MUMBAI: To succeed, any new start-up company in the IT services field should focus on niche areas or small verticals while doing some unusual things, Infosys chief
mentor N R Narayana Murthy said today.

Start-ups have to demonstrate that the idea, which they are bringing to the table, are not ideas which the big companies are doing, Murthy added. The niche sectors could be retail, SMEs or providing mobile solutions, he said, adding that new ideas have to be much more specialised.

Talking about his venture capital fund, Murthy said: "we are in touch with many  companies... by March 15, 2010, we will be more active."

"We are evaluating companies which are approaching us, their ideas, scalability of business, leadership of entrepreneurs, etc," Murthy said.