Author: Mukesh Gupta

Business Model, Entrepreneurship

Some Advice for Start-ups with Ad based Biz Models

I believe that start-ups that are working on ad-based revenue models are in for a rude shock. In my opinion, this model has lead to the demise of one too many interesting start-ups. Some reasons for me to having arrived at this decision are as below: Advertising industry itself is going through a major tectonic shift and will need to re-discover itself in a new avatar before it can support any new business model. Having an ad-based revenue model is worse than having no revenue model at all as it provides start-ups with an illusion of revenue sooner than it […]

Ideas

3 Inspiring Videos

First video is an inspiring tale of someone who turned what many would assume to be a handicap into her strength and shows that if you really want to achieve something and are willing to pay the price, you can achieve anything in life. Second video is about a teacher who talks about the fact that every kid in this world needs someone who believes in the kid and what he/she can achieve. I believe this is true not only for the kids in school but for each of us at every stage in life. Third video is about how […]

Customer Engagement

Engaging Your Customers Is Not Sufficient Anymore

We are in an era where we are grappling with too much choice.  Consumers today are facing a challenge in keeping up with the different choices they have. Every product or service category has become crowded (maybe apart from some categories like online search, where Google still continues to have substantial market share). In this scenario, having a meaningful engagement with your customers has become table stakes for any business to survive and thrive. So, the question that every marketer grapples with is “How can my Product/service stand out in this crowded marketplace?”. Some marketers try to stand-out by providing […]

Customer Engagement

Customer Engagement during Moments of Truth

Last week, I was flying on a Jet Airways flight from Delhi to Bangalore. This was an evening flight and they serve food (dinner) in the flight. The service staff completed serving food to all the passengers and started to come back to collect the used plates. Meanwhile, I tasted the food and did not particularly like the food and so had left most of the food untouched. The staff came back, collected my un-touched food plate and went back without a word. I think, this was a moment of truth for me as a customer. If someone from the […]

Business Model, Entrepreneurship, Innovation

Lessons from a Failed (Billion Dollar) Business Model Innovation Attempt

In May this year, Better Place, an auto tech company filed for bankruptcy, burning close to a billion dollars. They had a brilliant solution to a complex problem. Their idea was to replace fossil fuels with batteries – literally. What this meant was that as you re-fuel your cars with gasoline, you could get your batteries changed at a fuel station. This was in stark contrast to all the other start-ups in this space, who have been working on increasing the range of their batteries to go longer distances or increase the speed at which one could charge the batteries […]