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The Entrepreneurs’
Express MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE E-CELL, VNIT
2011 OCTOBER
ALL THAT GLITTERS...ALL THAT GLITTERS...
Rediscover the obsession called GoldRediscover the obsession called GoldRediscover the obsession called Gold
9/11 & Co.9/11 & Co.
America: A Decade LaterAmerica: A Decade LaterAmerica: A Decade Later
THE ABSTRACT NOUNTHE ABSTRACT NOUN A new take on BusinessA new take on BusinessA new take on Business
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Design Coordinator: Pratik Das
Content Editor: Ankur Mathur
Content Coordinator: Sanchit Agrawal
Stock Market Analyst: Vedant Bang
The The Entrepreneurs’ Entrepreneurs’ ExpressExpress
The Entrepreneurship Cell VNIT,
Nagpur is an initiative of some vi-
sionary students of India. It was
established with a noble aim of re-
ducing the industry-institution di-
vide by making the rift, seem that
lesser. Thus would be done by mak-
ing the interaction between the two
parties for viable through in-
creased frequency and taking effec-
tive measures to continue to foster
a healthy relationship between
them.
We are on the internet only! Green environment, save money, live We are on the internet only! Green environment, save money, live We are on the internet only! Green environment, save money, live
life! life! life!
Post you queries, comments, articles, and suggestions at : Post you queries, comments, articles, and suggestions at : Post you queries, comments, articles, and suggestions at :
[email protected]@[email protected]
Cover: The Gold Souk, Dubai City, the UAECover: The Gold Souk, Dubai City, the UAECover: The Gold Souk, Dubai City, the UAE
Facts contributed by: Sanchit Agrawal, Content Coordinator, EEFacts contributed by: Sanchit Agrawal, Content Coordinator, EEFacts contributed by: Sanchit Agrawal, Content Coordinator, EE
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9/11 & Co……………………
The Editorial 4
All That Glitters………..
MonthlyFeature 6
Juggling Jargons………..
Benefit-Cost Analysis 8
Breeding a New Life….
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw 9
The Abstract Noun…….
Lord of the Senses 10
Starting a Start-Up……
Nurture Talent Feature 12
The Stock Souq………….
The Market Analysis 13
Express Times……………
E-Cell News 15 C
on
ten
tsC
on
ten
tsC
on
ten
ts
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---Ankur MathurAnkur MathurAnkur Mathur
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Although the month is October, September
holds a special connection when it comes to
starting a new chapter in world history. Ten
years ago, as the world stood aghast staring at
seemingly diabolical turn of events; little did it
know that one sadist psychotic mind could un-
leash a fear psychosis that even Satan would be
ashamed of himself. And what started with the
US continued in several nations namely Eng-
land, Scotland, Spain, France, Morocco, Turkey,
India etc.
The US then tried to retaliate; Pakistan, Af-
ghanistan and Iraq have had to face their annus
horribilis year on year. For ten whole years the
‗America‘s War on Terror‖ as former President
George W. Bush put it was waged. His successor
and current President Barack Obama finally
laid the ghosts of 9/11 attacks to rest in the Na-
tional September 11 Memorial and Museum
opened this year much to the relief of soaked
eyes and heavy hearts. And as if legitimating
Shakespeare when he wrote (Act I, Sc. 7)
“…that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, re-
turn
To plague the inventor: this even-handed jus-
tice
Commends the ingredients of our poisoned
chalice
To our own lips.”
That poisoned chalice did indeed return to its
inventor – Osama bin Laden was killed in an
almost sci – fi inspired, overnight operation
complete with soundless helicopters, armed
men crashing in and the assailed dumped in his
sea – grave on May 2nd, 2011. The American re-
venge - which eventually became ‗Global war on
terror‘ – was over.
Its impact on the US economy and Global
Health has been pressing and difficult for most
companies to bear. With public debt at a stag-
gering $14.77tn (100% of GDP), rising unem-
ployment, practically defunct public health poli-
cy till May 2011, plunging productivity and a
paranoia enough to be synonymous with schizo-
phrenia, it‘s no wonder that Moody‘s and
Standard & Poor‘s outlook verdict for the USA
is ‗poor‘. Ever since the Bush administration
went on an all-out war against Iraq and Afghan-
istan, the economy has gone through a cheq-
uered phase from economic downfall, bank-
ruptcy, credit rating reductions (from AAA to
AA+), rising interest rates and the like.
