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Category: brand

Visit Nepal 2020

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

To make Visit Nepal 2020 a definite success, all the stakeholders should consider how to attract, engage, and wow the tourists in their Nepal trip.

The easy part is for the government to announce Visit Nepal 2020. The real work happens before the flock of tourists start coming in for 2020. I believe first we have to really understand why tourists come to Nepal. Is it the mountains, the lakes, the culture, the food, or the people? Or it could be something else? Understanding why most tourists come to Nepal, then working to highlight those experiences will take Nepal to the next level. Second, we need to make the travel experience much better for the tourists. From the time the tourists land at Tribhuvan International airport to the time they head back to their native country, we have to deliver a WOW experience throughout their time here. Third, the Visit Nepal 2020 is a great opportunity for the government, private sector, and the public to work together to show the best that Nepal has. Let’s all do our part to make Visit Nepal 2020 a grand success.

Relationship economy

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Some markets are very small and having good relationships with the key players means access and success. It’s best to know the right people who move the needle. You could be very talented yet if you do not build good relationship with the movers, you wouldn’t get too far. Your goodwill and reputation pays dividends in a relationship economy like ours.

1000 True Fans

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

I first read about the concept of 1000 True Fans in Tim Ferriss’ Tools of Titans. I finally read the essay of 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly and recommend it to the creators out there. It was very helpful to me. Here are the first few paragraphs of the essay:

To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only thousands of true fans.

A true fan is defined as a fan that will buy anything you produce. These diehard fans will drive 200 miles to see you sing; they will buy the hardback and paperback and audible versions of your book; they will purchase your next figurine sight unseen; they will pay for the “best-of” DVD version of your free youtube channel; they will come to your chef’s table once a month. If you have roughly a thousand of true fans like this (also known as super fans), you can make a living — if you are content to make a living but not a fortune.

Here’s how the math works. You need to meet two criteria. First, you have to create enough each year that you can earn, on average, $100 profit from each true fan. That is easier to do in some arts and businesses than others, but it is a good creative challenge in every area because it is always easier and better to give your existing customers more, than it is to find new fans.

Second, you must have a direct relationship with your fans. That is, they must pay you directly. You get to keep all of their support, unlike the small percent of their fees you might get from a music label, publisher, studio, retailer, or other intermediate. If you keep the full $100 of each true fan, then you need only 1,000 of them to earn $100,000 per year. That’s a living for most folks.

Read the whole edited and updated version of the essay at https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/

Venture Talk with Dr. Sameer Maskey | Democratizing AI

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Dr. Sameer Maskey, founder and CEO of Fusemachines talks about Democratizing AI in this Venture Talk series.


When Magic Johnson reached The 7th Floor

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Magic Johnson talks about the excitement of getting to the 7th floor after cleaning all the floors below that. The 7th floor is where the CEO’s office was. He would spend hours there and pretend he was the CEO. He even acted like he had an assistant and would imitate requesting coffee and donuts over the intercom. He was sixteen then.

The 7th floor.

Magic’s advice: If you don’t dream it, you cannot become it.

Listen to the whole interview here.

Binod Chaudhary My Story book review

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Binod Chaudhary’s autobiography English version. Photo: nepa~laya

Binod Chaudhary My Story From the Streets of Kathmandu to a billion dollar empire is a story of one man’s ambition, determination and vision.

Binod Chaudhary’s autobiography provides insights into his childhood, business ventures and plans to extend the Chaudhary Group (CG) brand globally. The entrepreneur provides historical context to how his grandfather moved to Nepal from Rajasthan when he was 20 years old. Early business experiences of the author’s grandfather setting shop (Juddha Sadak) in 1934 to his business prowess is shared in the beginning chapters. I loved the anecdote of grandfather opening his shop early in the morning to casually interact with the locals and building relationships. It was a smart exercise in public relations. After grandfather’s passing, Binod’s father Lunkaran Das Chaudhary worked to expand the business delving into exporting jute, construction and flooring and furnishing store. Arun Emporium was the most successful venture out of those.

