Starting a business in a well-researched field is smart and reliable, but competition will be high. What if you try to do something unexpected and become a pioneer? How to make money in a non-trivial way while remaining within the law.
The mass of free energy of girls and boys studying in schools and universities goes away without bringing them profit (or rather, quite the opposite). We offer ideas for business startups for students and schoolchildren that are directly related to the learning process in this review.
Design, sale of clothing and accessories with the school/university branded label
Before you start this kind of business, you need to agree on this with the director (if we are talking about a school), dean (or rector of the university, if the scale of your business is not limited to one faculty).
To begin with, you should buy classic white loose-fitting shirts (suitable for both girls and boys), T-shirts or T-shirts (for sports), and ties. Don’t forget about the badges that are in greatest demand - this product should attract not only new students, but also graduates who want to buy something for themselves or their friends as a souvenir.
The emblem of the school, faculty and university can be found on websites or in printed form from someone from the administration. Making a layout for applying an emblem to a T-shirt and a badge will not be difficult - if you turn to companies that have been involved in this kind of process for a long time. Don’t forget about badges, which are in greatest demand - this product should attract not only new students, but also graduates who want to buy something for themselves or their friends as a souvenir.
Making a trial batch of badges based on a finished layout (50 pieces) will cost 1,000 hryvnia (layout + engraving), the same number of trial batch of T-shirts with their blanks will cost 3,000 hryvnia. You can negotiate a discount on subsequent orders and prompt re-orders of badges. Typically, production takes 3-5 days.
There are 5-15 T-shirts worth making with different designs and quality of application. You should also prepare some additional options designs of T-shirts and badges that can be placed in the assortment of the online store. After receiving the goods, we begin sales. It’s worth noting right away which product is the most popular. We set prices for goods 20-100% higher than cost. That is, for example, the cost of a badge will start from 40-50 hryvnia, and a T-shirt – from 200 hryvnia.
As practice shows, for quite short term it will be possible to sell 50-100 T-shirts and 100-300 badges (earning up to 8 thousand hryvnia), provided that there are 1,000 people studying in your school or department. New batches of goods should be produced (ordered for production) only after almost the entire previous batch has been sold.
You should sell university/school paraphernalia in the lobby of the building not only at the beginning of the academic year, but also on University Day, Faculty Day, professional and calendar holidays. Advantage of this business is to minimize risk, since in the worst case you will be left with a dozen or two unsold T-shirts and badges that you can wear yourself or use as your own gift fund.
Business in the production of high-quality cheat sheets
Collections with cheat sheets and all sorts of tips for tasks and exercises are one of the main components of bookstore sales. At the same time, ready-made cheat sheets, which can also be found in the public Internet, are no different high quality and reliability of information. In addition, many teachers already know them by heart. Thus, students and schoolchildren who use ready-made information risk not only getting a bad grade, but not a grade for the semester.
But there are a lot of students, perhaps you included, who individually create cheat sheets using program literature. In this regard, a rather interesting business can be built on the sale of “high-quality” cheat sheets on various subjects during different periods of study. If you yourself were not an excellent student while studying at the university, find one - pay them a small amount for the use of their notes and other educational materials.
Compose ready-made answers into in electronic format so that their text is no larger than 8 point, and so that as many answers as possible, divided into squares, can be placed on A4 sheet.
Since training course programs do not lend themselves to major changes from year to year, the contents of the cheat sheets will have to be updated no more often than once every two to three years. As for the cost of the finished product, start with the minimum prices, no more than 5 hryvnia per page. Considering that to pass one test/exam you will need cheat sheets of at least 30-40 pages, you can earn 200 hryvnia. And there are about 6-9 courses per semester, so the profit increases to 2,000 hryvnia.
A caveat: you should sell cheat sheets already printed, so the likelihood that they will quickly spread among students will be less.
Writing essays, term papers and diplomas - a business startup for the diligent
Here are approximate market prices that can be used in the process of pricing work:
- cost of master's thesis – from 5 to 25 hryvnia per page (minimum – 1500 hryvnia);
- cost of bachelor's work – from 4 to 22 hryvnia per page (minimum – 500 hryvnia);
- coursework cost – from 5 to 20 hryvnia per page (minimum – 100 hryvnia)
- the cost of an abstract is from 5 to 20 hryvnia per page (minimum - 60 hryvnia).
But each work is assessed individually (depending on the subject, requirements for calculation material, graphic interpretation of the results, etc.), so the prices are indicative. The most common deadline for completing work is from 5 to 7 days (abstract). If the work needs to be done urgently, the client pays an additional 20% of the initial cost of the service.
If your service turns out to be in demand, you can open your own office in the future by registering as an individual entrepreneur (this way you will inspire more trust among clients). In addition to the office, it will also be possible to create your own website. At the same time, it is advisable to cooperate with all electronic libraries and not only, because you will already have a lot more work and not only in one area.
