Entrepreneur's Corner

Valuation is thought to be a science by many. Just because a number is put out and there are detailed calculations and forecasts and projections of scenarios, it is assumed that valuation is rational, objective, data driven and sensible. When was Valuation ever just a number that one arrived at? And.. the WhatsApp deal with Facebook.. again demonstrates how little valuation is about science and how much more it is about belief.. of the future and what one wants to make of the future. While only Mark Zuckerberg can give us his true reason for this acquisition.. typically any deal…

Valuation is thought to be a science by many. Just because a number is put out and there are detailed calculations and forecasts and projections of scenarios, it is assumed that valuation is rational, objective, data driven and sensible. When was Valuation ever just a number that one arrived at? And.. the WhatsApp deal with Facebook.. again demonstrates how little valuation is about science and how much more it is about belief.. of the future and what one wants to make of the future. While only Mark Zuckerberg can give us his true reason for this acquisition.. typically any deal…

Dear Reader, Entrepreneur’s Corner is pleased to feature this interview of Srikanth Muralidhara, Co-Founder of the Bangalore-based Decision Sciences Company, Flutura Solutions, that focuses on M2M (machine to machine) and Big Data analytics. The company, started by Krishnan Raman, Srikanth Muralidhara and Derick Jose has recently made news, by being the first company to be invested in by The Hive India. This is a Fund anchored by the siblings Amit and Arihant of the Patni family, set up to invest in the area of data analytics. Srikanth is the managing partner and the Head of Customer Success at Flutura. He…

Dear Reader, Entrepreneur’s Corner is pleased to feature this interview of Srikanth Muralidhara, Co-Founder of the Bangalore-based Decision Sciences Company, Flutura Solutions, that focuses on M2M (machine to machine) and Big Data analytics. The company, started by Krishnan Raman, Srikanth Muralidhara and Derick Jose has recently made news, by being the first company to be invested in by The Hive India. This is a Fund anchored by the siblings Amit and Arihant of the Patni family, set up to invest in the area of data analytics. Srikanth is the managing partner and the Head of Customer Success at Flutura. He…

redBus, the ticket booking business, headquartered in Bengaluru and funded by VCs in this city, is to be acquired by the South Africa-based multinational media group, Nasper, according to some media reports.  Many points are being raised on whether the founders (Phani et. al) and other stakeholders should remain invested instead of exiting. One never knows, what could happen if they wait. Yes, there could be a possibility of a higher exit at a greater value, but there is also a possibility of a value fall. It is for the promoters and other key stakeholders to think through options and take…

redBus, the ticket booking business, headquartered in Bengaluru and funded by VCs in this city, is to be acquired by the South Africa-based multinational media group, Nasper, according to some media reports.  Many points are being raised on whether the founders (Phani et. al) and other stakeholders should remain invested instead of exiting. One never knows, what could happen if they wait. Yes, there could be a possibility of a higher exit at a greater value, but there is also a possibility of a value fall. It is for the promoters and other key stakeholders to think through options and take…

SZE, the company founded by Sheena and Zeena, was 2 years old.  SZE provided special technical inputs and services to colleges. The founders now wanted to expand and bring more colleges into their client base. For this they would need to invest more money into the company. They were unclear about a) the quantum of funding that they should raise and b) about the process for fund raising.They met Gyan, who was known to be somewhat of an expert in the funding scenario.Gyan asked them what the money would be required for. This could broadly be split into two buckets,…

SZE, the company founded by Sheena and Zeena, was 2 years old.  SZE provided special technical inputs and services to colleges. The founders now wanted to expand and bring more colleges into their client base. For this they would need to invest more money into the company. They were unclear about a) the quantum of funding that they should raise and b) about the process for fund raising.They met Gyan, who was known to be somewhat of an expert in the funding scenario.Gyan asked them what the money would be required for. This could broadly be split into two buckets,…

Sigma started a new company, he and his father were the initial Directors. He had saved some money in his career and invested some of his savings in the startup. Equity for advisorsSigma knew a couple of experts, Pie and Rho, who had a good reputation in the industry. He decided to get them on board as advisors. He spoke to them and they also agreed in principle to associate with Sigma. Sigma then started thinking about the compensation that he could pay to Pi and Rho and other professionals that he wanted to employ. He realized that their normal…

Sigma started a new company, he and his father were the initial Directors. He had saved some money in his career and invested some of his savings in the startup. Equity for advisorsSigma knew a couple of experts, Pie and Rho, who had a good reputation in the industry. He decided to get them on board as advisors. He spoke to them and they also agreed in principle to associate with Sigma. Sigma then started thinking about the compensation that he could pay to Pi and Rho and other professionals that he wanted to employ. He realized that their normal…