitra On Strategy Forbes Column: Zero In My efforts

7. VC Funding is not the end game India Needs To Avoid A Mistake

8. Why? Small portion of business ideas qualify for VCs

9. TAM = Total Available Market VC = Large TAM VCs only fund very large market opportunities

10. Worth Building, though Especially if you own 100% Many more $1m, $5m, $10m, $20m ideas than $500m ones

11. 90% owner of $5m company sold for $25m Which entrepreneur makes more $$$? 5% owner of $25m company sold for $100m $22.5m $5m

12. Weapon Of Mass Reconstruction Doing More For Less Hence, Bootstrapping

13. Yes you can. Myth: You cannot build a large company by bootstrapping

14. Finisar: Bootstrapping To Billions [EJ1] - $5b market cap in 2001 RightNow: The Montana Mogul [EJ2] - $500m market cap in 2009 SuccessFactors: Silicon Lazarus [EJ2] - $875m market cap in 2009 Stories

15. On the contrary. Bootstrap the early stage. Raise money later. Preserve more equity. Myth: Bootstrapping & Venture Capital are mutually exclusive

16. Don’t build anything until you have validated your concept. Myth: Need to build a prototype to start selling.

17. Avoid very large funds. Bootstrap first. Mentor Capital, not Venture Capital

18. Also important for the media to understand and explain Other Issues

19. Difficult shift in mindset Outsourcing to Products

20. We have very little expertise in India Positioning

21. In Bookstores, published by Hachette, India Entrepreneur Journeys (Volume One) Bootstrapping, Doing More For Less (EJ2) Coming in 2010: Vision India 2020 Positioning, How To Test, Validate, And Bring Your Idea To Market (EJ3) Innovation, Need Of The Hour (EJ4) Also, free online strategy roundtables for entrepreneurs Next: Dec 10, 2009 http://sramanamitra.com/entrepreneurship-strategy-roundtables Blog: Sramana Mitra On Strategy Forbes Column: Zero In My contribution

22. Open Discussion How can we collaborate?

23. www.sramanamitra.com Anurima Roy anurima.roy@hachetteindia.com Maureen Kelly mkelly@bizbookpr.com Contacts

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