Friday, January 26, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Guruji, Fropper, Mauj and the state of Indian internet startups
While its been a year that I moved to the Bay area, I've been ever curious about the state of Indian internet startups, how they are different from their global counterparts, and what level of customization are they offering to people in India. A quick glance at Sequoia India's portfolio companies lists down several Indian versions of google, travelocity etc. While some of them may add value, I am particularly concerned about the following:
- Guruji: I am not able to understand its value offering. With the bulk of Indian internet users proficient in English and most popular sites available in English, I wonder how much value it can add by searching the local indian content. Moreover, in this world of globalization, how easy is to distinguish between a pure Indian context and an outside one. Is an american story published by rediff considered in Indian context? Is the ubiquitous story of Indian offshoring success published in western media considered outside the Indian context? or by Indian context we mean the web pages hosted in India? Sure, Baidu has demonstrated that such a market exists and it has done a tremendous job in capturing the local chinese market, but we have to understand that China is much different than India. Majority of internet users in China still speak Chinese and a lot of popular sites in China are in chinese. Also, Google and Yahoo already have local customized services and offer search in local Indian languges too. Given all the above, I fail to understand what extra value Guruji is going to offer to Indian customers.
- Travelguru: With almost every VC opening its shop in India, this was expected. At this point of time, we may have more flight booking sites than the no. of airlines in India. With airports already brimming full to its capacity, I would be surprised if we have more airlines joining the already-crowded-party. To increase volumes and hence business for such sites, we need bigger and newer airports, which would take decades, with the pace at which political decisions are made and implemented in India. Are we looking to a dot-com bust in India?
- Seventymm: With an exact Netflix like structure, I wonder if this model can sustain in India. With labor still dirt-cheap, why would anyone want to order a CD over snail-mail, when the local rental boy can deliver it to you at your doorsteps within minutes. A vast collection of movie titles may be the difference, but should hardly be a reason to switch to the expensive pricing strategy of the company.
- Guruji: I am not able to understand its value offering. With the bulk of Indian internet users proficient in English and most popular sites available in English, I wonder how much value it can add by searching the local indian content. Moreover, in this world of globalization, how easy is to distinguish between a pure Indian context and an outside one. Is an american story published by rediff considered in Indian context? Is the ubiquitous story of Indian offshoring success published in western media considered outside the Indian context? or by Indian context we mean the web pages hosted in India? Sure, Baidu has demonstrated that such a market exists and it has done a tremendous job in capturing the local chinese market, but we have to understand that China is much different than India. Majority of internet users in China still speak Chinese and a lot of popular sites in China are in chinese. Also, Google and Yahoo already have local customized services and offer search in local Indian languges too. Given all the above, I fail to understand what extra value Guruji is going to offer to Indian customers.
- Travelguru: With almost every VC opening its shop in India, this was expected. At this point of time, we may have more flight booking sites than the no. of airlines in India. With airports already brimming full to its capacity, I would be surprised if we have more airlines joining the already-crowded-party. To increase volumes and hence business for such sites, we need bigger and newer airports, which would take decades, with the pace at which political decisions are made and implemented in India. Are we looking to a dot-com bust in India?
- Seventymm: With an exact Netflix like structure, I wonder if this model can sustain in India. With labor still dirt-cheap, why would anyone want to order a CD over snail-mail, when the local rental boy can deliver it to you at your doorsteps within minutes. A vast collection of movie titles may be the difference, but should hardly be a reason to switch to the expensive pricing strategy of the company.
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