Vodafone, Google, Facebook - I HATE YOU

While I was in the U.S. I had my Vodafone India Blackberry turned on.  I did not make or receive any significant amount of phone calls but kept the phone on so I could receive email.  I have been using Vodafone for three years and I understand that the bulk of the roaming charges that I incur when I travel are usually from voice calls, not data usage. . . . I mean how much data does it take to send and receive an email.  Well, in reality, not much!

 

So why am I angry?  Because the Google Maps and Facebook applications on my BB ended up using INSANE amounts of data while I was roaming without me even knowing it!  Google Maps has a "current location" option that constantly updates your locations and in the process uses a lot of data.  Facebook updates photos of your friends into your contact book which, again, uses a lot of data.  I had no idea these features were even turned on! 

 

That brings me to Vodafone.  I have been a very high spending post-paid customer for three years - i.e. a high margin customer!  When I saw my bill I called Vodafone explaining the situation to see if there was something we could do . . . i.e. reducing the bill.  I assumed that being such a high paying customer would give me some leeway. I was completely wrong, there was nothing they were willing to do, even after I spoke to a few layers of "managers." I finally told them that I would just not pay the bill and instead get a new number with a different provider. They still didn't budge!

 

One of my friends told me that i should have just reported the phone as stolen and they would send a new sim and redact the charges.  Damn! I should have tried that first. I tried this method only after I had given them the prior explanation so it obviously didn't work.

 

So I'm torn . . . should I pay the bill or should I just leave it and go . . . . FYI the bill was >40,000!

Follow Up on Information Sharing and Networking in India

I have received some interesting comments in response to my take on networking and information sharing in India . . . .

 

Nitin Sacheti, a former Uchicago classmate of mine, says:

there’s definitely a smaller circle in India amongst which people more freely share ideas but I think the difference in comfort levels in sharing ideas is solely a function of the number of capital allocators in the financial world of a particular country. I think that if you look at it on a size basis---IE look at the total number of people in india that are in the 2-3 degree base and compare that to the same number of people in the US that are at the top of the financial stratosphere, you’ll see that information is just as easily disseminated, but the difference is in the US, it’s a lot harder to break into that small group of people bc it’s so much wealthier and older. I also think that because of the stricter government regulations and easier monitoring of the financial markets in the US, it makes people more guarded with information. I find that when many people who work for large public cos, find that I work for a hedge fund, they are much more guarded about work stories bc there’s a more concrete risk/consequence to sharing information so openly—ala Sarbanes oxley.

 

I fully agree with Nitin – SarbOx and the culture of litigation makes American business-types more likely to restrict information sharing.  Furthermore, it is much easier to break into the financial / business community in India.  I should say, though, that my aggressive personality does help – i.e. I have no qualms in repeatedly sending people emails until I get a meeting.  At NSR and even with my parents sometimes, I send emails with “PLEASE READ AND RESPOND” tagged on to the end of the subject line. 

 

Ravi Gurnani, a good friend and winetrepreneur, says:

try sharing or getting some information out of the any govt departments.. extracting info from the authorities is like drawing water out of a stone.. thats when you realise its the extreme opposite to this scenario

 

With my minimal amount of experience at dealing with the Indian government, I would have to agree.  If you have a personal relationship (or are able to build a personal relationship) with these officials, though, I would imagine that extracting information would be easier. 

How to Get Information in India (or Why India is Better than the U.S.)

Getting important and relevant information that I require (both personally and professionally) in India is much easier then getting it in the U.S.  A lot of information can be found from a Google search but to make it contextually relevant you generally require someone’s opinion – and one that you trust.  I have found that getting in touch with these “experts” and getting information from them is very very easy in India.

 

Let me preface this post by making two comments.  When I refer to professional and social networks I am referring those in a specific strata of society – people who generally make what a NYC professional would make (no, not a banker) or live that lifestyle due to family wealth.  There just aren’t that many people making / having that much money in India.  Secondly, I am making generalizations to make a point but there are a lot of exceptions to the rule (not enough that I can’t make the generalization). 

 

So this group of people who don’t have any problem with money are a small group that tend to socialize and do business with each other.  This makes for a very small very interconnected network.  The law of “six degrees of separation” becomes three at a maximum!  It also creates an environment where it is very easy to reach people who have the knowledge that you are seeking – all it takes is a few phone calls.   

 

The small network of people who are very interconnected is a large part of why information is disseminated so fast and effectively in India but is by no means the only one.  I have found that the concept of “networking” – who you know and who you can connect to each other – commands a high amount of value in relationships in India.  You can win a lot of business by knowing the right people vs. having the best product (I know, this is a BIG generalization).  Furthermore, Indians in this strata of society are less guarded with their opinions and much more open to talking about themselves and their businesses – as compared to Americans.  I have found that as soon as you demonstrate some small piece of knowledge on a relevant topic, the person you are trying to get information from will find your knowledge gratifying and really “open up.”

