Biswas Dhakal, founder of F1Soft and eSewa said in a recent The Kathmandu Post interview that “everyone sees our success, but they don’t know our failures.” Behind every success story, there are plenty of stories of “brilliant ideas” that never saw the day of light because of timing, execution, lack of funding, among others. It’s…
Category: strategy
AI Expo Nepal 2019
I’m thrilled to be a part of the organizing team for the upcoming AI Expo Nepal 2019 happening on Saturday, August 24 at Soaltee Crowne Plaza. The AI Expo Nepal 2019 is organized by Fusemachines and Artificial Intelligence for Development (AID). The topic of AI has garnered a lot of interest from academia and industry…
Eisenhower matrix
I found it very useful to put all the activities that needs to be done on a project or a day on the Eisenhower matrix. By having everything up there on the matrix, we’re able to prioritize and work on them efficiently and effectively. There’s a web app of the Eisenhower matrix that I have…
Action is your competitive advantage
The internet has created an almost level playing field for individuals, companies, and countries. We can access information, get insights and find just about anything we are looking for with internet access. The competitive advantage now is not just information but taking action on that information. You could be living in Silicon Valley, California, US…
Fundamentals of success
Success is followed by the application of key fundamentals. For me, the fundamentals are hard work, vision, execution, focus, humility, commitment, team work, fun, and some luck. Hard working people get lucky. Success can mean different things to different people. However, the fundamentals of becoming successful are mostly the same.
Why startups succeed?
Startups succeed for a variety of reasons. It could be the idea itself, the team, or the business model. Bill Gross of Idealab shared The single biggest reason why start-ups succeed in a Ted talk. Besides the idea, team, business model or funding, there was an even more revealing reason why some startups take off…
How do you teach culture?
Can you actually teach culture at your company? How about putting the company’s core values in places where everyone can see? And what exactly is culture? These questions are not that easy to answer. But starting out with the right set of questions can help build a strong foundation for company culture: What culture do…
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 5 Rules for Success
Rising above the machines
There’s a lot of hype about AI and automation these days. The hype is real. It is reshaping companies, industries, communities, and even countries. Yes, countries as well. An opinion article on the Financial Times talks about China battles the US in the artificial intelligence arms race Understanding what AI is and how automation will…
The omnipresent school
The class is in session. We’ve gone from cave settings to our current access from anywhere online class settings. Schools, colleges and universities meant physical structures with classrooms, playing areas, and facilities designed to engage the students. Now the places to get education are omnipresent. The web has literally transformed how we gain, use, and…
First mover disadvantage
We’ve heard of first mover advantage where the first company to venture into the market benefits from an early entry, building a brand, creating customer loyalty and so forth. Is there also a first mover disadvantage? I believe so. Some markets are as adaptive as other markets and the factors could be culture, consumer lifestyle,…
Talent retention
Retaining the best talent in your company takes work-a lot of work. A competitive salary is just one part of the compensation package to keep the best talent within the company. Having a great company culture, a clear company mission and vision, challenging projects, mentorship culture, learning culture, making a social impact are some of…
Why The New York Knicks Are So Expensive
This Business Insider video provides insights on why The New York Knicks Are So Expensive ( valued at $3.6 billion) given that they have had a very poor performance on the basketball court in many years. Plus, the video also talks about the different NBA markets, TV deals, and TV market sizes etc.
Entrepreneurial
The entrepreneurial journey is not everyone’s cup of tea. A few individuals love the adventure, risk and everything else that comes with entrepreneurship yet most love what they do and live happily also. Each is a life choice we make. Yet entrepreneurial skills are something we can all strive to have. I believe you don’t…
Continuing education
The graduate is an obsolete word now. As technology changes industries, people and work, a degree will not be enough for you to sustain or stay competitive. With AI set to create jobs as well as replace mundane jobs, we need to stay on top of our game. This means colleges and universities cannot promise…
the culture setters
There is always a culture-company culture. It’s there from day 1. As entrepreneurs build their businesses, their personalities shape the culture of the company. Founder(s) are the initial catalysts of the company. As the company becomes bigger, the culture is carried on by the employees who joined the company in its early stages and the…
Startup Summit 2019
“Startup Summit aims to build startup ecosystem in Nepal where every stakeholders would play the expected role in incubating ideas and translate these ideas into venture. With multi stakeholders presence, this summit is supposed to be a milestone in Nepal’s Startup Ecosystem building process. ” Taken from Startup Summit 2019 website: http://startupsummit.businesstvnepal.com/ I’m excited to…
Crowded market
This morning I read about a new food delivery startup in Kathmandu. I pondered do we really need another food delivery startup catering to the capital. There are already a few established names in the space and one who has been doing this since 2012. Questions I had regarding the new food delivery startup: -How…
Asking questions
Asking questions is an important skill that we all need. It takes confidence, preparation, and a curious mind to ask questions. Reflecting on the college and work environments in Kathmandu that I have been part of, most individuals do not ask questions. It could be the same scenario for most of Nepal. I pondered what…
Do it
If you want to start a business, do it. If you want to travel the world, do it. If you want to make a difference in the world, do it. Most of us spent a lot of time just talking and planning and not enough time on actually doing it. Start today. Make it happen.