Yan Ryazantsev: "Venture capitalists say" iksami "»

Jan Putin, what do you see the construction of a model of venture capital industry in Russia? - First of all I want to say about the result, which we - the RVC and market participants - to achieve. The main thing right now - help create the necessary elements of the venture capital industry. This venture capital funds, management companies, private investors, business angels, as well as investment objects, that is, innovative companies that do not appear without a sufficient number of entrepreneurs, people willing to take risks. Any model based on these elements. Hence, we must eliminate all barriers that prevent their occurrence. We must nourish this environment the necessary information, best practices in venture capital, technology entrepreneurship. We must support and motivate human migration, migration of professionals in the venture capital industry in the innovation business. We need to motivate young people to receive appropriate education and experience. Different models of country, perhaps, different degrees of government involvement and implementation mechanisms. In some cases, the well thought out, based on international experience. In others they are generated on the fly, and government agencies in such countries first begin to work and then reformats and optimize their operations. The difference is that a long think and do in the end is very detailed, inert structure, or quickly make a wobbly, but a working structure that begins to live, and then optimize it extensively. Do you have examples of countries where the venture capital industry would have developed under conditions of low domestic demand for innovation, which is characteristic for our country now? - Examples, of course, can be reduced, and above all it is Israel, which was originally in exports and in GDP generally dominated by agricultural production. In general, any industrial production in GDP took a small share. In this case, as you know, at some time been real problems with the employment of a sufficiently large number of people with superiority nym technical education, who arrived from the Soviet Union. As a result, although not the first attempt, the situation could change radically. Now Israel occupies in the world table of ranks technological powers second only to the United States. All this happened in the twenty-odd years. And now in the GDP of Israel is very high proportion of not only industrial companies, and high-tech manufacturing, service infrastructure company. But how was this done? Very great importance was the global focus of government programs and infrastructure elements of the venture capital in Israel. The program Yozma (more about her and the Israeli model of venture capital industry, see the material on page 10 - "F."), which, incidentally, served as a prototype RMC was focused on participation in the work produced by professional fund managers from foreign countries, those where the technology business is particularly well developed - from the U.S. and Europe. At the level of the mixed international teams took place as transfer of venture capital and best practices on post-investment support, preparing the company for sale. And today we see that dozens if not hundreds of venture capital funds created if sufficient operating successfully throughout the world. However, they have Israeli roots (although registered in some jurisdictions) and to invest in Israeli companies. Those, in turn, pay taxes and create jobs, in its socio-economic function. Of course, a major role in the development of the technology industry in Israel and the state played a military orders. Now there are more than 200 venture capital funds. But Russia has a very low level of competition and innovation are often simply not in demand by companies. In addition, we have a lot of other, more effective tools to fight for "a place in the sun." - With regard to competition, I absolutely agree with that. I might add another factor that hinders the process of marketing of innovation in our country. This lack of transparency in business, the low culture of disclosure practices. The fact is that innovation will be interested in that person or those people who get it from an economic result. At the level of opacity, which we have is often very difficult to understand: who exactly is the recipient of the economic effect of the introduction of any innovation, or on the supply of a product innovation? With this understanding it is very difficult. Often far from clear whether it is shareholders or senior management or middle management, or system of outsourcers, or affiliate network ... Errors of our technological entrepreneurs often lies in the fact that they are properly identified, with whom they must work, who they should offer innovative products, who is most interested in cost as a result of their innovations. In general, these two things - lack of transparency and insufficient competition - very strongly linked. However, I think quite a large misconception that we do not have the demand for innovation. Maybe I was lucky, but I've rarely seen a company or executives of companies large enough to be told: "We do not care, we do not need it, we do not know what it is, and do not need us with your innovation approach ". They tell another: "We are interested in anything that helps to make a profit, enter new markets, improve our products and we do not want to get involved in adventures. Only those who offer us normal conditions in order that we may realize it is reliable? "Innovators, according to them, such conditions can not create, can not ensure the stability of contracts, security of supply can not provide the desired level of legalization of production, certification, and the desired level quality guarantee and post-warranty service. Large companies, in simple words, do not believe in the reliability of suppliers. In the world used for this variety of financial mechanisms that allow large companies or even the state to protect its interests in certain contract deliveries, and innovators - to ensure consumer confidence in the proposed innovative products and technologies. The fact that we have called a lack of demand for innovation - a reflection of the lack of the normal supply of professional innovation, product innovation. Tell us what features make venture capital investments for the development of innovative sector of the economy? - It should be understood that the mere creation of innovation does not guarantee the development of innovative industries in the country. For example, the returns to innovation in the form of a cash flow is not very large, but sufficient for those who have implemented some kind of invention and began to earn it, may be quite sufficient for the developers and their partners. And that's all over. We have many companies grow to the limit, after which the owners and top management does not want to further develop the business. In contrast, venture capital, venture capital funds are not being met by such results. They reject the limits of this development and want to achieve multiple-capitalization growth companies. Growth in many, many times greater than the yield on alternative investments - or any other bank. In the venture business is the norm generate revenues many times the investment. And venture capitalists, measuring the success of the transaction, saying "iksami." That is how many times they are or plan to get more than invested. For example, twice - two X's. They say: "What a way out of this transaction, we plan? Well, somewhere three or four XXx and the five-year horizon can acquire and eight 'X'. This is such a language. For many innovators, this language is a bird, they still think in terms of any grant or loan capital. A grant - it is generally present from some organization, or charity, or