Debate Continues - Pulkit vs Speak Asia Business Model

A new comment by my dear friend Pulkit on my post dated June 18th .

What are you trying to say here is not at all clear? Why would you compare a Koutons with SAOL? They r not even the same.. First rule of logic, compare apples to apples.. first rule of rabble rousing speeches, compare apples to oranges to prove ur point.. I remember kids bringing me those mathematical proves proving 1=0.. I always used to laugh at the naive proves and lack of basic concept.. Anyhow, it was easier to tell those kids, how they r wrong then to tel u about the lack of the whole business model.. Mr Khanna, noone gets paid that kind of money for filling surveys.. Why does SAOL promotes itself as marketing company when it has many a times said in the meeting, that it just sells e-zine and charges money for its subscription.. Anyhow, the failure of a company with a business plan doesn`t prove that a company without a business plan can succeed, it rather reduces the chances of a company having a busniess plan and succeeding even less.... Its like giving me an example of a person who died from lung cancer even though he never smoked and saying `look, now what you have to say`.. what i have to say is, if a person without smoking can die from lung cancer, the chances of a smoker dieing of lung cancer is even higher.` 

Nehow, I have disappeared, becoz unlike you, I have no ineterest in this counter, I haven`t `invested`(a word refuted by mgnt in presentations), and my motive to come here was give an unbiased opinion.. But I am not on for more debates or msgs, as it holds no benefit for me whatsoever.. If u r invested here, keep hoping for the best..

I have always analysed things thru siplest form and tried to take out conclusions thru simplest ways.. If it was so easy to earn money, y would ppl do hard work? Any company which guarantees returns in stock market is banned by SEBI becoz its not possible.. This is the reply to one of ur earlier rabble rousing msgs whr u said, y cant they catch cos guaranteeing sure returns in stock market.. They r banned.. so now coming back to saol, if it cud give such returns, y wud ppl work, everyone shud just sit at home.. If it was easy, i would rather open a company which would just employ ppl to fill surveys the hwole day for me.. And I would employ ppl at Rs 15000 p.m., invest some few lakhs and earn millions.. as a matter of fact y cant, saol do the same thing? y cant they employ thousands and just make them fill surveys and pay them 15000 p.m. in these surveys, every panelist can buy many panels, so thr is no point of talking abt distinctive respondents.. Nehow, forget it, i have involved my enuf time.. Last, `earning money is not easy`, if it was it wouldn`t have so much importance in the worls..

My response to the same is published below for your comments please..

Dear Pulkit,

I think I wrote in pretty clear terms what I was trying to convey, since it was written in very detail let me just summarise it again for you.

1)      I am just pulling the Positives out of SAOL Management’s comments and you are pulling out negative comments therefrom.

2)      I totally agree that cost of subscribing ezine is very high and too much

3)      The company’s revenue model is explained on their site and excerpts from that site were posted in my previous post.

4)      As per the reply of company, Revenue is coming from  aggregating Panels and exchanging those panels for a cost. And paying amount for sharing your opinion through the surveys is a business strategy (which is quite legal) to aggregate those panels.

5)      If you are not aware of the term panelists, then I would like to elaborate here that Panelists are nothing but consumers who have willingly come together to participate in any ad campaign or opinion poll and are not those people who are unwillingly targeted by the Telemarketing companies do by buying data from mobile companies and other publicly available websites. Remember Indian govt has started a Do Not Call registry and these telemarketers are now looking for alternate sources to collect customers database. What better than SPEAK ASIA and its panelists. Let the company get registered here and we should see a good business revolution.. 

Now coming to specific replies of your recent post -  I never compared koutons with SAOL Sorry. This was just mentioned as a passer by comment that a business model yes or no, if company’s management is not fair it is going to vanish one day.

As regards business model, I already confirmed that I am a panelist and not SAOL employee / representative who can get access to the company’s exact business model. The company has its business model in place and that’s why it has been able to vindicate its stand in media. All my comments on this forum are only based on the excerpts of that business model shared with us.

I never tried to prove 1=0. When the comment was written that speakasia has garnered 11000 multiplied by x number of panelists, I replied on the same logic that company can generate business worth 25Crores multiplied by x number of companies to prove the mathematical logic.

Since you are not ready to open up your minds and accept the new thing you will not be able to cherish this new concept which will revolutionize the way business is done atleast in FMCG segment.

I will again emphasise that SAOL is not a simple survey filling company. Now It is a community of a few lakh people who are ready to buy as well as sell the products from its soon to be launched new ecommerce site. This will help company establish its footprint in ecommerce and mcommerce through precision marketing instead of mass marketing and soon this will revolutionise the way FMCG business is done in India presently.

New Ideas always face resistance and the same is being seen here. And when you say it is easy money than think again.

Your comment itself certifies few things which SAOL Business Model wants to say

“as a matter of fact y cant, saol do the same thing? y cant they employ thousands and just make them fill surveys and pay them 15000 p.m. in these surveys, every panelist can buy many panels, so thr is no point of talking abt distinctive  respondents.. “

SAOL Has employed few lakh employees (panelists) who are being paid compensation of 4,000 rs. Per month.  These panelist will now help company sell products of existing brands when it launch its Ecommerce website and distribute middle men commissions to these employees(panelists).

Just to clarify again – one panelist can buy only one panel and to control this duplicacy , if any ,which has happened due to misselling in the initial stages, company is now going to put checks and balances in the new site which will be launched soon.

I really appreciate your unbiased view but when you say that is of no benefit to you, then sorry to say you are contradicting your own unbiased view statement.

Bye for now and thanks for your best wishes. But still hope that you will continue this debate for the help of us many speakasians .