Hello,
At 03:41 15-01-2016, Suyash Sumaroo wrote:
>These are hard questions for a young entrepreneur, :-)
I understand that those were hard questions. :-)
>I believe that there are many factors which will prevent people from
>setting up their own startups: risk, finance, general perception,
>and so on. I think this will change when setting up startups in
>Mauritius will become more attractive in terms of career financing,
>opportunities and ROI.
A startup does not work well if it has a risk-averse culture. It
does not work well if it cannot attract skilled software developers.
>It is true that it is not easy to know exactly what investors are
>expecting, simply because, entrepreneurs (especially young ones) and
>investors have really different mindsets. However, I believe that it
>all comes down to know how to manage complexity irrespective of
>whether it is in Mauritius or Silicon Valley. For instance, if you
>have to convince an investor to invest in your idea, then however
>reluctant he/she is, it is the job of the entrepreneur to convince
>the investor, taking into account the current environment. It all
>comes down to this: "look smart guy, you have an idea, and you want
>finance. Well, use everything you have at your disposal to make it
>happen. If you can't the first time, then its your shortcoming. Fail
>and then, try again."
Thanks for commenting about the mindset issue. I agree that it is up
to the entrepreneur to convince the investor. Does anyone know how
it is done locally?
>Honestly, I cannot pretend to answer this question. Knowing about an
>ecosystem generally requires someone to be in the startup culture or
>business for quite some years. I can only spot bits and pieces that
>form an ecosystem (bits and pieces I am already familiar with).
>However, I do think it is possible to create a startup ecosystem.
>Currently, I form part of the ecosystem and I try to convince others
>to join, so as your reference to a coral reef, I am just a small
>polyp extending the ecosystem.
There isn't a startup culture in Mauritius. It's a small
island. Does anyone see its advantages? Is it a worthwhile to have
a startup which is government-sponsored? The coral reef example was
not about whether a person is a small polyp. It's an
ecosystem. It's very difficult for one person to know the ecosystem.
At 04:45 15-01-2016, Turbine Mauritius wrote:
>Indeed, building a healthy ecosystem requires times, commitment and
>diversity for the components to work together and grow. Less healthy
>ecosystems need a bit more to thrive.
>
>I definitely agree with Suyash regarding the fact that some elements
>of the ecosystem are present.
>- There might not be start-ups with successes similar to Silicon
>valley projects, but there are committed individuals with exciting projects.
Having committed individuals is useful for the ecosystem.
>- There might not be as many investors as there are in other
>worldwide entrepreneurial hubs, but there are definitely available
>funds and increasing willingness to take risks on younger ventures.
I don't think that the availability of funds is the problem.
>- One component that, in my humble opinion, needs to be developed is
>an eager market that is keen to support new products and services
>developed locally. This isn't to say the local market is or should
>be a priority, but a community of early adopters can be key to a
>start-up's initial early growth.
I suggest focusing on the local market as it is closer and it can be
used to assess early growth. The local early adopters are not
visible. I would change part of the above to "keen to buy new
products and services". The "developed locally" is somewhat of a
problem as local people are not keen about that.
>The disconnect SM mentions might be worth putting into perspective
>not only from a start-ups perspective (e.g. "the investors don't
>understand my vision"), but also from the market perspective. Does
>the product or service you offer answer an existing, pressing and
>relevant need? If so, it should only be a matter of time before you
>reach a critical mass of consumers.
>* This is not to say that the initial viewpoint is incorrect, though
>perhaps it is only partially complete.
I would list the above as part of marketing. The vision would have
to be translated into a minimum viable product.
>To get back to the ecosystem, it's important to note that no
>environment can thrive with too much of one thing. Using the initial
>example, it is perfectly acceptable that software developers and
>system administrators may not wish to embark on an entrepreneurial
>journey - and it would probably be overwhelming if, in turn,
>everyone decided to do so! It takes a tremendous amount of passion,
>vision and grit to launch a start-up, and considering that 60% of
>them fail, only individuals with such qualities are advised to
>pursue this path. There are such individuals in individuals in
>Mauritius and it is a fantastic opportunity for them to have access
>to a great talent pool of other software developers and system
>administrators (once again, as per example) to assist them in their
>endeavours!...
It's not a startup if everybody is offering the same product. I
guess that some software developers and system administrators might
be tempted to "let's copy that product".
It is passion and commitment which fuels a product. It is difficult
to find that on the island (or in any country). According to 2012
research [1] by Shikhar Ghosh three out of four startups fail. I
could not find any information for Mauritius.
The estimated size of the pool is around 100. The pool of software
developers and system administrators is not proactive. The level of
engagement is very low. Access to talent is an issue.
Regards,
S. Moonesamy
1.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443720204578004980476429190
Received on Sat Jan 16 2016 - 10:19:11 PST