Erik Rostad - Jamila Yancy - Austin Miles - Joey Tomarchio

May 25, 2007
One of the most exciting deliverables that we are responsible for on our trip is to extensively interview entrepreneurs in India. As group 2, we had our first interview last night with a gentleman named Abhaya Kumar. This has been the highlight of our trip. We learned an incredible amount from this interview and were treated with such overwhelming hospitality that we are in still in awe. Mr. Kumar's son, Mayur Abhaya, also joined us for the interview.

Abhaya Kumar is a serial entrepreneur who carries seven different business cards in his wallet. He is currently the Vice Chairman and CEO of Asia Cryo Cell Private Ltd., which is a stem cell banking company. At the time of a child's birth, stem cells from the umbilical cord are preserved cryogenically for potential medical use in the future. This is India's first private cord blood banking company.

Additionally, Mr. Kumar is the Joint Managing Director of Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd. Shasun is the largest producer of Ibuprofen in the world (35% of world demand) and the second largest manufacturer of Ranitidine. Mr. Kumar has also diversified into entertainment. He is a director for Imageworks India. His daughter started an animation studio called FrameFlow in the late 90's. This studio began securing high-end projects for Hollywood. Mr. Kumar’s company in Chennai, India completed most of the animation for the Adam Sandler movie Click. If you have seen Spiderman 3, you have also witnessed the work of this animation studio. The level of quality was so high that Sony's Imageworks purchased a majority ownership of Mr. Kumar's company, which is now Imageworks India. He has also recently started a women's college in Chennai and has a number of other social entrepreneurial ventures. We were truly in the presence of greatness.

Mr. Kumar started his first venture in 1975 with $12,000 in seed money from his father. He has turned this $12,000 into a company now valued at more than $100,000,000. His philosophy is three-fold. First, surround yourself with the best people. Secondly, ascend to the highest levels of quality. And third, never sacrifice your ethics. As a serial entrepreneur, reputation follows you wherever you go. At the end of the interview, we asked for his top piece of advice for students in our situation. He said to never be 100% certain of anything. Once you are 100% certain, you shut your mind off to new possibilities. The mistakes he learned the most from were when he thought he was 100% certain about something.

We spent a large portion of the interview learning about Mr. Kumar's entrepreneurial endeavors. We also learned a lot from his son Mayur who is now working for Shasun. Mayur is our age and it was interesting to hear about entrepreneurship from the son of a successful entrepreneur. After the interview, Mr. Kumar invited us to his beautiful house and then out for dinner.

Please keep an eye out for a video we will soon post with more details of the interview.
[Erik]


May 24, 2007
Our final meeting for the day was a visit to Firstsource, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company. Firstsource provides business process management services to Fortune 500 companies in Banking & Financial Services, Telecom & Media, and Healthcare. They basically partner with clients to create an extension of their organization so that the companies can concentrate on what they do best. This was an absolutely fascinating company visit and one in which we are all still trying to wrap our minds around.

Do you know anyone who is currently reading a book in an electronic format? It is very likely that the book was converted to electronic format at Firstsource. They digitize over 1,000 books per week! Or what about the advertisement that you sent to your local newspaper? You provided the information to the newspaper, and it turns out they sent that information to India and a talented graphic artist has just completed a colorful advertisement that will be sent back to the newspaper in time for print. When was your last doctor's visit? It's probable that a Firstsource employee is checking your paperwork and making sure you are reimbursed the correct amount. Firstsource processes over 150,000 documents a day!

As we walked around the facility meeting the employees doing work for mostly American & European based multinationals, we were struck by the incredibly high quality standards. All managers are required to have Six Sigma training to the green belt level, and many of these managers have black belt status, which is the highest level. Six Sigma is a statistically based system that improves processes by eliminating defects. The mastery of Six Sigma concepts clearly shows in the 99%+ accuracy rates for data entry. And the company is not just in India. They have established delivery bases in more than 20 countries including the USA, U.K., and Argentina.

There were three other very impressive aspects of the company. First, they have an idea generation system for the employees to use. At any time, the more than 14,000 employees of Firstsource can submit an idea on how the company can improve. More than 1,000 of these ideas have been put into place. Additionally, Firstsource has been able to maintain a very low attrition rate amongst its employees. Less than 10% of employees leave the company in any given year in an industry with 40-50% attrition rates. In addition, they have set up a program called Footprint in which high quality former employees who have left the company are contacted every so often with information on how the company is continuing to grow and the benefits that are offered to its employees. The hope is that the employees return.

