Demo Day 12/22/15 HSE Business Incubator

He visited the final demo day of HSE {Inc} . 19 teams presented their projects to experts from venture capital funds, corporations, strategic partners, mentors and journalists. Projects work in different industry segments: IT services, mobile applications, IoT, medical trackers, robots and scanning devices.


The first impression of the speeches is an unexpectedly high level of team training, which is quite comparable with the IIDF or Yandex.Camp projects . Honestly, I expected a completely different one, since the HSE business incubator DOES NOT give money, DOES NOT buy ideas and DOES NOT take a share . It is difficult to expect something outstanding from startups if they are not kicked in the balls, but placed in the greenhouse conditions of coworking, give lectures, provide mentors and expertise.

We’ll finish the good, now the sad. On the one hand, the speakers said the right words - Customer development , Lean startup , MVP . However, in fact, many were afraid to talk with customers.Get Out of the Building! But they drew smart "sticks" on the revenue forecast graph, although there are no real sales. The most daring guaranteed a profit in 2 years at 1bn. rubles with 18 million rubles invested.




Many are looking for ridiculous money: $ 10-15 thousand to develop a prototype and test hypotheses. You guys are students! Time - heaps! You have 5 people in a team. Any sane investor or business angel will send you for 1-2 months to earn these small funds in the nearest McDonald's. And only then, after creating a prototype, working 3+ months in the market and entering breakeven, does it make sense to look for venture capital investments to scale.

Perhaps this is a very early pre-sowing stage and a potential business angel has come to terms with the fact that he takes an honorable place in the FFF scheme (not of a family or friend). In a word, it is difficult to understand where student initiative ends and real business begins. Previously, students participated in KVN, but now they play in startups.

I give descriptions of the teams that spoke and their answers to experts' questions. A brochure from the HSE Business Incubator is also available . All project presentations can be downloaded here .

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1. Netbell HRM
   An online retail network personnel management system for medium and large businesses, which can increase staff efficiency and reduce the costs of working out by improving the quality of planning and automation of work time accounting processes.
   What does your system do? Drawing up a time sheet of personnel taking into account the necessary load of the store.
   Are your customers shopping? No, any companies.
   To whom and for how much did they sell the pilot version? Sportmaster, positive reviews.
   
   
2. SoundFunding A
   platform for direct interaction between fans and musicians. Fans can invite an artist to any city, influence whether he arrives there or not, buying tickets for an unconfirmed concert on the basis of crowdfunding. Concert promoters can reduce organization risks by easily checking demand.
   How do you solve the problem that artists plan their performances a couple of years in advance? Famous groups have everything planned, but we work with small groups where you need to confirm the demand and payback of a concert in a particular city.
   
   
3. InterYou + Preza
   Mobile application for paid surveys. Customer companies pay for demand research for their product, and users earn money by expressing their opinions. They can spend money on charity, affiliate coupons or withdraw to their electronic wallet.
   How do you guarantee that the target audience answers the questions? When registering, the user fills out a questionnaire about himself.
   
   
4. Pulsir + Preza A
   platform that collects applications on its site for targeted assistance to those in need through charity funds. It is a website and a mobile application where philanthropists can provide targeted assistance and receive information about where the funds were spent and how they helped the recipient.
   How to control where donations go? In the personal account on the site there will be statistics on payments and all events that occurred with the object of donation.
   How do you earn? Transactions (2.6% of each payment), souvenirs, raising profiles.
   How do people know about your service? Affiliate promotions, advertising, SMM.
   
   
5. VendoPay + preza
   Software and hardware complex for vending machine manufacturers, which allows for non-cash payment for services of vending machines.
   Do people have a problem you solve (each machine has a change and change change)? It is more convenient for owners of devices to accept cashless payments.
   How much is your device? 6-10 thousand rubles
   What technology do you use for interaction? Cellular, WiFi.
   How do you ensure safety? Our processing partner will do it.
   The payback period of your decision? Did not answer.
   Got a prototype? Yes.
   
   
6. TherMom + Preza A
   wearable device that allows young parents to know about their child’s well-being through a system of analysis of basic vital signs.
   The cost of the device? 3-5 thousand rubles, but also other monetization models - the device is free, but data is paid for.
   Who is the audience? Young parents.
   Your competitors? An ordinary thermometer, but we have data in dynamics.
   Do you have children? 2 nephews.
   There are special requirements for devices carried by children (weight, materials), what do you have with this? We need investments to learn all these parameters, algorithms, to work with focus groups.
   Maybe you should choose another CA? Yes, it will also be useful to workers in hazardous industries.
   Cost of device? 1 thousand rub.
   Why do you need money? Advertising, prom. design.
   
   
7. Moydodyr
   Quadrocopter for industrial washing of windows of buildings. A special device for attaching brushes. Cloud-based device management (copter groups).
   Your cost of washing 1sq.m. glass? 10rub and reduced, because new batteries appear.
   How do you control the quality of cleaning? There are different types of washing.
   Who are the customer segments? B2B who once a year hold tenders. We want to go to B2C where people will call drones to their homes.
   When is your launch pilot? The end of 2016
   There is already a startup who by 2016. Will cover all glass with a non-contaminating film, what will you do? Will become partners with them.
   
   
8. ROBO-DESiGN
   Laboratory of the best robots. Design bureau for the development of new models of robots customized for the sale of products and services in shopping centers and banks, entertainment in public places and advertising at exhibitions.
   What is your product? Better robots.
   Which university did you graduate? Novosibirsk State Technical University.
   
