Attracting an array tech investors, startup entrepreneurs, and professionals from Russia and abroad, the annual TechCrunch Moscow conference took place for the third time on December 9 and 10 in Digital October, a major venue for tech events and educational programs.
This year’s topic was ‘War and Peace,’ with 44 projects involved, representing a variety of industries from tourism, to new communications, to social networks.
According to Digital October CEO Dmitry Repin, the conference was attended by around 80% of Russian venture capital investors and numerous business angels. “I guess that all of the startups present enjoyed support, one way or another. About 30 percent of them have received venture investments from institutional investors,” said Repin.
“We have put together about 50 contacts; we have made appointments with six investors, and another 21 have expressed an interest in further collaboration. Furthermore, we were pleased to see that, because everyone was aware of the busy program of the event and prepared well, no time was spent on idle talk. At the same time, the startuppers were at ease presenting their projects. The investors were ready to listen,” said Ivan Kochetov, founder of Promise Up, a startup developing a mobile app that has its users keep their promises or pay a compensation to other users in virtual currency.
The second day of the conference featured not only a startup battle but also panel discussions on travel, fashion, video, new advertising trends, and startup issues. Panel guests included Sergey Fage of Ostrovok.ru, Oskar Hartmann of Kupi-Vip, Anna Znamenskaya of Tinkoff Digital, Alisa Chumachenko of Gamesight and Mikhail Lyalin of Zeptolab.
The day ended with a startup battle, which was won by Excursiopedia, a Russian-German startup offering an online resource for travelers to find a guide for an individual tour in hundreds of cities across the globe.
The event also featured the Russian Startup Rating, an initiative of Digital October, PwC in Russia and Russia Beyond the Headlines.
“We know how challenging it can be to assess a startup; so the rating will definitely help investors. If your startup has a high rating, it can help you a lot,” said Repin.
“This project is designed primarily for investors looking for promising startups as well as for a broad audience, who will find out that Russia is not only a resource-based economy but also a country that can effectively compete with its peers on the high-tech market,” said Vsevolod Pulya, RBTH Executive Director for online products.
This story is based on an article which first appeared in Russia Beyond The Headlines, an international source of political, business and cultural news and analysis.
