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Vol 5 | Issue 2 | May 2016
The startup environment in
India is still positive but there
are some signs of trouble in this
‘paradise’. Our 4th Viewpoint
Roundtable – Navigating
Downturn Alley – was aimed
at highlighting ways in which
startups can build greater
brand relevance in good times
in order to make it through
the not-so-good ones. But is
all this talk of a recession and
systemic issues in the startup
ecosystem overblown? One of
our guest writers explains why
she thinks so. We also explore
the links between CSR, charity
and business cycles through
past recessionary data and a
conversation with the Bangalore
head of a charitable trust.
No Need for Gloom & Doom:
A Counterpoint
Why one investor feels optimistic
about India’s startup ecosystem.
CSR, Charity and Recessions:
Exploring the links between
Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR), philanthropy and business
cycles.
Edited excerpts from the
4th Viewpoint Roundtable:
Navigating Downturn Alley: How
startups can stay mindful of the
pitfalls and build resilience for the
road ahead.
Alterpoint:
Graphic Signs of the Times: A spike
in graffiti around us could indicate
a downturn. Or something else
altogether.
Lastly, in Alterpoint, we scan
the writing on the wall - and on
a few buildings and flyovers -
to see what graffiti can tell us
about the state of the economy,
among other things.
Rumblings of a Recession In this issue
No Need for Gloom &
Doom: A Counterpoint
With strong fundamentals
and momentum, the startup
ecosystem in the country is
healthier than many people
believe.
Those who are worried about the
state of India’s startup economy point
to a few problematic signs – valuation
(or over-valuation) of companies,
many ‘me-too’ businesses, and
market frothiness, to name a few.
While this might mean that we
are due for a correction, it doesn’t
foreshadow impending doom. It
also doesn’t mean that valuable and
sustainable companies are not being
built.
If one looks more closely at the
startup space, it is clear that its
fundamentals are in place. There are
essentially six elements that make
up the entrepreneurial ecosystem
and are necessary for it to grow
and thrive. First, we need motivated
entrepreneurs with ideas that they
are eager to get to market. The next
level in the ecosystem consists of
advisors, mentors and angel investors
who can steer founders in the right
direction and help them fine-tune
their business plans. Next up are
institutional investors for different
stages of a company’s growth – from
converting an idea into a business
to scaling that business. New ideas
and enterprises also need strong
and deep local markets, spanning
consumers and enterprises, to grow
and scale. Last but not the least, we
need local investors who will support
venture funds.
On many of the counts listed above,
we have grown substantially over the
last decade. Today we have many
young adults willing to take risks and
become entrepreneurs. We have a
growing community of mentors and
angel investors to nurture ideas until
they are ready to take flight. And we
have a large number of funds that
support new enterprises across the
spectrum of a company’s growth -
from early to late stage.
Do we have the perfect ecosystem?
No. But is it growing in the right
direction? YES.
The concern today is centered
around funding of internet-related
startups and the valuation of these
companies. When a high tide comes
in, it can be expected to bring in
some creaky boards. While it is easy
to characterize the many ‘me-too’
companies in a given space as a
by-product of greed, it is also a
trend that we have seen in almost
every industry in every part of the
globe. I come from a coastal part
of Andhra Pradesh where, at one
point, everybody was engaged in
either shrimp or fish farming or rice
cultivation. It didn’t matter that there
were a hundred different providers
offering the same product at the
same level of servicing. Where there
back. And that, to me, is the essence
of entrepreneurship.
is demand, many will rise to fill it.
Some will survive and others won’t.
This form of unrestrained competition
is part of any growing economy. For
now, it is good for the consumer. As
we move along, we can expect some
form of consolidation and settling to
determine the ultimate shape and
composition of the industry.
From my vantage point, I don’t
believe that the typical ten-year
investment window drives a
short-term orientation based on
‘getting rich quick’. Investors don’t
have the kind of overt influence
in their portfolio companies that
people believe they do. Our
recommendations to them are just
that and it is up to a given company
to determine if it sees value in them.
I also believe that the way issues
are framed in the business media is
feeding into this negative narrative
– both collective and individual -
around startups. The media tendency
to unquestioningly follow a reporting
pattern has never been more evident
than in the Theranos case where
Silicon Valley’s tech media built up
the company without questioning the
underlying technology.
We are still growing at close to 7.5
percent in GDP terms and we have
plenty of discerning consumers
to keep businesses on their toes.
Companies can turn this narrative
around by keeping their heads down
and doing what they do best. As long
as a potential startup can clearly
define the problem it is trying to solve
and come up with an innovative way
to solve it, there is no reason to hold
Bharati Jacob is Founder
and Managing Partner at
Seedfund, a leading early
stage venture capital firm.
— As communicated to Viewpoint
Imagecourtesy:http://seedfund.in
This form of unrestrained competition
is part of any growing economy. For
now, it is good for the consumer. As
we move along, we can expect some
form of consolidation and settling to
determine the ultimate shape and
composition of the industry.
CSR, Charity and
Recessions: A Review
How does a downturn impact
the social motivation of
businesses? Does giving by
individuals take a back seat
during recessionary times? How
hard are charities and NGOs hit
when the economy takes a dip?
We looked for answers – globally
and in India - by studying the
trends observed during the
recession of 2008 and by talking
to the Bangalore head of a
non-profit trust.
DATA FROM THE GREAT
RECESSION
Tax reporting data from the US
Internal Revenue Service in 2009
revealed a definite dip in charitable
donations in that country. American
donors gave significantly less to
charity in the first two years of the
recession than in 2007. This ran
counter to the belief that individual
giving is not hugely impacted by
recessionary cycles.
Even as economic prospects
improved by 2014, donations still
remained flat and insufficient to meet
rising demand for social services.
However, experts feel that other
factors in the non-profit world may
have contributed to the situation. As
the head of one organization said:
“[There] are fundamental flaws in the
way we finance social good.” These
systemic issues were likely present
even before the recession set in.
