A start-up companies formula for success: free work and sleepless nights?


startup prototron
At a seminar on “Cooperation Prototype” held on Tuesday on Tallinn Entrepreneurship Day, a prototype as the visibility of an idea and how to obtain cooperation with customers and investors for the next stage was discussed. At the seminar, under the leadership of CEO of Prototron Jana Pavlenkova, a mentor of Prototron Pirko Konsa, Prototron Alumni Shipitwise CMO Sander Gansen, and Toomas Seppel, and a lawyer from the law firm Hedman Partners & Co OÜ, participated in the discussions.

The following quotes were the highlights.

Pirko Konsa
“Instead of building a product, it is safer to build prototypes – so you can test and rebuild all the necessary parts in order to then bring the perfect product to the market.”
“A drawing is also a prototype!”
“Innovation is always fast, but do not be afraid of it.”
“Zeal to create something unique and different is what you cannot buy for your salary.”
“The theft of an idea is possible at some levels, but Estonia is so small that the society can be let down only once. Information moves quickly, and after that, the perpetrator will be shunned by society. ”

Sander Gansen
“In order to enter the market, there is no need for a new product. What is needed is something that you could immediately sell in order to earn the first 100 euros.”
“Enthusiasm makes people work five months without being paid and four months without sleep.”
“In order for a product to be completed, there must be a larger vision of how the problems can be solved.”

Toomas Seppel
“Ideas are free; they do not belong to anyone as long as someone does something with the idea. So long as the product does not have a patent, anyone can copy it, so it is a race against time. ”
“First, the investors will look at the team – whether they are willing to work for their idea without being paid and without sleep, and secondly they will look at the business model, or whether the thing the team is working on corresponds to the business model.”

In the current round of applications, we expect ideas until October 15. Submit your idea!