Saltanat Kuanova, Minor – Entrepreneurship student going to study at Babson College, USA
On May 28, 2019, AlmaU hosted a presentation of business projects and business ideas as part of Rocket Pitch students enrolled in “Minor - Entrepreneurship” pilot program.
Eleven students made presentations to Yerkin Tatishev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KUSTO Group, No. 9 of Forbes Kazakhstan richest businessmen rating, member of AlmaU Board of Trustees; Dana Zharikova, President of Yerzhan Tatishev Fund; Tatiana Basso, director of High Tech Academy; Madina Karsakbayeva, AlmaU Vice-Rector for Corporate Communications; Ksenia Yuzhaninova-Karadenizli, Director of AlmaU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development.
Rocket Pitch is a format for presentation of projects and ideas, which is held annually at Babson College. A student is given 15 minutes to tell about his business idea quickly and concisely. Rocket Pitch is the final presentation of business ideas and existing start-ups that were implemented by 1st year students of the educational program “Minor: Entrepreneurship”.
Olzhas Kulakeev was the first to introduce his business project UniQ Me. Since the launch of the project, the total profit amounted to 4.5 million tenge excluding retention. According to his team, the project payback is 11 months.
Briefly about “UniQ Me”: Using a machine (compressor) purchased from America, they draw prints everywhere except on the air: on clothes, namely, T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweaters.
Slogan: “I am unique, you are unique, and Kazakhstan is unique”
Saltanat Kuanova, has 2 years of experience in TATOO studios, has her own customer base. Her brand is called TWO. DOTS. Shop. and Saltanat Kuanova created it on April 19, 2019.
Briefly about TWO. DOTS. Shop: When making prints, silk screening method is used, as well as drawing of prints on eco-bags is planned as an advertising move. Thus, the brand creator, Saltanat Kuanova is planning to attract the attention of the population to transit from plastic bags to eco-bags with unusual prints.
Slogan: "The use of the author's approach in drawing of prints"
Dana Tasbolatova, presented a business idea for career guidance workshops, the purpose of which is to assist students in choosing a profession, as well as to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The project consists of three steps: Trainings (cost 5,000 tenge), Master classes on general topics (10,000 tenge), Counseling on an individual basis (15,000 tenge).
Briefly about the business idea: at present, there is a preparatory work and selection of lecturers. It is also necessary to launch a pilot project and analyze pros and cons of implementation.
Aygerim Kariyeva, 1st year student of AlmaU and ideological inspirer of Vyruchim.kz business project. The purpose of which is to provide rental services of tools and equipment for repair work, service stations.
Briefly about Vyruchim.kz: The idea of implementing the project appeared in August 2018. Applications are placed on market.kz, olx.kz. platforms . Since the start of the project, the costs amounted to 826,000 tenge
Shaykieva Madina and Duzenko Yulia offered the business idea to the jury and students how comic storylines with the main characters represented by Brother Madiyar and sister Akniet help selling T-shirts and other types of clothing. Every storyline contains an educational message to others.
Briefly about the business idea: The team is formed and the launch of a pilot project is expected.
Alimkhanova Kamila and Saliyeva Madina presented a business idea for creating an application - an online pharmacy called HEALER.
Briefly about HEALER: an online pharmacy, where you plan to have a personal account and information about health. At the moment, the business idea is at the stage of analyzing available pharmacies in districts of Almaty city.
Alibekov Sanjar made the project "A1: smart business cards and integrated calendars"
Briefly about “A1: smart business cards and integrated calendars”: Smart business cards and integrated calendars are designed to increase the productivity of a modern person’s work. Depending on the size of business cards, it is planned to release such types as Platinium and Silver.
Kudaibergenov Salauat presented a business idea about organizing internships for students
Briefly about the business project: At this time, work is underway to collect a database and negotiations with employers
Slogan: "The priority of organizing internships - gaining experience"
For students who received a grant from E.Tatishev Foundation, the main prize was a trip to Babson College for a summer entrepreneurial school. Its winner was a 1st year student of Minor – Entrepreneurship, Saltanat Kuanova with the launched startup “Two.Dots.Shop”.
Two.Dots.Shop is a fashion start-up, it is a brand that creates an author's Kazakh ornament for a modern person on T-shirts and accessories, who lives in motion, in the mountains, in the sea, who wants to be ecofrendly and enriched spiritually.
- I am madly in love with Kazakh ornaments. Look at this cosmos, - says Saltanat Kuanova, - This cosmos can always be with you, on T-shirts, bags, accessories. This is all I do in my Two.Dots.Shop project, rethink Kazakh ornaments and create cosmos.
For students who study for a fee or who have received a rector's grant became the winners of “Champions Day”, the main prize of Rocket Pitch was a trip to the summer entrepreneurial school “BigIdeasCamp” in Pavlodar. Sanjar Alibekov became its winner with his project “A1: smart business cards and integrated calendars”.
It is evident that Sanjar Alibekov conducted an effective analysis of the profile of the modern person. Given the value that today represents time saving and effective performance, the project team in the future will immediately find its application in the real world. Also a huge advantage of the project is the minimum investment and the ability to transfer the project into life now.
While discussing and during the awards ceremony, all members of the jury were unanimous that the mission of Minor - Entrepreneurship program is to achieve success in building a business. Most importantly, business ideas must pass a pilot launch and test. The jury recommended that students continue to try and risk creating start-ups based on business ideas.
The specialty “Management” with an additional trajectory of learning “Entrepreneurship” (Minor - Entrepreneurship) was created by Center for Entrepreneurship Development and Innovations of Almaty University Management in 2017 and is aimed at teaching students entrepreneurial skills, project management and their implementation. The program aims to gain knowledge and necessary competencies in the field of entrepreneurship. Graduates of the program will have the skill to lead the creation of new companies, work on business development in enterprises, or continue to work in their own company.