The major take-away from this visit was becoming aware of the extent to which business has become globalized. To walk around this facility and realize what the Internet has made possible is just mind boggling. It creates exciting jobs for these employees in India and frees the companies using this service to concentrate on what they do best.
[Erik]


May 23, 2007
Today we arrivied at the Taj Mahal. The Taj is not only one of the renowned historical complexes in the world, but it is one of the most beautiful pieces of art that anyone will witness. Understanding the meticulous stone work and luscious green gardens, a visitor will bestow a strong apprecitation for the tomb. Not a single brush stroke lay on the walls of the Taj. What you will find is beautiful floral bas relief motifs and calligraphy made from Jade. A single floural design, the size of a notepad could contain between 30 and 70 different precious gemstones for a single design.

As we stood outside, we could see the sun reflecting off the majestic structure and the glistening gemstones struck our eyes. Besides being stunned by the intricate art work and the defined symmetric architecture, the history behind the Taj is worth mentioning. Shah Jahan, the emperor of the Mughal Dynasty built the colossal structure for his favorite wife, who passed away during the childbirth of her 14th child. Legend has it that Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Jahan leaned over on her death bed and asked for her husband to do three things for her; take care of their children, marry again and construct a monumental tomb for her. He did not marry and separated with is sons, the latter of the three was greatly recognized.

Over 20,000 men constructed the monument, which took nearly 20 years to complete. The Taj Mahal is the center piece of India. It resembles their appreciation and compassion for love, their obsession with meticulous detail and their intricate knowledge of architecture.
[Joey]


Fort Agra
Most people have seen pictures of the Taj Mahal in all of its glory, in pictures or in movies. The Taj Mahal definitely deserves the accolades it receives because every intricate detail is stunning. A less recognized, but just as amazing monument is Fort Agra.

Due to the extreme heat and early start, many members of the team didn’t make it to see Fort Agra. But, there were nine of us that braved the heat and continued on with the journey. (Yes, Mom and Dad, your darling cheerleader was one of the crazy eight + 1.)

Our tour guide for the day was named Guru. He led us through both the Taj Mahal and Fort Agra. Because we were all so amazed and in awe of what we were seeing, the tour guide was tasked with reeling us back in every five minutes. By the end of the trip, he had all of our names memorized. He would sing each of our names in an attempt to get our attention. First it was Joi. Then it was Laurie. By the end of the trip, it was Chris and JAMEEELA! Guru calling our names kind of felt like your mom calling you in the house from a long day of playing kick ball.

Fort Agra was a castle that acted as both a military fort and the royal residence. It was built and lived in by the Mughal emperor, Akbar. Fort Agra was built in the 16th century and housed the emperor, his wives, and his entire harem. An interesting fact that we were all surprised to hear was that not all the harem members were women. The 5000 harem members were a mix of men and women. There was an upper level harem and a lower level harem. The harem could be considered to be the staff, which managed or performed services on some portion of the Fort.

Fort Agra was huge! The tour only allows you to visit 1/3 of the actual grounds and we were in there for well over 1.5 hours. Each wife had her own chamber. The chambers were more like wings because each had several different rooms. The fort was way ahead of its time in engineering because it was air conditioned through an underground and wall system. It was protected by 2 moats. It had the typical water moat as well as a dry moat. The dry moat was a mini forest that had lions and tigers.

The fort was decorated with a mixture of architectural styles. There were designs of both Hindu and Islamic styles. Many of the archways and wall decorations were images of the lotus flower and birds, which is typical of the Hindu style. There were also basic geometric shapes and forms, which is typical of the Islamic design. All of it was absolutely outstanding. If ever in India, be sure to stop by both the Taj Mahal AND Fort Agra!
[Jamila]


May 22, 2007
The Poverty - One thing that has struck all of us on this trip is the level of poverty that we are witnessing on the streets. It is in stark contrast to the beautiful buildings and relatively wealthy people we are visiting. There are streets just lined with individuals sleeping on small blankets. Makeshift housing is scrapped together with bamboo, cloth, and plastic. Our professor asked us if we still thought poverty existed in the United States. His point was that our very definition of poverty has been radically altered as a result of what we have seen. The level of poverty is palpable, and I fear we have yet to see the worst.

So larger questions loom. How will India create opportunity for the 75-80% of people living on less than $2 a day? We are not seeing ‘We’re Hiring’ signs at businesses here where 825 or so million people living in poverty will be accomodated. And is the growth of the hi-tech sector really a viable long-term answer for the economy as a whole?

