September 7, 2017 at 13:06ISDEF conference: we are developing not a product, but a business
On the last weekend of September in Vinogradovo, Moscow Region, 1 km from Dolgoprudny, the “heart” of MIPT, our 16th annual conference of the Russian-speaking Association of IT Businessmen ISDEF (Independent Software Developers Forum) will be held.
ISDEF is a club of IT business tops without formalities and pathos. Fifteen years ago, it began as a huge gathering of all grocery "software" in the fall near Moscow, overgrown with "meat" reports and workshops. People come to us for ideas for developing their business, especially for export, because here you can “hold for a button” other owners and tops who have already succeeded in their niche.
Three years ago we already published an inspirational (at least ourselves) post about what ISDEF is . Now we will tell what will happen this fall.
(From the author: I personally came for the first time in 2008 as the commercial director of agnitum , the Outpost security solutions vendor, when Natalya Kasperskaya, then general director of our main competitor, Kaspersky Lab, talked about working with partner sales channels abroad - how to enter the country on their hands and when to “squeeze.” This year, something similar in the modern context will be told by the former representative of the LC for Spain and Portugal, Hovhannes Mikhailov).
Many, especially former freelancers and current IT outsourcers, leave the product development distance at an early stage, while others try to secure a life buoy from the outside in the form of grants, subsidies, and other accelerators. But is there enough knowledge? ISDEF solves the problem of “pumping” knowledge and the determination to “swim out”. The conference is focused on “self-funded startups” - on entrepreneurs who build their business not on strangers, but on their earned money. A community of 300 IT entrepreneurs together is looking for solutions to the tricky cases of promoting new markets, rejecting or introducing new technology platforms, and everyone does not mind sharing their experience with others.
We have the majority of participants from the "grocery" IT companies representing the process of developing and marketing the product, but there are also enough "service people" who either help the formation of the products or look at what niche their own (not "custom-made" ones) ») Development. It is believed that those who want to develop their business independently abroad are simply obliged to go to ISDEF in order to more easily solve the problems of growth - growth both from scratch and when scaling up a business.
So, “products” from ISDEF successfully compete with Adobe (in the areas of electronic document management and distance learning), Symantec (in the field of information security), Oracle and 1C (in products for database developers, CRM and ERP), with other leaders in the classical niches of IT products; leading in new markets with smart iron platforms (IoT, medtech, fintech) ... Swimming in the “shark pool” is obviously not easy, but becoming the same “shark” in the campaign for world markets is doubly difficult without relying on other people's experience . Having a “grocery” IT business in Russia, in the EU, America, and Asia is a risky path, because markets are changing rapidly, and trade in the IT sector is becoming more and more regulated.
That's why at ISDEF 2017(almost) there will be no cabinet theorists. If business opportunities are discussed in general terms, then they immediately try on their own situations. The features of marketing and sales of software, aspects of relations between owners and employees, international sales and their pitfalls are discussed, and both old-timers of Habr and startups who have taken a pound of dash in world markets (for example, rapidly growing alconost , ITsumma and erlyvideo , the more classic PVS-Studio and Bolide Software, see Andrey2008 and> bolide ), little-known independent millionaires from among independent developers with niche solutions. Legal optimization issues receive a lot of attention, because it is becoming a key one.
Each of the ISDEF sections is represented by a wide range of speakers with reports on a variety of topics. Some of them:
As a bonus, successful cases on the introduction of innovations in Russian startups.
Julia Shuvalova (Stepik, Development Director) - 10 ways to use training for sales growth, promotion and support of IT products. And of course - about
lead generation (webinar opportunities, etc.) Did you miss the cases? Evgeny Birchenko (Poryadok company, CIO ) and Alexey Savkin (BSC Designer, CEO) with cases on how to find and engage the right partners for B2B sales of highly specialized software in local markets.
The association organizes the conference on its own contributions (annual contribution is $ 150) and on sponsorship donations. Therefore, participation as a non-speaker is paid, which covers the costs of the conference. Unfortunately, we traditionally post videos of only some reports, when the speakers are not opposed. And the main benefit is still seen in communication for 3 evenings before, between and after the reports.
Application for participation until 09.09 - only for ₽12000 ($ 200), there are discounts on applications from one company. After this date, tickets will increase in price to a maximum of $ 18,000 ($ 300). You can submit an application on the conference promotion website by looking at the full list of speakers . Come!
ISDEF is a club of IT business tops without formalities and pathos. Fifteen years ago, it began as a huge gathering of all grocery "software" in the fall near Moscow, overgrown with "meat" reports and workshops. People come to us for ideas for developing their business, especially for export, because here you can “hold for a button” other owners and tops who have already succeeded in their niche.
Three years ago we already published an inspirational (at least ourselves) post about what ISDEF is . Now we will tell what will happen this fall.
(From the author: I personally came for the first time in 2008 as the commercial director of agnitum , the Outpost security solutions vendor, when Natalya Kasperskaya, then general director of our main competitor, Kaspersky Lab, talked about working with partner sales channels abroad - how to enter the country on their hands and when to “squeeze.” This year, something similar in the modern context will be told by the former representative of the LC for Spain and Portugal, Hovhannes Mikhailov).
