November 17, 2011 at 13:27European investor rules
Traditionally speaking of Western Internet projects, we mean the USA and Silicon Valley. Indeed, the homeland of the Internet remains the largest Internet market and a generator of new business ideas. But the United States is much closer to us Europe, with a double population and much closer to us in mentality. And the European Internet market is also significantly developed, being the birthplace of such projects as Skype, and there are practically no empty months in the calendar of significant investment events.
On Monday, the second thematic meeting took place , where we talked about the European startup market and its promotion. This topic was a logical continuation of the first event., where we talked about the structure of the American startup market and the basic principles of Internet business in the United States, based on which the post “ Our People at the Mass Challenge ” was written .
This time our guest was Daria Batukhtina, darena habrayuzer , expert in international PR and marketing, the author of the article “ Can Europe compete with Silicon Valley? "And a regular participant in habravstvov .
I will tell you about the main things that were heard at the meeting in this post: the career ladder of startups, all-European startup events, how to become a partner of a Western company with us and what useful experience we should learn from our neighbors on the continent.
There is a certain gradation of projects in terms of the level of events at which projects are presented. At the grassroots level - in cities - start-up weekends are held, within which everyone can be presented. A step higher is the level of individual countries. And finally, all-European events held in different EU countries throughout the year. “Growth” of projects occurs due to selection by expert commissions that invite interesting companies to their events. However, there is another way of growth - you can simply pay for participation in major summits. But this does not cancel out the significance of local events - in the end, not all startups are oriented to the global market, but can quite solve some local problems. In addition, a consistent climb along this staircase allows you to acquire competent mentors in time, which will help bring the project to mind and present itself correctly at high-level events. "Hurry - you make people laugh."
Every year, the calendar of all-European events is painted rather tightly: almost every month significant events take place in different countries of Europe. I will not give a complete calendar here, since, apart from the dates themselves, it is advisable to write a short commentary on each event in its format and to whom and for what purpose, in fact, it may be interesting. If we are coordinated with Daria, then the calendar of European startup events with comments from Batukhtina will appear in this blog as a separate post next week. In the meantime, just links for self-study:
leweb.net
www.e-unlimited.com/events/view.aspx?events_pages_id=1035
www.e-unlimited.com/events/view.aspx?events_pages_id=1189
thenextweb.com/conference
www.dld-conference.com
www.startupweek2011.com
The next major event - The European Venture Summit (EVS) - will take place in 11 days in Dusseldorf . This is quite significant and at the same time closed, in the sense that it is not spoken about from every iron, event. There are no onlookers on it, only professionals participate in the event. You can get there in two ways: for free - through the start-up stairs described above, having passed the selection of an expert commission or having bought an entrance ticket for 650 euros. Those who have an interest in the European market or partners from there should not hesitate - you can still get to EVS. After him, the 2011 season in Europe will close with LeWeb'11 in Paris and the Civica European Venture Contest 2011 in Madrid.
How to serve and sell yourself at such events is an equally important question that determines whether the trip will pay for itself. There is one good news: Europe needs Russians. A large market nearby could not be of interest to businessmen from the Old World, but their representation here cannot be called powerful. Why? The key point is that Europeans do not have reliable partners with us. People and companies with whom you can build long-term relationships. And this is good news for those who look to the West: we must go and get acquainted. European events at the level of Düsseldorf or Paris events are the best opportunity to come to European investors and entrepreneurs “from the street”.
So, you are gathered for the summit. A prerequisite is good memory and preparation. It is advisable to know those with whom you want to chat in person. Read, remember names and faces. They will come in handy. Do not grab people before and after they perform. It is best to use the moments of a break - coffee breaks or any other convenient moment, even going to the toilet. Lavatory pitch is no worse than elevator.
An important point: do not rush to attack with numbers and presentations. Business relationships are built on human relationships: it is important for an investor to personally know the person with whom he will work, to get to know him, his family. To become a business partner, one must first gain trust on a personal level. In this sense, the style of doing business in Europe is closer to our mentality than American principles. It is not even a matter of a different level of competition, but of history and traditions. America is a country of free traders, and in Europe behind every Eurocent stands a history and traditions that influence the style of business communication.
Of course, in our country there are not enough regional start-up weekends. The beauty of Internet business is that it allows you to make projects whose earnings are not tied to geography. And in Russia there are successful regional companies that are known at the federal level, and some even abroad, and working mainly with foreign customers. What does it cost the regional authorities, at the level of governors or even mayors of cities, to conduct such events at least once a month, even in a recreation center, even if there are no modern venues for this? There will be more sense to the innovative development of Russia from this than from ipads at meetings of the State Council.
This event is a thematic offshoot from regular Thursday meetings . This time we decided to hold a meeting in a new place - the Marseille cafe club on Novoslobodskaya, and it was a good choice. It is quiet and spacious, what you need for a business conversation. But this does not cancel the traditional “March” meetings - today, as always, habra-sit-round gatherings in the Mart cafe at 20:00 on the sofa opposite the bar. As for the announcements of thematic meetings, follow the announcements in the blog of the “ Events ” blog , on the LiveJournal and on the hashtag #habraparty on Twitter.
