What is a startup company. Idea for junk food lovers

Ideas for startups: the "freshest" ideas from all over the world - 3 keys to success + TOP-5 ideas from around the world + 3 startup ideas from Russian developers.

Why startup ideas are gaining more and more popularity in the business sphere and bring the owners whole capital?

First of all, because they offer absolutely new, innovative solutions to people's pressing problems.

Therefore, it is quite logical that in search of inspiration for creating your own startup, you should not rush “deep into history”.

Follow the trends, fashion trends, what is actually in demand now.

This article can help you with this, which has brought together the main business trends and forecasts regarding future discoveries in the entrepreneurial “art” market.

What is a startup?

Before talking about startup ideas, it is worth defining what is generally meant.

Most have only a general idea of ​​startups. Therefore, someone believes that this is how they call new resources on the Internet, others - that this is a business created by young people with no experience.

There is some truth in this. However, the concept itself is broader.

Startup- This is a business idea that is based solely on the use of innovative technologies or the introduction of completely new products.

That is, the composition of the team and the format of the company does not matter (often startups begin to develop without being officially registered).

The main thing is for the team to help solve some problem of humanity by offering something unique.

Also, the distinctive features of a startup are:

• limited money to start;
• starting work from scratch;
• most often, partners in a startup were previously connected by some kind of relationship (worked together, studied).

And although the world learns about such companies even at its first steps, when the market position is not yet strong, only those companies that have already manufactured a product can be called startups.

An operating time or a “raw” project is only the basis for creation, but not the startup itself.

What is the key to the success of a startup idea?

If we analyze the ideas behind the startup that have been especially successful, we can identify several common features.

Conventionally, they can be called "secrets of success."

Factors that determine the success of a startup idea:

What exactly do you think about the idea that became a startup?

Do you think that it can bring a lot of money?

Or do you really “burn” and are sure that this business will be useful to people and become innovative?

Only in the second case, the startup really has a chance of success.

If you do not have a sincere interest, you can quickly "burn out."

Moreover, startups rarely bring instant profit.

A lot depends on the team.

Obviously, a team of like-minded people working on the same wavelength can do more than one person.

Don't try to put everything on your own shoulders.

You should not calculate how many people will have to share the profit, but take care of the perfect quality of every detail.

Youth is a plus.

Let this statement sound like a discredit.

But the fact remains that investors are more focused on investing in the young and ambitious.

Let people with experience go about their business - run large organizations and share knowledge with others.

For those who no longer consider themselves a "young man", but are on fire, let's clarify: success in business has no age restrictions.

Doubt? Look at this picture:

TOP-5: global startup ideas

As a rule, startups are concentrated in the field of IT technologies. We decided to create a selection of ideas that ordinary people created and brought to life.

Such a step is intended to inspire you to implement your own ideas, even if you do not have special education or many years of work experience.

1. Green idea: special shampoo

"Nephentes" looks like an enema or something.

In fact, this startup idea can significantly affect the preservation of the environment.

Few people think, but ordinary plastic bottles from under the "" is a product that is harmful to the environment. The period of decomposition of one bottle can be hundreds of years!

And remember how much you use them during your life?

According to the idea of ​​this startup, manufacturers make products in huge containers, pouring the right portions into buyers' Nephentes bottles.

It is curious that the design does not even involve the use of a cover! The neck is simply bent and inserted into the compartment.

Another plus: you can finally use the product at 100%, including what usually remains at the bottom.

2. Indian startup idea

If you think that in India they can only dance and make films, then you will be surprised - not so few ideas for startups have been created in this country.

Interestingly, there is even a kind of analogue of the American Silicon Valley.

In addition, in India they are really interested in the issue of a huge amount of garbage on the streets. Innovative ideas appear regularly.

For example, an edible spoon is a great alternative to plastic utensils. After a meal, it can be eaten as a dessert or, of course, just thrown away.

Obviously, such a “material” as flour decomposes as quickly as possible and is absolutely harmless to nature.

The creators also assure that the product can be safely eaten by vegetarians. And in the future, even the development of a gluten-free version is planned.

3. An idea for junk food lovers

Which of us is not familiar with such a misfortune: you carefully take chips or something else greasy, and your fingers get dirty so that you have to go wash them.

And you need to be extremely careful not to hook or stain anything!

A startup has appeared in Italy, the idea of ​​​​which is to create fingertips. They are very thin, but at the same time the latex tightly fits the fingers.

Thanks to this, consumers can safely feast on goodies, and then simply throw away the “nozzles”.

It is assumed that these devices will not be sold on their own, but complete with chips, nuts or similar food, for which they were invented.

4. Startup: "folding" napkins

But the idea of ​​this startup is already designed for higher cuisine - that is, for restaurants. It appeared as a reaction to the fact that ordinary napkin holders are already becoming obsolete.

But napkins pressed into a small round “washer” are another matter. To use such a thing, visitors must dip the "pill" into an antiseptic solution.

