Every entrepreneur dreams that his business was once very profitable and reliable. But often, one of the original ideas, though promising, is not enough. What else is required to create a successful business, found out Today.
The BASICS. To start note: to call any business idea, start type cold stall or setup of the production line of robotic cleaners, startup is wrong. A startup in fact is a new company that boasts unusual and promising idea. “A startup called enterprise or business initiative in the early stages of the life cycle. We are talking about the period only when the idea appears, are the first calculations and refinements, registration and the beginning of the period of stable growth. This period of time, the start is considered the most risky, and at this time the entrepreneur accepts the largest number of errors. But if you pass the initial startup period before the formation of the company — the project can be considered valid,” explains Anna Agafonova, head of Business Cup competition Extreme in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Belarus.
But to understand the meaning of the term “startup” is not enough: it is important to understand at least the key professional terminology that is widely used in this ecosystem — for example, the concepts of hubs, incubators or accelerators. “Startup is a separate type of investor, an organization that supports, promotes and finances innovative projects. A startup accelerator is an organization, the business of which is to help other companies. It offers a structured program that helps the team to hone the business model to acquire contacts and increase sales. There is also the concept of “business angel” — the so-called private independent investors who are willing to invest their own money in a startup, even if the event is at the idea stage”, — quotes the examples of the head of the Secretariat of the Council of entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers Andrei Zablovsky. But incubators and accelerators help not free: either take a fixed fee for joining, or ask for a share in the company, which will help to develop (5 to 20%, depending on the appetite and interest in the project). And only depends on you to go to the nursery to look for investments among friends or to go to the Bank.
Perspective: drones and GMOs
It is difficult to define what a successful start, because the entrepreneurs put before themselves the different purposes. “There are startups-“unicorns” that night out on millions in returns. And there is a slowly growing startups that don’t attract investors, but steadily working for years. It all depends on the ideas, knowledge and market models,” explains Anna Agafonova. Today abroad the success of a startup is determined using the term “effectuate”. “It is believed that effectuate — the most fundamental element of a startup. We are talking about designer thinking when he can out of disparate pieces to assemble a single picture and get the result. Written on this subject tons of literature. But in fact all individually, because the success of a startup depends on the product and business,” said Anna.
But there is one important rule: even if a person has great design thinking and a high propensity for effectual, he definitely needs a strong team of specialists and associates. So, according to surveys of experts, investors are much more willing to give money for the development of those startups, where working professionals with good education and different competencies. “The team should be interested in the product, to constantly evolve. Startups are interesting to investors, because they can work quietly. They eventually get the money,” adds Agafonov.
NICHE. Now leaders in the creative start-UPS are England, France, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Estonia and Israel. “In France registering more startups, but in Germany the survival rate is higher: if we Germans have something to launch, then there are the resources and the will, and all the necessary calculations. And a very high probability that the matter will be brought to the finals,” — says Anna Agafonova. However, creative Ukrainians can take their place under the sun, if you pay attention to the creation of start-UPS in certain sectors of the economy. “It is important to understand what topics are relevant. For example, in Europe a year ago was very popular drones: in Spain every second startup was dedicated to drones! And in Germany, for example, is a very slippery path — then a different law: the drone can rise only a few feet up and no higher, and fly not allowed everywhere. Therefore, the Germans especially against drones and not creatively. But for Ukraine, the subject of drones might be interesting, especially given the wide range of possibilities for use. You can focus on synthetic biology, GMOs, innovative medicine. Promising aviation is a very interesting topic is the implementation of wireless Internet in the aircraft,” — said Anna Agafonova.
Don’t be afraid of knowledge
Ukrainians need to get rid of fear to make a mistake and learn perseverance. “I remember the experience of the American: he is 20 years promoted the development of innovative cleaner. Sold it in supermarkets, but I had to live at the expense of his wife. In the end he turned out to be realized when he got to Japan. Then he became a millionaire! In our example, the development of cleaner was not a mistake — the reason for the “brake” was the lobby of producers of the traditional vacuum cleaner”, — said Anna Agafonova. So experts recommend to work from a startup with an eye on global markets. “Often, startups do not know foreign markets, their preferences, the nuances of sales and behavioral risks. And this is important when promotion”, — says Andrey Zablovsky.
WHERE. According to Zablovskogo to ensure startup success, startup you have to pass courses and to participate in contests, where you can find investors. Can help challenges or contests startups. So, in Kiev there is a startup competition Sikorskiy Challenge and competition engineering startups Vernadskiy Challenge. Popular incubators and accelerators, you can highlight non-profit incubator of IT projects 1991 Open Data Incubator GrowthUP accelerator (works with techstartups), incubator Polyteco (created in KPI), accelerator Founder Institute (the first from the United States), platform Start-up Business Incubator KNU (unites students of KNU. Shevchenko), iHub incubator (working with engineering design), Business Cup competition Extreme (conducts training, assists in investpredlozhenii in the EU), an incubator on the basis of the mission of Singularity University in Ukraine.
I wonder…
This year the competition is Extreme Business Cup will focus on any ideas security. For example, topics can be associated with the prevention of natural disasters, innovative treatment of diseases, help in survival and other creative startups. And to offer ideas in any form – mobile app, risk assessments, medication, equipment, etc.
Directly applications for participation in the competition can be submitted in June. Directly in July will be held the first round, and the finals will take place on 10 participants. And in September, it is expected the final in Kiev.
Prizes impressive. First, the winners will have the opportunity to present their idea to investors in Copenhagen, Denmark. Secondly, there is the possibility of incubation in Estonia. Thirdly, the competition will go to the next qualifying round for incubation in Germany.
