Community

Violetta Shishkina, Co-Founder and CEO of CADChain B.V., has experienced the importance of being part of the StartupLeap community as a former participant of our online program. Read her story to find out how you can benefit.

How did you benefit from being part of a community?

Being among like-minded people always helps you to stimulate your creativity and leads to innovative ideas. It also gives you an energy boost that you will probably never be able to get from any group other than entrepreneurs. Being part of the community also stimulates your learning process because you are learning by doing. What I usually do is get to know some startups at a stage that is above mine. This way I can learn from their mistakes and I can predict what’s expecting me further. And of course networking. My motto is: you never know who you’ll meet when you go to networking events.

When did you need support the most and how did it help you?

Coming to the Netherlands as a start-up we didn’t know what to expect at all. Being part of an incubator helped immensely. We immediately got to know a lot of startups so we could ask questions. I think every startup needs support at every stage of its development. The needs change however help is always appreciated. Today I see myself as almost an expert of the early-stage start-ups and I’m always eager to help those who are just starting.

Why do you think founders should be part of a community?

Being part of a community means that you are always in a diverse environment. Diversity is the basis for innovation. Why? Because great ideas come from teamwork and from co-creation. As a founder, you constantly need to do a lot of brainstorming and in order to get results, you need to talk to a lot of different people.