As we fly over Cuba en route from Fort Lauderdale to Medellin, I am already imbibing the upcoming culture change from the happy chaos at the departure gate in Florida. The plane is surprisingly not full and my fellow passengers, primarily Hispanics, are in a sleepy good mood. We will be arriving at 1am and … Continue reading “An Innovation Snapshot of Medellin, Colombia”
Author: Vinit Nijhawan
Vinit Nijhawan was Managing Director, Office of Technology Development at Boston University where he launched 8 venture-backed spinoffs. Vinit teaches MBA courses on Entrepreneurship at BU Questrom School of Business, over 350 students have taken his courses. Vinit has over 30 years experience building five startups: as CEO of three, five were acquired. Vinit was Venture Partner at Key Venture Partners and over two years sourced over 200 deals and made one investment that was acquired for $430M. Vinit is an advisor and board member to several technology startups and was a Mass High Tech All-Star in 2005. Vinit has participated in over 240 panel discussions and paper presentations, and was a Board Member of Mass Ventures, an early stage, quasi-public Massachusetts venture capital firm, a co-founder of EdTech Accelerator/Incubator LearnLaunch, President of Massachusetts Association of Technology Transfer Offices. Vinit is also on the non-profit boards of the National Academy of Inventors and VentureCafe. Vinit earned a B.A.Sc in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 5): Educating the Bottom of the Pyramid
Delhi, January 5, 2010—The biggest challenge and therefore opportunity faced by India is its demographic dividend: there are over 500 million youth under 25 years of age and 350 million under 15 years. Thirty percent of them are in cities. Only a small percentage of these youngsters will obtain university degrees. The majority will need … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 5): Educating the Bottom of the Pyramid”
India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 4): Billionaire Democracy
Delhi, December 29, 2009—The ruling Congress Party turned 125 years old today to muted fanfare. Founded in 1885, it became the main opposition to British rule, eventually coming to power in 1947 when India reclaimed its independence. The party remained in power for 30 years, until losing its position in 1977. Since then it has … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 4): Billionaire Democracy”
India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 3): A Continent, Not a Country
Mumbai, December 23, 2009—There are now 500 million cell phone subscribers in India. In the major metropolitan cities, penetration rates are close to U.S. levels. A golf caddy, who makes about Rs 300 ($6) per day, has a cell phone so golfers can reserve him for a round. The 500 million subscribers appears to be … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 3): A Continent, Not a Country”
India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 2): Maharajas, Jewelry, and Economic Growth
Jaipur, December 22, 2009—I have come to Jaipur, a major tourist attraction, for the TiE Charter Member Annual Retreat. Some 250 charter members from across the 53 chapters of TiE are in attendance. These are some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the U.S., UK, India, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan. The retreat begins with … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 2): Maharajas, Jewelry, and Economic Growth”
India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 1): Of “Jugaar” and A Quick Recovery from Global Recession
Driving from Delhi to Jaipur on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, December 17, 2009—The new 10-lane Gurgaon highway, opened a year back, is already at capacity. The first 30 miles. through the industrial suburbs of Delhi, are stop-and-go traffic. The Maruti-Suzuki car factories and Hero-Honda motorcycle factories and their parasitic ecosystem for auto jug manufactures ring the … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines 2009 (Part 1): Of “Jugaar” and A Quick Recovery from Global Recession”
Academia Beckons: Launching the BU Kindle Mentoring Program
I joined Boston University (BU) as a Lecturer and Executive-in-Residence in January 2008 and have been teaching courses on entrepreneurship to MBA students. My academic career has expanded recently with two projects. First, I am collaborating with a friend and colleague Vivek Wadhwa at Duke University (I’m now an Adjunct Research Scientist at Duke’s Pratt … Continue reading “Academia Beckons: Launching the BU Kindle Mentoring Program”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 8 (Final Installment): A Return Home and a Reflection
