«I Want My Own IT Startup»: Skolkovo Foundation Experts’ Advice
Open Innovations Startup Tour, the largest CIS road show in search of the innovation projects, took place in Barnaul for the very first time. During the Tour, experts of Skolkovo Foundation and successful entrepreneurs talked a lot on what to do and what not to do if you want to launch your own startup. They paid specific attention to IT. We were there as co-organizers within the Innovation Support Association, assessed the local IT-startups, and, of course, listened to the experts’ advice attentively. Now we are ready to share what we have learned.
We hope that our plan helps you to move off the dead center and finally get your brilliant idea from the table’s drawer, where it has been dusting for a long time.
No thanks needed
1. Choose a niche
Fortunately, there is a big choice for startups. Good prospects are opening up in alternative energy, hybrid electronics, and advanced manufacturings. And, of course, in information technologies, which rapidly penetrate into all other spheres.
For example, you can try additive manufacturing and construct your own 3D-printer. Or in robotics and make eco-friendly aggregate for all intents and purposes. Or to compete with Tesla and introduce the world your own car, worked on the alternative fuel.
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Alexandr Fertman, Science & Education Department Head, Skolkovo Foundation: |
2. Learn!
Good entrepreneur is the one who learns. Always. Very fast. And he feels no shame about it.
For example, at the end of 1994 Oy Visual Systems Ltd., founded by today’s Advisor to the President of Skolkovo Foundation Pekka Viljakainen, launched the first online banking service in Finland, which allowed paying bills online. Nobody considered it as a good idea. Then the company had to teach every resident of the country (5.5 million people) to use the novelty. It took six years. The long way, which finally led to success – in 2001, 97% of the country’s banking services were digitized.
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Pekka Viljakainen, Advisor to the President of Skolkovo Foundation: |
3. Do not fear
We used to hide our mistakes. This is normal. However, for some reason we are afraid of everything and don’t like to demonstrate our achievements.
You need to share your success and achievements.
According to Pekka Viljakainen, such secrecy is the weakest part of the Russian business community. He is absolutely sure: as long as such behavior continues, Russia will not develop, as connections in the community are not being built and knowledge is not shared.
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Pekka Viljakainen, Advisor to the President of Skolkovo Foundation: |
4. Get rid of the myths
The entrepreneur’s life is wrapped in different sorts of myths. Your own business seems to be a paradise on Earth. No problems, no worries. Control employees, taking sunbaths on Bali, and earn profits.
However, the reality is different.
Will you believe in fairy-tails or build your business in reality? Image source: salnikov.ru
Instead of a fantastic sum of money – continuous losses, taxes, expenses. Instead of the incredible success and industry acknowledgement – stress and twitching eyes. Instead of the absolute freedom – job 24/7 without sleep and any rest, but with never-ending force majeure and firefighting even at midnight. No, of course, a four-hour workday and half-year travelings are possible. But in 15 years. When your business gets on its feet, and you gain necessary knowledge and experience.
So, if I you have decided to become an entrepreneur, especially in high tech, think twice whether you are ready to face with all these problems.
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Renat Batyrov, CEO of Skolkovo Technopark LLC: |
5. Discuss everything from the get go
Must do. Discuss with your business partners all the important details, from who’s a big boss here and who has the right to vote for internal regulations, to the global strategy and plans for the future.
Yes, the procedure is not always pleasant, because you should consider many sensitive issues, including financial. But it is really necessary, even if you are friends since childhood and drink beer every weekend together. There is always a probability of «divorce» with a scandal and battles for the property.
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Igor Kovalev, DI-Group CEO: |
6. Create a global product
Skolkovo experts recommend: create a product suitable for all over the world, not just for Russia.
Use the best international practices, it is not forbidden. Business giants act exactly this way.
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Pekka Viljakainen, Advisor to the President of Skolkovo Foundation: |
7. Hurry up!
The reality of the hi-tech world is that if you want to fit into it, you should do everything very quickly. You have no time to scratch your head, smoke bamboo, and lengthen out launch and entry into the market.
GoPro, Inc., the leader in the market of action cameras, is an example of the right speed. When the company has released the fifth version of the camera, they’ve announced publicly that the life cycle of the product would be nine months maximum. That is, during this period of time, they had to sell it to their global audience, and at the same time to develop the innovative sixth version of the camera.
