The concept ‘small is beautiful’ has become more accepted in in a city where size used to matter a lot. Moscow is a city of immense proportions and even its historical center is not quite suitable to open family run cafes or tiny boutique stores.
Finding appropriate spaces for small enterprises is still a major problem for most young entrepreneurs and it is obviously the biggest hurdle to the growth of entrepreneurial trend aside from general lack of financial support and ubiquitous ‘red tape’.
At the same time there is a growing number of successful start-ups in Web and Internet-related industries such as branding, design and media. Lookatme.ru or Theoryandpractice.ru are just few examples of remarkable e-businesses which managed to survive and monetized their audience. I would say that monetization is a key trend in the creative spheres associated with young people. Subcultures and local communities are turning into functioning markets by the will of few mavericks who set up catching websites and online shops to sell items which members of creative communities used to share for free or simply couldn’t get because of their extreme scarcity.
By way of example, Fixie.ru provides a wide range of services for the owners of fixed-gear bicycles. “Fixi” is a rapidly growing community in spite of the fact that it is really difficult to get around Moscow on a bike and there are few shop selling bicycles and spare parts. Fixie.ru which is owned and created by Vladimir Losinky has solved all problems simultaneously – now one can not only order bespoke design bicycle from the website but also customize private bikes and get fresh news about the community life on the blog.
Another sample of local initiative is the Meet & Greet project, which was launched by two young girls Kristina and Albina who wanted to share their love to gastronomy with friends and fellows. They found a good place where people could meet, talk about food and personal stuff, experiment with inventive dishes and learn from guest chefs. Meet & Greet rapidly grew into a real phenomenon and now partners with top brands and takes place in numerous locations across the city.
Unfortunately entrepreneurship has never been cultivated or somehow promoted among youngsters in Russia. Some of the successful entrepreneurs might be regarded as role-models in the eyes of their peers but only a few literally understand the nature of entrepreneurship and the reasons for being successful. Discussing some of the start-ups on blogs and forums, young readers in Russia usually judge success in terms of ‘luck’ or some exceptional personal traits of business owners which can’t be developed but were given by ‘nature’ or ‘destiny’. This paternalistic attitude is quite strong and it will probably take another generation or two to overcome widespread scepticism towards business affairs.
As for non-commercial enterprises, ‘Strelka Institute’ would be a very illustrative example aimed at giving Russian students first-class education in architecture and design for free. Rem Koolhaas has been appointed as a curator for the academic program and this summer “Strelka” will release the first breed of its graduates who will hopefully help to transform Moscow into a more convenient and pleasant city to live in.