Category Archives: Business

The real deal with offshore captives

Posted on May 7, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Recently Forrester Research released a report that says that offshore captives, which have been much in vogue for the last three years, are “imploding”. A blog post here makes for interesting reading, especially the comments.

Posted in Business, Offshore Services | 21 Comments

More insiders being recruited as CEOs

Posted on May 5, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

A few months back I had written on Runaway CEO compensation after the Bob Nardelli/Home Depot fiasco. My sole recommendation on the way out of the CEO compensation mess was – better succession planning.

Posted in Business | 2 Comments

Notes from the CRV conference

Posted on April 29, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Spent a couple of days last week at the Charles River Ventures conference. (CRV is the lead investor in Gridstone). The attraction of the conference to me was to meet other entrepreneurs and to meet a great roster of speakers. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Startups, Technology | 3 Comments

The H1-B visa program needs a revamp

Posted on April 21, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

This year the INS received 150,000 H1-B visa applications for the coming year starting in October, on the first day that it started accepting applications – for a total of 65,000 visas! An article in the New York Times takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Offshore Services | 19 Comments

Offshore Backlash Redux

Posted on March 31, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

It’s back. With the Democrats in Congress and soon perhaps in the Whitehouse and an economy that most think will turn sour soon, it is almost the perfect storm. Trade in services, fondly called “offshoring” is back on the front … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Offshore Services | 6 Comments

Users in India should have opt-in rights

Posted on March 26, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Last year I posted on “Indian websites haven’t earned my trust“. What had annoyed me enough to write that piece was moneycontrol.com. Once it got hold of my email, it started sending me an email a day with an inane … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, India, Technology | 9 Comments

Open Letter to the Bollywood Music Industry

Posted on March 12, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Dear Mr./Ms. Music Executive, First of all, let me compliment you on your pricing strategy so far. You have aced the test on how to price information products. Information products like music are tricky – the content is all in … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Culture, India, Information Products, Technology | 21 Comments

Apple and the Music Industry

Posted on March 4, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Last week’s post on YouTube and Viacom got some great comments. If you get a moment go read them. Ram Medury brings up the case of VAS content providers in India, who get a small fraction of the revenues. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Information Products, Technology | 11 Comments

YouTube vs Viacom: The Return of the King

Posted on February 25, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

The old adage “Content is king” doesn’t seem to be borne out by the post-bubble resurgence of new media. The three companies that have benefited by this resurgence the most are Google, Apple and YouTube, which is now part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Information Products | 11 Comments

The Fortress IPO

Posted on February 11, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

The IPO of Fortress (NYSE: FIG) on Friday closed at $31 or 70% above the IPO price on the first day of trading. It was the largest first day jump in a while. The fact that the forward P/E is … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance | 6 Comments