How to start a startup at a university


    Almost all students from the university bench dream of starting their own startup, which will shoot no worse than that of Zuckerberg or, at least, Durov. Social networks, games, new services open here and there. Which way to go, what form of business to choose, how to develop at the most important initial stage and break down less firewood? I’ll tell you about one tried option.

    I would like to devote this article to why we created LLC together with SPbGETU (LETI) and what I got as a result. I will be glad to share experiences that, I hope, will help to realize your ideas.

    There is a “individual entrepreneur” stage in any business, but there comes a time when you understand that there will be no further development without opening a legal entity. The solution to organizational problems at the opening can cover you with the head so much that there may not be time and effort to develop the business idea itself. Help may come from a completely unexpected direction - contact the institute that you graduated from (or are graduating from). 10 years ago, our team did just that, a 30-meter laboratory became our first office, and employees began to teach information technology at the department. Since then, much water has flowed and much has changed.

    Over the past two years, the activity of Russian universities has sharply increased in the direction of creating business entities in conjunction with business structures and private individuals. One of the reasons for this was the entry into force of Federal Law No. 217-FZ on August 15, 2009.

    Business interest


    The creation of an innovative enterprise together with a university has a number of remarkable opportunities. On the one hand, a university is a monstroid, slow and extremely bureaucratic structure, in the best traditions of Soviet state institutions. On the other hand, it is an organization with a well-formed infrastructure, including hundreds of premises, thousands of pieces of equipment, LANs, power networks, etc. Even if you do not take into account the advantages of 217-ФЗ, cooperation with a university provides a number of advantages:
    • The university may offer rental premises on preferential terms,
    • A university may provide equipment
    • the university has a legal department, accounting, marketing and other units that you can turn to for advice and help,
    • in the end, the university can help with the registration of the company.
    But perhaps the most important thing: you can get access to state budget projects that can only be carried out by an enterprise with state participation. Projects that are often large, like water, are needed for startups. An established business is no less interested in them.
    In addition, a number of advantages offers 217-ФЗ:
    • Firstly, it is preferential taxation. According to Federal Law N 310-ФЗ, companies created under 217-ФЗ may use the Simplified Taxation System (STS). This means that the company does not have VAT (18%), the total rate on insurance premiums is only 14% (against 34 for the rest of the organizations) and when choosing the object of taxation is “Income”, the tax rate will be 6%, which can be reduced until 3%.
    • Secondly, the law makes it possible to rent premises at your university or research institute without lengthy tenders.
    Equally important is the fact that the law acts as a catalyst for the university, prompting it to create joint ventures.

    Our selfish interest


    After reading the above information in mid-2011, we decided to open a joint venture for new business areas. Our aspirations were as follows (I will explain some):
    • Legalization of commercial activities at the university
      For a long time, our team "sat" in the areas of the department as a group of existing teachers. Most of the questions arose with the commissions checking the activities of the department. Until recently, doing business within the walls of alma mater was shameful.
    • Optimization of rental costs
    • Reducing the tax burden
      Salary taxes are the most serious expense item for a company. The saved money can be spent at least on development or simply increase the salaries themselves.
    • Access to university projects
    • Access to equipment It is
      frustrating to not use expensive hardware and software purchased by schools for various grants and targeted programs. A small enterprise at a university needs it and can find the right application for it.
    • Opportunity to participate in state competitions and programs
      We, for example, before creating an enterprise with a university, did not have access to Minobrovsk projects, did not work with many government departments, including the military-industrial complex. Now the situation is changing for the better. And finally, we have the opportunity to participate in various regional and federal programs and competitions aimed at supporting innovative small business and subsidizing its costs.

    University interest


    Do universities need this? Yes, there are several reasons. For starters - not the most positive, but typically Russian moment. The adoption of the 217-FZ was accompanied by loud speeches by Dmitry Medvedev and Andrei Fursenko, urging universities to unite small innovative enterprises together. In Russia, the wishes of executives are usually perceived as orders. Accordingly, Rosobrazovanie put some pressure on universities in this direction, requiring the creation of companies. The situation was aggravated by 83-ФЗ, according to which state institutions are now obliged to earn money and conduct commercial activities.

    Further more obvious reasons:
    • Universities have the opportunity to commercialize their scientific developments, to attract extrabudgetary investments.
    • Universities can conduct custom R&D through small enterprises in order to use tax benefits and the targeted use of profits.
    • Through small enterprises, universities can purchase equipment and materials without lengthy competitive procedures.
    • A small enterprise is a higher-paying job than teaching jobs for university employees and students.
    • Universities have extensive experience in participating in competitions, are able to “knock out” projects. But, unfortunately, many universities lack project executors. Small enterprises have the resources to carry out projects, and they could perfectly close this “hole”.
    • Finally, universities can use the activities of a small enterprise in the educational process. So when teaching students there is more practical training, more “examples from life”. On the basis of the enterprise, students can practice, perform certification work.
    Thus, the interest of all parties is obvious. The solution on the surface: to create a small innovative enterprise together with a university.

    How to open a company?


