Kunal Nandwani

It wasn’t very long ago that Bitcoin and other similar crypto-currencies disrupted the financial ecosystem. It surpassed the US Dollar, other fiat currencies and even gold. Pretty soon it earned the title of “digital gold” and broad the fame, and infamy, that would inevitably come with such a moniker. Similarly, other crypto-currencies like Ethereum tripled in value and Ripple skyrocketed. The whole ecosystem of crypto-currencies exploded with their total market capitalization rocketing past $100 billion, as this blog was written. Large Investment Banks like Goldman Sachs and Fund Managers like Fidelity are taking these currencies seriously now. This rapid momentum has led to the birth of more than 900 crypto-currencies, all looking for a piece of the action. This rapid growth also […]

Most entrepreneurs face several uphill challenges for years, before potentially transforming their startup into a sustainable business. And if the external factors favor, they may end up being fairly successful and possibly a unicorn. But such success is only achieved by less than 1% of startups. Perseverance is one of the key factors in entrepreneurship. Many advise that entrepreneurs should be willing to persevere for long. Definition of long is subjective and different for everyone. For first time entrepreneurs, they believe its few quarters to a couple of years or so, for experienced serial entrepreneurs, long can be 5-10 years, and for legendary entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, long means decades. On the flip side, while everyone expects entrepreneurs to persevere, […]

Blockchain has been a major topic of discussion and media coverage in the last few years. It has been over-estimated as the magical wand that can solve all technical problems and build trust by default. This blog attempts to explain why Blockchain is not the solution to most use cases being tried around. Blockchain Background Bitcoin is driven by underlying technology called Blockchain that helps build trust among people, while creating and transferring unique value digitally, without any central institution or regulator. All blockchain transactions are transparent and immutable. Blockchain relies on cryptography driven mining, to stamp all transactions uniquely, which builds the trust in collaborative transparent technology process. Simply put, Blockchain is a database. Blockchain is a distributed database. […]

Branding your Start-up So you’ve jumped across all the hurdles in your way, put in sweat and blood, and invested countless hours to kick-off your start-up. Now how do you get noticed? For startups, it’s important to “go live” and start generating revenue before running out of initial capital. This definitely drives a sense of urgency to succeed quickly. Many entrepreneurs spend most of their time on the concept and its execution, but should also translate the startup’s big idea into a brand idea. Especially as they cross 3-5 years mark and become a real business. Your brand is your identity; it defines how your customers perceive you. It is the experience you deliver to your customers. Think about the […]

Kodak Cameras History Kodak developed the first simple, consumer camera. For over a century following this, Eastman Kodak was the biggest player in the industry. However, the years following 1994 saw the company’s demise, thanks to its unwillingness to acknowledge the growing popularity of digital cameras. Apple had just launched QuickTake, the world’s first consumer digital camera, which incidentally was manufactured by Kodak. Despite this, they did not jump onto the digital bandwagon till many years later. As digital photography destroyed its film-based counterpart, it was a downhill ride from there, and the company eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Its annual losses reached $1.38 billion in 2012. Of the roughly 200 buildings that once stood on the 1,300-acre campus […]

What a year 2016 is turning out to be from the viewpoint of India’s Startup ecosystem! The year got off to a ‘Big-Bang’ start with the Prime Minister outlining the Startup India Action Plan, indicative of the significance his government has ascribed to startups as job creators and growth stimulators. With angel and venture capital investments recording the highest ever jump to cross a new milestone in the previous year, 2016 was all set to be the year to usher in more ‘unicorns’ with access to a torrent of investor funds and to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship through government led initiatives like ‘Startup India’ and ‘Digital India’ with an objective to make the country the startup capital of the […]