Founder's advice. Rustam Salavatov, founder of LIFE.FILM

Come up with something special, do not dwell on the everyday

We ourselves have an interesting and complex topic - automatic video editing. The theme of the project is related to image recognition (machine vision) and machine learning.

If you recall the popular business folklore, then, like Ferdinand Porsche, I just could not find a tool on the market that would satisfy my needs. And then there is the matter of technology. The basis of the service lay down the principles drawn from personal experience of video editing.

Not sure where to start? Start with an idea, and like-minded people will catch up

In my opinion, the idea is always primary. If the idea is bright and the founder believes in it, a team automatically begins to form around it. People want to participate, they are interested.

I studied at the director of short films at the Bulat Yusupov Film School in Ufa. In this format, films are shot almost without a budget, due to the efforts of the assembled team of enthusiasts. The director himself works on the script and storyboard, often alone. At the same time, he visualizes the film in the head and on paper, selects the characters and their relationships. He chooses the main theme and music himself.

Next, the team is already needed - you need to find a film operator (SRT), production designer (Designer), lighting agents, actors, editors, etc.
With startups, it seems to me, everything is exactly the same.

Create a favorable aura around your idea and act

At first I thought that everything would be very difficult ... and I wanted to evaluate the general possibility of implementing my idea. Having a little studied the topic, I decided to act and, knowing myself, decided that help would not be superfluous, and indeed it would be better to act if you trust someone.

Started in Ufa with the GlobalStartup accelerator. There, the guys helped focus on the goals and strengthen the faith. Yes, the main thing to start. Do not plan, meditate or in any way time to delay. Start acting, and it is always difficult! But after the movement began, it becomes easier.

Then everything went well, if so at all can be expressed in such a context. I found a programmer in partnership - Renald Gubaidullin. We did the initial MVP, and in the fall we decided to go to the IT park in Naberezhnye Chelny.

Arriving from Sterlitamak, they almost immediately got to the pitch, where they received an investment proposal from Alexey Karlov. Our project was to our taste, and we, without hesitation, agreed to the proposal. It is better to try and regret than to miss the opportunity.

At the moment, more and more guys are appearing in the team, aspiring to participate in an interesting project. All of us are driven by something more than the desire to earn.

Pay attention to technology parks and business incubators

Technoparks today are not uncommon. Appealing to them has a lot of benefits and positive points. First, they are designed to attract "brains" and develop the industry in certain regions and in the country as a whole. Many of them are funded by the state, both at the federal and regional levels. Incubator is a good place to check yourself and start acting. Here you can find like-minded people and realize your ideas. Many of my friends generated great ideas in batches, but did not begin to develop any of them, explaining their inaction for a variety of reasons, often contrived.

The second positive thing about working in a technopark will be the complexity and low cost of the resources provided.

Here, for example, our IT park in Naberezhnye Chelny.
- Work : office "cube" for 3 workplaces, work computers, peripherals, IP-telephony, services of an accountant and a lawyer - 3000 rubles per month.
- Housing : IT-house for residents of a technopark 10 minutes walk. Rent one-room apartment - 7000 rubles, two-room apartment - 9000 rubles per month.

FRIA, Startup Sabantuy and the Russian Startup Tour from Skolkovo are also actively working with the regions.

It is even more profitable to work in the region at the idea stage and MVP. If you have minimal experience.

Find your closest competitor and do better

Our service is most similar to magisto . According to the model of monetization, we and they have freemium . However, the free quality of LIFE.FILM is better (they have a resolution of 568x320 and a bitrate of 1000 kb / s, we have a quality of 854x480p and a bitrate of 2000 kb / s). Also, our service has the ability to download even on a free account, an important format for professionals HD1080 and branding video and channel.

Do not forget why you are here

Our topic is complex and many showed and show skepticism, especially when there was no product as such. Now the most difficult thing to find an explosive way to grow.

Do not relax and do not forget that the initial investment is not the goal. The money that was given for the development of the company is not your salary.

There are many teams in our incubator, and not everyone has the initial investment, which does not prevent them from working productively. Although it also happened that the teams receiving the funding left without developing into something decent.

In our country, people often think that once they have received primary funding - everything, you can sit on the priest exactly - life is a success. Do not indulge in such a delusion.