Setting up and maintaining modern gadgets is a business only for the advanced
Among the necessary personal qualities entrepreneur: perseverance, love of modern gadgets, and communication skills. The initial capital is minimal: a computer connected to the Internet, where you can find instructions for any equipment, as well as a small, well-lit personal room. Beginner users obviously need technical assistance in understanding the functionality of smartphones and tablets, setting up all the options/capabilities available on them, as well as installing additional programs.
Therefore, the basis of the service that you will provide to clients will be:
- gluing to gadget screen protective film. Usually in mobile salons the cost of this service starts from 50 hryvnia (for tablets the price is higher due to large size screen);
- initial setup, which includes instructing the user about all the capabilities of his gadget. During the conversation with the client, you should figure out how to configure this or that function so that it is convenient for him personally;
- “advanced” users always want to somehow improve their device, add/replace existing applications and games in it;
- assistance in registering a user account in online stores, so that the client can subsequently download the necessary content for himself.
As for the cost of services, they can start from 30-80 hryvnia for installing one program (if it is publicly available on the Internet). If we are talking about paid applications, add the price of the application itself to the cost of the service.
Portal for schoolchildren and students
Nowadays, every university, and sometimes a school, has its own website. But, unfortunately, its information content is minimal and, often, is not attractive to students. The information content of the website is built according to a unified principle: history of the institution, graduates, teachers, several photographs, etc.
Why not fill the Internet resource not only with administrative facts, but also with news from the lives of students, their hobbies, offers from employers, finally, educational materials, scanned lecture courses from your own teachers, and so on?
In addition, for promotion, it makes sense to pay for the services of professional SEO managers who will bring citizens looking for this or that general information to the portal. Having formed a stable wide circle of visitors (the number of unique IP addresses), you can offer commercial advertising on a paid basis - at least through systems like Google Adsense or Begun.
Domestic inventors have never had problems generating innovative ideas - theirs is much more difficult practical implementation. And the best start for students who want to not only amaze the world with their imagination, but also learn how to make their dreams come true, is the international Microsoft Imagine Cup competition.
This competition helps to understand what innovative solutions the market needs, receive recommendations for the development of such solutions and information about the technologies available for their creation from experts and gurus of the IT industry, and also compete for cash grants for the further development of the project.
The selection of applications for the Imagine Cup competition, the world's largest annual technology competition, held with the support of Microsoft since 2003, has ended. The competition involves graduate and undergraduate students from all over the world, and in the 2017 season they will compete for a prize of $100,000. In April, the Russian qualifying stage will take place in Moscow, the winners of which will represent our country at the international finals in the USA. Domestic teams traditionally show a very high level of preparation for their developments. Let's see what successes the projects of the Russian Imagine Cup winners of past years have achieved.
Man-made worlds made of sand
Virtualization technologies are on the rise today - virtual content is superimposed on a real image, as a result of which what is visible to the eye is radically transformed. These technologies have already begun to be used Russian companies For example, the startup Zengalt has created an application that takes the user to the Mesozoic era, showing the viewer a holographic image of representatives of the fauna of that time. At the same time, dinosaurs seem to be “embedded” in the surrounding reality, “walking,” for example, among the skyscrapers of Moscow City...
However, glasses are not the most comfortable accessory, especially when it comes to children of kindergarten age. For them, Chelyabinsk developer Dmitry Andreev came up with the “Interactive Sandbox” project, where a box with ordinary sand installed in the hall kindergarten, illuminated from above by a computer-controlled projector. Anything can be projected onto the sand: houses, roads and bridges, rivers and lakes, canyons and volcanoes. The sandbox comes to life, and playing becomes much more interesting. But it’s not for nothing that it’s interactive - the camera tracks everything the children do with the terrain and adjusts the image produced by the projector in real time! If you want to change the paved road and “draw”, say, a turn on it with your fingers, the projector will immediately make the turn realistic: it will highlight the asphalt with markings, the sandy roadside, and the grass around. Rake up a pile of sand and it will immediately become a mountain; dig a hole and it will become a lake!
“Children now master computers and tablets almost from infancy, but we took a traditional sandbox game, a little new technology - and combined them!” says Dmitry Andreev. “Winning the Microsoft competition allowed our student project to step beyond the amateur stage, attract the attention of the Minister of Education to the prototype, and ultimately develop into a full-fledged Innovation for Children company.
Today "Interactive Sandbox" is a ready-made product that can be purchased. The startup has developed into the company "Innovations for Children", and dozens of kindergartens across the country and even abroad have already been equipped with sandboxes.