Industry watchers also believe that
certain societal trends were partly
responsible for waning individual
generosity. For example, a younger
generation that is less affluent than
the preceding one is less likely to
contribute to charity. At the same
time, parents who were still providing
financial support to their older
children may also have rolled back
their charitable contributions.
On the corporate side, the trends
were not as clear-cut. The Economist
noted in a 2009 article that while
there had been cuts to the CSR
budgets of global companies, the
recession had not resulted in ‘a
wholesale retreat from corporate
do-gooding’ (A Stress Test for Good
Intentions, The Economist, May
2009). The article also found that
companies were more inclined to
retain sustainability initiatives that
were good for overall business while
jettisoning peripheral initiatives
focused on philanthropy. On the
other hand, given that the financial
crisis of 2008 was largely triggered
by irresponsible corporate actions
and decisions, many companies
were eager to prove to the public that
they were not entirely motivated by
short-term profits and greed.
References:
1) Americans Gave a Lot Less…The
Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 2011.
<https://philanthropy.com/article/
Americans-Gave-a-Lot-Less-in/158533>
2) Charities Still Feel Squeeze from Recession.
The Washington Times, April 7, 2014.
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/
apr/7/charities-still-feel-squeeze-from-reces-
sion-as-shr/?page=all>
3) A Stress Test for Good Intentions. The
Economist, May 2009. <http://www.economist.
com/node/13648978>
Stories of lives or situations that
have been transformed through
intervention resonate with individuals.
If it strikes an emotional chord with
them, they are likely to respond
positively.
Organizations are a little more
specific in what they seek. They have
their own policies and agendas and
we make an attempt to be aligned
with these. The story is important
but so are the numbers involved, as
corporate donors look for evidence
of real and quantifiable impact. They
are also thinking ahead to how the
affiliation will impact their image and
seek happy pictures and outcomes
for their websites or annual reports.
Not all causes can meet these
requirements.
Apart from economic cycles, giving
is also impacted by seasonality and
calendar events such as festivals
and tax year closing. I have seen
THE GROUND REALITY FOR
INDIAN NGOs
As communicated by
Pampa Chowdhary
Bangalore Branch Manager, Concern
India Foundation.
At the Concern India Foundation, we
help NGOs work towards capacity
building of several grassroots
initiatives. To that end, we are actively
involved with fundraising on their
behalf. The causes we support
through these efforts span child
education, women’s empowerment,
healthcare, sustainable livelihoods
and more.
During a recession, giving is affected
but not significantly. It didn’t dry up
completely during the last recession
although some NGOs with less robust
reserves had to shut shop. When it
comes to charitable initiatives such
as the ones run by our NGO network,
individuals are more motivated
contributors than corporates and this
pattern holds true even through a
downturn. Individual giving remained
steady during the last downturn
but we did see a drop in corporate
philanthropy. Although most
businesses have good intentions and
CSR agendas, these can be affected
by the necessity for cost cutting and
belt tightening during a downturn.
However, the mandatory CSR law has
helped to buffer the impact for NGOs
to some extent.
When it comes to our outreach,
different approaches are required
for individual and corporate donors.
a spike in volunteering and active
involvement in recent years,
particularly with a more socially
conscious younger generation
coming into its own. Many companies
want to involve their employees in
cause-driven activities and boost
internal engagement through this
channel. This is a good trend
although I do believe that, for greatest
impact, individuals and businesses
should pick their causes judiciously
and in areas that are aligned with
their strengths.
OUR CONCLUSION: Individuals
are motivated by philanthropy and
businesses by social responsibility
initiatives that are aligned with their
goals. Depending on the severity
of a downturn, individual giving
may or may not be greatly affected.
Businesses are likely to retain a focus
on sustainability and other core
initiatives through the ups and downs
of economic cycles.
NAVIGATING
DOWNTURN ALLEY
Edited excerpts from the 4th
Viewpoint Roundtable
April 28, 2016 at Olive Beach,
Ashoknagar, Bangalore
Like TV show reruns, recessions
appear from time to time with
a familiar set of characters
(governments, industries, consumers)
and plots (politics, policies,
excesses).
 
While the business
environment is still positive in the
country, there are signs of trouble
in this ‘paradise’. The 4th Viewpoint
Roundtable examined certain
worrying aspects of the startup
ecosystem so that founders can
avoid being blindsided by these.
Moderator
Nandita Lakshmanan
Chairperson, The PRactice
Participants
Garima Varma
Former Director, GE Research
Harish Bijoor
Brand expert and Founder,
Harish Bijoor Consults, Inc.
Shilpa Sharma
Co-founder, Jaypore
IS A DOWNTURN AROUND
THE CORNER?
Nandita: Although
we are not out to
be prophets of
dooms, we are, as
PR professionals,
always on the lookout
for signs that could potentially
erode the value of our clients. What
we have observed in the current
environment is that there is a focus
on spending money but not on the
fundamentals of business building.
We felt it was important for founders
to pause and reflect on whether they
have all the ingredients in place to
build a sound and solid business.
So, the first point of discussion today
is to look at what businesses are
doing well and explore what they
can they do better, with respect to
a stakeholder universe of markets,
employees, and customers.
Harish: We are a
greedy people by
nature. The whole
world grows at 2.3%
in GDP terms. We
grow at 7.2% and
we term it a downturn. This is not
necessarily a negative attitude. If we
have that kind of hunger in us, then
we can go places. Still, a downturn
is clearly in the cards and Bengaluru
will be at its centre, along with
Noida, Gurgaon and Pune. This city
has eight startups for every square
kilometer of area. It’s almost an
epidemic now, especially since the
startups we are seeing today are not
fundamentally strong. Although you
could have startup activity in sectors
like agriculture and manufacturing,
97.4% of the startups in the country
are in the services space. This is an
over-exploitation of the space that is
not sustainable. Even with our current
growth rate, certain sectors are likely
to experience some shakeout. And
the services sector is clearly one of
them.
Shilpa: In my own
startup (that no longer
qualifies as one), we
have felt the heat.
In the e-commerce
space, everyone is
trying to undercut the other person.
