What is a startup company? How to start a similar business. The best startups in Russia and around the world Shoe factory "Tibozh" and the project "Pair for a pair"

The fashion for the term “startup” has led to the fact that now any small business in its infancy is called this way, regardless of its focus, model used and characteristic features. In an attempt to attract attention and attract investment, entrepreneurs are calling their rabbit farms and furniture-making workshops startups.

Features of start-up

Meanwhile, small business start-up projects in 2019 are fundamentally different from other types of entrepreneurship at the level of the idea and the method of its implementation. Such companies are temporary structures created to find a model that is extensible, repeatable and quickly scalable. Simply put, every successful startup has enormous growth potential that, if done correctly, can recoup the initial investment many times over. In addition, a genuine startup is characterized by several more distinctive features:

1. Creating a fundamentally new product or making improvements to existing ones. Thanks to this, young companies can compete in their field even with the largest market players, for whom profit is more important than innovation;
2. The idea of ​​a new business project is not only interesting, but also unique and non-standard in its own way. It is this that constitutes the main asset value of the company being created and serves as a kind of bait for investors;
3. The founders of the startup are young people, yesterday's students, full of strength, ambition and desire to create their own unique product;
4. A team of several people works primarily not for profit, but to implement the idea and prove its viability. This idea is the main link through which several people gather into a team and begin to act;
5. The evolution of a business project from scratch requires the mandatory attraction of investments. The volume of investments is determined by the stage of development of the company, the presence of a developed prototype and the organization of basic business processes;
6. A startup as a temporary structure cannot exist for long. Consistently passing through all stages, it either ceases to exist due to mistakes or miscalculations of the creators, or turns from a promising business project into a full-fledged company engaged in further developments in the chosen field.

There is an opinion that start-up projects are an innovative, knowledge-intensive product. This is partly true, but with some amendments: the main task of such companies is not only the development of high-tech gadgets, but also the use of progress to satisfy the most ordinary needs of customers, as well as to facilitate and increase the efficiency of any action, be it ordering a taxi or preparing a family meal. dinner.

Making a profit from a startup involves two possible ways: independent development of a business project with minimal investment or a profitable sale of an already operating enterprise to a large corporation. Thus, since 2001, Google has already bought more than a hundred young companies around the world that have developed software products in the field of mobile applications, Internet business and communication technologies. The transaction amounts ranged from seven million to twelve billion dollars.

Based on this information, there is a reasonable opinion that the most profitable business projects for beginners are websites and various services. The launch of such startups does not require huge initial investments, the purchase of raw materials, fixed assets, rental of premises and investments in advertising, and the main assets are the knowledge, time and intellectual work of the creators.

Virtual nutritionist

Excess weight, thanks to the fashion for a healthy lifestyle, has become a real problem for many. At the same time, belief in miracles makes people rely on diets and try to find a way to lose weight without any effort. Meanwhile, the solution is obvious: strict self-control and maintenance of energy balance - the number of calories consumed should not exceed the number expended.

To facilitate the calculation process, an interesting small business project was created - the Dia-Life service, which allows you to instantly calculate its energy value using the name of the product and approximate weight, and obtain information about the content of vitamins and microelements. Calorie consumption is calculated using a built-in calculator, in which you can specify many types of active activities. In addition, registered users have access to ready-made diets, recipes for low-calorie dishes and much more.

Subscription for set dinners

The next startup with minimal investment is the complete opposite of Dia-Life, as it is intended for lovers of exotic cuisine. The Swedish company Middax, on the basis of a weekly subscription, delivers to its customers kits consisting of recipes for national dishes from all over the world, as well as the necessary ingredients for their preparation.

The dishes are selected in such a way as to suit most customers and even children: for this, each of them is tested many times by volunteers. For those who suffer from allergic reactions, a selection of special lactose-free kits is available.

The cost of a weekly subscription is 750 CZK. This price includes recipes and meal ingredients for five days of the week for a family of four. Those in doubt can purchase test kits that include ingredients to prepare one dinner.

Service for finding doctors

Anyone who has been to a hospital knows about hours-long queues and difficulties in finding a competent doctor. In order to optimize the process of visiting medical centers in Minsk, 2doc was launched - a business project with minimal investment, which greatly simplifies the choice of a specialist and making an appointment.

Today, several dozen private and public clinics, represented by doctors with all major specializations (more than forty areas), are connected to the service, and thousands of patients have used its services.

A new way to rent a car

It would seem that it is difficult to come up with something new when it comes to car rental, but the creators of a startup idea from America noticed that hundreds of thousands of cars sit idle in the parking lots of major airports every day while their owners are on vacation or on a business trip.

It is logical to assume that car enthusiasts would prefer to save on the daily payment for a parking space, however, the authors of the project went further and offered them a reward of $10 for each day of rental. For those who want to use a car, the price is already $15 per day, however, part of the company's profits is spent on washing and refueling the car.

The idea of ​​this promising small business project is quite simple: before departure, the owner contacts a FlightCar representative and hands over the car to him, indicating the date of his return. The car is parked near the airport, from where any arriving passenger can pick it up and use it for a specified period. Upon returning, the owner finds the car in the same parking lot and receives his reward.

Mentor search service

How can you connect experienced executives who want to become mentors with young entrepreneurs who need help? The answer to this question is provided by Everwise, a New York business project with minimal costs, which allows you to select a business coach for individuals and entire teams. Well-known directors and top managers, representatives of large corporations can act as teachers.

A startup is interesting to both parties: novice entrepreneurs receive invaluable experience, and experienced businessmen receive a team consisting of young, active and ambitious employees. In addition, Everwise users are provided with tips and tricks for self-education, lists of books, videos and tutorials that will be very useful for studying. The service also provides a system for monitoring personal development, a mechanism for setting goals and tracking the process of achieving them.

