The Business
Priority pitch session and the next stage of the tech startup competition were
held as part of the Innovation Space project on the second day of the 5th
Eastern Economic Forum, on 5 September. The competition is organized by the
Roscongress Foundation together with the Far East High Technology Fund and the
Russky Technology Park with the support of the Primorye Territory
administration.
Over 100
projects registered in the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) or presenting
innovative products that can be utilized in the FEFD applied for the
competition. The expert jury — investment
foundations, representatives of federal and regional authorities, corporations,
large and middle-sized business, business angels — chose 7
high-tech start-ups granting them Business Priority status and the chance to
present their products at the EEF.
Business
Priority status was given to:
SMARSY— smart mirror
for cosmetics brands and retailers,
Enreport — workflow
automation system for energy market businesses,
VeDroid — industrial
cleaner robot,
Медсеть — mobile
application facilitating patient-provider communication,
PUFPay — online
payment service for entities and individuals,
Yagoda — platform for
customer acquisition and retention,
CRYOPROJECT — skin care product preventing
frostbite.
«Today we have
seen great projects, and it is only the beginning of big, consistent work. The
Business Priority project enables startups to integrate into the ecosystem of
the Roscongress Foundation, which encompasses all sectors of the economy,
levels of government, and development institutions. Thus, the teams that are
based in the regions today will have access to competences and financial
resources, and can showcase themselves in the global market,» emphasised
Member of the Board of the Roscongress Foundation Yury Cherches.
«We have chosen
7 projects from Primorye Territory, Khabarovsk, and Yakutia as finalists that,
as we believe, have great potential to develop into successful businesses and
some are well-suited to the economic and geographical specifics of the region.
The Fund will continue co-operation with each project, however, not only in
terms of mentor support now, but also in fund-raising,» said CEO of the Far
East High Technology Fund Ruslan Sarkisov.
«There are
fewer start-ups in the Far East than in Moscow, but many of them are very
interesting. We are happy to fully support them. The Business Priority pitch
session is a great experience for young companies, because communication with
leading representatives of the investor community helps them understand how to
further develop. These adjustments are very important,» Marianna
Skragan, Business Priority CEO.
The pitch
session was followed by the Open Talk ‘From Zero to a
Billion’ in which founders and
CEOs of successful tech start-ups took part: Gennady Redko (Hetlead), Rustam
Milanov (Visitech), and Danila Zharov (Motivity). As the format suggests, the
entrepreneurs sincerely answered tricky questions that concern anyone who is
thinking of starting a business of their own: why they chose to undertake this
hard task instead of getting a job, how they built their team and proved the
value of their product to the customers, when is the right time to look for
investments, etc.
«Wehave had a
very natural discussion here, because the answers were not identical and
prepared in advance. We could see that each entrepreneur referred to their
experience saying what they actually thought. It was really interesting and
useful for many startupers present in the room,» commented
Aleksey Malikov, Co-founder of Vento Group and Partner at A&A Capital
Investment Fund who was the moderator of the talk.
To see the
version of the Business Priority pitch session and Open Talk ‘From Zero to a Billion’ broadcasts,
visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information
and Analytical System at roscongress.org/en.
