1. Name the movie as ‘Maya’ in stead of ‘Prince’.
   I won’t tell you why- because that would become a ‘spoiler’, which is technically not possible- as there is nothing left to spoil in the movie, the (co-)filmmakers have done a great job at that.
   So if I tried to give you a ‘spoiler’ of something that has already been subjected to filmmakers spoilers, you would land up in an infinite loop – I’d rather let you watch the movie… ok, wait.
2. Swap the original Maya with Urvashi Dholakia
   This would be a strategic move as it would help me get my desired output, as a filmmaker, directly i.e. sell; in fact hard sell . You know what I mean, right?
   err… no?  Ok, so let me explain- the original Maya was more of a liability.  Even with the help of varied costumes (like casuals,body hugging, decent, indecent,short, uber-short, almost none) she was always trying hard to appeal, but never delivered.
   With Ms. Dholakia, it would’ve been a cakewalk, given her experience and her latest stint as coach (Find out how- see video…  no I’m not a KKR supporter)
   
3. Sell ‘in Product Placement’ to Movie Time Cinemas
   Although there is a Sindhi entrepreneur behind the scenes of this ‘flick’, I would have proposed this solely in the interest of the Bollywood ‘underdog’  Vivek Oberoi.
   He would have made a kick-ass brand ambassador (for the first time) had he uttered ‘It’s ShowMovieTime Baby’   before each of his anti-Newtonian stunts.
   This would also have managed the expectation  with the audience- who would realize that it’s a movie and then give up on comparing the action sequences with those of the Matrix, and actually see it from the filmmakers angle.
4. Screen Drona  a day before release, for FREE
   Now this is more of a tactical move than a strategic one- as it wouldn’t have given me the desired outcome  directly but consequentially.
   Drona is one movie that acts as a vaccine – if you can watch the whole of Drona for 3 hours, you can stand any movie of any class, on any given day. Making it available for free , would attract many a fellow citizens a day before releasing Prince Maya.
   This would’ve also given me some footage in business dailies, as FREE would’ve been established as a business model in Bollywood – ‘Bollywood bitten by the Freemium bug’.
5. Venture into  TV production
   Now you would think that this follows logically from Ms. Dholakia’s inclusion, which is absolutely incorrect. True entrepreneurs/filmmakers don’t build castles in the air- we strategize independently of the outcomes of our other moves.
   The rationale of this proposition evolves from the fact that this movie is a 2-time watch- that’s because all those who left the movie in the first half need to watch it again to experience the immense potential that it exhibits for for the small screen.
   The meticulously directed background score builds the much sought after drama in every scene, especially whenever the villain makes an appearance- trust me the reincarnation of Tulsi Virani’s husband would appear lack luster in front of this high intensity drama.

Finally, a TIP(s) for the filmmakers- you should claim “From the makers of RACE minus ‘Abbas Mustan’ ” . This would allow your new muse (director) to claim his fame .

Aah, if you still have the question “But, WHY?”
I can only remind you of this, beautiful piece of copy (Courtesy Marketing Practice ):

• • Basics of the Balance Sheet
  • Fundamentals of the Profit and Loss account
  • The Cash flow statement
  • Validating your assumptions
  • The Seven financial reactions to any decision you would take.

1. Basics of the BALANCE SHEET

In simple terms the balance Sheet has 2 columns viz. Money required and Money Funded:

Money Required	Money Funded
Capital employed	Capital Employed
Investing	Financing
I Own	I Owe
Operations	Finance
Application of Funds	Source of Funds
Fixed Assets + Working Capital	Net Worth + Loaned Funds

• Money Required.: Fixed Assets + Working capital (cycle) – Liquid cash is the worst asset- it cant get liquid any further and we don’t get any returns on it. Although some amount of petty cash is a must for day to day business expenses- more than that is a waste.
• Money Funded : (Share Capital + reserves = ) Net Worth + loaned Funds – Net Worth = Money brought in by the owner and that retained in the business.
  - Reserves = assets, land, Accounts receivable etc. Reserve Rich not= Cash rich
• Equity is more expensive than debt
• “Profit is a liability for a business -cause it is the investors money to be returned. So is Loss an Asset?”