Survival belongs to the fittest. But
we feel we have a very tangible
proposition. Our raison d’etre is not
based on offering sweet deals to
customers. We are offering a very
differentiated product. If the unit
economics of the business we are
in work, then scaling is a matter of
time and commitment. But if the unit
economics don’t work in our favour,
then no amount of funding can get
us out of the hole we’ve dug for
ourselves. We are all very passionate
about what we do. But passion is a
relative trait that can only take us so
far. We also have to be good at what
we do.
Garima: On the
positive side, the
current scenario is rife
with opportunities for
brand communicators.
This is a good time to
clearly articulate the value proposition
of the product and definition of the
brand. Companies who can get this
right and are able to communicate it
to stakeholders at the right time and
through the right channels, are the
ones who will survive the shakeout.
IN SEARCH OF CONCRETE
STORIES
Nandita: Building
to sell, building to
scale and building to
last. Can these three
different strategies be
reconciled? Or do they
create a gap between short-term
goals and long-term vision that
widens over time?
Shilpa: I believe there
is no long-term outlook
if you cannot take
care of short-term
requirements. If you
build to last, you will
automatically be building to scale
over a period of time. Building to sell
is a very short-term orientation. In
my own business, I believe the only
viable option is to build to last. You
have to invest in ways and means to
acquire a customer but also ensure
that you can retain this customer long
enough for them to go out and be a
champion for your brand.
Harish: There are three
types of companies.
The brick and mortar
company deserves
respect for investing
in something that
has value and that attracts footfall.
Then there are virtual entities.
E-commerce lies at the cusp of
virtual and real enterprise because it
has warehouses, logistics, delivery
systems and other physical world
issues to grapple with. The third type
of business is entirely app-based with
sustenance and fulfillment resting
entirely on that solution.
I have worked with e-commerce,
IoT and app-based startups and
believe that, of the three, IoT has the
most solid value proposition with
real applications and tangible IP to
drive value. E-commerce, however, is
over-bloated on valuation. The money
flows into it in tranches. Valuation is
inflated to benefit the first investor
while the last person holding the can
will have to deal with the fallout. The
entire movement is hollow and unless
we see some solidity coming in, we
will be in trouble.
Garima: Solidity
will have to come
from a very concrete
product or service
offering, If you look
at all the players in
the online grocery delivery space, I
am personally confused about who
I should use for what. I am guessing
other people have the same problem
with this lack of differentiation.
The second piece that is not being
addressed completely is stakeholder
engagement. Most of the efforts in this
area are skewed towards the investor
and unless there is a shift to focus on
the consumer, employees, backend,
delivery or the whole supply chain,
there is a huge shakeout coming.
SOUND, ECHO & CLUTTER
Nandita: In this
environment, are we
confusing image with
reputation? So much
of what is viewed as
being essential to
reputation has become superficial
or ostentatious. It includes the kind
of office space you can afford, the
salaries you can pay out to attract
talent, and the number and kinds of
front-page ads you can put out. But
is this just noise that is distracting us
from more important areas?
Garima: I would
say yes. Most
of us, including
communicators, use
communication-centric
words such as image,
reputation and perception loosely and
interchangeably. We need to be able
to differentiate one from the other.
Harish: We are
besotted with image
but not as concerned
about reputation. If
you peek into the
budgets of some of
the newer companies, less than
2% of these is devoted to building
reputation. In the e-commerce space,
for instance, there’s one global entity
with a global reputation -- Amazon.
Then we have Flipkart, Snapdeal,
Jabong and several others. A survey
of 21,000 people to study their online
buying patterns revealed a form of
community shopping under which
they look for the best possible deals
from four or five players. These
entities form a brand cluster that
then gets decimated to a commodity
cluster. At the end of the day the
commodity wins. Since they are all
perceived to be equal in their ability
to deliver, there is no differentiation.
The same pattern is playing out with
hyperlocal services. It’s clear from all
this that while image is hollow and
reputation is solid, we are just not
investing enough in the latter. The
skew needs to change.
Shilpa: I think the
only way for us to
survive at Jaypore
is through building a
solid reputation. After
all, we are offering
products that people want but don’t
need. People are buying into our
promise because of the reputation
we have built over time. It shows
in our commitment to quality, our
approach to geography, our liberal
return policies and in the way we
obsess about customer experience.
We invest heavily in improving that
customer experience. It doesn’t take
that much to shift perceptions about
a brand through image building
campaigns. But the fact that we
have been able to keep our sales
returns at a fraction of the industry
standard or boost our average deal
size to four times the norm is entirely
based on reputation. Without that, we
don’t have a leg to stand on. Image
can be built through a number of
exercises but reputation building is an
opportunity to truly walk the talk.
LOOKING BEHIND FOR HELP
Nandita: What were
we doing differently
in the past? Can we
absorb some of these
lessons to build more
resilience for the
journey ahead?
Harish: In the old
days, a company
would seek to be
chosen on the basis
of its brand name or
reputation. Freebies,
discounts and relentless price-cutting
boost the commodity side of the
business and spell the death of
the brand. And that is what we see
happening in e-commerce.
The brand is an experience and if you
are building that experience, then
you are doing the right thing. But
who has the time for that anymore?
Companies today are not being
driven by the motivation of the brand
manager but by the imperatives of
the investor who seeks eyeballs, hits
and first conversions over strategies
to boost retention and loyalty. But
new customer acquisition comes
with a cost and we are ignoring that
aspect.
However, we can’t transfer the
lessons from one recession to the
next decade and movement. Each
of these lessons has to be learnt in
the decade in which the recession
happens. From 2010 to 2020 - the
decade of startups - founders will
imbibe the lessons that emerge and
then move on.
Garima: In my view,
the young people
who are running the
unicorns of today don’t
understand what a
brand is. Front-page
covers and image matter more to
them. The question is can we use
this kind of introspection to weather
the downturn that is likely to hit us? I
think the answer is yes and no. Yes,
if we can ponder on the significance
of some of these issues. And no, if
we continue to go along the path
we are now on. People are in a
fast-paced twitter mode. I have had
multiple conversations with young
founders on how they can do x, y
and z to push their valuation up and
that seems to be the end game.
