Russian look at Tech Peaks: how to get the opportunity to run your startup in Trento

If you are interested in the news of the world of startups, you may have heard that this year the Italian authorities launched the Tech Peaks accelerator in the alpine town of Trento, which aims to grow talents on Italian soil. Talents, of course, in the field of technological and communication projects. The goal of the Italians is simple and uncomplicated: to create in Trento something like their own silicone valley. To do this, they are looking for and inviting people all over the world, offering them a grant to launch their own projects, free accommodation, food, a pocket money scholarship. Now the program has announced the Eastern European appeal, waiting for people from Eastern Europe, from Russia and from the Balkans. Unlike conventional business accelerators, the focus of the project is on people, from talent to team, from team to startup.

Tech Peaks participants will be able to work as part of international teams, get expertise from world-class mentors, assess their capabilities in the European business environment and, finally, receive grants to launch their projects. For hundreds of lucky people from Russia and Eastern Europe, this will be an opportunity to make a real breakthrough to a new level. We are still accepting applications, so I asked Russian project curator Daria Batukhtina (habraiser darena ) a few questions: is it possible to get into Tech Peaks, what are the pitfalls and who needs all this.

- Hello. Tell me, please, whose initiative is it? What is the idea of ​​the project?
- Tech Peaks as a whole is an initiative of the Trento region, one of the most technologically advanced in Europe. And its main idea is to open access to the European and global market for ICT entrepreneurs from Eastern Europe. The founders of the program are the organization Trento RISE, whose task is to do everything possible to turn the Trento region into an innovative and comfortable environment for business and investors, as well as the FBK Information Technology Center, which brings together more than 350 graduate students and research doctors from around of the world.
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The Tech Peaks program works in close partnership with EIT Labs (European Institute for Innovation and Technology) - the largest professional community, organized according to the principle of innovation clusters in leading EU cities, under the leadership of the European Commission. They are the ones who promote the idea of ​​the city as an integrated laboratory for testing prototypes and business ideas in reality.



- The obvious question is: who benefits? Is this some kind of business incubator? What are the authors of the project counting on?
- The main goal of the organizers of the program is to increase the interest of the local Italian community in entrepreneurship, through integration with international experience and knowledge. Trento due to the program Tech Peaks and other activities should become a center of innovation, a laboratory for their testing. For this, the program participants are created all the comfortable conditions ...

- So what do they get?
- First, a six-month visa to Italy. Secondly, free accommodation during the whole program, as well as a comfortable place to work, covering food and pocket money in the amount of 500 euros per person per month. Also, a grant is provided for the development of the project from Tech Peaks, and you do not give a share in your startup for this money. On the contrary, they will even help you to open a company in Italy to launch a further global business.

- When does the program start and how long will it take?
- The selection is already underway ... The submission of applications ends on April 5, so if you want to try and get international experience - it's time to make a decision! To apply you need to fill out a form on Tech Peaks and send a link to your three-minute video where you tell why you decided to apply for the program and why you are the best candidate.

- Do you have to apply in English? What are the selection criteria?
Yes of course. Since this is an international project, and the competition commission is also mainly from foreigners. For an IT specialist and programmer, it is best to show what tasks he solved and how successfully he did before. We all understand that a portfolio can consist of both successful and non-successful projects, the main thing is to make the commission aware that you can think “out of the box” and you have a real passion for entrepreneurship. For designers, an important element is understanding their own role as an “agent of influence”, because these very people in a startup help visualize the accumulated experience of potential clients / users. Well, for managers, business developers, the selection criterion is proactivity and the ability to get the necessary data from the market, from users again and again ... For it is not scary to try and fail with a business idea. It's terrible if you give up. So these candidates will learn leadership and curiosity skills, perseverance and flexibility at the same time.

- Who is a member of the commission?
- The commission includes experts of international level in the field of technology, design, HR, as well as serial entrepreneurs who have a well-developed scent on “the next big thing”. Their names will be available on Tech Peaks soon.

- How many people will be selected? From Russia and in general?
“A total of 100 people from Eastern Europe and Russia will be selected. Yes, I know that this is a very tough selection, but the opportunities that the Tech Peaks program provides are unique, as participants are given everything for comfortable creativity and work now - office, housing, food, pocket money, infrastructure and mentoring. They will take it later, when something will come out of this “sowing”, a team or a startup ... Today in Europe this is a completely new initiative. And if you think and decide that you are ready for half a year to plunge into a completely unpredictable environment of international entrepreneurship and absorb, study, try to create a startup, then submit an application! If not, then it is better not to take this opportunity away from someone else more determined and ready for change and personal development.

