presentation to college students by efarm founders Venkat and Srivalli on entrepreneurship skills and making of efarm.

1. Entrepreneurship Awareness Program Key strategies for
budding
entrepreneurs
Starting
UP
Presented By
Venkat & Srivalli
Founders,eFarm

2. Introduction : The Founders
Venkata Subramanian , COO Srivalli , CEO
MS (Computer Science), SUNY Albany, MBA (ICFAI), 2000
Newyork , 2003 B.Com Taxation, NMKRV, 1997
B.Arch , IIT Kharagpur , India , 1995
Over 12 years experience (1995-2007) in IT 8 years experience in Sales, Marketing, &
industry in roles such as Program Operations. Has run two start-ups and organised
management, Portal development for BFSI fund raising for NGOs as part of CSR programs.
clients, Outsourcing and Consulting
Technology & Marketing and
Operations HR
Domain
IT / Call entre Operaions Call centre Marketing HR Finance
Consultants
IT Dev. & Testing Purchase & Call centre / BPO
Interns
Team Delivery Team staff
2

3. Currently Better known as ….
‘Hi-Tech Subziwallahs’ of Chennai
Can privatizing agriculture solve
marketing problems?
Farmer’s Notebook , M.J. PRABU
A network of collection centres and distribution centre in
Chennai and surrounding districts, procuring daily from over
2500 farmers and supplying to leading retail outlets,hotels,
caterers and restaurants in the city.
Most Promising
Startup 2011
3

4. Audience activity with students
WHO ARE POTENTIAL
ENTREPRENEURS ?

5. World Most Famous College Dropouts who
became successful entrepreneurs …
•Dropped out of Harvard after 2nd year in 1973
•In 2007, thirty years after he left Harvard, he
would finally receive his degree (an honorary
doctorate) from his alma mater.
At the commencement, said, "I'm a bad influence.
That's why I was invited to speak at your
graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation,
fewer of you might be here today.“
•The software company he built runs almost
every PC today

6. •dropped out of Reed
College after just six
months because of the
undue financial strain on
parents
• found NeXT Computer
and Pixar
•.. Apple, ipod, iPad ….
• Steve Jobs

7. • architect, thinker, inventor, futurist,
engineer
• Expelled from Harvard not once, but
twice
• string of bad business ventures and years
of depression following his daughter's
death
• Inventor of Geodesic dome
• Buckminster Fuller

8. • enrolled in Fullerton College to
study physics.
• He would drop out, marry a
waitress and eventually become a
truck driver for the local school
district
• he saw Star Wars in 1977 and
decided to join movies
• Director of award winning sci-fi
movies like avatar, titanic ,
terminator , aliens …..
• James Cameron

9. • did his schooling in Chorwad but
couldn’t continue to college, as
he couldn’t afford
• started by selling bhajias to
pilgrims visiting Girnar peak.
• came to Mumbai in 1959 with Rs
500 in his pocket and today his
business empire is worth over Rs
62,000 crore
• Dhirubhai Ambani

10. SO WHATS THE BIG IDEA ?

11. Are you ‘Passionate’ about your Idea ?
• Spa = ‘Thel Malish’ ?
• Waste Recycling =
‘Kabadiwallah’
• IT firm = ‘Software
Coolie’
• Starting a business is like “Falling in Love”
• Don’t chase something which is NOT yours
• Follow Your Instinct

12. Ideas Need Not Be Unique .. But
Implementations Are
• Software – Microsoft v/s IBM
• Search engine – Google v/s Altavista
• Social network – Facebook v/s Orkut
Often ‘first movers’ loose the advantage
Smart Entrepreneurs often ‘improve’ an existing
idea !!

13. Building a Team
• What we can learn from ‘ants’ …
• Founders : Friends v/s Family v/s Professionals ?
• Whom to recruit
– Brand college grads or Tier II ?
– Family v/s Outsider : Pros and Co
• One good person knows another good one :
Referrals

14. BEFORE YOU MEET YOUR FIRST
INVESTOR

15. Learn Excel and How to make nice charts ;-)
15 crores target
in 3 years
MONT
Base M H SALES (IN
arch Rs) M
April -O-M % I
136400 nc Net
M ay Profit
als
321700
June 135.85%
Actu
405800 27300
July 462200 26.14%
Aug 48400
526400 13.90%
Sep 13100
596650 13.89%
Oct 30200
663700 13.35%
Nov 730750 11.24%
Dec 825000 10.10%
d
Jan
ecte
925000 12.90%
Feb 1040000 12.12%
Proj
Mar 1190000 12.43%
1375000 14.42%
15.55%

