Instructions for the embodiment
Useful article in the magazine "Money" about "Is it possible to create a universal recipe for extracting money from ideas?". Especially useful as information for reflection to those who, as they say, take up the matter, to understand how much and on what services you can get for it.
The full version is available here .
Most smart people with ideas are sure that nothing can be done without money. But before you go to the bank for a loan or look for money according to the standard “three F” scheme (Fools, Friends, Family - fools, friends, family), you need to think carefully. At this stage, the rule works: if you can move the project without borrowed funds, do not take money. When the product is implemented at least in a primitive form, you can attract investors on more favorable terms, giving a smaller share. Sketches of reality shows can be filmed on a regular phone camera. To create the first version of the portal, you can attract friends programmers. Initially, it is not necessary to make the whole product, the main thing is to check the concept in order to understand whether the idea is in demand by the market.
')
At a very early stage, you need to think about who and how the product can be sold in the future, who your target audience is, what access it has, and most importantly, how to convey to it that the product solves its immediate problem. “Often people come up with ideas, not understanding who will buy their product,” explains Yukhin. “For example, they say: our idea is for the medical equipment market. In fact, the development can only be used as an addition to medical devices. We cannot evaluate the potential market as the entire market for medical equipment, because consumers are the manufacturers of these devices, and not distributors or clinics. ”
Well, if the team has a professional marketer who will not allow to make a mistake when planning.
Estimate how much mass production or full realization of your idea will cost. There is no need to calculate up to a tenth. Experienced managers know that it is impossible to fit into the exact amount, there are always unforeseen expenses. It is necessary to calculate the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. Examine competitors' offers, find at least three advantages in your project.
The next stage is a start-up, when there is a team, a prototype, a proven concept and a thought-out plan for promotion. To make the project a “shot,” serious money is often needed. Prior to this, many people manage to combine other work and development of the project, but now they will have to leave only one lesson. To receive a salary in your favorite startup you need investors.
They can be all the same "three F" - fools, friends, family. But financial participation can ruin personal warm relations with loved ones. In addition, there is a risk to be refused further funding if you quarrel with relatives. The main mistake here is the neglect of the official contract. It is necessary and important to conclude, although this can be a painful moment.
The next category of investors is business angels (BA). These are people who prefer to invest excess cash in small startups. The most direct route to BA is through associations. The two main ones in Russia are the SBAR and “Private Capital”. Such companies conduct regular presentations of selected projects in front of business angels.
“We help prepare the project and attract investors, for which we receive a commission in the event of a successful transaction, occasionally we participate in the management of the project for a stake in the company,” says Dmitry Knyaginin, managing partner of the national network of BA Private Capital. There are 5-6 networks of business angels in Russia, a lot of individual investors. With the ability of such people can be found even in "My Circle."
More recently, most investors focused primarily on the dynamics of the planned growth of the company's capitalization, paying less attention to the dynamics of profit growth, but with the advent of the crisis, everything changed. Now, a project that cannot show exactly how it will earn money and who exactly will be willing to pay, has practically no chance to receive investments.
An interesting service that was invented by the developers of E-Generator: B-generator. This is the easiest and least risky way to attract money to a project. The site publishes a description of the idea with a business plan and shares are sold to everyone. The disadvantage of this method of attracting investment is a very long time, because the site is not yet promoted. There are also intermediary companies, for example, the Royber Production Center and the Republic of Ideas. They produce the primary screening of projects, select promising ones, help draw up a business plan, prepare an offer to the investor, and then offer these ideas to those who may be interested. But through such intermediaries, money is rarely found.
For financing, it is much more correct to go to those who have their own money at their disposal, for example, in funds. Funds with state participation and without - a plentiful source of venture money. One of the founders of the private fund of Almaz Capital Partners, which appeared in September of this year, is Alexander Galitsky. There are other investors: AddVenture, Oradell, InVenture. They are easy to find on the Internet and apply for funding directly through the site.
“The scheme of a wealthy business project contains five components: an idea, a team, money, timeliness and good luck, which is not forecasted at all,” explains Maxim Spiridonov, head of the Royber production center. “The sum of the components should be 100%. To reduce the luck factor to a minimum, you need to maximize all other components. ”
According to Elena Masolova, the founder of AddVenture, her foundation invests $ 10-50 thousand and invests in startups at an early stage. The AddVenture portfolio now has six projects that have received investments. Colleagues from InVenture invested in five ideas. Of course, screening is very serious. Elena Masolova says she had to look at 700 applications before interesting ideas were found to finance.
As a rule, in such companies there are people who have a successful business and start-up experience. And in government, on the contrary, one can often see officials without any business experience. And they finance industry projects from $ 1 million.
“In most cases,” says Parallels CEO Sergey Belousov, “venture funds (WF) prefer to own a share of more than 20% in order to get a reasonable return of funds for their investments. 20% of $ 50 million is already a decent amount. Working with a startup is a big expense, in particular for due diligence. ” Belousov recommends that when concluding an agreement with the VF, carefully examine all the conditions: they are not limited to interest on return. Various blocking conditions are agreed upon - from holding an IPO to signing exclusive distribution contracts. You can give 20% of the business, but in fact they will be equivalent to 50%.