Sell your products! But how?
Many, especially former freelancers and current IT outsourcers, leave the product development distance at an early stage, while others try to secure a life buoy from the outside in the form of grants, subsidies, and other accelerators. But is there enough knowledge? ISDEF solves the problem of “pumping” knowledge and the determination to “swim out”. The conference is focused on “self-funded startups” - on entrepreneurs who build their business not on strangers, but on their earned money. A community of 300 IT entrepreneurs together is looking for solutions to the tricky cases of promoting new markets, rejecting or introducing new technology platforms, and everyone does not mind sharing their experience with others.
We have the majority of participants from the "grocery" IT companies representing the process of developing and marketing the product, but there are also enough "service people" who either help the formation of the products or look at what niche their own (not "custom-made" ones) ») Development. It is believed that those who want to develop their business independently abroad are simply obliged to go to ISDEF in order to more easily solve the problems of growth - growth both from scratch and when scaling up a business.
So, “products” from ISDEF successfully compete with Adobe (in the areas of electronic document management and distance learning), Symantec (in the field of information security), Oracle and 1C (in products for database developers, CRM and ERP), with other leaders in the classical niches of IT products; leading in new markets with smart iron platforms (IoT, medtech, fintech) ... Swimming in the “shark pool” is obviously not easy, but becoming the same “shark” in the campaign for world markets is doubly difficult without relying on other people's experience . Having a “grocery” IT business in Russia, in the EU, America, and Asia is a risky path, because markets are changing rapidly, and trade in the IT sector is becoming more and more regulated.
That's why at ISDEF 2017(almost) there will be no cabinet theorists. If business opportunities are discussed in general terms, then they immediately try on their own situations. The features of marketing and sales of software, aspects of relations between owners and employees, international sales and their pitfalls are discussed, and both old-timers of Habr and startups who have taken a pound of dash in world markets (for example, rapidly growing alconost , ITsumma and erlyvideo , the more classic PVS-Studio and Bolide Software, see Andrey2008 and> bolide ), little-known independent millionaires from among independent developers with niche solutions. Legal optimization issues receive a lot of attention, because it is becoming a key one.
Each of the ISDEF sections is represented by a wide range of speakers with reports on a variety of topics. Some of them:
Business growth
- Dmitry Kalaev, IIDF , will share the experience of acceleration in the United States. The IIDF self-funded project managed to light up in California. We learn what happened with the first test suite and the first projects;
- Evgenia Barchenko, GoTech.vc, will go over the topic of cooperation between startups and corporations and the potential of corporate accelerators.
As a bonus, successful cases on the introduction of innovations in Russian startups.
Marketing and sales
- Yevgeny Potapov (@eapotapov), a startup in California, will talk about the experience of scaling a successful Russian business model in the US market. What comes of this, what methods the company uses to adapt, what problems it faces and what costs it suffers.
New markets
- Nikolay Rusanov, development director of iRidium mobile , will talk about the risks that came with the IOT market and give examples of how Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google Home are used in real “smart” installations, how this affects the business of developers and user experience interacting with smart systems.
IT market
- This is not the first time we have heard about employee control, however, how do its components differ? Andrey Ignatov, Kickidler , will talk about the market for employee control in general, about what changes are happening inside it, why. Andrei is aware of the situation in Russia and in the world, as well as development prospects. Everyone who is interested in such systems - welcome!
Legal issues
- Dmitry Dubograev, Femida.US, will talk about the legal mistakes of recent years: new innovative flights (courts / contracts / closure of channels), or what hinders growth and development. An empirical (unprofessional) view of miscalculations in strategy, HR, finance, marketing and soft-skills.
Personal Relationships (People in Business)
- Wrong to hurt yourself: forward science. Many of us make mistakes, but do not know how to correct them. EvgeniyRyzhkov, PVS-Studio CEO, will tell you what his team stumbled upon before finding the right solution. Content marketing, cool character logo, cheap version of the product, publications from bloggers, contextual advertising - guess what worked and failed.
Julia Shuvalova (Stepik, Development Director) - 10 ways to use training for sales growth, promotion and support of IT products. And of course - about
lead generation (webinar opportunities, etc.) Did you miss the cases? Evgeny Birchenko (Poryadok company, CIO ) and Alexey Savkin (BSC Designer, CEO) with cases on how to find and engage the right partners for B2B sales of highly specialized software in local markets.
And about the money
The association organizes the conference on its own contributions (annual contribution is $ 150) and on sponsorship donations. Therefore, participation as a non-speaker is paid, which covers the costs of the conference. Unfortunately, we traditionally post videos of only some reports, when the speakers are not opposed. And the main benefit is still seen in communication for 3 evenings before, between and after the reports.
Application for participation until 09.09 - only for ₽12000 ($ 200), there are discounts on applications from one company. After this date, tickets will increase in price to a maximum of $ 18,000 ($ 300). You can submit an application on the conference promotion website by looking at the full list of speakers . Come!