But the one thing that the Recession has taught
pseudo a war-hit American is to rely on Social
Support no more and save money in his ac-
counts. Thus, public spending reduced drasti-
cally and Indirect taxes – Service Tax, VAT,
Goods Customs Tax – all took a hit. Lesser re-
ceipts meant lesser investments and the cycle is
eerily in motion.
So 9/11 & Co. has given and is giving the world a
run for its money. Because, every time another
of its type occurs – anywhere in the world, it
revokes those horrible scenes of helplessness,
dastardly crimes that are not only unjustifiable
on grounds of humanity and ethics, but those
with a rigid bend of mind would agree that they
simply don‘t make mathematical and economic
sense. Why reduce trust in an already specula-
tive environment and fuel another session of
profit bookings…leading ultimately to govern-
ments resorting to monetarial measures to
maintain liquidity in flurry?
For all that we can do, make moolah while secu-rity shines because losing it won‘t take a jiffy and recovery is a long never trodden path mired and bumpy.
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
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Cometh the festival time again and this Diwali
too, the commodity market is all set to reach
new heights. With the sales of gold and silver
already on a high, in
spite of the soaring
prices, investors of
the market are plan-
ning to grab every
opportunity to make
money.
Dussehra followed
by Diwali forms a
salient- part of In-
dia's largest festive
season. No wonder
the season would al-
so mark a definite
growth in the com-
modity market. If
not for the season, the particular day of Dhan-
teras will definitely find huge investors trying
out their luck at the commodity market.
In India, where traditionally only some classes
of the people were inclined to business and the
market, gold and silver could otherwise never
have had such a vast impact on the general pub-
lic-trade relationship. However, a gradual
change in the trend of 'biased business' has re-
sulted in the masses actively getting involved
into the bullion market. In a country so ob-
sessed with traditions, gold and silver have ac-
tually reached the status of currency. It won't be
a matter of surprise if in some years, India
shifts back to the tra-
ditional barter sys-
tem with the trading
commodity as gold
or silver.
What kind of impact
has this market had
on the Indian socie-
ty? The gold and sil-
ver market boom was
not a sudden phe-
nomenon. Over the
years, it gradually
increased to exorbi-
tant levels and today
as we see, the market
boasts of having a lion's share in financial India.
Besides having had an impact on the buying and
selling trends of the two commodities; it has al-
so had a socio-economic impact on the Indian
society. With a larger proportion of the common
man actually investing into gold and silver try-
ing to grab their share of the profit, Indians are
becoming much more economically sound and
financially productive. The result of the same
remains evident from the increase in the per
capita income of the Indian economy. Clever
Golden futures: Stacks of gold ingots ready to be cast into
exquisite jewelry.
All That Glitters…All That Glitters…All That Glitters… ---Amit PillaiAmit PillaiAmit Pillai
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businessmen are a joint result of this commodi-
ty market and the real estate. As people are in-
vesting more and more into the market, the
competition also stays healthy. With gold and
silver getting dearer, everyone wants to ensure
that s/he purchases
an appropriate buy
for his or her money.
It isn't surprising to
see people checking
for the BIS hallmark
and the 916 quality
mark before pur-
chasing gold; ditto
with silver.
Not just has the
boom in the market
changed the mindset
of Indians, it has also resulted in a marked
change in the social patterns of the Indian mun-
dane life. While people nowadays prefer to keep
gold and silver safe in their bank vaults or in
gold loans, artificial jewelry material has flood-
ed the markets. Marriages have now become an
investment more than a ritual. Not just has this
helped in making the Indian masses financially
sharp but it has also made the Indian marriages
more posh than before. The Indian economy
has actually changed
from an agriculture-
oriented to a trade-
oriented one and the
commodity market to
a large extent could
be held responsible
for this immense
change.
However in view of
the recent technologi-
cal advances, the
commodity market
like every other trade has been affected by adul-
teration. And so, as investors still keep on in-
vesting into gold and silver, market analysts list
down only one important fact: "ALL THAT
GLITTERS IS DEFINETELY NOT GOLD!"
For every 50 miles (80 km) driven in an automobile, a person has a 1 in a mil-lion (.0001%) chance of being killed due to a road traffic injury.
People buying gold on Akshaya Tritiya from the Lakshmi
Gold Palace, Mangalore.
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Now that you can convert everything into
one year scale, lets move ahead. What if you are
worried about the profitability of your business?
Confused as to which business model to apply?
