VCCircle Ecommerce Forum 2011
After the phenomenal success of the ‘VCCircle Ecommerce Investment Forum 2010: Are we at an inflection point’ on 18th Aug, Bengaluru, we are back again with the second edition to dig further into the internet business’ second innings in India.
In its next avatar, the e-commerce story has already delivered some happy endings with travel portal Makemytrip’s blockbuster Nasdaq debut and many other enterprises ready for a market outing. All the macro elements too seem to be in place for a large-scale growth in internet-based businesses: Favourable demographics, broadband penetration, an anticipated 3G rollout, internet banking, rise in online consumption behavior and so on. The momentum is building up, the growth trajectory has picked up since then and for entrepreneurs it’s a great time to build an internet company, investors and sector watchers reckon.
The business environment for online commerce is much more real today, compared to a decade back when the dotcom froth turned into a bust.
Key trends
* Online book buying is back with a leading retailer selling a book a minute online.
* There is customer delight with prompt delivery and flawless payment mechanisms building trust in consumers.
* Online travel ticketing has gotten mature with more and more Indians making their travel plans online - be it on third party websites or airline sites.
* Classifieds have made a successful transition online with jobs and matrimonial taking the lead.
* Online retailers are now pushing a larger number of categories such as electronics and white goods.
* Innovative models like group buying are being tested and launched in the market.
* Exclusive and membership based fashion discount stores are mushrooming.
As these trends unfold, entrepreneurs of all hues and investors are keenly watching the consumption behavior of this online-tuned population. This space, once a darling of venture capital funds and tech entrepreneurs, will continue to find takers as they are less capital intensive and highly scalable, the factors investors love. The key is to find the right model, the ability to capture the pulse of the online audience (which in many ways is fickle and is spoilt for choice), and most importantly, the execution and the customer delight.
Now, with rich experience from the first dotcom experience, both entrepreneurs and investors would take care not to rush in. So, what are the key takeaways from the 1999 days? Do we know which models to avoid and which to chase? Are we any wiser today? Are valuations in this space still unrealistic and driven by global examples like Amazon and Groupon?
This space, exciting as it may be, has a deep dark past that has burnt the aspirations of many a tech entrepreneur and a VC mainly because it had come in too early in India’s tech growth cycle. Will we get the act right the second time round?
The key questions are:
* Is internet transaction based business more about customer delight and less about technology?
* Are electronics, mobile phones and branded goods the next most compelling categories?
* Do we have a critical mass of online population to create a large e-commerce business?
* What role will a mobile phone play in e-commerce?
* Do online consumers easily punch their credit card details online?
* Do we have an infrastructure to support e-commerce such as secure payment gateways, efficient logistics, and a delightful customer support?
* Are online buyers concentrated only in metros?
* Will small towns and semi-rural townships ever be part of the e-commerce story?
* And finally do Indians have a mindset to buy online or are a majority of them still fixated with physical transactions?
VCCircle has put together a unique conference where entrepreneurs, venture capital funds, technology and solutions suppliers and ecosystem watchers will try to demystify and navigate the changing contours of the great Indian e-commerce story. They will help your internet business click.
8:30am - 9:15am
Tea & Registration
9:15am - 9:25am
Introduction Note
Sahad P.V. – Founder & Publisher, VCCircle
9:25am - 10:15am
Panel I: Indian E-Commerce Version 2.0: Hype or Real?
- An analysis of online consumer behavior.
- Customer delight key to ecommerce models
- The macro versus micro factors affecting e-commerce.
- Do we have a critical mass of online population to create a large e-commerce business?
- Are there viable and scalable models in Indian e-commerce space?
- Is the mobile phone an extension of online business?
- Infrastructure support, secure payment gateways and efficient logistics key to customer delight.
- The NRI Audience: Are they the real drivers of online commerce in India? How to tap them?
Niren Shah - MD, Norwest Venture Partners (Moderator)
Sachin Bansal - CEO & Co-founder, Flipkart.com
Muralikrishnan B – Director, Marketing & Product, eBay India
Vishal Mehta - Founder & CEO, Infibeam
10:15am - 10:45am
Keynote Address I
Rajan Anandan - VP- Sales & Operations, Google India
10:45am - 11:00am
Tea & Networking
11:00am - 11:30am
Keynote Address II
Sandeep Aggarwal – MD, Internet & Equity Research, Caris & Company
11:30am - 12:15pm
VCCircle Redhot Sector: Books and Music
How will these category-centric online retailers go to the next level? What are the challenges to scale?
Rajan Mehra – Venture Partner, Clearstone Venture Advisors (Moderator)
Adarsh Gupta - Head, Music Business, Saregama
Binny Bansal - Co-Founder, Flipkart
Neeru Sharma - Co-Founder, Infibeam
12:15pm - 1:00pm
VCCircle Redhot Sector: Group Buying, Fashion discount stores
Cashing in on the bargain hunter and value shopper. Is that a big market? What kinds of categories fly?
Suvir Sujan - MD, Nexus Venture Partners
Kunal Bahl – Co-Founder & CEO, Snapdeal.com
Sunjay Guleria - Co Founder & CEO, Exclusively.in
Ishita Swarup - Co-Founder & CEO, 99 labels
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Lunch & Networking
2:00pm - 2:45pm
VCCircle Redhot Sector: Travel
One of the most successful verticals but what next? Will it move from mere ticketing to a total travel solution provider?
Sandeep Aggarwal – MD, Internet & Equity Research, Caris & Company (Moderator)
Vinay Gupta - Founder, Via
Dhruv Shringi - Co-Founder & CEO, Yatra Online
Himanshu Singh - MD, Travelocity
2:45pm - 3:30pm
VCCircle Redhot Sector: Electronics and Gadgets
Will that be the next big category in ecommerce akin to travel? How significant is logistics in this high-value product space?
Alok Mittal – MD, Canaan Partners India (Moderator)
Hitesh Dhingra - Founder & CEO, Letsbuy.com
Ranjith Boyanapalli - Founder & CEO, BuyThePrice.com
Shailendra Singh - MD, Sequoia Capital India
Vivek Biyani - Director, Future Group
3:30pm - 3:45pm
Tea & Networking
3:45pm - 4:30pm
VCCircle Fireside Chat: Indian Internet Enterprises: Show me the money!
- How and when do you make money in the internet business?
- When do you breakeven, when do you clock the first million and how?
- When do you attract investment and when do VCs get to see the face of dough?
- Are internet enterprises all about fancy valuation with no real numbers to show for?
- Death rate of an internet enterprise: How to make it, grow and survive?
Manik Arora - Founder & MD, IDG Ventures India (Moderator)
Dinesh Agarwal - Founder, IndiaMart.com
Ashish Kashyap - CEO, ibibo Web Pvt. Ltd.
Mukesh Bansal – CEO, Myntra
4:30pm - 5:15pm
Panel III: Tackling E-Commerce Enabling Services
- How to handle logistics, supply chain management, warehousing, payment mechanisms.
Bejul Somaia - MD, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Moderator)
Vishwas Patel - Founder CEO, Avenues India Pvt Ltd.
Suresh Bansal - Director, DTDC Courier & Cargo Ltd.
Satyen V Kothari - India Head, Strategy & Innovation, First Data India
Vimal Srivastava - Vice President, Robinsons Air services
5:15pm - 5:30pm
Concluding Remarks
5:30pm - 6:30pm
VCCircle Lounge
A structured networking Initiative where 10 fast-growing e-commerce companies will get to sell their stories to India’s prolific venture capital & PE Funds in a structured & defined 60-minute exclusive session.
5:30pm Onwards
VCCircle Unwind
VCCircle Unwind, a zone of informal networking over cocktails
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global, multi-stage investment firm that manages more than $3.7 billion in capital and has funded more than 500 companies since inception. NVP India is an advisor to NVP's Mauritius subsidiary. NVP is focused on growth equity investments in India-centric businesses across a wide range of sectors such as technology, financial services, infrastructure, consumer, industrials, manufacturing, media, telecommunications, retail and healthcare. NVP also makes early to mid-stage venture capital investments in India that are focused on sectors such as consumer, internet, telecommunications, financial services and education. With NVP's India offices - in Mumbai and Bengaluru - NVP India's dedicated professionals possess significant growth equity and venture expertise, deep local knowledge and relevant operational experience.
Sequoia Capital India currently manages funds capitalized at close to US $1.8 billion and invests across venture, growth and late stage opportunities. It takes a long term view on investments and plays the role of an active, value added partner to entrepreneurs, business families and management teams. Over the last 10 years, Sequoia Capital India has invested in more than 55 Indian companies including Applabs, Café Coffee Day, Comviva (Bharti Telesoft), Dr Lal Pathlabs, Edelweiss, Firstsource, GVK Biosciences, Idea Cellular, Just Dial, Shaadi.com and SKS Microfinance. Sequoia Capital India operates out of offices in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.
Globally, Sequoia Capital has an unparalleled track record of partnering with entrepreneurs to create global market leaders. Sequoia Capital has been an early investor in companies such as Google, Cisco, Yahoo, YouTube, Oracle and Apple Computers. Sequoia Capital maintains dedicated teams in the US, China, India and Israel.
Sequoia Capital India currently manages funds capitalized at close to US $1.8 billion and invests across venture, growth and late stage opportunities. It takes a long term view on investments and plays the role of an active, value added partner to entrepreneurs, business families and management teams. Over the last 10 years, Sequoia Capital India has invested in more than 55 Indian companies including Applabs, Café Coffee Day, Comviva (Bharti Telesoft), Dr Lal Pathlabs, Edelweiss, Firstsource, GVK Biosciences, Idea Cellular, Just Dial, Shaadi.com and SKS Microfinance. Sequoia Capital India operates out of offices in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.
Globally, Sequoia Capital has an unparalleled track record of partnering with entrepreneurs to create global market leaders. Sequoia Capital has been an early investor in companies such as Google, Cisco, Yahoo, YouTube, Oracle and Apple Computers. Sequoia Capital maintains dedicated teams in the US, China, India and Israel.
IDG Ventures India is a US$150 Million early-stage venture capital fund investing in technology-related product and services companies. The fund is part of IDG Ventures, a global network of technology venture funds with over $3.7 billion under management, over 220 investee companies and 10 offices across Asia and North America. IDG Ventures makes investments on behalf of its Limited Partners, including its principal investor and sponsor, International Data Group (IDG), the world's largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform - an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources - with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, IDG Ventures helps its investee companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster than their competition.
Leading technology companies that IDG Ventures has invested in include BabyCenter, F5 Networks, Netscape, Service Metrics and VA Linux in North America and Baidu, Ctrip, Sohu, Tencent and VinaGame in Asia.
Our India portfolio consists of 3D Solid Compression, Agile, Apalya, Aujas Networks, ConnectM, iCreate, iProf, iViZ, Kreeda, Manthan Systems, Myntra, Ozone Media, Perfint, Sourcebits and Vserv.
For more information, please visit www.idgvcindia.com
Myntra.com is among the top e-commerce companies in India and is scaling rapidly. Myntra’s vision is to be the largest online retailer focused on fashion and lifestyle products. Myntra has tied up with top sports and lifestyle brands in the country such as Nike, Reebok, Puma, Adidas, Asics, Lee, Lotto, Jeaous 21, Forever New, Ed Hardy, Decathlon etc.
Myntra pioneered personalised Sports Jersey retailing in India. The catalogue contains Team India cricket jerseys, IPL team jerseys, EPL and FIFA soccer jerseys. Myntra.com is also Nike's preferred online partner to offer personalized Team India jerseys.
Myntra’s value proposition revolves around giving the consumer the power and the easiest way of purchasing fashion and lifestyle products online. The key differentiators are - largest and latest product catalog, great usability, 24X7 customer support and favorable return policies for consumers.
Myntra is focused on 3 specific product categories -
• Sports footwear and apparel
• Casual footwear and apparel
• Accessories
Myntra was started by a group of IIT / IIM graduates in 2007. Myntra is headquartered in Bangalore and has been funded by top tier Venture Capital funds like IndoUS, IDG & Accel Partners.
VCC Events opens up the avenues for participation. Join hands to be a part of India’s largest gathering of alternative investments leaders, industry stakeholders and Asia’s influential limited partners, general partners and marquee advisors. Your chance to actively participate and augment yourself as thought leaders.
ITC Sheraton (Saket), New Delhi
ITC Sheraton (Saket), New Delhi
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