Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sequoia - The small behind the biggies.




If I’m not mistaken many of you out there reading this article belongs to generation Y.
Some might even be geeks.
Well that’s only for confirmation.
Let’s start
There are something’s which you could know…
But for everything else there is Google.
That’s very true!
Everyday we use Google at least once a day.
On my personal side it’s uncountable.
And all those guys doing freelancing work.
I know you must be complaining,
but PayPal is your best pal.
I can’t remember any of the instances when my friends would have missed any latest videos or to that matter MMS.
Just because of their one very loyal and helpful friend named YOUTUBE.
LinkedIn, the current heartthrob.
The first of its kind, a business oriented social networking site which people mainly use for professional networking.
Coming next Electronic Art.
Which many of us would recognize as EA Sports.
The company that puts us into Schumacher’s shoes.
Yes, I’m talking about NFS (Need for Speed).
Apple Inc., it might sound like a fruit company,
But today I will be on the wrong side.
If I say so.
With a revenue of US$ 43 billion.
It’s a company worth mentioning.
Moving from technology.
What comes to my mind is our very own CCD.
Yes Café Coffee Day.
The favorite place for couple’s day out.
Because a lot can happen over coffee.
But why am I mentioning all this company together after all they all are big brands on their own.
Today our life would have been so void without them.
There is something which connects them.
A name which 97% of the people have never heard.
A name that is behind more than hundred companies in this world.
A name which I think, now you would love to know.
Sequoia Capital, the venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine.
Which provided the seed capital to many small companies which are now not so small.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Apollo – It costs a trip to the space.


When in 1983, Pratap C. Reddy decided to start his own hospital.
He named it Apollo.
Why?
The fact is, he was very much obsessed with Apollo 1.
But has he overdone it?
I think so…
That’s why those who come to his hospitals are charged as space tourists rather than patients.
A liver transplant would cost something around Rs. 20-25 lakhs at an Apollo hospital.
Cardiac surgery Rs. 3.5 lakhs
Bone marrow transplant Rs. 15 lakhs
Orthopedic surgery Rs. 3 lakhs
These rates are pretty high as compared to any other hospitals in and around India.
Are they a merchant?
Doctors who are considered second to God have made this a business.
One third of the world’s poor resides in India.
42% of India’s fall below the international poverty line that means their PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) in nominal terms is Rs.21.6 a day in urban areas and Rs.14.3 in rural areas.
Take that!
Can they afford this voyage? Of course not
Well leave the numbers.
The current health care situation in India is dismal.
But today healthcare is being seen as the next big boom.
And private players like Apollo are likely to cash on that…
As a matter of fact they are catering to only wealthy foreign and domestic consumers.
The so called elite class.But what about the low income people?
Is someone hearing them?
My simple question is…
Can he be conferred with a Padma Vibhusan -?
An honor given for a distinguished service to the nation.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

All that Twitters is Gold



2010
Indian youth spend about 60 per cent of their time on the Internet or using their mobile phones.
An average Indian youth spends 25,800 minutes a month, over 14 hours a day in the digital world,”
2020
The impact
Mrs. Sharma (Geography Teacher) Tweets- How many planets are their in the Solar System?
The reply came 10
Deepika ji tweets
Surf nahi Nirma.
Shopkeeper – Yes madam.
Mohan Yadav Lok Sabha MP.
Electoral campaigning Tweets
“Desh ko banana hai
Mohan Yadav ko jeetana hai”
The reply comes Fuck You!
That will be the face of India and not only India but many other countries across the world.
Well that’s what I call Globalisation.
The word is “Twitter” a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as Tweets.
Jack Dorsey is already minting millions
What an idea SIR JI.
Brands and companies of all sizes have caught on with Twitter.
Nothing can be a better example of Co-Branding.
From financial institutions to retail companies.
Politicians to filmstars.
All are getting their share
And Twitter getting money and all the PR.
Recently Twitter got it's 10 billionth tweet.
which averaged out to 600 tweets/second.
Great going...
Breaking news-Sony Vaio’s Twitter account has generated over £1 million in sales.
That’s only the beginning!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Toyota - Reverse gear!



It takes eight brush strokes to write Toyoda in Japanese.
“Eight” which is considered a lucky number in Japanese.
So Kiichiro Toyoda decided to keep this name.
But Risaburo Toyoda, who had married into the family and was not born with that name, preferred "Toyota".
As Toyoda in Japanese means “fertile rich paddies” and then the company can easily be mistaken as any other farming company.
In August 1937 “Toyota Motor Corporation” was born.
And after that their was no looking back.
From U.S to Europe.
From British to French.
The ownership experience was just in line with the slogan used by the company which said "Oh, what a feeling!"
Soon Toyota was able to make a worldwide presence.
Things like JIT (Just In Time) and Lean Manufacturing (more value with less work) were introduced in company’s business model.
And again this was clearly reflected in its slogan "I love what you do for me, Toyota!" & "Who could ask for anything more".
So every time what Toyota did for its customers was backed up by a nicely written slogan.
Toyota soon grew to a large multinational corporation.
From motorsports to aerospace.
And robotics to hybrids.
Toyota’s technology was always far ahead than it’s competetors.
And this made Toyota from a small company to the world’s largest automaker.
KAIZEN, which means continuous improvement.
Topped the list of Toyota’s philosophy.
This time saying "Get the feeling!"
But who knew 2008 would not prove to be the Lucky 8 for the Toyota’s.
Due to global financial crisis, Toyota reported a record annual net loss of US$4.4 billion.
Well that was just the starting.
In January 2010, Toyota announced recalling up to 1.8 million cars across Europe following an accelerator problem.
Another 8 million in the U.S.
Some more million in Asia.
Brake problem,
ABS system,
all is keeping Toyota busy.
It was “RECALL” the buzz word in the entire automobile industry.
Well this time the slogan says:

Toyota “Moving Forward!”