Tuesday, January 10, 2012

"Startups, by definition, should disrupt" - Ashok Soota of Happiest Minds

At a time when IT Services is hardly the flavour of the season among Venture Capital firms, that Happiest Minds was able to attract brand name investors within a months of its founding is testament to the credibility and experience of its primary founder & Chairman, Ashok Soota. This "seasoned manager" feel is also something that comes across right through this interaction. - The Venture Intelligence Team


Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, Happiest Minds (Bio)

Interview by Sanjay Anandaram, Founder of Jumpstartup, followed by interaction with students and other entrepreneurs at IIT-Madras on January 5, 2012. Event Co-Hosted by C-Tides, the entrepreneurship cell at IIT-Madras. More photos from the event.



Highlights (click on the links for individual audio snippets):

As a Late Stage Entrepreneur, you need to plan on a larger scale since you don't have the luxury of time

Attracting and Inspiring People: Having a Mission & Higher Purpose

- "Have a (company) name that you have to live up to"

A startup should, by definition be disruptive

- How Happiest Minds is taking on the incumbents by leveraging the emergence of cloud technologies, mobility and social media

Winning the first customers

Decision Making should be through "Head, Heart and Gut"

Don't take "bet the company" type risks

Services and Products are Different

- They Operate to Different Rhythms, Different Risks & Rewards

Click Here to Download the full length audio
- 1 hr 33 mins; 43 MB
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