Personally, I am a little pessimistic
about changing this mindset.
STAYING FIGHTING FIT
FOR A NEW ERA
Nandita: We are
dealing with a younger
generation today –
not just at the helm
of companies but as
customers. Does what
we are discussing matter to them?
Are we over-rating the relevance of a
long-term orientation for a generation
that is used to immediacy and instant
gratification? The other big factor in
all this is social media, and the wealth
of information we now have access
to. This was not available to us in the
past. At one level, it seems messier
and more complex but we can’t
ignore the power of technology or the
need to adapt our strategies to this
changing base.
Harish: We certainly
have a scratch card
generation influencing
the way we do
business. But that’s
not new. We saw a
similar movement in this city and in
Gurgaon with the BPO generation.
We have moved from BPO to voice
to data to KPO but the scratch card
generation still holds sway. There are
flimsy reasons to shift and loyalty is
not an abiding characteristic of this
generation. But my only problem with
what’s happening currently is that
it is turning out to be something of
a ponzi scheme with a lot of money
going in. Somebody in the middle
will end up paying for it. If investors
are not going to push back against
this, then we need other evangelists
in this space.
Shilpa: Until I
co-founded Jaypore, I
had been in the brick
and mortar business
for years. And the
challenges of that
space are very different. We cracked
that in FabIndia by first figuring out
what strategies and store formats
would work for different geographies.
If you have built a brand and a legacy,
you have to realize there is no one
size fits all. I am now part of a brand
that just happens to be in the online
space. For every thousand customers
who visit our website, only one or
two may end up buying something.
In order to get that customer, we
have to talk to them in a space that
they are comfortable in. Whether
that involves physical stores or
regular customers who can serve
as evangelists for the brand, only
time will tell. But there is no room
for complacency when it comes to
finding ways to connect with the
customer.
Garima: I personally
feel that technology
can be a maze. If we
can understand it
better and deploy it,
we can reach wider
audiences as well as engage in one to
one conversations. But I do think that
technology is growing faster than we
are able to keep pace with. So, we
resist it to some extent because we
are not able to get our hands around
it. I find that most communicators
are just scratching the surface when
it comes to understanding and using
technology. It’s not a problem with
the tool but with us.
SUMMING UP
Nandita: The D-word
(downturn) doesn’t
have to be a bad one.
It’s just an inescapable
fact of business. But
the bigger question
is how true one stays to one’s core
business purpose through it all. We
all work under different conditions
and circumstances but ultimately,
sustaining that focus and sense of
mission will be the key to navigating
Downturn Alley.
A spike in graffiti around
us could mean we are in a
downturn. Or it could mean
something completely different.
ancient Rome when political or
social messages were scrawled
wherever the space presented
itself. If unauthorized etching on
the walls of Pompeii – even if in
Latin - seems sacrilegious now, we
have to remember that these walls
were less hallowed then and worked
perfectly well as a medium for crude
expression.
From those ancient origins, graffiti
has had a mixed record leading up
to modern times. It is sometimes
dismissed as vandalism while,
at other times, it is upheld as an
important form of free speech.
City governments around the
world cannot decide if it should be
viewed as a problem, let alone find
ways to tackle it. Sociologists who
study urban patterns believe that a
piece of graffiti on a wall can lead
to an explosion of similar graphic
messages in the vicinity. This is
based on the premise that when a
given space is already defaced, it
lures others to add to the clutter. So,
cities may be justified in stepping
in to curb this trend. And where
graffiti is directed at private spaces,
it’s clearly a no-no. As someone is
said to have rightly observed: “Your
self-expression ends where my
property begins.”
Still, it can be an effective way
to revitalize cityscapes, clear
historical baggage, or edge out
other unattractive public notices and
advertisements.
For example, the city of Philadelphia
has commissioned large-scale murals
to signal its economic and cultural
resurgence. In Berlin, vibrant art on
what’s still standing of the Berlin wall
provides a colorful and symbolic
counter-punch to cold war era
animosity. And in cities like Mumbai
and Bangalore, intricately painted
Indian motifs on bridges and flyovers
deter even die-hard bill posters and
advertisers.
Beyond these sanctioned works,
graffiti in India does not have
the storied past or sociological
implications that it has in other parts
of the world. There are the usual
bathroom variety messages on walls
but the more evolved ones tend to
be commercials for political parties,
or city-sponsored appeals for civic
responsibility. Scattered in between
are bad likenesses of popular
Bollywood figures. But with so much
else – huge billboards, business
signs, and posters - competing for
our attention, graffiti tends to fade
into the background in the Indian city.
We are more likely to notice if the
kabab joint down the road puts up a
brand new sign with all the old typos
fixed. Now that’s a sign of economic
vitality.
References:
1) The Greek Debt Crisis Through
Graffiti. <http://observer.com/2015/07/
the-greek-debt-crisis-through-graffiti/>
2) What can we learn from Roman graffiti?
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/10336768/
What-can-we-learn-from-Roman-graffiti.html>
3) Egypt’s murals are more than just art…
<http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/
egypts-murals-are-more-than-just-art-they-
are-a-form-of-revolution-36377865/?no-ist>
It is hard to predict a recession. It is
sometimes even hard to know if we
are already in the middle of one. Just
ask any economist who has struggled
with reading the tea leaves of market
indicators and indices. Given how
complex it all is, economists tend
to be overly cautious in calling a
recession.
They could get past this opinion
paralysis by looking up from their
economic models and around them.
One way to detect a downturn – at
least in many parts of the globe -
might be to study the literal writing
on the wall. Graffiti has a close
association with economic distress
and social unrest even if many forms
are now accepted as street art. Along
with broken windows and litter, spray
painted messages on walls and
buildings have long served as stark
symbols of urban decline.
It has other more menacing variants.
For example, organized street gangs
have been known to use special
codes and symbols to mark their
turf and keep out other gangs. For
anyone walking or driving through
an American inner city, the perceived
degree of personal safety has an
inverse relationship with the quantity
of graffiti in the area.