And then the fabric unfolds, acquires a pleasant smell, and even becomes a “killing tool” for harmful microbes on your hands.

You should not immediately estimate the increased costs for the owners: these towels are not disposable. So the idea of ​​a startup will not harm either the wallet or the environment.

5. Startup idea with social value

Often, startups are still designed to solve global problems, and not just improve the already comfortable life of consumers.

For example, in Denmark, a special supermarket was created - "WeFood". Its concept is that they sell goods here that cannot be put on the shelves of "decent" ones.

Mislabeling, torn packaging, an approaching expiration date or even a delay in general - all this is usually a reason to write off, return or even dispose of goods.

Meanwhile, even in Denmark there are many people who have to save on everything.

The idea of ​​the supermarket has not only helped low-income people to eat more nutritious food. There was also a 25% reduction in wasted food across the country!

Here is such a useful and, oddly enough, profitable startup.

And what about Russia: 3 domestic ideas for startups

Although the words “economic decline conditions” have already become classic texts for the realities of Russian entrepreneurship, everything is not so bad in the field of start-ups.

The “buy-sell” orientation is gradually giving way to an innovative approach.

Original solutions still do not have such strong state support as in other countries.

However, their number is increasing, and investors are ready to invest their money. This is especially evident in the variety of ideas for a startup in 2016.

1) A startup you've definitely heard of

Have you seen the original photo processing on Instagram, which turns an ordinary frame into an artistic canvas? Most likely, you already know what we are talking about.

For the rest, let's clarify - the Prisma application is a service that allows you to process users' photos in an original way.

For many, it will come as a surprise that it was Russian programmers who developed Prism. Moreover, its creator is a former employee of the well-known mail.ru.

The peculiarity of the program is that it does not just impose some filters on top of the card.

Through the use of neural network algorithms (of which you may have heard a lot too), Prism analyzes the frame and then creates it from scratch. But already in the form of a picture.

The fact that almost everyone knows about this application now is already an indicator of success. It remains to be added that the Facebook administration banned the use of the program on its network only because it considered it competitive.

2) Idea for a startup on cards

It is believed that various accumulative and discount cards are gradually becoming a thing of the past. At least because no one wants to carry around dozens of options without knowing which one they need.

The developers of the startup "Cardberry" came up with the idea to create a device that can accommodate all kinds of cards.

We will not go into technical details. The bottom line is that any user cards are, as it were, entered into the memory of this electronic device.

Every time a person needs a certain card, he enters a special application and selects it.

"Cardberry" adapts to the choice and becomes a full-fledged replacement for the desired card.

For your attention, we offer a cool video

about the 10 most successful startups in the world:

3) Startup idea for a comfortable life

Perhaps you are not familiar with the SVET company yet, but you have every chance to hear about them.

As the name implies, the team offers lighting equipment. What is the innovativeness of this idea for a startup?

Today we'll talk about what is a startup. Recently, this term can be heard quite often when it comes to business or investments, so I decided to dedicate a small series of publications to it on Financial Genius. Today there will be the first introductory article from which you will learn what a startup is and why it is interesting for a businessman or investor. About all this in order.

Startup(from the English. start up - “launch”) - this is a newly created or still in the process of creating a company. The term startup implies that a company has a certain business idea that it wants to develop and promote on the market, but is still only engaged in market research and searching for ways to promote its idea, including sources of funding.

Startups are also understood as projects that develop under conditions of uncertainty, develop new products or services, are at the stage of searching for optimal business solutions and need capitalization (financing).

The classic concept of a startup refers to companies in any field of activity, but there are more specific interpretations of this term. For example, many people think of a startup as exclusively high-tech products, venture (high-risk) business in the field of IT technologies, business on the Internet.

The term "startup" itself originated in the United States in the late 30s of the last century, when two American students Hewlett and Packard organized their small company called "start-up". Over time, the company has developed to a global scale, and today we know it as Hewlett-Packard (HP).

In our country, when they talk about startups, they usually mean Internet sites that differ from others by some kind of “zest”. As examples of startups that have received the widest development, the most popular social networks (VKontakte, Facebook, Odnoklassniki), the largest video hosting Youtube, the Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia, the quick messaging service Twitter, etc. are often cited. It is understood that startups differed from many other Internet projects in some new and special ideas, which helped them develop to such a scale. Although in reality this is not always the case.

In the world, the concept of a startup is much broader. The most successful examples of startups are Google, Microsoft, Apple. These are no longer just Internet sites, but the largest corporations, which, nevertheless, once started with a simple idea and were brought to life by ordinary people who were passionate about this idea.

Startup signs.

Since the concept of a startup, as you can see, is rather vague, let's highlight the main characteristic features of a startup, which most modern businessmen and investors rely on.

1. Creation of a new product. Most often, startups imply some absolutely innovative business ideas, or significantly improved existing ones. In this way, they can seriously compete even with powerful corporations, which, on the contrary, are more often focused on the production of the existing range of goods and services, only slightly improving them, but not thinking about a radical change. Therefore, a startup is always, in fact, a step into the unknown.

