What is a startup? Definition and examples. Startup - what is it: the best ideas

The best startups in Russia include:

A popular online learning service that helps everyone who wants to master the English language or improve their existing level. Now more than 14 million people around the world use it. Each new “student” can take a test and choose the level they need, receive a set of exercises and educational materials for mastering it. The application allows you to train your understanding of not only written speech, but also its listening comprehension. Training materials are provided in both audio and video formats.

This is an educational platform with game elements that provides the opportunity to learn linguistic skills from native speakers.

The animated lion mascot gave the service its name - Leo. The idea to use this particular character, lost in the jungle of knowledge, came to the developers on the exotic island of Koh Chang, where the founder and a team of programmers worked for about six months to create a new service. Five years later, the founder, Ainur Abdulnasyrov, entered the top hundred Russian millionaires.

Google included LinguaLeo in its list of the best Android apps in 2015.

Doctor at work

The virtual community of professional doctors is a startup by Andrey Perfilyev and Stanislav Sazhin, which appeared in 2009. They created a space that most closely resembles a closed club, within which people of the same specialty can exchange experiences, get the necessary information, ask colleagues questions, and find a job.

Gradually, with growing popularity, the network expanded significantly. Now both medical students and pharmacists can use it. They, like doctors, got the opportunity not only to communicate, but also to improve their skills for free.

Half of all medical workers in Russia with higher education are its registered users. In terms of participant activity, Doctor at Work ranks first in the world. For several years in a row, the project has occupied more and more honorable places in the ranking of the best startups in Russia - Russian Startup Rating.

Who hasn't dreamed of a flash drive with unlimited capacity? Alexey Churkin, founder of the Flashsafe startup, was able to solve this problem. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​a “dimensionless” drive - a flash card connected to a cloud file storage system. Through special electronic devices, information is placed in storage and is located there absolutely anonymously, without being tied to a specific user. This makes it possible to obtain the necessary files without necessarily using passwords or keys. Such a device cannot be hacked; it guarantees complete security and confidentiality of information.

Alexey raised it with his own funds and grants, successfully presented his project in Skolkovo, after which 1.5 million rubles were collected in pre-orders. Gradually, investors were found, and the project repeatedly appeared on crowdfunding platforms. On August 30, 2016, sales of the “endless” drive started.

The fastest startup, which became the best startup project in just a few days, is among the best startups of 2016 in Russia. The creators were forced to artificially restrain the powerful growth in the popularity of the project.

is a mobile application that appeared quite recently, in the summer of 2016, and allows the user to turn any photo into an image made in the style of famous artists. It became possible to turn an ordinary frame into a work of art in just a couple of seconds and clicks. His success was simply dizzying. In 10 days, the new photo editor became the most downloaded product.

With Prisma, anyone can become a great artist

MULTICUBE

The project is an interesting technical novelty for the youngest users. We are talking about mini-projectors in the shape of a cube, with cartoons and filmstrips inside. You can project an image onto any flat surface. The creators claim that this is a “healthier” alternative to a child watching entertainment content on a tablet, the best option for quality family leisure.

Participant of the Skolkovo and API Moscow platforms. More than $105 thousand was raised to launch sales. Currently, the company's management is planning to develop a premium version of the projector; a more budget version will be launched into production very soon.

This is a list. Some of them are already known abroad, have found investors there and are planning to enter the international market. What can we say about the current situation in this area on a global scale? What are the best startups in the world?

10 best startups in the world

The best startup projects around the world include:

Slack

A popular corporate messenger that appeared in 2013. It provides very great opportunities for online teamwork; it is especially suitable for small and medium-sized companies. Slack makes official email correspondence between employees and complex internal document flow unnecessary. This service was ideal for communication between employees at work, but it also made it possible to create communities of interest, business or leisure. That is why another opportunity to use Slack is to search for the right specialists; HR workers actively use this.

The fastest growing business application in history, now valued at nearly $3 billion.

The application was created by Cambridge Philosophy graduate Stuart Butterfield. Over seven rounds of investment, his startup was able to raise about $350 million and become one of the best such projects in the world. It is especially popular in the USA and European countries. On the first day of testing, more than 8 thousand organizations registered in the Slack system.