Another way to make money on an idea is to go to a company that specializes in producing similar products. With large corporations there are often investment units, but there is a very high risk of losing the idea. Fear of the theft of intellectual property (IP) is the strongest barrier facing the entrepreneur.
“Often developers come to investors with the fear that their idea will be stolen. At the negotiations, they act as partisans during interrogation, says Natalia Kurakova, head of the MIRBIS innovative project management training program (qualified investor at the Maxwell Biotech VF). “Because of this, we cannot preliminarily assess the quality of the idea, and further work is impossible. I, as an investor, are not interested in the know-how itself. I need to know only the composition of the IP. For this, a table with a comparison of the functional and cost parameters of the proposed device with analogues present in the market, as well as a story about how this invention improves consumer properties of the product or save on production, is sufficient. ”
According to Ms. Kurakova, interaction with investors is always a risk. There can be no 100% guarantee of protection. Therefore, she advises innovators not to look for ready-made solutions to prevent information leakage, but to invent equally creative ways of limiting its dissemination. “An investor always faces a dilemma: to assemble a new creative team to implement an idea or use an existing one,” she says. “It would be reasonable for the author of an idea to demonstrate willingness for teamwork. After all, irreproducible ideas do not exist. ” True, investors who come to the market seriously and for a long time will not risk their reputation. After all, this market is very narrow, and having done this once, then the investor will not see applicants with new projects.
Another way to draw attention to the idea is to participate in contests and communicate with the media. In most competitions, however, in addition to the honorary title of the winner, it is impossible to get something more tangible. But this is a good argument for your project when meeting with an investor. Participation in TV programs where businessmen evaluate ideas can also help in the future.
A well-known businessman and writer Robert Kiyosaki in his book “Before Starting a Business,” states that the main difference between entrepreneurs and ordinary people is the ability to work for a long time without receiving money for it.
“A startup is an eternal shortage of money, a constant struggle between the R & D process (research and development) and the need to urgently start selling a product,” says Yukhin. “Startups are a special caste of people. There is even a joke about them. In one company, an employee, Ivanov, suddenly began to go home at exactly six in the evening. One day, second, third. And then the colleagues could not stand it, were indignant: “How can you leave so early when everyone is sitting until night?” “Ivanov replies:“ Guys, have you got my vacation “.
At the same time, marketing guru Garrett Johnston is sure that soon everyone will have to awaken the qualities of an entrepreneur, and, paradoxically, anyone can do it.
The full version is available here .
Most smart people with ideas are sure that nothing can be done without money. But before you go to the bank for a loan or look for money according to the standard “three F” scheme (Fools, Friends, Family - fools, friends, family), you need to think carefully. At this stage, the rule works: if you can move the project without borrowed funds, do not take money. When the product is implemented at least in a primitive form, you can attract investors on more favorable terms, giving a smaller share. Sketches of reality shows can be filmed on a regular phone camera. To create the first version of the portal, you can attract friends programmers. Initially, it is not necessary to make the whole product, the main thing is to check the concept in order to understand whether the idea is in demand by the market.
')
At a very early stage, you need to think about who and how the product can be sold in the future, who your target audience is, what access it has, and most importantly, how to convey to it that the product solves its immediate problem. “Often people come up with ideas, not understanding who will buy their product,” explains Yukhin. “For example, they say: our idea is for the medical equipment market. In fact, the development can only be used as an addition to medical devices. We cannot evaluate the potential market as the entire market for medical equipment, because consumers are the manufacturers of these devices, and not distributors or clinics. ”
Well, if the team has a professional marketer who will not allow to make a mistake when planning.
Estimate how much mass production or full realization of your idea will cost. There is no need to calculate up to a tenth. Experienced managers know that it is impossible to fit into the exact amount, there are always unforeseen expenses. It is necessary to calculate the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. Examine competitors' offers, find at least three advantages in your project.
The next stage is a start-up, when there is a team, a prototype, a proven concept and a thought-out plan for promotion. To make the project a “shot,” serious money is often needed. Prior to this, many people manage to combine other work and development of the project, but now they will have to leave only one lesson. To receive a salary in your favorite startup you need investors.
They can be all the same "three F" - fools, friends, family. But financial participation can ruin personal warm relations with loved ones. In addition, there is a risk to be refused further funding if you quarrel with relatives. The main mistake here is the neglect of the official contract. It is necessary and important to conclude, although this can be a painful moment.
The next category of investors is business angels (BA). These are people who prefer to invest excess cash in small startups. The most direct route to BA is through associations. The two main ones in Russia are the SBAR and “Private Capital”. Such companies conduct regular presentations of selected projects in front of business angels.
“We help prepare the project and attract investors, for which we receive a commission in the event of a successful transaction, occasionally we participate in the management of the project for a stake in the company,” says Dmitry Knyaginin, managing partner of the national network of BA Private Capital. There are 5-6 networks of business angels in Russia, a lot of individual investors. With the ability of such people can be found even in "My Circle."
