Monday, May 16, 2011

My BusiCopy Cofounder Anuj Bikram Thapa


Me In The New York Times

A few weeks back Anuj and I became Cofounders at 50% each to BusiCopy, a social network for businesses.

Before I came to America I was renting a place near the largest library in Nepal. Anuj was friends with the landlord's son. And we got to know each other. I came to America and kind of lost touch for the most part. He went to Japan. He was there for seven years doing hotel management. We might have exchanged an email or two along the way.

He returned to Nepal. The country was going through the final phases of a decade long civil war. And so going into tourism, his first choice, was not an option. To that point his only experience with computers was that he had used them for personal use.

In January 2006 he decided to go into IT. He, his brother in the US Amit Thapa, and that brother's friend Ujjyol Raj Singh teamed up. Amit was studying IT in Texas. He dropped out. Little knowledge is dangerous. You end up becoming an entrepreneur.

A Data Plan Is All You Should Need

Image representing Skype as depicted in CrunchBaseImage via CrunchBaseYou pay 30 bucks a month, and that is your data plan. And it is good for your smartphone, it is good for your tablet, it is good for your laptop, one data plan for all. The data plan should cover voice and text messaging. Skype ought to morph, Google Voice ought to morph into smartphone apps that make irrelevant the traditional phone number. Landlines are gone, phone numbers should go too.

Could Skype Be Microsoft's YouTube?
Image representing Google Voice as depicted in...Image via CrunchBase
The plan should be 30 bucks a month. And if your speed does not double every two years, the company providing the data plan should declare bankruptcy. The only calling plan that should be allowed is the unlimited calling plan, and that too for a limited period.