Uber

One of the most famous and scandalous startups in the world, which indignant competitors regularly try to catch up with and are desperately trying to somehow cope with its expansion. At the same time, the project is very successful; investors value it at $64 billion.

The idea of ​​linking a taxi order to a mobile application turned out to be simply golden. It belongs to Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. The idea was born to one of the founders in Paris, when he could not get a taxi.

Having appeared in 2009, Uber brought huge profits to its creators. The world's leading venture financiers fought for the right to invest money in the service. This is understandable, since the company’s daily revenue now amounts to several million.

Now mobile taxis under this brand operate in more than 80 cities around the world, the number of trips using Uber in America has grown by 250%. The company continues to actively explore the global market and expand.

Zenefits was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Parker Conrad, who until recently served as its CEO. Over the course of a year, the project went from an unknown startup to a dynamically developing business. It took him less than two years to become a company with a capitalization of more than $1 billion. Zenefits boasts some of Silicon Valley's biggest names (like Andreessen Horowitz) and is valued at $4.5 billion.

The project offers innovative software for HR departments of enterprises, which significantly simplifies personnel management and document management in companies. The service allows you to automatically calculate employee salaries, calculate benefits, bonuses, labor productivity factors, and determine vacation dates.

In February 2016, Zenefits changed its director, David Sachs, who took emergency measures to maintain the high assessment of the project by investors. Despite the fact that the company is now experiencing some difficulties, the number of its clients still numbers 20 thousand people.

Porch

One of the best startups in the world, which appeared in Seattle in 2013. The project was created to connect professionals who can perform home or appliance repair work with people who need their services. A user-friendly interface and ordering system allows you to find the right specialist very quickly, which was immediately appreciated by numerous Porch users. During its existence, the company managed to raise $99 million in 3 rounds of financing.

Porch is:

• 3 million professionals with work experience and reviews
• 140 million completed transactions
• over $100 million in venture capital

The company gives all clients a guarantee of $1000 if the quality of the work performed does not satisfy the customer.

The founders of Porch claim that their business continues to grow and develop, has excellent prospects and big plans for the future.

A new type of social Internet service founded by Ben Silberman in 2008. With its help, each user can create their own unique virtual “boards” on which they collect and store images grouped by various topics. Very quickly, Pinterest has become a worldwide catalog of ideas and inspiration for a very large global audience of creative people and ordinary users. The project is especially popular among women. For example, brides looking for a wedding style or young mothers organizing photo shoots for their babies. Of course, all specialists in the artistic field also appreciated it.

It took this startup less than a year to attract its first 10 thousand users. Zilberman says that he personally drafted and sent invitation letters to the first 5 thousand. This figure now represents 70 million per month in the US and 150 million worldwide. The project has now surpassed Twitter in terms of audience size. Financially, it is also very prosperous, having attracted $1.3 billion in investments since its founding.

An incredibly successful online service offering mattresses and other sleep accessories. A practical and serious approach to even the most ordinary household items, it turns out, can bring creators both money and fame. The manufacturer and seller of unusual sleep accessories was able to attract the attention of buyers and investors, the latter valuing the project at $550 million.

The authors of this startup approached the matter with a scientific approach and organized a real laboratory in which they experimentally established the parameters and characteristics of an ideal mattress. Now they sell only one type of it, but in different sizes.

Pleasant bonuses that successfully complement the high quality of Casper:

• Fast shipping
• compact packaging
• possibility of testing and returning goods

At the same time, the cost of a standard size mattress starts at $500, but the company provides a 10-year guarantee on it. The project successfully withstands competition, although the price of their goods is approximately twice the average.

It turns out that startups also exist in the field of space technology. One of the most successful projects in this area belongs to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who decided to create the first private transport company for space cargo transportation. In particular, the creator saw the immediate goal of delivering cargo to Mars during its colonization. The project turned out to be successful and now the company is a real space concern.

The first steps in implementing this grandiose plan began in 2002, and 8 years later SpaceX became the first private company to launch a spacecraft. In 2012, one of its unmanned rockets docked with the International Space Station. After this, management signed a contract with the US Air Force and NASA.

SpaceX is considered the most progressive and promising space carrier, while offering some of the lowest prices on the market for such services.

