Startit is a grassroots non-governmental organization based in Belgrade, Serbia. We’ve spent the past five years successfully building our country’s startup community. Startit Center is the next step towards turning our post-socialist society into the place where our people fuel their prosperity by building technology-driven businesses.
Through our Startup Academy and voluntary mentorship we’ve increased the number of tech startups sevenfold. If we told you they accumulatively raised more than $2 million you may shrug it off as a sum a promising startup in the Valley raises in its first round. But consider this – $2 million is 70% of all investment rounds raised in Serbia.
In our circumstances, where the word ‘startup’ didn’t even exist several years ago, this is huge!
In five years, we’ve organized more than 200 events and projects, helping more than 12,000 people develop skills and knowledge about entrepreneurship, programming, blogging, building websites and apps and creating solutions for their IT businesses. Our blog covers entrepreneurial know-how, tech trends and job postings, and through it we reach 40,000 people each month (in comparison to population ratio, this would make 3 million in the US).
We know we can - our previous campaign to motivate young people to create businesses in Serbia.
Why is Startit Center important for the community?
At the core of our efforts is an ambitious vision - to turn problems into opportunities and change our society for the better bypassing the burden of ineffective government.
And we want to share it with the world.
With 15% of our youth leaving Serbia each year, our population suffers the highest rates of brain drain in Europe and the second highest in the world, searching for better educational and employment opportunities. This means that people in a resourceful country with a long history, suffer from bad decisions made by its government.
The only way to keep these bright, ambitious and talented people in the country is by offering them opportunities to create a better life for themselves.
We found the solution to be in entrepreneurship and innovation.
By 2020 we want to provide free education for 100,000 people. We will create an army of people ready to create and take on the jobs of the future, by offering up-to-date business and tech educational content, mentoring for young professionals, tech courses from the earliest age, and a large network under the promise of paying it forward. Serbia is lucky as it already has a big number of world-class engineers, and a legacy of innovation through significant figures - one of them being Nikola Tesla.
Startit Center will be the place where this revolution will be set in motion. With rooms that can hold up to 200 people in three workshops at the same time, a library with 10,000 free books, a co-working area with 40 spots, and a makerspace - Startit Center will be at the service of anyone willing to learn and create.
Why are we looking up to you?
We want you to join our quest for a better future fueled by tech entrepreneurship. This is not just about our community, Serbia or our youth - this is about the world. Our model has proven effective so far - with Startit Center being a pilot project of greater scope, we are looking into proving the concept that could serve communities worldwide.
The Center based in Belgrade is only a beginning - we plan to start 12 community centers modeled after the first one, and this way provide high quality free educational content even you the population out of the capital and other major cities.
Where will the money go?
With the help of our sponsors and supporters, we've already got a bunch done. However, in order to complete the lower levels of the building and turn them into a fully functional makerspace - we need your help.
In case the campaign doesn’t reach the goal, we don’t get a penny. If it does we'll be able to equip the part of the building we haven't started renovating and turn it into a space for creatives, DIY whiz's and cyborgs.
We’ve raised about $70,000 from partners enabling our architects and construction workers to do their best to set everything up for the opening of the space in November.
With the money we raise through Kickstarter we will:
1. Finish the basement of the Belgrade Startit Center and make it into classrooms and maker space
2. Open 3 additional Startit Centers in smaller cities in Serbia
3. Create an online learning platform in Serbian where those who want to get into technologie can make their first steps for free. The offline lectures and mentoring will support this platform and will take place in Startit Centers accross Serbia
We believe in the power of Kickstarter to support best ideas and teams. This is why we’re looking up to you - let’s help new generations move the needle in their favor.
Who’s already supporting us?
Among our friends and supporters are some of the most successful Serbian and global companies in a wide range of industries: communications, gaming, biotechnology, finance, design, being some of them. Many thanks to them wholeheartedly for recognizing our vision as the way forward.
Our project has also been recognized by Niko Klansek, an entrepreneur and Kickstarter guru, who's selflessly offered his knowledge and experience in the process of getting the campaign together. Thanks, Niko!
What have our friends prepared for you?
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Risks and challenges
Construction is known to be the type of project susceptible to delays, oftentimes unpredictable ahead of time. Creating Startit Center involves tearing down old walls, installing water and heating systems, brand-new rooms, a kitchen, restroom and additional outlets.
We’ve already completed a majority of what we could call ‘rough work’ in the space, lowering the chances of future delays. With a project of this size, it’s particularly challenging to see all possible obstacles and de-risk them.
However, in the last several years, our team has a track record of several dozens of successful projects - speaking in favor of our high levels of capability to make things happen. One of the projects is Potkrovlje Hub, a small co-working space for startups and freelancers. Even though much smaller in scope, the Hub demonstrates that our team has the necessary experience and knowledge to lead this type of project.
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