This week Facebook filed its S-1 to go public.  Mark is 27.  How Mark managed to launch a social networking site after Friendster had crashed during MySpace’s zenith has been widely chronicled.  What’s been less discussed is how Mark mastered the six requirements to succeed, namely Ambition, Vision, Determination, Execution, Luck and Timing.

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• SHUTTER TO THINK - Lytro founder Ren Ng is taking the blur (and the fuss) out of photography
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27th and 28th January, 2012 @ ISB

Bringing policy-makers, practitioners & researchers with interest in SEZs & trade onto a common platform. The discussions will focus on strengthening the linkages between SMEs and SEZs. A perfect launch pad to connect and lookout for new opportunities.For more information click here

The single biggest hurdle that entrepreneurs confront when they consider launching a new business is not knowing if their business idea is truly a good idea. Can they support themselves and their family? What are the chances of success – or failure ? Most people are not accountants, and struggle with understanding the principles behind financial forecasting. In such situations, the major mistake to be avoided is to assume that you will be successful and will somehow get through !  A sound business plan is one of the keys to success.

A sound Business Plan is always useful for self evaluation of your business. It may give you a yes / no signal, before you actually plunge in. It would highlight the pros and cons of your business and help you keep a watch on  your weaknesses. Besides, if you are looking for a partner or a financier, it is a good document to keep handy at all times.

One must keep in mind the following components of a good business plan :

• Executive  summary : This would be a quick summary of what you intend to do and how. What is your main business mission and what needs does it set out to fulfil ? It should give the reader a quick overview of your business model, the key financials, the marketing strategies, technology required, if applicable, etc. Ideally it should never exceed 2-3 pages. It should be lucidly written and should excite the reader and lead him on to read the full plan.
• Business description : This section of your business plan should describe in detail, all aspects of your business model. What are the revenue generators, the operations, the costs, the technology, the infrastructure, finance and admin requirements. This is the core component of your Business Plan.
• Market Analysis : Use this section to dissect the market and analyse it in depth. Know your industry’s average financial performance statistics. Make your market forecasts plausible and relevant to the current situation. A detailed review of the competition, what they are upto and how they are pricing similar products would help tremendously. Touch upon your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and product differentiation so that you stand out from the crowd, and use this to generate better prices for your product or service.
• Financial Projections : Identify the selling price of your product / service in the market, know your costs, find out exactly how much you will pay to source or manufacture your product. Also, there would be several fixed costs which you will have to incur to run your business. List out such costs and how you intend to track and control them – this might be the key to your success in some cases. Your financial projections should also include your initial investments in fixed assets and infrastructure and how you would most likely finance the same. Whether you would take loans or take equity from a financial partner, if you would take loans, whether they would be secure or unsecure, at what cost would the loans be available, etc.
• Human Resources : What kind of people would you require to succeed ? Would you need partners ? Senior Executives ? Mentors ? WorkersHow many and when ? How much would they cost ?
• Scalability : What if you succeed and reach your peak as projected in the first 3 years ? Is your plan scalable ? What would it take to move up the ladder ? Additional resources ? Space ? People ?
• Plan B: What if your main plan fails – would  there be a fall back ? Would you continue to operate at a reduced level ? Would you outsource before you consider manufacturing again ? What are the costs of aborting the venture? Think about all this and document it in your business plan.

Remember, a business plan is not cast in stone. You should review it annually and change it according to the realities you face, to make it more effective and relevant. Also, it should be relatively confidential – it should not be available to all and sundry.

There are books and websites galore on the subject and you will have to wade  your way through, to get the right one. You may look up http://wzcc.net/bpc09_resources.asp or www.enterprisers.in for a variety of resources to make business plans, to start with.

So before you take the plunge, be sure to make a sound business plan. Remember – not planning to succeed is a sure plan for failure !

E-Series – Yazdi Tantra

We are a non-profit student organisation at IIT Kharagpur with the aim of fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship among college students in India. We are one of the most successful entrepreneurial organisations in the country with 28 start-ups incubated within 5 years of our inception.

We conduct our flagship event - Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) every year in January, and this is oneof the biggest entrepreneurial platforms for academicians, new-age entrepreneurs, eminent business personalities, venture capitalists and students to gather at one place and share their entrepreneurial endeavours and experiences, and to pledge to take entrepreneurship to greater scales. GES 2012 will be held from 13-15 January 2012 at IIT Kharagpur. More than 2000 students from various engineering colleges in India will be a part of this summit.

GES 2012 also plays host to the Global Entrepreneurship Conference in India. The conference aims to provide a platform where promotion of entrepreneurship could be discussed with a global perspective. It will feature a live video conference with foreign universities and US entrepreneurs to understand the entrepreneurial environmental in different nations.

We would like you to be part of GES 2012 and make good use of the resources and rich entrepreneurial environment to take entrepreneurship in India to new level

For more details on the summit, you can visit the site: www.ges.ecell-iitkgp.org

You can also visit E-Cell IIT Kharagpur’s site: www.ecell-iitkgp.org or like our FB page:www.facebook.com/ecell.iitkgp to know more about our yearlong activities.

