Digital startups. Interview with Gaidar Magdanurov

Today, the concept of “startup” is familiar to many, if not all. This happened thanks to a number of startups that thundered around the world and made their creators famous and rich. Most of these startups were created in the western market. However, the number of startups in the Russian market is also growing rapidly. What is the specificity of Russian digital startups compared to Western ones? What is the secret to startup success? What are the trends in web startups in Russia? These and other questions were answered by expert Gaydar Magdanurov , managing director of the Microsoft Seed Fund.

WebProfessionals.ru: What, in your opinion, are the main differences between startups in Russian e-commerce and web development from Western ones?

Gaidar Magdanurov:The difference between any IT startups in Russia from Western ones is in an extremely narrow range of original ideas. This is explained, first of all, by the fact that the number of start-ups and ideas is relatively small - here is the historical factor of the lack of analogues of the “silicon valley”, the factor of the lack of an adequate level of entrepreneurial knowledge, and the factor of “fears” of entrepreneurs to share ideas. In order for original ideas to be born, examples of successful businesses and examples of people who are not afraid to take risks are needed. In addition, the “copy” model, which implies the cloning of Western projects, works great thanks to the language barrier, and therefore there is no special incentive to generate original ideas.

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?

Gaidar Magdanurov: I would not like to single out any startups, so I’ll note the last startup to date, which has received a grant from our Seed Fund. The ClipClock project , which allows you to link to a specific fragment of a video and comment on this specific fragment. The success of this startup is predetermined, so to speak, by the fact that video content is gaining more and more popularity. Social network users no longer have texts and pictures, they want interactivity. ClipClock allows you to conveniently link to fragments, which is important for long videos and, in fact, promotes a new type of content - video fragments.

WebProfessionals.ru: How do you see the development vector of web startups? What are the trends and opportunities?

Gaidar Magdanurov:There are many trends, it is worth reading analytical articles, as the head begins to swell from the abundance of information. I would single out the two most important trends: sociality and electronic commerce. Sites and projects themselves become more social and are built around the user. Agree, it’s nice not to tell the next web project separately, because this project receives all the necessary information from social networks. For example, an online store adjusts its "storefront" for the user based on his "likes" and comments on the social network. Hence the self-learning of projects - the user places “likes”, and the projects adapt to his preferences. In the case of e-commerce, an increasing share of payment transactions is taken by virtual goods - users buy internal currency in games, buy statuses on projects,

WebProfessionals.ru: Advise our audience on sources of startup inspiration and external experience.

Gaidar Magdanurov:The best source of inspiration is your own head, which is worth clogging with various interesting ideas, reading projects like TechCrunch, attending events like StartupWeekend, attending seminars and training courses on startups. In the “Silicon Valley”, a steady expression “Ideasarehavingsex” has long appeared - from the set of ideas new ideas are born. A good way to structure your thinking is to write down all the ideas that come to your mind, interesting projects and business models found on the network in order to periodically review these notes and think about creating new ideas. The success of Silicon Valley in the United States is largely due to the fact that a large number of ideas are concentrated there, and people actively share them, creating more and more new ideas.

WebProfessionals.ru:Over the past year, web startups have begun to appear more often in large companies (for example, Enter - the project of the Messenger, e5 - Crossroads). Should we expect more attention to the topic of new online business?

Gaidar Magdanurov:Large companies often give rise to new products - either the team leaves the company and goes into business, or spin-offs are created within the company itself, which over time stands out as a separate company. This is a natural process - many smart people with good experience cannot but create new ideas. In the light of the popularization of the startup movement and the desire of companies to diversify their business, this trend will only increase. Moreover, the success of such projects and the very possibility of their occurrence depends on the openness of the views of management, and management in our country is more and more open to new ideas.

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?

Gaidar Magdanurov:No silver bullets and ready-made manuals. Perhaps all conclusions can be drawn from one single criterion - a startup creates a product that solves the user's needs and is aimed at solving problems that arise for a particular user. Firmly remembering that the user is the basis of the business, the creators of the startup will develop the right strategy. A huge number of sensible, although obvious tips can be found in the book ReWork , which I recommend to all startups who are confused when determining their own strategy.