The Man Who Made India’s First Digital Deal: Rajesh Jain On His Favourite Books
Based out of Mumbai, tech entrepreneur Rajesh Jain launched India’s first Internet portal – IndiaWorld in the late 1990s and pioneered Asia’s dotcom revolution.
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Based out of Mumbai, tech entrepreneur Rajesh Jain launched India’s first Internet portal – IndiaWorld in the late 1990s and pioneered Asia’s dotcom revolution. In 1999, he sold IndiaWorld to Sify for $115 Million in the country’s first dotcom acquisition. It was the first digital deal in the country. In 1997, Netcore Cloud , his second profitable startup was founded, which today is revolutionizing the way over 6500 brands engage with consumers across 40+ countries. Jain has also published his debut book, ‘Startup to Proficorn’, in which he chronicles his three decades old journey as an entrepreneur with an objective to help aspiring and young entrepreneurs build unicorn firms while making profits.
Here are Jain’s three favourite books and why he feels they are an important read:
1. Jim Collins: Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0
While Jim Collins has written a number of books, this one is my favourite because it essentially brings out all the best ideas from his previous books. In the book there is also a map, what he calls ‘The Map’, and that encapsulates the ideas from the previous books. The book contains enduring principles which help one think big about how you want to build a company and how to ensure that it becomes a great company and one that is built to last.
2. Uri Levine: Fall in Love with the Problem, not the Solution
The title of the book actually tells the story. I think this is a great teaching for an entrepreneur that many times what entrepreneurs do is create a solution and then they are go out in search of the problem That is not the right way to build a business. When I have tried that several times in my life, I have actually failed. So the correct way is to figure out the problem, fall in love with the problem. The book talks about what is it that one is going to solve for the target segment that you have and then how can you test the thesis inexpensively and quickly. It makes you ask essential questions such as are there enough people with the same problem to create a profitable business overtime?
3. Richard Rumelt: The Crux
The third book that I would like to recommend is Richard Rummel’s book called The Crux. The core idea is around strategy, that when you are looking to solve problems, figure out those problems or that that one particular problem which is the most important and most solvable.
Many times we look at the important problems but do not look at look at solvability. Strategy at the end of the day really is about choices and what Rumelt distils down even further in the book is that at every pivotal time moment in your company, identify the most important and most solvable problem.
The author can be reached at bkabir@entrepreneurindia.com and Instagram.com/kabirsinghbhandari
Based out of Mumbai, tech entrepreneur Rajesh Jain launched India’s first Internet portal – IndiaWorld in the late 1990s and pioneered Asia’s dotcom revolution. In 1999, he sold IndiaWorld to Sify for $115 Million in the country’s first dotcom acquisition. It was the first digital deal in the country. In 1997, Netcore Cloud , his second profitable startup was founded, which today is revolutionizing the way over 6500 brands engage with consumers across 40+ countries. Jain has also published his debut book, ‘Startup to Proficorn’, in which he chronicles his three decades old journey as an entrepreneur with an objective to help aspiring and young entrepreneurs build unicorn firms while making profits.
Here are Jain’s three favourite books and why he feels they are an important read:
1. Jim Collins: Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0
While Jim Collins has written a number of books, this one is my favourite because it essentially brings out all the best ideas from his previous books. In the book there is also a map, what he calls ‘The Map’, and that encapsulates the ideas from the previous books. The book contains enduring principles which help one think big about how you want to build a company and how to ensure that it becomes a great company and one that is built to last.
2. Uri Levine: Fall in Love with the Problem, not the Solution
The title of the book actually tells the story. I think this is a great teaching for an entrepreneur that many times what entrepreneurs do is create a solution and then they are go out in search of the problem That is not the right way to build a business. When I have tried that several times in my life, I have actually failed. So the correct way is to figure out the problem, fall in love with the problem. The book talks about what is it that one is going to solve for the target segment that you have and then how can you test the thesis inexpensively and quickly. It makes you ask essential questions such as are there enough people with the same problem to create a profitable business overtime?
3. Richard Rumelt: The Crux
The third book that I would like to recommend is Richard Rummel’s book called The Crux. The core idea is around strategy, that when you are looking to solve problems, figure out those problems or that that one particular problem which is the most important and most solvable.
Many times we look at the important problems but do not look at look at solvability. Strategy at the end of the day really is about choices and what Rumelt distils down even further in the book is that at every pivotal time moment in your company, identify the most important and most solvable problem.
