madhouse musings!

This post was jointly done by Sameer and Nandini

Many entrepreneurs working on new ideas, seem to live with this assumption that Idea Sharing = Idea Stealing. That is, if I as an entrepreneur share my idea with others, they will steal it and make it their own. Garnering this notion, they fail to share details of their project, about what solution they are building or which the real problem they are solving. This does not give an opportunity for the person on the other side, however competent he is, to give constructive feedback or be the devil’s advocate. Hence, entrepreneurs may land up working on their idea in vacuum.

This approach leads to a lot of lost opportunities, such as, missing out on opportunity in getting:

• any relevant information
• useful contacts
• feedback, approval or criticism

or even a missed opportunity in creating a genuine relationship. All of the above are fairly important for an entrepreneur working on a new idea.

Here is another and better approach, which as entrepreneurs we believe in and propagate:

• Just an idea is not worth any value

• True value is derived out of the team that works on the idea, the planning, knowledge and the final execution.

• As founders and the core team, the secret lies in your strategy. However, this needs validation and refinement from various kinds of people:

o Potential investors: They can give us feedback from the investors’ point-of-view, thus helping us refine our idea or pitch. Also, since these guys, interact with a lot of young companies and entrepreneurs with ideas; they are in a position to tell us if our idea will work or if any such thing already exists.

o Entrepreneurs: These are the guys who are brimming with ideas and who will always have a word of wisdom or two. They are well networked and update about the startup world. These guys can help in validating the idea and refine the thoughts.

o Potential customers: Who best to learn from than the end user?

o Other people: People in general, who do not have the domain knowledge about what you are doing. Try selling your idea’s power to them. That experience will surely teach you a thing or two.

You can always choose not to talk about some sensitive/confidential parts of your business. Other than that, the more you talk about your idea that much more refined the concept / pitch will get, as we tend to improve our pitch with each sharing. It is a natural mending method that helps crystallize our thoughts. So, all you entrepreneurs with idea; share them!

Got views, comments, agreements, disagreements? Please post them, would love to see a trail of thoughts out here!

Here are some good posts about why “VCs don’t sign NDAs”, before entrepreneurs share the ideas:

• http://www.feld.com/blog/archives/2006/02/why_most_vcs_do.html

• http://www.sethlevine.com/blog/archives/2008/01/why-i-dont-sign.php

Every child is special… I am proud that Indian Cinema has reached a stage where it is making movies addressing issues that are realities to most of us. As much as cinema in India is about the ‘naach gaana’ , cinema as a medium has had a larger role to play outside of its ‘entertainment’ garb.

Cinema, with the magic it brings onto the silver screen, it has the ability to influence people, educate people and also propagate messages. Taare Zameen Par has demonstrated how cinema can be utilized to discuss a very common, yet complex specialty that ails our society.

Aamir Khan, one of the major Khan’s in Indian filmdom, being a part of this TZP project is also a strategic move. It has brought in the celebrity / influencer factor to the message. Thus, ensuring that the message reaches in the right manner and strikes a chord amongst people in the society.

Cinema for a social cause has been demonstrated. However, this differs from the normal newsreel or the documentary one is used to viewing in typical India. Therefore, my earlier comment that Cinema in Indian has surpassed the stereotype of song & dance.

Following the Popular film making rules, Taare Zameen Par has brought in a fresh perspective to addressing serious issues. This reminds of the movies of the 70’s and 80’s when during the new wave era or the art cinema times, in India, there were movies such as Masoom, Aandhi and the like that dealt with issues of concern to India.

However, i will place Taare Zameen Par away, above and beyond all of those movies ever made. ‘coz this movie did complete justice to the message, did not kill the topic of interest and ensured that the point was driven home with sensitivity.

Aamir Khan has proved himself to be an artist par excellence. As a director, he has ensured that the talent in the young Darsheel is portrayed in the right way. The dilemma of a small child, the frustrations and the sensitivities that impact the kid has been depicted by Darsheel in a very effective manner. It’s part Darsheel’s talent and part Aamir’s knack to making sure the kid delivered as part of his role.

In a day and age of competition, expectations, pressures, tuitions, A Grades, top ranks, excellence and above average performances… TZP is a movie that lays emphasis on the individual than external pressures, which is of utmost importance. It is the self that builds you for the future… we tend to lay emphasis on the world around us, ranks and marks forgetting to focus on building the self, honing the existing skills. TZP makes you stop for a moment and check within oneself, if what i am doing is truly “what I want to do”.

I guess i selected the right day and time to watch it – New Year’s eve, late night show. And what company, better than your parents?! A movie, a message, a topic that’s been dealt with utmost care Taare Zameen Par gets