Startup Asia is a coffee-table book. No, not in the sense in which we understand coffee-table books; it is a book that feels like a purposeless chat around the coffee table. What does it say? It says that Asia is the next innovation hub and that it should be watched. What do we mean by Asia? Asia here means Vietnam, India and China (VIC). If BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and, later, South Africa – could be coined as a term to describe emerging markets, we could do so for other regions as well. So, welcome to the world of VIC, an innovation hub.
Startup Asia is written in the curious style mastered by Ruchir Sharma. Sometimes, it reads like a series of blogs; other times, a rushed travelogue. It even has a P3 party feel; and it occasionally reminds us of a Keya Sarkar column that assumes that the entire world is interested in a sari shop in Santiniketan. The tone is chatty, directionless and preachy — all at the same time.
Obviously, there has to be something in the 239 pages, in addition to the photographs of investors, entrepreneurs and innovators. The book rambles, first talking about the hot spots of innovation in Asia — China, India and Vietnam. The hot spots are identified on the basis of patents filed, and anecdotal narrations of new companies that have either innovated or replicated an existing business model — concentrating, mostly, on the tech space. More anecdotes are thrown in about the regulatory environment and markets. If this were a coffee-table conversation, you would come away with the impression that you have talked to a person who has profound insights. Unfortunately, having lots of data that you can reel off – and a series of anecdotes to “prove” the data – provides us with lists rather than insights. Insights come from a theoretical framework of looking at patterns and examining if these patterns add up, whether these patterns could be theorised, or whether others could learn the underlying principles. If we ask whether we are any wiser after reading this book – or what we have learnt about start-ups, Asia or innovation – the answer could be vague.
Clearly, the author is in a hurry — the number of companies she “studies”, the number of people she “visits” and the number of conclusions she “arrives” at indicate a pace that shows impatience and restlessness. Here’s an example: “Lunchtime! Office manager Raghu Rao has ordered in box lunches of spicy Indian curries, chicken tandoori, saag paneer, basmati rice and nan from the upscale Taj West End hotel for us. We sit around the conference room table and Sethi gives me a brief history of the evolution of India tech entrepreneurship. Between bites, I type as fast as I can on my netbook computer and – something I couldn’t have done in China – tweet some of his more relevant points.” It is indeed a lot of work and a quick way of learning lessons in evolution and undertaking research. In this hurry, however, the author fails to check some basic facts. She writes, “Shaadi, a Sanskrit word of ‘wedding’ ” and “Another innovative cyberspace security startup I encountered at IDG’s Bangalore office is iViz, a spinout in 2006 by Bikash Barai from his alma mater Indian Institute of Technology, in Calcutta”. We can agree that the government has been mindlessly setting up the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management in places like Jodhpur, Rohtak, Raipur and Kashipur, but a new IIT with a ready-made alumnus in Calcutta?
So what are her strategies for cashing in on the innovation boom? It is evident in the titles of the chapters —catch the mobile boom (example: Justdial); get in on the cleantech boom (Attero, D.light, Reva); ride the consumer wave (Coffee Day; Kaati Zone); outsourcing (MindTree); tap in government incubators (Rotimatic, tenCube); become the next Twitter (Gobi Partners, MakeMyTrip, Ushi); originate a Discovery (Helion). We get insights into many start-up cases as she travels and holds meetings amid lunches and teas.
The author wraps up the book with two chapters that celebrate going public, listing and going global. That is the ultimate purpose of innovation; that is the mission of a start-up. Once on NYSE or Nasdaq, the mission is accomplished.
So as we conclude this review, here are some nuggets of “strategy”. Strategies with severe word limits. For example:
“Strategy: Reva
- Develop patented technologies and reap the benefits of first-mover advantage before the market gets crowded.
- Partner with a big multinational with enough presence in the local market to boost distribution.
- If you are a technologist, stay true to your original mission and let others deal with business hassles so you can focus on what you do best….”
One never knew that there could be a self-help book on start-ups. This appears to be one. Ruchir Sharma would be delighted to see that his travelogue style of understanding global economies has been perfected in this micro world of innovative start-ups. The acknowledgements are a delight to read: they provide a guide to the hotels where the author stayed and a Twitter-like review of her stay at those places.
The reviewer is visiting faculty, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
mssriram@gmail.com
STARTUP ASIA
Top Strategies for Cashing in on Asia’s
Innovation Boom
Rebecca A Fannin
John Wiley and Sons; 239 pages
