'All Business Ideas Are Meaningless until You Bring Them to Life'
Working with fine art is not only about well-known artists and beautiful paintings; it also requires precise calculation, analysis, management, and even psychology. Art can be a business, and an entirely interesting business at that. HSE alumna Ekaterina Plastinina, who founded and co-owns the art agency Alma Arts, sat down with Success Builder to discuss how to become a connoisseur of the auction business, how to successfully purchase a painting, and why Dubai is better than London.
'I Wasn’t Allowed to Watch TV as a Kid, but Now I Work in the Film Industry'
The media industry is one of today's most dynamic. Illegal downloading has succumbed to the laziness of the honest user, who is now able to watch films online for just 30 rubles. The Managing Director of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Andrei Gromkovskiy, tells Success Builder about the danger and allure of investing in media products, as well as whether there are ways to manipulate people through TV and whether art or business is most important in the world of film.
'It’s Obvious a Scientist Can Make Money in the Sphere of Innovations'
Science had already moved into the sphere of consumption in the 20th century, and we now treat technological innovation as if it’s simply a new item on a restaurant menu or the premier of the latest blockbuster film. Science works for everyone personally, and this ‘scientific marketing’ is the merit of new-era scientists – the ‘Steve Jobses’ who are capable of not only inventing, but also selling their inventions. Alexey Rolich, who is a graduate of HSE MIEM, the head of the 3D Visualization Laboratory, and the creator of the Public Charger project, which has received an UMNIK grant, tells Success Builder how to make money in science.
'Your Only Capital in Business Is Your Brain'
The digital age is opening up more and more opportunities for some of the most unbelievable startups imaginable – startups for which ideas and a drive to conquer new business territories take precedent. For Vitaly Aleksandrov, an HSE alumnus and the founder and head of the studio Out of Cloud, this territory was email marketing. Below, he tells Success Builder how correct distribution methods differ from spam, how to write meaningful letter, and whether a student is able to make money off of scholarships.
'A Good University Teaches You How to Be Flexible, Learn, and Grow'
Working abroad after the university is both a step forward in your career, as well as a valuable personal experience. HSE alumnus Mikhail Savkin, who is currently the Director of Global Strategy at France’s Schneider Electric, tells Success Builder how easy it is for a consultant to lead a nomadic lifestyle, why HSE should become a subculture, and how to survive in the French corporate world without losing your own cultural identity.
'Spending Time at Home Isn't My Thing. I Can't Live without Work'
If you think all women in leather chairs are heavy-handed Miranda Priestlys in Prada heels, you might find yourself looking for a job your entire life. Over the last 100 years of women’s emancipation, the world has changed beyond recognition; being a mother, heading a large company, and looking good are all absolute norms for the 21st century. Anastasia Karpova, the CEO of the pharmacy chain Doctor Stoletov, tells Success Builder how she built her first business with the help of Saddam and Che Guevara, why the humanities need mathematical analysis, and why her pharmacies sell permanganic acid.
'I Teach People How to Become the Best Versions of Themselves They Can Be'
What is the connection between the cockroaches in our homes and the ones in our head? According to the work of HSE alumna Alisa Simonenko, the founder of the Reforma project, the connection is direct. Simonenko first created a pest extermination company before realising how she could help people find the source of their personal happiness. Alisa tells Success Builder how she uses science to give people peace of mind, why her project Reforma is not like the company Secta, and how to eat whatever you want without gaining weight. HSE Day, which is one of the university’s biggest events that took place on September 9 this year, featured the Reforma Higher School of Fitness.
'I Use Questions and Answers to Introduce People to one Another'
It is sometimes necessary to take the less obvious route in order to succeed. HSE alumna Tonia Samsonova, the founder of the media startup The Question claims to have found a way to win over people’s attention. Samsonova tells Success Builder how to turn the practice of meeting people into a business, as well as how to avoid the word ‘advertising’ and how readers can avoid editors.
'I'm Creating a Community of Happy People'
Making money of insecurity is not actually a shameful endeavour, particularly if your business has an honourable mission. HSE alumnus Andrey Ruban, a psychologist and trainer, tells Success Builder how to gain entrepreneurial experience at the university, why creativity serves as the foundation of life, how word of mouth is becoming a marketing strategy, and what to do after you achieve personal happiness.
'HSE Is the Number One Supplier of Manpower for My Market'
HSE alumnus Pyotr Zhukov owns two investment funds which comes as a surprise from someone with a law degree. In Success Builder Pyotr talks about bankers having nervous breakdowns, who dictates the dollar exchange rate and why he doesn’t give money to hipsters.