BUSINESS INCUBATOR
During the work of the incubator with help of different lectures and creative workshops, teams will try to brush their ideas by working on business models and plans, creating prototypes, learning main selling tricks and thus reaching completely realistic possibility to earn with their ideas.
EKA Business Incubator will help you to make first steps in business by offering:
- help to create your business plan;
- lectures and creative workshops to be ready for business environment;
- mentors′ advice and experience stories;
- contacts useful for business development;
- premises to work, have meetings with potential partners and clients;
- possibility to present your idea to competent representatives of the sphere.
The EKA Business Incubator program (for EKA BI participants) is based on:
- Individual meetings with the EKA BI Head at least once a month;
- Meetings with mentors once a month;
- Guest lectures from industry / industry 1-2 times a month;
- Participants′ individual work in the direction of business ideas during the program.
MENTORS
The following industry / field representatives were involved in the business ideas development of EKA BI participants:
- Aigars Mednis - Executive Director of the publishing house "Lietišķās informācijas dienests"
More than 25 years of experience in sales, marketing and company management.
- Anita Viļuma - experienced, successful entrepreneur
Anita has been in active business since 1990. Until 1997, she established and managed the company "Saldus Maiznieks". In 1993, at the same time, she established a wholesale company "Raugs un citas preces". For a long time, she had a sales manager and a board member. In 2009, Anita sold the company. From 2009 to 2017, she was the owner of SIA "Anjo" - a company engaged in real estate leasing and management. In 2017, Anita also successfully sold this company. Since 2010, she has been advising young entrepreneurs on business creation, development and change management.
- Jana Zubricka - experienced entrepreneur
Entrepreneur already for 20 years - trade and production of glass sheets and glass products. Energy and new ideas she gets from experienced entrepreneurs, strong business coaches and also young, enthusiastic startups.
- Vita Brakovska – Chairman of the Board of the association "Zinis".
Idea formulation, evaluation. Business plan development based on "BM Canvas" method. Pitch preparation based on the "Elevator Pitch" method. Gathering information about the idea′s progress in the market, using non-standard marketing channels, reaching customers.
- Edgars Čerkovskis – lecturer at EKA.
Financial side of the idea - costing, income / expenses, VAT, pricing. State Revenue Service, company registration - Limited Liability Company, Individual Enterprise, self-employed. Annual income declaration. Taxes.
- Undija Ancēna – representative of „FranklinCovey Latvia”.
Creating a project description based on the "Logical Framework Analysis" method. Ability to describe and explain the essence, goal, impact and expected results of a business idea in a structured, organized way.
- Iļja Saveļjevs – Head of „Produktivitātes māksla”(Art of Productivity).
Business idea promotion in social media(Facebook). Creating advertising campaigns. Marketing materials preparation. Facebook page administration.
- Annija Leite – Senior Content Specialist at „Infinitum 8”.
Content marketing and the first steps of the new brand on social media. Branding. Idea positioning. Statistical analysis. Google Analytics, Facebook tools.
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SEMINARS
In order to promote EKA BI, seminars were organized within the framework of various courses in cooperation with course lecturers, as well as within other events, which included:
- Informative presentation about EKA BI;
- Informative presentation about the business environment in Latvia;
- Theoretical presentation about business idea generation techniques;
- Practical creative tasks about idea generation;
- Theoretical presentation about testing a business idea and creating a business plan;
- Practical creative tasks about business idea research, analysis and presentation.
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CURRENTLY IMPLEMENTED IDEAS
- Development of the application "Epic story tablet" - Ēriks Keisters. Digitization of favorite childhood games. The goal is to spend quality free time with family and friends. Opportunity to play anywhere and anytime, as well as in different groups - family, friends, country, world. Various topics - sports, celebrities, politics, etc.
- Development of the application "Haltūra LV" (name still under development) - Krista Benko. Part of the population often needs help in organizing everyday work or in unusual situations (nanny, plumber, electrician, beauty specialist, translator, graphic designer, cook, wood chipper.). The application will allow you to quickly communicate with the required specialist.
In cooperation with the Riga City Council courage grant:
- Kristīne Veinberga′s project "Acuraugs" - production of money and spectacle cases in Latvian style.
- Jelena Skuratova′s project "Educational personalized fairy tale books". The book is prepared with the name and wish of the addressee according to the customer′s order. A beautiful gift for the anniversary!