Project "Here-Here"

The development of online services can be considered one of the most affordable small business projects with low investments. Knowledge in the field of programming and design is quite enough to develop a worthy and popular product: this is the path taken by the Moscow authors of the startup “What-what”, who created an application to solve the problem of communication between fathers and children.

It is known that addiction to gadgets is typical for modern teenagers. Parents greatly contribute to the development of this hobby when, in an attempt to keep their child occupied, they hand him yet another electronic “entertainment” and forget about their direct responsibilities. With the help of the application, the developers hope to change the existing trend and twice a week they send their clients new tasks aimed at developing communication with children. The emphasis is on teaching the child creative thinking, the ability to dream, and reason logically.

Aimed at boys and girls ages 6-12, the app is free to download, but additional tips are available with a paid subscription.

Design resumes

It is difficult to find an employer who, when searching for an employee for a vacant position, would not require a resume from candidates. However, HR workers note that all applicants provide boring template forms and standard texts that do not attract attention.

As a result, the Loftresumes service was created - an original business project for beginners, which allows you to choose an original and memorable appearance for your resume based on pre-prepared layouts for $99. Reworking the text, adding pages, the author's unique design and urgency of order fulfillment are paid additionally, but as a result, the client receives an electronic document that can be printed or immediately sent to the employer.

Although this idea of ​​a startup without investment is not a fundamentally new approach to writing a resume, it was the originality of the design that attracted the attention of several thousand users to the project.

Business based on complaints

Many of us are prevented from mastering the art of writing complaints and reclamations by lack of time, non-conflict nature or ignorance of the intricacies of bureaucratic language. Meanwhile, everyone at least once found themselves in a situation where the rudeness of service personnel, poor performance of official duties or fraud of management companies led to damage not only moral, but also material.

To help people protect their rights, the creators of an Australian startup with minimal investment in 2019 offered users their services in correctly filing claims and submitting them to the appropriate authorities. The vast experience, perseverance and professionalism of the authors of this business project with minimal investment for beginners allows them to win almost hopeless cases: they once returned more than eighty thousand dollars to the budget of one married couple. This confidence in success allows startup founders to charge clients only if the results are positive.

Meeting tourists with locals

When going to a foreign country or an unfamiliar city, 69% of tourists prefer to have local friends who will help organize leisure time, show them the sights or explain the intricacies of the local mentality.

Despite the fact that the creators of the Belarusian project MeetnGreetMe focus primarily on the capitals, this idea for a startup in a small city, if there are interesting places and architectural monuments, may turn out to be no less popular. The scheme is quite simple: a foreign traveler uses the service to find a local resident who agrees to provide guide services for a certain amount. Non-standard programs are especially valued - not visiting museums and theaters, but a bathhouse, mushroom picking, the opportunity to live a couple of days in the rural outback.

The idea of ​​such a business project for a small town is not new, but previously the services of a personal assistant were available only to wealthy clients. The authors’ goal is not an impressive budget, but accessibility and popularization of their native land.

Vegetables from your own garden

Ideas to transfer games like “Farm Frenzy” into real life have been expressed more than once, but it was the Italians who first implemented a similar business project in agriculture, calling it Le verdure del mio orto (“Vegetables from my garden”).

The idea of ​​the project is as follows: the user of the service selects a virtual plot on the website and plants it with fruits and vegetables from the proposed list. All his actions are repeated in a real vegetable garden located on one of the farms in Northern Italy. After paying the rent (16–32 euros per week, depending on the area), the beds are processed according to all the rules by professional farmers. As vegetables and fruits ripen, they are delivered to the tenant’s home.

This small town or rural start-up has received a lot of positive feedback: users are attracted not only by the game-like process, but also by the opportunity to get their own organic products, different from the vegetables offered in supermarkets, treated with all sorts of chemicals.

Video on the topic Video on the topic

Infinite flash drive

Every active Internet user accumulates a huge amount of materials, documents, games, videos and photographs over time. Of course, you can store them on your computer, but carrying a laptop or hard drive with you everywhere is not always convenient. Therefore, flash cards and flash drives are widely used as a practical and compact storage of information, but they are not without drawbacks in the form of limited volume and insufficient data security. In an attempt to solve these problems, Samara startupers designed an “endless flash drive” Flashsafe, through which information is uploaded to an anonymous and encrypted cloud storage.

The “endless flash drive” itself has software that allows you to access data from any device. In fact, this is a kind of key that replaces the means of authorization on the service. Even in the absence of access to the Internet, the device allows you to store up to 8GB of information, and if you have a network connection, the amount of data is almost unlimited.

Cube with cartoons

Many startups dedicate their small business projects to working with children and overcoming their addiction to gadgets. One of these innovative projects became very popular in 2016: this unique portable projector weighing 250 grams, called “Multicubic” by its creators.

The device’s 8GB of memory allows you to record and project films, cartoons, and play audio stories onto any available surface at a distance of up to three meters. Thus, “Multikubik” is a kind of home cinema, which, thanks to the simplicity of the interface, a child can easily handle independently.

The developers claim that conventional electronic devices cause poor posture in children, hyperexcitability, weakened vision and lead to weakened social skills, since the child is left to his own devices at such moments. At the same time, “Multicubik” is free from these shortcomings and allows you to organize leisure time not only on your own, but also in the company of friends.

Conclusion

Examples of successful startups show that promising business projects do not necessarily have to be based on some innovative futuristic developments. It is enough to find an unusual and non-standard solution to any of the problems associated with human activity.

