Vol 5 | Issue 2 | May 2016
Rumblings of a Recession
The startup environment in
India is still positive but there
are some signs of trouble in this
paradise. Our 4th Viewpoint
Roundtable Navigating
Downturn Alley was aimed
at highlighting ways in which
startups can build greater
brand relevance in good times
in order to make it through
the not-so-good ones. But is
all this talk of a recession and
systemic issues in the startup
ecosystem overblown? One of
our guest writers explains why
she thinks so. We also explore
the links between CSR, charity
and business cycles through
past recessionary data and a
conversation with the Bangalore
head of a charitable trust.
Lastly, in Alterpoint, we scan
the writing on the wall - and on
a few buildings and flyovers -
to see what graffiti can tell us
about the state of the economy,
among other things.
In this issue
No Need for Gloom & Doom:
A Counterpoint
Why one investor feels optimistic
about Indias startup ecosystem.
CSR, Charity and Recessions:
Exploring the links between
Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR), philanthropy and business
cycles.
Edited excerpts from the
4th Viewpoint Roundtable:
Navigating Downturn Alley: How
startups can stay mindful of the
pitfalls and build resilience for the
road ahead.
Alterpoint:
Graphic Signs of the Times: A spike
in graffiti around us could indicate
a downturn. Or something else
altogether.
No Need for Gloom &
Doom: A Counterpoint
With strong fundamentals
and momentum, the startup
ecosystem in the country is
healthier than many people
believe.
Those who are worried about the
state of Indias startup economy point
to a few problematic signs valuation
(or over-valuation) of companies,
many me-too businesses, and
market frothiness, to name a few.
While this might mean that we
are due for a correction, it doesnt
foreshadow impending doom. It
also doesnt mean that valuable and
sustainable companies are not being
built.
If one looks more closely at the
startup space, it is clear that its
fundamentals are in place. There are
essentially six elements that make
up the entrepreneurial ecosystem
and are necessary for it to grow
and thrive. First, we need motivated
entrepreneurs with ideas that they
are eager to get to market. The next
level in the ecosystem consists of
advisors, mentors and angel investors
who can steer founders in the right
direction and help them fine-tune
their business plans. Next up are
institutional investors for different
stages of a companys growth from
converting an idea into a business
to scaling that business. New ideas
and enterprises also need strong
and deep local markets, spanning
consumers and enterprises, to grow
and scale. Last but not the least, we
need local investors who will support
venture funds.
On many of the counts listed above,
we have grown substantially over the
last decade. Today we have many
young adults willing to take risks and
become entrepreneurs. We have a
growing community of mentors and
angel investors to nurture ideas until
they are ready to take flight. And we
have a large number of funds that
support new enterprises across the
spectrum of a companys growth -
from early to late stage.
Do we have the perfect ecosystem?
No. But is it growing in the right
direction? YES.
The concern today is centered
around funding of internet-related
startups and the valuation of these
companies. When a high tide comes
in, it can be expected to bring in
some creaky boards. While it is easy
to characterize the many me-too
companies in a given space as a
by-product of greed, it is also a
trend that we have seen in almost
every industry in every part of the
globe. I come from a coastal part
of Andhra Pradesh where, at one
point, everybody was engaged in
is demand, many will rise to fill it. back. And that, to me, is the essence
Some will survive and others wont. of entrepreneurship.
This form of unrestrained competition
is part of any growing economy. For
now, it is good for the consumer. As
we move along, we can expect some This form of unrestrained competition
form of consolidation and settling to is part of any growing economy. For
determine the ultimate shape and now, it is good for the consumer. As
composition of the industry. we move along, we can expect some
From my vantage point, I dont form of consolidation and settling to
believe that the typical ten-year determine the ultimate shape and
investment window drives a composition of the industry.
short-term orientation based on
getting rich quick. Investors dont
have the kind of overt influence
in their portfolio companies that
people believe they do. Our
recommendations to them are just
that and it is up to a given company
to determine if it sees value in them.
I also believe that the way issues
are framed in the business media is
feeding into this negative narrative
both collective and individual -
around startups. The media tendency
to unquestioningly follow a reporting
pattern has never been more evident
than in the Theranos case where
Silicon Valleys tech media built up
the company without questioning the
underlying technology.