IMPLEMENTED IDEAS
Year 2020
- Knowledge Process Outsourcing company "SKRIFTS"
Webpage: https://skrifts.com
Year 2019
Realized ideas in cooperation with the Riga City Council courage grant
- Kristīne Veinberga′s project "Acuraugs" - production of money and spectacle cases in Latvian style.
- Jelena Skuratova′s project "Educational personalized fairy tale books". The book is prepared with the name and wish of the addressee according to the customer′s order. A beautiful gift for the anniversary!
Year 2018
- Costume rental "Great costume rental";
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Kostimunoma
- Educational wooden toys „Busy Board”.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/busyboard.riga
Webpage: www.busy-board.com
Partially realized ideas:
Three out of seven business ideas the EKA BI program partially closed (involving up to 60% of activities, for various reasons):
- Kindergarten application „One Step” – dropped out of the program due to lack of time (work, family and studies).
- Baby toys „Creative baby sleep” – dropped out of the program due to other activities, (EKA Student Councile public life, Student Councile department management).
- Design furniture „4Cube” – dropped out at the beginning of the program (inability to attend).
Ideas submitted but not realized:
- Application "Epic story tablet" development - Ēriks Keisters. Digitization of favorite childhood games. The goal is to spend quality free time with family and friends. Opportunity to play anywhere and anytime, as well as in different groups - family, friends, country, world. Various topics - sports, celebrities, politics, etc.
- Application "Haltūra LV" development - Krista Benko. Part of the population often needs help in organizing everyday work or in unusual situations (nanny, plumber, electrician, beauty specialist, translator, graphic designer, cook, wood chipper.). The application will allow you to quickly communicate with the required specialist.
NEWS
EKA Business Incubator takes part in a project that educates about environmentally friendly cars
In cooperation with the EKA Business Incubator and with the help of the Head of the Business Incubator, Professor Vita Zariņa, the project “Journey to the ECO” (“Brauciens uz EKO”) is being implemented within the framework of the EU program Future Heroes Latvia. Latvian schoolgirls are involved in the project - leaders who create a special website and have attracted experts to obtain information. The aim of the project is to educate people about environmentally friendly cars, to popularize information about their use, as well as to "connect" people with their favorite, more suitable cars.
Knowledge Process Outsourcing company "SKRIFTS" established in EKA Business Incubator
EKA Master of Business Administration student Niroshan Pathiraja, working in the Business Incubator, has developed his business idea and established the Knowledge Process Outsourcing(KPO) company SKRIFTS, which deals with accounting and financial services, digital marketing, marketing research, data analysis, digital solutions and architectural services. The company has partners in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Dubai.
Webpage: https://skrifts.com
Educational and personalized book for children created at EKA Business Incubator
Jelena Skuratova at the EKA Business Incubator with the financial support of the “Rīgas Drosmes Grants”(Riga Courage grant) has created an educational and personalized fairy tale book for children who have never been in Latvia before. Any children can become the main character of the fairy tale - their name is in the title and text of the book.
When ordering a book, parents can also choose the image of the main character - a boy or a girl, the color of his/her eyes and hair, as well as the language of the fairy tale - Latvian or Russian. The fairy tale book is intended for children from age four to eight. Jelena was provided with a mentor by the EKA Business Incubator, with whom she consulted on practical issues related to publishing and printing, information on the website and who offered guest lectures online.
Jelena is convinced that the EKA Business Incubator is a good starting point, a place to get mentor advice and consult on important issues. "Therefore, I recommend everyone who wants to develop their business idea, but is afraid to do so, to go to a business incubator. You have nothing to lose here - you will only be the winner. I definitely recommend the EKA Business Incubator! ” encourages Jelena Skuratova, whose idea has already turned into a real product.
Guest lecture "How to make a cash flow?"
3/10/2020 at 13.00, in room 115
A simple and practical guide to planning finances.
Everyday working with entrepreneurs, especially for start-ups, we see a lack of information on business planning, cash flow, profit and loss statements and similar aspects, ignorance of which can endanger the company′s operation, development and sustainability.
Diana Lopeta, a training expert from "Altum", will share tips on how to properly plan your cash flow when starting a business, as well as "Altum" support tools for business start-ups and entrepreneurs.
Lecturer: Diana Lopeta, "Altum" Center Regional Manager.