- What happens after arriving in Italy?
- The adaptation process begins. The first ten days, of course, will be the meeting of participants in different networking formats: StartUp Weekend, Lean Start-UP Machine, Teambuilding, etc. Since teamwork is always based on common interests and sympathy, we want the early days to be as creative as possible and the participants constantly change in teams when performing some tasks.

Then there comes a period of ideas and presentations, when for about a month and a half the newly appeared teams will present their projects to the jury. And if the jury of mentors and experts decide that the idea can live and develop, the team receives a grant of 25 thousand euros without returning a share in a startup. Since the grant is state-owned, teams will need to create a company in Italy, with which the organizers of the Tech Peaks program will help them.
And then the workflow begins, the three remaining months, the team prepares the product for release. And in late November, provide the result of their work on Demo Day.
Therefore, the Tech Peaks program is unique in that it takes participants through several stages: team building, idea creation and testing in practice, presentation, development and evaluation. All in real time. And even if for some reason you don’t get a startup, you will get a unique entrepreneurial experience, relevant connections in an international startup ecosystem, and most likely change your vision and thinking ...

- Suppose our candidate has a job here, clients. What if he can't quit at all?
- Nobody demands that you throw and burn bridges, it depends on your desire. You can reduce the number of orders from Russia to the minimum, so that you have enough time, both to participate in the activities of the program, and work on a startup. But in any case, you will agree, you obviously will not be able to do both of them at the same time equally well. The Tech Peaks program provides participants with everything they need for 6 months, so you should probably concentrate to get the most out of it and the results from participating in it, if you are lucky and you have passed the selection ...

- How free will a participant be in choosing lectures, meetings, events to attend?
- In the first couple of months, participation in events is practically obligatory, as this is a good chance to find out what is happening in the world and get the first impetus to the development or refinement of a business idea. You know, I very often heard from startups that staying in such an environment gives them much more food for thinking than years of working on a project ... So, draw conclusions - is it worth it to participate or not if you have already fallen into such an international atmosphere.

In the third month of the program, a phase of active work begins, when the focus is on product development. There will be fewer activities and more planning, teamwork. And last month there will be preparation for the presentation and presentation at the global Demo Day in Europe.

- Are any specific tasks, deadlines set for the participant? Can they "deduct"?
- Good question. And why is it necessary to have some kind of whip in order to achieve goals or solve problems? I think that every Tech Peaks member should have his own internal discipline that motivates him to get maximum results from the process. The control of working time is in the hands of entrepreneurs, no one will “deduct” them into the league of losers until they themselves give up and stop searching, studying, trying!

This is not a vacation in the Alps, this is work, and if you need something for it, you need to talk and quickly resolve issues so that the resources and time invested by both parties are justified.

- Who will be the mentors? What support, besides organizational, is provided?
- Mentors are practicing professionals who have experience in creating successful businesses and investing. Among them is the creator of the famous Lean Start-Up Machine methodology, the author of the eponymous bestseller - Trevor Ounes, the founder of Happify - Andy Parsons, the founder of Bitly - Peter Stern, the veteran of Yahoo - Marvin Liao, the founder of UberVU - Vladimir Oane, the guru of Ruby on Rails - Obi Fernandez and many others. There is also a mentor from Russia - I think, many well-known Arkady Moreinis. This list is constantly updated ... Their main task will be to share insights and vision of the global market with participants, as well as to help start-ups develop on a daily basis. The list of mentors is constantly expanding, you can also offer your candidacy - and we will try to find a way to convince a person and somehow involve him in this story (: Plus, experts from partners are invited who can share their accumulated experience and connections with an international startup environment .



- If the participant failed to get a grant, what are his next steps?
- Yes, the main goal of the program is to help and stimulate "the conversion of talent into the founders of startups." Therefore, if a participant could not prove the vitality of his own idea for the first time, he can try again by making a pivot or changing the strategy. During the program there will be several Pitch Sessions when you can get a grant. He can also join other teams and startups. Or, to come up with something new at all, as the program will constantly take Inspiring Days with the participation of professionals from various industries who will share their vision about challenges in Europe and market insights.

- If a grant is received, how should you report for it?
- Yes, there should be a report, but exactly so that the organizers understand that the money was really spent on business development, and not on the purchase of real estate or anything else irrelevant. This will be the usual company bookkeeping that a startup will need to open in Italy after receiving a grant.

- If a potential participant already has a team, can they go together?
- Yes, both individual specialists and teams are accepted for participation in the Tech Peaks program. Only for the latter, it is necessary to show joint work experience, distributed roles in a team and talk about the idea, and it is better to show a prototype or something resembling it in order to understand what is at stake.

From the author:

the selection of one hundred people from all over Eastern Europe looks like a rather tempting offer. Only from Russia can go a few dozen (that's how the jury decides) a person that, I think, looks like a chance worthy of trying.