In Athens, a city always known for its
street art, graffiti skyrocketed in the
wake of Greece’s economic crisis.
As unemployment rose, disgruntled
groups vented their ire against the
government by planting less than
flattering commentary on the city’s
buildings.
More clandestine work popped up
in Egypt following the Arab Spring of
2011 when Cairo’s political activists
hit the streets, spray cans in hand,
to ‘speak out’ against current
developments. Where traditional
media is restricted, graffiti can be
a hard-hitting visual medium for
dissent.
This may be why the street artist
is often viewed as a rebel and
underground activist - someone who
works under the cover of darkness
(as many of them do) to avoid being
caught and penalized.
Although it is largely associated with
contemporary cityscapes, graffiti
is not a modern phenomenon.
The earliest forms of such public
expression can be traced to
GRAPHIC SIGNS OF THE
TIMES
Viewpoint is a quarterly thought publication produced by The PRactice.
Please send your views and feedback to viewpoint@the-practice.net | www.the-practice.net
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Navigating Downturn Alley - The PRactice May 2016 issue

  • 1. Vol 5 | Issue 2 | May 2016
  • 2. The startup environment in India is still positive but there are some signs of trouble in this ‘paradise’. Our 4th Viewpoint Roundtable – Navigating Downturn Alley – was aimed at highlighting ways in which startups can build greater brand relevance in good times in order to make it through the not-so-good ones. But is all this talk of a recession and systemic issues in the startup ecosystem overblown? One of our guest writers explains why she thinks so. We also explore the links between CSR, charity and business cycles through past recessionary data and a conversation with the Bangalore head of a charitable trust. No Need for Gloom & Doom: A Counterpoint Why one investor feels optimistic about India’s startup ecosystem. CSR, Charity and Recessions: Exploring the links between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), philanthropy and business cycles. Edited excerpts from the 4th Viewpoint Roundtable: Navigating Downturn Alley: How startups can stay mindful of the pitfalls and build resilience for the road ahead. Alterpoint: Graphic Signs of the Times: A spike in graffiti around us could indicate a downturn. Or something else altogether. Lastly, in Alterpoint, we scan the writing on the wall - and on a few buildings and flyovers - to see what graffiti can tell us about the state of the economy, among other things. Rumblings of a Recession In this issue
  • 3. No Need for Gloom & Doom: A Counterpoint With strong fundamentals and momentum, the startup ecosystem in the country is healthier than many people believe. Those who are worried about the state of India’s startup economy point to a few problematic signs – valuation (or over-valuation) of companies, many ‘me-too’ businesses, and market frothiness, to name a few. While this might mean that we are due for a correction, it doesn’t foreshadow impending doom. It also doesn’t mean that valuable and sustainable companies are not being built. If one looks more closely at the startup space, it is clear that its fundamentals are in place. There are essentially six elements that make up the entrepreneurial ecosystem and are necessary for it to grow and thrive. First, we need motivated entrepreneurs with ideas that they are eager to get to market. The next level in the ecosystem consists of advisors, mentors and angel investors who can steer founders in the right direction and help them fine-tune their business plans. Next up are institutional investors for different stages of a company’s growth – from
  • 4. converting an idea into a business to scaling that business. New ideas and enterprises also need strong and deep local markets, spanning consumers and enterprises, to grow and scale. Last but not the least, we need local investors who will support venture funds. On many of the counts listed above, we have grown substantially over the last decade. Today we have many young adults willing to take risks and become entrepreneurs. We have a growing community of mentors and angel investors to nurture ideas until they are ready to take flight. And we have a large number of funds that support new enterprises across the spectrum of a company’s growth - from early to late stage. Do we have the perfect ecosystem? No. But is it growing in the right direction? YES. The concern today is centered around funding of internet-related startups and the valuation of these companies. When a high tide comes in, it can be expected to bring in some creaky boards. While it is easy to characterize the many ‘me-too’ companies in a given space as a by-product of greed, it is also a trend that we have seen in almost every industry in every part of the globe. I come from a coastal part of Andhra Pradesh where, at one point, everybody was engaged in either shrimp or fish farming or rice cultivation. It didn’t matter that there were a hundred different providers offering the same product at the same level of servicing. Where there back. And that, to me, is the essence of entrepreneurship. is demand, many will rise to fill it. Some will survive and others won’t. This form of unrestrained competition is part of any growing economy. For now, it is good for the consumer. As we move along, we can expect some form of consolidation and settling to determine the ultimate shape and composition of the industry. From my vantage point, I don’t believe that the typical ten-year investment window drives a short-term orientation based on ‘getting rich quick’. Investors don’t have the kind of overt influence in their portfolio companies that people believe they do. Our recommendations to them are just that and it is up to a given company to determine if it sees value in them. I also believe that the way issues are framed in the business media is feeding into this negative narrative – both collective and individual - around startups. The media tendency to unquestioningly follow a reporting pattern has never been more evident than in the Theranos case where Silicon Valley’s tech media built up the company without questioning the underlying technology. We are still growing at close to 7.5 percent in GDP terms and we have plenty of discerning consumers to keep businesses on their toes. Companies can turn this narrative around by keeping their heads down and doing what they do best. As long as a potential startup can clearly define the problem it is trying to solve and come up with an innovative way to solve it, there is no reason to hold Bharati Jacob is Founder and Managing Partner at Seedfund, a leading early stage venture capital firm. — As communicated to Viewpoint Imagecourtesy:http://seedfund.in This form of unrestrained competition is part of any growing economy. For now, it is good for the consumer. As we move along, we can expect some form of consolidation and settling to determine the ultimate shape and composition of the industry.