Activities in the Business Incubator 2019/2020. study year:
December
December 19 at 15:00 meeting in BI, preparation of work plan for this study year, meeting with mentors.
January
January 22 - meeting in BI, consultation for preparation of Business Plan
February
February 12, at 15:00, meeting at the Business Incubator, progress report, further activities.
February 15 - lecture - "Social entrepreneurship".
March
March 11, at 15:00, meeting at the BI, progress report, next steps.
March 14 - lecture - "Business support financial instruments".
April
April 15 - at 15:00, meeting at the BI, progress report, next steps.
April 18 - lecture - "Business environment in Latvia: the story of an entrepreneur".
Dates and times are subject to change, follow the information on the website!
CONTACTS
Prof. Vita Zariņa
Head of EKA Business Incubator
vita.zarina@eka.edu.lv
+371 29417045
PARTICIPANTS FEEDBACK
Liene Leitāne, „Great Costume Rental” business idea author
Do you think the Business Incubator is a valuable experience?
Definitely, yes, because being a member opens up new opportunities, new contacts, attentive advice from knowledgeable mentors.
Which encouraged you to get involved in EKA BI?
I saw the booklets at the university and just knew I had to participate, so I came to Costume Rental through three ideas.
What was your original idea and how did it changed?
Initially, I wanted to make gift boxes by personalizing them, but making the box itself from scratch turned out to be too complicated for the average person - such work requires additional equipment and tremendous precision. From gift boxes, I came up with the idea of a greeting card, boxes in mini format, the size of a match box; I started to implement this idea. However, I came to the conclusion that I had to start doing something else; something that has already begun, and, in my opinion, more useful for the society - "Costume rental" was my final choice.
What did your participation in EKA BI gave you?
I learned how to present my product better on social media, how to identify the target audience, ways to reach it and a lot of other useful information, as well as the fact that I now have expanded the costume rental business - its offer has become more serious, now among more than 50 different costumes and I also offer seven different animator costumes.
What knowledge was acquired? How often did you visit EKA BI?
In the beginning - every month, there were frequent meetings where we discussed the desired action plan to implement our idea. Various mentor lectures, on Facebook, writing projects on how to start a business or become self-employed, etc. Later, the visits were individual, as everyone was already working on implementing their ideas, promoting and developing them.
What have you succeeded in EKA BI?
I have expanded the range of costume rental, as well as gained new loyal customers.
Please tell us about your idea (target audience, product etc.).
The product or service is Costume rental. I offer various types of carnival, holiday, and animator costumes at friendly prices for rent. The target audience is kindergartens and their teachers, parents of children, as well as the children themselves, but more - parents, because they are solvent. Also students and pupils, who need carnival costumes, are a target audience too.
Tell us more about how your idea progressed! Were you able to get to the first sale?
Quite flowing, because there was already a foundation, we didn′t have to start from scratch - we had to invest time and money for development. Buying animator costumes was the right choice, because such costumes are expensive and people are interested in renting them, because it is not profitable to buy one for an event.
I registered as a self-employed person and wrote my first invoice to the head of the kindergarten, for renting a bunny costume for Easter.
What are the three main things needed to work in EKA BI?
1. You must have the willpower to implement your idea.
2. You have to dedicate a lot of time to the development of the idea, as well as attend mentor-led classes.
3. There must be a desire to improve yourself.
Your suggestions for future ESA BI members?
Don′t be afraid to dream in writing, because what is put on paper is a step closer to implementing the idea.
Davids Mintskovsky, „Busy Board” business idea author
“EKA BI provides a large knowledge base and understanding of how to start your business from scratch and what actions should be taken for this. Thanks to the invited speakers, I learned a lot of useful things for myself in such a short time. Thanks to the EKA BI!"
Eids Putnāns, „LED paintings” business idea author
„It is much more productive to work if there are other students nearby who are also working on the development of their business ideas. EKA BI is the place to get that extra motivation. It was interesting to find out more ideas and how they are implemented. Various lecturers provided a broader insight into business, marketing and social media - it was very useful.”
Maryias Voinava, „Virtual Stylist” business idea author
"I think that for me, like many other foreign students, assistance in implementing business ideas is especially important due to the presence of a language barrier. The business incubator has become a real support. I managed to find like-minded people, and together with my team, take part in several Latvian projects. I am grateful to the managers, and in particular Olesya Aleksova, for their help in drawing up business ideas and interesting lessons."