The third most valuable startup in the world is a mobile application that allows you to send messages with attached photos and videos. Created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Frank Brown.

According to statistics, 200 million users of the application send 700 million messages daily. In general, during its existence, the company has raised more than $1 billion and continues to actively develop.

The head of the company, Evan Spiegel, is trying to make Snapchat a competitor to Facebook and Twitter. Most likely, he will succeed. An ambitious entrepreneur from the “golden youth” is confidently moving forward. The application content continues to be updated and improved, gradually adding new features.

Rapid growth, thoughtful, bold marketing and an audience under 30 are the key to Snapchat's success, which has allowed the company to become the third most capitalized startup in the world.

Jibo

The creators of the first family robot, led by MIT professor Cynthia Breazeale, raised money for it using a crowdfunding platform. The project was so successful that in just a few days about 900 thousand dollars were received, although 100 thousand were required.

Now you can purchase an electronic friend for all family members and receive from him not only practical help in the form of necessary information, but also a couple of funny stories or anecdotes.

Jibo recognizes people and finds its own approach to everyone. He cannot move, but he can speak and show emotions. The first samples have already gone on sale. The creators of Jibo do not stop there; the design of the robot has already been improved with the investments that the project was able to attract.

One of the fastest growing internet startups of 2015, born in San Francisco.

The project was created as an online service for delivering food to private customers from nearby stores. The buyer selects all the necessary goods online from the lists of local supermarkets uploaded to the site, and receives his order by courier very quickly, within an hour.

Instacart is already available in several major US cities and continues to capture the market, and the company's revenue has increased 15 times. The startup is developing rapidly, funds and private investors are confident in Instacart's success, although competition is growing noticeably every year. The project with enviable consistency attracts more and more hundreds of millions of dollars of investment (see Investments in startups: attraction, rules, important points). Total funding for the service over two years is about $150 million. Investors in the successful startup include Sequoia, Khosla Ventures, Canaan Partners, Horowitz and many others.

A variety of projects are among the best startups in Russia and around the world. Some of them are created by one enthusiast, while others are developed by several thousand different specialists. Sometimes it takes a month or two from the idea to the finished product, and sometimes it takes years. Each project has its own secret of popularity and its own fascinating story of rise.

Everyone knows that you can organize your own business. For example, build a hotel on the seashore. Also, everyone roughly knows what needs to be done for this: purchase a piece of land, draw up a package of documents, create a project, calculate an estimate, start and finish construction, find trained personnel, do not skimp on advertising, and then after about five to ten years, if successful In the course of business, the invested capital will pay off, and the business will begin to generate income.

This is a classic option for starting and developing a business, requiring considerable financial investment, and there is also this: the creators of the famous computer game Angry Birds in a few years they earned almost 56 million euros with an investment of 100 thousand. Or Facebook, the approximate cost of which is $100 billion. USA, and this with relatively minimal investment.

You can give a lot of such examples - these are projects VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and the well-known Google. All of them are similar in that they went through a rapid path of successful development, were based on the innovative ideas of their creators and did not require large start-up capital. These are startups. Projects, ideas, IT technologies. They cannot be touched, but they can bring billions to their creators.

Important Definitions

A startup (start-up - English) is a company that has just been created and started its activities, usually with limited financial capabilities and a small number of people working in it.

Its activities are not necessarily based on IT technologies, as many mistakenly believe, but on any innovative ideas related to medicine, nanotechnology, the Internet, or any other field. A startup is a company, organization, or any other legal entity. It is extremely incorrect to call any Internet service, successful website or project with this term.

Startup is a person who created a startup and is an employee of the company.

• The development of a startup is impossible without attracting investors. It could be: Venture fund
• – a company that invests in innovative, risky projects, which, according to research, can subsequently bring good profits. Business angels

– individuals who are ready to finance a startup at the development stage and expect to receive long-term interest from profits in the future.

The main distinguishing feature of a startup is its youth. After a few months of operation, the company either becomes a fairly successful business or ceases to exist. The key point is the desire to find and offer a completely new solution to a problem, an unknown service or product. Therefore, first of all, it is creativity and innovation.