The author talks about growing up in Kathmandu, his early interests in music and cinema and how he got into managing the family business. I was keen to learn about the origins of Wai-Wai, the popular noodle brand. Until I read the book, I had associated most of the entrepreneur’s success because of Wai-Wai but Wai-Wai is only one of the businesses of the Chaudhary empire. The author touches on his encounters with politics, FNCCI, CNI and relationship with the then royal palace. He also highlights his relationship with many world leaders. In particular, the story of Jeet Bahadur whom Narendra Modi treated like a son is shared. Jeet Bahadur’s story gained national headlines in 2014 and it’s good to know that he was reunited with his family. There is a chapter on the author’s guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and how he become an ardent follower of him.

The professional battle stories of Binod Chaudhary showcase the entrepreneur’s business prowess, strong resolve and sheer will to get things done. Stories of Nabil Bank, Butwal Power Company and Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills are shared. A chapter on the start of a MNC highlights the foundation of a multinational company in Singapore with seasoned foreign entrepreneurs. Binod elaborates on a provision pertaining to Non resident Nepalis (NRN) in the Income Act which is worth mentioning. A Nepali who lived outside the country for more than 183 days a year was an NRN in the eyes of the law and thus he or she was free to invest abroad. Binod’s sons Rahul and Varun look after the business interests outside Nepal as NRNs. The later chapters go into the multinational journey of CG from the partnership with Taj, CG Hotels & Resorts (200 hotels by 2020) and the creation of CG’s first global hotel brand – Zinc.

I also liked the Business Mantras section where Binod dives deeper into the qualities and skills that an entrepreneur should possess such as high ambition, building organization, market astuteness, discipline, and negotiation skills among others. Besides sharing his achievements and accolades, he also reflects on the business opportunities he missed and regrets making a few bad business decisions. Self-evaluation section provides an introspective assessment of the author himself and is commendable.

For aspiring and current entrepreneurs in Nepal, the author’s insights and experiences with the Nepalese government, political parties, local competition among other activities present the reality of doing business in Nepal. Despite the abundant challenges that most of us know that exists in Nepal, Binod Chaudhary and the Chaudhary Group’s success domestically and internationally is inspirational in summary.

The author presents challenges for Nepalese entrepreneurs to invest abroad and how he had to find ways to do business outside of Nepal. There are plenty of examples shared of investment friendly countries and their leaders who welcomed Binod to open factories, hotels and plants in their regions. Much can be learned from Binod’s business experiences for the Nepalese government. Some areas where the Nepalese government and relevant ministries can help the country are 1) make legislation better/easier for Nepalese entrepreneurs to invest abroad 2) create an investment friendly climate in the country and remove government redtape 3) have a strategic vision for the country.

Binod Chaudhary’s autobiography is a very good read for someone to understand how the entrepreneur built a billion dollar empire. A must read for the youth of the country and for aspiring/current entrepreneurs who want to build a multinational company from Nepal.

Binod Chaudhary My Story From the Streets of Kathmandu to a billion dollar empire is published by Nepalaya.

MakerBot in Ocean’s 8

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

It was summer 2010. I was in Brooklyn. That summer I spent time writing blogs and participating in exhibitions to get our company, MakerBot’s flagship product, 3D printer into the hands of consumers. That was one of my most exciting summers as I saw a worldwide movement take place. The desktop 3D printing revolution was starting from Brooklyn and the world was getting more aware and excited about it. 3D printers were becoming more accessible during that period.

I saw MakerBot Replicator Z18 debut in the Ocean’s 8 movie and was thrilled to see it as a central part of the plot. Having been part of MakerBot in its earliest days, I couldn’t have been more proud to see how far it had come through.

Talking about MakerBot’s placement in movies, Josh Snider, a Public Relations Manager at MakerBot told Sarah Anderson Goehrke in an article that “MakerBot gets approached by TV and movie studios all the time looking to add an element of futurism to their set or looking to characterize the story’s tech-guru or hacker. In most cases, the printer just glows quietly in the background, adding little more than its space-age LED hue.” Josh added that “The most exciting opportunities are when a production team actually wants to portray the printer in action or as a central plot point.” It’s a lifetime opportunity to work in a company such as MakerBot and be proud to see its success grow and have a profound impact in the world.

Image source: 3Dprint.com

 

The Shaq Endorsement

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Wheaties wanted Shaq to be on the cover after he won his first championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. He declined.

Wheaties wanted Shaq to be on the cover after he won his second championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. He declined.