At the same time, many startups develop quite successfully without investment or external financing. The main assets in these projects are the knowledge and work of the developers, as well as their desire to offer the world something new and useful. Of course, not all of them will eventually turn into full-fledged companies, but based on their experience we can draw a conclusion: even a small team of like-minded people has all the sufficient resources to create a viable and profitable business from scratch, based on just one idea.
21 voted. Rating: 4.76 out of 5)

The best startups in Russia include:

A popular online learning service that helps everyone who wants to master the English language or improve their existing level. Now more than 14 million people around the world use it. Each new “student” can take a test and choose the level they need, receive a set of exercises and educational materials for mastering it. The application allows you to train your understanding of not only written speech, but also its listening comprehension. Training materials are provided in both audio and video formats.

This is an educational platform with game elements that provides the opportunity to learn linguistic skills from native speakers.

The animated lion mascot gave the service its name - Leo. The idea to use this particular character, lost in the jungle of knowledge, came to the developers on the exotic island of Koh Chang, where the founder and a team of programmers worked for about six months to create a new service. Five years later, the founder, Ainur Abdulnasyrov, entered the top hundred Russian millionaires.

Google included LinguaLeo in its list of the best Android apps in 2015.

LinguaLeo - learning English can be fun

Doctor at work

The virtual community of professional doctors is a startup by Andrey Perfilyev and Stanislav Sazhin, which appeared in 2009. They created a space that most closely resembles a closed club, within which people of the same specialty can exchange experiences, get the necessary information, ask colleagues questions, and find a job.

Gradually, with growing popularity, the network expanded significantly. Now both medical students and pharmacists can use it. They, like doctors, got the opportunity not only to communicate, but also to improve their skills for free.

Half of all medical workers in Russia with higher education are its registered users. In terms of participant activity, Doctor at Work ranks first in the world. For several years in a row, the project has occupied more and more honorable places in the ranking of the best startups in Russia - Russian Startup Rating.

Most doctors in Russia use their own social network “Doctor at Work”
MoneyMan comes to the rescue very quickly when it comes to micro-loans

Who hasn't dreamed of a flash drive with unlimited capacity? Alexey Churkin, founder of the Flashsafe startup, was able to solve this problem. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​a “dimensionless” drive - a flash card connected to a cloud file storage system. Through special electronic devices, information is placed in storage and is located there absolutely anonymously, without being tied to a specific user. This makes it possible to obtain the necessary files without necessarily using passwords or keys. Such a device cannot be hacked; it guarantees complete security and confidentiality of information.

Alexey raised it with his own funds and grants, successfully presented his project in Skolkovo, after which 1.5 million rubles were collected in pre-orders. Gradually, investors were found, and the project repeatedly appeared on crowdfunding platforms. On August 30, 2016, sales of the “endless” drive started.

Flashsafe combines flash drive and infinity

The fastest startup, which became the best startup project in just a few days, is among the best startups of 2016 in Russia. The creators were forced to artificially restrain the powerful growth in the popularity of the project. is a mobile application that appeared quite recently, in the summer of 2016, and allows the user to turn any photo into an image made in the style of famous artists. It became possible to turn an ordinary frame into a work of art in just a couple of seconds and clicks. His success was simply dizzying. In 10 days, the new photo editor became the most downloaded product.

Investors valued the entire project at more than $10 million. The founder of the service, Alexey Moiseenkov, has become no less popular than his brainchild and tries “not to give more than one interview a day.” In them, he says that about two months were spent working on the mega-popular application and the investments were made “within the framework of salaries.” Now Mail.ru has already become an investor in Prisma, which allows us to evaluate the success and prospects of the project.

With Prisma, anyone can become a great artist

MULTICUBE

A Russian project that won the Startup Village competition in the summer of 2016. The startup ran a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and successfully presented itself at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York in 2016. Mikhail Bukhovtsev is the founder and CEO of Multikubik.

The project is an interesting technical novelty for the youngest users. We are talking about mini-projectors in the shape of a cube, with cartoons and filmstrips inside. You can project an image onto any flat surface. The creators claim that this is a “healthier” alternative to a child watching entertainment content on a tablet, the best option for quality family leisure.

Participant of the Skolkovo and API Moscow platforms. More than $105 thousand was raised to launch sales. Currently, the company's management is planning to develop a premium version of the projector; a more budget version will be launched into production very soon.

Multicube - a classic in new packaging

This is a list. Some of them are already known abroad, have found investors there and are planning to enter the international market. What can we say about the current situation in this area on a global scale? What are the best startups in the world?

10 best startups in the world

The best startup projects around the world include:

Slack

A popular corporate messenger that appeared in 2013. It provides very great opportunities for online teamwork; it is especially suitable for small and medium-sized companies. Slack makes official email correspondence between employees and complex internal document flow unnecessary. This service was ideal for communication between employees at work, but it also made it possible to create communities of interest, business or leisure. That is why another opportunity to use Slack is to search for the right specialists; HR workers actively use this.

The fastest growing business application in history, now valued at nearly $3 billion.

The application was created by Cambridge Philosophy graduate Stuart Butterfield. Over seven rounds of investment, his startup was able to raise about $350 million and become one of the best such projects in the world. It is especially popular in the USA and European countries. On the first day of testing, more than 8 thousand organizations registered in the Slack system.

More than a million users have already appreciated the benefits of Slack

Uber

One of the most famous and scandalous startups in the world, which indignant competitors regularly try to catch up with and are desperately trying to somehow cope with its expansion. At the same time, the project is very successful; investors value it at $64 billion.

The idea of ​​linking a taxi order to a mobile application turned out to be simply golden. It belongs to Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. The idea was born to one of the founders in Paris, when he could not get a taxi.