16. Know Your Numbers
• Credit/debit
• Profit & Loss
• Balance sheet
• Cash Flow statement
• Read a good book which explains ‘Finance for
Non-Finance people’

17. Elevator Pitch |What is <your company> ?
What does the Company do?
In ONE sentence explain your product / service
Who is the customer ?
Key pain points for end customers addressed ?
A Simple Vision / Mission Top 3 MAJOR value additions of your service or product
statement
Current status / competitors
What is your GOAL ?
How are you different from the ‘crowd’
Avoid
Blah .. Blah .. Blah … How will you make Money ?
How much money do you need to ‘start’ and get to ‘break
even’ ?

18. Your 1st Investors
• Family – Father , Father-in-law !
• Friends
You can’t fool them..
They know too much about
you..
Will give you money either to
encourage you or just to avoid
being ‘bugged’ by you !

19. Professional Investors
You get You sing If you Start Retire =
money for Baba black pass exam making Exit
just being sheep you get money
cute And u get your toy and
money support
your self
and your Remember :Investors
family want their money
‘BACK’ with ‘RETURNS’
Angel VC PE IPO

20. Fear of ‘Fa(i)lling’
Running a new business is like learning to cycle
first time …
None has ever learnt cycling without FALLING
Successful entrepreneurs are those who have
FALLEN many times ,
but still get UP and move on …

21. The Ideal Entrepreneur
.. Ready to
jump into
fire …
Have the
discipline of a
soldier …. .. But still ‘enjoys’
doing the
impossible !

22. eFarm
Enabling FArmers to Reach Markets
Part II
The Making Of eFarm
The Inside Story Of a Social StartUp

23. Why I Became An Entrepreneur ?
• An ‘empty’ feeling within that ‘I
• Coming from a have not accomplished anything
typical ‘Tam-Bram with my life’
‘ family , It took • Motivated by other entrepreneurs
me 12 years of • The ‘India Inc’ rising stories in press
preparation to
feel I am ‘ready’ • Movies – Swades !!!
to be an • Growing support structure for
entrepreneur. startups – mentors, incubators,
forums, magazines

24. Why a ‘Social’ Business ?
• NGOs – driven by passion & cause , very fulfilling
but lack sustainability, funds to operate
• Corporates – Driven by financial profitability as
success, but no commitment to social upliftment
• Social business : Best of both worlds

25. Why ‘Bottom of Pyramid’ ?
• Poverty is relative – an analogy : Bill gates v/s Azim
Premji v/s ME v/s Muniyamma v/s Unemployed
MBA (?)
• Poor people Pay MORE for LESS
• CK Prahlad and the BOP mirage – BOP as a ‘buyer’
v/s BOP as a ‘seller’
– Farmer BUYING cellphone or insurance
• v/s
– Farmer SELLING rice

26. Only a crystal clear question yields a
transparent answer
– Zen saying
PROBLEM STATEMENT
WHY IS THERE A CRISIS IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE ?

27. Pain areas | The Agri Supply Chain
Current State : Too Many Steps , Too Little Value Addition
Harvesting of • Unorganized , unregulated , Terminal markets to
Vegetables
unprofessional & unprofitable neighborhood wholesalers
•A Middlemen’ dominated market
1 •Adhoc /Arbitrary Decisions on quality &
price
5
Regional mandi to Wholesalers to Retailers
4 Terminal markets near
A local mandi large cities
auctioning 2
Local to Regional mandis
for Auction
6
Loss in transit
40%
Price hike Retailers to Dining Table
3 End to end
> 400%
7

28. So many solutions , but why still a crisis ?
“Blind men and the elephant” syndrome in agri
R&D Without
FDI in
Retail reliable
Increase
yield and
LIVE data
Contract any
farming Export
market
agri
intervention
Or
agri-business
will be
A
Cold
chain
Subsidies,
failure
GM foods
Loans, 28
grants

29. Number #1 problem of Agri Industry
THERE IS NO ACCURATE DATA OF SUPPLY OR DEMAND
Who are the ‘REAL’ farmers ?
What are they growing ??
What is available RIGHT NOW ?
Who are the END buyers ?
What are they buying ? Reality Check
India’s largest
What price is END customer willing to pay ?
industry is
What is the cost of growing for farmer ? running with
NO DATA
How to arrive at correct pricing for produce ? ==
DAILY CRISIS
29

30. Pain areas | The Farmer’s ‘REAL’ crisis
Reality Check
•Farmers cannot do “everything”.
They need professional help and
organizational support
•Farming needs to become self
sustaining and HENCE a business
activity
•High uncertainty and risks = Very
low investor interest
•Years of neglect & low esteem =
educated youth avoid an agri
career =Labour problems
Need role models and pioneers to
build the road to recovery

31. Pain Areas | Customer Spectrum
Huge domestic demand, Escalating prices & Unmet needs
Organised retailers are crowded in this space
Competition high
Low Income Middle High Hotels & Food & Export
Group Income Income caterers Drink • ~1% of
• > 40% in Group Group • ~25% of processors volume
volume • ~ 20% in • ~5% in volume volume • ~5% of • Best quality /
• Buy from volume • Buy from volume specific
• Buy from products only
neighborhood • Buy from retail chains wholesale • Product
markets street vendors • Quality & mandi specific buyer
(evening) • Price + Quality variety • Large volume
• Pay more for conscious conscious + fixed price
less quality range
Efarm targets entire B2B segment and currently untapped areas

32. "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of
thinking we used when we created them."
Albert Einstein
THE SOLUTION

33. “Desi” Problems need ‘Jugaadu’
solutions

34. Key Innovations
1) Weighing machine = standardise agri business transactions !
Bundles, baskets , bags  Kilograms , Counts 
2) Simple grading = right quality to right customer!!
Mixed grades S / M / L (Or) excellent / OK /bad 
3) Simple technology = widest usage !!!
PCs, Websites  Mobile phones , Voice, SMS 

35. Value proposition |
Connecting the Dots
Cleaning / Packing
Quality
Inspection/ Grading
Routing
Every stakeholder is alternately a
Long haul buyer or seller of agro goods, linked
Transportation
together by a common system.
Thus :
Develop Online supply chain
Rural Produce
Collection Centres Small retailers
Local vendors Technology backbone with offline
distribution mechanisms
Farmers
Create a network of farmers,
Urban area intermediaries, logistics providers,
Distribution centre
Local
Distribution distributors and retailers
Provide common support services
like marketing , training ,
Compost/Manure
from waste
Food Processing
units
technology and agri business
consulting
Bulk buyers
(Hotels / Caterers /
Retailers)
Exports ‘Organize’ the ‘un-organized’ rural
eFarm Common Services
to urban supply chain
Planning &
Coordination
Research
Call centre /
Communication
Technology
Training &
Support Manage the network to ensure
sustainability across the chain

36. Rural Collection Centres

37. Collection centres

38. Chennai Distribution Centre

39. Distribution centre

40. Kisan To Jawan : Retail Outlet For Indian Army

41. Value addition Cut
vegetables
Peeled
onions
and garlic
Natural
Ripening
Value added lProcesing team at our Mylapore centre Of fruits
Agri waste
collection
and
composting

42. Training / Workshop

43. eFarmDirect
Enabling MORE farmers Reach WIDER Markets..
In Seconds

44. What is eFarmDirect ?
Key problems for farmer
Suppliers Transporters
1) Limited choice of buyers
2) Lack of Labour
3) Rising Input Costs of agro-supplies Buyers Labour
4) Rising Transport Costs
5) Unviable market prices
eFarmdirect.com
All other Industries use Web portal | Call centre| SMS
ICT tools and Software
applications to manage
operations
Whereas,
efarmDirect is a
Farmers have not been
B2B online platform which uses
IT enabled and are cut
simple ICT tools to
off from the ‘new’
CONNECT farmers with all the agri
world
supply chain stakeholders to build a
nationwide farmer’s marketing
portal
44

45. Some Real World Examples of How Technology
has enabled comman man in India
Removing the agents : IRCTC train ticket booking
No more touts . No more queues !! Hassle free train ticket booking from home or
browsing centre ! India’s Most successful e-commerce venture
B2B Business directories : Justdial / India mart
Any business/trade information is just a ‘phone call’ away . Details
available over call centre or via SMS
Logistics : Call Taxis ( Meru / Fast Track etc.,)
Cabs available on-call .Timely pickup/drop, Economical fares – combination of
technology & well trained staff for great service
Brown Collar Job Board : Babajobs.com
Job portal for brown collar job seekers – connects maids, drivers, plumbers,
technicians to customers via call/mobile/sms .
…eFarmDirect is a combination of such business
models to solve the ‘farmer’s crisis’ 45