Then Shaq told his people to call Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops and he would be happy to be on the cover of that. He turned down Wheaties because he never ate it so he said he can’t do it.

Shaq says of his brand deals  “People look at them as endorsements. I look at them as partnerships.” He added “I’m very picky. If I’m not in tuned to the product, if I don’t like the product I won’t do it.”

Superstar athletes have global influence, persuasive power and wider reach. Influencer marketing is popular than ever and their impact on consumer behavior is profound. A Forbes article cited “authenticity is the key to capture the heart of today’s consumer.” The same article also cited that “PepsiCo Gatorade and FRS refuse to hire celebrities who have never used their products or don’t like them. FRS in fact, requires each to have a true, authentic story behind their passion for the FRS products.” Endorsing products that the athletes actually use not only creates more trust among their target audience, it also tremendously benefits the brand. Authenticity is the way to go.

Wouldn’t it be nice when athletes actually use the products they endorse? How often does Beyonce drink Pepsi or LeBron eats McDonalds? Whose responsibility is to inform the consumer about the not so healthy benefits of frequently drinking Pepsi or eating at McDonalds? Or should we just leave all the decision making to consumers because ultimately in a capitalist society all they want is better choices?

Kiran Joshi's Incessant Rain Animation Studios

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Kiran Joshi founded Incessant Rain Animation Studios in Nepal after working at Walt Disney Studios for 18 years. He worked as a graphics software developer for Disney and was in the team that developed the animation system used for “Beauty and the Beast.”  I met him at the Young Entrepreneurs’ Summit held at Hotel Radisson on August 17.

He came back to Nepal in 2007 and put his talent and passion to work at Incessant Rain Animation Studios. We’re very happy to have him in Nepal.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZogNsf8k-xU]

Company culture

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Company culture is very important in today’s world. Why? Well almost anyone could send a tweet, post something on Facebook or upload a video on YouTube. So if your company makes even a simple mistake, it can go viral in the online world. Every customer interaction becomes that much important.

If your company culture is strong and truly carefully about satisfying the customer, then everyone in the company becomes a customer service representative and takes care of the customer right away. If your company follows a hierarchy in addressing customer issues, then the employees would wait for upper management to give the proper guidance on how to handle the situation. But if you have a strong company culture of taking care of your customers, then no one needs to consult with the hierarchy first to address the customers’ concern. You won’t want a simple mistake to go viral before someone in the company takes control of it.

Exceed expectations

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

How do you exceed expectations as a business? Well first you have find out what the customer wants, then promise to provide that and deliver it. Then you go beyond what you promised to impress the customer. This does not necessarily mean to overdue it but to show care, time and effort in the client’s project or his/her needs.

At most times, it’s very simple why customers come back to a business. It could be just the business’s total customer service effort; from giving the proper time to the customer to just acknowledging the customer’s concerns. Next time you are with a client, what will you do to exceed expectations?

Making Visit Lumbini Year 2012 a Success (Published on Nepalnews.com)

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Nepal Tourism Year 2011 brought 735,965 visitors to the country. The aim of Visit Lumbini Year 2o12 is to attract 1 million visitors. Organizing a tourism year back to back presents a unique challenge for Nepal’s tourism officials and I want to offer my suggestions to hold a successful Visit Lumbini Year 2012.  To make this year’s tourism campaign a success, I believe we need to take a holistic approach and strategically promote Lumbini. The feat of this campaign will not only depend on planning and advertising by the tourism officials but also on the wholehearted support from the government as well as the citizens.

Since we just had Visit Nepal 2011, I believe most people who will visit Nepal this year will probably be first time visitors and might have booked the trip to see Lumbini or other places in Nepal. There is a certain way to position this tourism campaign before travelers land at the airport in Nepal and also when they are already in the country. Tourism officials can act on these suggestions and hopefully leverage them to make this year’s Lumbini campaign a real success.

At Tribhuvan airport, I observed various visitor touch points that can be leveraged to better promote this year’s tourism efforts.  Before travelers land at Tribhuvan airport, the airline flight attendant can hand a one page handout about Lumbini along with the Customs Declaration form.  People who were already planning to go to Lumbini will have more information on their hands and people who did not know about Lumbini will get to learn about it. Second, coming towards the Customs area at the airport, currently there is a big banner mentioning its Visit Nepal 2011. This should be replaced with Visit Lumbini Year 2012. Lastly, there should be a Visitor Center that travellers can go to in order to learn more about Lumbini or other places in Nepal. This booth will serve as a place where tourists can have their questions answered, get maps or any additional information that would help make their stay enjoyable.

Once visitors are already in Nepal, promoting tourism to Lumbini should follow different strategies. First, most tourists generally stay at hotels during their visit to Nepal so hotels should be ready to explain the significance of Lumbini to their guests and they can partner with travel agencies to offer tour packages to Lumbini. Second, the tourism organizing committee should place ads on popular English dailies such as The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post to further promote the tourism campaign. Travel agencies can also advertise on such English newspapers offering packages and deals to Lumbini. When I travel around Kathmandu, I hardly noticed a billboard or sign promoting this year’s tourism efforts. There is hardly any public notice that makes you aware that it is Visit Lumbini Year 2012. So third, I would suggest placing billboards and signs in high traffic areas such as Thamel, Kings Way, Kalanki, Koteswor, New Baneshwore or Chahabil which would draw eyeballs and increase awareness of this year’s tourism campaign to visit Lumbini. This strategy would also encourage domestic residents to visit Lumbini.

Another way to attract tourists and domestic residents to Lumbini is by highlighting the significance of the place. Lumbini is significant for the birth of Buddhism and its spiritual meaning provides visitors a compelling reason to visit the area. I could see high profile individuals such as Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon whose visit to Lumbini could really highlight the importance of the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Ban Ki-moon who is the son of a devout Buddhist woman had indicated in his first visit to Nepal that he was interested in visiting the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Having an international figure such as Ban Ki-moon visit Lumbini would also reinforce that Lord Buddha was indeed born in Lumbini, Nepal. Bringing such high profile individuals to visit Lumbini would mean a huge success to the tourism organizing committee and to Nepal.

So, how do we measure if Visit Lumbini Year 2012 was successful? What types of analytics can we use to better understand visitor behavior? It was reported by Sangam Prasain on The Kathmandu Post (April 2, 2012) that the average per day spending by foreign tourists dropped to one of its lowest levels in the past decade. Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) reported that in 2003, the average spending per person per day was $79.10 (highest in ten years), $43.20 (2010) and $39.90 (2011). This means we have to understand why each visitor is spending less, how long does an average visitor stay in the country, what places did he/she go to, what would entice them to come back, etc. Some of these questions could have been answered if proper data collection and analytics were used for Nepal Tourism Year 2011. The tourism organizing committee can use those insights to facilitate better visitor experience.

Holding a tourism year consecutively presents various challenges. One of my concerns is that we could have used the feedback from visitors and businesses from last year’s tourism campaign and improved upon them before declaring another tourism year. For example, if we received a lot of responses that the conditions of our roads could be greatly improved, then we could have spent time fixing them before announcing another tourism campaign. Secondly, we have announced a tourism year but can we assure the safety of the visitors in the country. According to the website (www.nepalbandh.com), allegedly we had 168 bandhs (closings) in 2011 with 38 bandhs in May alone. If we cannot provide security to visitors let alone citizens and curb these bandhs, it will surely ruin the experience of travelers and the long-term impact will hamper our tourism efforts in the future.  Thus, the government and citizens alike should weigh the costs of bandhs and damage caused to the international reputation of Nepal.

All these simple strategies and suggestions listed above can contribute to a successful Visit Lumbini Year 2012. Making this year’s tourism efforts a success takes cooperation from tourism officials, businesses, the government and citizens. If visitors have a great experience during their time in Nepal, it will surely put our country in a positive limelight around the world.

Value of a Facebook Like

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Facebook has made it so easy to Like a comment, picture, video or status. It’s so easy to Like with a click of the mouse making every activity on the social media site quantifiable. What I do not see is how valuable is that Like when you Like everything-comment, picture, video or status.

I feel that if you are an individual that Likes everything that a brand posts on its Facebook page or hits Like on every baby picture or wedding picture on your friends page, the value of your Like goes down. If you Like certain items on Facebook, it gives your Likes some meaning. Without carefully choosing what to Like, you’re giving away meaning of your Likes.