More recently, most investors focused primarily on the dynamics of the planned growth of the company's capitalization, paying less attention to the dynamics of profit growth, but with the advent of the crisis, everything changed. Now, a project that cannot show exactly how it will earn money and who exactly will be willing to pay, has practically no chance to receive investments.
An interesting service that was invented by the developers of E-Generator: B-generator. This is the easiest and least risky way to attract money to a project. The site publishes a description of the idea with a business plan and shares are sold to everyone. The disadvantage of this method of attracting investment is a very long time, because the site is not yet promoted. There are also intermediary companies, for example, the Royber Production Center and the Republic of Ideas. They produce the primary screening of projects, select promising ones, help draw up a business plan, prepare an offer to the investor, and then offer these ideas to those who may be interested. But through such intermediaries, money is rarely found.
For financing, it is much more correct to go to those who have their own money at their disposal, for example, in funds. Funds with state participation and without - a plentiful source of venture money. One of the founders of the private fund of Almaz Capital Partners, which appeared in September of this year, is Alexander Galitsky. There are other investors: AddVenture, Oradell, InVenture. They are easy to find on the Internet and apply for funding directly through the site.
“The scheme of a wealthy business project contains five components: an idea, a team, money, timeliness and good luck, which is not forecasted at all,” explains Maxim Spiridonov, head of the Royber production center. “The sum of the components should be 100%. To reduce the luck factor to a minimum, you need to maximize all other components. ”
According to Elena Masolova, the founder of AddVenture, her foundation invests $ 10-50 thousand and invests in startups at an early stage. The AddVenture portfolio now has six projects that have received investments. Colleagues from InVenture invested in five ideas. Of course, screening is very serious. Elena Masolova says she had to look at 700 applications before interesting ideas were found to finance.
As a rule, in such companies there are people who have a successful business and start-up experience. And in government, on the contrary, one can often see officials without any business experience. And they finance industry projects from $ 1 million.
“In most cases,” says Parallels CEO Sergey Belousov, “venture funds (WF) prefer to own a share of more than 20% in order to get a reasonable return of funds for their investments. 20% of $ 50 million is already a decent amount. Working with a startup is a big expense, in particular for due diligence. ” Belousov recommends that when concluding an agreement with the VF, carefully examine all the conditions: they are not limited to interest on return. Various blocking conditions are agreed upon - from holding an IPO to signing exclusive distribution contracts. You can give 20% of the business, but in fact they will be equivalent to 50%.
Another way to make money on an idea is to go to a company that specializes in producing similar products. With large corporations there are often investment units, but there is a very high risk of losing the idea. Fear of the theft of intellectual property (IP) is the strongest barrier facing the entrepreneur.
“Often developers come to investors with the fear that their idea will be stolen. At the negotiations, they act as partisans during interrogation, says Natalia Kurakova, head of the MIRBIS innovative project management training program (qualified investor at the Maxwell Biotech VF). “Because of this, we cannot preliminarily assess the quality of the idea, and further work is impossible. I, as an investor, are not interested in the know-how itself. I need to know only the composition of the IP. For this, a table with a comparison of the functional and cost parameters of the proposed device with analogues present in the market, as well as a story about how this invention improves consumer properties of the product or save on production, is sufficient. ”
According to Ms. Kurakova, interaction with investors is always a risk. There can be no 100% guarantee of protection. Therefore, she advises innovators not to look for ready-made solutions to prevent information leakage, but to invent equally creative ways of limiting its dissemination. “An investor always faces a dilemma: to assemble a new creative team to implement an idea or use an existing one,” she says. “It would be reasonable for the author of an idea to demonstrate willingness for teamwork. After all, irreproducible ideas do not exist. ” True, investors who come to the market seriously and for a long time will not risk their reputation. After all, this market is very narrow, and having done this once, then the investor will not see applicants with new projects.
Another way to draw attention to the idea is to participate in contests and communicate with the media. In most competitions, however, in addition to the honorary title of the winner, it is impossible to get something more tangible. But this is a good argument for your project when meeting with an investor. Participation in TV programs where businessmen evaluate ideas can also help in the future.
A well-known businessman and writer Robert Kiyosaki in his book “Before Starting a Business,” states that the main difference between entrepreneurs and ordinary people is the ability to work for a long time without receiving money for it.
“A startup is an eternal shortage of money, a constant struggle between the R & D process (research and development) and the need to urgently start selling a product,” says Yukhin. “Startups are a special caste of people. There is even a joke about them. In one company, an employee, Ivanov, suddenly began to go home at exactly six in the evening. One day, second, third. And then the colleagues could not stand it, were indignant: “How can you leave so early when everyone is sitting until night?” “Ivanov replies:“ Guys, have you got my vacation “.
At the same time, marketing guru Garrett Johnston is sure that soon everyone will have to awaken the qualities of an entrepreneur, and, paradoxically, anyone can do it.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/50056/
All Articles