being digitally frugal - startups
DESCRIPTION
For a startup, being digitally frugal can not only cut costs but also make it more efficient and agile. This slide a set of tactical steps that can help control costs without being cheapTRANSCRIPT
being digitally frugal
“Lean Startups”Bangalore, IndiaMay, 2011
Arjun ChagantyCTO – pepper square
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what ‘frugality’ is not
Cheap
Source: dilbert.com
Frugal
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laptops, desktops, servers?
Factors
• Mobility• Inbuilt UPS• Security• Versatility
Consider
• Laptops• Thin Clients (for many seats)• Virtual Servers
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working wise
Factors
• Cost, cost & cost• Easy of use• Disaster recovery• Stability
Consider
• Email: Thunderbird, hosted email• Backup: AWS S3, Cobian• Collaboration
• tasks: fengoffice• communication: freedcamp
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• Productivity– Open Office– Image editing: GIMP– Publishing: Scribus
• Non-MS– Linux (Ubuntu)– No anti-virus– Faster on low HW
• Join BizSpark from MS
Consider
software?
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what are we building
• Wireframes quickly– Balsamiq.com– Mockingbird.com
Factors
• Experience mapping• Features• Prioritization
Consider
• balsamiq.com• freemind.com• gomockingbird.com
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which version did we send?
Factors
• ‘Latest truth’• Multiple versions• Common repository
Consider
• Source: SVN, Git• DMS: Google docs, Alfresco
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going online
• Domain + hosting (Linux)• Open Source
– CMS: Joomla, Drupal– eCommerce: oscommerce, zencart
Consider
Crowdsource!
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sell, sell, sell…
Factors
• Expenses• Time• Scale
Consider
• skype.com• mikogo.com• teamviewer.com
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frame it!
Factors
• Expertise• Suitability• Support
Consider
• PHP: symfony• Java: spring framework• Python: django• Ruby: Ruby on Rails• UI: GWT, extjs, dojo,
flex
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going live
• aws.amazon.com• gogrid.com• VPS from hosting providers
Factors
Consider
• Expertise• Support• Scalability• Variation in load
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dent on the pocket
Category Item Price (Rs.)
Operations / IT HW (3 laptops) 180k
Network 5k
Pre-sales Prototyping 3k
Sales Remote pitch 0
Marketing Online presence 9k
Online brand 20k
Total 217k
Annually recurring Cost (Rs.)
Hosting (2 EC2) 120k
Bandwidth 50k
Total 170k
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thank you for listening
Arjun Chaganty
www.linkedin.com/in/arjunchaganty