I generally do not write about Microsoft Excel, for the daily inspiration dose of dashboard heroics I look at Chandoo’s site. However, today I stumbled upon SUBTOTAL and was amazed at what it can do! At work, in Pristine, we run daily numbers of all our online marketing campaigns. Reporting numbers in a template is one thing, and to analyze them is something totally different. As I was sifting through the daily numbers, I realised that for each Excel filter I am running, if there were a summary dashboard, then it will be easier to analyze.
A quick look at the excel that we prepared told me that we had an overall daily summary prepared for Adwords (Clicks, Impressions, CTR, Leads, Landing Page Conversion, Cost, CPC, etc.). Why not have a summary which changes with respect to the filter I chose?
Fortunately we have our own set of Excel heroes within the organization who guided me to the SUBTOTAL formula. And you know what? It’s wowsome!!
As you can see from the animated GIF that I quickly made, that the bottom summary changes depending on the filter conditions that I change. This dashboard is also a good tool to track the campaigns you are running (and if you are properly measuring your data).
For those of you who have dared to lift the hood on your Windows OS (98, XP, 2000 and other modern variants) would be more than familiar on the very popular registry editor that comes bundled with Windows – regedit.exe. Continue reading “Recycling Registries”→
If you have missed out on the Badi Badi Baatein ad which has been running on the television for quite some time now, do check it out. I am embedding the ad below as well (I love the melody and the jingle … not to mention that sometimes I do identify with the procrastination tendencies as well!!)
OLX is the india classifieds of the internet. Where people go to the site for searching good deals, selling their stuff or even offering professional services.
Online Marketplace
The market for local online market places is heating up. The once free model of Craig’s List has suddenly seemed more viable and profitable by a lot of Indian players. However, do not worry, the local marketplace model is not only Badi Badi Baatein … there is huge money in this business.
How does this free model turn profitable?
Well, lead harvesting for one. Providing correct information to the people seeking it for another. Essentially creating a marketplace where otherwise there was only ignorance.
Where else would I go for finding a second hand slightly used Samsung Galaxy SIII for INR 20000?
As I said before there are multiple players in this game … but I feel of the lot, OLX is different.
OLX stands out
With a clean User Interface (UI), simpler forms and very easy user experience, I have found that OLX is the easiest to operate. Yes, I do use the site for promoting my companies offerings in the different targeted cities.
The good part about the OLX site is that when my ad goes beyond the listing due to inactivity, I get reminded via an email … clicking on the email automatically logs me in and lets me edit my listing. This way, I can fine tune my listing and hope to generate more business.
Success is not only defined on how well the website looks … if you have gone through any of the different and varied category/city listings on OLX, you will suddenly see a plethora of different listings … people wanting to purchase something or the other, people offering services … the perfect online souk.
Going ahead
In any market, there initially is a lot of people who are shouting and vending their wares … over a period of time as the market matures, the successful businesses buy out the lesser successful ones and the market quietens down. And from there a clear leader emerges. I won’t be too surprised if OLX is among those leaders of online local marketplaces in the future.
The fact that they have received their Series A funding simply goes to point out that people are willing to put their money where their mouth is and that this business is a profitable one.
What happens when you mix a Strategy Game like Civilization with a Real Time Strategy game like Rise of Nations?
Easy enough, you get a game such as Rome: Total War.
What happens when you take that mix and add a little bit of Role Playing Game to it?
Cat got your tongue?
Well that’s precisely what Stardock Entertainment did. It’s a heady mix where a lot of things can go wrong. But done right, it can be very entertaining.
In the past we have seen a mixture of classic genres … there was Warcraft 3 with a mix of RPG and RTS (the expansion of Warcraft 3, Frozen Throne went on to give the folks at Blizzard a killer idea of what would go on to make the successful MMORPG seriers – World of Warcraft). Enough talking about Blizzard … for now. We are here for Stardock and yes, the Fallen Enchantress.
In 2010, Stardock had released a game on similar lines – Elemental: War of Magic … and it was plagued with glitches, bugs and bad gameplay. So much so that, Stardock has offered this game as a compensation to the people who had bought the earlier game (tis’ a bit late, but it’s the thought that counts!).
The game took some time figuring out. In fact, I think I suck at Civ-type games (because I generally do not follow the optimal scheme of things). However, I do enjoy the grind, loot and crawl of RPGs. So most of the time I ended up soloing with my sovereign. The game is pretty enjoyable, but the player really really needs to strike a balance between gallivanting on adventures and lore and managing a kingdom.
IMO, that’s the key to playing the entire game. For those of you interested in purchasing the game, its available on Steam for USD 40. A good way to waste a Sunday!
With the year 2012 coming to an end, I have been thinking for quite some time about entrepreneurship now. In fact, currently I am thinking about bootstrapping my own setup with a friend. Having said that, it is interesting to note how entrepreneurship has changed its face in the society.
There used to be a time when having a government job would automatically include you in the elite of the society. Every family would aspire to raise their son to have a government job. To know that you are going to be having your own business would mean years of hardship and minimal chances of making it big ahead.
However, as the License Raj has come to an end and the government has slowly liberalized over the past decades, entrepreneurship has changed over a new leaf. It has started becoming synonymous with capitalism and everyone who goes to the IITs or IIMs dreams of starting their own firm and making it big one day. I share that dream – a dream which I hope to make real some day.
The infographic below shows how entrepreneurship was in the year 2012. Almost half of the entrepreneurs who had managed to survive and scale into becoming SMEs are optimistic about the year ahead. Yes, 2013 is going to be a good year.
But being optimistic does not mean taking inadvertent risks. It means being prepared … being prepared for the good, and being prepared for the bad as well. Yes, it means insuring against the bad, and thinking along the lines of business insurance.
The thing about start-ups is that many firms do not realize the sheer amount of business risks they face day-in day-out. All these risks are called as operational risks. The risk we face in day to day operations. It could be a simple thing such as forgetting to file the taxes, or neglecting to buy the software license of some critical software that you require. In India, start-ups do tend to cut corners … not to make the quick buck, but to avoid the load of paperwork that comes with it. I am sure that would be the case in other countries as well.
Take a look at this infographic I found through Hiscox Business Insurance. It was here that I learnt about the myriad of business risks. Now the question is, why entrepreneurship is the road to success? Well, take a look at the top internet billionaires list. Almost all of them have touched their first million in the past to years, and their first billion in the past 5. That clearly displays the power of a good idea can launch a start-up to stardom.
These things cannot happen without proper preparations. Take a look at the top 4 billionaires on that list, 3 of them work for Google, one is the CEO (the man with the plan), the two others are the founders. A good idea will attract funds, yes … but a good idea requires excellent execution skills and proper risk mitigation tactics to avert calamities. So entrepreneurs, dream big and prepare for the worst!!
