i-Marbella brings you the interview with Dmitry Parshkov, the founder of the Spanish Village business accelerator, who talks about the upcoming event on the 25th of November. The event is the Spanish Village E-Projects Fair that will be held in Marbella, at the Puente Romano Hotel!

1. How did you come up with an idea of creating a new type of business acceleration in the form of ‘outer’ incubator in Spain?

The start-up ecosystem is unique in every country. In Russia, the innovative entrepreneurship is only taking its first steps. We studied the experience of different countries and came to the conclusion that nowadays, Russian projects lack two things to become truly international:

1. An opportunity to see and feel the international market of Internet technologies.

2. An opportunity to get to know different people - teachers, investors – that have already achieved success with other start-uppers from around the world.

We realize how difficult it is to break away from the daily routine and find time and resources to turn your idea into an actual project.

2. Why have you chosen Spain?

We were looking for a European country. Spain is a great place to live in. Malaga has a lot of potential for the development of entrepreneurial and innovative eco-system. There is a market for innovative projects there. For the European investors it is much easier to come to Spain rather than Russia.

In addition, a lot of potential investors from Russia reside in Marbella, and a big part of them might be interested in Internet projects.

3. What are the selection criteria for the Spanish Village start-ups?

There are three key points, which we concentrate on:

1.How motivated the team and its leader are to bring their idea to life.

2. Originality of the idea

3. Competence and professionalism. Ability to learn and develop.

4. What are the working conditions, created for the teams?

The teams came to Spain for three months and they live in a very comfortable hotel - Punta Sur Hotel - in Tarifa. We liked the place because of its location. It is near the national park that goes along the shore of the ocean. Here was born such an innovative and high-tech sport as kite-surfing. Besides, the hotel is quite far from the noise of modern cities, but at the same time, it is only an hour’s drive from Marbella.

Each team member lives in their own room and every team has its own office with all necessary computer equipment and Internet access. We’ve already had some visitors, e.g. Anton Nosik, Arsen Revazov, Sergey Gribov - professionals with advanced knowledge and practical experience in creation and development of successful Internet businesses. The Spanish Village participants study business planning, project management, marketing, transaction support, etc. But the main thing is that the teams actively communicate with each other, with the guests and the teachers, and develop the most effective way to fulfill their own projects.

5. What result are the teams supposed to show at the end of the Spanish Village program?

They should have at least three things:

1. A pilot project or a working prototype

2. A sensible and understandable to the investors business plan

3. A set of presentations for different categories of investors.

6. The projects will be presented to the investors, won’t they? Can you tell us a few words about it?

The Spanish Village E-Projects Fair will be held in Marbella, at the Puente Romano Hotel on November 25th. We are going to invite a large group of Russian ‘Internet’ investors to this event. The Fair will be organized in three languages (Russian, English, Spanish) and it is going to be open for Spanish investors and private investors that live in Marbella, Sotogrande and other cities of Costa del Sol.

E-Projects Fair is a new format of presenting technological businesses to the investors.

7. Are you going to hold it next year? 

Yes, we want it to become a regular event and we are going to organize it twice a year at the end of May and November. At every Fair we are going to present 10-15 projects from various sectors of Internet.

8. What do you need to do to take part in the Spanish Village E-Projects Fair?

You can register online on spanish-village.com / or calling 650 101 365 (in Spain).