Chasing the light
The game Turn On (“Turn On!”) by a Russian indie game project from Perm, Brainy Studio, is often called the popular Internet meme “Warm and lampy” - and it really is! Incredibly cozy graphics with very rich, but at the same time soft colors and mesmerizing music - this is exactly what is called an atmospheric game. There is something in it from the cult film "Kin-dza-dza", something from slightly arthouse Estonian cartoons about the dog Lotte - everyone will have their own associations... Adults perceive the game as a colorful "casual game", children - quite seriously.
A simple platform game at first glance, silent, like Chaplin’s films, but everything in it is clear and without unnecessary chatter. As a result of a meteorite falling, lights go out everywhere in the city and a mini-apocalypse begins. You control a small animated spark, which must return energy to every home by running through the wires. The player is required to have both manual dexterity and logic to move quickly, fight enemies and collect bonuses.
Everyone knows "Mario", where the hero runs around platform areas, in fact, this is a classic game in the genre " platformer “- says Dmitry Ogorodnikov, one of the creators of the game. “In Turn On, instead of platforms there are wires, the main character can only move along them, which significantly distinguishes the game from others. Plus, I think, the kindness of the game contributed to the popularity - everything is positive for us and beautiful, no one kills anyone, which is rare even in platformers!
It is not easy to make a successful platformer - it is believed that in this simple genre everything that is possible has already been implemented. In addition, a serious flagship-level action game is only possible for studios with multimillion-dollar budgets. The developers wanted to try to do something new within the existing simple student indie studio. And they succeeded - the jury of the Imagine Cup competition appreciated what makes their product original and distinguishes it from others.
Today the game is already bringing real income to its creators: it is sold on the Xbox and PC platforms in the global game store Steam.
Electronic eyes
A world in a gray fog, filled with sounds - this is what a blind person feels. However, modern technologies can at least partially replace vision! Helping the blind was chosen as the main direction of their research by the participants of the Russian startup Oriense. They developed a navigator for the blind, radically different from traditional navigators. It's called OrNavi and is a mobile gadget with a number of large keys. Of course, it does not have a screen, as is customary today.
The device's software is carefully thought out, taking into account the fact that its interface is exclusively voice-based. OrNavi tips may seem strange to the sighted, but for the blind they are a lifesaver! In continuous mode, the navigator reports which objects the owner is passing by: shops, pharmacies, banks, parks, etc. When approaching an entrance, both its account number and the apartment numbers in it will sound! Not only buildings are sounded, but also all urban infrastructure objects - lawns, fountains, stairs. At the bus stop public transport The navigator will immediately report the route numbers. If the owner of the device gets on the bus, he will hear the name of the nearest stop in advance. Moreover, the sound in the device is transmitted through bone conduction headphones, due to which the user’s ears remain open and he can hear surrounding sounds, which is very important for the visually impaired!
But the most interesting thing about the navigator is the glasses, built on the basis of Microsoft Kinect, a sensor from the Xbox game console, which many developers have already successfully used in projects completely unrelated to games.
Using a camera and an image depth sensor, the glasses actually do the work of a guide dog - their “eyes” look several meters ahead and notice steps (telling them whether they are going up or down!), holes, pillars and other urban obstacles, said Maxim Spiridonov , blind programmer at Oriense. “The device warns in advance both about the distance and the side from which it is better to avoid the obstacle.”
In addition, the glasses will help you determine the denomination of a bill with voice prompts, read a sign, recognize a color (for example, to pick up clothes before going out or sort socks into pairs), scan barcodes to find out the type of product. The wide range of capabilities of the device provides the necessary sense of independence for the blind.
Social projects are given special attention at Imagine Cup. In the field of developments that help people with disabilities, it is much easier to find support for a student team taking its first steps with an eye to the market high technology. And Oriense made the right decision - thanks to their victory in the competition, the inventors of “electronic eyes” attracted the attention of a number of funds for the blind, the large venture accelerator iDealMachine, and the Skolkovo innovation center.
Ball in a black and white universe
Do simple games very difficult... unless, of course, you want the game to become popular. Alexander Vilasak and his team from St. Petersburg called IzHard, developers of the indie game OVIVO in the spirit of “complex primitivism,” dream of competing with the famous Finnish “Angry Birds” or the Russian Cut The Rope (“Cut the Rope!”). Both of these games, like other similar ones, look extremely simple, but are built on complex mathematics, which simulates the physical behavior of real objects. As a result, "primitive" toys are not so easy to complete, they are really addictive!
OVIVO is a 2D platform game where you control a ball called OVO that travels through a black and white abstract world. Being black, OVO is heavier than air and is affected by gravity, and when it changes color to white, it becomes like inflated with helium- and flies upward. Colors and worlds alternate every second, and it’s not easy to control the ball, catching the ups and downs and switching the dark part of the world to the light one and vice versa. The player will have to overcome dangers and collect all the symbols to discover the history of the dual universe, and all this - to the accompaniment of atmospheric psychedelic music...