2. The main factor in creating a startup is a business idea. in the traditional sense, too, of course, begins with an idea, but there it does not play such a big role. The idea for a startup itself can cost a lot of money if it is promising, while a lot of banal business ideas can be found for free on the Internet, even with ready-made business plans.

3. The founder of a startup is usually young. All successful startups were created by "fresh brains" - young people, often students. Statistics show that the average age of a startup founder is 25 years old. For this reason, in the world, startups are often called the “garage business”, since previously students, having nothing to their hearts, developed their business ideas by gathering in garages.

4. All or nothing. The creator of a startup is always overly passionate about his idea, he believes in it and is ready to take any, even unjustified risks to implement it. at any cost - that's the main thing for a startup.

5. Gathering of a team working for an idea. Starting a startup alone is a difficult task. Therefore, startups are often created by groups of young people united by a common idea (even if the authorship of the idea belongs to one of them). For example, one person is developing an idea, another is planning to create a business based on it, a third is looking for suppliers, a fourth is buyers, a fifth is investors, etc. Moreover, they are all passionate about their business and work for future potential profits, without receiving any income from it immediately.

6. Lack of funding. And, finally, the main characteristic feature of a startup is the lack of sufficient capital to implement a business idea, or even its complete absence. This is quite logical: the idea is created by a young man who has not yet earned anything, so he needs investors who will believe in him, invest their money and allow him to realize his plan. For a significant percentage of the profits, of course.

Startup types.

There are several such classifications. First of all, I propose to single out the types of startups by the nature of the product and the sales market:

1. "Startup clones". This includes domestic developments that repeat successful global projects. Such startups have repeatedly proven their promise, take, for example, the same social networks.

2. "Dark Horses" Launching completely new projects in an as yet unexplored market. Such startups are both the most risky and the most potentially profitable.

3. Market Invaders. Startups of this type involve the introduction of a new product into an existing market and the exclusion of competitors or the allocation and capture of a new segment in the market. Such an idea can be realized, for example, by developing a product or service with a good price advantage.

You can also distinguish types of startups by the level of knowledge intensity:

1. High tech startups. That is, in fact, the transformation of scientific research into business. Potentially, such startups are very profitable, but, on the other hand, they require the most extensive funding available only to large investors.

2. Startups that do not require high technology. The well-known principle “Everything ingenious is simple!” can be successfully applied to the creation of startups. History knows many examples when simple and easy-to-implement ideas brought huge money to their creators. A number of such cases are described in the article.

Stages of startup development.

There are 5 stages of startup development.

1. Sowing stage (Pre-seed stage). At this stage, a business idea is born, general technical methods for its promotion on the market are developed. A startupper studies the market, draws up a startup business plan, some technical task, creates a prototype of his product, alpha and beta versions, tests them, studies demand and searches for investors. If the investor is still not found, the startup implementation ends there, the project does not receive wide development. Unfortunately, this is what happens in many cases.

2. Startup stage. If a source of funding has been found, the first serious launch of the product to the market occurs. The product falls into market conditions and enters into a struggle with competitors, whose positions at this stage are always stronger. Therefore, it is also not so easy to overcome the launch stage: it requires perseverance, creativity, business acumen ... Yes, a lot of things. At the same time, this stage is the most risky for an investor, because if a startup does not find the desired demand, it will lose its money.

3. Growth stage. Having coped with the competition, the new product begins to be in demand and moves towards the complete capture of the market niche that its developers envisioned. At this stage, the product can already break even and bring investors their first profit.

4. Expansion stage. The company achieves its initial goals and begins to promote its product further, conquering new markets. It is already confidently “standing on its feet”, has a popular, well-promoted brand, the profit from the startup is growing steadily.

Advantages of a startup for a businessman and investor.

A startup as a way of earning is interesting both for its creator and for an investor. Each of them can get their own financial benefit from this, but the main risks, of course, are borne by the investor. On the other hand, he can earn much more.

Creating a startup from the point of view of a developer is an opportunity to realize your business idea, achieve success, do your favorite, self-created business for your own pleasure and get a good income from it.

From the point of view of an investor, a startup is an opportunity to increase your capital well by investing in a business at an early stage and selling it at the stage of maximum development, when it costs many times more, or keep it as a stable source of passive income.

The distribution of income from the implementation of the project between the investor and the startup takes place on a contractual basis. The main part of the income is most often taken by the investor, because he finances the project and risks his money. As a rule, the developer of the idea is left with no more than 5-10% of the profit, but when implementing a grandiose idea, this money may be enough to become rich and financially independent.

This was the initial, introductory information about what a startup is. In further publications on I will take a closer look at how to make money on startups as an author of an idea and an investor, so stay tuned and stay tuned. Also on this site you will find many other interesting ideas for earning and investing, you can improve your financial literacy and learn how to properly manage personal finances. Until we meet again!

