A Chat with Sramana Mitra, Forbes Columnist, Entrepreneur, Business Blogger and -- this just in -- Author
By Kim Angell, Schwartz VP, San Francisco
Any solid company has regular contact with its customer base. It is no different for us. As PR professionals, we serve two audiences – our clients and our media contacts. As part of the efforts for the latter, we stay abreast of our reporter’s interests so we can best package a story that will compel them to speak with the companies we represent. We regularly welcome reporters to our offices to talk about how they like to be pitched as well as their publication, topics of interest and the vision for stories in the coming months.
This next week, we will be hosting Sramana Mitra, Forbes columnist and serial entrepreneur, at our San Francisco offices. A long-time blogger and Silicon Valley insider, she has recently added “author” to her list of credits. With her new book ENTREPRENEUR JOURNEYS now available, she will update our PR Account Executives on her plans for her Forbes column in the coming months along with key learnings and incisive analysis derived from her discussions with several notable entrepreneurs, including current Schwartz Communications client, Qualys Chairman and CEO, Philippe Courtot. As a preview to her visit, Sramana answered a few questions for us, found below.
A complete list of interviewees for ENTREPRENEUR JOURNEYS is as follows:
- Sridhar Vembu, founder and CEO of AdventNet
- Jerry Rawls, co-founder and CEO of Finisar
- Steve Hafner, co-founder and CEO of Kayak
- Gautam Godhwani, founder and CEO of SimplyHired
- Russ Fradin, co-founder and CEO of Adify
- Philippe Courtot, Chairman and CEO of Qualys
- Steve Singh, Chairman and CEO of Concur
- Marcos Galperin, co-founder and CEO of MercadoLibre
- Edward Fields, founder and CEO of HotChalk, on addressing unmet market needs
- Hans Peter Michelet, Executive Chairman of Energy Recovery Incorporated (ERI)
- Carol Realini, founder and CEO of Obopay
- Harish Hande co-founder and Managing Director of SELCO
Q&A With Sramana Mitra, Serial Entrepreneur and Forbes Columnist
1 - Why did you decide to write this book?
In entrepreneurship, I believe, lie solutions to many of the problems facing our modern world. ENTREPRENEUR JOURNEYS is my attempt to capture that tribal knowledge accumulated in the private lives of great entrepreneurs and institutionalize it, so entrepreneurs all over the world can vicariously experience those conversations, those dinners, lunches, coffees, which I have been fortunate to have access to, and through which I built myself up.
2- Who do you think would benefit most from reading ENTREPRENEUR JOURNEYS?
ENTREPRENEUR JOURNEYS captures wisdom and advice for every technology entrepreneur and anyone interested in building a new business. But more, all entrepreneurs will benefit from its stories. I also want students interested in entrepreneurship learn through it – college, business school, even high-school students. America worries a lot these days about inspiring youngsters into studying science and technology. Well, show them the money, show them how to be entrepreneurs, and they will oblige.
3 - Do you think there are distinct differences between Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and those in other concentrated emerging-growth areas?
Yes. Silicon Valley is the most mature and sophisticated of the entrepreneurship ecosystems. We have much to teach and share with the rest of the world’s entrepreneurs, especially in the emerging markets. On the other hand, we also have much to share with people in other parts of America that need much more vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems.
4 - What are some of the common threads or themes that you see within all of the emerging-growth and start-up leaders that you spoke with?
Conviction. Determination. Grit. Work ethic. Ability to take risks.
5 - Your interviews shed light on leveraging market windows and opportunities. What are some of those opportunities you see today?
Opportunities lie in the problems. Education is a mess. Healthcare is a mess. Infrastructure is a mess. All those areas need leadership and entrepreneurship. Cleantech is the single most prominent market opportunity that has been identified and both capital and entrepreneurship are flowing abundantly. I want to see a similar flood in Education. In Healthcare. In Infrastructure.
6 - Do you think that our slowing economy reduces or promotes entrepreneurial activity? What lies ahead for serial entrepreneurs such as those in your book?
Now is not the time for entrepreneurs to slow down. Entrepreneurs need to play the leadership role in getting the world economy back on its feet.
I just issued an S.O.S to Silicon Valley on this topic:
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/10/09/mitra-economy-mess-tech-enter-cx_sm_1010economy.html
7 - Did any of your profiled entrepreneurs have stories that mirrored your own entrepreneurial experience?
Sure. Parts of it. I bootstrapped a product business using services just like Jerry Rawls and Frank Levinson of Finisar at one point, for example. More importantly, even 14 years into my entrepreneurial journey, I learned an enormous amount from the stories of these entrepreneurs. That, I think, will be the big realization for experienced entrepreneurs in reading this book – that we all, still, have so much more to learn from our compatriots.
8 - The title notably says “Volume I” how many additional volumes can your fans expect?
Any other books forthcoming?
I have just started editing Volume 2, and packaging Volume 3. I also have Volume 4 80% done. I expect to release at least volumes 2-5 in the next 12 months. Beyond that, I haven’t had time to think yet. I am also working on my Vision India 2020 book.
Posted by Laura Kempke on October 15, 2008 at 5:47 PM
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