99 Shop Syndrome

It started with the phrase "Harek maal aath aana" meaning every product for 50 paisa, that my dad used to tell us about. He used to put up a shop at Lal Bazaar during the '60's and there would be an array of products ranging from combs, to toys to mirrors, all available for 50 paise.

Then my dad again used to talk about the dollar shops in the US of A with the same concept. And long after coming back from the land of dreams, and when I had grown up enough to pursue my career in marketing, came the 99 shops in Nepal.

For us it was nothing new. But for the Kathmanduites it was exciting. There were 99 shops everywhere. Even the regular retailers with a good reputation converted their shops to 99 shops. Then one fine morning I woke and all those 99 shops had vanished. Or some had changed to 199 and 299 and 399 shops. Meaning it really weren't the 99 shops that it was supposed to be, purely defeating the purpose. Many lost a lot of money too. And what killed it was it's growth itself. It grew so rapidly, making it a fad, that actually none of them could continue sustainably.

Well still the people of Kathmandu haven't understood. And I thought this "99 Shop Syndrome" a term coined by myself, is here to stay.

So where can we see this syndrome right now? Well it's there everywhere except for the fact that it's a bit more visible in, ofcourse lucrative businesses. But it's not about the businesses that has concerned me anymore. It's the business of the businesses. Yes I'm talking about STARTUPS and the investment in these startups by the venture capitalists or investors.

Yes as an underdeveloped nation this was much needed. But with a few personal experiences, I've come to the conclusion that many of these 'business of businesses' aren't here for the REAL BUSINESS, i.e., encouraging startups and letting them grow and make them sustainable in the future. Many have come with a different motive of making a quick buck within a few months, many have come with a motive of exploiting someone's lucrative idea, and many have come with a purpose of taking a shortcut to success using someone elses idea as the ladder, or rather an elevator.
Again someone will come and argue that if someone is benefiting then WHY NOT? Yes that is there but the Nepalese scenario has never been so open minded regarding some outsiders being involved and hence big profit making partnerships have collapsed. Also in some cases the lack of integrity among the stakeholders have caused many great ventures to perish.

But again why am I talking about all this? Well you can also ask yourself this question. Do you want want the zeal of the young entrepreneurial generation to be crushed below the heavy stones of mistrust, exploitation and unethical practices? Of course not.
And that's one main reason that compels me to think and act about the sporadic germination of unhealthy investment scenario.