Hi-tech means capital-intensive as opposed to labor-intensive. Labor-intensive jobs such as manufacturing will hire more people. It seems that China may be doing a better job of creating jobs for larger numbers of people. China has 100 million people working in the formal manufacturing sector. India has just 7 million. What is better at this stage in the economy – to focus on capital-intensive industries that rely on capital instead of labor? Or is it better to emphasize labor-intensive jobs in the short run in order to employ more of the population?

And what is the role of entrepreneurship in lifting people out of poverty? This is something we hope to explore and write more about our findings.
[Erik]


Power in India
The media touts India as a place conducive to start-up businesses. The main barrier that is apparent to any entrepreneur looking to set up a venture in India is the severe unreliability of infrastructure. Having a source of reliable power is the most apparent barrier. Laws that have allowed privatization of the power market have been largely ignored by State Electrical Boards (SEB). The few private companies that have ventured into this market have faced many difficulties and even fewer have stayed. The root of this problem lies in the belief of many that power should be available to all at a very low price. This has been due to subsidies that have been given to many over the years, private and public. Politicians support this belief and lobby against privatization. They even condone electricity theft and prevent police action against violators. Load shedding of the power grid under high demand creates frequent outages throughout Delhi. Every place we visited yesterday (21, May, 2007) suffered multiple outages. For any business to survive in India, a generator is absolutely essential.
[Austin]


May 21 , 2007
Today we visited three organizations that supported entrepreneurship in India. The first organization was the National Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development. (NEISBUD) This organization’s purpose is to help train and provide resources to other organizations that support and promote entrepreneurship. One of the institute’s leaders, Rita Sengupta, discussed India Women and Entrepreneurship.

Based on the information she shared, we know now that women’s participation in entrepreneurial activity is only about 12% in India. NEISBUD recognizes that India is still a male dominated society, but they still have a goal to help increase activity level for women to at least 16%. The entrepreneurial level as a whole for India is 17.9%.

Listed below are ways in which women are being assisted to overcome the typical obstacles faced (financial and social risk) when moving out of the family or husband’s house:

1. The creation of Shared Help Groups (SHG) – these organizations, typically in rural areas, are formed by many members of the community. They are created to share the responsibility of taking out a loan. The lending institutions are willing to support these because it reduces their risk as members support each other and are equally responsible for repayment of the loans.

2. There are programs that only require women to have 10% of the seed money needed for starting a new venture.

3. A percentage of government loans are guaranteed to go to women.

4. Special women’s programs – pulling together organizations to help support women in their efforts.

The other two institutions that were visited were Amity University and Global Institute of Management. Both of these universities have degree programs related to entrepreneurship.
[Jamila]


Traffic
The traffic is amazingly crazy. It is exciting and scary all at the same time. The scooters, the cars, the bicycles, and the tuktuks all weave in and out in chaotic harmony. The sound is very similar to that of New York City. The honking is part of the sound of the street. One of the team members yesterday said it was like people saying hello. If that is the case then everyone is very friendly. The drivers treat the lanes like one fluid lane because they are constantly weaving in and out. We have a driver and a direction finder. The driver sits on the right side and the assistant sits on the left. The assistant acts as “MapQuest”. His main job is to jump out about every two or three turns to get directions to the next destination due to a lack of street names. The team became a part of “Mapquest” by pointing out the buildings we were looking for as we passed them.

9:30 AM on the way to our first site visit at the National Entrepreneurship Institute for Small Business Development. We just got pulled over by the police. The bus driver and his assistant hopped off and talked to the officers and we were sent on our way. The different thing was that the officers were just standing on the street and waved us down. Nothing was wrong, they were just checking our paperwork. It probably doesn’t help that we have a big huge “Tourist” marking on the front of our bus. As if it wasn’t obvious enough, the scarlet letter now makes it even more clear that “The tourist are coming, the tourist are coming!” We are looking and watching them and they are looking and watching us.

India’s economy is growing, but its infrastructure doesn’t appear to be growing at the same pace. There are beautiful new buildings being built in many different areas but alongside them are rickety makeshift homes. Some are made of metal siding and others are made with mix match pieces of different materials. There are also mounds of trash scattered across the sides of the streets. We met with different leaders at academic institutions who all agree that improvements in the infrastructure will help ensue even greater growth in the entrepreneurial activity in India. One can see that efforts are being made. On the trek from the airport to the hotel, there were many overpass support pillars being erected for new highways. It is coming, but it is slow.
[Jamila]