And novelty, in turn, is inextricably linked with the unknown and uncertainty, since the company has to perform all actions from scratch. This includes determining the pricing policy and payment methods, studying the audience who is interested in their product, planning a future development strategy, and much more. It is from this that follows such a feature of a startup as the search for a model of behavior in the market.

The English term “start-up” in its current meaning was born in the USA, near San Francisco, in Silicon Valley in 1939. This is the place where almost all companies that were involved in the development of information technology were gathered. In principle, the success of the valley is inextricably linked with the emergence of the first startup - when two Stanford graduates, William Hewlett and David Packard, founded the enterprise that later became the world famous giant Hewlett-Packard.

Other classic examples of successful startups are:

• Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
• Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne, who joined a little later, Apple Computer Inc.
• Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Very often in recent years, any well-known company, Internet project or website that is somehow different from others is mistakenly called startups. For example, among the popular networks Facebook, Odnoklassniki.ru, VKontakte, only the first one is a real startup, and the rest are its successful clones, which are popular mainly in the Runet.

Specifics of working in Russia

The young startup market in Russia is now in a stage of rapid growth and development. But it is largely because of his youth that he experiences great difficulties. Over the fifty years of existence of this sector in the West, a certain innovative culture, mechanisms for supporting innovation, and investment forms have developed there. There are thousands of venture capital firms and business angels, private investors, and, accordingly, thousands of opportunities for startups. This does not exist in Russia yet, so it is extremely difficult to find sources of financing. Another distinctive feature of a Russian company is the time that the company can spend in this stage.

In the classic version, which operates in the West, it is given 6-8 months, after which, if the idea fails, the company dies so as not to waste time and money. In our country, this stage can last for years, which is a mistake.

The fate of the Russian startup, its further existence or development also remains uncertain due to the low interest of our large companies in such projects. Western giants constantly monitor the teams they have and buy the most promising ones. We don't have such practice. That is why foreign investors are increasingly turning their attention to the Russian market.

Startup creation

Nowadays, anyone who would like to try themselves in this field can found a startup. The easiest way to do this is, of course, in the IT sector. Today, having a laptop, a bright head with ideas and a desire to create something unusual may be sufficient for the first steps in this field.

To make the task easier, you can follow theses:

• Identify the problem you are going to solve. For reliability, it is better to take a real sphere and real consumers who have difficulty in something. You can find out by talking with clients, listening, reading reviews, comments, and after making sure that this is a really sore subject, you can try to find ways to solve it and implement the project. The ideal option would be to sign a letter of guarantee with the client who voiced the problem, stating his willingness to further cooperate with you and use your product if the problem is successfully resolved.
• Take your time to optimize the product and bring it to an ideal state. Your task is to create a trial version as quickly as possible and give it to friends, acquaintances, and customers for testing. And based on their comments, refine it and release the next and subsequent versions.
• Don't delay your first sale. You shouldn't sit on the interface for years without trying to implement what already exists. A startup is a business, and an accelerated business. Here you need to understand as quickly as possible whether it will be successful, and for this you need sales. And if they buy a raw product from you, this will be a signal that you are on the right track.
• Don't spend money, especially money you haven't earned yet. If you have invested your own funds in a startup, are at the beginning of your journey, have not yet received a single payment for the product, save on everything - office, employees, business cards and other things that you can do without.
• Devote as much time as possible to the project. The success of an enterprise depends almost 100% on how much work and time is invested in it. If you work on a project for an hour a day, the results will most likely be mediocre.
• Don't rush to look for outside investors. At the initial stage, it is better to manage on your own, attract friends and relatives. In order to create a trial model, not so much money is needed. If the prototype is successful, the business has taken off and needs to be developed, then you can think about raising additional capital. Moreover, doing this with a ready-made positive result is much easier and more profitable.
• Don't put off ideas until tomorrow. If you are sure of something, do the project immediately. There is no need to slow down on finding a team, discussions and other things. Just get started. Everything else will follow along the way. A startup is a business for the young, impulsive, and hot-headed. The older a person gets, the less susceptible he is to impulses and to the belief that a seemingly crazy idea can be successfully brought to life.
• Don't be discouraged if you fail. Before you give up on a startup, make sure you've done everything you can. Or maybe just a little tweaking of a failed product is enough to make it sellable?

