The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Business Secrets

Driving through Mumbai, I overheard my Sister in law talk shop. She is the Editor of SAVVY. She was referring to a lady who did not want to publicize her Christmas sweet recipes because they were her trade secrets. She felt that if her recipes were published she would lose her business as all those who read the same would attempt to make the sweets at home and not buy from her.

A gentleman working for a rival manufacturer, told me that he had visited our factory along with a dealer without our knowledge. That forced a retort out of me, “So you must have seen that your Brand has no chance against ours.”

COKE and PEPSI are widely known to be extremely secretive about their individual recipes. As are IBM or APPLE. Today, when you enter a large organisation you will have to leave your camera phone at the gate and CD's and pen drives are a NO NO.

So is the Lady who did not want to share information about her recipes right or was our security lax?

Should we all not follow the rigorous security drills of the large companies?

A Professor at the Asian Institute of Management, told us a story to explain the importance of getting the right information when opting for technology transfer. His question, “Is a song part of the recipe? Most if not all answered that the song is irrelevant with regard to a recipe. He had a different and enlightening view. He said that by buying just the recipe one would never get the dish right. The song signified or addressed the issue of timing. The different verses were clues to when an ingredient had to be added, the tempo allowed one to stir the pot at the desired speed. Therefore if someone bought only the recipe he would be a loser.

Using this analogy for start ups or smaller companies, I would believe that unless the person is able to steal the song along with the recipe he would not get far. The downside is much greater if the start-up does not get the necessary exposure.

So in the first example I would believe that the lady lost a big opportunity to show case her products and promote her brand by refusing to publish her recipes in SAVVY. I am sure had she published her recipes, far from losing business she would have gained business.

We are open to allowing industry visits at our factory and explaining the products to anyone. The belief is that the process is commonly available and definitely not rocket science. By blocking access we would deny our potential customers the brand experience. They can see our systems, processes and can be assured we are capable of producing a quality product. I doubt many have gone back and considered starting a similar unit. The reason being, what is not on display is the “SONG”. In our case, it is the highly motivated team of people, the level of commitment and the overall atmosphere which allows the individual to flourish. Hen used the technology to create the product

If you think about it carefully and follow a couple of companies performance, you will notice that in the same category category of products or process there will always be one who is far ahead of the pack. Try and pick his song. In the case of Jobs/Apple, they were able to guess the need of a customer even before the customer was aware of such a need. They then used the technology to create the product. The MERU taxi service, the song is the customer centric approach which enabled them to reach customers, no rocket science in driving a cab.

In summary rather than blindly follow a large company's thinking, each individual start up should decide what constitutes the recipe and what constitutes the song. They should not only guard the song but also improve it. The company will surely benefit in terms of the right exposure.

I believe the lady should publish her recipes, what do you think?

Draft Regional Plan 2021: Your Opportunity to Act

This was written some time back but is still relevant today with The Regional    Plan 2021 now being finalised. 

The idea behind this article is to motivate as many to read the actual text and  having read it, to make comments,suggestions and objections to the TCP Department. It in no way will attempt to be a synopsis of the actual document.

The RP task force was formed against a backdrop of the most successful people’s  movement in recent times. Hence any group, starting a new exercise to frame the  RP for Goa would have the people’s aspirations in front of them.

Still rather than depend on media reports and believe what was said during the   agitation to be the people’s will, the TF opened it doors to individuals (letters  also received), NGO’s, peoples rep, government departments who stated the      situation and their future plans. It was a massive exercise, but the underlying  appeal in all interactions was “Preserve Green & Golden Goa”. The TF attempted to keep minutes but to my mind an impossible task since the final product was      arrived by listening, reading, discussion, email, changing, adding, subtracting  in no particular order. My suggestion for future such exercises would be to video record every meeting for posterity.

Old wine in a new bottle seems to be the establishments response to the fact that Eco I and Eco II are marked accounting for almost 80% of Goa’s land area. What  is different this time is it is marked and the map is available to every Tom,    Dick and Bostiao. This was not true previously. Hence now that every one is aware it will be more difficult to manipulate on a case to case basis. 

This reference to mapping brings me to what I consider the best part of RP2021. One thing that even if all else fails (which it will not) still the RP2021 will be a very progressive document. That one aspect is mapping. For the first time the maps have been digitized. The base document was the TOPOGRAPHICAL (topo) sheet    and survey maps. These were correlated and reconciled. The reconciled maps were then cross checked with aerial and satellite to confirm the maps made. 

These digitized maps have now been overlaid with plans/data of Government        departments (power/ water) but more importantly map accurately the eco-senstitive zones of the State, non developable slopes have been identified, paddy field    marked based on land revenue records. All this points to one thing: TRANSPERANCY FOR AAM ADMI. Earlier the 2D paper maps allowed for a great deal of ambiguity andflexibility for interpretation. They were not easily available, now the digitized maps will be available at every panchayat/ Taluka office. 

