Brief Bio

I created a brief profile to be uploaded on few websites. It is attached below. And I stand by every single word that is written below.

Saurabh is yet another typical Indian who thinks that he can change the world and in the process, become filthy rich. His interests range from reading, writing, computer gaming (Yes counter-strike and Quake 3 Arena), travelling, photography, trekking, advertisements, entrepreneurship, talking, cartoons, eating, technology, blah, blah and more blah.

He believes that one life is too short a time to live. He is on a never-ending quest to find perfection and wants to learn everything he can. He is 26 and wants to retire before he is 30. And finally he is a firm believer in sifr.

Saurabh has a technology background and is a MBA from MDI, Gurgaon. Was hired by a large MNC for their Young Leaders Development Program. The program lasted 12 months and it taught Saurabh how large companies function, how egos are important and how pleasing the bosses is the only bottomline. Unable to understand this dichotomy between ideal-world (and much talked about) functioning and real life functioning of businesses, he decided to move on. He is currently with Creativeland Asia, an advertising agency based out of Mumbai and looks after new initiatives, strategy and consumer insights function. All opinions expressed on any public forums are his personal only and his employer might or might not subscribe to them.

I would like to reiterate that opinions expressed are solely mine and not of my employer.

PlaygroundOnline.com > Review

Playground Online
PlaygroundOnline.com is yet another entrant in the Indian e-commerce space. It retails sports related media and equipment. They currently offer books, CDs, equipments, apparel etc. This is probably first of its kind online store in India. I took PGO for a spin and here is my feedback.

What I like about PGO?
First and foremost, although they want to sell things online but they have put a lot of focus on customer friendliness and costumer interaction. Things like polls, news, forums can make this website a default place for sports enthusiasts. These initiatives help build a strong and loyal community and eventually garner sales.

The range of products on PGO is really wide. From a t-shirt worth Rs. 280 to a bicycle worth Rs. 46000 (obviously for a professional), PGO had a lot of things for offer. I could not check if this range is comprehensive but everything I could think of was either there or they were accounted for and being worked upon. This is a good thing for an e-commerce business. I can think of people visiting PGO to find out more about sporting goods and then buying it offline. Challenge will be to convert these information scouts into customers.

Design
The website interface is impressive for an Indian startup and they have used a good mix of traditional style web design and Web 2 functionality. They still need to work on few things though. Like for example when you are trying to signup, the errors are reported in a pop-up box. This should ideally be a Web 2 pop-up where errors are notified the moment they are encountered. I should never get a Windows pop-up.

Team
PGO has been started by a team of 4 people with average work experience of 15 years. Experience of 60 man-years could be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. With experience comes rigidity; you might start shooting down ideas even before you give them enough time to fruit. You start living on assumptions. You are scared of breaking out of the mold.

And with experience one develops the knack of running businesses. The team is experienced enough to know what is to be done to make the business run efficiently. Looking at the website and they have used their experience well.

What I like about their team is the fact that all 4 co-founders have different and diverse backgrounds. From client relationships to technology to marketing to customer insights, they have it all. The roles could thus be clear and they can concentrate on larger things.

Competition
They don’t seem to have one large competitor right now. However they compete with bookstores (fabmall, om books etc), apparel stores (rediff, sify) and obviously with traditional retail stores. The business model is new in India and looks lucrative. There should be many more players in the market soon.

Payment Options
One of the key reasons why e-commerce is still in nascent stages is lack of adequate payment options. Credit cards penetration is still low in India. People are still skeptic of using their cards online. And finally they are not really convinced about credibility of these websites.

At PGO, there are limited payment options currently but they have mentioned that they are working on more methods. I would love to see them implement a cash-on-delivery method. COD gives an online merchant immediate access to people who dont have cards and people with cards who are scared of using the cards online.

What more can PGO do?
Comparison between brands and products. When buying a product, people love to understand the features, benefits and differences. I don’t see a link for comparing two items. If they can somehow implement a comparison, it would be great.

User community. All the ecommerce websites have been adding users to forums. If PGO is really convinced about sports as a leisure or a lifestyle activity in India, create special interest groups of people with similar interests. Give them things like competitions to participate in, platforms to talk about their interests etc. Basically in one word, give something more than a typical forum or a social network.

Final thoughts
PGO has done a good job with their store. The only thing that might let them down is the very acceptance of the business model. If I was a VC with money, I would have invested in the business, obvisouly after talking to the owners and looking at the projected cash flow statements.

