The post was originally published in Russian on Startup of the Day. Alexander kindly agreed to republish what we think is of great value to our readers.
Today’s youth spend all day on their smartphones, teenagers don’t know how to socialize with their peers, the generation is completely lost, – something similar adults said back in ancient Greece. The difference from today is that back then Nod, the startup of the day, did not exist to monetize this opinion.
The startup founders decided that the lost youth will not pay for their salvation themselves, they have neither the will, nor the money, nor the realization of their problems. Instead, the college is willing to pay reasonable money for the student! Here’s how the maths goes: 500 out of every 1000 students are complete psychos by the previous century’s standards. Of them, 100 will not complete their studies because of their millennial whims. When the tuition costs 20 thousand dollars a year, this makes 5 million of potential revenue. If Nod can save so many as one of a hundred, this already makes a sum that’s worth paying to the vendors their penny. And if, as it may happen, every tenth, – this makes the project all the more important.
The instrument offered by Nod is, to be honest, less interesting. The startup suggests that the student downloads a mobile app and completes something of challenges. ‘Today is Tuesday, it’s a nice day, why don’t you go to the library, sit next to the most good-looking girl or guy and say hi’ – that’s a little of an exaggeration, of course. They insist that an accurate scientific research confirmed the efficiency of such recipes – and it’s quite believable.
The project is at a very early stage, and it’s difficult to say for sure whether it’s already been implemented for real even once. Also, Nod hasn’t attracted any external investment yet, it’s launched within an older company, and not in the regular venture way from the ground up.
https://hopelab.org/
https://heynod.com/
Translation: Kostiantyn Tupikov
Alexander made his career in Russian internet companies including Mail.Ru, Rambler, RBC. From 2016 to 2018 he was Chief Strategy and Analytics officer in Mail.Ru Group. In this position, he worked on M&A, investments, and new project launches. In 2018 he became Deputy CEO in Citymobil, a Russian Uber-like company that was invested by Mail.Ru Group and Sberbank (the biggest Russian bank), then he left the company to launch his own projects. Now Alexander is a co-founder of United Investors – the platform for co-investments in Russian early-stage startups. His blog #startupoftheday (#стартапдня) is one of the most popular blogs about startups in Russia.
