the.world.is.flat-第51章
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〃Liberalization's Children〃 and defined a zippie as a 〃young city or suburban resident；
between 15 and 25 years of age； with a zip in the stride。 Belongs to Generation Z。
Can be male or female； studying or working。 Oozes attitude； ambition and aspiration。
Cool； confident and creative。 Seeks challenges； loves risks and shuns fear。〃 Indian
zippies feel no guilt about making money or spending it。 They are； says one Indian
analyst quoted by Outlook； 〃destination driven； not destiny driven； outward looking；
not inward； upwardly mobile； not stuck…in…my…station…in…life。〃 With 54 percent of
India under the age of twenty…five…that's 555 million people…six out of ten Indian
households have at least one potential zippie。 And the zippies don't just have a
pent…up demand for good jobs； they want the good life。
It all happened so fast。 P。 V。 Kannan； the CEO and cofounder of the Indian call…center
company 24/7 Customer； told me that in the last decade； he went from sweating out
whether he would ever get a chance to work in America to becoming one of the leading
figures in the outsourcing of services from America to the rest of the world。
〃I will never forget when I applied for a visa to come to the United States；〃 Kannan
recalled。 〃It was March 1991。1 had gotten a B。A。 in chartered accountancy from the
＇Indian＇ Institute of Chartered Accountants。 I was twenty…three； and my girlfriend
was twenty…five。 She was also a chartered accountant。 I had graduated at age twenty
and had been working for the Tata Consultancy group。 So was my girlfriend。 And we
both got job offers through a body shop ＇a recruiting firm specializing in importing
Indian talent for companies in America＇ to work as programmers for IBM。 So we went
to the U。S。 consulate in Bombay。 The recruiting service was based in Bombay。 In those
days； there was always a very long line to get visas to the United States； and there
were people who would
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actually sleep in the line and hold places and you could go buy their place for 20
rupees。 But we went by ourselves and stood in line and we finally got in to see the
man who did the interview。 He was an American ＇consular official＇。 His job was to
ask questions and try to figure out whether we were going to do the work and then
come back to India or try to stay in America。 They judge by some secret formula。 We
used to call it 'the lottery'…you went and stood in line and it was a life lottery；
because everything was dependent on it。〃
There were actually books and seminars in India devoted entirely to the subject of
how to prepare for a work visa interview at the U。S。 embassy。 It was the only way
for skilled Indian engineers really to exploit their talent。 〃I remember one tip was
to always go professionally dressed；〃 said Kannan； 〃so ＇my girlfriend and I＇ were
both in our best clothes。 After the interview is over； the man doesn't tell you
anything。 You had to wait until the evening to know the results。 But meanwhile； the
whole day was hell。 To distract our minds； we just walked the streets of Bombay and
went shopping。 We would go back and forth； 'What if I get in and you don't？ What if
you get in and I don't？' I can't tell you how anxious we were； because so much was
riding on it。 It was torture。 So in the evening we go back and both of us got visas；
but I got a five…year multiple entry and my girlfriend got a six…month visa。 She was
crying。 She did not understand what it meant。 'I can only stay for six months？' I
tried to explain to her that you just need to get in and then everything can be worked
out。〃
While many Indians still want to come to America to work and study； thanks to the
triple convergence many of them can now compete at the highest levels； and be decently
paid； by staying at home。 In a flat world； you can innovate without having to emigrate。
Said Kannan； 〃My daughter will never have to sweat that out。〃 In a flat world； he
explained； 〃there is no one visa officer who can keep you out of the system 。 。 。
It's a plug…and…play world。〃
One of the most dynamic pluggers and players I met in India was Rajesh Rao； founder
and CEO of Dhruva Interactive； a small Indian game company based in Bangalore。 If
I could offer you one person who embodies the triple convergence； it is Rajesh。 He
and his firm show us what happens when an Indian zippie plugs into the ten flatteners。
Dhruva is located in a converted house on a quiet street in a residential neighborhood
of Bangalore。 When I stopped in for avisit； I found two floors of Indian game designers
and artists； trained in computer graphics； working on PCs； drawing various games and
animated characters for American and European clients。 The artists and designers were
listening to music on headphones as they worked。 Occasionally； they took a break by
playing a group computer game； in which all the designers could try to chase and kill
one another at once on their computer screens。 Dhruva has already produced some very
innovative games… from a computer tennis game you can play on the screen of your cell
phone to a computer pool game you can play on your PC or laptop。 In 2004； it bought
the rights to use Charlie Chaplin's image for mobile computer games。 That's right…a
start…up Indian game company today owns the Chaplin image for use in mobile computer
games。
In Bangalore and in later e…mail conversations； I asked Rajesh； who is in his early
thirties； to walk me through how he became a player in the global game business from
Bangalore。
〃The first defining moment for me dates back to the early nineties；〃 said Rajesh；
a smallish； mustachioed figure with the ambition of a heavyweight boxer。 〃Having lived
and worked in Europe； as a student； I was clear in my choice that I would not leave
India。 I wanted to do my thing from India； do something that would be globally
respected and something that would make a difference in India。 I started my company
in Bangalore as a one…man operation on March 15； 1995。 My father gave me the seed
money for the bank loan that bought me a computer and a 14。4 kbp modem。 I set out
to do multimedia applications aimed at the education and industry sectors。 By 1997；
we were a five…man team。 We had done some pathbreaking work in our chosen field； but
we realized that this was not challenging us enough。 End of Dhruva 1。0。
〃In March 1997； we partnered with Intel and began the process of reinventing ourselves
into a gaming company。 By mid…1998； we were showing global players what we were capable
of by way of both designing games and developing the outsourced portions of games
designed by others。 On November 26； 1998； we signed our first major game development
project with Infogrames Entertainment； a French gaming
company。 In hindsight； I think the deal we landed was due to the pragmatism of one
man in Infogrames more than anything else。 We did a great job on the game； but it
was never published。 It was a big blow for us； but the quality of our work spoke for
itself； so we survived。 The most important lesson we learned： We could do it； but
we had to get smart。 Going for all or nothing…that is； signing up to make only a full
game or nothing at all…was not sustainable。 We had to look at positioning ourselves
differently。 End of Dhruva 2。0。〃
This led to the start of Dhruva's 3。0 era…positioning Dhruva as a provider of game
development services。 The computer game business is already enormous； every year
grossing more revenue than Hollywood； andit already had some tradition of outsourcing
game characters to countries like Canada and Australia。 〃In March 2001； we sent out
our new game demo； Saloon； to the world；〃 said Rajesh。 〃The theme was the American
Wild Wild West； and the setting was a saloon in a small town after business hours；
with the barman cleaning up 。。。 None of us had ever seen a real saloon before； but
we researched the look and feel ＇of a saloon＇ using the Internet and Google。 The choice
of the theme was deliberate。 We wanted potential clients in the U。S。A。 and Europe
to be convinced that Indians can 'get it。' The demo was a hit； it landed us a bunch
of outsourced
