Indian startups benefit from CEOs' blogs
By Benny Thomas   |   Wednesday, 27 May 2009, 00:09 IST   |    7 Comments
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Indian startups benefit from CEOs' blogs
Bangalore: Though India is lagging behind in the number of CEO bloggers when compared to U.S., the trend is surely catching up, especially with the startups. "A startup company can grab Venture Capitalists' (VC) attention through its CEO's blog," says Arun Natarajan, Founder of Venture Intelligence, which tracks venture capital activity in India. According to Natarajan, there are some who track the blogs by the chief executives to know the company better. Several opportunities have been unveiled for the Indian startups through their top management's blogs. Rajagopal Yadavalli, CEO, Winnou Systems and Services says, "My blog has helped our company to get in touch with a UK-based private equity firm." According to Yadavalli, the equity firm got to know about his company and its future roadmap through his blog. Other startup CEOs like Anand Nataraj of Cogzidel and Mahidhar of Lytecube have also been blogging actively and have reaped its benefits. "I usually blog about the services we offer and through my blogs, we have got many enquiries," says Nataraj. The blogs have also helped in bridging the gap between a CEO and his employee. "It helps my staff to understand me more clearly - be it my insights, thoughts or mindset. I use my blog to communicate what I am, which I don't do as a CEO, but as a normal human being," adds Nataraj. "Many people have started recognizing my company after reading my blogs," says Mahidhar. The blog by Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems, inspired Mahidhar to start blogging. "Now, our past, present and future customers are able to know, what the top management is doing," adds Mahidhar. "For the blog to be more effective," Natarajan says, "it should be the CEO's own perspective and not done by someone else on his behalf." Even CEOs of some well-established Indian companies have their own blogs including Ajit Balakrishnan of Rediff, Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri and Anaggh Desai of Damas India. Does it mean that all the CEOs should blog? "A lot of them do not have the inclination or the time, however maybe an hour a week is not too much to ask for. This would keep them in touch with the roots, as well as opportunities," says Desai. With the amount of potential behind these blogs, it is time for every CEO to log into the blogosphere.

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