From South Asia to iTunes

Anjula Acharia-Bath made sure she was in the right place at the right time. The co-founder and CEO of online entertainment portal DesiHits had heard nothing but no from Apple (AAPL) after repeatedly pitching a sales partnership. She didn't lose heart. Instead, she happened to hit connection paydirt while dining at her regular hangout, Tamerine, a Vietnamese restaurant that's a hot spot for Silicon Valley venture capitalists. In January, 2006, she overheard two diners talking about Guy Kawasaki, a former Apple executive turned venture capitalist, as if they knew him well. Acharia-Bath introduced herself and asked how she could get a better reception from Apple. One of those diners, Barry Weinman, co-founder of Allegis Capital, soon introduced her to his contacts at Apple.

Today, DesiHits, which is moving from Santa Clara, Calif., to New York City, sells Indian music from Bollywood hits to Bhangra classics, remixed with rap and pop, via iTunes, Apple's online music store. DesiHits podcasts are available on iTunes as well. And on DesiHits' Web site, visitors can find entertainment news, interviews, and other original content aimed at Desis, the Hindi term for the 20 million or so South Asians living around the world, including 1.9 million in the U.S., according to a 2004 U.S. Census count. In recent months, it has also become a destination for well-known American rappers such as LL Cool J, 50 Cent, and Lupe Fiasco to promote their music.