Having appeared in 2009, Uber brought huge profits to its creators. The world's leading venture financiers fought for the right to invest money in the service. This is understandable, since the company’s daily revenue now amounts to several million.

Now mobile taxis under this brand operate in more than 80 cities around the world, the number of trips using Uber in America has grown by 250%. The company continues to actively explore the global market and expand.

Uber is one of the best startups in the world in recent years

Zenefits was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Parker Conrad, who until recently served as its CEO. Over the course of a year, the project went from an unknown startup to a dynamically developing business. It took him less than two years to become a company with a capitalization of more than $1 billion. Zenefits boasts some of Silicon Valley's biggest names (like Andreessen Horowitz) and is valued at $4.5 billion.

The project offers innovative software for HR departments of enterprises, which significantly simplifies personnel management and document management in companies. The service allows you to automatically calculate employee salaries, calculate benefits, bonuses, labor productivity factors, and determine vacation dates.

In February 2016, Zenefits changed its director, David Sachs, who took emergency measures to maintain the high assessment of the project by investors. Despite the fact that the company is now experiencing some difficulties, the number of its clients still numbers 20 thousand people.

Zenefits - a fundamentally new approach to work in the field of personnel management

Porch

One of the best startups in the world, which appeared in Seattle in 2013. The project was created to connect professionals who can perform home or appliance repair work with people who need their services. A user-friendly interface and ordering system allows you to find the right specialist very quickly, which was immediately appreciated by numerous Porch users. During its existence, the company managed to raise $99 million in 3 rounds of financing.

Porch is:

• 3 million professionals with work experience and reviews
• 140 million completed transactions
• over $100 million in venture capital

The company gives all clients a guarantee of $1000 if the quality of the work performed does not satisfy the customer.

The founders of Porch claim that their business continues to grow and develop, has excellent prospects and big plans for the future.

Porch - repairs are best left to professionals

A new type of social Internet service founded by Ben Silberman in 2008. With its help, each user can create their own unique virtual “boards” on which they collect and store images grouped by various topics. Very quickly, Pinterest has become a worldwide catalog of ideas and inspiration for a very large global audience of creative people and ordinary users. The project is especially popular among women. For example, brides looking for a wedding style or young mothers organizing photo shoots for their babies. Of course, all specialists in the artistic field also appreciated it.

It took this startup less than a year to attract its first 10 thousand users. Zilberman says that he personally drafted and sent invitation letters to the first 5 thousand. This figure now represents 70 million per month in the US and 150 million worldwide. The project has now surpassed Twitter in terms of audience size. Financially, it is also very prosperous, having attracted $1.3 billion in investments since its founding.

Pinterest - you can't have too many beautiful photos

An incredibly successful online service offering mattresses and other sleep accessories. A practical and serious approach to even the most ordinary household items, it turns out, can bring creators both money and fame. The manufacturer and seller of unusual sleep accessories was able to attract the attention of buyers and investors, the latter valuing the project at $550 million.

The authors of this startup approached the matter with a scientific approach and organized a real laboratory in which they experimentally established the parameters and characteristics of an ideal mattress. Now they sell only one type of it, but in different sizes.

Pleasant bonuses that successfully complement the high quality of Casper:

• Fast shipping
• compact packaging
• possibility of testing and returning goods

At the same time, the cost of a standard size mattress starts at $500, but the company provides a 10-year guarantee on it. The project successfully withstands competition, although the price of their goods is approximately twice the average.

This startup relied on comfort

It turns out that startups also exist in the field of space technology. One of the most successful projects in this area belongs to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who decided to create the first private transport company for space cargo transportation. In particular, the creator saw the immediate goal of delivering cargo to Mars during its colonization. The project turned out to be successful and now the company is a real space concern.

The first steps in implementing this grandiose plan began in 2002, and 8 years later SpaceX became the first private company to launch a spacecraft. In 2012, one of its unmanned rockets docked with the International Space Station. After this, management signed a contract with the US Air Force and NASA.

SpaceX is considered the most progressive and promising space carrier, while offering some of the lowest prices on the market for such services.

The path from idea to successful space production

The third most valuable startup in the world is a mobile application that allows you to send messages with attached photos and videos. Created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Frank Brown.

According to statistics, 200 million users of the application send 700 million messages daily. In general, during its existence, the company has raised more than $1 billion and continues to actively develop.

The head of the company, Evan Spiegel, is trying to make Snapchat a competitor to Facebook and Twitter. Most likely, he will succeed. An ambitious entrepreneur from the “golden youth” is confidently moving forward. The application content continues to be updated and improved, gradually adding new features.

Rapid growth, thoughtful, bold marketing and an audience under 30 are the key to Snapchat's success, which has allowed the company to become the third most capitalized startup in the world.

Evan Spiegel is the founder of Snapchat

Jibo

The creators of the first family robot, led by MIT professor Cynthia Breazeale, raised money for it using a crowdfunding platform. The project was so successful that in just a few days about 900 thousand dollars were received, although 100 thousand were required.

Now you can purchase an electronic friend for all family members and receive from him not only practical help in the form of necessary information, but also a couple of funny stories or anecdotes.

Jibo recognizes people and finds its own approach to everyone. He cannot move, but he can speak and show emotions. The first samples have already gone on sale. The creators of Jibo do not stop there; the design of the robot has already been improved with the investments that the project was able to attract.

Jibo - home robot has become a reality

One of the fastest growing internet startups of 2015, born in San Francisco.

The project was created as an online service for delivering food to private customers from nearby stores. The buyer selects all the necessary goods online from the lists of local supermarkets uploaded to the site, and receives his order by courier very quickly, within an hour.

