The digital startup program is just the beginning. Interview with Arkady Moreynis
Concluding our series of interviews about digital startups in Russia, Arkady Moreynis , chief director of Glavstart . Arkady told us about the features of Russian startups, shared his thoughts about the main problems of Russian digital startups and his vision of the future of mobile applications and web projects.
WebProfessionals.ru: What, in your opinion, are the main differences between startups in Russian e-commerce and web development from Western ones?
Arkady Moreynis:It's hard to say about the difference. If you look at American startups, many of them are very similar to similar Russian startups. Those. there is no major difference in ideas. Probably one of the main differences is in the execution, in the implementation of projects. In the rest of the activity that goes around the project. Let's not forget that making a startup is not a program to develop. Program development is 20% of all problems. Everything else is a set of partners, an audience, retaining partners and an audience, holding events to get what is called the buzzword “attraction”, i.e. getting some results in the audience, money, customers, etc. Therefore, the main difference is that in the West, startups understand that attraction is the most important thing, and we still think that the most important thing is to develop a program.
WebProfessionals.ru: What startups from your practice are most remembered? Which have achieved the most significant successes, and what is the reason for their success?
Arkady Moreynis: Success can be different. For example, we have a project on which a contract has recently been signed. This is the project “ Sea of Salons ” - an online recording system in beauty salons. The coupon service KupiKupon invested in it. This success is understandable because these services have good synergy. Coupon service customers often complain that coupon buyers come all at once, resulting in poor loyalty. Just the service "Sea of Salons" allows you to solve these problems. First, clients are booked at a specific, pre-agreed time. Secondly, all customer data falls into CRM, with which salon owners can manage the loyalty of this audience. This is the first success.
I would like to mention another successful project. TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2012 was held in New York on May 19-20 , at which our TagBrand project was presented. And this is a success of a different kind. In my memory, this is the only Russian startup in recent years that has been selected for such an event. Those. the project was noticed and evaluated on the execution, idea and other parameters at a high international level, as they say, according to the Hamburg account.
WebProfessionals.ru: How do you see the development vector of web startups? What are the trends and opportunities?
Arkady Moreynis:The vector is this: start-ups will appear more and more, because the boundaries between the computer and the mobile application are actually quite unsteady now. With the advent of tablets, it is generally not clear what a computer is, what a phone is, what a smartphone is. Those. the vector is very simple: everything will be mobilized, everything will be accessible from anywhere, from any device. If such devices are built into refrigerators or microwave ovens, then soon they will be available from them. In other words, there will be no border between mobile and non-mobile applications.
WebProfessionals.ru: Over the past year, web startups have begun to appear more often in large companies (for example, e5 - the Crossroads project, Enter - the project of Svyaznoy shareholders). Should we expect more attention to the topic of new online business?
Arkady Moreynis: Of course, because more and more people are starting to use the Internet for shopping, for sales, communication, etc. Therefore, the road and all only one - to the Internet. Just large companies, as more clumsy players, usually begin to follow the trend, i.e. when the trend is already completely concrete and clear.
WebProfessionals.ru: Share your experience, what parameter should a startup meet in order to reach the payback period in the planned period and make a profit?
Arkady Moreynis:Here, the main problem does not even reach the payback, the main problem is to come to life. The main problem of startups, which now exists, is that they are not able to do something in a short time to test their idea. And this is the main problem. Those. some try to make a high-quality product for a long time, in the belief that it will be in demand by users in this form, but in fact this almost never happens. We have to go through iterations, and practically no one can do this.
WebProfessionals.ru: Advise our audience on sources of startup inspiration and external experience.
Arkady Moreynis:The source of startup inspiration is real life. One must be able to solve real problems of real life, but not invented. Therefore, only real life can serve as a source of inspiration, and not an invented theory that the user will need it.
WebProfessionals.ru: What, in your opinion, are the main differences between startups in Russian e-commerce and web development from Western ones?
Arkady Moreynis:It's hard to say about the difference. If you look at American startups, many of them are very similar to similar Russian startups. Those. there is no major difference in ideas. Probably one of the main differences is in the execution, in the implementation of projects. In the rest of the activity that goes around the project. Let's not forget that making a startup is not a program to develop. Program development is 20% of all problems. Everything else is a set of partners, an audience, retaining partners and an audience, holding events to get what is called the buzzword “attraction”, i.e. getting some results in the audience, money, customers, etc. Therefore, the main difference is that in the West, startups understand that attraction is the most important thing, and we still think that the most important thing is to develop a program.
WebProfessionals.ru: What startups from your practice are most remembered? Which have achieved the most significant successes, and what is the reason for their success?
Arkady Moreynis: Success can be different. For example, we have a project on which a contract has recently been signed. This is the project “ Sea of Salons ” - an online recording system in beauty salons. The coupon service KupiKupon invested in it. This success is understandable because these services have good synergy. Coupon service customers often complain that coupon buyers come all at once, resulting in poor loyalty. Just the service "Sea of Salons" allows you to solve these problems. First, clients are booked at a specific, pre-agreed time. Secondly, all customer data falls into CRM, with which salon owners can manage the loyalty of this audience. This is the first success.
I would like to mention another successful project. TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2012 was held in New York on May 19-20 , at which our TagBrand project was presented. And this is a success of a different kind. In my memory, this is the only Russian startup in recent years that has been selected for such an event. Those. the project was noticed and evaluated on the execution, idea and other parameters at a high international level, as they say, according to the Hamburg account.
WebProfessionals.ru: How do you see the development vector of web startups? What are the trends and opportunities?
Arkady Moreynis:The vector is this: start-ups will appear more and more, because the boundaries between the computer and the mobile application are actually quite unsteady now. With the advent of tablets, it is generally not clear what a computer is, what a phone is, what a smartphone is. Those. the vector is very simple: everything will be mobilized, everything will be accessible from anywhere, from any device. If such devices are built into refrigerators or microwave ovens, then soon they will be available from them. In other words, there will be no border between mobile and non-mobile applications.
WebProfessionals.ru: Over the past year, web startups have begun to appear more often in large companies (for example, e5 - the Crossroads project, Enter - the project of Svyaznoy shareholders). Should we expect more attention to the topic of new online business?
Arkady Moreynis: Of course, because more and more people are starting to use the Internet for shopping, for sales, communication, etc. Therefore, the road and all only one - to the Internet. Just large companies, as more clumsy players, usually begin to follow the trend, i.e. when the trend is already completely concrete and clear.
WebProfessionals.ru: Share your experience, what parameter should a startup meet in order to reach the payback period in the planned period and make a profit?
Arkady Moreynis:Here, the main problem does not even reach the payback, the main problem is to come to life. The main problem of startups, which now exists, is that they are not able to do something in a short time to test their idea. And this is the main problem. Those. some try to make a high-quality product for a long time, in the belief that it will be in demand by users in this form, but in fact this almost never happens. We have to go through iterations, and practically no one can do this.
WebProfessionals.ru: Advise our audience on sources of startup inspiration and external experience.
Arkady Moreynis:The source of startup inspiration is real life. One must be able to solve real problems of real life, but not invented. Therefore, only real life can serve as a source of inspiration, and not an invented theory that the user will need it.