On October 29, students from Altai State University participated in the "Startupus: City of Projects" training and immersed in entrepreneurial design, from idea to pitch, for a whole day.
The trainings are held as part of the "University Technological Entrepreneurship Platform." Altai State University serves as a partner university and training platform for Tomsk State University, and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) operates the training.
Yaroslav Plahotniuc, a trainer from Southern Federal University, noted:
"There's a whole series of events designed to foster university technology entrepreneurship. We are currently at the initial phase of the upcoming Acceleration — entrepreneurial skills training. Altai State University is actively supporting the development of its startups. We will experience a day in the life of entrepreneurs: formulating business ideas, identifying target audiences, and working really hard. Today, we will discuss how to transform any startup into a technology-driven enterprise, as well as strategies for raising funds to scale up your business — after all, doing business with someone else's money is much more exciting and manageable than self-funding! I hope this marks the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey for many of you. You are welcome to join any acceleration program — I'm confident your university offers one as well."
The participants were divided into 10 teams of 6-7 members, with each team assigned specific roles: leader, financier, negotiator, analyst, creative lead, designer, and speaker. Their task is to generate a startup idea, develop a team brand book, select an NTI market, and prepare a presentation showcasing their MVP and value proposition.
"Each team holds shares called YuFUNts, which they can buy and sell. They also calculate project costs, develop a monetization model, and seek investors—but for now, it is all in a game format. The students received real grant options which they can apply if their ideas reach the required level. They will also have the option to join an accelerator or "Startup Studios" through the technology university entrepreneurship platform, something we already have in place. Our main goal is to motivate students and show them that anything is possible, and they can achieve anything," said Elena Gladkaya, assistant coach from Southern Federal University.
Following the training, all teams presented their projects and received real tools for further startup development, as well as valuable prizes.