We are still growing at close to 7.5
percent in GDP terms and we have
plenty of discerning consumers
to keep businesses on their toes.
Companies can turn this narrative
Bharati Jacob is Founder
around by keeping their heads down

Image courtesy : http://seedfund.in

either shrimp or fish farming or rice
cultivation. It didnt matter that there
were a hundred different providers
offering the same product at the
same level of servicing. Where there
and doing what they do best. As long
as a potential startup can clearly
define the problem it is trying to solve
and come up with an innovative way
to solve it, there is no reason to hold
and Managing Partner at
Seedfund, a leading early
stage venture capital firm.
As communicated to Viewpoint
CSR, Charity and
Recessions: A Review
How does a downturn impact
the social motivation of
businesses? Does giving by
individuals take a back seat
during recessionary times? How
hard are charities and NGOs hit
when the economy takes a dip?
We looked for answers globally
and in India - by studying the
trends observed during the
recession of 2008 and by talking
to the Bangalore head of a
non-profit trust.
DATA FROM THE GREAT
RECESSION
Tax reporting data from the US
Internal Revenue Service in 2009
revealed a definite dip in charitable
donations in that country. American
donors gave significantly less to
charity in the first two years of the
recession than in 2007. This ran
counter to the belief that individual
giving is not hugely impacted by
recessionary cycles.
Even as economic prospects
improved by 2014, donations still
remained flat and insufficient to meet
rising demand for social services.
However, experts feel that other
factors in the non-profit world may
have contributed to the situation. As
the head of one organization said:
[There] are fundamental flaws in the
way we finance social good. These
systemic issues were likely present
even before the recession set in.
Industry watchers also believe that
certain societal trends were partly
responsible for waning individual
generosity. For example, a younger
generation that is less affluent than
the preceding one is less likely to
contribute to charity. At the same
time, parents who were still providing
financial support to their older
children may also have rolled back
their charitable contributions.
On the corporate side, the trends
were not as clear-cut. The Economist
noted in a 2009 article that while
there had been cuts to the CSR
budgets of global companies, the
recession had not resulted in a
wholesale retreat from corporate
do-gooding (A Stress Test for Good
Intentions, The Economist, May
2009). The article also found that
companies were more inclined to
retain sustainability initiatives that
were good for overall business while
jettisoning peripheral initiatives
focused on philanthropy. On the
other hand, given that the financial
crisis of 2008 was largely triggered
by irresponsible corporate actions
and decisions, many companies
were eager to prove to the public that
they were not entirely motivated by
short-term profits and greed.
References:
1) Americans Gave a Lot LessThe
Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 2011.
<https://philanthropy.com/article/
Americans-Gave-a-Lot-Less-in/158533>
2) Charities Still Feel Squeeze from Recession.
The Washington Times, April 7, 2014.
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/
apr/7/charities-still-feel-squeeze-from-reces-
sion-as-shr/?page=all>
3) A Stress Test for Good Intentions. The
Economist, May 2009. <http://www.economist.
com/node/13648978>
THE GROUND REALITY FOR
INDIAN NGOs
As communicated by
Pampa Chowdhary
Bangalore Branch Manager, Concern
India Foundation.
At the Concern India Foundation, we
help NGOs work towards capacity
building of several grassroots
initiatives. To that end, we are actively
involved with fundraising on their
behalf. The causes we support
through these efforts span child
education, womens empowerment,
healthcare, sustainable livelihoods
and more.
During a recession, giving is affected
but not significantly. It didnt dry up
completely during the last recession
although some NGOs with less robust
reserves had to shut shop. When it
comes to charitable initiatives such
as the ones run by our NGO network,
individuals are more motivated
contributors than corporates and this
pattern holds true even through a
downturn. Individual giving remained
steady during the last downturn
but we did see a drop in corporate
philanthropy. Although most
businesses have good intentions and
CSR agendas, these can be affected
by the necessity for cost cutting and
belt tightening during a downturn.
However, the mandatory CSR law has
helped to buffer the impact for NGOs
to some extent.
When it comes to our outreach,
different approaches are required
for individual and corporate donors.