Instacart is already available in several major US cities and continues to capture the market, and the company's revenue has increased 15 times. The startup is developing rapidly, funds and private investors are confident in Instacart's success, although competition is growing noticeably every year. The project with enviable consistency attracts more and more hundreds of millions of dollars of investment (see Investments in startups: attraction, rules, important points). Total funding for the service over two years is about $150 million. The successful startup's investors include Sequoia, Khosla Ventures, Canaan Partners, Horowitz and many others.

Even going to the store can make you rich

A variety of projects are among the best startups in Russia and around the world. Some of them are created by one enthusiast, while others are developed by several thousand different specialists. Sometimes it takes a month or two from the idea to the finished product, and sometimes it takes years. Each project has its own secret of popularity and its own fascinating story of rise.

You will learn what a startup is and what are the stages of its development, as well as how to open your own startup project and where to look for investors for your business

Today we will talk about how to properly organize a startup.

Since we ourselves have repeatedly launched business projects, we will tell you what obstacles may arise at the initial stage and give valuable advice for overcoming them effectively.

1. What is Startup in simple words - definition and history

During our short entrepreneurial career, we have opened several businesses and understand that it is not easy. Now our website “HeatherBober.ru” can be classified as a “startup”.

So, first, let's figure out what startup is. The classic definition of a startup given by American entrepreneur Steven Blank (who, in fact, coined this term).

Startup is a temporary structure designed to find and implement a scalable business model.

In simpler terms, we can define a startup as a new commercial project that is created with the aim of making a profit from a business after its successful development.

The term “Startup” is translated from English as “the beginning of a process”, its “start”. However, not every commercial project that opens can be called a startup. Only a small part of business projects developing from scratch falls under this definition.

Classic startups have one characteristic feature - they have a unique (original, exclusive) idea. A real startup never copies already known commercial projects, but represents something radically new.

Example

At one time, Mark Zuckerberg’s idea to create the social network Facebook was absolutely original and new: there were no analogues of this format on the Internet.

In recent years, the word “startup” has become very popular, although a significant part of the population does not use the term entirely correctly.

By this concept, people mean the launch of almost any business, up to the opening of a new stall in the market. Startup is often used exclusively in relation to Internet projects.

In both cases, the definition may be correct: if a retail outlet on the market operates in a fundamentally new format that can be multiplied and used as a profitable business model, then this will indeed be a successful startup.

The same can be said about an online project. If you have launched a fundamentally new network service to serve the public via the Internet, then you have made a successful startup and become a promising network entrepreneur.

Startup- a recently created company or organization (sometimes not even legally registered), building its activities on the basis of innovative ideas or new technologies that have not yet been put into mass use.

The weaknesses of a startup include a lack of funding and a precarious position in the market. Abroad, such projects are most often created by students: sometimes such companies are called “garage”.

This term was first used in relation to a commercial enterprise in 1939 in the USA. At that time, almost all innovation and high technology companies were based in the San Francisco area.

Several Stanford students, creating a new business based on a fundamentally new idea, called their business a startup. It was this business that eventually took shape into a successful and profitable information technology company called Hewlett-Packard or HP.

Today, the word startup is more often applied to Internet projects. This is partly true, since the World Wide Web is the most promising modern commercial area.

Without even thinking, you can name 5-10 successful Internet startups that have brought millions in profits to their creators with minimal initial costs. Suffice it to recall the already mentioned Facebook, as well as its domestic version - VKontakte and other social networks.

We can mention Wikipedia (the largest and most popular online encyclopedia), the YouTube video database, the Radical service for storing and quickly displaying your personal photos on the Internet, WhatsApp, Skype and other services for online communication.

2. Main stages of startup development

A startup must be successful and in demand in order to attract the target audience, and with it, investor money.

The main indicator of the success of a new endeavor is the willingness of business partners to invest their finances in it. A startup is not always based on pure commerce: it can be informational, humanitarian, scientific, but in any case it is promising.

The initial stage of working on any startup is creation of its prototype . As the prototype turns into a full-fledged product, the startup transforms, develops and scales. Under scaling refers to an increase in the sphere of influence of the project associated with the investment of finances.

The ultimate goal of a successful startup is product sale a large corporation or continuing a profitable business as an independent company. There is another option - listing the project's shares on the stock exchange and waiting for its sale at the maximum price on the market.

For clarity, we suggest studying the following table, which presents the stages of a startup in more detail:

№	Stages	Embodiment	Peculiarities
1	Pre-seed	The creators have a clear idea and understanding of what exactly the target audience needs	At this stage there is usually no plan for implementing the idea
2	Seed	Market research, drawing up a step-by-step plan, preparation for launch	It is advisable to think about finding investors at this stage
3	Prototype	Creating a working startup model	The prototype has only basic functions and is designed to work under ideal conditions
4	Alpha version	The product is already ready, but is used only by a small group to test and identify flaws	At this stage, adjustments are made and defects in the working model of the project are eliminated.
5	Closed beta	The product has a fully functional status and attracts a limited number of third-party users	Investors and commercial partners have already been found
6	Open Beta	Users are actively attracted, large-scale promotion of the project is underway	Contracts are concluded with clients, first sales of services and products are carried out

When the above stages are successfully completed, the product (project) is launched into mass use or production. It is clear that without attracting large third-party capital, large-scale distribution of a startup is impossible.

That is why for any commercial idea the investor is no less important than originality and novelty. Even the most ingenious projects need financial support.

Generating commercial ideas is not so much an innate gift as it is a skill. Becoming a successful startup is within the power of every reasonable person with minimal creative inclinations, which, as we know, everyone has.

Experts in the field of profitable startups believe that ideas for launching the latest projects can be seen in everything that surrounds us. You just need to change your perspective a little and abandon some generally accepted social judgments.