These are the common situations that eve-
ry entrepreneur has to face while setting up a
new business. The solution to these problems
involves usage of a few techniques which calcu-
late the estimated returns for a particular pro-
posal. Some of the techniques used in this re-
gard are Cost-benefit analysis, cost-
effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, eco-
nomic-utility analysis, fiscal impact analysis and
social return on investment analysis. In this is-
sue, we shall discuss the most trivial technique,
Cost-Benefit analysis.
Cost benefit analysis is a systematic pro-
cess for calculating and comparing benefits and
costs of a project for two reasons, if you want to
find out if your business plan is profitable or not
or if you have to choose between different pro-
posals. It involves comparing the estimated
costs and the estimated benefits of a project to
see if the benefits outweigh the costs (i.e. if it is
worth investing in the project at all) and by how
much (i.e. which one to choose). In this ap-
proach, benefits and costs are expressed in
money terms, and are adjusted for the time val-
ue of money, so that all flows are expressed on a
common basis in terms of their ―Present Value‖.
The benefit terms are then divided by the costs
and if the outcome if more than 1, the proposal
is said to be profitable. The following is a list of
steps that comprise a cost-benefit analysis:
* Establish alternate projects.
* Collect all cost and benefit elements.
* Predict all outcomes of costs and benefits over
the duration of the project.
* Put all effects of costs and benefits in mone-
tary terms.
* Calculate the net present worth of project op-
tions.
* Analysis.
* Recommendation.
Though simple to execute, this analysis
has some controversies including valuation of
benefits when they are in terms of human lives.
Such controversies are taken care of in cost-
utility analysis and other techniques which shall
be discussed in the coming editions.
---Sanchit AgrawalSanchit AgrawalSanchit Agrawal
Approximately 5% of people who gamble will become problem gamblers (addicts). An addict-ed Gambler is a person who spends money irre-sponsibly which impacts on themselves and the people around them.
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If you want to succeed, first learn to fail.
- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
"I was an Accidental Entrepreneur" claims
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the chairperson and
managing director of Biocon, India's largest bio-
technological multinational.
Kiran Mazumdar's story with Biocon is quite an
interesting one. Trained to be a brewer, with a
degree from Australia, like her father she
wished to join the brewing industry. Her gender
seemed to impede her aims, though. The brew-
ing industry in India during those times was
particularly male dominated; Mazumdar strug-
gled hard to find a job. "A male Bastion" is what
she described the industry as then.
Her journey to being an entrepreneur started
with an accidental encounter – with Les Auch-
incloss, an Irish entrepreneur. Les Auchincloss
was the initiator of Biocon in Ireland and want-
ed to extend its reach to India.
With nothing but the support from Les Auchin-
closs, Rs.10, 000 and the rebellious streak in
her, Mazumdar started Biocon in India, begin-
ning in a small garage. The beginning, as always
was the toughest; India was never a country ori-
ented much towards R&D, the future for a bio-
chemical company, whose sole produce re-
quired R&D, seemed bleak. 25 year old Ma-
zumdar never gave thought. For in the end what
were such setbacks against myriad hours of
struggle?
Until 1983, the company blended only enzymes
and supplied them to brewing, textiles, biofuels,
animal feed and other such industries across the
world. In the mid-1980s with a loan of US
$250,000, Biocon was able to build a solid-state
fermentation plant which helped in the ad-
vancement of its R&D.
The next 20 years saw growth; "The enzymes
era of the company" she calls it. That is when
Mazumdar realized that the business model of
the company needed change and if anything
could speed up the growth, this was it. This is
when Biocon invested heavily into biopharma-
ceuticals and within a small span of six years,
the world watched Biocon rise from a 25 million
to a 100 million USD enterprise. This is the time
when Biocon decided to go public.
So what‘s the mantra? The mantra that trans-
formed an Rs.10000 setup to the multi-billion
dollar enterprise Biocon is today. What was the
charm that transformed the 25 year old, inexpe-
rienced ‗accidental‘ entrepreneur – towards
whom many remained skeptical to lend money
– into The Kiran Mazumdar Shaw?
Accident she claims, Accident we say not. For-
tune, as said, has always favored those who try;
for success is never hit in a single shot. Dili-
gence links entrepreneurship to success, dili-
gence is fueled by zeal; an undying zeal to not
give up. Many innovators never rose to success,
many were cast-off into oblivion. But for many,
once they start, ‗alea jacta est‘, fate has no role
to play and there is no turning back from their
goal; for failure has been just a new way to
learn. We end with one of her famous quotes: "I
really believe that entrepreneurship is about be-
ing able to face failure, manage failure and suc-
ceed after failing."
