Russian Silicon Valley - why?

    Friends, over the past year, the authorities and the President personally have talked a lot about creating an innovative economy in Russia and creating our analogue of the Valley. Last week, Viktor Vekselberg was appointed responsible for the large business, and it seems that they determined the place where it will exist.
    I made this post in order to collect the views of the Khabrasovoobschestvo on the following issues:
    1) How to relate to these decisions and whether they will produce the result for the technology business from everything that has been undertaken by our authorities
    2) What needs to be done so that Russia ceases to be just a market for other innovations and services, it itself could offer the market technological innovations and successful companies based on them.
    My attitude and opinion to what is happening is in this post.
    In the comments, I ask all those who are not indifferent and have an opinion on these issues to speak out.


    What does power do?
    The goal is obvious - to increase the share of innovative breakthrough companies in our economy. The United States, and Silicon Valley as a center of innovation, is a leader and a great example here. And they decided to copy it.
    The authorities are doing what they did in Skolkovo. Active and very competent people in business education (I will not exaggerate) lobbied the Skolkovo project at the highest level, gathered a circle of the largest business investors, built a huge set of buildings, etc. etc. I know a team of people who do this, and I’m sure that they will succeed. What they do is adequate to create a strong business education school. The top officials of the state are looking at this project and they are probably satisfied with it. And they also decided to build a center for technological innovation.
    They chose a place, in my opinion, the same Skolkovo. Appointed a person in charge of the business. He will prepare a project, collect money from fellow businessmen for the project. Surely, they will build huge buildings and allocate state money for innovative projects.

    Where is the mistake.
    Innovation does not need buildings, government money, curators from big business and generally government support. Silicon Valley provides innovative technology services, new companies are built and grow there because there are people who do it.
    These are tens of thousands of entrepreneurs. Not those who graduated from school yesterday and cannot get a job, writes delusional executive summary and spamming fund boxes. Real entrepreneurs who could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in high positions at Microsoft or Oracle, but abandoned it for the sake of their idea, faith, drive when creating their own company. Tens of thousands of those who know their market, the problem of the consumer and what to offer him.
    These are hundreds and thousands of professional investors. Not successful businessmen from the oil industry or the concrete mixing industry who decided to invest in a couple of Internet projects, because "the Internet is cool and this is our future." Professional investors who give smart money - money, experience, connections, help in business development, help morally and inspire an entrepreneur when his hands drop in difficult times.
    To create a new technology or service and build a company that will make money, you do not need state funding, a single center of innovation and a complex of buildings. Only people are needed - entrepreneurs and investors. And where they will find themselves. It turns out that the patient has a toothache, and he is treated with hemorrhoids.
    How will the number of entrepreneurs increase as a result of the emergence of the “Russian Silicon Valley”? How will the number of professional investors increase in Russia as a result of this project?

    Why are we not an innovative leader?
    New companies appear where a sufficient number of the right entrepreneurs and investors are concentrated. Quantity is just as important as quality. There are statistics - the probability of success of a start-up is 0.3%. Those. out of 1,000 undertakings, only 3 will become successful innovative companies. Everyone else will die.
    I want to emphasize that the number of entrepreneurs and attempts to make successful companies is very important. The more attempts, the more successful exit companies.
    By the number of entrepreneurs, i.e. people who are in the blood of a desire to create a new company, and who refuse to get good places in Gazprom for this, we are 30-40 years behind the United States. There are such statistics. The same goes for the number of business angels and entrepreneurs.
    The daughter of a friend of mine at the age of 5, answering the question where she wants to work, answers “In Gazprom”. My younger brother, who is studying for a lawyer, wants to work in internal organs. This is the ultimate dream for those who are 5 to 25 years old today. Too few people want to be entrepreneurs, too few people want to create a new service and company and the associated stress and risk outweigh the stable salary in the Russian state-owned company.
    We do not give out innovations because we have too few start-up attempts and too few entrepreneurs who are able to create successful companies.

    What to do?
    1. It is necessary to make the protagonist of the society not oligarchs, cops or someone else, but entrepreneurs who implement cool ideas into successful new companies. At least 5 - 10% of young people should dream and aim to become successful entrepreneurs. This task is rather at the level of propaganda.
    2. We need a training system and modern business education in schools and universities. Young guys should learn to look at the market, see a problem, look for a solution, look for sales channels, etc. We need a strong organizational management training for people under the age of 20-22 in schools and universities, on internships.
    3. Prohibit state financing of innovative projects, incl. in the form of a RVC. All government investments - in high-quality business education and training of entrepreneurs. Naturally, no government project called "Russian Silicon Valley."
    4. Exemption from UST and other taxes for new companies in the technology sector until the first profit and VAT and income tax benefits for the first 3 years after the company is registered.
    5. Increase the number and quality of events such as Start-up Crush Test and Start-up Point. Bring foreign successful funds and entrepreneurs to exchange experiences and review Russian projects.

    I pretend to be universal truth. Fasting is just my opinion. Yours - write in the comments.

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