The days in Russia when gangsters ruled the streets are long gone and in its place a new generation of entrepreneurs are transforming the country's business and how it is perceived in the global community.
Arman Gukaysan, chief executive of Vizerra.
Arkan Gukaysan is the CEO of Vizerra, a cloud-based 3D collaboration company that is helping architects and engineers transform the sustainability of cities. He has lived, worked and been educated in Armenia, Russia, Switzerland, the US and France and represents the new face of Russian entrepreneurs that are opening up to the rest of the world
Is Moscow and Russia friendly to foreign entrepreneurs?The entire environment in Russia has been transformed despite traditional problems such as bureaucracy. Today organisations such as the Skolkovo Foundation and Digital October Seed Funds are making dramatic changes in Russia. This is a really good sign.
Nobody cares about the Cold War any more and most of us believe that it is important to be competitive as we are living in a global market. In the innovation sector, the younger generation is adapting best practices and acting independently.
There is a huge gap in mentality between the new generation who grew up in today's global world and the generation who is in charge of Government. The new generation is acting differently and already we are seeing dramatic changes in Russia.
Is it easy and safe to do business in Russia?Everything depends on which sector you work in. There are no shootings in the streets any more... even the gangsters are becoming more civilised! Just think of the difference between American gangsters in the 1930s and the very different landscape in the 1980s America. That's where we are now.
There is great demand in Russia for IT companies and services and consequent opportunities. It may sound ridiculous, but huge system integrators monopolise the market, so the small business has no chance to get into the game. Foundations such as Skolkovo create a bridge between governmental/big corporations with start-ups, which could never have happened before.
There is a need to create an entrepreneurial environment and more success stories that would drive more guys to do business in the innovation sector both for Russian and foreign companies. Big things are happening, but if we don't put huge effort into changing that environment, nothing is going to change.
Why are you in Moscow, not Silicon Valley or London?This question is always one of the first question that I am asked by my Western colleagues. The answer is very simple, a matter of circumstances as in 2007 I was here in Russia and I knew great developers from the gaming and simulation areas.
Another factor is that I found the angel investor for my idea in Moscow, so I put together our group with talented guys and created Vizerra. So while I had a mission to go global with the programming minds in Russia the packaging and sales would be done by following the best practices of Silicon Valley.
Consequently we have our production office in Moscow, the sales and marketing department in San Francisco and an office in Barcelona where we work closely with their city planners.
What is Vizerra?Vizerra is the brand name and trademark of the 3Dreamteam Company. Originally founded in Russia, Vizerra has quickly expanded on to three continents, and taken a strong foothold in the US market.
Our 3D technology creates interactive 3D models of any object or territory. It is achieved through the conversion of big volume, multi-dimensional static data into a realistic 3D model with a much smaller file size.
Next month we will release our new product, Revitzo, a cloud-based collaboration software tool for Autodesk® Revit and Trimble SketchUp. It simplifies business communication for owners and allows architects and engineers to work effectively, and build new sustainable projects.
What is your entrepreneurial background?Before Vizerra, I was CEO of the Russian branch of the Swiss GIS Company of Russian branch. We created 3D GIS systems (Geo Informational System) including satellite and mapping.
During my there I was wondering how we could create technology and algorithms that could convert and portray interactive 3D gigabytes of data that would also be light and easy to navigate and as precise as the initial data. During my experience with other big corporations and Government agencies, I could see the need for a visual decision-making tool, so that drove me to set up my own start-up.
How has the Skolkovo Foundation supported Vizerra?Skolkovo Foundation is a start-up itself and a pioneer in building the Russian Innovation ecosystem. The mission of Skolkovo is to create entrepreneur-friendly environment demonstrating success stories, so parents would can advise their kids to become entrepreneurs as opposed to the current situation where 90% of Russian graduates want to go and work for Government and/or semi-Governmental corporations such as GAZPROM.
Skolkovo promotes how open the market in Russia is becoming. We were one of its first residents and they supported us a great deal. They are great connectors and all the 620 start-up companies based at Skolkovo in Moscow are benefiting from their expertise. We are one of its first success stories and we won't be the last. Today the Russian innovative sector is ready to be part of the global one.
Source: telegraph.co.uk