II|HYDERABAD | MONDAY 12 MAY 2014

Startups connect
Buck up Corporate India! with experts and
investors These startups
BCCI along with Digigraph.me and Twitter launched a ‘Thank you Sachin Campaign’ after Sachin were given five
Tendulkar’s retirement. A lesson for the Indian corporate companies who have had or still are T he Indus Entrepreneurs
(TiE) – Hyderabad chap-
ter, on Saturday organized its
minutes to
pitch to
using Sachin as a brand ambassador. Why is that they did not do similar activities like BCCI? flagship event SmashUp for individual
early age startups to enable
become the most retweeted them to learn the art of build-
investors for a
tweet in India. ing successful ventures from funding of Rs
B-BUZZ Great Campaign BCCI, eminent mentors and inspira- 10 lakh against
Twitter and Digigraph. Sud- tional successful entrepreneurs. 10 per cent
denly Twitter is in big news. These early stage startups also
Many like me were weary of got the opportunity to network
equity in the
Case Studies this very intrusive media. But with the investors including an- startup
this campaign forced me on gels and VCs.
Simplified board and I am told that many The key note was delivered uity in the startup. The organis-
like me opened twitter ac- by Srini Koppolu, Chairman – ers shared and clarified the
The author is a Professor - Marketing
counts just to get the “Piece of SETU Software. This day-long terms with investors and start-
and Chairman - Post Graduate
History”. event organised interesting ses- ups before the start of the event
Programmes at Siva Sivani Institute
A lesson for the Indian cor- sions on various topics related without leaving any scope of
of Management a premier B-school
porate companies who have to the issues which startups negotiations on the stage.
in Secunderabad India. Send your
had or still are using Sachin as face in its early stages. The first Commenting on the event,
queries to younghans@hmtv.in
a brand ambassador. Why is panel discussion on ‘How to Murali Bukkapatnam, Presi-
Dr M Anil Ramesh
that they did not do similar ac- pitch a business Idea’ helped dent - TiE Hyderabad and
tivities like BCCI? After all the participating startups to get Managing Director & CEO,

S
achin Tendulkar, the In-
dian Cricketer left a quar-
ter century of fond
memories post his retirement.
Indians had swept into a wave
of sadness and nostalgia. Put-
ting thing in perspective, I
started working in the year
1987 and Sachin started play-
ing for India in 1988. Our ca-
reers progressed in parallel.
BCCI (Board of Control of
Cricket in India) came out with
an innovative plan to bid
Sachin a fond farewell. It
joined hands with
Digigraph.me and Twitter to
launch the ‘Thank you Sachin
Campaign’. It was a very sim-
ple campaign (come to think of
it, it is always the simplest of
things that produce the most
dramatic results). Fans of
Sachin had to simply send a
message saying “Thank You
Sachin” from their Twitter
handle and they would instan-
taneously receive a Digigraph
from Sachin Tendulkar. A
Digigraph is a Digital Auto-
graph. The Digital autograph
image of Sachin would contain
the name of the recipient and
would have a personal message BCCI is registered as a non-
from Sachin himself. profit making organisation! It
This campaign proved to be was sad to see that no newspa-
a super success. The cricket per (of the ones that I bought)
crazy fans of Sachin lapped up had a special section on Sachin
the offer. In all 35 digigraphs except Eenadu (a Telugu daily),
were on offer and many enthu- the day after Sachin finally re-
siasts started collecting all the tired. It was not that they were
35 digigraphs of the master caught napping.
blaster. Yes it is true that the The match ended at 1130
digigraphs are digital have no hours on Saturday and they
intrinsic value but might be- had a lead time of nearly 12
come valuable in let’s say in hours. No wonder the print
thirty years’ time! media is taking a beating from insights on Getdo-
To ensure that this social the electronic media. successful pitching techniques mestichelp.com said, “TiE’s
media exercise grabs maxi- The corporates also missed a including pitching to investor, SmashUp event has been en-
mum eyeballs, Twitter had chance in tieing up with the senior talent or even to a abling the early stage startups to
send out mails to users inform- history. Why can’t Boost – the prospective customer. The sec- move up in the value chain.
ing them of the end of the ac- energy Drink, a long time ond session on ‘Valuation and Through these events we aimed
tivity. “Own a piece of history,” sponsor of Sachin give away Term Sheet’ clarified the ambi- to not only mentor these start-
the mail reads. “Tweet to get a autographed bats of Sachin? guity around the very elusive ups but also connect them to
personalised photo from This would have generated term sheets and its intrinsic the investor community. TiE
Sachin!” enormous amount of good will contents. Hyderabad will continue to
Post Tendulkar’s final match, and would have increases the The highlight of the event bring together all stakeholders
Rishi Jaitly from Twitter India sale. It is payback time. The was ‘Tech Stock’ session and play an active part in creat-
announced that the campaign corporates who made money wherein prototype to pre-rev- ing an inclusive ecosystem to
has generated more than three and increased their market enue startups pitched to angel promote entrepreneurship.”
million tweets. The digigraph share have to give something investors. The event witnessed a partic-
themselves had been viewed back to the fans who after all These startups were given ipation of 11 startups with a
four million times. Most im- are responsible for the success five minutes to pitch to individ- total gathering of around 100
portantly, a thank you message of any brand and products. ual investors for a funding of Rs people representing various
came from Tendulkar himself, Some things to chew upon, Digigraph fans got from Sachin Tendulkar 10 lakh against 10 per cent eq- stakeholders of the ecosystem.
acknowledging the campaign Corporate India!