  • 5. CSR, Charity and Recessions: A Review How does a downturn impact the social motivation of businesses? Does giving by individuals take a back seat during recessionary times? How hard are charities and NGOs hit when the economy takes a dip? We looked for answers – globally and in India - by studying the trends observed during the recession of 2008 and by talking to the Bangalore head of a non-profit trust. DATA FROM THE GREAT RECESSION Tax reporting data from the US Internal Revenue Service in 2009 revealed a definite dip in charitable donations in that country. American donors gave significantly less to charity in the first two years of the recession than in 2007. This ran counter to the belief that individual giving is not hugely impacted by recessionary cycles. Even as economic prospects improved by 2014, donations still remained flat and insufficient to meet rising demand for social services. However, experts feel that other factors in the non-profit world may have contributed to the situation. As the head of one organization said: “[There] are fundamental flaws in the way we finance social good.” These systemic issues were likely present even before the recession set in. Industry watchers also believe that certain societal trends were partly responsible for waning individual
  • 6. generosity. For example, a younger generation that is less affluent than the preceding one is less likely to contribute to charity. At the same time, parents who were still providing financial support to their older children may also have rolled back their charitable contributions. On the corporate side, the trends were not as clear-cut. The Economist noted in a 2009 article that while there had been cuts to the CSR budgets of global companies, the recession had not resulted in ‘a wholesale retreat from corporate do-gooding’ (A Stress Test for Good Intentions, The Economist, May 2009). The article also found that companies were more inclined to retain sustainability initiatives that were good for overall business while jettisoning peripheral initiatives focused on philanthropy. On the other hand, given that the financial crisis of 2008 was largely triggered by irresponsible corporate actions and decisions, many companies were eager to prove to the public that they were not entirely motivated by short-term profits and greed. References: 1) Americans Gave a Lot Less…The Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 2011. <https://philanthropy.com/article/ Americans-Gave-a-Lot-Less-in/158533> 2) Charities Still Feel Squeeze from Recession. The Washington Times, April 7, 2014. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/ apr/7/charities-still-feel-squeeze-from-reces- sion-as-shr/?page=all> 3) A Stress Test for Good Intentions. The Economist, May 2009. <http://www.economist. com/node/13648978> Stories of lives or situations that have been transformed through intervention resonate with individuals. If it strikes an emotional chord with them, they are likely to respond positively. Organizations are a little more specific in what they seek. They have their own policies and agendas and we make an attempt to be aligned with these. The story is important but so are the numbers involved, as corporate donors look for evidence of real and quantifiable impact. They are also thinking ahead to how the affiliation will impact their image and seek happy pictures and outcomes for their websites or annual reports. Not all causes can meet these requirements. Apart from economic cycles, giving is also impacted by seasonality and calendar events such as festivals and tax year closing. I have seen THE GROUND REALITY FOR INDIAN NGOs As communicated by Pampa Chowdhary Bangalore Branch Manager, Concern India Foundation. At the Concern India Foundation, we help NGOs work towards capacity building of several grassroots initiatives. To that end, we are actively involved with fundraising on their behalf. The causes we support through these efforts span child education, women’s empowerment, healthcare, sustainable livelihoods and more. During a recession, giving is affected but not significantly. It didn’t dry up completely during the last recession although some NGOs with less robust reserves had to shut shop. When it comes to charitable initiatives such as the ones run by our NGO network, individuals are more motivated contributors than corporates and this pattern holds true even through a downturn. Individual giving remained steady during the last downturn but we did see a drop in corporate philanthropy. Although most businesses have good intentions and CSR agendas, these can be affected by the necessity for cost cutting and belt tightening during a downturn. However, the mandatory CSR law has helped to buffer the impact for NGOs to some extent. When it comes to our outreach, different approaches are required for individual and corporate donors. a spike in volunteering and active involvement in recent years, particularly with a more socially conscious younger generation coming into its own. Many companies want to involve their employees in cause-driven activities and boost internal engagement through this channel. This is a good trend although I do believe that, for greatest impact, individuals and businesses should pick their causes judiciously and in areas that are aligned with their strengths. OUR CONCLUSION: Individuals are motivated by philanthropy and businesses by social responsibility initiatives that are aligned with their goals. Depending on the severity of a downturn, individual giving may or may not be greatly affected. Businesses are likely to retain a focus on sustainability and other core initiatives through the ups and downs of economic cycles.
  • 7. NAVIGATING DOWNTURN ALLEY Edited excerpts from the 4th Viewpoint Roundtable April 28, 2016 at Olive Beach, Ashoknagar, Bangalore Like TV show reruns, recessions appear from time to time with a familiar set of characters (governments, industries, consumers) and plots (politics, policies, excesses).