May 20 , 2007
The anticipation is finally over. We are on our way. The flight was a long 12 hours and the excitement of the new land started as we were gearing up to exit the flight. On international flights you are required to fill out a customs form before you exit the airport. These forms were given to us about an hour before we were to prepare for landing. Because the forms require your passport number and visa number, everyone began to pull out their passports. To the group’s surprise, one of our team members had lost his passport. Who knew that you could lose your passport after you had successfully made it on the plane? It happens. Ask India Study Trip members Barron and Joseph V from airplane row 39. For one small moment, I thought we were going to have to put up police tape so we could do a thorough search of rows 38 – 40. Barron searched above, in, and below his sit for about 5 minutes. Then his fellow row members moved so that their seats could be checked for the lost passport. Everyone begin to try and think of ways in which we would get him a new passport. The yellow emergency card was the first step. Before we all got completely up in arms about Barron’s passport, Lauren decided that she was going to check his bag for him since he knew that is was definitely not there. Score! The lost passport had been found in the side of Barron’s bag. Soon after Barron found his, Joseph V. lost his. Quickly his passport was found on the floor by his foot. It was decided that Barron officially earned the nickname of Tom Hanks. But we were all glad that the he wasn’t going to be “Terminal”.
[Jamila]


May 17 , 2007
What if you didn't have to wait in long lines at the checkout counter of your favorite retail store? What if each product contained a label that was automatically scanned as you walked out of the door and that even a store gift card could be read by this scanner to immediately charge for the purchased goods?

Soon Wal-Mart will begin using this technology in the form of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). This technology will allow customers to purchase items from the store and never wait in a checkout lane. How so? RFID is revolutionizing the way we shop and handle transactions. It will replace the current standard of barcodes (UPC). It uses the same waves that are found in radios, televisions, cellular devices and radars. It also allows companies to easily handle logistics for its company. The United States Army is using this device to save the lives of soldiers. By using this technology they can track soldiers at war and bring them back safely to base.

Today, Dr. Ani Agnihotri spoke with to our class about entrepreneurship and the economy of India. He received his MBA at Augusta State University after transferring from Kansas State University so he could play ping-pong. He has also been on the Board of Education and been a key member of the Ciber Center for Business research at Georgia Tech. In addition, Dr. Agnihotri has been a part of numerous startup companies.

He started his own RFID company, which later merged with a German company. He has also been a part of many non-profit companies. He founded a U.S. India Business Co. which helps individuals in India to start a business and also assists Indian-based companies in their ventures into the U.S.

Dr. Ani Agnihotri explained that India has an entrepreneurial advantage over the rest of the world. Individuals from India are eager to work hard and to make a difference in their lives. They have the ability to venture outside their country and go global. India’s economy is growing at a rate of 7 ½ - 8 ½ % which supports his idea of entrepreneurs going outside their country. This number is increasing every year.

Dr. Ani Agnihotri's speech was beneficial for our class and for our understanding of entrepreneurship in India.
[Joey]


May 15 , 2007
Per our doctors and friends advice, the majority of participants on this trip have begun taking an anti-malaria medication called Mefloquine. This medication is in oral pill form and is taken once a week, beginning one week before departure, continuing through the trip, and for four weeks upon returning. Some side effects include:

*upset stomach
*vomiting
*diarrhea
*stomach pain
*loss of appetite
*muscle pain
*dizziness
*loss of balance
*ringing in ears
*headache
*difficulty falling or staying asleep
*unusual dreams
*tingling in your fingers or toes
*difficulty walking

AND

*seizures
*shaking of arms or legs that you can't control
*nervousness or extreme worry
*depression
*changes in mood
*panic attack
*forgetfulness
*confusion
*hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
*violent behavior
*losing touch with reality
*feeling that others want to harm you
*thoughts of hurting yourself or killing yourself
*rash

So far the only symptoms experienced by our group members have been very unusual, violent dreams and difficulty falling or staying asleep. Lets just hope that these symptoms are less common than stated or else we are in for quite a trip. It makes me question which is worse, all of these symptoms or malaria itself.

The chance to see another part of the world and return with lifelong memories and experiences, $4,250; being able to videotape all our group members with these symptoms, PRICELESS.
[Austin]


May 11 , 2007
In preparing for the trip, we have come across some very interesting information in terms of the economy and employment:

* Only 35 Million of the 1.1 Billion people in India are employed in the formal sector.
* Of these 35 Million, 21 Million are employed by the government.
* This leaves just 14 Million people employed by companies in the formal sector.
* Of these 14 Million people, 7 Million work in the formal manufacturing sector. In China, this number is 100 Million.
* Of these 14 Million people, only 1 Million (less than 1/4th of 1%) are employed in IT, software, back-office processing, and call centers.
[Erik]


April 27, 2007
Have You had your cup of Starbucks today? Do you know that about 70% of the population of India lives off less than $2 a day. Yes, that is less than the price of my favorite cup of coffee from Starbucks, a tall Carmel Macchiato with whip cream.