Watch the video on where to start developing your project:

The process of turning a startup into a successful enterprise consists of several stages.

Stages of development

1. Origin. This stage is characterized by the presence of an idea and sometimes a trial sample of the product. There are initiators of creating a company, but the process of starting a business has not yet begun.
2. Becoming. At this stage, the company has already been created, the production of the product has begun, but it is still raw, not finalized and does not yet generate income. A management team is being formed and the company’s documentation is being put in order.
3. Early development. The momentum is gaining, the company gains its first popularity and takes its place in the market, the first profit appears.
4. Extension. At this stage, sales of the product increase, the company reaches a stable profit, it has well established its position in the market and is able to begin the development of related projects.
5. Maturity. The last stage, at which the company, as a rule, occupies a leading position in its industry and a fairly large share of the market segment, it is highly profitable, all processes have been worked out, and it employs highly qualified specialists. In this position, the company will usually begin issuing shares or may be sold to a suitable investor.

Investors and search for financing

For an undertaking to be successful, in addition to the idea, you need a good source of investment. Or several. Without funding, a startup will not survive. Ideally, at each stage of development it should move to a higher level of financing. Sources may be:

• Personal savings.
• Funds from friends and family members.
• Crowdfunding. A startup can make a presentation of his brainchild on the Internet and ask for money for development. A prize is usually promised for depositing a certain amount. This type of investment is poorly developed in Russia, and searching on foreign sites is complicated by the fact that you will need an account in a foreign bank to withdraw funds.
• Credit. Unlike Western countries where there are preferential lending programs for startups, in Russia you can get a consumer loan for this business or for the development of a small business. A high percentage scares off novice businessmen, making the project deeply unprofitable in the early stages of development.
• A business angel is the investor every startup owner dreams of. For people who have the gift of persuasion and believe in the success of their project, finding such investors is quite a feasible task even in Russia, where their number is increasing every year.
• State. The budget of any country includes funds for the development of innovative business. If you manage to meet the strict requirements, you can receive stable financial assistance at a low interest rate.
• Venture funds. It is quite difficult to obtain such investments. In order to convince people who have enormous practical experience in such matters, it is necessary to have a truly bright and profitable undertaking.

Making a decision also takes quite a long time. Each source of funding has its own nuances and problems, but faith in your business and perseverance in your work will help you overcome these difficulties.

Business accelerators and incubators

Important elements in the startup system are incubators and accelerators. The scope of their activity is the development of companies at the initial stage, turning them into a profitable business. They work simultaneously with a large number of projects, thereby minimizing their risks.

• Incubator– specializes in business development at the idea stage. This is, as a rule, the first structure that a startup can turn to after family and friends. The incubator's arsenal includes training programs for project development, theoretical and practical trainings that help apply acquired knowledge in practice.
• Accelerator- works with a ready-made company that has its own team and experience, requiring serious investment. The essence of the program is approximately the same, but at a deeper level related to the analysis of investment activities and communication with future investors.

If a startup does not have enough team or space to develop an idea, it should contact an incubator. If a company has been created, but needs professional advice on how to take it into big business, go to an accelerator.

The main activity of the incubator is consulting, so any startuper who can pay for the services can become its client. In order to become a client of the accelerator, you must pass a selection process. Experts with extensive experience are involved in their work, and additional financial resources are also attracted. The accelerator’s task is to turn a startup into an investment-attractive product in a short period of time. Very often, large accelerators cooperate with venture funds, which can subsequently finance such a company. To become their client, the proposed project must show good prospects for success.

Examples of successful projects

There are many companies that have made their projects successful and extremely profitable in a short time. These include:

• Wikipedia– the most extensive online encyclopedia, where the number of articles increases every day.
• YouTube– the largest database of video products.
• Among the startups that have become famous in recent years, one can name a gadget manufacturer from China - Xiaomi. By setting minimum prices for devices and providing them with decent quality, the company sold 18.7 million units of smartphones last year, and it also has other in-demand electronics in its arsenal. The company's market value is $10 billion. USA with an investment of 507 million.
• As a striking example of a successful startup on the Russian market, we can cite the company "Enter", founded by Maxim Nogotkov. The basis of her activity was the idea of ​​​​creating a project that includes real and online stores. The company includes more than a hundred sales points, operates in 40 Russian cities, you can order goods through the website, a special application on a cell phone, a landline phone, or directly in the store. Today the product range includes more than 35 thousand items.