 
While the business environment is still positive in the country, there are signs of trouble in this ‘paradise’. The 4th Viewpoint Roundtable examined certain worrying aspects of the startup ecosystem so that founders can avoid being blindsided by these. Moderator Nandita Lakshmanan Chairperson, The PRactice Participants Garima Varma Former Director, GE Research Harish Bijoor Brand expert and Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults, Inc. Shilpa Sharma Co-founder, Jaypore IS A DOWNTURN AROUND THE CORNER? Nandita: Although we are not out to be prophets of dooms, we are, as PR professionals, always on the lookout for signs that could potentially erode the value of our clients. What we have observed in the current environment is that there is a focus on spending money but not on the fundamentals of business building. We felt it was important for founders to pause and reflect on whether they have all the ingredients in place to build a sound and solid business. So, the first point of discussion today is to look at what businesses are doing well and explore what they can they do better, with respect to a stakeholder universe of markets, employees, and customers. Harish: We are a greedy people by nature. The whole world grows at 2.3% in GDP terms. We grow at 7.2% and we term it a downturn. This is not necessarily a negative attitude. If we have that kind of hunger in us, then we can go places. Still, a downturn is clearly in the cards and Bengaluru will be at its centre, along with Noida, Gurgaon and Pune. This city has eight startups for every square kilometer of area. It’s almost an epidemic now, especially since the startups we are seeing today are not fundamentally strong. Although you could have startup activity in sectors like agriculture and manufacturing, 97.4% of the startups in the country are in the services space. This is an over-exploitation of the space that is not sustainable. Even with our current growth rate, certain sectors are likely to experience some shakeout. And the services sector is clearly one of them. Shilpa: In my own startup (that no longer qualifies as one), we have felt the heat. In the e-commerce space, everyone is trying to undercut the other person. Survival belongs to the fittest. But we feel we have a very tangible proposition. Our raison d’etre is not based on offering sweet deals to customers. We are offering a very differentiated product. If the unit economics of the business we are in work, then scaling is a matter of time and commitment. But if the unit economics don’t work in our favour, then no amount of funding can get us out of the hole we’ve dug for ourselves. We are all very passionate about what we do. But passion is a relative trait that can only take us so far. We also have to be good at what we do. Garima: On the positive side, the current scenario is rife with opportunities for brand communicators. This is a good time to clearly articulate the value proposition
  • 8. of the product and definition of the brand. Companies who can get this right and are able to communicate it to stakeholders at the right time and through the right channels, are the ones who will survive the shakeout. IN SEARCH OF CONCRETE STORIES Nandita: Building to sell, building to scale and building to last. Can these three different strategies be reconciled? Or do they create a gap between short-term goals and long-term vision that widens over time? Shilpa: I believe there is no long-term outlook if you cannot take care of short-term requirements. If you build to last, you will automatically be building to scale over a period of time. Building to sell is a very short-term orientation. In my own business, I believe the only viable option is to build to last. You have to invest in ways and means to acquire a customer but also ensure that you can retain this customer long enough for them to go out and be a champion for your brand. Harish: There are three types of companies. The brick and mortar company deserves respect for investing in something that has value and that attracts footfall. Then there are virtual entities. E-commerce lies at the cusp of virtual and real enterprise because it has warehouses, logistics, delivery systems and other physical world issues to grapple with. The third type of business is entirely app-based with sustenance and fulfillment resting entirely on that solution. I have worked with e-commerce, IoT and app-based startups and believe that, of the three, IoT has the most solid value proposition with real applications and tangible IP to drive value. E-commerce, however, is over-bloated on valuation. The money flows into it in tranches. Valuation is inflated to benefit the first investor while the last person holding the can will have to deal with the fallout. The entire movement is hollow and unless we see some solidity coming in, we will be in trouble. Garima: Solidity will have to come from a very concrete product or service offering, If you look at all the players in the online grocery delivery space, I am personally confused about who I should use for what. I am guessing other people have the same problem with this lack of differentiation. The second piece that is not being addressed completely is stakeholder engagement. Most of the efforts in this area are skewed towards the investor and unless there is a shift to focus on the consumer, employees, backend, delivery or the whole supply chain, there is a huge shakeout coming.
  • 9. SOUND, ECHO & CLUTTER Nandita: In this environment, are we confusing image with reputation? So much of what is viewed as being essential to reputation has become superficial or ostentatious. It includes the kind of office space you can afford, the salaries you can pay out to attract talent, and the number and kinds of front-page ads you can put out. But is this just noise that is distracting us from more important areas? Garima: I would say yes. Most of us, including communicators, use communication-centric words such as image, reputation and perception loosely and interchangeably. We need to be able to differentiate one from the other. Harish: We are besotted with image but not as concerned about reputation. If you peek into the budgets of some of the newer companies, less than 2% of these is devoted to building reputation. In the e-commerce space, for instance, there’s one global entity with a global reputation -- Amazon. Then we have Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong and several others. A survey of 21,000 people to study their online buying patterns revealed a form of community shopping under which they look for the best possible deals from four or five players. These entities form a brand cluster that then gets decimated to a commodity cluster. At the end of the day the commodity wins. Since they are all perceived to be equal in their ability to deliver, there is no differentiation. The same pattern is playing out with hyperlocal services. It’s clear from all this that while image is hollow and reputation is solid, we are just not investing enough in the latter. The skew needs to change. Shilpa: I think the only way for us to survive at Jaypore is through building a solid reputation. After all, we are offering products that people want but don’t need. People are buying into our promise because of the reputation we have built over time. It shows in our commitment to quality, our approach to geography, our liberal return policies and in the way we obsess about customer experience. We invest heavily in improving that customer experience. It doesn’t take that much to shift perceptions about a brand through image building campaigns. But the fact that we have been able to keep our sales returns at a fraction of the industry standard or boost our average deal size to four times the norm is entirely based on reputation. Without that, we don’t have a leg to stand on. Image can be built through a number of exercises but reputation building is an opportunity to truly walk the talk.
  • 10. LOOKING BEHIND FOR HELP Nandita: What were we doing differently in the past? Can we absorb some of these lessons to build more resilience for the journey ahead? Harish: In the old days, a company would seek to be chosen on the basis of its brand name or reputation. Freebies, discounts and relentless price-cutting boost the commodity side of the business and spell the death of the brand. And that is what we see happening in e-commerce. The brand is an experience and if you are building that experience, then you are doing the right thing. But who has the time for that anymore? Companies today are not being driven by the motivation of the brand manager but by the imperatives of the investor who seeks eyeballs, hits and first conversions over strategies to boost retention and loyalty. But new customer acquisition comes with a cost and we are ignoring that aspect. However, we can’t transfer the lessons from one recession to the next decade and movement. Each of these lessons has to be learnt in the decade in which the recession happens. From 2010 to 2020 - the decade of startups - founders will imbibe the lessons that emerge and then move on. Garima: In my view, the young people who are running the unicorns of today don’t understand what a brand is. Front-page covers and image matter more to them. The question is can we use this kind of introspection to weather the downturn that is likely to hit us? I think the answer is yes and no. Yes, if we can ponder on the significance of some of these issues. And no, if we continue to go along the path we are now on. People are in a fast-paced twitter mode. I have had multiple conversations with young founders on how they can do x, y and z to push their valuation up and that seems to be the end game. Personally, I am a little pessimistic about changing this mindset. STAYING FIGHTING FIT FOR A NEW ERA Nandita: We are dealing with a younger generation today – not just at the helm of companies but as customers. Does what we are discussing matter to them? Are we over-rating the relevance of a long-term orientation for a generation that is used to immediacy and instant gratification? The other big factor in all this is social media, and the wealth of information we now have access to. This was not available to us in the past. At one level, it seems messier and more complex but we can’t ignore the power of technology or the need to adapt our strategies to this changing base.