The DRP 2021 also has not converted a square inch of land. The land use as shown in the maps is based on the RP2001, plus the approx 2000 gazette changes made    after that and 1971 settlements which were not shown in RP2001 earlier. This     implies that if you know a particular land was say an orchard and now in the DRP21 you notice it is showing as settlement, please notify the TCP department. They will check if what you say is true, because it is possible between 2001 and 2008, the land use might have been changed by a gazette notification. If there is no  notification then the error can and must be rectified. The people must be        vigilant; the TF has not changed any land use status. But the TF will accept that since the maps were built from scratch there is a possibility of errors creeping in. Doing a 100% check before releasing would have meant holding back the entire plan for eternity.

Coming back to the reason why we needed an RP: Planned, sustainable development. The TF has recommended that the Government develops the hinterland (midlands) to A) prevent the intra migration from Midlands to costal belt. B) Give opportunity to population around the areas selected. The hubs proposed are Pernem, Usgao-Dharbandora and Quepem. The logic was that these places lie on nodes created by the  intersection of major roads or with the railway. The major road is the proposed  bypass from Pernem to Canacona. This bypass would do two things it will take the load of the existing NH17,and two connect the hinterland better. Through traffic,ie traffic passing through Goa could use this bypass and thus reduce the traffic congestion on NH17. By developing nodes industrially it would provide alternative for livelihood.

The hubs have been designated as educational, medical, logistics and industrial. A cruise terminal and marinas have also been proposed to attract high end tourists. Given the unutilized land or buildings in industrial estates, the TF          recommended IDC to look at their future acquisitions again. The acquisitions     should only be in the areas around the proposed hubs and there should be         transparency in allotment and utilization which was found lacking. 

Despite objections from industry the DRP recommended restrictions on mining, due to the inherent nature of the business. Thus they felt that having mining        activity near a water body or inside the forest would not fit the description of sustainable. An emphasis was made on biotechnology as it supports enhancing the  agricultural activity which is important. Suggestions have been made to increase the agricultural land under cultivation. Chief among them is if a tenant keeps   his land fallow, it should revert to the Government and then handed over to      either a society or an individual who will till the same. This is actually an    existing law which needs strong political will to be implemented.

Education was another area where despite Goa’s high literacy rate, the system was found wanting. The jobs and the education was mismatched. The jobs and the      preferences were mismatched. For eg: why have steel units in the State when      locals do not want to work in them, they also use a lot of Goa’s scarce resource- power. Hence in future, non polluting industry which Goans prefer to work in    should be encouraged.

This can go on but that would distract the reader from the actual objective,     which is to motivate the reader to pick up the DPR 2021 and get involved. This is your chance to participate in the future of this State, if you care. A copy of  the DRP can be got form the TCP office on payment of Rs 400/- else visit the VP  or Taluka office and see the same there. The exercise will end Jan 11, 2009.     oppose if you must but be constructive and give an alternative. Awake dear friend, you have a lot at stake – “YOUR FUTURE”. 

PARADOX : Wide Roads block RP2011

Goa does not fail to amaze these days. We have protests to allow illegal activity that shuts down legal activity while the Government is IFFY (International Film Festival) about the issue. Now wide roads are blocking the Regional Plan 2021 (RP2011).

I may be biased in believing that the best way forward for RP2021 is not scrapping but correcting the anomalies. I fully agree with Dr. Oscar Rebello and a fellow member of the Draft RP 2021 who says that lots of sincere effort has gone into this exercise. I believe that the real reason that we have to modify RP2021 is the fact that if it is scrapped we will be left with the RP2001. We all know that there are many issues with RP 2001. While everyone will be focused on getting a new regional plan unscrupulous elements and Goa has no shortage of them will may hay or rather concrete monsters in no time.

There seem to be three main elements blocking the plan at the moment. First and foremost are the wide roads seemingly painted across every village. The second is the fact that tracts of land have been converted to “settlement” almost without any one asking and third is the fact that some landmarks, especially heritage structures or water bodies are missing.

Roads: The State Level Committee (SLC) states categorically that the roads have been marked from some old plan apparently they date back to 1977. Obviously despite the digital maps being around since the DRP was released, the roads were marked only in the RP2021. This has lead to the charge wrongly, that the builders lobby is behind this.

If the road leading to Curtorim (a village in Goa) cemetery is shown as 15 m against the existing 3 m. The Gram Shabba should take a call and send their recommendation. as to what is their need, maintain 3 more increase. As per the Indian Road Congress it can only be classified as a Village Panchayat (VP) Road and therefore the width cannot be what comes out of someone's hat.

Each VP will look at the roads and send their recommendation. The other classification is Major District Roads. Where required it should be marked for expansion which can be done at the time of redevelopment of the property along that road. This will ensure that as the properties develop the road will automatically widen which is a current practice. No need to demolish an existing structures just because it is shown in the plan. The CHOGM road is a good example. Where 25 mts is “No Development Zone”, while in reality the road is 15m. This allows for absorbing all the encroachments (strange we plan for illegalities) without hampering the road.

