Microsoft: the main thing is to sell the product produced by a startup

According to a Microsoft representative, only 5% of startups, considered by company’s seed fund, are viable as the expert committee thinks. When you create your own IT-startup, the most important thing is the idea and understanding of how to earn money on it, the executive director of Microsoft seed Fund Gaidar Magdanurov said during an entrepreneurship in high technology online conference with RIA Novosti readers.

Technological maturity of the product, professional team working and an ability to successfully realize the project is important for the selection committee - Magdanurov said in response to a question about the entrepreneur education, work experience and etc. requirements.

According to the company, the main problems found in the applications are the incorrect market segment assessment, incorrectly drawn potential client profile, as well as the lack of monetization plan of the project. To avoid such mistakes a careful analysis of potential customers should be conducted. Some individual interviews with the customers should be also conducted - Magdanurov said.

The expert urged not to be afraid of investor and expert consultations, as the threat of ideas theft is very small and unfavorable and you can get valuable advice on various aspects of doing business.

On the request of the audience, the Microsoft expert introduced a description of the "Russian startups": most of the 4-5 course students of technical and economic departments, whose main interest is focused on Internet projects, and mature businesses - to develop products for the business processes optimization. According to Magdanurova, the main startups providers are three cities: Kazan, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk.