'In the Venture Capital Business, you Have to Like Taking Risks'
Phystech’s cofounder and managing partner Petr Lukyanov tells Success Builder where to take advantage of the investment market, how risk-taking can fuel a career in venture capital, and why one should never be afraid to slash unsuccessful projects.
'Building Satellites Is Truly a Dream Come True'
The Russian engineer is no longer someone in an oversized sweater who likes the mountains and spends all their time in a garage tinkering with engines. Today’s engineers create developmental constructions for elementary school children. They study the economics of the space market and put the satellites they design into orbit. In the latest edition of Success Builder, MIEM graduate Anton Sivkov discusses how satellites are different from Legos, what Star Trek can add to a good education, and why there is no need to wear tin foil hats, even at a time when space is teeming with satellites.
'I Chose Entertainment Television to Bring Something Good to People’s Lives'
In March 2016, the CTC team took home the gold and silver medals at the 2016 Promax BDA Europe Awards, one of the largest competitions in the field of telepromotion, design, and marketing. Below, CTC Media’s Creative Director of Marketing, Irina Sosnovaya, tells Success Builder how much creativity a marketing specialist needs, how she came to intern for one of the country’s largest TV channels in just her first year of undergrad, and how to learn something new everyday on the job.
'To Work at the Economic Development Ministry, You Need Professional Training and a Very Mobile Mindset'
HSE alumnus Oleg Fomichev, who is currently Deputy Economic Development Minister of Russia, has tried to make the ministry’s work more understandable to the average Russian, and he allows those who work under him to be creative in their work with such a conservative discipline as economics. In an exclusive interview with Success Builder, Fomichev discusses what it is like working as a state official, as well as why a recent college graduate might be interested in such a field.
'I Wouldn't Have Grown into the Person and Businesswoman I Am Today Had I not Gone Back to School'
Coming up with a good idea for your own business is sometimes as easy as just looking at the experience you already have. After working in New York, model and businesswoman Anna Barsukova understood that any urban beauty who is always on the go desperately needs fresh-squeezed juices. This is how the Organic Religion detox bars came about. In the latest edition of Success Builder, Anna discusses why the university is more appealing than the runway and how the detox industry is growing and changing in Russia.
'Being Athletic Means Being Successful'
In 2012, HSE alumnus Evgeny Koudryavtsev opened the football school Championka for pre-schoolers. At the school, kids are able to develop social skills and a ‘sense of the ball’ using Western methodologies. In the latest edition of Success Builder, Evgeny discusses the advantages to such an approach, as well as how Harvard does athletics and why a businessman should be athletic.
'All Business Ideas Are Meaningless until You Bring Them to Life'
Working with fine art is not only about well-known artists and beautiful paintings; it also requires precise calculation, analysis, management, and even psychology. Art can be a business, and an entirely interesting business at that. HSE alumna Ekaterina Plastinina, who founded and co-owns the art agency Alma Arts, sat down with Success Builder to discuss how to become a connoisseur of the auction business, how to successfully purchase a painting, and why Dubai is better than London.
'I Wasn’t Allowed to Watch TV as a Kid, but Now I Work in the Film Industry'
The media industry is one of today's most dynamic. Illegal downloading has succumbed to the laziness of the honest user, who is now able to watch films online for just 30 rubles. The Managing Director of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Andrei Gromkovskiy, tells Success Builder about the danger and allure of investing in media products, as well as whether there are ways to manipulate people through TV and whether art or business is most important in the world of film.
'It’s Obvious a Scientist Can Make Money in the Sphere of Innovations'
Science had already moved into the sphere of consumption in the 20th century, and we now treat technological innovation as if it’s simply a new item on a restaurant menu or the premier of the latest blockbuster film. Science works for everyone personally, and this ‘scientific marketing’ is the merit of new-era scientists – the ‘Steve Jobses’ who are capable of not only inventing, but also selling their inventions. Alexey Rolich, who is a graduate of HSE MIEM, the head of the 3D Visualization Laboratory, and the creator of the Public Charger project, which has received an UMNIK grant, tells Success Builder how to make money in science.
'Your Only Capital in Business Is Your Brain'
The digital age is opening up more and more opportunities for some of the most unbelievable startups imaginable – startups for which ideas and a drive to conquer new business territories take precedent. For Vitaly Aleksandrov, an HSE alumnus and the founder and head of the studio Out of Cloud, this territory was email marketing. Below, he tells Success Builder how correct distribution methods differ from spam, how to write meaningful letter, and whether a student is able to make money off of scholarships.