Startup(from English) start-up- launch) is a company, an Internet project that has an ambitious, innovative idea and a promising product. Basically, a start-up refers to young companies and mobile enterprises with limited resources that have been recently created or are still at the stage of founding and development.

The term startup is used in all areas of activity (or offline), but it is more common in the world wide web (sites) and IT industry. Young companies in an industry such as high technology are usually called hi-tech startup. Startup platforms in the IT field are companies that do not preach aggressive marketing tools and PR methods in the direction of rapid development of the company.

Startup what is it

The concept of startup was first used in Silicon Valley in 1939, two graduates of Stanford University created startup company - Hewlett-Packard, which later became a giant in information technology. Now, every Internet entrepreneur and person who plans to implement their grandiose, new project knows what a startup is.

Venture investments from the USA, Europe and Ukraine with Russia:

Differences between a regular company and a startup:

Investments

The financial foundation for the development of any startup or company is the initial investment - monetary resources. The difference is that in most companies the initial stage of development is overcome not through their own cash savings, but through bank loans, venture capitalists or investors (for example: Sean Parker, Yuri Milner, now Pavel Durov), this is how the advertising company gained enormous momentum Coca Cola. In startups, everything is different; the first investment in the formation of a young project is the cash of the founder or startupper himself.

Speed ​​of launch and development

Basically, the average time to found a company is 5 - 6 months, and if it is a high-tech company - up to one year. The creators of innovative businesses in most cases do not have a large amount of time resources, and therefore preparation, prototype, launch and development happen very quickly.

Innovative idea

At the heart of any startup there must be unique idea, or a tangible innovation (for example: Chupa Chups). The creator of any product, product or service must be a pioneer in his field in order to become a successful startuper or significantly change an existing product. Examples of this approach to business are brands such as: social networks Linkedin and Facebook; video hosting sites YouTube and Vimeo. It is the new and useful that always excites, and high cost is not a hindrance.

Low chance of success

According to statistics, about 70% young startups cease their activities already in the first year of existence, do not yet live to see their second birthday 40% trends. Young ambitious companies are quickly founded, and just as quickly, most of them, in the event of a series of failures, cease their activities.

IPO - public sale

Most of the founders of startup companies, already at the founding of their business project, see their ultimate goal as: IPO, public sale of shares.

The best startups in the world

Wikipedia

• Launched: January 2001
• Creators: Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger
• Type: Internet information encyclopedia
• Audience age: from 10 to 80 years
• Number of users: 85,000 active
• Views per month: 10 billion.

In contact with

The most promising industries for creating startup projects in the next five years:

Successful startup entrepreneur

Sean Parker is a successful startup entrepreneur, a person who notices and gives meaning to much of what the rest of the world perceives as fleeting and not at all important. Sean concentrates all his efforts in breakthrough areas and creates truly useful blockbusters.

Not every entrepreneur can define a startup, what it is, ─ namely, these are new projects that a startup often uses. With the introduction of new technologies, the circulation of this word has become even greater, but it has almost a century of experience, since the times of Hewlett and Packard, who called their own business project that way.

Very often the word is used as a synonym for a breakthrough in some activity. Now many people interpret it differently, as starting a business, but is this correct? Many middle-aged businessmen simply do not understand the meaning of this word, it is necessary to consider this definition.

You can go the simplest way when answering the question of a startup, what is it, turn to the electronic interpreter, Wikipedia, which gives the answer that this concept defines launching something. It is generally accepted that only IT projects are characterized by this concept, but is this correct? High technologies are used in many industries, which means the term is applicable to new projects in these areas.

The reasons why entrepreneurs on the network (Internet project) use the expression more often are::

education for the implementation of planned projects of the new company;

in the IT industry, a startup can be created over a long period of time, this means creating products for up to 3 years, and then introducing it to the market.

When the origin of the definition of Start-Up is considered in English, it is a new company with a unique idea, opened with investor money, with great ambitions and wanting to make a big profit.