Even as India is pushing its way to the top of the countries that are categorized as emerging markets, it is still an economy that has great differences amongst the financial wealth of its people.

During the 1 day workshop, India and the U.S.: Exploring the New Horizons Together, Dr. Rajesh Chakrabarti gave a brief set of facts that outlined the the dual economy that exist in India. While, we continue to hear of the growing middle class of India and how skilled laborers are in great need, we must not overlook the other side. Listed below are a few of the facts that Dr. Chakrabarti shared:

* 75% - 85% of the people live on or under $2 a day. The poverty numbers are continuing to decrease.
* The formal sector of India accounts for about 7% of the population. The formal sector is those organizations that are registered. That means that 93% of the population works outside the formal sector.
* There is a labor shortage of call center type workers. There is a battle to keep these skilled workers. One company will spend several months training an employee, and the another company will take this employee after they have been trained. The other side of the coin is that 80% - 90% of the workforce is unemployed or underemployed.
* The differences between the groups get exasperated because of the media. Those that are in the middle class are often highlighted on TV for all people to see. This could give rise to the relative deprivation. Some may wait for the wealth to trickle down but others may show their discontent through violent acts

Let me highlight just a few of the positive items:

* India's GDP is growing at about 8% to 9% a year.
* India is the world's largest democracy
* India has and will continue to have a large amount of educated workers. (20% of their population speaks English. This equates to just about the population of the U.S.)
* India is able and willing to work with and development relationships with countries around the world.

There was a ton of other valuable information shared. I wish I could capture it all, but that could easily become a dissertation. Let me share one last thing that was very interesting. One of the last presentations was given by Vicki Flier Hudson. Her topic was culture and business. She shared information about some of the cultural differences between the U.S. and India related to communication styles and time systems. Two myths that are often believed by U.S. business people while working with Indian business people are 1. their Indian counterparts are indirect and evasive in their communication and 2. that they are often late and off schedule.

Mrs. Hudson shared an explanation of these myths. In the Indian culture their is a win-win attitude. If someone tells you that there is nothing wrong when in fact there could be huge problems with a project, this could be the fact that they are working the issues and not won't to give the perception that it can't be completed properly. She gave different methods of how to handle these situations differently. Also, Dr. L. Narsi Narasimhan pointed out that each one of these situations and myths can be countered with examples that are completely opposite, so each situation has to be evaluated on an individual basis.

She then gave an explanation that we in the U.S tend to work on a fixed time system that is concerned with when things happen and following a schedule. In Indian culture, they tend to be on a fluid or circular time schedule. This could mean that they could show up "late" to meetings because they were interrupted by other partners and were unable to meet at the designated time. In the Indian culture they value relationships and interruptions are not a distraction. This may change their schedule, but they allow for them because it ensures that everyone wins. Mrs.. Hudson suggested to always bring other items to work on so that you do not become upset if a meeting time is changed.

My lesson from this for the trip is:
1. Relax and be prepared to adjust our schedule as needed.
2. Build strong relationships and be open to different styles of communication.
[Jamila]


April 26, 2007
Today, Tusar, Jamila, and Erik attended an event on India titled: India & the U.S.: Exploring New Horizons Together – Emerging Market Opportunities.  It was an incredible event and we all learned a lot about India.  One of the distinguished speakers was Ambassador Raminder Singh Jassel who is the Deputy Chief of the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C.

Ambassador Jassel gave an interesting speech where he highlighted three specific reasons that India has been able to integrate seamlessly into the global economy.  His first reason related specifically to the Information Technology sector.  He said the reason that IT was so successful in India was because the Indian government had nothing to do with it.  It was a comical point that referred to the notorious bureaucracy that has been dubbed ‘the license and permit raj’ of India’s past.  If the bureaucracy could stay out of other sectors, integration would continue seamlessly.

A second reason why India has been able to seamlessly integrate into the global economy is due to their history.  There has always been a confluence of cultures in India, which was largely brought about by cross-border trade.  The Spice Route connected the famous Silk Route to India.  And there are many other historical examples of India being an early trading partner with many nearby countries.  Cross-border trade has been in India’s history for thousands of years; this is not a new phenomenon.

The third reason was what Ambassador Jassel referred to as an accident of history.  Specifically, he meant the colonization of India by the British, which brought the English language to India.  It is estimated that there are as many as or even more English speakers in India than there are in the United States!

These three points will be important to keep in mind as we study the entrepreneurial environment in India.
[Erik]