@pjain

Category: Entrepreneurship

  • Fighting Fraud Thru a Cashless Society

    Emerging markets often leapfrog technologies. For much of Independent India, it was very difficult to get a fixed-line phone. They were expensive and the wait  could be as long as five years. In the 1990’s came the mobile revolution and people across India were able to get a communication device for a relatively small amount of…

  • What’s For Dinner? The Foodpocalypse.

    The trouble that some Indian startups are facing is being touted as the harbinger of a coming apocalypse. What happened at TinyOwl in Pune with employees holding the founders hostage was an embarrassment to all of us. Dazo shutting down. Zomato laying off employees. Foodpanda, well, just Foodpanda. These are normal occurrences at startups. Most…

  • Building Facebook for India is a Waste of Time

    This post originally appeared on CitizenTekk. In a country of almost 1.3 billion people, mid-20th century infrastructure, rampant corruption, over 400 million people below the international poverty line, roughly another 400 million people who are considered middle class and one of the youngest populations on the planet building the next Facebook isn’t exciting. What is…

  • Geeks on a Plane India 2013: Big Opportunities, Optimistic Investors, and a Government that’s Finally Waking Up

    This post originally appeared on the 500 Startups blog Geeks on a Plane is a 10-12 day trip to various parts of the world with 20-25 “Geeks” (entrepreneurs, techies, designers, angels, VCs, mentors). The trips are planned and run by 500 Startups and have been going on for a few years now. The first Geeks…

  • 10 Things to Consider Before Approaching a VC

    A lot of very very smart, experienced investors have put similar information out there over the last few years. If you’ve read it before, consider this a reminder. If you haven’t read it before then consider this a starting point. This post shouldn’t be seen as a comprehensive list. It’s more of a response to…