Interview with our first participant from Russia – Anastasiia Kostromskaia

Anastasiia Kostromskaia – 2020

Saint Petersberg, Russia

“Experience cannot be unnecessary”

Below is an interview with our first-ever Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Pitch Competition participant from Russia. This student pitched the idea of a magnetic conveyer using magnetic levitation. Hopefully this pitch inspires other international students to compete and offer solutions to problems.

Why did you enter the contest? What did you hope to accomplish or learn?

My teacher of marketing (Anastasii Klimin) in Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University introduced me the Blue Ocean Strategy book and I liked its idea. While reading this book I realized that I can use the strategy in my own project. Competition appeared as a great opportunity to test my work and learn opinion from the Blue Ocean authors. I was also interested in learning other participants solutions.

Why this contest and not another one? What appealed to you about this competition?

The idea of Blue Ocean is absolutely unique and we can speak the same special Blue Ocean language with other participants, judges and anyone interested in the topic. I also liked the format of public video applications because it allows us to learn each other’s projects. Finally, I definitely can present such project to my teachers of friends but no one will be so experienced and involved as the team of strategy creators. In my opinion, these points make the competition so special.

How or why did you pick your topic?

I was already working on the idea of innovative product. It was important for me to take my real project.

Is this a real business that you plan on pursuing?

Yes!

Do you plan on being an entrepreneur?

Again yes! I have also won a grant from Russian government and got some financial help to develop my idea. I plan to attend business accelerator and hope to move further.

What were your favorite learnings from the Blue Ocean concepts?

Of course all of them deserve attention. However, I was definitely surprised with the Strategy Canvas. It is so visual and easy to understand. I am going to use it in my presentation slides. I also admire Three Tiers of Non-customers but unfortunately couldn’t use it in my project. I hope that one day I will have an opportunity to work with this tool.

How much time did you spend creating your pitch?

I guess it took me one day to prepare the text in English and 8 long hours to take the video. I tried my best to speak fluent enough in order to be as good as native speaker.

What was hard?

It was hard to formulate and introduce my idea while keeping time limits. I didn’t want to go deep down into technological details but I was concerned that I might not transfer the idea clearly enough.

What was easy?

I guess it was easy to come up with the decision that I NEED to attend the competition and upload my application.

Did you find the fact that this is a virtual and global competition appealing?

This is incredible! It is very interesting to know others ideas and solutions. I find the organization of the competition comfortable enough. Of course, I wouldn’t have an opportunity to attend the competition if it was not global or virtual.

Did your school or teacher encourage you or did you pursue this on your own?

Firstly, it was a teacher who acquainted me with the competition but after this I made my decision and work by my own

What did you learn?

Experience cannot be unnecessary. I also discovered a lot of interesting ideas from other participants.

What would you do differently?

It is such a shame to say this but I found the judge’s score criteria after submitting the application. I would rather find them firstly and change my pitch a little.

What advice do you have for future participants?

According to my mistake, I would recommend to study all the competition and scoring terms first. However, what is more important is to try even if you are doubting.

Any other comments that you want to make?

I want to thank everyone who is involved in the competition and its organization. I give my sincere congratulations to all the winners. In addition, I wish prosperity to the competition and to take part next year!

Quote:

“Experience cannot be unnecessary.”

Register for the competition and get access to the Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneurs Mini-Course. This course will teach you the fundamentals of Blue Ocean Strategy, which is the leading strategy method in the business world today. After completing the course, you will be provided with a valuable certificate showing that you are trained in Blue Ocean concepts.

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More than 2500 students took part in the 2022 competition. Check out the inspiring winning blue ocean pitches.

More than 2000 students took part in the 2022 competition. Check out the inspiring winning blue ocean pitches.