Nowadays, many startups can be noted in the medical field, as well as television communications. This definition applies to the beginning of the activities of companies in the financial sector, in organizing the sales and consumption of goods.

Experts characterize this concept as follows ─ an innovative project that has a short development period and is intended for researching ideas or products. The pursued goal is: the fastest possible return on investment and the achievement of the greatest profit.

This definition does not sound unambiguous; it turns out that projects that are not based on innovation can no longer be startups, but is this correct?

A simple definition of a startup

Because of the many interpretations of this concept, the question arises , startup, what is it in simple words, and what does it belong to? The clear difference between a startup and a business is the principle by which money is invested. An investor invests money in an idea that leads to a startup project, and not in the successful production of an entrepreneur.

The well-known founder of a large project, Peter Thiel (financial settlement system Pay Pal), says that these are not ideas, but innovative technologies. Any new technology in the provision of services or the release of new products will ensure the success of the new company and the invested money.

When considering a startup project, we can talk about a monopoly, since this is the only option for the implementation (implementation) of new ideas.

There are five stages of going through a startup, these are:

primary stage (sowing) - seed stage;

starting stage - startup stage;

stage of formation (growth) - growth stage;

expansion stage - expansion stage;

the final stage is exit stage.

In the realities of our reality, all projects are associated with IT technologies, the reason for this is small expenses and a huge market. In simple words, a startup is a new idea supported by an investor to create a company for its implementation.

Successful projects that everyone knows about are:

Electronic interpreter ─ Wikipedia.

Popular YouTube project.

Photo service Flickr.

Well-known messaging service Twitter.

Instagram application.

It is also necessary to emphasize that the definition of a startup in Russia and outside of it (USA) are different. In contrast to our definition, Americans call this an already developed company that fits certain criteria, but produces innovative products or provides services using new technologies.

Features of the startup project

Experts identify six features in understanding a startup, what it is, examples of a successful start in Russia, these are:

The project is based on an original (innovative) idea that solves social issues for many people or its implementation results in a useful product for improving life and other similar conditions.

Speed ​​of idea implementation. By analogy with foreign projects, where a startup that does not bring the expected profit ceases to exist after six months, maximum 8 months, in Russia it can exist for up to three years and smoothly flows into an established business.

Not every project has a chance of success; in a year, out of all projects taken as 100%, about 30% remain, then only 15% remain. It has been noted that 1 project out of 10 proposed meets investors’ expectations.

The task for which a startup is created is to make a profit greater than investment or to implement a project with large exchanges for the development of a startup.

Organization of the team in the project. Usually this is a close-knit team that lives by an idea; they are called startupers.

Who invests in the startup?

In order to understand how a project is financed, you need to understand a startup, what it is, a very correct definition can be obtained from the following quote, this:

“A startup is a group of people who are engaged in a sustainable search for an idea for a business with the possibility of expanding it.”

Steve Blank.

Each project after its creation needs to be developed; it needs external investment. The amount of investment increases as the company grows. The first stage of a startup can be implemented for several thousand dollars, but its growth and expansion can require millions of investments.

Potential investors are:

venture funds that are created to implement innovative ideas;

angel investments (investments), which are necessary at first, are money from familiar business angels received according to a correctly created business plan.

To receive money from a venture fund, a project must have a completed proposal (the final form of a product) that occupies a minimal share in its own niche of entrepreneurial activity. In other words, a project can receive venture capital investments no earlier than the fourth stage of development (expansion stage) - expansion of the project.

At the first stage, you need to look for seed or angel investments in the project; this could be money from friends, parents, or acquaintances.

Comparison of investments is:

Europe and the USA – up to $100 thousand conventional units;

Russia – up to $40 thousand conventional units.

In the first stages, investments are received through business angels, who in exchange receive part of the shares of the new company. When projects grow to the point of receiving venture capital investment, a maximum of 10 percent of the entire mass of startups will remain. For this reason, in the early stages, investors consciously take the risk of losing money, but this does not stop them from investing money in new ideas. Statistics show that they are increasing every year; business needs new projects.

There is a definition of bootstrapping ─ when a novice entrepreneur has not found investment for his original idea and develops a project without additional investments. This involves using the entrepreneur’s own money at the stages of startup development.