Most “serial entrepreneurs” have a special notebook in which they regularly add fresh thoughts and observations. Over time, they can develop into interesting and profitable business ideas. We advise you to also create such a notepad or open a special file on an electronic device.

For greater business efficiency, you can use and implement TRIZ - the theory of solving inventive problems.

And now - expert advice on creating your own startups

Let's start with a simple example:

Resale of Chinese goods with a large markup (300-800%).

You can buy goods in bulk from China or from a wholesale supplier in a major city and start selling them online. Often this scheme is also called “Business with China” - a very profitable and promising direction in RuNet.

Our site team is personally acquainted with a successful entrepreneur in this topic. Zhenya not only has been running her business successfully for a long time, but also teaches others how to do it.

If you want to launch your own startup in the near future and start earning 100-200 or even 500 thousand rubles in a few months, contact Evgeniy and he will guide you by the hand on all issues of creating a successful business selling Chinese goods.

Be sure to check out the reviews from the married students to get inspired by their success stories:

Stay up to date with new ideas, technologies and initiatives. Visit current resources, use technical and information innovations and everything that did not exist yesterday. Be at the forefront, thinking about products for the next generation.

Those who did not cling to the past, but looked to the future, helped make our world what it is (meaning its best features). Our future includes portable gadgets, nanotechnology, and machines running on fundamentally different types of fuel.

Try to think in terms of the future. Don't think that these are just empty dreams and fantasies: tie innovative ideas to real problems. Original and creative thoughts rarely arise on their own; they need to be stimulated by daily practice.

Tip 2: Become a pro at something

In the modern civilized world, there are a lot of special areas where it is impossible for a person to get to from the street. Nuclear energy, medicine, customs, professional sports.

Creating your own business in highly specialized areas is possible only after gaining experience working for an employee of a company of this profile.

Become an insider—someone who studies a particular industry from the inside—and you can break into lucrative markets with the knowledge base you need. The main thing is perseverance and a sincere desire to understand how everything works in a particular industry.

Example

Michael Bloomberg worked as an IT specialist at Salomon Brothers. In the early 80s, he was fired and given compensation in the amount of $10 million.

With this amount, he created his own company, Bloomberg L.P., which provides commercial information to interested organizations and individuals. Now the company is the leader of its niche, and Bloomberg himself is 13th on the Forbes list and also the mayor of New York.

Becoming an expert in some field or a master of some powerful tool is not that difficult. Just spend time on it - make a personal investment that will bring you profit for the rest of your life.

A well-known entrepreneur and expert in the field of personal development and business says that the best investment is to increase your self-worth and ability to earn money.

Meet different people, talk to them, offer your help. Let as many people as possible know about your skills.

It’s great if you become great in several areas at once - for example, in medicine and trading, in stock markets and IT technologies. At the intersection of two different spheres, a lot of perspectives open up.

Tip 3: Find a problem you can solve

Look around and note what prevents you from living, working or relaxing. Pay attention to those problems for which you cannot find a ready-made solution, because it (the solution) may not exist.

It often happens like this: you have a company that is facing certain difficulties. Another company is being created that eliminates such difficulties. Successful activity leads to the fact that the second company becomes more profitable and larger than the first.

Example

The world-famous Flickr resource for storing graphic files appeared when an online game needed a convenient way to post user images online.

Now the system has millions of clients, but no one remembers the game itself.

Tip 4. Strive for continuous improvement of service in different areas

Try to improve everything around you, because there are no limits to perfection. Pay special attention to those things that cause hostility or hatred in people: finding housing and parking, obtaining documents, transportation, visiting doctors. Think about how you can solve these problems more effectively.

It may be worth using the latest technologies to improve existing algorithms for everyday actions.

Consider, for example, how smartphones can help workers in large enterprises perform their jobs, rather than hinder them. Or how in the digital era you can solve the problem of queues in public institutions.

Remember that monopolists and large government agencies have no incentive to develop. Challenging established systems is difficult, but not hopeless. Some world-famous corporations appeared precisely because of the desire to make the service more comfortable than that of their competitors.

A significant portion of today's successful companies were at one time derivatives (and some practically clones) of other successful ventures. The most famous examples are Amazon and Ozon, Facebook and VKontakte. Even credit systems (cards) are a domestic version of the foreign analogue of Capital One.

Think about what you can add to existing commercial projects to improve them. Maybe it’s worth finding new, cheaper ways of implementation or radically improving the service. Such innovations are often much more profitable and promising than buying ready-made franchises. We have already written about this earlier.

Tip 5. Find a product for new markets

New markets appear constantly, but not everyone has time to track them. Mass products from large corporations are constantly creating many promising areas for developing your own business.

The most significant example is the creation of Microsoft by Bill Gates. The company was founded to sell home computer software released in 1975 by MITS. The mass product became the starting point for the promotion of one of the most successful business projects in the world.

4. Investing in a startup and finding funding for your business

All major investors are aware that the maximum income is promised by “dark horses” - unknown startups from young and talented, but cash-strapped entrepreneurs.

In the Russian Federation, as well as throughout the world, startup organizations and so-called “business angels” are involved in financing startups.

Venture funds manage other people's money - mutual investment funds (MUIFs), assets of insurance companies or pension funds.

“Business angels” are representatives of private capital who independently select financing objects and invest money in promising initiatives.

It is in these two directions that aspiring startups should move in search of investment. You can also involve relatives, friends, and government funds. Oddly enough, in Russia, help from relatives is the second category in terms of the volume of investments in promising business ideas.

Another productive method of finding investors is participation in forums, conferences, competitions held by venture capital companies and other commercial structures.