2. Basics OF Profit and Loss Accounts

• Money that comes from Sales –> Income
• Income – Variable Cost = Contribution i.e the surplus from income that covers for the foxed costs
• Contribution – Fixed Cost = Profit Before Interest and Tax (PBIT) aka Operating Profit
  If PBIT is +ve –> operationally we are making a profit – operating profit
• PBIT – Interest on Long term Loans = Profit Before Tax (PBT) aka Taxable profit
• PBT – Tax = Profit after Tax (PAT) aka Net Profit
• PAT – Dividend = Retained Earnings –> Net worth
• USA norm for PBIT is EBIDTA – Earnings before Interest Depreciation Tax and Amortization
  Amortization: like depreciation – you spread the expenditure across a period e.g. you don’t depreciate Brand Name/Goodwill. IPL/EPL teams bought would be typically amortized.

“Profit is a liability for a business -cause it is the investor’s money to be returned. So is Loss an Asset?”

3. CASH FLOW STATEMENT

The following table illustrates the fundamentals before one ventures into drafting a cashflow statement.

Operating	Investment	Finance
PBDIT (-) Increase in Working Capital [other than cash] (+) Decrease in working capital (-) Taxation	Sale proceeds from fixed Assets or investments (-)Purchase of fixed Assets/investments (+) Interest from investments	Issue of share capital (+) Long term loan taken (-)Repayment of loan (-) Drawings (-) Pyment on Interest of loans (-) Dividend paid on capital

A successful business depicts the following traits:

• Share Capital is issued only to purchase fixed assets and investments and for drawings.
• Sale proceeds from fixed asset/investments are used only to purchase fixed assets/investments
• Operational profits are used for repayment of loans and for further investments.

Other points:

• Cash flow statement cannot be easily fudged and one should not try to do so just for the sake of impressing potential investors.
• Working Capital is technically the working capital ‘gap’ and is always a cycle.

3. Validating your assumptions

• • Apply Ockham’s razor : Get as close to reality as possible.
  • Possible ways to validate:
    - Get an industry insider to invest in you.
    One of the best ways to validate as he is a better judge of the industry trends and unsolved problems through his experience than you are with your market research.- Get a gainful employee to join your Co.
    If s/he can leave his stable and plush job to join your new venture it means either your venture is super or that he is a bozo.
  • Mistrust the obvious.
  • Understand your sphere of influence ,concern and control.

4. THE 7 FINANCIAL REACTIONS TO ANY DECISION YOU TAKE

There are seven distinct and finite financial reactions that can take place for any decision we make

1. Increase in Sales Volume
2. Decrease in Fixed Cost
3. Increase in Selling Price
4. Decrease Variable Cost
5. Change in Product Mix
6. Reduction of Fixed Assets
7. Reduction of Working Cap (gap)

That brings us to the end of my notes from my first lesson in finance.
They seems pretty logical to me , however I do not endorse or assure that these would work for everybody/anybody- as an explorer and a learner I just wanted to share this the likeminded readers.

Cheers!

Fortunately M. Hariharan,Director Savoir Faire (an entrepreneur since the last eighteen years) was probably as skilled in participant expectation management as he is in Total Cost Management. His constant dosage of funny anecdotes and analogies not only kept me wide awake through this 4.5 hrs session but also encouraged me to take notes.
I’m posting these notes for the benefit of entrepreneurs. Hope it helps

1. What is the GOAL for running a business?
   One cannot have multiple goals for an organisation. It has to be unique. The multiple goals like profit creation, customer satisfaction, social responsibility etc. are interim goals that are necessary conditions but not sufficient condition to run an organisation sufficiently.
   The necessary and sufficient condition for any commercial organisation is that to make Money!
   Profit belongs to the investor.
   The firm cannot  make money while ignoring the necessary conditions; the firm cannot ignore making money while pursuing the necessary conditions.
2. For every action there is a Financial Reaction
   1. Profit is an absolute term.
   2. ROI (return on investment) is a relative term that decides Profit.
   3. Healthy Cashflow is a must for survival.

Normally people get drunk on profit even though they are not cost efficient. People talk about cost only in downturns  its like talking of common cold only  during Monsoon.

3. Drivers of the bottom line:

1. Revenue:
   Wealth is only created by Sales/earning revenue – not by cutting cost.
2. Cost:
   Normally people get drunk on profit even though they are not cost efficient. People talk about cost only in downturns  its like talking of common cold only  during Monsoon.
3. Investment:
   The money blocked in business is investment. It brings down profitability – affects cash flow and ROI negatively.

