TechShup

A Professor from MIT defends Pakistan in a Pakistani gathering at OPEN

It was a surreal sight. Not something you see everyday.

But there it was. A sitting that included about 50 Pakistani Entreprenuers at SAP listening to a Professor from MIT defend Pakistan as a viable entity worthy of consideration when it came to business investment. The questions about Pakistan's viability came from the Pakistanis who in all probability lived in Pakistan for a major part of their lives.

The setting was the all too familiar SAP Cafeteria where this past Friday, Prof. Kenneth Morse, Managing Director at The Entreprenuers' Center at MIT was the guest of honor. He started out talking about Pakistan and business opportunities in Pakistan in a more personal setting with myself, Abdul Rehman (Colleague from OPEN) and Mahira Kalim (A Colleague at SAP). He was very vigorous in the conversations and seemed to have fairly ready answers to our questions which made clear to me that he is all too familiar with them, probably from having heard them before. He was very forthright about his ideas with respect to Pakistanis and Americans skeptical about Pakistan and its prospects. He described them as "CNN Babies" and advised against going after that demographic. In his opinion, it was more beneficial for concerned Pakistanis in the US and elsewhere to converse and exchange ideas with people who are serious about Business Opportunities and who have the real business needs, aspirations and visions to see past a few burning tires in a back alley of Karachi a few days in a year. He indicated that he had been to Pakistan about 7 times in the past 16 months and the last trip was during the time emergancy was declared by the Musharraf government. He repeated that during his presentation and honestly speaking that fact alone got everyone listening intently to his ideas and not color them with the idealism of a business anamoly: An Optimist.

An important fact that was mentioned early on in the presentation was the fact that Pakistani professionals while technically adept, understandably lack the skills needed to sell. This is due to several reasons such as societel norms where selling is not considered a high value skill and where Universities do not focus on honing the competitive skills needed for selling successfully.

Ken focused on primarily High Tech and Higly Rational (Non-Impulse Purchase Selling) selling process. He emphasized the importance of relationship with the customer where the customer's believe that their needs, their situation, their vision, corporate and career goals are understood and shared by the involved sales person (Direct Quote from Ken's presentation). The sales person should be more than a Sales professional; He should be a trusted advisor. Ken also covered topics such as developing a Sales Force and keeping them involved and motivated.

He also talked about Pakistan and the Business Opportunities. Unfortunately, he had few if any kind words for any of the Pakistani Politicians. He reserved his most severe words for Late Benazir Bhutto and her husband who is currently heading the Pakistan Peoples' Party. He was very clear that an image of a corrupt nation is more dangerous for Pakistan than that of a country torn by terrorism and political unrest. He pointed out the two facets of lawmaking that Pakistan can only ignore at her own peril. One was with regards to Intellectual property protection and the other is with respect to rooting out corruption.

Ken was very interactive and involved everyone in the crowd with his witty responses and to the point and at times rhetorical questions. He was extremely animated when answering most specific questions about several different aspects of selling. Ken was thankful to OPEN and SAP for their help in putting this together. To read more about OPEN and MIT partnership please go to: OPEN and MIT Entreprenuer Center

To find out more about the Entreprenuer Center at MIT goto: Entreprenuer Center at MIT

Here is what's going on in and around the Valley

In and Around the Valley
February 2008

Here are some of the events that are slated to take place today and beyond within the month of February In and Around the Valley. I have pretty much taken the email updates I get from Churchil club and copied the content here. Couple of these events are as early as today and later this week while some are in the third week of February.

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FEATURE EVENT: THE ELEVATOR PITCH ROUNDTABLE
Date:          Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Time:          6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Location:    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman  2475Hanover Street,  Palo Alto, CA  94304-1114
Web Site:    http://vctaskforce.com/content/view/424/

Pricing:      Churchill Club Members $35 / Non-members $45 (includes pizza and soda) If space is available, on-site registration is an additional $10
[Plus Cvent fees]

Description: This is a VC Taskforce event—
The VC Taskforce Elevator Pitch Roundtable is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to network with investors and other CXOs, present their company and idea, and hear first-hand what it takes to raise early-stage capital in 2008. This event is reported to have consistently drawn an excellent entrepreneur-to-investor ratio.

If you are an entrepreneur in a startup and currently seeking capital, come prepared with your best 60-second elevator pitch.  If you wish to give your pitch at this event, please register and then email Rich Weingart, Vice President, Sweet Baker Insurance Brokers / Direct Phone (415) 512-2122, who will provide you with further instructions and advice.