When youth, creative thinking and the desire to earn money combine, it's time to think about creating a new idea that would be useful to modern society. The main criteria for this are novelty, social significance, usefulness. The chosen idea should be of interest, only then it will find a place under the "sun of the modern business world."

What is a startup?

The term "start up" itself is of English origin and is translated as the beginning of the process. Today, this concept defines projects at an early stage of development.

For the first time this term was applied in the USA in 1939 during the development and discovery of innovative technologies. After that, this word migrated to other areas, the main thing is that the idea is new (regardless of direction). For example, in Russia you cannot call it a startup. But Facebook, Google, Amazon are vivid examples, as they contain innovation and creativity. By the way, many well-known corporations that were presented as startups began their existence as small businesses.

The main differences and characteristics of startups

Startup is:

1. A new project that has just started its development. There are no specific time parameters during which a business is no longer considered a startup. But each of them has its own fate - one grows into a powerful business, the other simply closes due to irrelevance.
2. Idea innovation;
3. Work in a new market segment, an unusual algorithm for doing business and business processes;
4. Constant search for capital. No profitable venture will exist without monetary influences, so the essence of a startup is to find an idea that would attract investors in 2016. A lot of capital is needed to introduce and develop new ideas, so financial issues are always in the first place during the development period;
5. The rapid implementation of the chosen idea is one of the main conditions for a modern startup. Investors who have invested in an innovative project will not wait forever, so they need the result in a short time. Either the chosen startup will start to progress, receiving new sources of funding, or it will close just as quickly.

Is it possible to create a successful startup?

Examples of successful startups

A successful startup is not just a business plan with a specific algorithm of actions. The creators of such projects claim that this is a whole philosophy in which the soul of its creators is invested. Consider examples of the brightest startups.

The inscription on the sand - kind, reasonable, romantic

“A business devoid of human feelings and emotions is a dead business,” say the creators of the Sand Sign project. The essence of the idea is to create an Internet service that allows anyone to order an inscription on the sand on the beaches of Costa Rica or the Hawaiian Islands.

In order to use the service, you need to go to the site and indicate the text that will be written on the coast (up to 30 characters), or make a sketch yourself, indicating all the design features. Within 10 days you will receive the desired inscription on the sand and its photo (or video). The cost of this service is 590 rubles for a photo and 990 for a video.

Those who are not interested in developing new ideas can do.

"Social alarm clock" - business in real time

Hrachik Adzhamyan (the developer of this startup) once overslept due to workload and did not receive a visa to Germany. A few months later, he overslept again and missed his dream job interview with Yandex. This situation prompted him to create a new useful service - a social alarm clock. The bottom line is that instead of an annoying call, to which most of us may not respond at all, an unknown person will call you and ask you to wake up. According to the creators, this is the only way to wake up the most inveterate dormouse. You can use this service today for free. But those who wish to use the social alarm clock daily can purchase a paid package in 2016, in which they can wake up with the voices of the stars or read horoscopes, news, etc.

Startup "To each other"

The developers of this idea were graduates of St. Petersburg State University. Initially, the idea was that people leave their desires, and they choose the ones they like and bring them to life, giving joy to others. But it was not possible to cope with such a flow of desires, so the project was transformed, and the registered users of the project themselves embody each other's desires.

The project "To each other" is innovative and meets the modern realities of Russia. The essence of the idea is aimed at the fact that it is possible not only to fulfill dreams, but also to help in the search for someone who will fulfill them. The initial capital required to implement such a business is $50,000.

"Button of life" - help to relatives

According to statistics, 30% of older people over the age of 65 fall at least once a year, some of them are not able to stand up on their own. The theme of supporting loved ones became the basis for the creation of the Life Button startup. This project combines a call center, a website and software that helps to monitor the elderly and help in difficult times.

How it works:

• instant signal reception in the call center if the company's client is in trouble;
• calling an ambulance to the place where the signal was received;
• informing relatives about the incident;
• storage of information about diseases, allergies, medical assistance call histories.

"Life Button" is also a powerful monitoring system that helps to determine the location of a person. Elderly people are the most vulnerable, they are often lost, they can forget the address or be robbed.

Now everyone can help their elderly relative, if it is not possible to constantly be with him. The cost of such a service depends on the chosen package and is 200-1100 rubles per month.

"Super bowler" - we ask everyone to the table

The idea of ​​the "Super Pot" is simple and straightforward. Any person who has the potential and passion for cooking can cook their favorite dish, take a picture of it and post it on the company's website super-marmite.com, describe a "culinary masterpiece". After that, the cost and the address where you can buy it are indicated. All that remains is to wait for bold and hungry customers who are not against culinary experiments.

Stages of startup development

Each business project in Russia has its own development path. If you don't know, you'll probably go with the standard methods.