And finally, since we are talking about ecommerce, lets try to see what can be sold successfully over the Internet? Something that is standardized. Something that you are confident would be similar irrespective of place you bought it from. Something like an airplace ticket. Something like a computer. Something like a book. Sporting equipment – I am not sure. Lessons for other players? Make the products standardized, eliminate shopping pains and have in place an awesome customer service.

Questions to ponder on?
Are sporting goods similar to airline tickets? Books?

Advertising online?

Adlab has posted this comScore press release on banner clicks. One of the most important observation is that

a very small group of consumers who are not representative of the total U.S. online population is accountable for the vast majority of display ad click-through behavior.

What does this mean for online advertising industry?
For brands: Advertising online might be a good idea but its still far from generating the revenues.

Disclaimer
I am using a study conducted in US to base my opinion on. This study might not be relevant in India.

Logon to Internet to meet your neighbors

IndiaPRWire reports that a website is being launched in Bangalore that would allow users to "... know each other in a better way and expand their network. On your CommonFloor, you can celebrate festivals, organize parties, meet people who share your interests, make your interaction more open and friendly and make your real life as vibrant as you can imagine."

I love the business model. After all I have been advocating all my life that social networks focussed around common interests and activities are far better and are expected to be more successful than "friendship" networks.

But the point is not the success or failure of this particular website. The issue at hand is larger and deeper. Portals like this simply imply that as some places (like Bangalore) we have reached a point where I need an Internet portal to speak with my neighbors.

We as Indians have our roots in things like choupals, community kitchens and joint families. Entire families, clans and villages loved personal connections and spent time with each other. They would care for each other, spend time for each other and if need be die for each other.

And now we have evolved to a society where we have to logon to Internet to speak with our neighbors. People dont have the time to know their own neighbors. How many of us know the names of our next door neighbors? At least I dont.

I am not against the advancement of culture and society but this is totally unacceptable. We have reached a point where the sense of community and belonging is loosing out fast. And moment people loose out on this sense of belongingness, the home stops being a home. It becomes a house with four walls. Everyone seems to be in a constant state of flux. People are just drifting from one city to another and eventually end up with lots of addresses and no homes.

I know I cant force anyone to go meet their neighbors or get involved in the community but in the end everyone losses out. And without realizing everyone becomes the part of the rat race.

Thoughts anyone?

iGot MacBook

Finally iGot MacBook.

Finally I am proud owner of a MacBook. My work at CLA grew beyond a desktop and I was entrusted with a MacBook.

Related Posts
iGot iPod

Leo Burnett Speech - When to take my name off the door

Raj recommended this speech to us. And it is worth the time.

Somewhere along the line, after I’m finally off the premises, you – or your successors – may want to take my name off the premises, too.

You may want to call yourselves "Twain, Rogers, Sawyer and Finn, Inc.".. or "Ajax Advertising" or something.

That will certainly be ok with me – if it’s good for you.

But let me tell you when I might demand that you take my name off the door.

That will be the day when you spend more time trying to make money and less time making advertising – our kind of advertising.

When you forget that the sheer fun of ad making and the lift you get out of it – the creative climate of the place – should be as important as money to the very special breed of writers and artists and business professionals who compose this company of ours – and make it tick.

When you lose that restless feeling that nothing you do is ever quite good enough.

When you lose your itch to the job well for it’s sake – regardless of the client, or money, or the effort it takes.

When you lose your passion for thoroughness ... you hatred of loose ends.

When you stop reaching the manner, the overtones, the marriage of words and pictures that proudest the fresh, the memorable and the believable effect.

When you stop rededicating yourselves every day to the idea that better advertising is what the Leo Burnett Company is about.

When you are no longer that Thoreau called "a corporation with a conscience" – which means to me, a corporation of conscientious men and women.

When you begin to compromise your integrity – which has always been the heart’s blood – the very guts of this agency.

When you stoop to convenient expediency an rationalize yourselves into acts of opportunism – for the sake of a fast buck.

When you show the slightest sign of crudeness, inappropriateness or smart –aleckness – and you lose that subtle sense of the fitness of things.

When your main interest becomes a matter of size just to be big - rather that good, hard, wonderful work.

When you outlook narrows down to the number of windows – from zero to five – in the walls of your office.

When you lose your humility and become big-short wisenheimers…. a little bit too big for your boots.

