Sputnik: How to become a millionaire? Tell me your secret.
Artem Goldman: So, basically, let me clarify first. This list of Forbes is not for billionaires. It's for the impact that you make in your field. So, I think the minimum requirement for those lists was the evaluation of the company, in which we have nine million dollars at that moment. So, just answering your question, we are not like a very big company. I don't know, basically you just need to work. That's it. That's the secret. You go and work. I believe my first million dollar deal I did before the start-up, so it's not my first company.
Sputnik: If I have an idea for a start-up, what key points should I take into account?
Artem Goldman: Again, you just need to basically take some steps, some actions, because I see a lot of start-ups. When they have an idea, they start to pitch, to make a presentation, a website. They go to different conferences instead of actually building the product and then finding the customers. So, first thing you need to do, you need to build a prototype and try to sell it to the customer, because you need to make something people want. If you build something nobody wants, it can't be successful.
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Sputnik: What makes a product successful on the international market or just generally successful?
Artem Goldman: It depends. Usually, customers. If you have a product that international customers will use, then it's a successful product.
Sputnik: If I have a small sum of money to invest, but want to have a good report, what communication strategy should I choose when entering the market?
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Sputnik: Your business relies on the automation process. What are its advantages?
Artem Goldman: Well, the main advantage is that we don't need to have a lot of employees. If you compare Visabot Green Card service with a law firm, where you have at least 5 people that you need to pay salaries and in San Francisco it's very high salaries, so you pay like 10,000 per month per 5 people. So, it's at least $50,000 a month. At the beginning we had two employees and we just paid an immigration lawyer once. So, we almost had no expenses when people were using our product. So, that makes it successful, because they pay us $150 per use and we don't have any other expenses.
Sputnik: My last question is: what problems could large companies and corporations face in the field of innovative development?
Artem Goldman: A lot of problems! I don't know actually. I've never been on their side. However, from what I see, it's really difficult to build something innovative inside a big corporation. So, I think it's easier for them to buy start-ups and they do it pretty well. I think, that's the right way to grow, because otherwise growing something inside is too long and complicated; the old bureaucratic way. I don't really believe in all these innovations inside the company. It's rarely successful.
The views expressed in this article are those of the speaker, and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
