Anoop's Blog

Learning Sailing at RVYC

I had a wonderful experience during two days last week learning to sail at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya Thailand. My instructor Khun Jimmy, a very patient and skilled teacher took me through the ropes and very soon had me sailing the Hobie One - a bigger and more stable sailing boat, off the RVYC.

The morning was very peaceful with only the sounds of the boat slicing through the water and the occasional flapping of the mainsail or the tipsail. The afternoon of the first day got a bit rough when the wind picked up to around 22 knots and with that came bigger waves that washed over us several times. My eyes started burning and it was then that I realized the mistake of putting sunscreen on my forehead - which was getting into my eyes!!

On the second day Khun Jimmy got me into the much smaller and faster Laser and after a few demos I was out on the boat myself. It was a nice feeling to be able to go out sailing on my own but that did not last too long when I was made to capsize the boat to learn how to handle such a situation. Even though that shook me up a bit it was worth it because we actually capsized in the sea later that morning when I managed to get the Laser out of control and before I knew it both Khun Jimmy and I were in the sea!! Not only did I manage to capsize the boat but also had it completely upside down. It took quite an effort to haul myself out of moving sea on to the top of the boat and then right it following Khun Jimmy's instructions.

It takes around five days of lessons to sail alone confidently. I found sailing peaceful. It required a tremendous amount of focus with an ability to feel the wind, the sea, and the movement of the boat to make our way through the water. It was also about overcoming the odds and giving it my best.

I will definitely return one day to complete my lessons. Thank you Khun Jimmy for such a wonderful introduction to sailing.

I am proud to call myself an Australian today

Today, 13 Feb 2008, will go down in the history of Australia and Australians everywhere. Even though I am sitting here in Thailand, I have never felt so close to Australia before as today in the five years we have been living here. I often call myself a citizen of the world but today I was proud to call myself an Australian. Australia, and Kevin Rudd said "sorry" to the stolen generations, their descendents and their families for all the pain and suffering they had to go through and still go through.

I felt lighter today. We turned around the corner as a nation today and I hope this is the start of many more good things to come for all those who have been disadvantaged for decades.

Why did it take us so long to do this? Are we really that proud and so full of ourselves that it is beneath us to say sorry for the wrongs that have been done in the past?

These questions will linger on, but today is a fresh start and with that comes hope for the future...

Safety for Women and Men

Download Safety_for_women.pdf While personal safety may be taken for granted in many countries it is still something to be aware of when you are on your own or in an environment that is unsafe. This guide was recently shared with me by a family member. It is an easy browse and may save you from a difficult situation someday. Stay safe!

The Bootstrapper's Bible

Download 8.01.BootstrappersBible.pdf I first came across this guide several years ago. Written by Seth Godin, this is an easy to read yet invaluable guide if you are thinking of bootstrapping your business. It offers many useful and roadtested tips. I certainly plan on using them. I also created a simple checklist based on this guide - let me know if you are interested and I will email it to you.

Nano is here!

If you have not heard of the Nano then you have missed some pretty big news. In the works for almost four years now, Nano, or better known as the Rs 1 lakh car, was launched last week in the Delhi Auto Show by Ratan Tata, Group Chairman of the Tata Group.

I have followed the development of the One Lakh Car over the last few years and have nothing but admiration for this achievement. Everyone scorned at this - motor industry experts, financial analysts, media, and even people in Tata. They all said something like this was impossible and yet it took someone like Ratan Tata to prove them wrong. Why don't we have more people like him - to dream big dreams and then have the guts to go out and achieve them!!

I don't need to tell you all the nitty gritty about the Nano - you can read up on it. But, the point to make here is that there is going to be many more cases of Nanos coming out from the most surprising and least expected corners of our world - not just cars but other innovations that I am sure will change the entire dynamics of the business world. What was once thought of as not possible will be possible.

What does this mean for us in established, stable and traditional businesses? I think it is a simple answer. We either get on the journey and embrace innovation to bring out innovative and affordable products and services for the masses, or get swamped by with the Nanos of many different industries that are taking shape in people's minds out there and waiting to become our competitors tomorrow.

Indians rejoiced on the 10th of Jan '08 with the launch of the Nano. I was in Chennai on our way back from a holiday in Kerala and went out early next morning to buy a copy of The Economic Times. As I was reading the paper while sipping my South Indian Coffee several morning walkers gathered around me all trying to get a glimpse of the article on Nano and the interview with Ratan Tata. There was a sense of accomplishment, a feeling of joy, and pride - almost as if a collective dream of many others had been achieved. Nano also happened to be launched on the centenary of the historic Ford Model T launch in 1908 by Henry Ford. Model T changed the game. Nano changed the game!

