gdp's Comments

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Bootstrapping an Online Education Company to $12M: Pluralsight CEO Aaron Skonnard (Part 6)

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:50:14 +0000

Fixed, Iris :-)

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : 1M/1M Video: Building India's Entrepreneurship Pipeline

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:34:35 +0000

By the way, one of the critical missing pieces in India today is competent incubator managers who can run effective incubators.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : 1M/1M Video: Building India's Entrepreneurship Pipeline

Mon, 9 Apr 2012 22:16:29 +0000

Btw, all those who want to explore partnerships can email irina AT sramanamitra.com and skype with her. We have a lot of experience with structuring these partnerships.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : 1M/1M Video: How Long Can You Keep Dreaming?

Mon, 5 Mar 2012 21:54:03 +0000

Hi Sameer, Your comic strips are very funny :-) Sramana

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Unfair Advantage: Is Domain Knowledge Essential?

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:51:53 +0000

Yes, I like Nimish's analogy of the 'T' shaped expertise as well. Very aptly put.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Restructuring Capitalism

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:58:28 +0000

It is not more regulation, but smart regulation. One that is smart and is already getting implemented is to increase the reserve ratio of banks such that the government NEVER has to bail banks out again. Such regulations are necessary. Pure free market capitalism doesn't work. It is deregulation that brought about the calamity. Most people agree that the bail-out had become necessary, but in the future, there needs to be sufficient regulation such that things don't get to that point.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : October 6 100th Roundtable Recording

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 23:01:42 +0000

Folks, those of you who are considering joining 1M/1M premium, if you have questions, please feel free to call Irina at 786-301-2456 and discuss them. You can also email her at Irina Patterson :<12irina34@gmail.com> We're doing our best to help you understand what 1M/1M can do for you. If you think we can do better in certain places, we are always open to suggestions.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 4)

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:55:22 +0000

There are many facets of the Facebook effect, let me try to explain them separately: (1) Property Taxes that Facebook itself will be paying (2) Enhanced employment would lead to enhanced income, and hence enhanced consumption, but that would require we retain the consumption locally, and don't let it fly away to San Francisco. (3) Some of the Facebook families will be buying houses and settling in Menlo Park, again, only if we make the city attractive for young professionals and families to want to live here. That would mean further property taxes and additional consumption, locally. (4) Facebook's impending IPO will generate numerous angel investors and new entrepreneurs. If Menlo Park downtown can become a hub for incubators and live-work spaces with a specifically 'attractive for entrepreneurs' ambience and energy, then the commercial property taxes, investment, income, everything will snowball into enhanced revenues for the city and the community. (5) The downtown merchants, if there is dramatically enhanced foot traffic in the city, would benefit from the associated consumption, and there will be sales tax increases because of that. Facebook, by 2015, plans to hire 9000 people. That creates a very strong potential for the city, in my opinion, to build a thriving, living, breathing 'capital' here.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 4)

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:01:57 +0000

Yes, and as a matter of fact, Stanford's resources can be leveraged to curate culture - whether it is Jazz or Theater or Photography, Stanford has a strong Liberal Arts program, with experts who can help curate some events.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 4)

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 05:22:27 +0000

The aging population IS interested in a conservative vision, no doubt. In fact, left up to them, NO change is the best path forward. The question is whether a city should build its future in tune with an aging population, or plan for a future such that it can attract younger people, revenues to provide services, etc. The introduction of Facebook into the picture dramatically changes the tax potential, and if the city misses this opportunity, it has a bleak future ahead.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 4)

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 02:31:13 +0000

This is simply not exciting or interesting to me as a vision and I don't think it has the power to capture the imagination of a population.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 4)

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:13:44 +0000

Hi Roxy,

I think, we do want more people - more life - in Menlo Park. If you look at Palo Alto downtown, it is full of people - young and old - during the day and in the evening. In comparison, Menlo Park is dead.

As long as parking garages are all under ground, but provided amply in the design guidelines, and we carefully design the live-work user experiences such that people do not have to get in the car all the time, the sustainability concerns can be handled.

Also, trees are something the city is proud of, so I am sure they will make every effort to keep, although at times, move, some of them.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Top 10 Social Web Trends For The Decade

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 22:01:54 +0000

National Geographic has a cover story on the teenage brain which I am sure is changing - evolving - to work in this dreadful trend, so yes.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 4)

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 01:02:09 +0000

I don't think the city council is trying to destroy downtown. And I also think that you guys are much too hung up on the parking lot issue, which they understand is a sticking point. They're just trying to get the rezoning passed, and then they need to start working with developers to get down to the specifics. The current plan, as they state quite clearly, is not a detailed plan. At best, it is an attempt to put together a zoning map such that developers can be invited to a discussion. I think, you misunderstand their intent, and making a much bigger deal out of it than necessary. I would let the zoning plan pass, and then, fight the issues when the detailed projects come into focus. Right now, you are blocking any progress at all, which, in my opinion, is not a smart move.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : There Is A Trend To Spot In Groupon's Growth Rate

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:22:40 +0000

Exactly. And look around - they are not used by any of the big traffic sites like Yahoo! or LinkedIn or Facebook. My point is, they should be. And Groupon's meteoric rise has given us reason to turn the spotlight on this issue. That's all. Nothing earth-shattering. Just a subtle observation that humongous sites miss something that is right under their proverbial nose.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Top 10 Social Web Trends For The Decade

Tue, 5 Jul 2011 18:10:15 +0000

Yes, possibly. Whichever way we look at it, the social web is having a profound impact on sociology for sure!

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Will RIM End Up In Dell's Arms?

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:39:58 +0000

Impossible. They just bought Palm. Makes no sense to buy RIM at all, unless they want to take control of the channels that RIM has, which may be the case.

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : India's Big Opportunity In SaaS

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:35:04 +0000

Siddharth, Pls note, that the opportunity discussed above is product built in India but catering to the Western markets. The price advantage will not hold in the Indian market, and there still are significant infrastructure, bandwidth and access limitations in India. Hopefully they will get sorted out during this decade, but the opportunity discussed here does not speak to India as a market. Edit Delete

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : Silicon Valley: The Next Decade (Part 2)

Thu, 9 Jun 2011 22:38:20 +0000

Ah, one of my favorites Rumba songs is 'Time after Time' ... also a real fun one 'Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps' ...

Sramana Mitra on Strategy : 1M/1M: Affiliate Network For Entrepreneurship Blogs

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:42:37 +0000

Hi Hari, Affilate networks are a very well known monetization models for web sites. The reason you would join the network is to monetize your traffic. As a broad strategy, I suggest you read up on how affiliate marketing works, there is a lot on that topic on the internet. Typically, affiliates get commissions for selling a product. There is no other reason to join the group than wanting to monetize the synergistic traffic you may have. Sramana