Conversion to settlement. It is clear now with Edgar's (a respected town planner) resignation being made public that keeping a track of zone changes when done quietly was difficult. Even now, surely some of the changes would surprise the SLC members. Therefore the best way would be to let each village look at their respective village and decide to keep or reject a change. In Saligao or Curtorim it is reported that fields or barren land have been converted to settlement, no issue. Let the villagers ask for status quo after studying the plan in detail.

Missing landmarks. Let the VP mark the landmarks again and send to the Town & Country Planning (TCP). Some may not show due to issues of scale. A solution is to provide maps with a bigger scale, say 1:5000. How simple is that.

In the mean time the plan should be operational but any change request sent to the TCP should be considered provisionally operational. Meaning if a particular plot is marked as settlement, and the VP feels it should be put back to eco sensitive or vice versa, then no application for development should be

entertained in the interim period with respect to that specific survey no.

The bigger worry is the fact that the 73/74 amendment has not been incorporated in the TCP Act. The participatory process for spatial planning can be scrapped anytime as it has no Act backing the and no one can do a thing.

The other huge danger lurking in the background is the Amendment 16/16A of TCP Act. Under this any project can by pass the planning process and if it is for PUBLIC PURPOSES. That is a big hole in the planning process.

All the best to the people, hopefully you will choose CORRECT RP 2021.

Blaise Costabir

The reluctant entrepreneur: The Begining

"Mansion of Glass' by KG Gupta of GKB group, a simply written book, but one that captures the essence of entrepreneurship, BLOOD SWEAT TEARS and a sense of achievement, before the next cycle starts. The author traces the trajectory of the company started 50 years ago. At no time will the author who started the company inform you that he has reached his goal. As the 51st year rolls on he sees the next generation striving to attain greater market dominance through better technology and improved quality standards. All this for a product already acknowledged as the world leader.

So what is this animal called  ENTREPRENEURSHIP that so many want to ride, that I decided to mount although reluctantly fifteen years ago. By GOD's grace, hard work, a great team and a market I am still in the saddle.

Market though mentioned last is in no way the least, it is the reason the world needs Entrepreneurs. As I grew up in Mumbai in the 70's my parents knew who my friends were. It was simple, they lived in the same building or the next. We played games together so they had a clear visual. Today parents cannot rely totally on a visual to know who is their kids friend, they could be anywhere in the world, using an internet connection and a software called face book, even playing together has a different connotation, it could be in cyberspace separated by 1000's of miles of physical space.

Markets have developed similarly. Earlier you picked your daily needs from the shops around the TINTO, for your weekly needs you went a little further, the closest town. For Christmas you took a trip to Mumbai if you lived in GOA. Today the concept of market is topsy turvy. Anything is available anywhere. There are multiple choices for everything. It appears there is a market for any product, anytime. In KG Gupta's story he went from selling glass lenses in Agra to plastic lenses all over the world. You will also hear that while he sold lenses others selling similar products fell by the wayside.

This, phenomena where one entrepreneur succeeds in the market and another fails is due to another ferocious and unusual animal called the CUSTOMER. I went twice to business school, once in Pune, Institute of Management Development and Research and the second time after a few years of work experience, Asian Institute of Management, Manila. Therefore as an MBA, I have a bagful of definitions, but it is in the school of hard knocks that the following definition became real. I think it is the best and very simple.....U...yes, a customer is YOU.

Confused. Consider this example. You go to a store to buy a Rs 5/- packet of biscuits. The shop keeper opens a dusty showcase and pulls out a dusty packet of biscuits. He passes it to you. Will you take the packet pay the Rs 5/- and leave happily? Most likely you will ask the shop keeper to check if he has a fresh packet (meaning clean), despite the fact that you will not eat the packaging. If he cannot offer you a fresh or clean pack you will go to another store.

Will you for a minute consider these facts: The shopkeeper needs the sale, he has a family to feed or children to school etc. and therefore buy the soiled packet of biscuits?

No way, you want a clean packet of biscuits despite the fact that the biscuits inside taste the same irrespective of the dust outside (assuming the packet is well within the best before date). You are spending your hard earned money, never mind if it is a measly five bucks, you want a bank for every buck. You have just defined quality as not just the taste of the biscuit but also the cleanliness of the wrapping. Did we hear you ask the shopkeeper for a "CLEAN PACKET OF TASTY BISCUITS"?

If for five bucks you are so finicky can you imagine what you will do as the value of the product you buy increases. Think about it, the customer is no more someone out there locked up in a definition, the customer is YOU. So there we have identified the animal who will make or break a market, YOU.

In my mind the first person an entrepreneur must satisfy is himself. Would he accept the product/service he intends to market?  We will talk more on these lines, send me your feedback. I will respond based on my own experience of building a plastic rotomoulding business from scratch and taking our brand "SHAKTI" from unheard to sounds familiar.....but a long way to go.

(This is the first of the series published in Business Goa)