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How we see the market opportunity in India. Lightbox partners Sandeep Murthy, Sid Talwar, Prashant Mehta, Jeremy Wenokur, talk about fragmentation
Fragmentation is everywhere.
India is a unique and fragmented market with massive opportunities to leverage technology to build the 21st century equivalent of traditional businesses. These opportunities often look different from typical technology investments that venture funds have seen in other markets. They involve a full-stack approach to owning all aspects of the customer experience -- from design to manufacturing to distribution. This adds complexity to execution, but also allows for the companies to control the experience and capture the product as well as the distribution margin. For companies that do this well, it creates a strong barrier to entry and a sustainable differentiation.
That being said, over the years we have learnt that the application of technology in even these well-defined industries with clear business models can require entrepreneurs and investors to be flexible in their thinking on the optimal business model. For example, our evolution in Embibe, from a paid model to a freemium service is the type of experimentation with business models that has allowed us to create one of the most engaged online user bases in India and push the envelope on how education can be delivered.
We are building exciting, innovative businesses that are leverage technology to change the way consumers interact with the world around them. Some of these businesses start with well-articulated business models but we know that they will evolve over time. Others lack a defined business model but have a powerful product/technology/customer insights that can create rapid organic growth. At the base of it they are all leveraging technology to impact large groups of consumers. As long as they can deliver on that promise and we can remain flexible in our thinking on business models, I believe that we can build industry-defining businesses.
Prashant Mehta and Sid Talwar, partners at Lightbox, talk about the highs, the lows and the stress of being an entrepreneur. It's a tough journey and it's good to know you have a partner.
Like many good stories, it all started over a beer after a game of Rugby.
The best thing a startup can do for its brand is to invest in creating experiences that make people whip their phones out to tweet or instagram immediately. Your brand isn’t what you say about yourself, it’s what people say about you.
We spend a lot of time thinking about the changing nature of ownership. It’s amazing how much “stuff” most of us collect over time. And how little we actually use in everyday life. It makes you start questioning consuming and purchasing habits in general.
The nature of the game and the implied rules of determining value for disruptive companies are very different than the game being played by traditional companies.
Good design deepens the connect between and brand and its user and that makes it good business.
Handling a downturn has little to do with what you do when the downturn starts, but more to do with how you built during the boom. At the start of a downturn, if you’re asking “What do I do now?” it’s probably too late.
The Indian ecosystem lacks market consolidators. But that could change imminently.
Profitability isn’t a switch you can turn on and off. No business can suddenly decide that it’s time to get profitable and implement a strategy. If businesses aren’t structured to be profitable, the only real strategy an entrepreneur can implement is to cut costs, almost always at the expense of growth. Profitability at the expense of growth doesn’t last.
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