I started this new blog exactly a year ago with a commitment to publish one new post daily. Over the past year, I have written on three themes: marketing, entrepreneurship and India. As I begin the second year of this blog, I hope to continue those themes perhaps with a few tweaks – in sync with my evolving interests.
Marketing: I will focus more on the idea of Microns (short, informational, daily emails) and VRM (Velvet Rope Marketing). Through 100+ conversations with marketers over the past year, there have been many learnings which will help take both these ideas further. Microns can be the natural evolution (or extension) of promotional mails which can change our “delete” mindset into “delight” as we see these mails in our inbox. VRM can be a profit booster for enterprises when done right by increasing loyalty and revenues from Best Customers which can contribute disproportionately to driving profits.
Entrepreneurship: The past year’s writings have focused on the past – stories and learnings from my 29 years as an entrepreneur. They have been about how to build a startup into a proficorn. Going forward, I want to write more about the present and future – how to go beyond entrepreneurship and build an enduring, great company. It is what I am focused on at Netcore, and I want to share my thinking and learnings as we go along.
India: Over the past year, I have outlined why India needs a revolution if we are to become free and rich. I will write an occasional series on “What India Needs” (WIN) – the elements that are missing in India. India needs economic freedom, which means free markets, free trade, rule of law, property rights, limited government, decentralisation of power, and more. A few PSU privatisations, import tariffs and PLI (production-linked incentives) schemes are not harbingers of future prosperity. And to make all this happen we need UVI.
For all of us, the past year has been first about the virus and then about the vaccine. Work from home has changed our daily routine. We have given up some things we liked (international travel, in my case) and adopted new ways of life (Zoom, online everything). Digitisation of daily life has accelerated. The coming months will see some return to our past ways while some other changes will stick. For me, publishing a new post every morning along with the Thinks series in the evening are two habits that I hope will stay for a long time.