46. PORTAL DEMO
46

47. What all products ?
Vegetables and Fruits
Over 5000 crops,
varieties and farm
Cereals & Pulses based products
are already listed
Flowers and Aromatic products
Herbs ,Spices and Forest products
Plantation crops (cash crops) More produces,
categories will be
added based on
Livestock & Poultry
need
Processed products / Value added products
Special category for ORGANIC PRODUCE
47

48. Who are the buyers listed in portal
Organised M andi/ Hotels Exporters Organic
retail chains Major retail/whole
markets salers
Caterers Food
Local shops processors
Traders Niche
Restaurants product
Vegetable buyers
vendors Wholesalers
48

49. Who are the agro-suppliers ?
Input Irrigation Tools and Storage Institutions
suppliers equipments Farm
equipments
Cold storage Banks / MFI
Seeds Drip
Tractors
Warehouses NGOs
Fertilisers Pumps
Machineries
Ripening Agri-clinics /
Motors chambers Labs
Rentals
/Lease 49
Consultants

50. DATA COLLECTION - FARMER
Production data
• Produce name, variety
• Grade
• Typical yield at harvest
• Harvest cycles
• Cost price at farm gate
• Organic ? Certifications ?
Farmer information
How data is collected ? • Name
• Address
•At farmer mela’s and • Contact number
exhibitions • Preferred mode of payment
•Through partners like NGOs, • Bank / Post office details
KVKs, Agri institutions, rural • Photo
banks and MFIs • Attestation
•Through franchisees Other information
• Land type/irrigation type
• Banking information
50

51. Basic Buyer-Seller Search and
Features
Search by produce, availability,
quantity, price
Demand /
Supply
projections
for future
planning
Farmer/buyer Map view for
details with locating
contact info farmers by
area 51

52. Advanced Features
Rating and review
mechanism
farmers and buyers
can provide feedback
which builds
transparency and
Audio Visuals Marketing identifies ‘good’
Farmers can add performers
audio/videos/pictures
about their produce /
products to showcase
uniqueness
GROUP view
map small farmers to respective
SHGs, Federations and Institution –
enables ‘aggregate’ of quantities
to meet larger demands as a
‘combined entity’
52

53. Roll Out Plan
Will create over 3 Million
jobs in villages and rural
areas in 4 years
53

54. Livelihood Generation and Social
Impact
• Creating Agri entrepreneurs in Rural Areas
• Rural youth/ Women are trained as local representatives for data
collection/updation
• Revenue from commissions and value added services
• Providing Employment for Disabled and Under
: priveleged
• Call centres/BPOs operated by differently abled – visually challenged ,
speech/hearing impaired
• Job opportunities for those tapping unconventional talent pool of India
• Reverse migration to villages
• Create labour pools of semi-skilled labourers for farm work who are
available ‘on-call’
• Create central equipment leasing model so that farmers can ‘hire-an-
equipment and operator’ to reduce equipment costs
54

55. Current Status
•Inaugurated in Bangalore krishi mela by Viceof Feb 2012
as Chancellor of
UAS, hebbal on 20 Nov 2011
•Stalls in major krishi melas – bangalore, nasik, Pune drew
over 1 lakh farmers
•Over 5000 registered farmers , 1000 buyers, 150 suppliers
PAID in pilot phase and operational
•Next version to be inaugurated at FOODS 2012 Global
conference at MOP vaishnava
Awards and Recognitions
–Proto.in ‘Most promising startup of 2011’
–Best Stall award at Bangalore krishi mela and runner up in
Nasik krishi mela
–Presented to Sam Pitroda’s Action For India Forum in New
Delhi under’ innovations of ICT in Agriculture’
Pilot projects (under discussion/planning stage )
–Uttaranchal government’s aajeevika – pilot at Uttarkashi
–NABARD,Chennai – Pilot in Chennai and surrounding districts
–IFAD – Roll out in Project areas of IFAD in India
–NSDC – Rural jobs training and portal
55

56. How you can engage with us
56

57. For Further Details
•efarm company website : www.efarm.in
•efarmDirect : http://www.efarmdirect.com/
•FAQ
•Videos and Training materials
•Registration
Venkata Subramanian
Founder & MD /COO
•Facebook : www.facebook.com/myefarm
venky@efarm.in
(M) 98847 61354
•Blog : http://groups.google.com/group/efarm
Srivalli Krishnan
Co-Founder, Director /CEO
srivalli@efarm.in
(M) 7418844275
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