Tag Archives: investment strategy

Six things to check before investing in a start-up

By Sourajit Aiyer

This article was originally published in InBusiness Dubai.

Start-ups interest me; I have been involved with one that my friend started. I helped him with his investor pitch documents and was part of a group of friends who provided him with bridge funding. When he had to raise working capital, I helped set up meetings for him with some venture funds and intermediaries.

Not just my friend, but I, too, have had invaluable learning. Discussions with my friend, his colleagues, investors and intermediaries helped me develop my own perspective on managing and, more importantly, measuring start-ups.

In case you are thinking of investing in a start-up, then you might want to check if the company you want to invest in is looking at these points:

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How to set up shop and reach consumers in rural South Asia

By Sourajit Aiyer

Following up on my article on the 10 faces of South Asia’s rural consumer, let’s take a look at the best strategies to reach these clients and unlock the potential they represent for your business.

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The 10 faces of South Asia’s rural consumer

By Sourajit Aiyer

The rural consumption opportunity (including the non-metro towns) has been a common topic of discussion in several investor conferences in India recently. However, one is largely dependent on literature written from the financial centres, with limited primary visits into the hinterland.

This limits the content’s practicality, given the heterogeneous rural landscape. Moreover, the standard demographic approach to segment rural consumers may be misleading, since their behaviour is impacted by several realities, not just demographics.

Why they buy as they do, and how they behave when it comes to buying, are questions that on-the-ground observations can help understand better. Using my own experiences from visits made into the interiors of Bangladesh and India (Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Kerala, etc), I have my own understanding of local people in these places, and I feel the 10 segments below may be useful to categorize the rural consumers across heterogeneous regions.

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Don’t rely on future profitability growth and wage rises

By Sourajit Aiyer

This article was originally published by Huffington Post India.

Gartner, the IT consulting major, said at a recent conference that a digital disruption to business occurs approximately every three years, while talk at the World Economic Forum on the 4th Industrial Revolution also focused on similar lines.

This is why it’s time to take a look at how these factors may change the way we look at, and measure, our businesses, whether as an owner or as an employee.

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How to win the currency war of words

By Mirela Roman

Central bankers have been striving to bring inflation down for a long time. But ironically, they took a U-turn after the financial crisis and are now trying to heal the wounds via negative or near zero lower-bound rates, “unorthodox” stimulus such as quantitative easing or various forward guidance and communication techniques.

As words almost became monetary policy tools, prices continue to stay stubbornly low or on a downward path. But there is one thing that bucks the trend, and its swings are even more sensitive to the way central banks talk than those of inflation.

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The small caps super-cycle is about to begin

A small caps super-cycle whose strength will take many in the markets by surprise is about to begin, according to fund manager Gervais Williams.

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Small companies will rule the future, book says

A change of direction so subtle that it is going unnoticed for now has begun in the economy – and investors will soon have to acknowledge it and learn to take advantage of it.

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Why you shouldn’t worry about a bear market yet

Some commentators have warned that a bear market in stocks could be near, citing things like the fall in US long-term interest rates or the decline of volatility as a sign of investor complacency.

But Garry Evans, global head of equity strategy at HSBC, argues that actually, a bear market usually starts when long-term interest rates and volatility are rising – although they are not necessarily reliable indicators.

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Emerging markets – is the rally over?

There has been a marked change in sentiment towards emerging markets this year, with more investors getting back in after disappointing performance last year.

But three analysts published warnings about the asset class on Monday. While not calling for an abrupt end to the rises in emerging markets stocks and bonds witnessed over the past few months, the warnings serve as a reminder that volatility can come back at any time.

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Eurozone equities are still the ticket: strategists

Eurozone equities have enjoyed a prolonged rally but the party isn’t over yet – at least in the opinion of strategists at Austria’s Raiffeisen bank.

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