Technological entrepreneurs of the Russian origin: Education, geography, industries

Abstract

Among the outstanding technology startups of the international level, there are often companies created by the Russian founders: Telegram, Revolut, Miro and many others. The authors wondered how the technology startups founded by Russians were distributed around the world and how many stayed in the country. This led to a few related issues. In which jurisdictions are tech startups with the Russian origin more comfortable to exist and why, where it is more probable to attract higher investment, in which industries Russian founders create startups? The issue of determining the “Russian origin” of the founder deserves special attention. The authors define it through higher education: if the founder received a Russian higher education, then, regardless of citizenship and nationality, he is considered as a Russian. The study analyzes the educational trajectories of the founders, the connections of headquarters’ locations with origins of the founders, the profiles of the founders (age, work experience and other characteristics). The role of universities in the education process of technological entrepreneurs is revealed, including the potential for generating technological entrepreneurs in various regions of the country. The authors conclude that while the absolute amount of investment attracted in Russia is maintained at the same level, its share is falling. The number of technology startups choosing Russia as their main jurisdiction is also decreasing. Results show that success in attracting investment is positively affected by the early experience in launching a startup (university years), as well as by technical education. The authors state the difference in the industry structure of startups created by the Russians from the world average in favor of IT, robotics, and artificial intelligence to the detriment of medicine, trade, and business services. The conclusion is: universities in such cities as St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk are poorly using the potential of generating technological entrepreneurs.