Since a startup involves an innovative idea, the algorithm for implementing and developing a small business can be different, not always logical. But at the same time, it is worth highlighting the overall development strategy, which consists of the following stages:

1. Idea creation. At the first stage, the idea of ​​the provided product or service is formed, hypotheses are built about the significance for people, ways of promotion.
2. Testing. The chosen direction is checked, the potential client base is analyzed, a presentation is created and a business plan is drawn up.
3. Search for an investor. An individual who seeks profitable start-ups and directly provides capital to such early-stage start-ups is called an angel investor. Your task is to present the project in such a way as to find interested people who will agree to finance a startup, for example, by providing a radically new look.

After the launch of the project, the main task is to interest a potential buyer, to promote your services or goods. The main problem at the start is the lack of demand for products. Therefore, at the very beginning it is recommended to analyze the useful properties of the selected material, evaluate its availability and relevance.

Who can support a startup in Russia?

All developed countries allocate funds in 2016 to support and develop start-ups, as each of them can create economic growth in the future. The most advanced country in this direction is the United States. It has a large number of business schools, technoparks, universities, venture funds that are constantly “hunting” for new ideas and developing small businesses. Russia is a little behind in this direction. But in 2016, there are a number of companies, associations that are interested in financing profitable projects:

• National Association of Business Angels. On their official website, you can find a list of business angels (private investors) who are developing startups.
• National Commonwealth of Business Angels. Visit their website and read expert recommendations, apply for funding, and become a member of a business incubator (specialized programs for small business development).
• Skolkovo Investors Club;
• SOBA (National Commonwealth of Business Angels of St. Petersburg).

There are well-known private investors who are considering cooperation proposals with creative young people. These include Alexander Aivazov, Alexander Vashchenko, Andrey Golovin, Dmitry Maslenikov, Vadim Kulikov, Leonid Volkov, Mikhail Paulkin, Sergey Gribov and Sergey Zhukov.

Having contacted one of the investors, get ready that you will have from 1 to 5 minutes to present the idea. As a rule, business angels are not interested in diagrams and graphs at the first meeting. Their task is to find out the essence of the project, to evaluate its profitability. Therefore, they prepare a small presentation for 10 slides, a teaser (description on 1 page) and a financial plan with them.

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A startup is an innovative idea that is becoming a great prospect for entrepreneurial and resourceful people who do not have the financial means. The dynamic sphere of business in Russia, like in other countries, is oversaturated, it is dominated by the laws of fierce competition and constantly changing demand. That is why innovation and creativity are valued in 2016. A startup gives rise to new directions, becomes socially significant for society, and, most importantly, opens horizons for ambitious businessmen. The key advantage is accessibility. You can find investors both in Russia and abroad. The main thing is to find a really profitable idea and build a competent plan for its promotion.

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Not every entrepreneur can define a startup, what it is - namely, these are new projects that often use the value of a startup. With the introduction of new technologies, the circulation of this word has become even more, but it has almost a century of experience, since the days of Hewlett and Packard, who called their own business project that way.

Very often the word is used as a synonym for a breakthrough in some kind of activity. Now many people interpret it differently as starting a business, but is it right? Many middle-aged businessmen simply do not understand the meaning of this word, it is necessary to consider this definition.

You can go the simplest way answering the question of a startup, what is it, turn to the electronic interpreter, Wikipedia, which gives the answer that this concept defines launching something. It is generally accepted that only IT projects are characterized by this concept, but is this correct? High technologies are used in many industries, which means that the term is applicable to new projects in these areas.

The reasons why entrepreneurs on the network (Internet project) use the expression more often are:

education for the implementation of the planned projects of the new company;

in the IT industry, a startup can be created for a long time period, this is the creation of products up to 3 years, and then implementation on the market.

When the origin of the definition of Start-Up is considered from English, then this is a new company with a unique idea, opened with investor money, with great ambitions and who want to make big profits.

Now many startups can be noted in the medical field, as well as television communications. This definition is suitable for the beginning of the activities of companies in the financial sector, in the organization of sales and consumption of goods.

Experts characterize this concept as follows ─ an innovative project that has a short development period and is designed to explore ideas or products. The goal pursued is: the fastest possible return on investment and the achievement of the greatest profit.

This definition does not sound unambiguous, it turns out that projects that are not based on innovations can no longer be startups, but is this correct?

A simple definition of a startup

Due to the many interpretations of this concept, the question arises , startup, what is it in simple words, and what does it refer to? A clear difference between a startup and a business is the principle by which money is invested. The investor invests in the idea that leads to the start-up project, and not in the successful production of the entrepreneur.

The well-known founder of a large project, Peter Thiel (Pay Pal financial settlement system), says that these are not ideas, but innovative technologies. Any new technology in the field of providing services or launching new products will ensure the success of the new company and the money invested.

When considering a startup project, we can talk about a monopoly, since this is the only way to implement (implement) new ideas.

There are five stages of passing a startup, these are:

primary stage (sowing) - seed stage;

starting stage - startup stage;

stage of formation (growth) - growth stage;

expanding stage - expansion stage;

the final stage is exit stage.