Dream. Believe. Do!

Yo! China - Chinese Food Chinese Prices

I had the opportunity of hearing Ashish Kapur, MD of Yo! China, at the TiE Summit in Delhi. Ashish used to work for GE in North America but wanted to realize his potential beyond the corporate world and create something for himself. According to Ashish, India today presents many opportunities to create a national brand and he has certainly proven that.

He never thought he would be in the food service business but after seeing a market gap between hawkers selling Chinese food and fine dining Chinese he created Yo! China - to deliver high quality Chinese food at very reasonable prices served in an international ambiance. After opening their first store in Gurgaon in 2003, Ashish and the Yo! China team have not looked back.

The aspirational nature of the Chinese cuisine combined with the huge and growing disposable income of the younger generation in India is fueling a demand for aspirational cuisines such as those served by Yo! China.

Ashish told us about how they are scaling up by focusing on a meal by meal experience - by creating a "wow" so that customers keep coming back and also spread the "buzz". According to him, "fanaticism at the ground level" along with "honesty and transparency" of front line staff will ensure growth and success especially when scaling up.

I asked Ashish for his tips on people returning from overseas to start something in India. His advice was: be passionate about the opportunity; circle yourself with the best people; if you have a safety net then quit your job, otherwise look around & research the opportunity and then quit; look for initial funding from yourself, friends and family; get the right money and right investors; start one and focus on making it great and then go and repeat it again! Thanks Ashish!

I made it a point to visit Yo! China with my brother-in-law's family I was staying with in Delhi and experience what Ashish and his team have created. I came away feeling really great. I noted down positives and also opportunities for improvement and taking the "wow" to the next level - Ashish and his team have taken this on board very openly - a sign of a great entrepreneurial team.

Go! Yo! China.

Naukri.com - Starting up

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder and CEO of Naukri.com, India's first and No. 1 job site, shared his startup experiences with us at the TiE Summit. Sanjeev started off by building a great company first. Like many entrepreneurs with an internet based business, Sanjeev had to go through difficult times during the bad dot.com days but persisted and was able to come out with a winner with his concept. Being able to offer to businesses another option to traditional print media based job advertising that was faster, cheaper and scalable was his USP.

Sanjeev specificially talked about the value of bootstrapping your business during the early days and not using VC funding. According to Sanjeev, some of the most successful entrepreneurial companies are not VC funded.

There are pros and cons to this approach and depends on many factors. What are your views?

20 Timeless Money Rules

Most of us have to plan, manage and grow our wealth unless you happen to have "made it". Even those belonging to the "made it" work on growing their wealth. The 20 Timeless Money Rules from some of the smartest investors is a handy reminder of investment fundamentals. I came across it today while reading the Prosolution newsletter - and really liked it for its simplicity and relevance.

Ten steps to ace your performance review

Have you had your performance review? If not, here are 10 simple steps to ace your performance review.

It's December and with January 2008 about to start if you have not had your review then don't worry. Be in the driver's seat and make sure your input on what you achieved during the year and how you achieved it is captured and give it to your manager.

Most managers dread performance reviews. But, did you know that you can help them out by giving them your input on your performance and that way being better control of the final review?

Follow the 10 simple steps and you will see how easy it is to get a better review.

Indian Billionaire Shiv Nadar tells us to "Choose it well and chase it hard!"

Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL - India's first computer company, Forbes List of billionaires in year 2000, and recognized as one of India's most effective entrepreneurs with also a very strong social conscience and commitment to education, shared with us at the TiE Summit his HCL story and success principles.

Entrepreneurship according to Shiv is as much about success as it is about failures. It is also about trying to beat yourself and find your own threshold. When partnering, Shiv told us to remember that it is not a marriage. Partner with the best but have definite objectives and timelines.

Listening to him brought out for me several themes such as passion, having the confidence and belief in yourself, charting the course, and chasing your dream. It was great listing to Shiv and a very appropriate finale to the TiE Summit in Delhi.

Shiv's success principles are:

1) Don't try and make everything work

2) Pick the idea you want to pursue if you have many ideas

3) Have the inherent intuitive sense to follow the idea - and then enjoy the chase

4) And finally, Choose it well and Chase it hard!

I met with Shiv after the summit and got him to autograph my notebook next to the words - Choose it well and chase it hard. Thank you Shiv for such an inspiring session!