Memories, Cookaracha Guides or Venture number two…
Much before Reboot and the Blue Screen of Death, before the Alchemy discussion on our family dinner table and the wild dreamy bet that turned out to be Avicena, before blogging and before DesiBackToDesh, in a land far far away (then marked as Geocities in Jedi lore) there was once a venture named Cookaracha [...]
February 5, 2010
Tags: Actuary, Columbia Business School, Cookaracha Guides, FAST ICS, MBA, Memories, New York, small business, Startup Posted in: Blue Screen, Columbia Business School, Desi Back to Desh, Desi Startup, Failure, Personal shit, Writing, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business 
One Comment
The second best job in the world, part two…
To the three batches (Division A, Division B, and EMBA Batch 13), who made me feel like a rock star two Thursdays in a row. Thank you. Keep them pictures coming J
December 20, 2009
Tags: Dubai, Education, entrepreneurship, small business, SP Jain, Startup, Teaching, Training, UAE Posted in: Columbia Business School, Education, Failure, Startup, Startup Insiders, Training, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business No Comments
The Society of Actuaries interview
Sam Philips interview for the Actuary was the first published review received by BSOD/Reboot. Though a little dated, it is still relevant. Sam also talks about the book in a sidebar
September 19, 2009
Tags: BSOD, Failure, Reboot, Review, small business, Startup Posted in: Blue Screen, Desi Back to Desh, Desi Startup, Education, Failure, entrepreneurs No Comments
Reboot on ITLOW and CIO WebStudio
Jehan does a very flattering post (all of it is true) and a great interview on the CIO webstudio covering the book. More pictures of the book (for you Mohtashim) and moa.
September 7, 2009
Tags: CIO, CIO Pakistan, Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Failure, Jehan, Reboot, small business, Startup Posted in: Alchemy stuff No Comments
Reboot. Advice from a failure
Hunting the great white shark deep in the barrier reef, bare handed, is not a common hobby. It is just as common as starting up organically, bootstrapping, working for yourself, and taking crazy risks not just with your life but with your entire family’s future.
Yet we all dream of it when fate brings [...]
September 7, 2009
Tags: CIO, CIO Pakistan, Columbia Business School, Failure, Reboot, small business Posted in: Alchemy stuff No Comments
Funding for dummies…four
And finally no financing deal ever goes through without relationships and credibility. Relationships open the door and get you time; credibility gets you to the term sheet. The sooner you build up your stock of these two elements the faster you can get to capital – debt or equity.
January 18, 2009
Tags: financing, funding, new ventures, Raising capital, small business, Startup Posted in: Blue Screen, Startup, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business No Comments
Funding for dummies…three
We met Wilson Tan on a trade trip across China. In just over a week, thirty technology companies from the Asia Pacific region covered 3 cities and one hundred Chinese partners, trying to understand the opportunity that was China. Wilson was the President of the organizing body, (the outgoing President of Mercury [...]
January 18, 2009
Tags: financing, funding, new ventures, Raising capital, small business, Startup Posted in: Blue Screen, Desi Back to Desh, Desi Startup, Education, Startup, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business No Comments
Funding for dummies…two
It’s not that money is not available. Or that you can’t raise it. Or that it’s a fairytale that come true for only a select few. Truth is a lot less absolute; there is no black and white, only shades of grey.
Let’s take a look at how and why a 37 year [...]
January 17, 2009
Tags: financing, funding, new ventures, Raising capital, small business, Startup Posted in: Blue Screen, Desi Back to Desh, Desi Startup, Failure, Startup, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business 3 Comments
Funding for dummies…one
You dream, you write, you pitch.
If you put your heart in it and have an idea with merit you collect, build, sell, retire and live happily ever after. You never have to ask, borrow or steal another dime since the millions of dollars you have put aside as a result of your efforts [...]
January 16, 2009
Tags: financing, funding, new ventures, Raising capital, small business, Startup Posted in: Alchemy stuff, Blue Screen, Desi Back to Desh, Desi Startup, Education, Failure, PASHA, Startup, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business One Comment
Things to do in a down market when you are not dead…
We were lucky that the downturn hit us early.
In July 2008 we lost two of our largest clients; within a week of each other and on a week’s notice… It made for interesting internal conversations and a scramble to conserve cash. We were luckier still that between attrition (top heavy), expense management (read: [...]
December 21, 2008
Tags: new ventures, recession, small business, Startup, survival Posted in: Blue Screen, Desi Back to Desh, Desi Startup, Failure, Startup, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business One Comment
Dreams…
“Let’s just say I dare to dream bigger dreams”, said a spunky student when the rest of the class was done with introducing themselves.
Quite a few sunsets and students later, the dreamer called again.
This time he wanted to be a sponge and observe in first person the special sauce that made a technology company, [...]
December 20, 2008
Tags: new ventures, small business, startups Posted in: Blue Screen, Desi Startup, Education, Startup, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business One Comment
The road not taken
Beware of the Ides of December.
10 years ago, this month, packed up and got ready to move to New York.
9 years ago, the same month, received my first six figure offer and said no.
The next time the month came along, I found myself in Tokyo, pitching to the third largest bank on the planet, [...]
December 13, 2008
Tags: Dubai, entrepreneurship, new ventures, New York, small business, startups Posted in: Alchemy stuff 4 Comments
Hope.
It begins with hope. Hope that you will be able to do what you want to do the way you want to do it. And in doing so change your little part of the world.
Maybe make your point, take your stand and survive. On a good day possibly even make money.
Where there is hope, [...]
September 30, 2008
Tags: entrepreneurship, self employment, small business, startups Posted in: Alchemy stuff 2 Comments
Things they never taught me at Columbia Business School…
Despite my numerous comments about how much I owe Bruce Greenwald, Mark Broadie, Don Sexton and Ralph Biggadike on this blog, there are a few thing that they didn’t get around to covering in my all too short stay in school. Here is my list
The link between dropping kids to school and closing deals [...]
September 24, 2008
Tags: Columbia Business School, entrepreneurship, MBA, new business, small business, Startup Posted in: Columbia Business School, Desi Startup, Failure, Startup, Uncategorized, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business No Comments
Gary Travnicek
It was a Tampa, Florida type of a day. Hot and humid! I could also say bright and shiny but the thick air that hit you when you stepped out of your cool room didn’t leave space for any other reaction. Hot and humid, it was.
Gary came to pick me up from the Holiday [...]
September 20, 2008
Tags: Gary Travenicek, selp employment, small business, Wakely Associates Posted in: Failure, Startup, Uncategorized, entrepreneurs, new ventures, small business No Comments