4.  The four Ms of business:

1. Men
2. Machine
3. Methods- the most critical parameter affecting the bottom line.
4. Material (finished goods)

5. The four ‘R’s that an investor should look at:

1. Return
2. Risk
3. Raise
4. Realization

6. Other Important Points

1. You are creating wealth when you make profits more than the expected rate of returns i.e.  existing in the current market.
2. We cannot compromise on strategy at the cost of survival and vice versa.
3. Brand is a set of promises that I’ve been fulfilling for long or have promised to full fill in the future.

What’s in Store: Notes from My First Lesson on Finance- part two

• Basics of the Balance Sheet
• Fundamentals of the Profit and Loss account
• The Cash flow statement
• Validating your assumptions
• The Seven financial reactions to any decision you would take.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Post the terror attacks, citizens are engaged in constructive activities ranging from organizing peace/protest rallies, candle lighting, debates, blood donations, creating FB orkut groups and discussion fora, writing blog posts etc. The motive being clear: to challenge the system and make sure that we create a diligent and safe society.

One such initiative was forwarding of this email across groups and individuals that challenges the politicians and threatens them indirectly by describing an option of voting nobody in the election.
This act however, also stands as an example of the trouble and confusion we might cause and create amongst ourselves if our initiatives are not checked upon with due diligence.

Here is the email as I received it:

Dear All,

Section 49-O of the Constitution

Did you know that there is a system in our constitution, as per the 1969 act, in section “49-O” that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn’t want to vote anyone!

Yes such a feature is available, but obviously these seemingly notorious leaders have never disclosed it. This is called “49-O”.

Why should you go and say “I VOTE NOBODY”… because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received
“49-O” votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them. This would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way, of our whole political system… it is seemingly surprising why the election commission has not revealed such a feature to the public….

Please spread this news to as many as you know…Seems to be a wonderful weapon against corrupt parties in India… showing your power,expressing your desire not to vote for anybody, is even more powerful than voting… so don’t miss your chance. So either vote, or vote not to vote (vote 49-O) and pass this info on…

“Please forward this mail to as many as possible, so that we, the people of India, can really use this power to save our nation”.

Use your vote right for a better INDIA.

I was excited on reading it, as it seemed to be an interesting piece of NEWS. However, after scouting for related info over the internet I came down with the following notes:

• Here is the link to an official government PDF that confirms the rule :
  http://www.eci.gov.in/PROPOSED_ELECTORAL_REFORMS.pdf (pg 15/32)
• You dont end up voting for Nobody. You just identify and not vote.
• This means –> that the polling officer will come to know of your decision in this case. This will be recorded.
• Here is the pdf that gives info on the consequence of doing so:
  http://archive.eci.gov.in/handbook/PRESIDING%20OFFICER.pdf (pg 49/119)
• Note that: Constitution of India has Articles and not sections! This particular item is a part of Rule 49 O of the Conduct of Election Rules
• Beware : The original post has a lot of loose ends.Don’t take it as is. If elections were to be redone in this manner, then the EC would end up spending loads of cash; there also exists the possibility of an infinite loop in some constituencies.
  E.g. :

  Candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has Received “49-O” votes more than 123

  Did he get 123 votes and win? OR Did win by margin of 123 votes?

It is very crucial for all of us to think rationally and with due diligence before we act; else there is a high probability of adding more to the prevailing anger and confusion instead of channelizing it properly.

Jai Hind!

Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar |Writer, director: Abhishek Kapoor |

StarCast: Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kolhi, Luke Kenny, Prachi Desai

Plot Preview:
The movie oscillates between the successful present and the happy past of ‘MAGIK’.
Magik is a band formed by the four protagonists in their early twenties, when they escaped the quarter age crisis by doing the thing they wanted to do.
The band that rocked the crowd and set the stage ablaze moved apart for self centric reasons to give some of its members a successful and ‘well settled life’: the life without a calling.
The story takes you across the split and merger of MAGIK with the magic of meaningful music combined with a coherent sense of direction.

USP of Rock On:

• Emphasis on minute real life details:
  The viewer is an intelligent being. He will be impressed by fantasy if he is looking forward to it. So if a film maker shows a series of impossible acts, the viewer is bound to loathe it unless, the movie is called “The Miracle’ or ‘Mission Impossible”.
  
