CEO at Startupbootcamp Russia
Vladislav Zdorenko is a co-founder of the technology entrepreneurship development company Startech.vc, CEO of Startupbootcamp Russia, a venture investor and ideologist of the development of an innovation ecosystem in Russia. In 2018, Vladislav and his partner Oleg Linnikov founded the MIPT accelerator Phystech.Start, which takes place twice a year. In 2020, Startupbootcamp Russia, in partnership with Microsoft and EY, launched the Global Pilots program to launch pilot projects in the global market. Vladislav focuses on investing in companies across industry entertainment, game, biotech, AR/VR.
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Disclaimer: all content within the Startup Ecosystem Summary and Editor’s Guide sections is written by and reflects the personal perspective of the guest editor. The guest editor is not responsible for content within the Country Snapshot and Community sections, as much of this content is compiled from external sources and does not necessarily reflect the guest editor’s view.
Russia has always been well-known for its advanced technologies and high-quality engineers. Most large multi-national technology companies have Russian developers and programmers. The wealth of senior tech talent has driven the development of the Russian startup community. Today, this community is more active than ever before, as more experienced talent transitions to starting their own businesses. This is further supported by the rise of educational programs surrounding entrepreneurship corporations looking to partner with early-stage projects, and finally the emergence of venture studios. Importantly, many of the startups emerging in this next wave of innovation adopt an international mindset from the beginning, rather than focusing only on the domestic consumer population.
The main obstacle for continued ecosystem growth is the lack of investment capital. For the most part, international funds do not have operations in Russia. Many Russian private funds operate in Luxembourg, Ireland and other countries, choosing to focus primarily on investing in the US market. Additionally, Russian enterprises have started to use international scouting to work with the world’s best startups, but few of these companies have acquired local startups, resulting in a relatively small number of exits.
The focus of Russian investment on other markets rather than the local ecosystem means that the success of Russia’s startup ecosystem is dependent on accessing foreign capital. Therefore, it’s crucial for Russian startups to quickly enter international markets and attract investment from international venture players. The challenge in doing so is the geopolitical position of Russia.
Editor’s choice of the country’s top 10 emerging tech startups.
Developer Tools
Moscow
Gaming
Moscow
Healthtech
Moscow
Artificial Intelligence
Moscow
Gaming
Novosibirsk
Medtech, Robotics
Moscow
Music Tech
Moscow
Fintech
Moscow
Edtech
Moscow
HR Tech
Moscow
Editor’s pick of which ‘Featured Startup’ is especially worth following and why.
Editor’s choice of the industries with the most potential for technology disruption and growth.
Editor’s perspective of the maturity level of talent in the ecosystem.
Editor’s commentary on how the country’s culture and history have impacted the ecosystem.
Russia has a large population, but because of the political environment, there is a small middle class. As a result, it is quite difficult to develop B2C startups, and venture capital investments from local funds/business angels are mainly received by companies setting up a legal entity in other jurisdictions. On the other hand, there is a precedent for large-scale startup success: internet giant Yandex remains the leading local search engines, and also acquired Uber’s operations in Russia in 2017.
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HSE INC (Moscow): We are HSE INC - Business Incubator of the Higher School of Economics. Our mission is to increase the number of entrepreneurs. We want to change the world through entrepreneurship.
Startech VC (Moscow)
IIDF Accelerator (Moscow): The IIDF Accelerator is the best program in Russia for accelerating business development on the Internet. The program includes consulting, educational, marketing and legal support for the Fund, access to more than 250 best market experts, an individual tracker, as well as work with other successful teams in an excellent office in the center of Moscow.
Russian Venture Forum (Kazan)
Startup Village (Moscow)
Innovation Agency of Moscow: We help technology businesses refine and bring new products to market. We find teams for large business to solve technological problems. We test and implement innovative solutions in the city.
Moscow Innovation Cluster: A platform for the introduction of innovation and the development of cooperation between large corporations, industry, SMEs, educational and scientific organizations, development institutions and the city.
Skolkovo Innovation Center: The Skolkovo Innovation Center is a high technology business area at Mozhaysky District in Moscow.
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*Updated with latest available data based on listed source.
*Updated with latest available data based on listed source.
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