Considerable share of innovative startups emerge in the field of Information Technology and computer software. In the framework of this round table we will discuss practical issues related to formation and financing of Russian startups:

• What characterizes the project, which attracts investors? Up to which stage the project should grow in the “garage” before it becomes attractive to investors?
• “Smart money”: How to chose your investor? When investor joins startup, what impact does it make on business and on the software product evolution?
• How can a startup find angel money or investment in Russia? What help incubators and seed funds can provide?
• How to overcome formal complexities caused by shortcomings of the Russian legal system?
• Why investors complain about shortage of “good” projects, while entrepreneurs complain about lack of money?

To discuss these and other related issues we have invited professionals representing three major forces of the innovative ecosystem: investors, technological entrepreneurs, and supporting institutions (incubators, seed funds, non-for-profit organizations).

Moderator: Nikolai Puntikov

President, MITEF Russia

Nikolai Puntikov is the founder of StarSoft, one of Russia’s first private software engineering firms, which he turned into a premier software services provider. In 2007, StarSoft merged with Exigen Services to become a leading force in the IT application outsourcing space in Central and Eastern Europe. Nikolai was responsible for business development and 2000-staff operations in 10 R&D centers in 6 countries in Eastern Europe, Baltics and China. Nikolai resigned from Exigen Services in 2010. Since 1991, Nikolai has been an active member of the Russian software engineering community. In June 2010, he has been elected the Chairman of the Board of the Russian Association of Software Developers (RUSSOFT). Currently, he is the President of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Russia and the Chairman of CEE-SECR, the largest software engineering conference in Russia. Nikolai holds his M.S. degree from the St. Petersburg State University and a Doctorate degree from the Institute of Informatics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Participants:

Vlad Pavlov

Founder and Chairman, rollApp Inc.

Vlad Pavlov is the founder and Chairman of rollApp Inc. (http://www.rollApp.com). Vlad is a global high-tech executive who has served on CxO/Director positions for a wide range of companies from seed-stage startups to Intel and Microsoft, in Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the US. His experience includes managing market-leading products ranging from browser plug-ins to compilers and FDA-approved clinical information systems. A frequent speaker at scientific and industrial conferences, he has authored major publications on computer science and software engineering (in 2006 was included into ACM Top-10 list). Vlad is a Senior IEEE member, founder and ex-Chairman of the Ukrainian ACM Chapter, Chair-Emeritus at CEE-SECR, his biography is published in Marquis’ Who’s Who in the World.

Michael Radchenko

Director, SoftPatent

SoftPatent — the only Russian company that specializes in international patenting, licensing, and transfers to IT / ICT / internet-development.

Practice Areas: Algorithms and processing of digital data, DSP, ADC, networking, navigation, positioning, process control, compilers, cryptography, pattern recognition, speech processing, mobile applications, augmented reality, games, cloud services, business processes, internet-business, Intranet-bank system, systems, market intelligence and reporting.

Education: Moscow Engineering Physics Institute / Computer Science / Applied Mathematics
Experience in the patent field — 24 years (since 1987)
Expertise: Foreign patenting, licensing and transfer of IT / ICT / Internet-development, patent disputes and the courts.
A member of an international network of technology transfer.

Sergey Eremin

Local Software Ecosystem Program Manager, DPE, Microsoft Russia

Sergey is responsible for the development and implementation of projects and programs fostering the growth of Russian software industry, relationships with software startups, venture capitalists, professional associations. During the last 5+ years more than 2500 Russian software entrepreneurs and startups got valuable benefits by participation in such programs as BizSpark and BizSpark One, Microsoft Startup Accelerator, Microsoft-Business-Start, Start In Garage, IT-Alliance etc.

Sergey works in Russian software industry for 19 years. He holds Ph.D. in Computer Science from Moscow State University of Electronics and Mathematics. His professional experience includes software development for a number of major Russian industrial companies and government organizations, governance of the large-scale projects in the IT and education sector; strategic and operational management, business development, establishment of branch networks, development and promotion of new products and services.

Anatoly Gaverdovsky

Founder & CEO, yaM Labs; Founder & Director, invisibleCRM

His activities Anatoly denotes as “converting ideas into high-quality products for the global market.”

Anatoly was born in Moscow, graduated from the MSTU of Bauman and the International Space University in Toronto, Canada. In 1993 he founded the Vested Development, Inc. (VDI), which specialized in development of IT services for U.S. customers (by 2004 the company employed over 400 people, having headquarters and sales office in the U.S. and engineering offices in Russia, Ukraine and Armenia). Prior to 2002 Anatoly was Director of Development and Vice President of VDI and then he headed the company becoming the CEO. In 1006 he founded invisibleCRM and rose round of investments from ABRT and Trigon Martinson. In September 2006, after VDI and EPAM were merged, Anatoly became the leader of the united EPAM Systems in Russia and CIS. In 2009 he founded the yaM Labs which he leads as the CEO from then till the present moment.

Sergey Kotyrev

CEO, Umisoft

Sergey Kotyrev is a known Internet activist and a participant of IT-conferences and exhibitions and is published actively. Sergei has two degrees in Economics and Management—from SPb SMTU (St. Petersburg State Marine Technical University) and Stockholm School of Economics in Russia, and an MBA.

Artem Kumpel

CEO, ITMozg

Artem Kumpel (27 y.o.)—Head of ITMozg, which deals with online service of search for professionals in IT- and telecommunication areas around the world.