by Joana Picq 19/12/2011
X.Million EiR Alexander Model attended the TechCrunch Moscow 2011 conference that carried on the tradition of showcasing the most promising startups, uncovering the latest news, and discussing the emerging technology trends and breakthroughs.
The TechCrunch Conference was held in Moscow for the second time. The mediators were Mike Butcher, TechCrunch Europe editor, and Edward Shenderovich, the head of Kite Ventures. TechCrunch Site was established in 2005, and today is one of the largest venues for startups and emerging technologies discussions.
The first discussion session was devoted to the constant changes of the technological world and new innovations that are born every several years and most of them could not be foreseen in advance. The participants discussed those technologies that will be developed in next years and could become next Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft or Oracle.
Next panel of experts talked about the role of mobile service providers, devises manufacturers, and application developers in the mobile world. Whether reducing prices for devices and services helps for wider spreading of smart phones? Is it possible to identify the industry leaders?
Participants of the TechCrunch also debated the topic of e-commerce sales volumes that are increasing annually twofold, how long such growth will continue, and what new business models are developed by the industry leaders.
Another discussion was devoted to social media influence on the global policies, what is media role in democratic and authoritarian countries, and how leadership of social media is generated and retained in the world that is covered by virtual social relationships.
Next topic was about the subject of what innovation worth investing. The experts discussed the level of quality startups that are established in Russia vs. Europe, how to choose the right investor for the business, what information the entrepreneur should know about the investor and the conditions of the transaction before the contract signing. These were the issues that were discussed by the venture capital investors and entrepreneurs who have a wide experience of the financing negotiations.
One of the most exiting events of the TechCrunch was the startup battle – the dynamic competition of Russian startups that in a very short time tried to convince the jury that they were worthy investments. The jury consisted of experienced venture capital investors and entrepreneurs who assessed the outcome of the battle to the full extent of judgment. The winners of the competition were two startups that received the same number of points. The first one, Tagbrand.com, allows to identify any brand of clothing by the photograph and also to find it in stores. Service ResumUP creates the info graphic resume.
Organizers of the TechCrunch Moscow 2011: TechCrunch Europe, Digital October, and Kite V entures.
Photos: Yury Kopylov
