gbg-mumbai-bootstrapping-vs-fundriaisng-event

Event: Bootstrapping vs. Fundraising – When and How – Nov29th.

Read the notes from the meeting here gbgmumbai.org/vc-notes/

The world is full of ideas, everyone of us have a profound knowledge of something in our own field of work and an idea follows immediately to make it better. But then, Ideas are dime a dozen, the challenge is in execution. Of the many challenges that hinders executing a world changing idea is access to resources (aka money).

To take the plunge and getting things done is not everyone’s cup of tea, thankfully there are Angels (Friends, Family) who take the leap of faith along with a wannabe  entrepreneur to setup shop and grow the startup.

We wish it was that easy! Well, consider this scenarios:

  • Can your competitors take over the market if they raise capital and you bootstrap?
  • Can your business continue growing without external funding?
  • What are your chances for successful fundraising? or should you even try?
  • You may need the VCs, but does VCs need you?

If answering these questions was not hard enough, there are more jargons in the world of fundraising, Pre-Money, Post-Money, Rights of capital protection, Political rights, Liquidation preferences…does this mean one must give up hopes and resort to just bootstrapping?

Let us remember, ‘raising capital is not equal to success, not raising is not equal to failure’. Whether bootstrapped or funded, the money is just a means to an end. But how does one decide what to do and how to go about?

GBG Mumbai brings you an exclusive session – ‘Bootstrapping vs. Fundraising – When and How‘ where you can hear two perspective on the same topic; one from a Venture Capitalist, another from an Entrepreneur who recently raised funds.

Speaker Profile:

  • Prashanth Mehta, Partner, Lightbox Venture (Lightbox’s portfolio includes InMobi, Cleartrip, Naukri)
  • Prateek Shukla, Co-founder / CEO, grabhouse.com (the startup that gives you broker free house renting)

Date & Time: Saturday, Nov 29th. 3.45pm. Seminar Hall, Harkisan Mehta Institute of Journalism. Mithibai College. Vile Parle.

Entry: Free and by registration only. Please fill the form below and await your confirmation.

Who should attend? If you are a startup or intending to start one in the near future, and would like to know how to the nuances of bootstrapping and raising money, then this event is for you.

Event: User Experience (UX) & Its Impact on Business – Nov 15th

Spork

Technically, a Spork is supposed to provide best of both – a spoon and a fork, but it neither provides the simplicity of a spoon nor the utility of a fork to eat complex food. No matter how nice the design is, or of what material (steel, plastic, gold!) it is made up of, the spork is an epitome of bad user experience in the world of dining experiences.

The need for a good user experience (UX) is a need than a want. A good design (UI) does not necessarily qualify as good UX. The challenge to provide a great UX for your customer only intensifies in digital side of your business where a human interacts with a machine, and no two user may have similar technical savviness to browse through a labyrinth and arrive at what content / product they were looking for in your website / app.

Think of two big giants in digital buisness – Google and Amazon, both are known for their simplicity in UX; think of Search, Gmail, YouTube…or finding a book on Amazon. All of it looks just ok from a design stand point of view, but have you ever found it difficult to use any of these services? Certainly not! that’s the beauty of having a great UX.

A great UX is not seen, but it is subconsciously felt and experienced by an user on your site or app, it is what increases usability and loyalty towards your business in general.

Whether or not apps and websites are at the center of your business, We are sure there’s a digital element to every business. Today, UX is a must-know area for an entrepreneur to succeed in business by increasing usability and enhancing user’s experience to garner loyalty. Here’s a great chance for you to learn more from the experts.

Topic: User Experience (UX) & Its Impact on Business

Speakers:

  • Sreeraman, Chapter Manager, GBG Mumbai: Keynote address
  • Ajay Menon, COO, Zoomin.com: Impact of Design on Startups
  • Debu Purkayastha, Founder at Rubberstamp: Design’s Impact on Communication and Customer Engagement

Date and Time: 15th Nov, Sat. 3.45pm to 6.pm

Venue: Seminar Hall, Harkisan Mehta Institute of Journalism, Mithibai Campus, Vile Parle, Mumbai.

Entry: Free and through Registration only. (scroll down below or click here )

AdWords Certification Workshop for IIM & IIT Indore by GBG Mumbai

GBG Mumbai in association with GSC of IIM & IIT Indore is conducting a day long workshop leading to certification in Google AdWords & Digital Marketing.

AdWords certification is a professional accreditation that Google offers to individuals who demonstrate proficiency in basic and advanced aspects of AdWords.

This program is currently exclusive for students of IIM & IIT Indore.

AdWords Workshop conducted by Sreeraman, Chapter Manager of GBG Mumbai
AdWords Workshop conducted by Sreeraman, Chapter Manager of GBG Mumbai

Workshop: Google Custom Search & Webmaster Tools – June 14

So you have a great product line and a website that talks about every detail of your products, but wait, how will a customer search for what he/she is looking for? Is your website’s search function technologically sophisticated enough to index all of your site’s content? and then display accurate results within seconds when searched for?

A great website is only as effective as its search function, give your website the power of Google Custom Search & provide high quality search experience for your users.

What is Google Custom Search?

Google Custom Search enables you to create a search engine for your website, your blog, or a collection of websites. You can configure your engine to search both web pages and images. You can fine-tune the ranking, add your own promotions and customize the look and feel of the search results. You can monetize the search by connecting your engine to your Google AdSense account.

With Google’s custom search, you can tailor the search interaction in your project to your users’ needs, using the same search index technology that powers Google.com, with accurate and blazing fast results.

GBG Mumbai brings you an unique opportunity to learn through an interactive and hands-on workshop on how to get the best for your business website with the use of Google Custom Search in combination with Google Webmaster Tools.

Event Date and Time: June 14th, Saturday. 4.00pm to 6.30pm

Entry: Free and by registration only (scroll down to register)

Address: Seminar Hall, Harkisan Mehta Institute of Journalism, Mithibai College, Vile Parle, Mumbai.

Agenda:

  • 3.45pm to 4.10pm: Registration and Introduction
  • 4.15pm to 4.30pm: Welcome & keynote address by Sreeraman (Chapter Manager)
  • 4.30pm to 5.30pm: Google Custom Search Workshop by Pareen Lathia (Entrepreneur at RedCom & The Alumni Portal)
  • 5.30pm to 6.30pm: Google Webmaster Tools demonstration & implementation workshop by Rushabh Vasa (Entrepreneur at Instinct Media)
  • 6.30pm onwards: Group photo session and networking break (hot beverages provided)

Note: The event is a hands-on workshop tailored to benefit entrepreneurs, small business owners, bloggers, SMEs and web developers to understand and implement Google Custom Search and Webmaster tools on their website. No programming skills or knowledge is required. Anyone interested to learn is welcome.

Please come on time.

Cheers and see you on 14th at 3.45pm.

Sreeraman