good rich man. Debt capital - it is the duty to pay a fixed percentage. Venture capital investments also allow you to convert promising innovation in a highly successful business projects and output them to new markets, create new industries. However, the risk is very high, and therefore require funds share in future profits. Speaking about the experience of Israel in establishing the venture capital industry, you mentioned the role of attracting foreign competencies to build a national system. Do you do it at the "Russian venture company"? - Yes, we now join major international funds, that is the alliance of large investors, in order to import the best practices in Russia. As an example I mentioned our investment fund subsidiary in London, Russian Venture Capital I LP in the company BrightSource Energy, which, since the latest round of investment has grown considerably and has become perhaps the leader in thermal solar energy in the world. I hope that this investment will bring us a good income, in addition, it is very liquid. At the same time, this transaction gave us the opportunity to establish close relations with investors, which are of previous rounds were in the capital of the company. And this is a very high caliber of investors: the largest venture capital funds and technology companies of the world, such as Alstom, Black River, Google, Vantage Point, and so on. Now the situation is such that we, for example, discuss with them the potential transaction. To achieve this very difficult. Venture fund their Pipeline, you have a portfolio of projects under consideration, as the apple of my eye keeps and discusses their potential deal in a very narrow range. We were able to enter into this circle. Previously, showing our innovators claim that they are not able to show their projects in the right form, we were afraid to do the same complaint from a major international funds, we will provide them with their "grown up" projects. Now we know what we are waiting for the Western venture capitalists, as they perceive various investment proposals. Now you are more confident in their ability to profitably sell you own projects? - Venture Capital Funds sharpened to ensure that transactions go out. I personally, this perspective is not very much. I think that we should not leave with the companies that created great difficulty, where the risks have been overcome, where grown entrepreneurs. We must not leave them. We need mechanisms that allow these companies to take the next rounds of investment and to grow further with us in Russia. To do this, we will initiate the creation of Russian funds later stages, which will invest in projects before they are sold to institutional investors or private equity investments. But despite the desire to save the project, we will be very interested in co-investment transactions, including those with large foreign funds. Such deals - it's very useful for the operation of both parties, because foreign funds bring experience in the development and promotion of the company in the global market. They're not going to lose money on it, and if they are in a company, make sure you are there, besides money, and invest more time, attention, their connection. Thus, a good foreign investor, but not the only or 99%, is very useful to all shareholders of the company, including founders, inventors and Russian funds. Give examples of companies that you have "grown" and was taken or plan to bring to market? - The most famous example, as they say, the first venture IPO - a company of "The Russian navigation technology," which was placed successfully in the summer on the MICEX. This is a portfolio company of our joint venture with VTB Venture Fund. In the IPO the company attracted the interest of many institutional investors and fund later stage. They were among the minority shareholders. Of the planned "outputs" can call the company Innalabs - this is a developer and manufacturer of vibratory gyroscopes, in my opinion, generally best in the world. They are now in design, simplicity and cost, and close one in the world did not come. This company is in intensive negotiations with customers in domestic and international markets. Prominent international investors are already showing considerable interest. Another example - the company Spectralus, which, in my opinion, has achieved outstanding success in creating a compact green laser for embedded color projectors. This is a very small devices, which allow to show movies, presentations in color on any wall and can be embedded in mobile phones and communicators. This company was able to find an advanced technical solution to protect him, to make delivery of samples large international companies. I very much hope that this will be the real success story. Are there areas of breakthrough innovation on which you focus investment resources? - A serious potential there is in the field of life science, in biotechnology. The growth potential of biotech in the country with the possibility of integration into the global biotehotrasl created for this industry has excellent prospects. We also see great potential in the direction of built-in intelligent systems and robotics, in the direction of programming embedded systems, development of new algorithms, mathematical abilities of our scientists. They are highly valued in these industries. We create in the near future a special cluster of biotechnology funds and fund clustered on Intelligent Systems and Robotics. Another huge potential there is in alternative energy, and especially in energy saving, because investment in energy efficiency are much more efficient than building new power plants in terms of energy savings and cost of energy saved. Already, we have companies that have successfully engaged in management systems and cloud computing are among our customers large transnational corporations. One of them - Questora (a portfolio company fund VTB) - headquartered in Saratov. Which of the government agencies do you work most productively and which interfere with the RVC? - The closest relationship we have with "RUSNANO" Fund for the Promotion of Small Enterprises in Science and Technology, with EBV, with regional authorities. Of ministries - a Ministry of Economic Development Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Industry. Of "difficult" partner for innovative businesses can be called customs, tax inspectorate. Often faced with a very strange interpretation of economic facts by public authorities. We must understand that we are in constant competition with other states in creating favorable conditions for business and, if for some parameters, we will not compete, it would seriously weaken our investment attractiveness and complicate the development of innovative companies. But what about the Prosecutor General's Office? They're not always able to find common ground? - I can not say that between us just kind of a black cat ran. Now there is mutual understanding, and those defects which arise, in general, is, as in any living economic organism. We very much hope that the difference in views on the same physical objects and phenomena will be minimized. We also need something else to optimize, to become more open. We are constantly balancing between two objectives: on the one hand, the activity should be as transparent as a state development institution in the state fund of funds, on the other hand, we are dealing with very sensitive commercial information technology and our partners have no right to its to publish. Including, for example, and the law "On investment funds." We can not tell very much, although everyone would be interested. From here and there in the audience sometimes claim to the level of transparency. This year a lot was done to increase transparency. But while these activities are not completed yet. It is only just beginning.