There are certainly similar games - BadLand, Type:Rider, Limbo and others,” says Alexander Vilasak. - The difference between OVIVO and these games is primarily in the unusual mechanics of the hero’s movement: the game does not have the “Jump” function; as is usually the case, the character jumps due to increasing momentum when changing positions in colors. Plus, there is no text in OVIVO, right down to the tutorial - “maximum minimalism”!
The guys are sure that participation in the Microsoft Imagine Cup is the best path into the profession for aspiring game designers. It is possible that without winning the competition, the unusual and fascinating game would have remained a piece of software at the hobby stage, but the prize of 50 thousand dollars, invested in the development of OVIVO, gave the young studio its first commercial product, which actually became their calling card. The official release is scheduled for summer 2017.
Roboruk replaces a living one
New technologies in last years have made a real breakthrough in improving the quality of life of people with disabilities. And it’s nice that more and more domestic developments are appearing in this area - such as the Myoarm Control System project from a team of MIPT students Galvani Bionics.
The development of Galvani Bionics is a software and hardware platform for controlling robotic prosthetic arms. A small bracelet is worn on the forearm, and its sensors detect the bioelectric impulses of muscle fibers in active points. The impulses are amplified, digitized, after which they are processed mathematically so that the device accurately understands what movement the owner wants to make with the robotic arm.
It is not the person who trains to work with the device, but the device itself adapts to the person, which fundamentally simplifies the process of getting used to the prosthesis,” notes project manager Timur Bergaliev. - We are often asked: what is the fundamental difference between the Myoarm Control System and similar foreign technologies? There are no fundamental differences in this area and cannot be; all manufacturers of smart prostheses use the principle that was discovered by Luigi Galvani in the 19th century - the use of commands for mechanical arm electrical impulses generated by muscles. We simply use our own data processing algorithms to better recognize commands to control the prosthesis. The dimensions of the device are reduced, the learning process of the system is simplified, and most importantly, use becomes more convenient!
Improving the technology used by the world's largest companies is a sure way to gain the interest of industry leaders. Similar youth projects, and even awarded prizes at international competitions, are often acquired by large brands, and yesterday's students get jobs in corporations. Now the guys are working on a pre-production sample of their device. After final improvements, the software and hardware platform is awaiting Russian prosthetists, who have already announced their readiness to begin integrating the system into their prostheses.
... Well, the Imagine Cup 2017 competition promises the discovery of new interesting projects. Already on April 15, the names of the finalists will become known, whose projects will represent Russia at the international finals of the competition in Seattle.
The idea of creating a new school subject came to me after I became acquainted with a course developed by IIDF, in which students are actually taught how to make their own startup.
Conducting such classes with students is very logical - after all, it was in the student environment that a large number of successful projects. The most obvious example is Facebook.
IN Lately startups are becoming a profession of sorts. Of course, this is not entrepreneurship in its pure form, because entrepreneurship implies the presence of some kind of complete business model: we need to have a clear financial plan that allows us to understand whether our ideas will pay off; understand when and what resources are needed to implement them, and so on. When creating a business, we plan its future quite clearly. A startup is a venture story: the task is not so much to build a profitable business, but to demonstrate exponential growth a certain set of metrics. If at the same time the startup begins to pay for itself, great, if not, no big deal.
What is the main idea of the startup? If we do a certain business and spend all the money we earn on expanding it, then such a business grows in the same way as a startup. If at a certain point you “pour” even more financial resources into this business and give it new opportunities for growth, then it will be able to grow much faster. Euroset developed at one time according to a similar model.
Expandability and explosive growth are characteristic of a startup. In other words, a startup is also a business with a number of features.
So why should you study startups in school?
The sooner a young person realizes that he has the opportunity to create and launch his own project, the greater the likelihood that he will be able to successfully develop in this area. It’s one thing when a 25-year-old university graduate learns about the existence of startups, and another thing when the same thing happens to a 14-16 year old student. For such young man knowledge of the difficulties of this path, when many people need to take risks, spend their time on the development of the project, not sleep at night, and various success stories (Zuckerberg, Durov and many others), can become the necessary element thanks to which he will decide on his future.
Moreover, many of the things that must be covered in a course on startups will be relevant for any business. If you look at the experience of Generation S, one of the most widespread online/offline accelerators, during the training process experts talk, among other things, about the market and its characteristics: how to determine the market volume, what a business model is, what typical business models exist, how and when they can be used, how to find your target audience, develop an MVP, how to decide on partners and resources, and much more.
All this is important for any business, not just startups. For example, the ability to do the financial analysis The project is worth a lot. Therefore, when we talk about introducing such a subject at school (at least on an optional basis), we are primarily talking about the ability to analyze and design various processes.
