@VAS India: The Biggest Issues With Doing Business In The Mobile VAS Space

At the end of the second panel, a lady got up and asked questions which we’ve heard before only at mobile monday events, rarely in a large conference like VAS India. Sad to see that she got no conclusive answers, but really – did she expect a miracle?

The questions:
— The downloaded subscriber stats are generally given very late – 1 to 3 months. The actual payouts are late as well – 1 to 3 months.
— Large firms do not subsidize the development of applications. Though we have the ideas, small companies don’t have the finances to launch them.
— Small firms with turnovers of 50 lakhs to 5 crores..how do we get access to sales and marketing services of the operator?
— As a small company, we don’t qualify for tenders, cause that requires turnovers of 10 cores to 100 crores.
— IPR is a major issue. One of the operators has launched something that my idea..and I can’t take legal recourse. What do we do in such a case?
— Which are forums for showcasing our work?
— Is there any facility for women entrepreneurs.

As expected – and I guess I’m getting cynical now because most of these issues have been around for a while – the answers from the panel were just has helpless: One needs to create platforms for smaller players. There’s no bias against women. As a small comapny – one does need to strive hard since the larger companies get prominence. It’s about getting noticed and about developing partnerships with larger players. About IPR being stolen – it’s not unique to this industry. it’s growing very fast. the time to market is very small, so it’s about innovation and ideas..stealing someone’s idea is wrong, but it’s a challenge which most fast growing industries have.

Of course, there are issues with partnering with larger players, which the panel didn’t go into – the reporting will be further delayed, and the payouts more so. It just becomes a game of who can squeeze each part of the extended value chain how much…at the end of the day, someone is going to get hurt. That’s why this is a VC funded VAS bubble.

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