Baku, Azerbaijan, June 27
By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend:
Azerbaijani startups should focus on the international market when implementing their projects, Rick Rasmussen, Industry Fellow and Faculty Member at the University of California Berkeley, said June 27 at a training for startups at the Azerbaijan Technical University.
Rasmussen noted that the volume of the Azerbaijani market is not so large, and therefore, there are certain restrictions in growth.
"It is one thing to start a business and open a company. And it is totally another thing to develop the business. Eventually, sooner or later, there will be an urgency for development and expansion into the international market. It probably sounds too easy, but in reality it is not so easy. It is important to remember that, when developing a business, it is necessary to start from zero. And the investors themselves tend to finance those projects that have the prospects of entering the international market," Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen noted that there is a so-called road map of startups, called the "Valley of Death".
"This is the most difficult initial stage of a startup, when all costs, investments and other costs are made, the project is launched, but there is no profit yet. That is, the project is not profitable yet, but it is too late to abandon it, as a lot of effort, time and money have been invested."
"When establishing a company, it is important to focus on product development, fundraising and building relationships with manufacturers. Further, as income grows, the startup will come out of the 'Valley of Death'," Rasmussen said.
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