l Horoscope l Quiz l Crossword l Sudoku l Vocabulary l Comics

Your Day Today QUIZ WIZ {SCIENCE} Crossword

ARIES (March 21-April 19) 1 What instrument consisting basically of a telescope that can be rotated vertically and horizontally on gradu- ANSWERS
You might be uncomfortable with what an associate ated scales was designed for use in land surveying for measuring by triangulation ?
and/or friend verbalizes. You understand that this person a) Plebiscite b) Theodolite c) Microlite 1 Theodolite
is not seeing the big picture, even though he or she seems 2 What name is applied to the general stiffening of the muscles caused by a coagulation of the muscle-plasma? 2 Rigor mortis
to grasp certain issues very well. Attempt to help this individual detach. a) Corpus Christi b) Corpus delicti c) Rigor mortis
3 Bacteria
3 Which of these are single-celled organisms of microscopic dimensions?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) GEMINI (May 21-June 20) a) Diptheria b) Bacteria c) Cineraria 4 Social Credit
You might be deferring to Curbing your 4 What economic theory was originated by Major C H Douglas? 5 Retina
someone else more than playfulness a) Capitalism b) Social Credit c) Quantum economy 6 Typhus
you need to be. You could could be diffi-
5 What is the lining membrane of the cavity of the eyeball connected to the optic nerve which forms the receptor 7 Before an X Ray
feel as if this person has a cult, or even
impossible. You'll want to
surface for light rays?
better grasp on a situation. Focus on one
a) Rigoletto b) Retsina c) Retina examination of
item at a time. You will tend to go deeper see the big picture. You
the digestive sys-
into one issue, rather than see the big pic- could be heading into a
ture. more demanding period at 6 Which highly contagious disease, characterised by the sudden onset of rigor, headache, delirium and fever, tem
work. Prepare accordingly. followed by a rash, is caused by a virus conveyed by lice? 8 600 (The speed
Follow your instincts, and a) Typhus b) Measles c) Whooping cough
CANCER (June 21-July 22) of sound at sea
Be more playful and you will land well. 7 When is a barium meal given to someone?
a) Before they take their clothes off for a medical examination level is 760
forthright about a situa-
tion. Know what you
LEO (July 23- b) Before they go to a bar c) Before an X Ray examination of the digestive system m.p.h, and it de- Across Down
want, and investigate a problem more
Aug. 22) 8 An aircraft flying at 40,000 feet can be heard to break the sound barrier when it achieves a speed of how many 1 Small African antelope (6) 1 Be expelled from the legal
You might want miles per hour? creases with alti-
fully. You might not feel ready to act, and 7 Recurrent or dominant profession (6)
to encourage a a) 320 b) 600 c) 1,000 tude.)
for good reason. A discussion with a thought; an obsession, a 2 Salted, maybe (6)
discussion. You have
friend will help you understand your be- 3 Furnace (4)
many ideas, as do those Latin phrase (4,4)
haviour. 4 Greet (7)
around you. Some of them 8 Determination (4)
SPIDERMAN