If you are an investor come and listen to entrepreneurs' pitches. You never know where you'll find your next deal. Find out how our panel of investors rate the entrepreneurs' pitches; which VCs pass and for what reasons; and, which entrepreneurs other VCs want to talk to ASAP. Please let us know if you would like to participate on one of our Elevator Pitch Roundtable panels or Workshop panels.

During the evening, a select number of entrepreneurs will present their pitch to the entire room. Our distinguished panel of early stage investors will ask questions and provide brief feedback.  Please note that pitching time limits will be strictly enforced!

Our lively panel discussion and Q&A will also provide critical insight into what it takes to raise capital today.

Moderator: Ash Dhar, Venture Partner, Horizon Ventures
Panelists:  Gary Benton, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman; Rich Redelfs, General Partner, Foundation Capital; Charles Chi, Partner, Greylock Venture Partners; Jim Watson, Managing Director, CMEA Ventures

If you wish to give your pitch, please register and then email Rich Weingart This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it, Partner, Sweet & Baker Insurance Brokers, Direct Phone (415) 512-2122, who will provide you with further instructions and advice.
Register now!
Elevator Pitch Roundtable Chair: Steve Bengston, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers If you have any questions please contact Elevator Pitch Round Table Manager Rich Weingart This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , Partner, Sweet & Baker Insurance Brokers, Direct Phone (415) 512-2122

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HYSTA EC Chinese New Year Cocktail Reception Party
A HYSTA Executive Club Event

Date:  Thursday, February 7th, 2008
Time:  4:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Location:  Zibibbo, 430 Kipling Street, Palo Alto,  CA 94301
Pricing:  Churchill Club Members $50/person  (only open to Churchill Club Members) HYSTA EC Chinese New Year Cocktail Reception Party
A HYSTA Executive Club Event

Date:  Thursday, February 7th, 2008
Time:  4:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Location:  Zibibbo, 430 Kipling Street, Palo Alto,  CA 94301
Pricing:  Churchill Club Members $50/person  (only open to Churchill Club Members) Description:
The HYSTA Executive Club and the Hina Group are co-hosting a Chinese New Year Cocktail Reception party to welcome the Year of the Rat.

Churchill Club Members are cordially invited to enjoy this wonderful evening mixer with other business leaders, investors, and partners. Please email with your name, company name, and position to Grace Zhao at yuhongrace@yahoo.com before February 4th.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Wish You a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association's EC Club

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Venture Capital Investment Competition Silicon Valley Regional

Date: Friday, Feb 8th 2008
Time: 9.00 pm-5.00 pm
Location: California Mission Room, Benson Center , Santa Clara University
Website: http://www.scunetworks-mbaec.org/ 

Pricing: $20 Students, $25 for Alumni and $40 for others.

Description:
The Entrepreneurs' Connection at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University is proud to host Venture Capital Investment Capital Competition (VCIC) Silicon Valley Regional on February 8th 2008.  Founded by the University of North Carolina in 1998, the VCIC is the nation’s premier MBA competition that is complementary to the traditional business plan competition in which top schools against one another in all day VC investment environment acting as student VCs. The VCIC brings together Entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists in an environment that since 1998 has funded new business opportunities in excess of $300M. If you are an Entrepreneur looking for funding or a VC looking for the next big business idea or if you are VC looking  recruit your next associate, the VCIC competition is the place for you. The event is co-sponsored by Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), Santa Clara University.

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"Crossing the Chasm - Web 2.0," with best selling author Geoffrey Moore
An SVASE event

Date: Thursday, February 21^st, 2008
Time: 6:00 – 7:00 pm: Networking and Business Showcase7:00 – 8:15 pm: Geoffrey Moore: Crossing the Chasm - Web 2.0, 8:15 – 8:30 pm: Additional networking
Location: Microsoft Building 1, 1065 La Avenida St, Mountain View, CA 94043
Website: http://www.scunetworks-mbaec.org/ 

Pricing: Members - $20; Affiliates who advertise this event - $29 (Please mention the Churchill Club); General Public - $49;Business Showcase Exhibit Table – member rate: $149; non-member rate: $375
(Includes exhibit table and two tickets to the event.) Walk in: Add $10

Description:
Since the Web1.0 boom of the late 90’s the formula for success has morphed dramatically. If you don’t understand the new rules and paradigms, you probably fail to cross the chasm or get dumped on the sidelines just when you thought you were being taken for the ride of your life in the tornado! And, if you’re fortunate enough to gather high volumes of users, how do you monetize your product/service without spooking the herd?

So what are the critical differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 models, and how can you leverage this knowledge to your advantage?