5. Examples of successful projects - TOP 5 ideas for a startup

There are plenty of examples of successful startups. Every year the directions of commercial thought change. Today coworking and Internet applications are relevant, tomorrow they will talk about private kindergartens or private recruitment agencies.

Today the following startups are the most popular:

1. Organization of a cargo transportation agency working with the active use of Internet technologies. A very promising direction, taking into account the fact that more and more people are making purchases in online stores.
2. Organization of sales or intermediary activities through Avito (the most popular free classifieds service in the Russian Federation). Many people want to sell something, but do not have the time to do so: an intermediary can take over the organization of sales for a certain percentage of the proceeds.
3. Organization of a private kindergarten. Many parents do not want to use the services of municipal institutions, fearing a lack of attention from staff. In a private company, children are given more time, and it is also possible to regulate the length of time the child stays in the kindergarten.
4. Creation of convenient systems for converting electronic currency into cash.
5. Creating effective applications for quickly posting and launching online stores for sales through social networks.

This is just an approximate list that can be expanded ad infinitum. You can find a more profitable and interesting option for yourself: you just have to get creative and put in some effort.

Nowadays startups are in trend. And there is nothing surprising about this - an explosive idea for business development not only in Russia, but throughout the world, can bring a lot of income in the shortest possible time. Moreover, this idea must be innovative, which will make it possible to earn a lot of money even in highly competitive niches where entry into novice businessmen with small capital is prohibited.

One of the main conditions for the successful development of a startup is considered to be a non-standard approach to banal things, the main goal of which is to solve problems or provide unique services to the end consumer. Funding for explosive small business projects in the new 2017, which in the future is capable of bringing sky-high dividends, can be carried out through one’s own savings, the capital of a private investor or the assets of venture funds.

What is venture business?

It’s not for nothing that we decided to start our review of startups with the venture business, since these two concepts closely intersect with each other. On the one hand, if a small enterprise has a high-tech project based on the latest technological developments, then it is possible to draw up a business plan and a clear development strategy.

On the other hand, if you have capital, you can organize a venture fund yourself with an authorized capital of 10-15 million dollars and start financing promising startup projects in 2017. Each investor who decides to organize his own venture company to finance innovation in Russia (and on the world market) assumes responsibility for the high risks of investing assets.

However, it should be understood that the profit from financing startups can be calculated with an indecently large “number of zeros” after a known figure. A striking example of well-thought-out explosive projects are the social network Facebook (could Comrade Zuckerberg have thought that he would be among the richest people on the planet?), the game of millions World of Tanks (as well as other Wargaming projects) and others.

The owner of the fund is interested in receiving excess profits, therefore, if the project is truly worthwhile, funding will not be long in coming. In addition, venture capital companies are co-owners of the company’s shares, which are sold to the co-owner after the startup becomes a profit. Thus, both parties are interested in the development of an innovative idea and the financial growth of the project.

Advice: To develop a small business that will be based on innovation, you will need a certain amount to start. You can use your own capital, take out a loan from a bank (as in most cases with opening a small business in Russia), resort to crowdfunding, or turn to business incubators and business accelerators. Innovations in the IT industry are the most in demand, so this industry will never go unnoticed by investors.

Successful startup project ideas 2017

It’s easy to guess that the fewer competitors there are in a niche, the higher the profit from the activities of a small enterprise in Russia will be. Let’s look at successful projects – and they will be relevant not only in 2017.

Business on wheels

Mobile housing for holidaymakers . This type of activity is in demand in resort areas, where people wanting to relax are a dime a dozen. The idea is to produce mobile residential houses and rent them out to tourist centers, holiday homes, boarding houses and private entrepreneurs. Judge for yourself how popular this project will be in Russia, since there are a lot of resort areas in the vastness of the country. In addition, this direction is relevant all year round, since in summer houses can be rented on sea beaches, and in winter, for example, at ski resorts. During the development of the project, part of the profit can be used to rent land or a recreation center in a resort area, which will significantly increase income. The service of delivering mobile housing to customers to their immediate vacation spot is also very popular.

Mobile cafe with exotic cuisine . have become a common thing for ordinary people - wherever you go, everywhere you can see mobile trade with a variety of goods on the shelves. The idea of ​​such a startup is to popularize exotic fast food dishes. Today they can be tasted mainly in expensive restaurants, which not everyone can afford to visit. A mobile restaurant on wheels can serve a considerable number of visitors. To launch a project in Russia, you will need permission from local authorities to rent land (not needed), a van equipped with kitchen equipment, and several sets of tables and chairs for visitors. You can come up with a menu for your restaurant by getting dish ideas from the Internet or from various cooking shows. If necessary, they can always be replaced with more popular treats. It is worth noting that when stationary restaurants are opened within a year, only one out of 10 survives. As for mobile cafes, out of the same number of open “establishments,” only 2-3 cannot withstand competition. It's worth thinking about, especially if you don't know the restaurant business.

Dairy kitchen on wheels . The idea of ​​this startup is outrageously simple - daily sale of natural milk to the population. This area will almost always be in demand, since milk is one of the most important food products, so the demand for it will always be high. In addition, do not forget that it is dismantled early in the morning, so by lunchtime the tank is usually already empty. You can start such a small business in any city by installing a barrel of milk in a residential area. To implement the project, you need to purchase a stainless steel barrel that can be attached to a car. Then you need to find a farm to purchase fresh milk (every morning), and also take it to the nearest sanitary and epidemiological station to obtain certificates confirming the suitability of the products for human consumption. Since milk is not a staple food item in supermarkets, there are unlikely to be any problems with "nearby" competitors. It is necessary to set the selling price slightly lower than the store price, and the flow of buyers will not be long in coming.