In the realities of our reality, all projects are associated with IT technologies, the reason for this is small expenses and a huge market. In simple words, a startup is a new idea supported by an investor to create a company in its implementation.

Successful projects that everyone knows about are:

Electronic interpreter ─ Wikipedia.

Popular YouTube project.

Photo service Flickr.

The famous Twitter messaging service.

Instagram app.

It is also necessary to emphasize that in Russia the definition of a startup and outside it (USA) are different. In contrast to our definition, Americans call it an already developed company that fits certain criteria, but produces innovative products or provides services using new technologies.

Features of the startup project

Experts identify six features in understanding a startup, what it is, examples of a successful start in Russia, these are:

The project is based on an original (innovative) idea that solves the social problems of many people or, with its implementation, a useful product is obtained to improve life and other similar conditions.

The speed of implementation of the idea. By analogy with foreign projects, where a startup that does not bring the expected profit ceases to exist after six months, a maximum of 8 months, in Russia it can exist for up to three years, smoothly flows into an established business.

Not every project has a chance of success, for the year of all projects taken as 100%, about 30% remain, then only 15% remain. It is noted that 1 project out of 10 proposed justifies the expectations of investors.

The task for which a startup is created is to make a profit more than investments or to implement a project to large exchanges for the development of a startup.

Organization of the team in the project. Usually this is a close-knit team that lives for an idea, they are called startups.

Who invests in a startup

In order to understand how a project is funded, you need to understand a startup, what it is, a very correct definition can be obtained from the following quote, this:

“A startup is a group of people who are engaged in a sustainable search for an idea for a business with the possibility of expanding it.”

Steve Blank.

Each project after creation needs to be developed, it needs external investments. The amount of investment increases with the growth of the company. The first stage of a startup can be realized for several thousand dollars, and its growth and expansion may require millions of investments.

Potential investors are:

venture funds that are created to implement innovative ideas;

angel investments (investments), which are necessary at first, are the money of familiar business angels received according to a properly created business plan.

To receive money from a venture fund, a project must have a formed proposal (the final form of the product), which occupies a minimum share in its own niche of entrepreneurial activity. In other words, a project can receive venture investments not earlier than the fourth stage of development (expansion stage) expansion of the project.

At the first stage, it is necessary to look for seed or angel investments in the project, it can be the money of friends, parents, acquaintances.

Attachment comparison is:

Europe and the USA - up to $100,000 conventional units;

Russia - up to $40 thousand conventional units.

At the first stages, investments are received at the expense of business angels, who in exchange receive a part of the shares of the new company. When projects grow up to the possibility of obtaining venture capital investments, only 10 percent of the entire mass of startups will remain. For this reason, in the early stages, investors consciously take the risk of losing money, but this does not stop investing money in new ideas. Statistics show that they are increasing every year, business needs new projects.

There is a definition of bootstrapping ─ when a novice entrepreneur has not found investments for his original idea and develops a project without additional investments. This implies the use of the entrepreneur's own money at the stages of development of a startup.

Only the project team that has a competent leader with knowledge of the market in which the project is being developed and high-class developers will receive seed investments. The money for the first stages is also issued by a venture fund in this case.

There is a Rusbase service on the network that collects proposals from startups for investment. Here you can easily find an investor if you wish, if the idea is really original, it:

club AlTaClub is a community of voluntary investors who can invest at least $25,000 conventional units in a project;

the community of angels "Skolkovo", has a great potential for investment money, up to $250 million conventional units;

investment community "Smart oney c lub", can invest from $10 thousand conventional units;

venture store SmartHub, works on the selection of unique startups for declared investors, withdraws 10% of the project requiring investment as a bonus;

a fund for the development of potential investments in Moscow enterprises, the purpose of which is to support investments provided by private investors to start-up projects.

Investment risks

Every investor who understands a startup, what it is in simple terms, must be prepared to lose money. There is no way to predict the future of the project, the possible conditions of force majeure. The main risks are:

A large percentage of projects completed without the expected results. It could be:

products manufactured by the company did not find its consumer;

companies in the process of development went bankrupt.

To avoid these risks, investors carefully check the business plan for a startup, choose the best option.

The fact of fraud on the part of a startup cannot be ruled out, which shows the investor a “dummy”.

Not the experience of young businessmen in entrepreneurial activity.

There is no team that is able to "raise" the project, even if there is an original idea.

Successful projects

Examples of successful startup projects are Microsoft and Apple. Having defined the startup project, what it is, we will show examples of their implementation in Russia, these are:

Project in the field of medicine and 3D technologies ─ Zdravprint. The meaning of the idea is the production of individual fixators and orthoses for the upper limbs of a person by order of customers using 3D technologies. The initial parameters of the project are:

the project was founded in the spring of 2014;

has venture financing - $ 100 thousand conventional units;

the purpose of the project is the rehabilitation of patients after injuries, an effective method;

affordable cost of the products received - 3.5 thousand rubles;

color and pattern are selected individually.