Come hear best-selling author and investor, Geoffrey Moore, explore this topic and provide answers to the following questions and more:

• What’s more important, your technology or your business model?
• Is it enough to get people to adopt you product/service, or do you have to get them to pay for it as well?
• How do you make it self service, so you don’t need sales staff?
• Even with complex services, can you create an efficient volume operations model, so you can scale quickly?
• How do you create a model that can scale exponentially, so you can gain sufficient scale to be financially material?
• How do you get cool & keep staying cool, so you can leverage viral marketing well into the future?

To register for this event go to http://svase.org/index.php?option=com_extcalendar&Itemid=149&extmode=view&extid=1301
Opening remarks and introduction: Dan’l Lewin, Corporate Vice President, Strategic and Emerging Business Development, Microsoft Corporation.
SPEAKER: Geoffrey Moore, Venture Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures

This event is co-sponsored by: Microsoft Corporation, http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/

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The Entrepreneurship Conference
A Stanford Graduate School of Business Event

Date:  Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Time:  11:15 pm – 4:00 pm, Doors open at 10:00 am
Location:  Stanford Campus, GSB South Building , 518 Memorial Way, Stanford, CA 94305
Web Site:  http://www.econference.org/

Pricing:  Stanford Students $30/ Alumni $60 / Community $95

Description:
Once again the Stanford Graduate School of Business is holding its annual Entrepreneurship Conference – one of the most successful events of its kind at Stanford University.

Taking place on Wednesday, February 27, this year’s conference features keynote speaker Gil Penchina, CEO of Wikia. The conference program consists of a series of lectures by Stanford GSB’s entrepreneurial professors, and interactive panels featuring prominent figures in the entrepreneurial community.  These events will bring together veteran entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, academics, students, and industry experts in an insightful and active engagement. Registration is open!! Get your ticket for the E-Conference early before they sell out.

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Making of a Social Entrepenuer - Azim Premji

SAP hosted Azim Premji, eminent Businessman and Philanthropist at the Palo Alto Campus this past Friday (Feb 01 2008). He was very kind and generous in keeping his speech short, recognising that the overcrowded cafeteria in the main Bldg was dying to interact with him. He enunciated some simple truths about leadership and was very modest in explaining his success.

Some of the revealing truths about his leadership style that he mentioned were. :

1. The day one's curiosity dies, the person dies with it. Keep asking questions. You cannot do yourself harm by asking questions.

I am not sure about this one since I have actually seen people getting harmed when they asked more questions than they perhaps should have.

2. Listen to your customers. There are hints in their behaviour, body language, the words they choose and their tone. That is the best form of feedback that can be expected. They will never tell you everything you need to know but they give themselves away when you pay attention to details such as the few mentioned above.

3. Continuously challenge yourself. Do not stagnate.

4. Organizations should value their stock performers. Companies perform on the strength of the 80% of the employees who meet their objectives and not necessarily only on the strength of the 10% who exceed their goals.

This was an interesting thought. He added that in his opinion, the Top 10% is too volatile and an ideal employee consistently performs, even if he consistently only meets his objectives without ever or rarely exceeding it.

Azim Premji described his journey from being a Business Entrepenuer to an Entrepenuer with a social agenda. His foundation is making huge contributions for Education at all levels. He attributed his success to keeping a very low profile and assigning credit for the good work to the politicians and administration in the area of operation.

The Q&A session lasted for a good 45 minutes. There were all sorts of questions on his business experience, the charity work that he has involved himself in etc. He was very polite and made a genuine effort at ensuring a response to all. In fact, towards the end, when Zia Yousuf, the SAP Executive hosting Premji, indicated that he wanted final questions for the hour, Premji indicated that he would be happy to continue if there were more questions.

Some of the questions that stuck with me were about Microfinance schemes in India, Premji's secret recipe for success in Business and Philanthropy, Current trends with the Economy and his thoughts on consolidation in the market.

He offered a nugget with regards to Microfinance schemes in India where he pointed out that there is a social change that is taking place in India. Due to the nature of Microfinancing schemes where women are prefered over men for loans, women are being empowered. They are getting a new voice in the household and their communities, as they share breadwinning capabilities and become Entrepenuers in their own right.

He was very modest in pointing out that his success is due to the fact that he was at the right place at the right time. This reminded me of a passage from Bernard Shaw's speech, about the reverance we hold for the apparent instigator whenever there is a firestorm of any kind that changes our environment. I did not agree with Shaw then and I don't quite see eye to eye with Premji now.

He also indicated that he expects more consolidation in the market and expressed his surprise on why it has taken companies in India as long as it has apparently to start consolidating.

Something that probably took people by surprise was the short and simple answer provided by Premji when asked about what he regretted in life the most. He simply replied by saying that he did not spend enough time with his family.

In the end, a very candid conversation with a very humble person made the evening very memorable for the entire group.