Tata Nano bookings open on 23 March 2009 in India. 

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[/caption]   Nano booking can be done at Tata motor dealers and SBI bank counters. The upfront amount to be paid would be 70,000. However, looking at the production capacity of Tata Nano and estimates of 10,00,000 bookings likely in first 2 weeks, it will be a long wait for many.  Tata Nano for the first time will effectively challenge Maruti 800. Maruti 800 has been leading the segment for many years and haven't changed much in the car for many years. It would be very interesting on how Maruti handles this new most-talked-about-peoples-car.  I would be looking forward to test drive this car sometime. If you buy one, please give me a ride!

For a startup to succeed it is ideal to follow a non-linear approach from idea to market. In other words, if you know who will consume your product or service you don't have to wait until your offering is ready to sell. Getting customers early (during your planning or development days) will do great and even bring you funds. In this post, I will provide you with case study of LifeMojo, recent startup based out of Bangalore. LifeMojo is a Preventive Healthcare platform that helps you stay fit by helping you eat right. It is a team of 3 enthusiastic developers/entrepreneurs. They started the company by pooling in their personal savings but knew they have to get it right before they drain away their savings. Time was crucial.

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Bangalore was my dream city a decade ago. But not anymore. It has been a victim of the so called 'development-era'. Nevertheless, I love the city for it's weather and food. There has been plenty of memorable trips to Bangalore that I have never written about. Anyways, I am heading to bangalore to speak at Proto, The Startup Event at Nimhans Convention Centre on 23 & 24 Jan 2009. I would be sharing a session with Amit Ranjan. Unlike my usual speaking engagements, to engineering or business school students, for the first time I am going to address India's top grade upcoming entrepreneurs. It is both a chance to share experience and gain a lot of enthusiasm and inspiration from peers.

Satyam fraud is absolutely shocking. Ramalinga Raju, Chairman of Satyam has resigned from the board and admitted the Fraud committed. The IT industry which is already faced with tough times in US will raise questions in minds of FIIs and FDI. According to the letter, neither the auditors nor any other member of the board where aware of the fraud. You can read more about this story here: Raju admits fraud; Satyam books inflated of Rs 5040cr.

Tenmiles generated it's initial funding (2000-2001) by offering services like web design, logo design and ad banner design services. Today we are a 8 year old solid product development company with great in-house design team. However, we are now gearing up to re-launch our design division and take our offerings to a next level. Tenmiles Interactive, the new division would be based in Chennai and offer web design, brochure design, logo design & corporate identity solution. We would also be focusing in offering design services to companies in chennai. A Web Design Company based in Chennai. with a dedicated team of designers, content writers and managers. Gearing for growth!

While Maruti, Hyundai and most other car companies are posting a drop in sales, Honda has improved it's November 2008 sales compared to November 2007. This is a good news for the company. If you also notice, Honda City is one of the top advertised Car on TV. Honda looks very aggressive with the New City. Impressive!

Micromax is a Gurgaon based company mobile handset maker that has rolled out it's new model called the X1i that sports a whooping 30 days standby time and upto 17 hours talk time. It's quite a remarkable achievement for an Indian company. MicroMax has it's production units in India and has priced the model at 1,999. Steal huh? I am expecting everything else to be average about this phone but love the price point and Indian origin. It will give LG run for it's money in India.

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I handle a lot of support tickets and sales questions everyday at Tenmiles. Constant contact with customers have tremendously benefited me in envisioning better software products. I believe every busy CEO should spend time with their customers. I read a post long back about David Heinemeier Hansson of 37 Signals that mentioned how busy david is but still manages to keep in touch with the customers. Keep the customers happy, always!

LinkedIn Customer Service - will they actually respond? I had been contemplating to report an issue to the linkedin customer service team. There wasn't any ticketing system or form to fill. I have had no-response experience with some web2.0 companies in the past and hence was wondering if they will ever respond.

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The top ten brands, according to the "Best Global Brands 2008" list are: 1. Coca-Cola 2. IBM 3. Microsoft 4. GE 5. Nokia 6. Toyota 7. Intel 8. McDonald's 9. Disney 10. Google Apple ranks 24. I effectively use only 3 brands out of the top ten. How many do you use?