Experiment on living schoolchildren
As an experiment, last year we tried to create our own startup with students in grades 10 and 11 at regular secondary school No. 184 in St. Petersburg, that is, go from complete ignorance to creating a simple landing page describing the concept of an invented startup.
The course was built on a very simple principle: first the theoretical part, and then the practical part. The theory included 4 lectures devoted to basic concepts - business model, market analysis, key roles in the project... But as practice, students had to split into teams developing their own idea.
The process of protecting your project.
The startup ideas were very different and, I must say, often very relevant (we even later met some of these ideas implemented in quite “adult” startups). For example, the guys voiced their own problem related to career guidance: until now in Russia, unfortunately, there is no centralized resource that would allow a teenager or his parents to get answers to questions related to choosing a profession and university. So they proposed creating a platform that would ultimately solve the pressing problems of career guidance for schoolchildren.
Another idea that the students came up with was related to crowdfunding (similar to well-known and active platforms like Boomstarter or Planeta.ru or foreign Kickstarter), focused exclusively on raising funds for musicians’ performances. There are “niche” groups that do not perform at large venues or give concerts only in the capital. However, even in small towns there are hundreds of people who would gladly come to a concert of their favorite band if they paid a reasonable amount for it. The idea of the project was to create a special resource where you could chip in for the arrival of any group in your city, while this resource itself would take on all the organizational concerns. If there is enough money raised, people who invested automatically receive tickets to the concert. If not, the money is returned to the senders.
Let's look at a few other interesting examples. One team of young startups proposed creating an augmented reality app for city tours: it could be used to provide information about various attractions. Another came up with the idea of a pet hotel: a person who needs a temporary home for their cat, for example, could post an ad and then choose someone who responded based on the price offered or reviews from other people. Such a project would be especially relevant for the Western market.
We also found the anonymous project very interesting. psychological assistance for teenagers and adults - an analogue of a helpline. Medical students studying psychology could work on such a project. There is a mutual benefit here: some get good practice, others get quality help.
Of course, all these ideas have their drawbacks and many incomprehensible points. Most likely, if they are implemented, not all of them will “shoot”, which, however, is also typical for more mature teams. However, we didn't stop at just ideas.
As part of our course, all “start-ups” conducted surveys and collected opinions on how interesting their idea was to others. Each team interviewed between 50 and 200 people, and on average, more than 50% rated the proposed ideas positively. In some cases, people were even willing to pay for the product offered. A lot of time was also devoted to public speaking (for example, in the format of “round tables” in order to defend your project in front of other students and improve it based on the received feedback). It is important to note here that public speaking is one of the most weak points for modern schoolchildren, they are very difficult for children who, nevertheless, communicate well on the Internet and with each other. With some students, we trained their three-minute performance for 30-40 minutes. However, one of the positive results of the course is that the guys learned to speak at least in front of a familiar audience. This is also a wonderful side effect.
We did not fully implement student startups, since this is a very labor-intensive task. Children are simply not ready to engage in project development instead of sleep and entertainment. Therefore, as the final part of their work, they prepared landing pages on which they colorfully explained the essence of their idea, its relevance, methods of monetization and implementation features. Here, for example, is the result of the work of a team that proposed its implementation of the idea of an inspiring alarm clock. All other landing pages were also made using the Tilda service.
Trial version of the wake-up service landing page.
After creating the page, the students defended their project, talking about their idea, the main consumer, proposed ways to earn money and the necessary resources.
What worked and what didn't work
The positive experience is that students acquire many useful skills, including public speaking, the ability to work with information and visualize it, conduct surveys, and the ability to rely on consumer opinions. Children learn a culture of discussion, the ability to objectively evaluate their ideas, and critical thinking. Moreover, working on startups is really interesting for schoolchildren because of the lack of routine and the opportunity to show creativity.
However, there are also plenty of negative aspects.
Modern education system school does not teach children to work. Everyone is doing well at school, but practically no one is working at home. When we talk about startups, we need to understand that at first the project rests only on the personality and work of the founders. Schoolchildren are not ready for this. A startup cannot be forced to do it - it must come from within. What we observed among schoolchildren speaks of a completely different approach: they are accustomed to having people think for them, writing a plan for them and telling them what to do. So, unfortunately, it doesn't work.
It must be said that this is a problem not only for Russian schoolchildren. Their foreign peers for the most part are also not inclined to take initiative when learning. Frederic Auroux, founder of the French startup accelerator NUMA, that we need to teach our children that even if they don’t start their own company (after all, not everyone is born an entrepreneur), they need creative skills, they need interdisciplinary connections, they need skill apply your knowledge in life. There is truly great pedagogical potential in entrepreneurship education.