   
9. Pollen. Club + Preza A
   mobile application for monitoring pollen activity for allergy sufferers. Allows allergy sufferers to receive information in advance about dangerous places for them through information collected from other allergy sufferers and special services.
   What do you give to the client? Information about allergens, when and where to go.
   Do you work with B2B honey companies? Working on it.
   With what accuracy do you give information about pollen (city, street, house)? At a radius level of 40km (city, region).
   Do you have guarantees and responsibility for the operation of the service? We do not give recommendations, we only inform you.
   
   
10. QScan + Preza Wearable
    molecular fluid scanner - “mini-laboratory in your pocket”, is used to determine the level of water pollution, the composition of drinks. It involves the development of a map format of scanned products for urban consumers.
    How do you make it cheaper? We do water analysis by her photo and big data and mat. models.
    Where do you get data for comparison? No data, need RND and crowdsourcing.
    What is the novelty? In algorithms, but not patented.
    Do you give a certificate or conclusion like other laboratories? No, just a device for personal use.
    Why didn’t they demonstrate the device? Ugly, let's do another.
    
    
11. IntraLife
    Corporate application for mobile devices, accelerating the process of information delivery between company employees. It allows you to organize work documents, instantly distribute the necessary information among employees, as well as provide them with access to the necessary information materials, reference books and simply quickly communicate with each other.
    Do you know your client why this is for him? A platform for disseminating information to company employees.
    What is the implementation cycle of the client? 1-6 months
    Cost? 1.2 million rubles, regardless of the number of integrations of any company services.
    Who is your target customer in companies? Head of HR, IT.
    
    
12. QuBeQu + Preza
    An online service that helps small business managers analyze and control a company's business, and make management decisions. It brings together data from different systems for business: advertising, CRM, 1C; Excel, Google Spreadsheets and proprietary systems allows you to build summary reports and graphs from these data to track KPI, marketing performance, sales analysis and finance.
    What is your advantage? Easy data entry besides Excel, setting up data interaction without a programmer.
    What is the complexity of implementing your solution? The customer can configure everything in 1 day.
    
    
13. ForceCUBE
    Service platform for traditional retail, which allows you to increase sales and margin of business through targeted targeting, digital monitoring of consumer behavior, increasing customer loyalty.
    How it works? Beacons.
    Is there an introduction already? The project is 1.5 years old, long negotiations with networks, no implementation.
    What can you do best? Data acquisition from the lighthouse.
    
    
14. VisCast
    A device for wirelessly transmitting audio and video from any source to mobile devices. Audio streaming for conferences. The device does not increase the noise level around it; it can be used for simultaneous interpretation at conferences, theatrical productions.
    Any introduction? Sheremetyevo Airport (not successful), shopping center (successful, because they said a personal discount on the video).
    Will the signal from other stores or devices be jammed? Not
    
    
15. All-terrain
    robot Walking transport robot to conquer difficult places.
    You only have a design, is there a prototype? There is no prototype.
    Why are you interested in just such robots? I'm from the taiga.
    
    
16. SharpSuits + Preza A
    modular cyber- bionic costume that allows you to read and reproduce human movements and sensations. It allows you to quickly master any skill, gives realistic sensations of objects and phenomena of the virtual environment.
    What is already there? Gloves, reproduction of movements, imitation of tactile sensations (pet cat).
    Sales? No, because each person has his own setting.
    You need 18 million. rubles, do you plan to earn several billion rubles a year? The market is large, digital, transactions from the market for training services (learning to play musical instruments).
    Command? Bolshaya, Ph.D., Microsoft, Skolkovo, neurobiology, expert from Duke University / USA.
    
    
17. AMPI
    Desktop charger for electronics and gadgets, used in cafes and restaurants.
    Competitors? Powerbanks, no field trials.
    Isn't it easier for a cafe to make sockets on every table? It is expensive and uncomfortable for them.
    Explored the market. that there are fewer visitors where there are no outlets? Yes, it has been confirmed.
    Will the device print receipts? Now no, then yes.
    
    
18. ShockTrack + Preza
    Portable shock force detection sensor for the early diagnosis of craniocerebral and other injuries (in sports, in industry, in construction).
    What does the sensor register? Helmet acceleration and injury.
    Why are you doing this? I go in for sports, got 2 head injuries.
    Why do you want to sell yourself, and not through sellers of sports equipment? This is add. sales channel.
    Why is this needed? The child does not speak when injured.
    What was the device tested on? Only on 1m founder.
    
    
19. Astron-M
    Climate control platform, irrigation system in greenhouses, greenhouses, conservatories, "home beds".
    What do you sell? A box with a set of sensors and a set of relays that close / open the curtains, regulate the temperature, etc.
    Cost of production? 6 thousand rub.
    Where to get the drives? Do partners (windows, controllers, fan).
    How is the problem solved now? Everyone has a problem how to heat a greenhouse, they heat it with free heat from the nearest heating main.
    

Team Leader Photos:

In conclusion, one of the experts said that he expects only 2 things from presentations:

1. How people are solving the problem now.
2. The story of the “honeymoon” - how the client's life has improved, after your decision.

I agree with the expert opinion. Beautiful graphics do not matter. Real financial results and communication with the client will show the viability of the business.