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Pekka Viljakainen, Advisor to the President of Skolkovo Foundation: |
8. Find a mentor
For a startup founder, mentor is a best friend, almost relative. At the same time, the mentor should be a practicing entrepreneur. Successful, for sure, whose advice will really be useful for you (agree, you don’t need a mentor-loser).
The key moment. When you are looking for a mentor, don’t find a «dementor», who will bleed you dry. Or will not get along with you. Or mentor will deceive you into parting with money. This also happens.
A good mentor does not require any payment for his help as his main purpose is to grow a colleague or a future partner. But you also can’t demand anything from him. In fact, he doesn’t owe you anything. Mentor will wave his wand and make your business successful, but will tell you what’s best to do.
A mentor will help you grow but will not replace any team member.
Good mentors don’t grow on trees. In Russia, you can find your mentor in special organizations, actively practicing the mentoring:
- The Mentors Association of Skolkovo Foundation
- The Mentoring Institute of Boris Tkachenko
- IBLF Russia
And, of course, it is useful to look attentively at the business community in your hometown and to participate in events and activities, gathering the local startups. Who knows, maybe there you will meet your mentor.
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Anna Brusnitsyna, Expert of Found «Our future»: |
9. Get investments
Very important point. There are many things you can’t do without money: to pay your employees, to buy equipment, to cover numerous costs. Is it necessary to continue?
If you aren’t a heir of the wealthy parents, don’t own an oil-derrick or the huge savings, the financial issue can become tough.
What are you supposed to do? Where from will you get money for the startup?
Use the special institutions support
Many special institutions are racing to help the beginning entrepreneurs with such problems. Together they form the so-called «ecosystem» of business support. In Russia, they are:
- Innovation Promotion Fund
- The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF)
- Russian Venture Company (RVC)
- Federal accelerator for technology start-ups Generation S
- National Technology Initiative (NTI)
- VEB Innovations fund
- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)
- Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation
- The Russian Export Center
- RUSNANO Corporation
- Industrial Development Fund
As you see, there’s a choice.
All these institutions are federal and very serious. Therefore, they have the high requirements. With projects a la «quickly wrote a draft yesterday», there is no sense to apply to them.
In most places, you may find also similar regional institutions, including Enterra’s motherland –
Altai region. Their degree of requirements are lower, but you shouldn’t get brazen and come to them with something doubtful.
Remember: no one will just give you money for your super-duper-very-awesome project. Even if you exercise every morning and have broccoli for breakfast. Even if you’ve read all books about Steve Jobs. Even if you are a patriot.
Investments and grants are given only to those who prove that really deserve them.
For this, a potential grant recipient should pass through all circles of hell a number of procedures.
Consider the following example taken for Russia.
Think, for instance, of Skolkovo Foundation (by the way, it is also the part of the ecosystem that supports entrepreneurs).
First, you should choose what type of grant from the fund you want to receive. There are three types:
- Microgrants
- Minigrants – up to 5 mln rubles
- Large grants – from 5 to 300 mln rubles
They differ greatly in the criteria for projects selection and in response time. Let’s suggest that you want to take a minigrant.
Your approximate steps are: submit the application and wait about 50 days until you get a verdict, whether your project is suitable for financing or not. Then the awkward starts: the expertise.
It includes a lot of tiresome paperwork. You must provide a sheaf of different papers to prove the project to be useful and perspective. The package includes the grant memorandum, consisting of 35 pages in average, the project’s roadmap, cost sheets, various letters of intent, agreements with investors and etc.
Then the Skolkovo experts check all of these documents in detail and decide, whether to give money or not.
The projects that pass the expertise receive not just grants, but also the status of the Skolkovo residents.
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Alexander Malyavin, Senior Specialist of the Grant and expert service of Skolkovo Foundation: |
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Pekka Viljakainen, Advisor to the President of Skolkovo Foundation: |
10. Act!
Just do it. We understand that it sounds like the hackneyed quote from the blog post about success and motivation. However, sitting on the sofa, you can’t build a world corporation.
So just do it. Without fear, beyond reproach and with a good share of common sense
Who knows, maybe that’s you who’ll be the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk.