An idea can change your life

I attended an interactive session by Dr. Krithi Ramamritham and Prof. Kavi Arya on entrepreneurial oppurtunities in computer science and IT, organized by the IITB e-cell. IITB is really taking up a lot of intiatives to promote entrepreneurship. The IITB e-cell is active in organazing events like business idea competitions (Ideaz, Eureka) to give outlets to entreprenurerial skills. SINE is another body which is involved in incubating startup companies within the campus, so they get all the infrastructure and expertise available at IITB to nurture their early growth and they already have a number of success stories to their credit.
Here is a few things to keep in mind for startups based on Dr. Krithi and Prof. Arya's words:

RISK: Well, it goes without saying, that all novel business involve risk. We have all been averse to take risks, to take the softer way out. Risk is essential for change, for innovation for vibrant growth. To morph the adage, "Innovation is not compulsory, but neither is survival"

TECHNOLOGY LOCK: Have a technology that will be your USP, and give your a good headstart over the competition, so a big competitor who can put in loads of money cannot upstage you soon. Isn't Google's PageRank the best idea of that. Here is a young company that challenged the mighty software Goliaths because of the technology lead it had. Now others may have similar technologies, but it now has the brand name and the big bucks too.

PRAGMATISM: Once in business, you can't restrict yourself to limited oppurtunites. make the most of any oppurtunities you might get. Profit is the big motive. The business model you end up in might not be the you envisaged at the beginning, that is ok. Goals need to be redefined. See Apple. A company once marginalized to some niche market is in the reckoning now with its introduction of the revolutinary iPod.