  • 11. Harish: We certainly have a scratch card generation influencing the way we do business. But that’s not new. We saw a similar movement in this city and in Gurgaon with the BPO generation. We have moved from BPO to voice to data to KPO but the scratch card generation still holds sway. There are flimsy reasons to shift and loyalty is not an abiding characteristic of this generation. But my only problem with what’s happening currently is that it is turning out to be something of a ponzi scheme with a lot of money going in. Somebody in the middle will end up paying for it. If investors are not going to push back against this, then we need other evangelists in this space. Shilpa: Until I co-founded Jaypore, I had been in the brick and mortar business for years. And the challenges of that space are very different. We cracked that in FabIndia by first figuring out what strategies and store formats would work for different geographies. If you have built a brand and a legacy, you have to realize there is no one size fits all. I am now part of a brand that just happens to be in the online space. For every thousand customers who visit our website, only one or two may end up buying something. In order to get that customer, we have to talk to them in a space that they are comfortable in. Whether that involves physical stores or regular customers who can serve as evangelists for the brand, only time will tell. But there is no room for complacency when it comes to finding ways to connect with the customer. Garima: I personally feel that technology can be a maze. If we can understand it better and deploy it, we can reach wider audiences as well as engage in one to one conversations. But I do think that technology is growing faster than we are able to keep pace with. So, we resist it to some extent because we are not able to get our hands around it. I find that most communicators are just scratching the surface when it comes to understanding and using technology. It’s not a problem with the tool but with us. SUMMING UP Nandita: The D-word (downturn) doesn’t have to be a bad one. It’s just an inescapable fact of business. But the bigger question is how true one stays to one’s core business purpose through it all. We all work under different conditions and circumstances but ultimately, sustaining that focus and sense of mission will be the key to navigating Downturn Alley. A spike in graffiti around us could mean we are in a downturn. Or it could mean something completely different.
  • 12. ancient Rome when political or social messages were scrawled wherever the space presented itself. If unauthorized etching on the walls of Pompeii – even if in Latin - seems sacrilegious now, we have to remember that these walls were less hallowed then and worked perfectly well as a medium for crude expression. From those ancient origins, graffiti has had a mixed record leading up to modern times. It is sometimes dismissed as vandalism while, at other times, it is upheld as an important form of free speech. City governments around the world cannot decide if it should be viewed as a problem, let alone find ways to tackle it. Sociologists who study urban patterns believe that a piece of graffiti on a wall can lead to an explosion of similar graphic messages in the vicinity. This is based on the premise that when a given space is already defaced, it lures others to add to the clutter. So, cities may be justified in stepping in to curb this trend. And where graffiti is directed at private spaces, it’s clearly a no-no. As someone is said to have rightly observed: “Your self-expression ends where my property begins.” Still, it can be an effective way to revitalize cityscapes, clear historical baggage, or edge out other unattractive public notices and advertisements. For example, the city of Philadelphia has commissioned large-scale murals to signal its economic and cultural resurgence. In Berlin, vibrant art on what’s still standing of the Berlin wall provides a colorful and symbolic counter-punch to cold war era animosity. And in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, intricately painted Indian motifs on bridges and flyovers deter even die-hard bill posters and advertisers. Beyond these sanctioned works, graffiti in India does not have the storied past or sociological implications that it has in other parts of the world. There are the usual bathroom variety messages on walls but the more evolved ones tend to be commercials for political parties, or city-sponsored appeals for civic responsibility. Scattered in between are bad likenesses of popular Bollywood figures. But with so much else – huge billboards, business signs, and posters - competing for our attention, graffiti tends to fade into the background in the Indian city. We are more likely to notice if the kabab joint down the road puts up a brand new sign with all the old typos fixed. Now that’s a sign of economic vitality. References: 1) The Greek Debt Crisis Through Graffiti. <http://observer.com/2015/07/ the-greek-debt-crisis-through-graffiti/> 2) What can we learn from Roman graffiti? <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/10336768/ What-can-we-learn-from-Roman-graffiti.html> 3) Egypt’s murals are more than just art… <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ egypts-murals-are-more-than-just-art-they- are-a-form-of-revolution-36377865/?no-ist> It is hard to predict a recession. It is sometimes even hard to know if we are already in the middle of one. Just ask any economist who has struggled with reading the tea leaves of market indicators and indices. Given how complex it all is, economists tend to be overly cautious in calling a recession. They could get past this opinion paralysis by looking up from their economic models and around them. One way to detect a downturn – at least in many parts of the globe - might be to study the literal writing on the wall. Graffiti has a close association with economic distress and social unrest even if many forms are now accepted as street art. Along with broken windows and litter, spray painted messages on walls and buildings have long served as stark symbols of urban decline. It has other more menacing variants. For example, organized street gangs have been known to use special codes and symbols to mark their turf and keep out other gangs. For anyone walking or driving through an American inner city, the perceived degree of personal safety has an inverse relationship with the quantity of graffiti in the area. In Athens, a city always known for its street art, graffiti skyrocketed in the wake of Greece’s economic crisis. As unemployment rose, disgruntled groups vented their ire against the government by planting less than flattering commentary on the city’s buildings. More clandestine work popped up in Egypt following the Arab Spring of 2011 when Cairo’s political activists hit the streets, spray cans in hand, to ‘speak out’ against current developments. Where traditional media is restricted, graffiti can be a hard-hitting visual medium for dissent. This may be why the street artist is often viewed as a rebel and underground activist - someone who works under the cover of darkness (as many of them do) to avoid being caught and penalized. Although it is largely associated with contemporary cityscapes, graffiti is not a modern phenomenon. The earliest forms of such public expression can be traced to GRAPHIC SIGNS OF THE TIMES
  • 13. Viewpoint is a quarterly thought publication produced by The PRactice. Please send your views and feedback to viewpoint@the-practice.net | www.the-practice.net Viewpoint now available on