Thank you,                                                                        

Magazine Partner:  Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur

Discuss this video in detail, share links, videos, pictures, sources, and more! Visit the AlienScientist Discussion board for this topic:
http://www.alienscientist.com/forum/showthread.php?752-The-Future-of-Nano-Electric Power Generation

Below is an excerpt from: http://nanoholdings.com/about-us/

Nanoholdings is a team of scientists, investors and innovators working at the cutting-edge of nanotechnology to develop solutions to the world’s growing energy problems. Working in partnership with the world’s best universities we develop products and companies that will revolutionize the way we use and generate energy.

Two things stand out about us — we focus exclusively on nanotechnology-based energy solutions and we work at the very cutting-edge of nano-energy research.

Our extensive network of leading scientists in the nanotechnology field are central to our work – scientists based at eminent universities around the world, who are working at the coal-face of nano-energy research to seek out alternative solutions for how we generate, transmit, store and use energy. We support and guide their research, transforming breakthroughs into viable solutions — products to revolutionize the way we use and generate energy.

The two most important aspects to consider are -
1. A great idea and 2. Solid implementation.

Ideas are many – some useful, some funny, some simple and some outrageous. All ideas may not work though. Try this exercise. Pick up today’s newspaper and go through the first 2 pages’ headlines. Try and create a business idea out of the headlines – maybe one, maybe five – the more the better. List out all these ideas. Now, take them up one by one and imagine how to convert them into action. Stumped ? Some may require a huge amount of capital, some may require special expertise, while some may require a heavy dose of marketing. Are they all doable ? Some, maybe, all – most certainly not !

So how do I identify the business I should get into ? Many entrepreneurs look for an idea which will yield maximum returns – “which line has maximum scope?” they ask. My answer to them is that maximum scope is all around you – look at various businesses big and small around you and you will find quite a few of them doing well and constantly growing. Now, where does that leave us ?

The first step towards a good idea for yourself is to identify your own strengths. If you have been working in a chemical factory for the last 10 years, you may be an expert in manufacturing chemicals – publishing books may not be your forte ! If you are strong in a particular area, build upon your inherent strengths and do not stray to other areas which you know nothing of.

In most cases, your strengths will also be your own passions. If you are an avid music fan, your passion would be music and if you enjoy technology, your strength would be computers. Hence, if you can combine your strength and your passion, you have a great combination !

The next step is to find a need and fill it. Once you have identified your strength and passion, find a need in that particular area and try and fill it. In the earlier example, if music is your strength and passion, and there are no music libraries around, it might be a good idea to start a music library. Sometimes, the need may have been felt by you, or those around you. Look at the bigger picture, see where the world is going, identify the emergent needs and latch on to the opportunity.

You will now have to check out if the idea is practical. If you talk to your neighbours or friends, you will get a feel of what you are going to face. It may be worth asking around, how much would they pay for renting a music CD and how many times a month would they rent it ? It will give you a sense of what you are looking at. If you are going to start manufacturing soap, the survey may not be that simple. The people whom you need to ask may be spread far and wide, and you may probably run an online survey or look at published surveys for answers. Most industrial products may have published data about the demand and prices which could come in useful.

Make a business plan. Once you are convinced that the idea is workable, make a business plan. Try to put in all aspects of your business – the capital required, the running expenses, the people needed, the marketing efforts, the technology, if any, and all other major and minor aspects of running that business. It is worth working out a realistic plan and asking your mentor to vet it. Sometimes, the most obvious stuff may elude you and you could land up in a mess. The purpose of making a business plan is not only to assess the money you would require to start and run your business, but also to assess all the other resources such as material, men, location, etc. Many a times, a very enthusiastic to-be entrepreneur would realize the pitfalls once he puts all the requirements on paper. At best, a business plan may help you realistically assess the risks and rewards of the proposed venture; at worst, it may even dissuade you from starting off on a losing project.

Check if the idea is scalable. A very important aspect of a new business is to see the scalability of the project i.e. how far you can grow it. Most product businesses would be scalable to the extent of the production capacity that is setup. Many service businesses would be scalable to the extent of the no. of employees. This is a very important aspect because once you have setup a business and are able to run it successfully, you will have to think of growth and if at that stage you realise that you cannot grow it, it will be disastrous.

Once you decide that this is what you want – just do it ! Do not prevaricate or keep lingering. Implement your project fast and in the best way, as you alone can do it. Remember, implementing a project efficiently is the key to success. Many have done it before and many will do it after, but only you can implement it your own way. Think of doing it skilfully, happily, innovatively and cost-effectively and you have a winner on your hands !

E-Series – Yazdi Tantra

Born with this motto, Ideate aims to discover the best ideas and innovations from across the nation that would reform and revolutionise the present day India.

Even though the tree of India has grown as the world’s second fastest developing economy, there are still certain branches that need attention. All India needs is an idea, a belief and a vision to spark a revolution. Ideate invites everyone to lend a helping hand to our very own society and improve the lives of millions. The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Let’s join hands and make an effort today for a better tomorrow.

After all, Everything begins with an idea !

Ideate – A journey from Idea to Execution