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Russ: This is a BusinessMakers Webxtra, a continuation of the radio interview with Gaurav Khandelwal, founder and CEO of ChaiONE. Well, tell us what's in store for the future for ChaiONE.
Gaurav: So we think that mobile is where the future lies. The growth in the smart phone market kinda alludes to that fact. For that, we have put together a enterprise mobile app community that we want to encourage entrepreneurs to join that have experience writing mobile applications or who want to develop any kinda mobile companies. We want to guide them as part of this community. The first thing on the agenda for this community is to put together a mobile app awards ceremony, which we are planning on hosting in Houston sometime next year, where we will award the most innovative business ideas coming out of enterprises and award existing apps that have been put out by enterprises.
Russ: Oh, okay. So you're even talking about just basic mobile app ideas that would work in the enterprise and the corporate world and applications for corporations that are already in existence.
Gaurav: Yeah. You know, it's one of those things where you have that water cooler conversation with an employee at the large firm and, you know, the person says, "Hey, you know, I really wish that a company would do this, and I could pull all my reports on my iPhone instead of having to come in over the weekend." Well, this is an opportunity to make that happen.
Russ: Okay. Well, we want to stay in touch with you on that for sure.
Gaurav: Absolutely.
Russ: Okay. Now before I let you go, Gaurav. Let's say that we have an aspiring young entrepreneur in the audience listening to your story, totally impressed with how committed you've been and your success. What advice would you give to that aspiring entrepreneur?
Gaurav: You know, there's a lot of advice out there. I would just give one simple advice that's worked for us. That is figure out how to make $3.00 before you go about spending one.
Russ: (Laughter) That is perfect. In fact, that is incredible advice. What motivated that idea?
Gaurav: You know, it just really came from the years that I spent growing up in India and watching my family business that was very cyclical. So it would go up and down every few years, kinda like what's happened to the U.S. economy right now. I could tell when the business was doing well when we'd take a cab to my grandparents' house and when it wasn't doing well and we took the bus. My dad's business earned him 1 percent off every deal that he did, which I thought was absolutely ridiculous given the fact how big those deals were. I was determined not to go through those cyclical cycles, and I figured that if I could make three and I could then spend one out of it, I'd be left with two. I could put one away into the bank and use the remaining one for operational expenses. There are a few others that I can help out with. I've written a blog piece which is titled "Ten steps on how to make $3.00 before spending $1.00."
Russ: Oh, Gaurav, will you share that piece with us?
Gaurav: Absolutely. I'd love to.
Russ: All right, fantastic. So our listeners that are interested in getting more detailed advice on how to accomplish this, go to thebusinessmakers.com and download Gaurav's blog piece. Well, Gaurav, I really thank you for spending some time with us and telling us your story.
Gaurav: Russ, this has been an absolutely fun experience, and I thank you so much for this opportunity.
Russ: You bet. Okay and that wrapsup this BusinessMakers WebXtra discussion with Gaurav Khandelwal, the founder and CEO of ChaiONE, and you're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com.