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Blog Watch: Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra is yet another new blogger that I intend to track.

Here's an extract from her bio:
Sramana Mitra has been an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant in Silicon Valley since 1994. Her fields of experience span from hard core technology disciplines like semiconductors to sophisticated consumer marketing industries including fashion and education.

As an entrepreneur CEO, Sramana founded 3 companies: Dais (Off-shore Software Services), Intarka (Sales Lead Generation and Qualification Software) and Uuma (Online Personalized Store for selling clothes using Expert Systems software). Two of these were acquired, while the third received an acquisition offer from Ralph Lauren which the company did not accept (wrong decision).

Here's an extract from her recent post:
Heritage Hotels: Roll-up opportunity for a Private Equity firm?

Spain developed the Paradors concept very effectively, by converting old forts, palaces, and monasteries into beautiful “experience hotels”. India has done only the beginnings of this, but has a very long way to go yet.

Here is a business concept for KKR or Carlyle for India: The real estate market is booming. Old, beautiful architecture crying to be restored, are everywhere. British colonial bungalows in the mountains, hunting lodges in the forests, old aristocratic homesteads in the cities and villages -- dwindling under severe resource pressure.

Buy them up, restore them, staff them up with superb local cuisine chefs, pampering personnel (staff costs literally nothing in India), masseurs, yoga instructors, ... and you have a franchise that could become a global brand, and a great investment!

Arun Natarajan is the Editor of TSJ Media, which tracks venture capital activity in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. View sample issues of TSJ Media's Venture Intelligence India newsletters and reports.

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