Image source: MadTomato

Power of a brand

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

It’s interesting to observe the power of brands in today’s world. For example sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Puma have international appeal. Almost all of the clothes of these brands are made in countries where there is cheap labor (Vietnam, Malaysia). But even people in those countries where the clothes are manufactured prefer to wear Nike and Adidas rather than a local sports brand. It’s not much about where the clothes are made but rather which brand it is.

The Jeremy Lin Show

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Who is Jeremy Lin? Basketball fans (especially in New York) are excited to have Jeremy playing point guard for the New York Knicks. In his three starts for the Knicks, he is averaging 25.3 points and 8.3 assists. It seems like everyone is capitalizing on his performance on the court. For the Knicks, Jeremy’s success means more excitement for a team which is now 10-15 , for sports writers they have a nice story to cover. For sports enthusiasts like me, it means more excitement to see the game I already love to watch.

As a student of marketing, I find this overnight pop culture hysteria over Jeremy pretty interesting to observe.  You can’t plan to be an overnight celebrity; it happens. The internet is flooded with searches for Jeremy’s game highlights to his background story. This is when people follow the old adage: strike when the iron is hot.

NBA

Facebook picks Morgan Stanley to lead IPO

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Facebook is filing plans with regulators today to raise $5 billion. The social networking site chose Morgan Stanley to lead its IPO.

The company has chosen FB as its stock symbol. For more detailed information visit Bloomberg

Bloomberg

When Facebook Goes Public…

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Facebook is planning to go public this year. Mashable Social Media covers Facebook’s status and numbers in great detail-

http://mashable.com/2012/01/11/facebook-ipo-infographic-2/

Key predictions/figures from the article:

Facebook’s IPO will be the biggest of any tech company in history.

More than 1 in 10 humans on earth uses Facebook.

Though it’s 4th in daily visitors, Facebook is 1st  in ad revenue.

Feature Story: EXPO

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

I first discovered EXPO at the Silicon Alley Talent Fair (SATF) in Chelsea this past November. I was thrilled to learn about it. In its website, EXPO states “Our mission since 2005 has been to create the largest and most authentic base of product focused videos available.” The Videopinions (video product reviews) consist of thousands and thousands of reviews by real product owners.

Have you given a video review?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OHO8bkOlC4]

Feature Story: Zipcar

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Zipcar has been around for over 10 years but it has the feel of a startup company. The car-sharing company is on a mission to redefine the way people think about transportation. With technology and a member-driven user  experience, Zipcar has taken the simple idea of car sharing into new heights. The concept will mean less traffic and less pollution in our cities.

I better understood Zipcar’s concept when hearing Robin Chase, Founder and former CEO of Zipcar talk at the BRITE 2010 Conference at Columbia Business School. She talked about new business models based on sharing like CouchSurfing and Chatroulette. She elaborated on using other people’s excess capacity and creating a platform that end users can make use of it.

In April 2011, The New York Times reported “with an initial public offering on the Nasdaq, Zipcar, Inc. raised more than $174 million. The company has yet to make a profit, but investors are betting its lead over competitors will pay off.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go3–7Z14Vg]

Zipcar is currently in 14 cities across the US and is also available at colleges and universities through North America.

What do you think about Zipcar? Have you used it?

Feature Story: Gilt Groupe

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

I am fascinated with Gilt Groupe’s business model. Gilt’s About page states they “provide instant insider access to today’s top designer labels, at up to 60% off retail. Become a member and find something new every day for women, men, kids and home as well as exclusive local services and experiences, and one-of-a-kind travel packages. Sign in and see what inspires you today.”

I remember I went to a retail event put together by Chicago Conversations on December 2010. A representative from Gilt Groupe was a panelist at the event. He shared with the audience the changing retail environment, profit margins and mentioned that Gilt had sold an authentic car the day before through its website. I was thrilled to learn more about Gilt and went home and did research on the company. Although I have not used Gilt myself, I know a few friends who have and Gilt has been received very positively in the market.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx9WjvNGHPE]

As more discount oriented businesses flood the marketplace and even established giants (like Google) are entering the market, I enjoy being a consumer more than ever. Brick and mortar retail stores are facing a new competitive front through the explosion of online coupon merchants. At current, it is an exciting time to be a consumer or an online retailer.

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