“All the ideas spin around communication, photographs, and studies”

The brand new iPhone by Apple was presented on September 10, which was the most important event of the year in the sphere of mobile technologies. The giant company created by Steve Jobs will stay ahead of the competition with other gadget producers for a long time.

People like Steve Jobs completely changed the idea of starting and running a business. Now it is based on the idea, the ability to develop the right project and sell it with profit. New concepts such as business angel, startup and business incubator have appeared…

“The image of our millionaires and billionaires has completely changed. Previously, they were people like Henry Ford aged 45, 50, 60 and older, now these are people aged 25 to 30, young, wearing shorts and T-shirts. Previously we saw people dressed in suits and acting according to some rules and customs, now we can see the people who are moving, able to “break” any walls, to sell anything and convey any idea. If one has the Internet access, they are able to get through to anyone. We can see that a startup is not the same as it was earlier: complicated business, negotiations, ties and big corporations. Now business means the Internet, electronic addresses, your friends helping you and introducing you to other people. It means workshops when people get together, buy some pizza and beer, discuss some idea and there is a readymade startup that they develop,” the director of a business incubator Happy Farm Anna Dehtiariova commented on the situation.

The Ukrainians want to make money working in their own companies. This is the data made public last year by the hh.ua research center. According to the survey, 82 percent of the people working by hire thought about their own businesses, however, only 15 percent of respondents would be brave enough to start it. It proves that more and more people would like to be self-employed and do what they like.

The practice of business incubators and startups is known almost all over the world. The symbol of a successful startup is the Silicon Valley. This is the place where six generations of startuppers have lived and worked, they continue being successful and sharing their experience with the world. Ukrainian startups are quite young and there is a lot to catch up with for the Ukrainian “idea generators.” However, despite being young, they have already gained a lot of personal traits and characteristics.

The Day discussed the prospects for Ukraine to have its own Steve Jobs and Ukrainian startups in general with the head of the Internet business direction of the company STARTUP.COM Oleksii MAS.

Who invests more into your startups – foreign or Ukrainian business and why?

“Foreign investors are afraid of placing money into Ukrainian companies. They are unhappy because of political risks. Ukraine has a lot to do to win back the trust of the foreign investors. The recipe is easy – if there is no guarantee to protect one’s investments, nobody would take a risk.

“Unfortunately, our investments are politicized. There are Tihipko’s, Pinchuk’s funds, etc.

“As for Ukrainians investing into foreign startups, it happens rarely. We still are in different leagues.”

What ideas do the investors support most often?

“Most of ideas spin around communication, photographs, and studies. These are the main trends.”

What does a Ukrainian startup look like on the international market? Are there any hopes for Ukraine to have its own Steve Jobs?

“Now all the boarders are open and startups feel fine anywhere, even on Bali. A lot of teams leave to finish their projects somewhere far away. At the same time projects go abroad to find partners and to better understand the market.

“Ukrainian startups working on the domestic market have to keep in mind that our market is very small. A lot of projects want to enter different markets, for example Russia or some other countries. There are cases when Ukrainian companies get a toehold on the Western markets and there are systems of pattern generation for the websites among them.”

Are there any mistakes made nearly by everyone who wants to make money on their ideas?

“The first mistake is being slow. People often underestimate the speed of the reaction to the market and possibility of making new decisions based on users’ feedbacks.

“The second mistake is underestimating the niche strategy. A good project means its introduction into the market and often there is no time and money for this, though in traditional western businesses introduction into the market is one of the most important processes.

“Another common mistake is underestimating the importance of the staff. A lot of people are trying to start their business on their own. Different views are necessary to see a more objective picture. Partners have to complete each other.

“New business means being confident in one’s forces. It implies the ability to see something other people do not see and the ability to gather a team of like-minded people.”