Interview with Albina Almukhametova: “The world can not pull, but Russia would be cool!”
The admissions committee is slowly but surely completing its active stage of work this year, and very soon Kazan University will open its doors to new students, who will have an unforgettable 4 years in their lives. However, among the newly minted students there are those who were able to assert themselves and reach considerable heights while still a schoolboy. One of those can be called Albina Almukhametova, who is the head of one of the start-up projects, who in December 2012 became a resident of the Business Incubator of Kazan IT Park. Most recently, Albina joined the ranks of the students of the ITIS KFU High School, having received a grant from the IT park, and it was with her that we decided to talk on the eve of the new school year.
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Albina, please tell us about your project. How did it all start and how did you get into the business incubator?
It all started at the end of September 2012. I saw on the girlfriend's page an announcement about the recruitment for a shift in the IT-Jump. The ad was written that it is desirable to come with the teams and developments. I called them, clarified that I could recruit a team from different schools, and wrote on my page that I was looking for companions. Two people responded: Timur, now our financial director, and Camille - the designer. We decided to think what we will do. I then had some groundwork on the social network, like Twitter, and somehow accidentally came up with the idea of Modern Café (then the project was also called that) - a service for pre-order. In the shift, we found two more developers and wrote a very rough prototype. IT-Jump ended with a festival of projects in two rounds. At the first one, at Baitik, we showed the best practices to Renat Zakiyev, who is the Lead Project Manager at the Business Incubator, at the second we spoke at the IT park and we, as one of the winners, were offered to apply for selection at the Kazan Business Incubator. Then there were two more months of development together with IT-Jump experts, the December shift, during which we almost did not get out of the room and then the selection. Probably, I will never forget this: making the last amendments on the server a few minutes before the performance, almost a sleepless night before the second day, a feeling that everything that was done at night is useless and, of course, invaluable help and support from the entire IT Jump 'but.
As far as we know, beta testing of Cafe4me took place in IT-caf on Monday. How successful was it?
Well, it's too early to talk about success, after all, just a day has passed. In numbers: out of 10 invitations we received 4 registered users. I think this is due to the fact that most residents prefer other cafes in the area, or maybe they were just busy. Let's wait a couple more days, and there we will draw conclusions.
Last Saturday you took part in an expert session on the evaluation of start-ups “Russian Startup Rating”. What are your feelings about performing on the RSR compared to the pitches that are held inside the incubator?
I can’t get used to performing in any way, every time it seems that they will “kill me” (laughs). In general, there’s really nothing to compare with, I don’t want to “shine” the project until they are launched. Now, when the launch took place, we will try to speak more often, because we need to know about us. The speech at the RSR was pleasantly surprised in terms of useful criticism and new contacts: they criticized, gave useful advice, offered help. On the internal pitches, alas, the reviews turned into controversy, and as a result I remembered much less there than with the RSR. But in general, that in the Business Incubator, that the RSR is very open and good people, always ready to help, which is good news.
What are your future plans for Cafe4me?
Grab the world! Well, okay, just kidding ... The world can not be pulled, there are competitors there, but Russia would be cool. After a week or two, how we will run Caf4me with the residents of the Business Incubator, we will launch the project for the entire IT park and have a couple of cool pieces, which are still a secret. And then we will begin to communicate with the leaders of other cafes, we will start with small ones, then we will try to enter larger networks. Now Internet technologies, simplifying life, are increasingly taking over the world. I would like Cafe4me to become a convenient service that all residents of Russia would gladly use.
Are there any ideas for new startup projects?
Of course there is, and of course they are under lock and key. Who knows, maybe in a couple of years everyone will hear about our new projects.
Why did you choose ITIS and how did you find out about the faculty itself?
A class from 8, as soon as computer science lessons began, was carried away by programming. And somewhere in the 10th grade, acquaintances told about ITIS, some of them are studying here now. I like ITIS, I like what's going on here, the way he serves himself. Here is what I saw for myself: a focus on practice, the selection of the best teachers, an incentive to work, an openness to everyone and a desire to help. I hope I'm right in my expectations.
What are your expectations about studying at ITIS? Already chose for yourself, which of the laboratories would you like to go to?
It seems to me that student life will not be without adventures and difficulties. You have to combine studies and work, and the competition for grants will be serious. As for laboratories, for the time being I choose between two: Bars-groups and Microsoft. I hope for a year to decide.