---Shehazad DhuliawalaShehazad DhuliawalaShehazad Dhuliawala
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The
Abstract
Noun
-Abhirup Lahiri
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Starting this month, we present to you The Abstract Noun, a new and fresh column with takes on Business that reflect on
the casual and lighter side of Entrepreneurship. The articles will be penned by Abhirup Lahiri and shall suit the usual read-
er in want of seeing business in a different light. So read on, and enjoy...And yes, do write in to us about your reactions on
this initiative of The Entrepreneurs’ Express.
LORD OF THE SENSES ―Beep-beep‖ the organizer reminds him of the ap-
pointment, one that he has been eager for, ever
since the hope of a rocket-launch to success began
governing his ambitions. On either side of parity
lie disparity and the safest way out for a fatigued
mind as this, potentially derelict of reason would
be to yearn for a miracle that the coin stands erect
on its edge and time seizes to be a variable. But as
fate would have it, his paranoia of a failed busi-
ness proposal continues to haunt him and to add
to his distress is the apprehensions of a possible
déjà vu of an unpleasant dream that may lead him
astray. Yes, before the Sun drops below the hori-
zon again, he has to make a decision, one that can
redefine his career as an entrepreneur and re-
frame the lives of a thousand people who are in-
debted to him for the very distinction of his,
which to him lies on slippery grounds.
What else is entrepreneurship but innovation in
creation and dexterity in innovation? A successful
entrepreneur is one who minces doubt with prac-
ticality and stagnancy with dynamism, and it is
his acumen and predication which breeds the con-
fidence to merge the forks of decision making into
a single file tightrope walk to a Utopian view of
the real side of sanity. Any jitter on this path and
it‘s a headlong dive into the „oblivion of every-
one‖, and it is a fear of this that monopolizes the
conscience of our protagonist today.
―Beep-beep‖ it is his organizer again, re-minding
him of the same appointment, the turning point in
his life, the game-changer that will either out limit
copiousness and affluence or… well… do pretty
much the same. Brimming with impudence and
self-belief, he is yearning, craving to live the mo-
ment, toss the coin for he knows the outcome. The
coin is biased, prejudiced to spell success for the
illuminato and no sooner does he allow the laws
of gravity choose the better side of parity will the
world glow up and bow down to his indispensabil-
ity. Yes, before the Sun drops below the horizon
again, he has to make a decision, one that will
transform lives, lionize personalities and eventu-
ally bring him the contentment of an immensely
successful business deal…
A wink of an eye and the dormant gaze in-to noth-
ingness erupts to life. The protagonist is dis-
traught but delighted, shattered but over-
whelmed and the better part of reason that his
conscience gives testimony to, is that indeed, to-
day, he has to make a decision, one that will make
or break him. He has lived an illusion and fore-
seen an event whose odds of actuation are a slave
to the objective reality of the world of his pres-
ence. We, in real life, are nothing else but a pro-
jection of this protagonist, one that hears only one
of the two instances of the ―beep‖; and the very
instance that stirs our auditory senses defines our
competence as an individual and acumen as the
Lord of our own senses…
Bill „Hewlett‟ and „Dave Packard‟ tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.
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After having interacted with 5,000 start-ups,
professionals and students of all ages and if
there is one thing that makes a difference be-
tween a successful and an average company, it‘s
the never-say-die attitude of the entrepreneur.
So what are the blanks people usually need to
fill while beginning a start-up?
1. Money: If I had money, I would have grown
much faster, but investors do not support my
idea — this has been the most frequent com-
plaint I have come across. Money does not
make a business successful, but it definitely
plays a very important part. So if you feel the
need for money, then reach out to investors,
make a good business plan and polish your
pitch.
Reach out to people who believe your idea and
are willing to back you even with a small
amount. Do not forget that the most important
source of cash is your customer —make them
happy
2. Team: I recently met an excited young man,
who was a little disturbed as his venture was
going nowhere. I asked him why and this is
what he told me, ―If only I could clone myself —
I need someone as energetic and passionate as
myself.‖ Go out, network, meet people, take part
in exhibitions, attend business plan competi-
tions, share your vision with friends and ask for
acquaintances, post your requirements on
LinkedIn, or tie up with someone who can do a
part of your job, but keep moving. For them, I
advise them to start working on these areas and
learn the art of selling.
3. Office, infrastructure and miscellaneous
items: I call these the ‗hygiene factors‘— they
just add to the comfort level of an entrepreneur
in their ventures but do not add any real value
to customers. Neither does their absence lead to
any real issues. Remember, some of the best
companies were started in a garage — Apple,
HP and Microsoft.