Stories of lives or situations that a spike in volunteering and active
have been transformed through involvement in recent years,
intervention resonate with individuals. particularly with a more socially
If it strikes an emotional chord with conscious younger generation
them, they are likely to respond coming into its own. Many companies
positively. want to involve their employees in
cause-driven activities and boost
Organizations are a little more
specific in what they seek. They have internal engagement through this
their own policies and agendas and channel. This is a good trend
although I do believe that, for greatest
we make an attempt to be aligned
with these. The story is important impact, individuals and businesses
should pick their causes judiciously
but so are the numbers involved, as
corporate donors look for evidence and in areas that are aligned with
their strengths.
of real and quantifiable impact. They
are also thinking ahead to how the
affiliation will impact their image and
seek happy pictures and outcomes
for their websites or annual reports.
Not all causes can meet these
requirements.
Apart from economic cycles, giving
is also impacted by seasonality and
calendar events such as festivals
and tax year closing. I have seen
OUR CONCLUSION: Individuals Businesses are likely to retain a focus
are motivated by philanthropy and on sustainability and other core
businesses by social responsibility initiatives through the ups and downs
initiatives that are aligned with their of economic cycles.
goals. Depending on the severity
of a downturn, individual giving
may or may not be greatly affected.
 IS A DOWNTURN AROUND fundamentally strong. Although you
could have startup activity in sectors
THE CORNER?
like agriculture and manufacturing,
Nandita: Although 97.4% of the startups in the country
we are not out to are in the services space. This is an
be prophets of over-exploitation of the space that is
dooms, we are, as not sustainable. Even with our current

NAVIGATING
PR professionals,
growth rate, certain sectors are likely
always on the lookout
to experience some shakeout. And
for signs that could potentially

DOWNTURN ALLEY
Moderator
Nandita Lakshmanan
Chairperson, The PRactice
Participants
Garima Varma
Former Director, GE Research
Harish Bijoor
Brand expert and Founder,
Harish Bijoor Consults, Inc.
Shilpa Sharma
Co-founder, Jaypore
Edited excerpts from the 4th
Viewpoint Roundtable
April 28, 2016 at Olive Beach,
Ashoknagar, Bangalore
Like TV show reruns, recessions
appear from time to time with
a familiar set of characters
(governments, industries, consumers)
and plots (politics, policies,
excesses). While the business
environment is still positive in the
country, there are signs of trouble
in this paradise. The 4th Viewpoint
Roundtable examined certain
worrying aspects of the startup
ecosystem so that founders can
avoid being blindsided by these.
erode the value of our clients. What
we have observed in the current
environment is that there is a focus
on spending money but not on the
fundamentals of business building.
We felt it was important for founders
to pause and reflect on whether they
have all the ingredients in place to
build a sound and solid business.
So, the first point of discussion today
is to look at what businesses are
doing well and explore what they
can they do better, with respect to
a stakeholder universe of markets,
employees, and customers.
Harish: We are a
greedy people by
nature. The whole
world grows at 2.3%
in GDP terms. We
grow at 7.2% and
we term it a downturn. This is not
necessarily a negative attitude. If we
have that kind of hunger in us, then
we can go places. Still, a downturn
is clearly in the cards and Bengaluru
will be at its centre, along with
Noida, Gurgaon and Pune. This city
has eight startups for every square
kilometer of area. Its almost an
epidemic now, especially since the
startups we are seeing today are not
the services sector is clearly one of
them.
Shilpa: In my own
startup (that no longer
qualifies as one), we
have felt the heat.
In the e-commerce
space, everyone is
trying to undercut the other person.
Survival belongs to the fittest. But
we feel we have a very tangible
proposition. Our raison detre is not
based on offering sweet deals to
customers. We are offering a very
differentiated product. If the unit
economics of the business we are
in work, then scaling is a matter of
time and commitment. But if the unit
economics dont work in our favour,
then no amount of funding can get
us out of the hole weve dug for
ourselves. We are all very passionate
about what we do. But passion is a
relative trait that can only take us so
far. We also have to be good at what
we do.
Garima: On the
positive side, the
current scenario is rife
with opportunities for
brand communicators.