Only a project team that has a competent leader with knowledge of the market in which the project is being developed and high-class developers will receive seed investments. In this case, money for the first stages is also provided by a venture fund.

There is an online service called Rusbase that collects proposals from startups for investment. Here you can easily find an investor if you wish, if the idea is truly original, this:

club AlTaClub is a community of voluntary investors who can invest at least $25 thousand in the project;

the Skolkovo angel community has a great potential for investment money, up to $250 million conventional units;

investment community “Smart m oney c lub” can invest from $10 thousand conventional units;

venture store SmartHub, works on the selection of unique startups for declared investors, withdraws 10% of the project requiring investment as a bonus;

a fund for the development of potential investments in Moscow enterprises, the purpose of creation is to support investments provided by private investors to start-up projects.

Investment risks

Every investor who understands a startup, what it is in simple terms, should be prepared to lose money. There is no way to predict the future of the project or possible force majeure conditions. The main risks are:

A high percentage of projects ending without the expected results. It could be:

the products released by the company did not find their consumers;

The company went bankrupt during the development process.

To avoid these risks, investors carefully check the business plan for a startup and choose the best option.

The fact of fraud on the part of a startup who shows an investor a “dummy” cannot be ruled out.

Lack of experience of young businessmen in entrepreneurial activities.

There is no team that is able to “raise” the project, even if it has an original idea.

Successful projects

Examples of successful startup projects include Microsoft and Apple. Having defined a startup project, what it is, we will show examples of their implementation in Russia, these are:

Project in the field of medicine and 3D technologies ─ Zdravprint. The meaning of the idea is to manufacture customized fixators and orthoses for the upper limbs of a person using 3D technologies. The initial parameters of the project are:

the project was founded in the spring of 2014;

has venture financing - $100 thousand conventional units;

The goal of the project is the rehabilitation of patients after injuries using an effective method;

affordable cost of the resulting products – 3.5 thousand rubles;

The color and pattern are selected individually.

The startup HaptonCreek produces egg-free mayonnaise, a product that is more suitable for vegetarians. For this reason, it is very difficult to find investors for special products, but they appeared, and this is how dietary mayonnaise came out, which won a stable demand for its consumption among millions of people (health food lovers). The initial parameters are:

approximately $143 million in several investments;

gaining recognition and big profits within 1.5 years.

Aerogreen project, founded in 2008, initial parameters:

creation of innovative turbines powered by wind;

initial investment in the project is $24 million conventional units;

in 2015, about 70% of the company’s shares were purchased by Svyaz Engineering Corporation;

development of alternative, efficient energy in Russia.

What benefits does the investor receive?

From the very definition of a startup project, it follows that an investor who has successfully invested money in the development of a business idea receives maximum profit if the project is successfully implemented. With the money invested, the investor takes a share of shares from the company, which he can always sell to a larger company.

The direct benefit of the startup leader is that he gets the opportunity to realize his original idea.

The Russian government does not stand aside either, which has developed a proposal for financing innovative projects.

Online platforms realize faster demand for projects and search for investors. When a businessman does not want to invest in a project personally, he can attract a venture agent, this is an intermediary in the startuper-investor link. In this case, the decision on the project is made by the agent, usually these are people with extensive experience in various fields of industry and economics.

In this case, the investor receives the following advantages::

do not engage in monotonous, ordinary things, but trust the specialists;

The initial investment fee is usually small, it grows as the company develops;

the agent is hired by investors who are not professional sponsors of innovative ideas.

The disadvantages of hiring agents are:

the venture agent charges 25% of the investor's profit;

there remains a high risk of irrevocable investments.

When an investor joins a startup angel club, he can count on benefits such as::

full control of cash investments;

profit goes to the investor without commission fees, directly;

The club provides an opportunity to invest small amounts of money in a new business.

There can be only one disadvantage of being a member of the investor community; profits come from investments through long time.

Startups attract investors by the speed of organization of the company, the dedicated work of the team to solve the problem and obtain results.

Investors should always evaluate the risks of their investments. A well-thought-out and correctly drawn up business plan provides more opportunities to find investment angels among businessmen. A startup should always have an original idea at its core, and a team gathers around it, ready to make every effort to implement it. Your own website is, in some way, an example of a startup, based on an original idea for offering services or products.