  With Rock On, we finally have a rare Indian production that shows a guy playing an electric guitar without a piano/keyboard/acoustic guitar playing in the background. It is every actor’s fantasy to be a rock-star and hold a Kramer; but then you can’t do hip hop numbers holding that electric guitar.
  Farhan Akhtar indeed has a sense of detailing, which he exhibited in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, his directorial debut, by manifesting a no nonsense , no fantasy story of three young men on the crossroads of life. With Luke Kenny on board, Rock On had to strike the perfect chord with the subject technicalities.
• Something to take back home:
  Rock On is about the youth too. It talks about a crossroad of life too. Yet, it was a totally new and refreshing experience. The movie focuses on a popular dilemma that everybody faces in the younger 20′s and 30’s. The one that gives us a choice of doing the thing that we want to do v/s the thing that we are expected to do. Life goes on either ways; success would come to you both ways too. The root of the dilemma is, was, and will always remain about happiness and satiation’. Rock On beautifully captures ‘the quest of the calling with the pursuit of happiness’ and puts it in front of you in a captivating manner.

  

• The Rock says:
  
  Rock on is a Bollywood flick and that too about a Rock Band. It is obvious that it would have several songs and, as per past trends, they would be wannabe rock tracks or rip offs.
  I am not a big music digger to guarantee their originality, but I can surely say the stuff was genuinely rock (formerly ‘the blues’) and in case my intuition counts they were far apart from the Indian rip-offs that we have been exposed to.

  The way this genre of music has been portrayed will do a lot of good to its image. It’ll break the myth that equates Rock n Roll to sex and drugs, and limits its domain to sub-genres like Death Metal, Heavy Metal etc. which are perceived as a portrayal of sheer noise for the uninitiated. The movie will help the junta identify the Indian rock scene and respect the genre as a source of meaningful lyrics and passionate music instead of head-banging and mosh pits.

• Silence is blissful:
  
  The adage has a lot to teach, especially to the Indian film directors. A complete lack of human and other artificial sounds including a background score adds a huge impact on scenes that are heavy on the emotional/senti side.
  The scene that features Joe (Arjun Rampal) sitting alone in his balcony with the guitar on his lap had only the sound of crickets playing at the back.
  This style of direction has been depicted in Dil Chahta Hai too. A few other directors like Nagesh Kuknoor have also deployed this fundamental of film making in their movies and has always been the differentiating factor.

The Verdict:

Two Time watch.
Rating: * * * * 1/2

Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar |Writer, director: Abhishek Kapoor |

StarCast: Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kolhi, Luke Kenny, Prachi Desai

Image courtesy: wikipedia

This series would comprise of posts that deal with various aspects of consumer shopping spanning across topics like how business works, tips and tricks to smart buying and of course some great deal listings.

This is not a well thought of and a well planned attempt, so kindly bear with me if it doesn’t live up.

Currently I am also researching on building up a service that caters to individuals who value their time and money while out shopping. For the same purpose I’ve initiated a survey that would help me understand consumer preferences.

The short questionnaire would take you approximately 7 minutes to fill up and you can find it over here.

As their fate had it, the underdogs emerged triumphant at the software development contest of the Micrsoft Imagine Cup India finals and are all geared up to head to Paris this July for the World finale of the same Contest. We get up close with them and get it right from the geek’s mouth.

• How does it feel, after winning IC India, in the Software design Competition?

VM: It feels great especially since we had been there last year and we knew we could pull it off this time. We felt we were a bit under prepared last time, however we did our homework this time and made sure we dint leave any stone unturned.

SD: It feels like im almost on the top of the world;Ill be there when we get to france!! But,seriously, its an amazing feeling and i sincerely wish we cross a milestone in france too.

PD: From the moment our team’s name was announced by Mr. Ravi Venkatesan (Chairman MSFT India) till today, I have been reminding myself that this is not a dream.

• What got u guys geared up for IC?

VM: This year’s theme environment seemed extremely challenging and it seemed our only way to payback to mother nature for all the atrocities that we do/commit and besides it was more about finishing the job we that we left half way last year.

PD: VESIT’s R&D lab has been working on development of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for the past two year. For creating sustainable environment, constant monitoring of climatic parameters is imperative. Here’s where WSNs play an important role. So basically we were geared up for the theme even before it was announced.

• What made u team up together? Elaborate each individuals exclusivity

PD: To win IC one needs a team with great variety in talents. Ours is one such team. We call SD as PR GURU. She is amazing at handling corporate level presentations. By the way she’s already placed in Microsoft(MSFT). KD has a knack of working with MSFT technologies. VM is great at CS intricacies and coding. I have been working on integration of WSNs with .NET technology for quite sometime.

SD: Well, we all have our traits but work perfectly as a team. Krunal’s extremely resourceful and knowledgeable, Paras is hell bent on finishing something once its begun, Veenit can get things done faster than you can blink..So, All of us coming together for IC was just a equation that fit perfectly.

• Tell us something about your project and how is it in line with the MS sentiment of exploring your own creativity by creating software design solutions that enable a sustainable environment.

  PD: Our project ‘Kalpavriksha’ is a decision support system for precision agriculture. It breaks the conventional approach of considering farm lands as homogeneous. Instead we divide the whole land into smaller site to perform site specific crop management. We employ WSN to monitor the in-field variability of the soil and climatic parameters. Based on the collected sensor data, our application tries to optimize the utilization of agro-resources. Our main aim is to make sure that each site produces maximum yield. Agriculture has faced a major setback because of low yield and Kalpavriksha tries to solve it. This is how our solution adheres to IC’s theme.
  

  

• What was it like to present in front of stalwarts from GE, IIMa, NASSCOm etc ? What was your strategy?
  VM: Its an honor to present in front of eminent personalities however the experience was worth taking the effort. Their thought process was way superior, as they delved into the intricacies of the system as if devouring each part of it and then cross questioning to test the knowledge of the presenter.

  SD: Well, its was intimidating to present in front of such knowledgeable people but they were perfect listeners and caught on to every word that was said. Their questions were also engineered with an outlook that was different from most people.
  

• Did you guys get a pat on the back from any venture capitalist? What are the future prospects of this project?

VM: We did get encouragement via the panelists on stage. However R. K Misra showed keen interest in out project. He has an ongoing project called ‘change India’ and feels that out project fits in line with it. We will be contacting him soon. Moreover we also will be getting training from IIMA’s Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship regarding A-Z of incubation of projects and entrepreneurship. We are eagerly looking forward to it although it clashes with our Univ exams, we are ready to take on the challenge and make the most of the opportunity provided to us by Microsoft.

PD: Mr. Misra was really interested in our project. His speech inspires us to complete this project from a prototype to a complete system.

· Gyaan for the kids: ?who can goto IC

BV: Imagine cup is for those who can think creatively. Also it not only inspires u but also helps you to realise your potential by bringing the best out of you. Imagine cup is where talent meets innovation. IC is all around a theme that is a real problem. Its not a theme actually (but a real world problem).

SD: Imagine cup is all about the right mix of passion and dedication. You think your innovation can be implemented, then get out there and show everybody. Its all about making this world a better place using your innovative thoughts. So, your imagination->your implementation

KD: Imagine cup is, as(the) name suggest more of imagination and innovation. You need to take a step further to think above all (the) solutions available and proceed. It can be perceived as finding out new (a) solution or looking (at an) old solution in a new way and bettering it.

VM: Anybody who has passion for technology and thinks he has got in him what it takes to compete with the most innovative minds in the world can take part in the competition. All one needs is, to come up with a wacky idea in congruence with the theme and then build on it using Microsoft technologies.

· How was it to have a fellow batchmate(Bhavik Vora) to mentor the team?

SD: Bhavik’s been a constant supporter and helped us out of many rough areas. He’s really creative and has always been more confident about our team than we could ever be.

VM: Although quite a few people think that mentor should be some one older , however we feel a ,mentor is someone who can lead us and guide us. Bhavik did exactly that. He always kept on adding bits and pieces to our project idea trying to make it complete on all fronts. Moreover another advantage one has with a mentor of the same age is that there is zero communication barrier and hence easy flow of ideas and guidance.

KD: A mentor is friend at first place and Bhavik was really (the) one we needed. He has knowledge , brains (and he) knew us through .We couldn’t have expected more or given out more without him.

· Bhavik, tell us about your last years stint at IC that eventually got you placed at Microsoft.

BV: Well, the (top) ten teams were going be interviewed for the intership. I got through the tele-interview and had done an internship of 6 weeks. Well after that it was a cakewalk. The interview for recruitment was a formality.