Max Gurvits – Mindsets, Attitudes and Risk-taking

Max is no stranger to Kosovo. In fact Max is no stranger to a lot of places – born in Russia, citizen of Holland, educated in the US and living in Bulgaria. He brought Prishtina for the Win to Kosovo and his new CCC Ventures supports entrepreneurs and start ups around the world.

What kind of mindset is necessary to try new things, identify problems, envision solutions? The first issue is to break out of the idea that there is no history of entrepreneurship in the region. Max shared examples from the past, recent history and present day. Electric cars in Croatia, Anti-rust paint in Albania. The second is to start to look around us – What are the problems, challenges, activities you see in your environment?

Lessons from Silicon Valley – in the region we need a different mindset about business. It is not about the old school Wall Street, Trump examples which have often been focused on in Balkans. Things we all need to do more of in the region:

• Not making a cult about failure but instead learn to fail and learn from the failure.
• Sharing – give honest feedback, talk about our ideas, our failures
• Tinkering – play with technology to answer questions or find solutions

Idea 1: Help your best entrepreneurs learn in Silicon Valley

Idea 2: Retain the smart kids – Next Generation Scholars program

Idea 3: Attract talent to the region

Idea 4: Bring experts to give advice – Startup Sauna, Startup Yard Fastlane

Idea 5: Building technology centers for kids – Bonevet, Prishtina Hackerspace, UNICEF Innovation Lab