 

From learning about some random scoring system in Bridge to the number of telecom towers a small independent tower company has, I can get the information more quickly and with a lot more accuracy than I was able to in the U.S.  The real dent in my argument is that I have been out of the U.S. for three years and have also grown personally and professionally.  Well, I'm going back next month for a one month trip . . . Let’s see what I think when I get back . . . . .

Transitioning out of the Corporate – My last Month with New Silk Route

This is my last month as a full-time employee at New Silk Route (“NSR”).  I am very excited and scared to leave the firm – I was the first junior guy they hired and really feel like I have had a significant impact in how the firm has grown.  I am sad to leave this small team of people that I respect and continue to learn from on a daily basis but I understand that I need the “threat” of zero-income to motivate me to make money in some other way! 

 

Leaving a small, tight-knit, firm like NSR is tough.  There are no formalized transition processes as I am the first non-Partner to leave the firm.  As I transition my portfolio company responsibilities to my colleagues, I have learned the value of my knowledge-base and contact-base within the firm, with our portfolio companies and with the universe of service companies we work with on a daily basis (auditors, bankers, consultants, etc).  I wish I had done this type of exercise before – it has helped me to understand how valuable I am to my peers and bosses.  Don’t get me wrong, my colleagues will be able to manage easily without me but there will be at least a few months of a learning curve to get up to speed.  Additionally, my motivation to work and quality of work since I decided to leave has waned a bit so the threshold to meet will be lower.

 

So what will I miss?  I will miss working with some very smart people on a daily basis (both Partners and Non-Partners).  The junior pool of people in India are not only my colleagues but also my friends.  I will see them after work and on the weekends after I leave but I won’t have the benefit of interacting with them on an informal basis during the workday.  I have also realized that I will miss being in the “flow” of business information – seeing new companies, talking to entrepreneurs and VIPs, etc.  A few friends of mine and I are working on a way to maintain this “flow” of information but I will talk about that in a future post . . . .

 

Keep coming back for more!

Public Sector Incompetence and Private Sector Vitality

“The confusion and disorganization of the city’s response to an invasion by as few as ten terrorists was a sharp reminder that India’s public sector has little of the entrepreneurial vitality of the newly liberated private sector” – Jonathan Foreman, deputy editor of standpoint from his article “India’s time of reckoning” [Sorry unfortunately I could not find a free copy of the article online]

 

My parent’s generation and their elders used to view the Indian Government as a place where very smart intellectuals and high achievers would go to become powerful and successful.  The Indian Administrative Services attracted the most talented people in the country, as determined by extremely intensive exams.  I don’t know numbers but I’m sure that just like the IIT/IIM system you get a less then 1% ratio of people who take the exams to people who get a spot in the IAS. 

 

Since the “Independence” generation there has been a definite change in the perception of the Public Sector.  In fact, my generation would much rather choose a career in the Private Sector not only due to money but also because the perception of impact that you can make on the sections of the Public that could use help.  In fact, most of my friends who want to do Public Sector work in India would do it through an NGO instead of direct Government service work. 

 

My generation perceives the government as a barrier to growth, as a hindrance to progress.  It is slow, it is annoying and it is ugly.  Politicians are perceived to be sleazy.  Remember, though, that there is a difference between a politician and a bureaucrat – I think that there the perception of politicians spills over to the bureaucratic side of government.  Regardless, bureaucrats are not known for their efficiency, flexibility or forward thought.  This perception is unfortunate for obvious reasons.  In India it is tough to find smart young bureaucrats or politicians – it is just not an appealing enough sector to attract young and dynamic personalities. 

 

The idea of hierarchy and age-based promotion has been vanishing from the private sector.  The focus on merit based earnings and achievement has really helped drive the “entrepreneurial vitality” that Jonathan Foreman mentions above.  What the Indian Government needs to do is revive this spirit and renew the ranks of the bureaucracy with young, smart and motivated individuals.  How?  I have no idea but certainly it can’t be a monetary based motivation – the private sector, for the time being, will pay significant amounts more for talent. 

 

But wait – The Economist says that maybe its because “many young people prefer pleasure-seeking to politics” – well, it does make a good read . . . .

 

On a personal note – I am afraid of dealing with government officials in India because I do not understand how to deal with the bureaucracy in an efficient manner.  As I go through the process of starting a new company I will likely have to hire “agents” and use friends to navigate my way through certain regulatory hurdles, etc.