Frederic Auroux
We have a gigantic gap between education and profession; This problem is typical of today's world - as one famous saying goes, education prepares people for a future about which we know nothing. Therefore, young people need to be included in the professional system and career as early as possible.
I would encourage everyone to study design thinking as part of their school curriculum. This is a great way to understand one simple thing: whatever you do, whatever you learn, you do it not only for yourself, but also for others, for someone on the other side of the table, screen or border. Understanding that you are working for someone leads you to the need to figure out what this “someone” needs, whether your work will be useful to this “someone”. Design thinking will also help teachers increase the motivation of their students, many of whom do not really understand the meaning of studying.
Continuing the thought of the French entrepreneur, we can say that startups are a good experiment that should be done in schools today to show how knowledge from completely different disciplines (mathematics, physics, psychology...) is collected at one point to create a single product.
We asked leading experts in the field of startup education whether entrepreneurial courses should be introduced into school education today.
Does a school need an elective course on starting your own startup?
As the experience of the HSE Lyceum shows, schoolchildren are quite capable of coming up with startups and working out business models. The sooner entrepreneurship skills are instilled, the sooner the student will be able to see various options his future career and, accordingly, will be able to better decide on the choice of university and faculty.
A course on creating a startup, subject to its serious and high-quality study, could instill such necessary adult life qualities and skills such as responsibility, ability to work in a team, project management, planning, presentation of the results of their work. This will be useful in any industry, wherever they go later.
Zamir Shukhov
Entrepreneurship should begin to be taught from school - this is my firm belief. The required skills can be identified in a sufficiently early age. Now young guys aged 15-16 are starting to create their own projects and even earn money from them. This is often seen at various conferences that take place abroad: in Europe, the USA, Asia.
I believe that talented kids should be given the opportunity to choose an entrepreneurship major earlier, just as they choose a technical or humanities major in 9th or 10th grade, and start learning skills at the age when their brains are most receptive to this information. Those who in the future see themselves creating their own business could study this course.
What knowledge, skills and abilities need to be “instilled” at school in order to raise Russian startups to a qualitatively different level?
For high-quality startups in the future, as well as for life in general, schoolchildren must be taught critical thinking, logic, the ability to work with information, and not only search, but also sift out, analyze, comprehend it, communication skills and presentation of their ideas, project management. It is important to vaccinate positive thinking: see opportunities in everything, consider difficulties as challenges, draw conclusions from mistakes and not be afraid to make them. And finally, the most important thing that most adults lack: the desire to make the world a better place, to build big ships, to take responsibility for themselves and at least part of the world around them.
Zamir Shukhov
Director of the innovative business development program GVA LaunchGurus
Of course, basic knowledge of how the economy works is necessary: a person who wants to run his own business must first be able to count numbers. To successfully manage people, you need to understand the features of communication, setting tasks, and managing your own time. All these skills, of course, are better developed in practice, but the success of young entrepreneurs will be much higher if the theory is given a basis in high school.
Now we observe that, even leaving university, graduates do not have the skills to manage their own business: they have a good creative base, many have programming skills, scientific knowledge, but do not have the skills to manage people, the ability to motivate them, and unite them around an idea. This can be facilitated by teaching so-called soft skills: public speaking, negotiation skills, development of leadership skills and team management. For example, you can create project groups at school, working as a team on common tasks or implementing simple projects on a school or municipal scale.
Those who aim to become entrepreneurs and have the inclinations of entrepreneurship should learn how to create a startup. It is important to first explain the prospects of entrepreneurship - it is hard work, sleepless nights, spending 5-7 years starting a new company before it becomes successful, instability and some risk. Once students have an understanding and opportunity to weigh the pros and cons, they must choose whether to follow the startup path.
You need to teach those who want to learn it - this is a voluntary direction.
Ideas for startups: the “freshest” ideas from all over the world - 3 keys to success + TOP 5 ideas from all over the world + 3 startup ideas from Russian developers.
Why startup ideas are they becoming increasingly popular in the business sphere and bringing owners a lot of capital?
First of all, because they offer completely new, innovative solutions to people’s pressing problems.
Therefore, it is quite logical that in search of inspiration for creating your own startup, you should not rush “deep into history.”
Follow trends, fashion trends, what is actually in demand now.
This article, which brings together the main business trends and forecasts regarding future discoveries in the entrepreneurial “art” market, can help you with this.
What is a startup?
Before talking about startup ideas, it’s worth defining what we mean in general.
Most have only general idea about startups. That’s why some believe that this is the name given to new resources on the Internet, while others believe that this is a business created by young people without experience.
There is some truth in this. However, the concept itself is broader.
Startup is a business idea that is based solely on the use of innovative technologies or the introduction of completely new products.
That is, the composition of the team and the format of the company do not matter (startups often begin to develop without being officially registered).