Startup HaptonCreek is an egg-free mayonnaise that is more suitable for vegetarians. For this reason, it is very difficult to find investors for special products, but they appeared, and this is how diet mayonnaise came out, which won a stable demand for its consumption from millions of people (healthy food lovers). The initial parameters are:

about $143 million conventional units in several investments;

obtaining recognition and big profits in 1.5 years.

Aerogreen project, founded in 2008, initial parameters:

creation of innovative wind turbines;

initial investment in the project $24 million conventional units;

in 2015, about 70% of the company's shares are bought out by Svyaz Engineering Corporation;

development of alternative, efficient energy in Russia.

What are the benefits for the investor

From the very definition of a startup project, it follows that an investor who has successfully invested money in the development of a business idea receives the maximum profit if the project is successfully implemented. Under the money invested, the investor takes a share of the company's shares, which he can always sell to a larger company.

The direct benefit of the startup leader is that he gets an opportunity in which his original idea is realized.

The government of Russia, which has developed a proposal for financing innovative projects, does not stand aside either.

Internet platforms realize faster the demand for projects and the search for investors. When a businessman does not want to personally invest in a project, he can attract a venture agent, this is an intermediary in the start-up and investor link. In this case, the decision on the project is made by the agent, usually people with extensive experience in various fields of industry and economics.

In this case, the investor receives the following benefits, it is:

do not engage in monotonous, mundane affairs, but trust the experts;

the initial investment is usually small, it grows as the company develops;

the agent is hired by investors who are not professional sponsors of innovative ideas.

Disadvantages of hiring agents:

the venture agent charges 25% of the profit received by the investor;

there is a high risk of non-refundable investments.

When an investor joins the startup angel club, he can count on the benefits that are:

full control of financial investments;

profit goes to the investor without commission fees, directly;

The club provides an opportunity to invest small amounts of money in a new business.

The disadvantage of being a member of the investor community can be only one thing, the profit comes from investments after a long time.

Startups attract investors by the speed of organization of the company, the selfless work of the team to solve the problem and get the result.

Investors should always assess the risks of investments. A well-thought-out and correctly drawn up business plan gives more opportunities to find investment angels among businessmen. There should always be an original idea at the base of a startup, and a team gathers around it, ready to make every effort to implement it. Your own website is in some way an example of a startup, based on its original idea for offering services or products.

Time runs so fast that you don't have time to notice how yesterday's muffins turned into cupcakes, and ordinary sweaters into something intricate called "hoodies". Yes, the modern lifestyle makes it necessary to regularly replenish the vocabulary with new words in order to keep up with the latest trends. Therefore, today we will analyze what a startup is.

Definition

The term startup (from the English startup) was introduced into use by the American entrepreneur Steve Blank. By it, he meant the purpose of which is to make a profit after its development. The word startup can easily be replaced with a synonym for a business project.

But there is one caveat. A start-up cannot be called the opening of a vegetable stall in the market or a bakery. This term should only be used in relation to new business models that have their own unique characteristics. It will be much easier to understand what a startup is if you familiarize yourself with the history of the emergence of this term.

A bit of history

The starting point for the emergence of the term "startup" should be taken in 1939. Then two young students William Hewlett made their contribution to the development of innovative technologies - they created their first low-frequency generator. If someone has not yet guessed, then we are talking about Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Then this invention was something fundamentally new. No, there were generators on their own, but the HP200A model was distinguished by the presence of an incandescent lamp in it, which was used instead of a resistor. This feature made the low frequency oscillator more stable and less expensive than other models available on the market. Hewlett and Packard called their invention "startup".

Another striking example of what a startup is is Apple, which in 1976 began the handicraft production of personal computers under its own brand. Today, the release of a new smartphone from this company produces a large-scale hype around the world.

From the above, we can conclude what a startup is.

A startup is a fundamentally new business project, located at the starting point of development, which involves the emergence of something new on the market.

Startup: how is it different from a business?

Even in the media, you can hear how the word startup means a young business. But this use of the term is not entirely appropriate, since there are significant differences between these two concepts.

Signs by which you can distinguish a startup from a business:

• Idea.

If the undertaking is based on an already established business model, then this is a simple business start-up. But when it is based on a new idea, for example, a cafe with a service via quadcopters, it is already a startup.

• Teamwork.

Usually, a team of people who share common interests and goals work on innovative startup projects. Moreover, each participant is given a separate role, which significantly speeds up the launch of the project. While starting a business can easily be handled by one person.

• Implementation time.

This point follows from the previous one. Since a whole team of like-minded people is working on a startup, its launch time, as a rule, does not exceed 6 months. As for business, there is no place for haste. It can take more than 1 year to analyze the market, develop a business project and a marketing strategy.

• Founder age.

The emergence of startups is due to young people, or rather their ambition, creativity and energy. People with experience usually come to business, the average age of which is 30-35 years.

