Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) organized ‘Startup Expo’, the first big event managed by their E-cell (Entrepreneurship cell) during 2-3 April 2016 at their campus. Startups showcased their products and ideas, and demonstrated in their booths/stalls. Shyam Sekar, Founder and Chief Mentor was invited to take part on two separate events of this Startup expo initiative. First is to be a ‘mentor and judge’ for their Startup ‘Pitch fest’, and then to be a key ‘speaker’ for their boot camp day. Shyam presented on the topic ‘what it takes to build a successful startup in today’s ecosystem?’ to numerous startup enthusiasts, aspiring entrepreneurs, and startups. In total there were 12 products/solutions presented by IIT students and external startup teams.
Though startups have a bright future, the high failure rate is attributed to absence of a congenial ecosystem, says noted consultant on startups S. Shyam Sekar.
A product of Harvard Business School with rich experience in marketing in LG and other companies, Mr. Sekar, now chief mentor and strategist at Chennai-based Startup Xpert and advisor and mentor at Delhi-based SMB Connect, told The Hindu on Wednesday that over 90 per cent of startups in India fail to make any profit and fade into oblivion due to lack of proper guidance.
“There is no ecosystem itself. A system to validate the ideas is missing for want of proper mentorship,” he said.
Admitting that the government was able to create the buzz about startups and their potential to accelerate the nation’s economic growth, he said the need of the hour was to have a large pool of qualified mentors.
Many of the startups do not know how to go ahead with marketing. They don’t know how to have access to funding to realise their dreams. Only domain experts could guide them on how to achieve success, he stated.
Mr. Sekar said the role of marketing consultants should also form part of ecosystem. Mentors should also step in to conduct bootcamps at the campuses of various educational institutions to apprise the youngsters of dos and don’ts of entrepreneurship and how to go ahead with business ventures with out of the box ideas.
Mooting incubator-cum-accelerator setup, he said this could address the gap in the industry. Such system is in existence to some extent in Silicon Valley. He said startups have bright scope in India. “What is happening now is only a tip of the iceberg. Once support ecosystem is developed, sky is the limit for our young entrepreneurs,” he said.
There is no ecosystem itself. A system to validate the ideas is missing for want of proper mentorship
24 Feb 2016, Deccan Chronicle, Visakhapatnam, India
Andhra Pradesh Chambers of commerce and Industry Federation (APCCIF) vice-president G.Sambasiva Rao observed that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were at the forefront of innovation, job creation and the overall economy.
They were striving hard to improve business efficiency, but were getting bogged down by the challenges of doing business in the information age and were often spending their resources, fire fighting.
Delivering the inaugural address on Wednesday at the third edition of ‘Start, Manage, Expand: A knowledge-led Small Medium Business Conference’, Mr Rao said, “SMEs are playing a potent role in all sectors – from automobile to shipping and its allied services, like ship breaking and dry docking.”
He also said the upgradation of the tribal people by imparting to them industry-oriented skills would help them enter the mainstream and be part of activities in ancillary units in and around Visakhapatnam.
The Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank (MUDRA) was also giving a much needed boost to startup entrepreneurs, extending loans to the tune of Rs. 10 lakh without any collateral guarantee, Mr Sambasiva Rao added.
Founder and chief mentor at Startup Xperts and strong advocate of Digital marketing Shyam Shekar said, “SME enterprises should focus on creating their brand identity, uniqueness (or differentiators), that could be showed in the market. SMEs and Startups can leverage themselves through smart marketing strategies, thereby positioning themselves better than the competition. Effective and smart branding can help win clients and increase revenue and profitability. Also, Startups and SMEs should pursue ‘Digital marketing’ to position themselves as thought leaders in their space. While pursuing digital marketing tactics focus should be on their customers and their needs. Twin strategies should be adopted inbound and outbound.
APCCIF chairman Pydad Krishna Prasad and vice chairman M.Sudheer spoke on the need for technological know-how in current scenario.
25 Feb 2016, THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, Visakhapatnam, India
VISAKHAPATNAM: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should focus on creating their brand identity and uniqueness that can differentiate them from others to showcase in the market, said Shyam Sekar S, founder and chief mentor at Startup Xperts which is advocating digital marketing. He emphasised the need for the Startups and SMEs to pursue ‘digital marketing’ and position themselves as thought leaders in their space.
Addressing the third edition of ‘Start Manage Expand: A Knowledge-led Small Medium Business’ conference organised by Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Federation (APCCF) here Wednesday, Shyam Sekar felt that SMEs and Startups could leverage through smart marketing strategies by which they can position themselves better than competition. Effective and smart branding can help win clients, increase revenue and profitability.
“While pursuing digital marketing tactics, focus should be on the customers and their need. Twin strategies need to be adopted – inbound and outbound, where a right balance between these two, is essential for companies to succeed,” he said. Inbound involves SEO, blogs, and social media posts, while the Outbound include SEM and social media ads. Depending on the industry they are in, market, customer segment, budget and other factors also should be dealt with. “With the right digital marketing evangelist and business consultants, SMEs and Startups can use this opportunity well in our marketplace,” he added.
APCCF vice-president and Sravan Shipping Services managing director G Sambasive Rao said that the SMEs were playing a very potent role in all sectors especially in automobile sector to shipping allied services like ship breaking and dry docking. APCCF Vizag chapter chairman Pydah Krishna Prasad spoke on the need for technological knowledge in the prevailing ambience.
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Mentor and advisor to SMB Connect S. Shyam Sekar on Wednesday underlined the importance of branding and marketing as the key driver for the success of startups and SMEs.
At an interactive session conducted by the Andhra Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (ACCIF), he said there was no age limit to launch a startup and three-fourth of GDP was driven by SMEs.
Digital marketing
Citing how WhatsApp, Facebook and LinkedIn had become billion dollar ventures in a short time, he said the ventures needed to be different with innovative ideas. He said one could step up to next level by making use of digital marketing by adopting low-cost business-to-business and business-to-customer strategies.
Mr. Sekar gave some branding tips and said besides traditional mode publicity through advertisements and bill board one should understand that the digital route was extremely effective. The prerequisite for this, he stated, were having one’s own website for absolutely effective hygiene factor by spending few thousand bucks. One should have mail ID and business ID, focus on customers needed for messaging, picking up strength from tom-tom, positioning as top leader through blogs, newsletters, quora and social media.
‘Be visible’
Asking the entrepreneurs to be visible, he said their actions should speak louder than words. He said they should gain expertise in smart marketing by studying the requirements and psyche of the customers.
He said slicing and dicing were important as part of digital marketing initiatives.
Referring to engagement with customers, he said feedback factor and tracking down both inbound and outbound factors through search engine optimisation (SEM) and search engine market (SEM) were very important. He also explained about the role of holding web conferences. APCCIF vice-president G. Sambasiva Rao said business networking was important for the success of SMEs to make an impact in a highly competitive environment.
Pydah Group of Educational Institutions chairman Pydah Krishna Prasad said Visakhapatnam was on the verge of emerging as a global city throwing up several opportunities for small and medium entrepreneurs.
APCCIF vice-president M. Sudhir said startups by young entrepreneurs have a bright future with the Centre instructing banks to adopt a liberal approach to support new units even if they failed in their first attempt.
