Following the results of the second Minsk StartUp Weekend
The next Minsk StartUp Weekend took place. By the way, the next session, which will take place somewhere in two months, will be devoted exclusively to IT projects; Well, for now it will be good to sum up the event of the past.
This time the organizers received about 30 applications for participation, half of them, having passed the preliminary selection, were invited to the event. The format was as follows: on the first day, the projects hold preliminary presentations; according to their results, investors vote for the most interesting proposals, which will be able to pick a team right in the hall to finalize the project during the second day.
However, this is the main outline of the event, but also this time there were a couple of innovations. First, for a nominal fee, those who wished could attend a seminar just before the weekend, where a number of entrepreneurs told what investors wanted to hear from applicants and how. I will say right away: we don’t develop this initiative anymore. We are strong with hindsight, oh, strong: if about 10% of participants who came to the weekend wanted to come to the seminar, then Sunday evening we were approached almost through one request - yes, now we understand that we have something to learn - how much is it?
')
Another new format of work has become the so-called favorite of many business coaches. “Aquarium”: at the beginning of the second day, a group of volunteers were invited to play in front of an audience in the real market - without rigid roles and rules. The situation, by the way, turned out to be quite indicative: as it should be, the more experienced players captured in the very first minutes - some more civilized, some less - key resources and ... right, sat on them with a fifth point, not really understanding what further to do with them. Then we saw a wave of speculative deals (by the way, it’s very similar to what happens with startups in reality, when the owners change time after time, and the real work goes forward barely). Then people, seeing for themselves more opportunities in the market, rather than inside it is not clear how a managed project, began to break contracts with “employers”. In general, a very instructive picture.
Honestly, this time they were surprised by the project groups: everyone announced that they really needed marketers to work on the project. I had to run from one group to another, and it seems that the participants were satisfied with my help. It is a pity, however, that we did not manage to play one internal game: before starting work, I really wanted to, by choosing one of the really promising projects, to join the group as a consultant and along the way, using my experience, to take over the leadership. But, alas, for the nominally promising projects was so self-confident and weak team that it turned out to intercept, in fact, nothing. And a very visual case could turn out: this kind of situation is also not uncommon in reality.
Well, actually the results in generalized form:
a) It was very clearly seen that startups, that is, projects that are already at a certain initial stage of implementation, and not just seed ideas, can count on investors' interest. The logic is clear: show that you yourself believe enough in your project to invest your own resources in it.
b) Projects related to new technologies in material production, or the production of some new products for traditional areas of application (new building materials, for example) aroused great interest and cause. This is clearly connected with the fact that in Belarus the business itself is predominantly industrial, not post-industrial. But the technologically complex, obscure to investors projects were far from being so successful. Conclusion: look for “your”, profile investor.
c) Investors explicitly made it clear that at this stage they do not so much believe in the purchase of projects, as in the purchase of the teams behind them. In particular, it is already known that a number of projects from the first event, which took place at the end of 2009, have moved forward, but at the same time they have greatly changed in the course of working with the interested investor. Conclusion: before going to the investor, determine exactly what you want - to realize your idea or make money on it. Otherwise, further frustration may be expected.
... and those who wish to announce their projects for the third, purely IT StartUp Weekend, can do this through the website of the organizers . There are all the necessary contacts.
This time the organizers received about 30 applications for participation, half of them, having passed the preliminary selection, were invited to the event. The format was as follows: on the first day, the projects hold preliminary presentations; according to their results, investors vote for the most interesting proposals, which will be able to pick a team right in the hall to finalize the project during the second day.
However, this is the main outline of the event, but also this time there were a couple of innovations. First, for a nominal fee, those who wished could attend a seminar just before the weekend, where a number of entrepreneurs told what investors wanted to hear from applicants and how. I will say right away: we don’t develop this initiative anymore. We are strong with hindsight, oh, strong: if about 10% of participants who came to the weekend wanted to come to the seminar, then Sunday evening we were approached almost through one request - yes, now we understand that we have something to learn - how much is it?
')
Another new format of work has become the so-called favorite of many business coaches. “Aquarium”: at the beginning of the second day, a group of volunteers were invited to play in front of an audience in the real market - without rigid roles and rules. The situation, by the way, turned out to be quite indicative: as it should be, the more experienced players captured in the very first minutes - some more civilized, some less - key resources and ... right, sat on them with a fifth point, not really understanding what further to do with them. Then we saw a wave of speculative deals (by the way, it’s very similar to what happens with startups in reality, when the owners change time after time, and the real work goes forward barely). Then people, seeing for themselves more opportunities in the market, rather than inside it is not clear how a managed project, began to break contracts with “employers”. In general, a very instructive picture.
Honestly, this time they were surprised by the project groups: everyone announced that they really needed marketers to work on the project. I had to run from one group to another, and it seems that the participants were satisfied with my help. It is a pity, however, that we did not manage to play one internal game: before starting work, I really wanted to, by choosing one of the really promising projects, to join the group as a consultant and along the way, using my experience, to take over the leadership. But, alas, for the nominally promising projects was so self-confident and weak team that it turned out to intercept, in fact, nothing. And a very visual case could turn out: this kind of situation is also not uncommon in reality.
Well, actually the results in generalized form:
a) It was very clearly seen that startups, that is, projects that are already at a certain initial stage of implementation, and not just seed ideas, can count on investors' interest. The logic is clear: show that you yourself believe enough in your project to invest your own resources in it.
b) Projects related to new technologies in material production, or the production of some new products for traditional areas of application (new building materials, for example) aroused great interest and cause. This is clearly connected with the fact that in Belarus the business itself is predominantly industrial, not post-industrial. But the technologically complex, obscure to investors projects were far from being so successful. Conclusion: look for “your”, profile investor.
c) Investors explicitly made it clear that at this stage they do not so much believe in the purchase of projects, as in the purchase of the teams behind them. In particular, it is already known that a number of projects from the first event, which took place at the end of 2009, have moved forward, but at the same time they have greatly changed in the course of working with the interested investor. Conclusion: before going to the investor, determine exactly what you want - to realize your idea or make money on it. Otherwise, further frustration may be expected.
... and those who wish to announce their projects for the third, purely IT StartUp Weekend, can do this through the website of the organizers . There are all the necessary contacts.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/82852/
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