Disability and Entrepreneurship

by Unknown 17.9.14 Jugaad Speaker Session

George Abraham (Founder, CEO at Score Foundation)

He was just 10 months old, when meningitis permanently damaged his vision. Today, five decades later, George Abraham has become a legend and a true inspiration for all who dare to think beyond the constraints posed by disabilities. Mr. Abraham visited IIM Bangalore on 17^th September, 2014 to share his life experiences in the first ever speaker session of ENPOSIUM - the Entrepreneurship Symposium. The event was held by the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cell of IIMB in association with Vikasana- the social service initiative of IIMB and Office of Disability Studies, IIMB.

George Abraham is the Founder and CEO of Score Foundation, a not-for-profit organization located in New Delhi. Established over 10 years ago, it works towards disseminating information on living life with blindness, through its ‘project Eyeway’, in an effort to minimize discrimination and help empower the visually impaired community of India.

Mr. Abraham spoke about how a visit to a blind school and the sight of students languishing there inspired him to do something for the visually impaired and led him to create the Score Foundation. His entrepreneurial bent of mind coupled with a passion for cricket also led him to establish Blind cricket in India. He is the founding Chairman of the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) and the Association for Cricket for the Blind in India (ACBI).

During the session, it was emphasized that the main problem is not blindness but the attitude of others towards blindness. The traditional mind-set is one where blind people are considered a liability or a burden. To change this attitude, Score Foundation launched a TV Series called ‘Nazar Ya Nazariya’, a few episodes of which were also shown to the Enposium audience.

Mr. Abraham left the audience with a few parting words of advice on how the society must be more sensitive to the needs of the visually impaired and keep in mind the differences between individuals when it comes to designing products or systems. Universal designs and innovative technology and products can be quite handy in overcoming a lot of daily obstacles faced by people with disabilities.

Mr. Abraham’s entrepreneurial journey was very motivating and certainly inspired many amongst the audience which consisted of students, professors and representatives from the NGOs- Samarthanam, Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind and Enable India.

Evernote Session @ IIMB

by Unknown 17.9.14 Jugaad Speaker Session

Mr. Ken Gullicksen and Mr. Troy Malone

What does it take for an app to become a billion dollar company? What are the dynamics of the global app ecosystem? In today's technologically advanced society, there exists a huge market for apps that simplify our lives. How does one build a successful app business?

Mr. Ken Gullicksen and Mr. Troy Malone, senior managers at Evernote Corporation addressed the above questions and discussed the start-up journey of Evernote in an interactive session organised by the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cell at IIM Bangalore on 21^st August 2014. Evernote Corporation develops a collection of apps designed for note taking that make it easy for users to stay organised and productive.

The session revolved around the key challenges faced by a start up in the initial years including growth and funding. The guest speakers highlighted the importance of a start-up investing in building a strong product rather than investing in marketing the product. Evernote’s unique marketing through word of mouth, phenomenal growth trends over the last 6 years and current position formed a major part of the discussion. The focus was on analysing the value of the app to the consumer, revenue model of a ‘freemium’ app, consumer retention and valuation of the company.

The speakers went on to discuss several stories associated with Evernote’s logo, the company’s first investor and why the company decided to launch a customised product for executives. They also mentioned the role of luck in any start-up by giving their own example. The unconventional aspects of Evernote such as the high average age of users and the lack of having a niche target group made interesting points of discussion.

The audience, which consisted largely of budding entrepreneurs at IIM Bangalore, discussed topics such as how Evernote tackled its competition, its expansions strategies and how it would approach the Indian market which is Evernote’s next growth opportunity. The hour long session was highly interactive and inspirational and lent an insight into the world of tech-entrepreneurship.

Mr. Ken Gullicksen is the Chief Sales Officer heading Evernote Business, the company's SMB and team-focused service. He is also responsible for investor relations, corporate development and the global sales and support teams. Mr. Troy Malone is the General Sales Manager, Asia Pacific Region at Evernote and is responsible for growing the user base in nine different countries and organizing the company infrastructure in South East Asia, South Korea and India.

Evernote Corporation is one of the fastest growing internet companies from the Silicon Valley today. The Evernote app was first launched in 2008 is now valued at over 1 billion US dollars with more than 100 million users worldwide.

Entrepreneur@IIMB : Aman Chindalia

by Unknown 17.9.14 Interview Jugaad

Entrepreneur@IIMB

AMAN CHINDALIA

CO-FOUNDER PROJECT PREFIX

Jugaadu : What is Project Prefix?

Aman : Project Prefix is a 10-month old CA coaching centre based in Hyderabad. It’s a project because we don’t aim to run it as a commercial organization and Prefix as once you are a CA, the letters CA get prefixed to your name.

J : How did you come up with Project Prefix?

A: I started studying for CA in 2008. During the course I realized that there were a few aspects of the CA education that were completely being missed out. Traditional CA coaching does not focus on a holistic development but only technical knowledge. There is a complete absence of skills like communication skills and analytical skills in students. Even the articleship that forms the most integral part of CA is not utilized to its maximum as students are not aware of what to expect from it. Our centre takes care of all of this. Our tagline captures our business objective : “We are changing the way CA coaching is done”.

J : How did you go about it once you decided to go ahead with Project Prefix?

A: I was very confident about the idea right from the beginning. I met three of my friends who I met during my articleship at KPMG and who also bought into this idea. Then we decided to meet the CA fraternity of Hyderabad to get their opinion and feedback on the idea. We also did some market research by speaking to students and their parents and understanding their needs and expectations from a coaching centre.

J : What major obstacle did you face initially?

A: CA coaching industry is very fragmented. There are no big brands. However there exist local coaching centres run by teachers with decades of experience. Convincing parents that four 23 year olds with no teaching experience could coach their children was the biggest obstacle we faced.

J : What are the future prospects of Project Prefix?

A: Project Prefix had gained sufficient recognition now. Our first batch had a 100% pass percentage. We intend to hire more teachers now. The plan is now to expand in Hyderabad and also move to other cities.

J : What do you think about Entrepreneurs at IIMB?

A: I haven’t had a chance to connect with many entrepreneurs here. I am not even aware of many of them. TWIST in my opinion is a great medium for us entrepreneurs and aspirants to connect and share our stories.

Disability and Entrepreneurship

Evernote Session @ IIMB

Entrepreneur@IIMB : Aman Chindalia

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