This is a good time to
clearly articulate the value proposition
of the product and definition of the
brand. Companies who can get this
right and are able to communicate it
to stakeholders at the right time and
through the right channels, are the
ones who will survive the shakeout.
IN SEARCH OF CONCRETE
STORIES
Nandita: Building
to sell, building to
scale and building to
last. Can these three
different strategies be
reconciled? Or do they
create a gap between short-term
goals and long-term vision that
widens over time?
Shilpa: I believe there will have to deal with the fallout. The
is no long-term outlook entire movement is hollow and unless
if you cannot take
care of short-term
requirements. If you
build to last, you will
automatically be building to scale
over a period of time. Building to sell
is a very short-term orientation. In
my own business, I believe the only
viable option is to build to last. You the online grocery delivery space, I
have to invest in ways and means to
acquire a customer but also ensure
that you can retain this customer long
enough for them to go out and be a
champion for your brand.
Harish: There are three
types of companies.
The brick and mortar
company deserves
respect for investing
in something that
has value and that attracts footfall.
Then there are virtual entities.
E-commerce lies at the cusp of
virtual and real enterprise because it
has warehouses, logistics, delivery
systems and other physical world
issues to grapple with. The third type
of business is entirely app-based with
sustenance and fulfillment resting
entirely on that solution.
I have worked with e-commerce,
IoT and app-based startups and
believe that, of the three, IoT has the
most solid value proposition with
real applications and tangible IP to
drive value. E-commerce, however, is
over-bloated on valuation. The money
flows into it in tranches. Valuation is
inflated to benefit the first investor
while the last person holding the can
we see some solidity coming in, we
will be in trouble.
Garima: Solidity
will have to come
from a very concrete
product or service
offering, If you look
at all the players in
am personally confused about who
I should use for what. I am guessing
other people have the same problem
with this lack of differentiation.
The second piece that is not being
addressed completely is stakeholder
engagement. Most of the efforts in this
area are skewed towards the investor
and unless there is a shift to focus on
the consumer, employees, backend,
delivery or the whole supply chain,
there is a huge shakeout coming.
SOUND, ECHO & CLUTTER
Nandita: In this
environment, are we
confusing image with
reputation? So much
of what is viewed as
being essential to
reputation has become superficial
or ostentatious. It includes the kind
of office space you can afford, the
salaries you can pay out to attract
talent, and the number and kinds of
front-page ads you can put out. But
is this just noise that is distracting us
from more important areas?
Garima: I would
say yes. Most
of us, including
communicators, use
communication-centric
words such as image,
reputation and perception loosely and
interchangeably. We need to be able
to differentiate one from the other.
Harish: We are
besotted with image
but not as concerned
about reputation. If
you peek into the
budgets of some of
the newer companies, less than
2% of these is devoted to building
reputation. In the e-commerce space, have been able to keep our sales
for instance, theres one global entity returns at a fraction of the industry
with a global reputation -- Amazon.
Then we have Flipkart, Snapdeal,
Jabong and several others. A survey
of 21,000 people to study their online dont have a leg to stand on. Image
buying patterns revealed a form of
community shopping under which
they look for the best possible deals
from four or five players. These
entities form a brand cluster that
then gets decimated to a commodity
cluster. At the end of the day the
commodity wins. Since they are all
perceived to be equal in their ability
to deliver, there is no differentiation.
The same pattern is playing out with
hyperlocal services. Its clear from all
this that while image is hollow and
reputation is solid, we are just not
investing enough in the latter. The
skew needs to change.
Shilpa: I think the
only way for us to
survive at Jaypore
is through building a
solid reputation. After
all, we are offering
products that people want but dont
need. People are buying into our
promise because of the reputation
we have built over time. It shows
in our commitment to quality, our
approach to geography, our liberal
return policies and in the way we
obsess about customer experience.
We invest heavily in improving that
customer experience. It doesnt take
that much to shift perceptions about
a brand through image building
campaigns. But the fact that we
standard or boost our average deal
size to four times the norm is entirely
based on reputation. Without that, we
can be built through a number of
exercises but reputation building is an
opportunity to truly walk the talk.
LOOKING BEHIND FOR HELP
Nandita: What were
we doing differently
in the past? Can we
absorb some of these
lessons to build more
resilience for the
journey ahead?