The main thing is that the team helps solve some problem of humanity by offering something unique.
Also distinctive features startup speakers:
- limited money to start;
- starting work from scratch;
- Most often, startup partners were previously connected by some kind of relationship (worked together, studied together).
And although the world learns about such companies in their first steps, when the market position is not yet strong, only those companies that have already manufactured a product can be called startups.
The development or “raw” project is only the basis for creation, but not the startup itself.
What is the key to success of a startup idea?
If you analyze the ideas behind startups that have been particularly successful, you can identify several common features.
Conventionally, they can be called “secrets of success.”
Factors on which the success of a startup idea depends:
What exactly do you think about the idea that became a startup?
Do you think it can bring in a lot of money?
Or are you really “on fire” and confident that this business will be useful to people and become innovative?
Only in the second case does the startup really have a chance of success.
If you don't have a genuine interest, you can quickly burn out.
Moreover, startups rarely bring immediate profit.
A lot depends on the team.
It is obvious that a team of like-minded people working on the same wavelength can do more than one person.
Don't try to put everything on your shoulders.
You should not calculate how many people will have to divide the profit, but take care of the perfect quality of every detail.
Youth is a plus.
Let this statement sound like discredit.
But the fact remains: investors are more focused on investing in the young and ambitious.
Let people with experience do their thing - run large organizations and share their knowledge with others.
For those who no longer consider themselves a “young man”, but are eager, let us clarify: success in business has no age restrictions.
Do you have any doubts? Look at this picture:
TOP 5: global startup ideas
As a rule, startups are concentrated in the field of IT technologies. We decided to create a selection of ideas that were created and brought to life by ordinary people.
This step is designed to inspire you to implement your own ideas, even if you do not have any special education or many years of work experience.
1. An eco-friendly idea: a special shampoo
"Nephentes" looks like an enema or something.
In fact, this startup idea can have a significant impact on the environment.
Few people think about it, but ordinary plastic bottles from "" are harmful to environment product. The decomposition period of one bottle can be hundreds of years!
Do you remember how much you use them throughout your life?
According to the idea of this startup, manufacturers produce products in huge containers, pouring the required portions into customers’ “Nephentes” bottles.
It is curious that the design does not even involve the use of a lid! The neck is simply bent and inserted into the compartment.
Another plus: you can finally use 100% of the product, including what usually remains at the bottom.
2. Indian startup idea
If you think that all that India can do is dance and make films, then you will be surprised - quite a few startup ideas have been created in this country.
Interestingly, there is even a kind of analogue of the American Silicon Valley.
In addition, India is really interested in the issue of the huge amount of garbage on the streets. Innovative ideas appear regularly.
For example, an edible spoon - great alternative plastic devices. After eating, you can eat it as a dessert or, of course, just throw it away.
Obviously, such “material” as flour decomposes as quickly as possible and is absolutely harmless to nature.
The creators also assure that vegetarians can safely eat the product. And in the future there are even plans to develop a gluten-free version.
3. Idea for junk food lovers
Who among us is not familiar with such a problem: you carefully take chips or something else greasy, and your fingers get so dirty that you have to go wash them.
And you need to be extremely careful not to catch or stain anything!
A startup has appeared in Italy, the idea of which is to create finger pads. They are very thin, but the latex fits tightly around your fingers.
Thanks to this, consumers can safely enjoy the goodies and then simply throw away the “attachments.”
It is assumed that these devices will not be sold on their own, but as a set with chips, nuts or similar food for which they were invented.
4. Startup: “folding” napkins
But the idea of this startup is designed for higher cuisine – that is, for restaurants. It appeared as a reaction to the fact that ordinary napkin holders are already becoming an obsolete item.
But napkins pressed into a small round “puck” are a different matter. To use such a thing, visitors must immerse the “tablet” in an antiseptic solution.
And immediately the fabric unfolds, acquires a pleasant smell, and even becomes a “killing weapon” for harmful microbes on your hands.
Don't immediately assume the increased costs for owners: these towels are not disposable. So the startup idea will not harm your wallet or the environment.
5. Startup idea with social value
Often startups are still called upon to solve global problems, and not just improve the already comfortable lives of consumers.
For example, a special supermarket was created in Denmark – “WeFood”. Its concept is that they sell goods here that cannot be displayed on “decent” shelves.
Incorrect labeling, torn packaging, an approaching expiration date, or even being out of date - all of these are usually reasons for writing off, returning, or even disposing of goods.
Meanwhile, even in Denmark there are many people who have to save on everything.
The supermarket idea not only helped low-income people eat more nutritiously. It also revealed a 25% reduction in the amount of food wasted across the country!
This is such a useful and, oddly enough, profitable startup.