Are you looking forward to the new school year?
Of course! Already managed to get acquainted with the guys, even a group with them almost scored. They are all so wonderful. I look forward to when everyone will come. And summer is already pretty fed up. Of course, there is a lot of work, but you still want something else ... Rather, the lessons ....
')
Albina, please tell us about your project. How did it all start and how did you get into the business incubator?
It all started at the end of September 2012. I saw on the girlfriend's page an announcement about the recruitment for a shift in the IT-Jump. The ad was written that it is desirable to come with the teams and developments. I called them, clarified that I could recruit a team from different schools, and wrote on my page that I was looking for companions. Two people responded: Timur, now our financial director, and Camille - the designer. We decided to think what we will do. I then had some groundwork on the social network, like Twitter, and somehow accidentally came up with the idea of Modern Café (then the project was also called that) - a service for pre-order. In the shift, we found two more developers and wrote a very rough prototype. IT-Jump ended with a festival of projects in two rounds. At the first one, at Baitik, we showed the best practices to Renat Zakiyev, who is the Lead Project Manager at the Business Incubator, at the second we spoke at the IT park and we, as one of the winners, were offered to apply for selection at the Kazan Business Incubator. Then there were two more months of development together with IT-Jump experts, the December shift, during which we almost did not get out of the room and then the selection. Probably, I will never forget this: making the last amendments on the server a few minutes before the performance, almost a sleepless night before the second day, a feeling that everything that was done at night is useless and, of course, invaluable help and support from the entire IT Jump 'but.
As far as we know, beta testing of Cafe4me took place in IT-caf on Monday. How successful was it?
Well, it's too early to talk about success, after all, just a day has passed. In numbers: out of 10 invitations we received 4 registered users. I think this is due to the fact that most residents prefer other cafes in the area, or maybe they were just busy. Let's wait a couple more days, and there we will draw conclusions.
Last Saturday you took part in an expert session on the evaluation of start-ups “Russian Startup Rating”. What are your feelings about performing on the RSR compared to the pitches that are held inside the incubator?
I can’t get used to performing in any way, every time it seems that they will “kill me” (laughs). In general, there’s really nothing to compare with, I don’t want to “shine” the project until they are launched. Now, when the launch took place, we will try to speak more often, because we need to know about us. The speech at the RSR was pleasantly surprised in terms of useful criticism and new contacts: they criticized, gave useful advice, offered help. On the internal pitches, alas, the reviews turned into controversy, and as a result I remembered much less there than with the RSR. But in general, that in the Business Incubator, that the RSR is very open and good people, always ready to help, which is good news.
What are your future plans for Cafe4me?
Grab the world! Well, okay, just kidding ... The world can not be pulled, there are competitors there, but Russia would be cool. After a week or two, how we will run Caf4me with the residents of the Business Incubator, we will launch the project for the entire IT park and have a couple of cool pieces, which are still a secret. And then we will begin to communicate with the leaders of other cafes, we will start with small ones, then we will try to enter larger networks. Now Internet technologies, simplifying life, are increasingly taking over the world. I would like Cafe4me to become a convenient service that all residents of Russia would gladly use.
Are there any ideas for new startup projects?
Of course there is, and of course they are under lock and key. Who knows, maybe in a couple of years everyone will hear about our new projects.
Why did you choose ITIS and how did you find out about the faculty itself?
A class from 8, as soon as computer science lessons began, was carried away by programming. And somewhere in the 10th grade, acquaintances told about ITIS, some of them are studying here now. I like ITIS, I like what's going on here, the way he serves himself. Here is what I saw for myself: a focus on practice, the selection of the best teachers, an incentive to work, an openness to everyone and a desire to help. I hope I'm right in my expectations.
What are your expectations about studying at ITIS? Already chose for yourself, which of the laboratories would you like to go to?
It seems to me that student life will not be without adventures and difficulties. You have to combine studies and work, and the competition for grants will be serious. As for laboratories, for the time being I choose between two: Bars-groups and Microsoft. I hope for a year to decide.
Are you looking forward to the new school year?
Of course! Already managed to get acquainted with the guys, even a group with them almost scored. They are all so wonderful. I look forward to when everyone will come. And summer is already pretty fed up. Of course, there is a lot of work, but you still want something else ... Rather, the lessons ....
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/190076/
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