KACHARAGADLA

For the longest time, entire generations would imagine the word “office” as  drab, sterile rooms covered with cubicles galore , occupied by overworked men and women in uncomfortable, professional attire. In fact, when our parents would pick up their bags and set off for work in the morning, several of you reading this right now have probably imagined their parents working away in one of these places. Now let’s think about what the word “office” means in today’s world, a world where enthusiastic startups are emerging every step of the way. Somehow,  the image one conjures up is not so different from the surroundings we are familiar with  – cosy, colourful rooms occupied by people in casual, comfortable clothes working away on their laptops seated in bean bags. The difference is stark and apparent. So, can we say that the emergence of these new age startups caused a shift in the very way we perceive workplaces and work culture? Well, if you answered with a resounding “yes”, re

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he speaks during an event to launch an initiative to bolster start-ups in New Delhi on January 16, 2016 As we stand at the cusp of 2017, it's time to gather one’s thoughts regarding the year that passed us by. For startups in India, 2016 proved to be the year for consolidation and transition, where entrepreneurial mindset metamorphosed from a gold rush-like mentality into an ecosystem where preference is being given to quality over quantity. Even though the velocity of capital flowing in has slowed down, the quality of work being completed with was a tad higher. The spectrum of innovation by startups expanded across many verticals of the Indian economy. During the year, Indian startups experienced numerous moments that made this ecosystem vibrant and tested its inhabitants for survival; this resulted in a year that was rather a memorable one. Startup and Standup India This scheme was launched amidst a lot of fanfare on 16 Ja

Creating a culture of innovation is flat-out hard work. What makes it hard work is that you have to be, in essence,  focused on serendipity .  The juxtaposition of “focus” and “serendipity” is paradoxical, and tricky to maintain as a frame of mind personally and in an organization. Even though it’s hard work, it’s not exceptionally complicated, but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. When it comes to a culture of innovation, consultants and thought leaders have a way of adding more complication than clarity. Here, I hope to be an exception, with the following list of ways to break this down so you can get to work. 1. Honor Thy Accidents.   While it’s great to hit what you aim for, to make the metaphorical slam dunk, success comes at least as often from responding well when your efforts land you somewhere other than your intended target. If that “somewhere else” is embraced by the public in a way that has commercial value, please stop thinking of it as an accident, somethi

(From left to right) Saiteja Veera, co-founder, Vijay Sharma, CEO & co- founder, Sudheendra Chilappagari co-founder & head of product, and Rishabh Kaul, co-founder & head of demand.  Pic Credit: Belong For a long time, hiring in India (or for that matter anywhere in the world) meant candidates would have to be active on job portals and scout through the various jobs listed. It would then be up to the recruiter of a company to go through all the CVs and schedule interviews with potential candidates and the entire process took around four to five months. As companies run into increasingly competitive talent markets, recruiting costs and cycles are escalating. To overcome these challenges and help businesses meet their goals, recruiting teams need radically new capabilities and technologies, something Bengaluru-based startup Belong is helping companies to achieve. Basically, the premise is simple: for an employer and potential employee to connect with each other they

The demonitisation may also push more people online, make India "data rich" and facilitate a transparent credit ecosystem, according to experts India deciding to scrap existing currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 is being welcomed by the country’s fledgling fintech and online commerce startups like manna from the heavens. They’ve rushed to capitalise on the hype around the cash crunch people are facing by promoting their own cashless payments and related services. Many have claimed big jumps in the volume of transactions they now see on their platforms, as India’s smartphone-toting English-educated urban households look at digital payments more seriously. The other choice is standing in long, serpentine queues at banks to exchange their old notes for the freshly minted versions that the government has released. “OptaCredit has seen a 300 percent increase in loan applications after the government’s announcement of banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currenc

Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy says the new breed of entrepreneurs is smart and energetic High valuations of new businesses are a byproduct of the free market mechansism, says infosys co-founder NR Narayana murthy One of India’s most celebrated entrepreneurial minds, NR Narayana Murthy co-founded the $9.5 billion information technology (IT) giant Infosys in 1981. Since then, the self-made billionaire (his estimated net worth is $1.87 billion, putting him at No 62 on the 2016 Forbes India Rich List) has had an accomplished journey as a business leader. He led Infosys as its chief executive for over two decades, until 2002. Then, after relinquishing his executive role for almost a decade, Murthy returned as executive chairman of the Bengaluru-based IT major in 2013, only to step down a year later when he exited the board as well.   The company he co-founded has not only created lakhs of jobs, but also made several of its staffers millionaires through its employee