Harish: In the old
days, a company
would seek to be
chosen on the basis
of its brand name or
reputation. Freebies,
discounts and relentless price-cutting
boost the commodity side of the
business and spell the death of
the brand. And that is what we see
happening in e-commerce.
The brand is an experience and if you
are building that experience, then
you are doing the right thing. But
who has the time for that anymore?
Companies today are not being
driven by the motivation of the brand
manager but by the imperatives of
the investor who seeks eyeballs, hits
and first conversions over strategies
to boost retention and loyalty. But
new customer acquisition comes
with a cost and we are ignoring that
aspect.
However, we cant transfer the
lessons from one recession to the
next decade and movement. Each
of these lessons has to be learnt in
the decade in which the recession
happens. From 2010 to 2020 - the
decade of startups - founders will
imbibe the lessons that emerge and
then move on.
Garima: In my view,
the young people
who are running the
unicorns of today dont
understand what a
brand is. Front-page
covers and image matter more to
them. The question is can we use
this kind of introspection to weather
the downturn that is likely to hit us? I
think the answer is yes and no. Yes,
if we can ponder on the significance
of some of these issues. And no, if
we continue to go along the path
we are now on. People are in a
fast-paced twitter mode. I have had
multiple conversations with young
founders on how they can do x, y
and z to push their valuation up and
that seems to be the end game.
Personally, I am a little pessimistic
about changing this mindset.
STAYING FIGHTING FIT
FOR A NEW ERA
Nandita: We are
dealing with a younger
generation today
not just at the helm
of companies but as
customers. Does what
we are discussing matter to them?
Are we over-rating the relevance of a
long-term orientation for a generation
that is used to immediacy and instant
gratification? The other big factor in
all this is social media, and the wealth
of information we now have access
to. This was not available to us in the
past. At one level, it seems messier
and more complex but we cant
ignore the power of technology or the
need to adapt our strategies to this
changing base.
 Harish: We certainly
have a scratch card
generation influencing
the way we do
business. But thats
not new. We saw a
similar movement in this city and in
Gurgaon with the BPO generation.
We have moved from BPO to voice
to data to KPO but the scratch card
generation still holds sway. There are
flimsy reasons to shift and loyalty is
not an abiding characteristic of this
generation. But my only problem with
whats happening currently is that
it is turning out to be something of
a ponzi scheme with a lot of money
going in. Somebody in the middle
will end up paying for it. If investors
are not going to push back against
this, then we need other evangelists
in this space.
Shilpa: Until I
co-founded Jaypore, I
had been in the brick
and mortar business
for years. And the
challenges of that
space are very different. We cracked
that in FabIndia by first figuring out
what strategies and store formats
would work for different geographies.
If you have built a brand and a legacy,
you have to realize there is no one
size fits all. I am now part of a brand
that just happens to be in the online
space. For every thousand customers
who visit our website, only one or
two may end up buying something.
In order to get that customer, we
have to talk to them in a space that
they are comfortable in. Whether
that involves physical stores or
regular customers who can serve
as evangelists for the brand, only
time will tell. But there is no room
for complacency when it comes to
finding ways to connect with the
customer.
Garima: I personally
feel that technology
can be a maze. If we
can understand it A spike in graffiti around
better and deploy it, us could mean we are in a
we can reach wider
audiences as well as engage in one to downturn. Or it could mean
one conversations. But I do think that something completely different.
technology is growing faster than we
are able to keep pace with. So, we
resist it to some extent because we
are not able to get our hands around
it. I find that most communicators
are just scratching the surface when
it comes to understanding and using
technology. Its not a problem with
the tool but with us.
SUMMING UP
Nandita: The D-word
(downturn) doesnt
have to be a bad one.
Its just an inescapable
fact of business. But
the bigger question
is how true one stays to ones core
business purpose through it all. We
all work under different conditions
and circumstances but ultimately,
sustaining that focus and sense of
mission will be the key to navigating
Downturn Alley.

GRAPHIC SIGNS OF THE
TIMES
It is hard to predict a recession. It is
sometimes even hard to know if we
are already in the middle of one. Just
ask any economist who has struggled
with reading the tea leaves of market
indicators and indices. Given how
complex it all is, economists tend
to be overly cautious in calling a
recession.