• Financing.

Innovations are always supported not only by developers, but also by sponsors. Some have an idea, others have the means to implement it. Businesses are most often opened at the expense of their own savings.

Stages of development

If we consider successful startups, we can compose their stages of development, regardless of their specifics. The whole process consists of 6 stages, each of which has its own characteristics.

The life cycle of startups was compiled by the same Steve Blank, setting them out in his book. Its distinguishing feature is that it is possible to understand how successful the idea for a startup was only after the completion of the last stage.

6 stages of startup development:

1. Pre-seed or origin. Here the idea itself, the image of the product, is formed. It may still be blurry, but there must be a clear understanding: why, how and why this particular product should exist.
2. Seed or sowing. At this stage, team gathering, market research and project development begin.
3. Prototype. The initial implementation of the project, that is, the creation of a working model designed to work in perfect conditions. In parallel with this, the search for a sponsor for investment in a startup begins.
4. Alpha version. At this stage, the working model is tested by a small group of people, errors are identified and adjustments are made.
5. Closed Beta. The development has a fully functional look and functionality. The user group is gradually expanding.
6. Open Beta. At this stage, the intensive promotion of the product to the masses begins.

How to launch your startup?

No matter how sad it may sound, but many startups are curtailed already at the first stage. Yes, there is an idea, but what to do next? Some lack experience, others lack enthusiasm, and others lack determination.

Experts in this field note that all people have the potential to become the creator of an innovative idea. The main thing is to be able to look at simple things from a different angle. Generally accepted stereotypes, standards, rules are the main obstacles that hinder the innovative development of mankind. In addition, there are some tips to help you launch your startup and move the nascent project off the ground.

The future is the main guideline

You need to constantly keep up with the times, and even better - a few steps ahead. To do this, you need to be a permanent participant in innovative seminars, exhibitions, conferences. This will help not only to keep abreast of all the latest developments in the world of technology, but also contribute to the acquisition of useful contacts. After all, to implement a startup, you need a well-coordinated team.

Choosing the Right Direction

You should always bet on what you understand. To do this, you need to choose one area and become a professional in it. It does not have to be related to science, medicine or computer technology. You need to look for yourself in what is close.

It's easy to become a professional. You just need to devote all your time to your favorite business, communicate with like-minded people, and not be afraid to take on even the most complex projects. If it does not come out with a startup, then, according to at least, this will increase professional value, and behind it, the ability to earn.

Solving the problem is the key to a successful startup

According to statistics published by CB Insights, 42% of startups go bust because a product doesn't find market acceptance. That is, he was simply useless. The best startups became the best solely because they solved the problem of a person that he faced on a daily basis. A logical conclusion follows from this: in order to generate a good idea, you need to find a problem and solve it.

5 best startups in Russia

Born all over the world. Even in our homeland there are people who stirred up the minds of not only compatriots, but also foreign skeptics. In support of these words, here is a list of 5 interesting startups implemented in Russia.

Top five startups in Russia:

• 1st place. Endless Flash.

The first news about an endless flash drive or flash safe swept like thunder across the country. Media reports, video reviews and blog entries have dismantled this invention literally piece by piece.

Its essence is as follows. A flash safe is a kind of conductor through which information passes from a PC to the cloud storage. At the same time, its user can remain anonymous and not worry about data security. After all, the information that is in the Internet storage is securely encrypted.

• 2nd place. Beavan.

Bevan is an innovative model of an inflatable sofa. It would seem that what could be innovative in inflatable furniture, which was invented more than 100 years ago?! And here's the thing: to inflate the bivan, you do not need to use any additional devices or physical strength. Just wave it and a full-fledged place to relax is ready.

• 3rd place. Smartphone app - Prisma.

You won't surprise anyone with a photo processing program. With just a few taps, you can change the sharpness, contrast, and saturation of your photo. With a strong desire, you can even become half a raccoon.

The Prisma application offers to transform an ordinary photo into a painting in the style of one of the great artists, for example, Kandinsky. But the uniqueness of the idea is not in this. Common image processing applications simply apply one or more layers of filters to the photo. Prisma sends it to the server for analysis by a special neural network, after which the entire image is rewritten.

• 4th place. MULTICUBIK.

MULTIKUBIK is a mini-projector capable of displaying photo and video files on any flat surface. The success of this startup can be explained by the correct positioning of the invention. The creators presented it as an alternative to modern gadgets (smartphones, tablets, PCs), because of which children often have health problems.

• 5th place. cardberry.

The latest startup will make all the fans of shopping and not only breathe a sigh of relief. After all, Cardberry is a mobile application with which you can put all discount cards (with a barcode or magnetic stripe) into one. An ideal startup created according to the “problem-solution” model.

These examples are the best way to motivate and confirm that you can bring your idea to life, even with only 100 rubles in your pocket. The main thing is to make a little effort, and start the thorny path to your goal.