So keep an eye on the big picture without undue
complaints about what you do not have.
It is the pride of creating a solution that the
world will use happily that makes a successful
entrepreneur so get down and start-up.
'Coca-Cola' is the most recognized trademark, recognized by 94% of the world's population and is the most widely recognized word after „OK‟.
UpUpUp
Starting a StartStarting a StartStarting a Start -Amit Grover, Founder, Nurture Talent
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Past Summary
RBI, in October, raised Repo and Reverse Repo
by 25 basis points (0.25%) and has finally de-
cided to put a brake to its interest rate incre-
ment cycle. Market cheered this decision of RBI
and SENSEX rose by 520 points in the intraday
trading.
Going Forward
It clearly seemed that despite all its attempts of
rate tightening the Government couldn‘t control
inflation. This happened mainly because of the
decision to deregulate Petrol and Diesel prices
by the government. Due to this there is a double
- digit inflation in fuel prices and it is also re-
flected in other products‘ inflation which are
transport dependent.
Now though the government has stopped the
rate tightening cycle, there is not much to cheer
for industries. Because when interest rates are
high, the spending tendency of the customers is
reduced and affects sectors like real estate, 4-
wheeler vehicle segment etc. directly. This in-
tern affects other sectors like mining, metal, ce-
ment since their demand is reduced. So the IIP
data and quarterly results of the companies
have been disappointing.
Last month FIIs pulled their money out of the
Indian markets. Because of this Dollar is cur-
rently very strong and trading in the range of 48
plus. So the export driven sectors like IT are en-
joying good margins and are benefited out of it.
Some private sector banks like Yes bank, Axis
bank have increased interest rates on saving ac-
count to 6%. This encourages people to keep
their money in savings account. So this is an in-
telligent move by these banks to raise funds
cheaply when Repo rate is close to 9% level.
The only stocks spared from interest rate im-
pact are 2-wheeler auto segment, private banks,
FMCG. IT space is also recovering fast from
some setbacks mainly due to the stronger Dol-
lar. 2-wheeler auto segment has not seen dip in
the demand in spite of the rate tightening and
buyers are ready to for the delivery for a long
period of upto 3 months. Private banks are con-
tinuously coming up with different ideas to
raise the funds at cheaper rates.
Overall market sentiment is positive for now as
there is no new bad news even from Europe
side. So market may go higher from here on-
wards for short term. But due interest rate hike
the growth rate will be slow and NIFTY will re-
main range-bound for medium term with 5150
as its basic support level. On the higher side
NIFTY may taste 5550.
The Stock Souq:The Stock Souq:The Stock Souq:
OctoberOctoberOctober---NovemberNovemberNovember ---Vedant BangVedant BangVedant Bang
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The energy saved by recycling a single aluminum can would run a TV for three hours. Every three months, Americans toss out enough aluminum to completely rebuild the nation‟s commercial airline fleet.
October 2011: BSE Sensex.
15
Express TimesExpress TimesExpress Times
According to the American Solar Energy Society, the amount of sunlight that falls on the Earth‟s surface in one minute is suffi-cient to meet world energy demand for an entire year.
EE Bureau | 20th October
VNIT, Nagpur: The E-Cell VNIT has been or-
ganizing, in association with VNIT, a Manage-
ment and Business Festival in the campus by
the name of CONSORTIUM. This unique festi-
val provides a platform for students from all
across Vidarbha and India to be a part of the job
providers fraternity as they come face to face
with them and discuss the pros and cons of ven-
turing into the corporate jungle even as they
compete in competitions that test their mettle
in doing so.
As part of the run up to the event, slated to be
held in January next year, the Organizing Team
unveiled a fully refurbished website for the
event which can be accessed at
www.consortiumvnit.com. All the technicalities
of the website have been handled remarkably by
the students of various Departments who have
expertise in this field of engineering—this appli-
cation of knowledge is praiseworthy.
Speaking on the occasion was the Chief Guest
Ms. Sarita Kaushik, Vidarbha Bureau Chief, Star
News and Star Majha, she congratulated the In-
stitute for coming up with such innovative ideas
to further the development process of students
holistically. She also mentioned that with this
day and age, student organized events often
turn out to be the best because they have come
to understand things and tricks of the trade
faster.
With an audience of over hundred people, the
event was a great teaser for the things to come.
This one‘s surely going to be a success.
A screen shot of the new CONSORTIUM 2012 website.
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