They could get past this opinion
paralysis by looking up from their
economic models and around them.
One way to detect a downturn at
least in many parts of the globe -
might be to study the literal writing
on the wall. Graffiti has a close
association with economic distress
and social unrest even if many forms
are now accepted as street art. Along
with broken windows and litter, spray
painted messages on walls and
buildings have long served as stark
symbols of urban decline.
It has other more menacing variants.
For example, organized street gangs
have been known to use special
codes and symbols to mark their
turf and keep out other gangs. For
anyone walking or driving through
an American inner city, the perceived
degree of personal safety has an
inverse relationship with the quantity
of graffiti in the area.
In Athens, a city always known for its
street art, graffiti skyrocketed in the
wake of Greeces economic crisis.
As unemployment rose, disgruntled
groups vented their ire against the
government by planting less than
flattering commentary on the citys
buildings.
More clandestine work popped up
in Egypt following the Arab Spring of
2011 when Cairos political activists
hit the streets, spray cans in hand,
to speak out against current
developments. Where traditional
media is restricted, graffiti can be
a hard-hitting visual medium for
dissent.
This may be why the street artist
is often viewed as a rebel and
underground activist - someone who
works under the cover of darkness
(as many of them do) to avoid being
caught and penalized.
Although it is largely associated with
contemporary cityscapes, graffiti
is not a modern phenomenon.
The earliest forms of such public
expression can be traced to
ancient Rome when political or
social messages were scrawled
wherever the space presented
itself. If unauthorized etching on
the walls of Pompeii even if in
Latin - seems sacrilegious now, we
have to remember that these walls
were less hallowed then and worked
perfectly well as a medium for crude
expression.
From those ancient origins, graffiti
has had a mixed record leading up
to modern times. It is sometimes
dismissed as vandalism while,
at other times, it is upheld as an
important form of free speech.
City governments around the
world cannot decide if it should be
viewed as a problem, let alone find
ways to tackle it. Sociologists who
study urban patterns believe that a
piece of graffiti on a wall can lead
to an explosion of similar graphic
messages in the vicinity. This is
based on the premise that when a
given space is already defaced, it
kabab joint down the road puts up a
lures others to add to the clutter. So,
cities may be justified in stepping
in to curb this trend. And where
graffiti is directed at private spaces,
its clearly a no-no. As someone is
said to have rightly observed: Your
self-expression ends where my
property begins.
Still, it can be an effective way
to revitalize cityscapes, clear
historical baggage, or edge out
other unattractive public notices and
advertisements.
For example, the city of Philadelphia
has commissioned large-scale murals
to signal its economic and cultural
resurgence. In Berlin, vibrant art on
whats still standing of the Berlin wall
provides a colorful and symbolic
counter-punch to cold war era
animosity. And in cities like Mumbai
and Bangalore, intricately painted
Indian motifs on bridges and flyovers
deter even die-hard bill posters and
advertisers.
Beyond these sanctioned works,
graffiti in India does not have
the storied past or sociological
implications that it has in other parts
of the world. There are the usual
bathroom variety messages on walls
but the more evolved ones tend to
be commercials for political parties,
or city-sponsored appeals for civic
responsibility. Scattered in between
are bad likenesses of popular
Bollywood figures. But with so much
else huge billboards, business
signs, and posters - competing for
our attention, graffiti tends to fade
into the background in the Indian city.
We are more likely to notice if the
brand new sign with all the old typos
fixed. Now thats a sign of economic
vitality.
References:
1) The Greek Debt Crisis Through
Graffiti. <http://observer.com/2015/07/
the-greek-debt-crisis-through-graffiti/>
2) What can we learn from Roman graffiti?
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/10336768/
What-can-we-learn-from-Roman-graffiti.html>
3) Egypts murals are more than just art
<http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/
egypts-murals-are-more-than-just-art-they-
are-a-form-of-revolution-36377865/?no-ist>
 Viewpoint is a quarterly thought publication produced by The PRactice.
Please send your views and feedback to viewpoint@the-practice.net | www.the-practice.net

Viewpoint now available on