Let's buy ideas
The private accelerator will invest up to 1.5 million rubles in high-tech startups of early stages
Applications are accepted even from projects at the idea level
The private angel fund AngelTurbo opens acceptance of applications for early financing (pre-seed) and acceleration of high-tech startups. The winners of the selection will receive up to 1.5 million rubles for the development of the project, a workspace in Moscow, a well-established system of preparation for admission to the leading American accelerators (Y Combinator, Techstars, AngelPad). Aspiring entrepreneurs will be introduced to key venture investors from the USA and Europe. And mentoring from successful founders of companies, business consultants and top managers of the largest corporations will help you go from the idea to entering the market.
Acceptance of applications started on September 15 and will last until 18:00 (UTC+3) on October 31, 2018.
The main feature of the AngelTurbo acceleration program is its focus on projects at the earliest stages. The fund does not expect that the participants will already have a finished product and the first customers. Even projects at the idea level will be able to receive pre-seed investments. In this case, the achieved scientific results, the presence of a strong scientific supervisor with a name abroad will come to the fore. If the project is from the IT sphere – an experienced and qualified team.
"It is very difficult even for a talented and ambitious scientist to turn his scientific results into a finished product for the market. There are a large number of venture funds and accelerators in Russia, the Russian daughter 500 Startups has recently been re-launched, but if the company does not have revenue and a real prototype, then most likely it will not receive support. In Russia, they are afraid to take risks and invest simply in a person with an idea," explains Andrey Garaza, invited expert of AngelTurbo, co-founder and director of Oncobox startup, the first Russian biomedical company to participate in Y Combinator.
However, the program is also open to startups that have already passed acceleration in Russia (Skolkovo, FRII, etc.), but are looking for an opportunity to get into US accelerators or find large foreign investors.
"There are several important components, the absence of which prevents Russian startups from attracting foreign investment. This is ignorance of the criteria for the selection of projects by Western investors, the lack of a ready-to-deal company structure, gaps in the necessary project presentation skills, weak English. As practice shows, these are the main stumbling blocks. And our task is not only to give money to aspiring entrepreneurs, but also to teach them how to get around these obstacles and "sell" themselves to a large venture investor with a possible subsequent relocation of the business," he says Andrey Babochkin, Partner of AngelTurbo, Development Director of PJSC "Pipe Metallurgical Company".
AngelTurbo's goal is to develop projects from ideas to seed– and A-round investments abroad. The organizers adhere to the California approach: pre-seed investments, which will allow teams to focus on finalizing and developing their projects; legal assistance in obtaining patents and registering firms; PR and design services.
Program Director AngelTurbo Leonid Kuznetsov explains this approach:
"Many startups in Russia do not have the opportunity to give up the main source of earnings and devote themselves completely to the project, especially if we are talking about young scientists. In such conditions, it is difficult to develop a startup, immerse yourself in the specifics of the work of Western accelerators and venture funds. Few people manage to walk this path alone. It is doubly difficult for high-tech projects at an early stage. Therefore, we provide participants with resources and support. Our financing conditions are extremely democratic and are designed to help the founders devote maximum time to their product."
Among other things, participants will be able to count on the support of a wide network of experts and startup founders with experience in the USA, as well as a personal mentor.
"Many accelerators focus on IT projects for the mass market, such as applications or services. They use standard metrics and commercialization schemes.
Rarely does anyone think about the problems of a high-tech startup, which often cannot be assessed simply by revenue indicators or a planned business model. Such companies need an individual approach, the transfer of specific experience and elementary, but extremely important tips: whether the team needs acceleration and where it is better to go through it; what share to give to the investor at the start, so as not to lose the company in the next round; how to properly prepare materials for a difficult interview in Y Combinator; how to optimally open a company in Russia and abroad. There are a lot of such questions, but gradually answering them, the previously impossible path becomes difficult, but real. The main thing is to have someone to ask," says Andrey Garaza.
AngelTurbo is interested in projects of various directions: Biomed, IT, Hardware, FinTech, ML & AI, Chemtech, Advanced Materials, Energy. However, preference will be given to complex and knowledge-intensive concepts with a visible horizon for achieving MVP or significant scientific results.
To participate in the program, you must submit an application on the AngelTurbo website.
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