Providing services to the population

Providing related medical services to the population . To implement such a project, you do not need to have a specialized education, since the idea is to collect a database of medical institutions in Russian cities and provide information to a person upon request for a certain amount. For example, an entrepreneur can keep statistics for a region (locality) on a number of diseases. This should also include the cost of medications and their generics (cheap analogues) in city pharmacies. Services must necessarily include detailed information about dental clinics (private and public) with a detailed list of services and prices. It is also necessary to collect a complete database of practicing doctors in the city of various specializations. It is also worth adding patient reviews about the work of a particular specialist, the specifics of his work, etc.

Dating from the Internet to real life . This quest has already become popular in Russia. And by 2017 the project will become quite profitable. You can start such a business with virtually no investment. It is known that in today's bustle, many people have practically no time for their personal lives and, accordingly, for dating (it is not surprising why many people meet through the global network). The idea of ​​the project is this: you organize a meeting for 20-30 people (men and women should be equally divided) via the Internet, for example, in a city cafe. It is necessary to agree in advance with the management of the establishment about the upcoming event and organize tables with light snacks and drinks. Naturally, the meeting of people will not be free. You need to figure out the cost of tickets for the upcoming speed date yourself.

Production

Production of fuel briquettes . The idea of ​​the startup is to produce briquettes for heating from wood waste. You can safely invest in this line of business, since fuel is unlikely to be “cheaper than mushrooms” in the near future. Moreover, cheap sawdust can be bought at any sawmill or wood processing plant. You will also need to buy drying chambers. In addition to wood shavings, you can use charcoal, peat and other natural raw materials.

Manufacturing of double-glazed windows for metal-plastic window structures . Today, this startup is in demand in Russia, and for its implementation it is necessary to purchase professional equipment. The cost of the production line will cost 35 thousand euros, approximately the same amount is needed to purchase equipment for sealing finished products. You will also need to rent production space. On average, in 1 working month your small business will bring in about 6 thousand euros (taking into account that you will sell 300 m² of ready-made packages at a wholesale price to companies involved in the assembly of metal-plastic window structures).

Advice: Speaking about the economy, we should mention the sale of “used” building materials. We are talking about a startup related to the dismantling of dilapidated and abandoned buildings, thanks to which bricks and building stones can be obtained. Starting a business is quite simple; to do this, you need to obtain permission from the village council (it’s not like dismantling schools in the city) and organize teams of workers.

Production of living notebooks . This area has no competition, so if you manage to occupy this niche in time, you can raise a lot of money. On the cover of the notebook there is an image with various heroes or cartoon characters. If a person points the lens of his mobile gadget at a notebook, the same hero will come out of it and begin to communicate. This is simply incredible, so the production of such notebooks will pay for itself very quickly. In addition, this type of activity does not require large capital investments.

Business the American way

It's no secret that many ideas of successful startups were adopted from Americans. Let's look at what they came up with on the opposite continent and what business ideas are in demand overseas.

Startup for the “lawn mower” . Lown-Love - this is how they came up with the name in the USA for a monetary project related to landscaping gardens and personal plots. Its idea is simple: this information portal acts as an intermediary between a potential customer and professional gardeners. The customer provides data on his plot and information about how he wants his garden to look like, and the service selects a specialist for him who will do this work. Then payment for services is made through the website, the service removes its commission, and the customer receives an ideal landscape. Lone Love acts as a guarantor of the quality of the services provided, so a person can be confident in the services ordered.

Startup Detective . Resourceful Americans were among the first to resort to the services of private detectives who conducted surveillance of any object. Without violating human rights, it will be very difficult to trace him from a legal point of view. The Tile project is based on the development of key fobs with an active tracking function and the transfer of relevant data to a mobile device, for which the customer needs to purchase a mobile application. This service is very popular, and such a business has already managed to bring its owners about 20 million dollars.

Earning money from a healthy lifestyle . The unusual project has already brought its owners more than one million and continues to gain popularity. The customer wants to eat some dish, for which he needs to order special ingredients via the Internet from the delivery service. They are delivered at a strictly specified time. The highlight of this service is the fact that the ingredients are supplied to the customer with detailed instructions for preparing a dish from the selected menu.

Travel companions. The uncontrollable craving of Americans for hitchhiking gave rise 10 years ago to the idea of ​​​​creating the BlaBlaCar service, which is now popular in Russia. Each person can easily find a travel companion or, conversely, find a driver who will take you anywhere inexpensively (along the way). It is known that some venture capital companies have invested over $100 million in the future of this service.

Internet business

Every freelancer can organize an explosive online business that will generate substantial income by providing remote services to consumers. There can be a great variety of ideas for profitable startups, ranging from providing advice (legal, business, accounting) to international trade.

One of the profitable areas is the resale of cheap and high-quality goods made in China on the consumer market of Russia and a number of other countries. Also, in the near future, the services of remote specialists will be in demand, for example, SEO copywriters and translators (without investing their own funds).

If you are a specialist in any type of activity, you can organize paid online training courses for everyone via the Internet. Examples of such startups include courses on learning how to do business online, writing articles using search queries of any frequency and word forms, playing the guitar, programming in modern languages, martial arts, etc.

An excellent option for investing money and running a business via the Internet can be franchising. This is a ready-made business where they cooperate on mutually beneficial terms. The owner of the trademark (business) receives from the entrepreneur at a certain frequency and helps him in every possible way in promoting the brand.

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Anyone can use the Internet to attract customers to their business, even if it operates offline. The main thing here is to carefully think through the idea of ​​a startup and approach its implementation from a non-standard angle, which will allow you to be one step ahead of your competitors.

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