Digital October
In 2011, the government indicated they were willing to turn Moscow into a global innovation and technology hub. Re-routing the economy and budget income away from the fossil fuel track. Some of these initiatives were later unveiled as means of public wealth ‘redistribution.’ Still, the political agenda alone motivated entrepreneurs and investors. I was lucky to become a part of a small group of people who worked on the “Digital October” project. A conference venue at the heart of Moscow that hosted over 1500 events in its brief history and became a home to Techcrunch Moscow, General Assembly, DLD Moscow and Founders Institute. During a few years of residency at ‘DO’, I had a chance to share a room with Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Wozniak, Steven Balmer, Guy Kawasaki and even Roy J. Glauber (a theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner, who is known for the quantum theory of optical coherence).
I became a Partner at an early-stage venture capital arm of a family office with a target closing of $250 million. The firm was rather aggressive in its initial investment strategy, financing companies in Spain, Germany, Israel, and California. And we did pretty well up until the day Vladimir Putin’ stopped by’ and told everyone that innovations, technology, new corporate laws, and integration with the global economy were all just a sick fantasy of President Medvedev, who plays too much with his iPhone.