Just back from an exhausting and intense 10-day visit to India, part of which was taken up by the Capvent VC/PE Conference in Goa.
I shared a panel on “New Media” with Rajesh Sawhney of Reliance Entertainment and Harel Beit-On of Viola Private Equity…and talked briefly about Enqii and an Indian start-up that I am very enthused about (it takes Out-of-Home advertising to a new level – leveraging the ubiquitous cycle rickshaws that you see across large parts of India – more on them later)
Interesting conversations on the sidelines and during the panels…but the “chill” in Private Equity was unmistakable – even as Goa seared at 33 degrees…
India seems to be holding up better though…and the sentiment is mildly optimistic…not least because of a rebounding stock market that has jumped 40% in the last three months - as it recovers from its multi-year lows.
I also concluded my latest personal investment – in an Indian start-up which I believe is very attractively positioned in the education sector in India. It is called Elements Akademia…Check them out.
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Somewhat related posts:
Feel the Shanghai sizzle…in Mumbai
Feeling the heat in China…
April 14th, 2009
Posted by
Shantanu |
Conferences and Panels, Venture Capital |
one comment
Earlier this week, I chaired a panel discussion in London at Digital Business India.
Some key points that emerged from the various discussions were:
- Huge opportunity emerging in digital media/ digital business (probably the fastest growing market globally)
- Specific sectors of interest include education, animation, production, advertising & branding services
- Doing business is not easy and challenges remain
- Very attractive opportunity to leverage the large (and rapidly growing) mobile user base*
I hope to add more flavour to these notes later on…
* India added about 15million new mobile subscribers in Jan ‘09.
March 7th, 2009
Posted by
Shantanu |
Conferences and Panels, Entrepreneurship, India, Tech & Innovation in Asia |
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I was here…talking to a bunch of bright people and listening to some great ideas…
Could anything have been more exciting?!
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February 19th, 2009
Posted by
Shantanu |
Entrepreneurship, FAQs for Entrepreneurs, India, My Presentations, Venture Capital, What VCs really do |
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Courtesy Gerhard Fasol of Eurotechnology Japan, a fascinating comparison between Sony, Apple and Nintendo
…On October 22 APPLE announced spectacular full-year results with a year-on-year net income increase of 38%.
…on August 29, 2008 Nintendo revised the forecast for full-year net income upward by +26.2%
…in contrast, on October 23, 2008, SONY said that full-year net income (for the financial year ending March 2009) is expected to be 37.5% lower than previously predicted
Lets look at today’s (Oct 22nd) market caps:
APPLE market cap = US$ 85.6 Billion
NINTENDO market cap = US$ 37.2 Billion
SONY market cap = US$ 19.9 Billion
Why this dramatic difference? We believe its focus. Apple and Nintendo are companies with clear focus.
…In terms of sales, SONY = 3 x APPLE …(and)…SONY = 4 x NINTENDO
In terms of operating income, APPLE = 3 x SONY…(and)…NINTENDO = 3 x SONY
In terms of operating margin, APPLE = 9 x SONY…(and)…NINTENDO = 15 x SONY
November 5th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
Global Competition, Japan, Miscellaneous |
2 comments
At the second China VC & PE Eventin London last week, Ozaki-san of NIkko AntFactory presented some striking data about Japanese and Chinese demographics. I am trying to get hold of the slides and will upload them here. China is already Japan’s largest trading partner (both exports and imports) while for China, Japan was its #1 trading partner but is now at #3 (behind EU and USA).
He also mentioned how China is getting “expensive” (Uniqlo, the Japanese clothes maker has already moved half of its production facilities out of China) and “rich” (# of plasma TV sets sold are already more than Japan).
Some more quick notes:
- JVs are hard to execute in China (Alexia)
- Deals are getting more realistically valued (Fernando)
- JV model of creating a China Fund may not be the best approach…Easier option is to buy an existing management company (a la Sequoia, KPCB)
- Direct transplantation of deals may not work
Quote of the Day: “…The “Pioneers” are the ones with the arrows in the back…” (Courtesy Charles)
Related Post:
Amidst the global downturn, China continues to amaze…
October 15th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Conferences and Panels, Venture Capital in Asia |
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Saw this headline when I woke up today morning:
GPs ‘paid more for working less’
Of course it was referring to some lesser mortals*…
Although some of the points made in the news-story appear to have an eerie similarity…e.g.:
…It also pointed out that pay for…partners had shot up by 58%……although much smaller rises had been seen for (put your own words here)…
…This happened over a period when GPs started working fewer hours – 36.3 a week compared to 43.1 in the 1990s – and productivity fell…
…Much of the criticism in this report is based on an out-of-date understanding of the current situation…
But here is some seriously sobering news, courtesy GigaOm, “…Silicon Valley Is in Trouble”
…Sequoia Capital, arguably the smartest venture capital investor in business, is sounding the alarm and asking its portfolio companies to buckle down for what could be the worst economic downturn of their relatively short lives.
…They want the companies to cut costs, to figure out way to survive and emerge at the other end of this downturn, which could last years. The speakers went through each functional area of the business and told the companies how to cut costs.
…Folks this is bad news for Silicon Valley, which has been living in a bubble, assuming that it is going to weather the global economic storm without being impacted. Sequoia had a similar meeting back before the last bubble unraveled. We know how that turned out.
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* With tongue-firmly-in-cheek
October 9th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
Venture Capital |
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