Boston, Tuesday, January 20–I have been back from India for about two weeks and have had time to reflect on my trip and to view my hometown of Boston with a fresh pair of eyes. The front page news in India was about Satyam Computer Services’ $1 billion fraud and India’s impotence in stopping Pakistani-supported … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 8 (Final Installment): A Return Home and a Reflection”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 7: Of Trains, Countryside, and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge
Mumbai-Delhi, Tuesday, December 23—I boarded the overnight train to Delhi at Bombay Central Terminal (the mixed use of old and new city names for Bombay is a metaphor for old and new India—the old structures retain the original Bombay, and everything new is named Mumbai). I had forgotten to print out my e-ticket and was … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 7: Of Trains, Countryside, and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 6: Return to Pune, the Boston of India
Pune, Monday, December 22—I visited the cerebral city of Pune, 120 miles southeast of Bombay (Mumbai), on the Deccan plateau. Pune is the closest parallel city to Boston, with a multitude of universities and government research labs. I attended high school in Pune over 30 years ago. The city was unrecognizable, with huge population and … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 6: Return to Pune, the Boston of India”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 5: The Emerging Entrepreneurial Class
Mumbai Friday December 19, 2008—The TiE Entrepreneurial Summit in Bangalore was a huge success–the sponsoring hotel was barely able to manage the large crowd. What struck me was how young the crowd was and how aggressive the entrepreneurs were in approaching anyone who looked like they had money to invest. Speaker after speaker lauded the … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 5: The Emerging Entrepreneurial Class”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 4: Of Hyper-Competition and Corruption
Bangalore, December 15—For 45 years after independence, Indian companies for all practical purposes operated without competition. Monopolies were granted by the government for extended periods. Many fortunes were made, both by industrialists and corrupt politicians. Consumers had to wait years for “luxury” goods such as cars and telephones. This began to change in 1992, when … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 4: Of Hyper-Competition and Corruption”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 3: Of Property Markets, Both Physical and Intellectual
New Delhi, December 10—The housing meltdown in the U.S. got me thinking about the property market in India. With the dramatic urbanization and growth of Indian cities property prices have skyrocketed. In good neighborhoods in Delhi prices have increased 100x in 30 years. I met a small dairy farmer who supplied a neighborhood with milk … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 3: Of Property Markets, Both Physical and Intellectual”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 2: Of Industry-Targeted Degrees, Water, and Spinoffs
Chandigarh, Sunday, December 7—I drove straight north from Delhi to Chandigarh about 300 km, on a much improved four-lane highway. Chandigarh is a planned city that was designed by the French architect Le Corbusier in the late 1950s. It remains a delightfully livable city that the rest of India has failed to emulate. I am … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 2: Of Industry-Targeted Degrees, Water, and Spinoffs”
Dispatch from India’s Innovation Front Lines
Editor’s note: Xconomist Vinit Nijhawan is in India visiting venture capitalists and startups with an eye to bridging Boston and Indian startup ecosystems. This is the first in a series of dispatches. New Delhi, Thursday, December 4—I arrived in Delhi near midnight off a packed flight and to a crowded international airport, no sign of … Continue reading “Dispatch from India’s Innovation Front Lines”
A Walk on the Dark Side
I have been part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem for over 25 years, mostly as an entrepreneur but also as a VC and angel investor. I firmly believe that the symbiotic relationship of entrepreneurs and smart capital is the key to economic development around the world. I have spent the past six years either running VC-backed … Continue reading “A Walk on the Dark Side”
Telecom’s New Epicenters: India and China
The acquisition of BCGI (Nasdaq) by Megasoft (Bombay Stock Exchange) for $65M that was announced yesterday continues the trend of Indian telecom software companies acquiring European and North American companies. Driving the trend is the growth of telecom, particularly wireless telecom services in emerging markets, particularly China and India. China now has 400M+ subscribers and … Continue reading “Telecom’s New Epicenters: India and China”