What about Russia: 3 domestic ideas for startups
Although the words “conditions of economic decline” have already become classic words for the reality of Russian entrepreneurship, in the field of startups everything is not so bad.
The “buy and sell” guideline is gradually giving way to an innovative approach.
Original solutions still do not have such strong government support as in other countries.
However, their number is increasing, and investors are ready to invest their funds. This is especially clearly seen in the variety of startup ideas in 2016.
1) A startup you've definitely heard of
Have you seen the original photo processing on Instagram that turns an ordinary frame into an artistic canvas? Most likely, you already know what we are talking about.
For the rest, let’s clarify – the “Prisma” application is a service that allows you to process user photos in an original way.
It will come as a surprise to many that Prizma was developed by Russian programmers. Moreover, its creator is a former employee of the well-known mail.ru.
The peculiarity of the program is that it does not simply impose some filters on top of the card.
Thanks to the use of neural network algorithms (which you may also have heard a lot about), Prizma analyzes the frame and then creates it from scratch. But already in the form of a painting.
The fact that almost everyone now knows about this application is already an indicator of success. It remains to be added that the Facebook administration banned the use of the program on its network only because it considered it competitive.
2) Idea for a startup on cards
It is believed that various savings and discount cards are gradually becoming a thing of the past. At a minimum, because no one wants to carry dozens of options with them without knowing which one they need.
The developers of the startup “Cardberry” came up with the idea of creating a device that can accommodate all kinds of cards.
We won't go into technical details. The bottom line is that any user cards are, as it were, entered into the memory of this electronic device.
Every time a person needs a certain card, he goes into a special application and selects it.
“Cardberry” adapts to your choice and becomes a full-fledged replacement for the required card.
For your attention, we offer a cool video
about the 10 most successful startups in the world:
3) Startup idea for a comfortable life
You may not be familiar with the SVET company yet, but you have every chance to hear about them.
As the name suggests, the team offers lighting equipment. What makes this startup idea innovative?
The fact is that the light bulbs from this company are designed to imitate ordinary natural lighting.
Moreover, the device settings can be adjusted (for example, according to the time of day or night).
This startup idea is not only original and adds more comfort to everyday life. But it also has a beneficial effect on human health.
There is perhaps only one downside to the idea: at the moment, one device is priced at $70. The amount is too significant for Russians. However, the startup is in demand abroad.
Collected above ideas for startups They just emphasize: anyone can create a business based on an innovative idea. The field of startups is not limited to the field of IT technologies.
The main thing is that you bring something new and useful to the world.
And if the idea is worthwhile and the execution is diligent, it can make you rich, no matter how trivial it may sound.
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The philosophy of money draws schoolchildren and teenagers into the cycle of business, not to mention students. I want to earn money as early as possible, be independent, self-sufficient, travel, buy branded clothes and have money for entertainment. Student life is the time when thoughts about your personal future are most fruitful. Should you try yourself in business or choose the path of an employee with a fixed salary? This issue needs to be resolved now. A free daily routine and the absence of serious obligations make this time favorable for putting your own business ideas into practice.
Advantages of student status for a businessman:
- a wide circle of contacts (fellow students not only become clients, but also “suggest” a valuable idea for making money);
- part-time work (unlike a secondary educational institution, the schedule of a higher school student is not strictly regulated - there are “windows” of free time);
- access to information (one of the main activities of the university is to teach young people to find useful information; this quality will be useful when creating your own business);
- minimum obligations (to family, children, creditors).
As part-time jobs for students, they usually offer writing essays, reselling used things, baby sitting, and even making crib sheets. They really make money from this. But some go further and already in their student years begin to form their own business empire. Let's take a closer look at business ideas that can be the start of entrepreneurship.
1. Portal for schoolchildren and students
A future journalist (or simply a sociable student) can organize an information resource for students. At the same time, you don’t have to create a website or spend money on it - the Internet platform already exists. Surely the educational institution has its own website, but there is no time to fill it with news and advertisements. This is an opportunity for a student to start own business, because commercial information is sometimes more expensive than the material result of labor.
What is posted on such a portal:
- news;
- useful information:
- interesting articles,
- reference books useful for students, teenagers, schoolchildren,
- information about festivals, holidays, concerts, youth events,
- train and bus schedules;
- photo reports of student events;
- advertising (what will bring the main income to a novice businessman).
The advantages of business are obvious. But you will have to negotiate with the administration of the educational institution and obtain permission to be the curator of the site.
2. Setting up gadgets
A student or schoolchild enjoys tinkering with new technology - testing, researching, customizing. At the same time, a huge number of older people do not understand new functions, devices, and options. Even adjusting the volume, receiving calls in conference mode, or installing an easy-to-use video player turns into a difficult task for the owner of a smartphone or smart watch who has not seen such “toys” as a schoolchild.