On Monday, the second thematic meeting took place , where we talked about the European startup market and its promotion. This topic was a logical continuation of the first event., where we talked about the structure of the American startup market and the basic principles of Internet business in the United States, based on which the post “ Our People at the Mass Challenge ” was written .
This time our guest was Daria Batukhtina, darena habrayuzer , expert in international PR and marketing, the author of the article “ Can Europe compete with Silicon Valley? "And a regular participant in habravstvov .
I will tell you about the main things that were heard at the meeting in this post: the career ladder of startups, all-European startup events, how to become a partner of a Western company with us and what useful experience we should learn from our neighbors on the continent.
Startup career ladder
There is a certain gradation of projects in terms of the level of events at which projects are presented. At the grassroots level - in cities - start-up weekends are held, within which everyone can be presented. A step higher is the level of individual countries. And finally, all-European events held in different EU countries throughout the year. “Growth” of projects occurs due to selection by expert commissions that invite interesting companies to their events. However, there is another way of growth - you can simply pay for participation in major summits. But this does not cancel out the significance of local events - in the end, not all startups are oriented to the global market, but can quite solve some local problems. In addition, a consistent climb along this staircase allows you to acquire competent mentors in time, which will help bring the project to mind and present itself correctly at high-level events. "Hurry - you make people laugh."
All-European events
Every year, the calendar of all-European events is painted rather tightly: almost every month significant events take place in different countries of Europe. I will not give a complete calendar here, since, apart from the dates themselves, it is advisable to write a short commentary on each event in its format and to whom and for what purpose, in fact, it may be interesting. If we are coordinated with Daria, then the calendar of European startup events with comments from Batukhtina will appear in this blog as a separate post next week. In the meantime, just links for self-study:
leweb.net
www.e-unlimited.com/events/view.aspx?events_pages_id=1035
www.e-unlimited.com/events/view.aspx?events_pages_id=1189
thenextweb.com/conference
www.dld-conference.com
www.startupweek2011.com
Upcoming Summits
The next major event - The European Venture Summit (EVS) - will take place in 11 days in Dusseldorf . This is quite significant and at the same time closed, in the sense that it is not spoken about from every iron, event. There are no onlookers on it, only professionals participate in the event. You can get there in two ways: for free - through the start-up stairs described above, having passed the selection of an expert commission or having bought an entrance ticket for 650 euros. Those who have an interest in the European market or partners from there should not hesitate - you can still get to EVS. After him, the 2011 season in Europe will close with LeWeb'11 in Paris and the Civica European Venture Contest 2011 in Madrid.
What to come to investors with
How to serve and sell yourself at such events is an equally important question that determines whether the trip will pay for itself. There is one good news: Europe needs Russians. A large market nearby could not be of interest to businessmen from the Old World, but their representation here cannot be called powerful. Why? The key point is that Europeans do not have reliable partners with us. People and companies with whom you can build long-term relationships. And this is good news for those who look to the West: we must go and get acquainted. European events at the level of Düsseldorf or Paris events are the best opportunity to come to European investors and entrepreneurs “from the street”.
So, you are gathered for the summit. A prerequisite is good memory and preparation. It is advisable to know those with whom you want to chat in person. Read, remember names and faces. They will come in handy. Do not grab people before and after they perform. It is best to use the moments of a break - coffee breaks or any other convenient moment, even going to the toilet. Lavatory pitch is no worse than elevator.
An important point: do not rush to attack with numbers and presentations. Business relationships are built on human relationships: it is important for an investor to personally know the person with whom he will work, to get to know him, his family. To become a business partner, one must first gain trust on a personal level. In this sense, the style of doing business in Europe is closer to our mentality than American principles. It is not even a matter of a different level of competition, but of history and traditions. America is a country of free traders, and in Europe behind every Eurocent stands a history and traditions that influence the style of business communication.
Traditionally, a couple of lines about what experience would be useful for us to adopt
Of course, in our country there are not enough regional start-up weekends. The beauty of Internet business is that it allows you to make projects whose earnings are not tied to geography. And in Russia there are successful regional companies that are known at the federal level, and some even abroad, and working mainly with foreign customers. What does it cost the regional authorities, at the level of governors or even mayors of cities, to conduct such events at least once a month, even in a recreation center, even if there are no modern venues for this? There will be more sense to the innovative development of Russia from this than from ipads at meetings of the State Council.
And a little about our meeting itself
This event is a thematic offshoot from regular Thursday meetings . This time we decided to hold a meeting in a new place - the Marseille cafe club on Novoslobodskaya, and it was a good choice. It is quiet and spacious, what you need for a business conversation. But this does not cancel the traditional “March” meetings - today, as always, habra-sit-round gatherings in the Mart cafe at 20:00 on the sofa opposite the bar. As for the announcements of thematic meetings, follow the announcements in the blog of the “ Events ” blog , on the LiveJournal and on the hashtag #habraparty on Twitter.