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September 2, 2004
Conference on US-India Business Relationships Draws Crowds
The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Texas 2004 conference draws
strong response with focus on US-India business opportunities.
AUSTIN—The annual Texas conference of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), TiECon Texas 2004, attracted more than 450 attendees
Aug. 28.
This year's theme was "U.S. and India—Harnessing Global
Opportunities.”
During the one-day event, TiECon Texas facilitated discussion
sessions on the increasing convergence between various Indian
and US industries like technology, filmmaking and venture
capital.
The conference included numerous sessions on building
cross-cultural film partnerships, optimizing next generation
sourcing, identifying and entering attractive Indian market
segments and finding venture capital investment opportunities.
Promod Haque, recognized as one of the world's leading venture
capitalist, was a keynote speaker, making a presentation on
opportunities for global venture capital in India and then
opening up the floor for discussions on cross border investment
models.
"The 'wave theory' in the IT industry leads to shifts in
technology demand patterns," said Haque. "This is now giving
rise to a wave of hybrid investment models between US and India.
We are investing in the hybrid companies that are capitalizing
on the next shifts in the IT wave," he told an audience of
venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and business executives.
A panels on venture capital funding trends led by Shamini Dhana,
senior vice president of Silicon Valley Bank, comprised industry
veterans like David Blumberg, managing partner of Bloomberg
Capital, and Mark McClain, vice president of software marketing
at Sun Microsystems. The panelists discussed challenges of
globalization in the context of venture capital investments.
Other panels on India as an emerging global business force
brought out details on the rewards and trials of targeting India
as the next market.
"A large, growing middle class in India offers huge potential as
a market. However the adoption rate of the Indian middle class
is very different from that here in US," cautioned Mohan
Kharbanda, vice president of Dell International Services. "We
need to ensure that our assumptions and expectations are
realistic before entering the market," said Kharbanda.
"India has favorable demographics with tremendous growth
potential promising a 5% annual growth rate," promised Roopa
Puroshottaman, an associate global economist for Goldman Sachs.
Shekhar Kapur, an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, delivered
the other keynote speech, expounding upon the details of
globalization in the Indian film industry and the convergence of
western and Indian cultures in the latest genre of films.
"There are two opposing forces in entertainment—globalization
and indigenousness. Globalization with technology advancements
makes local product available globally while indigenousness
maintains the cultural identity of the local users. It is this
form of consumerism that is driving change in the film
industry," answered Shekhar, when asked what he thinks are the
driving factors of international cinema.
Shekhar also predicted, "As the people of India and China become
world consumers, the pop-culture that is currently supported by
the American consumer will change to be dominated by Asian
cultures."
There was interesting debate centering on the synergies between
Hollywood and Bollywood, which included prominent
representatives from both sides like Ravi Gupta, CEO of Mukta
Arts, and Carol Pirie from the Texas Film Commission.
"Film financing and production has the same principles as any
other business. People are looking for returns just like in
evaluating any business. You can source production processes to
cost-effective locations. It is like any other fast-paced
business enterprise," said Vivek Wadhwa, founder of Relativity
Technologies and producer of "My Bollywood Bride", a globally
produced film.
The conference showcased many other industry leaders who talked
about the emergence of multinationals from India and various
aspects of global sourcing. The discussions sparked interesting
debate and dispelled many commonly held myths.
"This [TiECon Texas 2004] was an outstanding success in terms of
providing a platform for meaningful debate and constructive idea
exchange. Attendees had a unique opportunity to learn from and
network with people who can make a difference in their
professional lives. The conference has paved a path for future
collaborative ventures on a worldwide scale," said Poonam Dhawan,
chairperson of TiECon Texas 2004. "This was a platform for
entrepreneurs of today to meet the entrepreneurs of tomorrow."
The conference will help TiE to continue its efforts as a
catalyst for cross-border entrepreneurship and innovation.
"TiE is becoming a global force of change. Going beyond
entrepreneurship, TiE has been leading efforts to truly bring a
convergence between technology and other sectors like healthcare
and filmmaking. Our objective was to hold a conference that
would showcase emerging business between US and India," said
Anupam Govil, president of TiE Austin.
The conference was jointly sponsored by TiE and three
entities at The University of Texas at Austin: the McCombs
School of Business, South Asia Institute, and Center for
International Business Education and Research.
More information about TiE and TiECon Texas 2004 can be found at
www.tie-austin.org.
About TiE
TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) is a not-for-profit, volunteer
professional organization that promotes entrepreneurship and
innovation. Founded in Silicon Valley in 1992, TiE now has over
40 chapters around the world with over 8,000 members. TiE Texas
consists of chapters in Austin, Dallas and Houston and promotes
entrepreneurship and networking through seminars, mentoring,
workshops and the annual TiECon conference.
For more on TiE Austin and the TiE Texas conference,
contact
Caroline Pulido
Director, TiE Austin
(512) 305-0575
caroline@tie-aus.org
Poonam Dhawan
TiECon Texas Spokesperson
(512) 740-8685.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