5 Legal or valid (5)

will be better than others. 10 Warning, guiding, fire (6)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) 6 Begin again (5)
Be wise, air out your 11 Writer (6)
Listen to news with an eye to 8 Waste not, ___ not ? (4)
differences and go for the
change. The impact could be 14 The peak of a cap (3) 9 Throw a slow, high ball (3)
best solution. Trust your
financial. You might want to 16 Being pulled (2,3) 12 MD's aides (3)
sense of humor and your
step back and observe more. 17 "Retired" in short ? (4) 13 Gladiator of the squared cir-
ability to see the big
Be aware of the costs involved at this 19 Shuts a door etc. with a cle ? (5)
picture.
point. Togetherness continues to be a 15 Accident (5)
bang (5)
theme. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) 18 A run scored but not of the
21 Bring about (5)
Assume a low bat (5)
22 ___ up : cheers up or hur-
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) profile in how 19 A cavity or pouch in the
ries ? (5)
You might be less grounded than you deal with a body (3)
someone you're working with, personal mat- 23 A chemical reaction of burn- 20 A hoofed animal; a donkey
but your creativity and intellec- ter. You also might not ing (4) (3)
tual resourcefulness are likely to point to want to lie low in other 26 A type of garden shelter (5) 21 Surgeon's small scraping in-
MARVIN

the correct path. Use your charisma when areas. When evaluating a 28 Put on clothing, hat, etc. (3) strument (7)
dealing with a friend. Reach out to a loved situation, it suits you best 29 Barrister (6) 22 A male child (3)
one at a distance. to be an observer. You will 30 Eye part (6) 23 Preceding in time (6)
gain information that you 24 Small hotels (4)
31 Some resistance (4)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) otherwise would not hear. 25 Expunged (6)
32 Conceits, especially about
You'll want to zero in on the 26 Animated, not dead (5)
real issue behind a problem CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 appearances (8)
27 Master (in Africa) (5)
that keeps being debated in a -Jan. 19) 33 Passionate, blistering or sul- 28 Note of the musical scale (3)
meeting; otherwise, you and the others in Take charge try (6) 30 Price, expense or charge (4)
the group will not come to a consensus. of a prob-
Address the real matter, and you will lem in
come to a conclusion quickly. order to
SUDOKU SOLUTION TO MAY 10 WORDY WORLD
SOLUTION TO MAY 10

prevent a significant fall-

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) out from happening. Retinue
You might be more stuck on a Allow your creativity to Pronunciation\RET-uh-noo\
professional matter than you flow as you figure out
realize. Remain sensitive to a what might be ap-
DEFINITION
- BY Jacqueline Bigar

friend or loved one at a distance. This per- propriate and most

son might be uncomfortable sharing a effective under the noun: a group of retainers or attendants
problem. Use your imagination. Stay cen- present circum-
tered, and everything will work out well. stances.
EXAMPLES
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) "The Handkerchief Prince was trailed
You might want to revise your thinking about an invest- by a retinue of 40 or so Japanese media
ment. A discussion with a partner could be difficult. members, complete with satellite
Speak your mind, but also listen to this person care-
fully, as he or she reveals his or her thoughts in response.
trucks." — From an article by Anthony
Rieber in Newsday, March 28, 2014