When the apples come down to being just apples for eating (or for polishing) – no longer part of our tone or personality.

When you disprove of something, and start tearing the hell out of the man who did it rather than the work itself.

When you stop building on strong and vital ideas, and start a routine production line.

When you start believing that, in the interest of efficiency, a creative spirit and the urge to create can be delegated and administrated, and forget that they can only be nurtured, stimulated, and inspired.

When you starting giving lip service to this being a "creative agency" and stop really being one.

Finally, when you lose your respect for the lonely man – the men at his typewriter or his drawing board or behind his camera or just scribbling notes with one of our big pencils – or working all night on a media plan. When you forget that the lonely man – and thank God for him – has made the agency we now have – possible. When you forget he’s the man who, because he is reaching harder, sometimes actually gets hold of for a moment - one of those hot, unreachable stars.

THAT, boys and girls, is when I shall insist you take my name off the door. And by golly, it will be taken off the door. Even if have to materialize long enough some night to rub it out myself - on every one of our floors. And before I DE-materialize again, I will paint out that star-reaching symbol too. And burn all the stationary. Perhaps tear up a few ads in passing.

And throw every goddamned apple down the elevator shafts.

You just won’t know the place, the next morning. You’ll have to find another name.

Text from: CIAdvertising

Cannes Lion for Advertising

I saw a Cannes Lion for the first time ever. My team won a Cannes Silver Lion in 2007 for their awesome work for Travel Corporation of India. It arrived today morning and it was awesome. And its one of those things that moment you see them, you want to own them. It inspires you to do more and better.

Other things in the same category (things-to-own) are the ipod, razr, goodies at thinkgeek, Playstation 3, few books, some movies, Simpons episodes, 24 episodes and a very long never ending list.

As far as getting a Lion, I will earn it. And if anyone wants to gift me things off this list, please drop me a line here.

Mithya - Movie Review

What do you expect out of a low budget movie with no "stars" and yet another actor making his debut as a director and no item numbers to attract the masses? Probably nothing.

And this is where Mithya takes you by surprise.

Mithya is easily one of the best movies I have seen in recent times. Better than Om Shanti Om for sure. And if not better, at least on par with Taare Zameen Par.

The story is very simple. The biggest underworld don and a small time actor look strikingly similar. As all other dons have, this one also has his share of enemies. These enemies find this actor and replace the don with this actor. What follows is an awesome story and screenplay. There are times when you are laughing at few original visual jokes. There are times when you are guessing whats going to happen next. And then there are times when you feel bad for the characters. The movie is perfect blend of comedy, mystery and drama.

First time director Rajat Kapoor has done an awesome job. Written by Rajat Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla, the story is flawless. No where in the movie you feel that story is lacking. The screenplay is also coherent.

Although Ranvir Shorey is the actor in lead, his character is not very powerful. Apart from getting the most airtime and footage, there is so much that he could have done. Special mention to Harsh Chhaya. Powerful acting, excellent dialogue delivery and probably understanding of the role makes his really stand out. Naseerudin Shah, Vinay Pathak, Saurabh Shukla, Neha Dhupia and others have also done justice to their respective roles.

When the movie ends, you come out of the hall happy to have spent those 200 bucks on Mithya. If I spoke anymore, I would be giving away the plot. Go watch Mithya. Its worth your time and money.

I will give Mithya 4 out of 5.

Poster Credits: Glamsham.com

P.S.: Can someone post in comments the real meaning of the word Mithya? I think mithya means an illusion or a lie.

EDIT: Rajat Kapoor is not a first time director. Edited after Naveen pointed out error. Verified with IMDB.

Invalid Battery: Motorola Razr v3i

I got this interesting message on my phone today. It reads "Invalid Battery".


Can someone explain this message to me?

Related Posts
Do Not Disturb ... Vodafone

Breaking News on Amitabh Bachchan

This is yet another example of ridiculous state Indian Media is in.

I respect Amitabh Bachchan for whatever he has achieved in his life. But Amitabh Bachchan ko thand lagi is beyond me. Is the matter of national importance? Can it be breaking news?

I have said time and again that Indian media needs to move beyond popularism and profit motives and start behaving responsibly. Younger generations literally consume media and whatever is on media would shape up the country.

Related Posts
IBNLive.com > News or Sleaze?
Star News reports on Dhoni !
The Times of India - Comedy of Errors