Young Quebec entrepreneurs in Russia

I had the privilege of flying with a delegation of young Quebec entrepreneurs to the country that houses the legendary Red Square. The goal of this mission was to meet with Russian business people to better understand their market and see if there was a possible synergy. The challenge was considerable given the uncharismatic reputation of the Russians.

This escapade turned out to be a success and a memorable experience, despite the cold temperament of my Russian colleagues. I was very reluctant to do business with Muscovites and yet I managed to establish a partnership with a Russian firm and I have several meetings by video conference in the coming weeks regarding Planning Media's geo-location based ad server.

After having collected the comments of other Quebec entrepreneurs, it seems that this trade mission was generally a success for many of them. It is obvious that there are certain sectors of activity where there is still a lot of piracy, so caution is still required.

This trade mission was organized by the Regroupement des Jeunes Chambres de Commerce du Québec (RJCCQ) and the Ministère du Développement Économique et de l'Innovation et de l'Exportation (MDEIE). Some young Quebec entrepreneurs, including myself, had the chance to meet respectively, with the help of interpreters, a dozen Moscow companies that had been pre-qualified before our departure to ensure the relevance of the meetings.

Among the Quebec companies present in Moscow other than Planning Media, there were Genacol, Acquisio, K2 Geospatial, Miss MAK Designs, FX Studio, Avric, Right Rights and Jack Marketing.
Pierre-Olivier Vachon, international business advisor for the MDEIE, says that the economic situation has improved a lot in the last few years. Moscow is known as one of the most expensive cities in the world and the cost of living has increased dramatically in the last 5 years.

In short, I believe there is a lot of strategic alliance and import-export business to be done with the largest country in the world in terms of area. Obviously, language and culture are barriers, but I believe that an entrepreneur must be able to overcome these barriers and find his way to international success.