    The founders of a small innovative enterprise are 2 parties: a university and a business. The latter can be represented in two ways:
    • Commercial company (legal entity)
    • Private founders (individuals)
    Most of the small enterprises created at SPbGETU are established in the form: "University + individuals." All of them are startups of employees and graduates. By the way, people who come "from the street" can also get a job for the implementation of their ideas. For these purposes, SPbGETU has a MIC - Youth Innovation Center. To get an equipped workplace and help a business incubator, the applicant must submit his ideas and best practices. After the incubation period, any member of the MIC can also organize a joint company with the university.

    Having a mature business (and for some political reasons), we became the founder of a small innovative enterprise as a legal entity.

    Formation of a package of documents

    After reviewing the 217-FZ and other regulatory documents on the topic, enlisting the support of two key persons (the head of the department and vice-rector for scientific work), we began to prepare documents. Operational work was carried out with the head of the department of innovation activity of the university, who oversaw the work on opening both our and previously created companies. Having received from him a package of “blanks” of constituent documents, we edited them to fit our tasks and submitted to the registration of a third-party company LLC.

    Overview of required documents:
    • A memo to the rector of the university with a request to consider the proposal of the department and the co-founder company to create a limited liability company at SPbSTU is the very first document. On the basis of a memo, the rector brings this issue to the meeting of the Scientific Council.
    • Presentation of the enterprise . It is necessary to make a presentation of the created enterprise at a meeting of the Scientific Council. For this, we prepared a short, rigorous and nondescript presentation in the form of a university and an accompanying speech to it. The academic council of the university approves the proposal to create an enterprise.
    • The minutes of the meeting of the founders of the company . The document lists the decisions of the founders on the essential aspects of the company, including the decision to create a company, conclude an agreement on the establishment and agree on the charter of the company.
    • Company foundation agreement .
    • Charter of the company . A detailed description of all facets of society.
    • License agreement to transfer to the newly created company non-exclusive rights to use RID.
    What to look for
    • According to 217-FZ, the share of the university in the authorized capital of the company should be more than 33.3%
    • The rights to the result of intellectual activity, introduced by the university as a contribution to the authorized capital, must belong to the university.

    The choice of location (ex. Juradres)

    Considering that in the future the company will be located on the territory of the university and will officially rent the premises, it is advisable to indicate the address of the university as the location of the company, as we did.

    Taxation

    When opening a company, you must immediately report to the tax office (in a separate statement) about the type of taxation that will be used by the company (simplified simplified tax system or general common taxation system). Here it is necessary to consult with accountants - for start-up companies we recommend choosing a simplified account.

    Bank account

    It was necessary to provide notarized copies of the statutory documents of all the founders. Documents of the institute can be obtained in the legal department or, as in our case, make notarized copies of the originals issued against receipt to a university employee. The difficulty was caused by the lack of a lease of premises (there is such a requirement of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to combat laundering and terrorism). As a temporary solution to the issue, a letter of guarantee from the university on the provision of premises for rent helped. The fact of opening an account must be reported to the tax and funds, otherwise huge fines will follow.

    Letter to CISN

    The decision on the compliance of the created enterprise with Federal Law 217-FZ is made by the Center for Research and Statistics of Science . Until the company is included in the register of business entities established under 217-ФЗ, the company will not be able to enjoy the benefits and advantages prescribed by law. Therefore, a very important step will be the preparation and sending of a Notification Letter to the CISN on the establishment of a small enterprise. Together with the letter you need to send a pack of certified copies of constituent and some other documents. By the way, it is not necessary to certify them with a notary (so as not to spend money): copies of all constituent documents can be certified by the general director of the created company, and copies of documents related to the university are certified in the administration.

    Room

    So that your company is not virtual and employees are not scattered around the department, it is necessary to solve the issue with the premises. A direct but not the best option is to conclude a lease agreement with a university. By the way, the economic and administrative service of the university does not like him, because you are entitled to benefits and they will not receive extrabudgetary funds. An option that will suit everyone is the creation of a specialized educational and scientific laboratory at the department. Cathedral premises are not included in the rental turnover, business executives have no complaints, and it’s easier to agree with the department, partially closing the educational and scientific process, improving reporting, not to mention contractual work.
    The procedure for the formation of the laboratory in the documents:Memorandum on the creation of the educational and scientific laboratory of UNL → Cooperation agreement → Order of the Rector → Regulation on UNL

    Results in accordance with the objectives

    • Commercial activities within the university are legalized by a joint LLC and a number of cooperation agreements.
    • Premises: they gave a 100-meter leased premises, received a 140-meter in the form of UNL.
    • Tax burden reduction
    • They have already gained access to university projects: they began to develop a system for accounting and recording scientific and innovative activities of the university. We will talk about it in detail in a separate post.
    • Access to equipment. We were lucky: the new UNL Institute decided to equip it with the latest multimedia and server equipment, and with us - the repair of the premises.
    • The opportunity to participate in state contests and programs is yet to come.
    No matter how shortened, the article turned out to be large, and even more remained behind the scenes. So ask, I will answer with pleasure.

    PS The new company was named URANSOFT


    Thank staskin1 for help in preparing the article

    Also popular now: