The winner of the second season of the reality show "My Startup" was announced in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

      The results of the second season of the reality show about young entrepreneurs "My Startup" were announced in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The main prize — 1 million rubles for business development — was awarded to Sergei Makhov, a joiner from Arzamas. The "My Startup" reality show is part of the national project "Youth and Children."

      “For the second year, we have been implementing a wonderful project that helps uncover talented young entrepreneurs from the Nizhny Novgorod region. During the reality show, our participants establish business contacts, acquire many skills and competencies, and have the opportunity to review and improve their startup. Notably, this year each participant had mentors — experienced businessmen from our region, including season one finalist Philipp Opredelyakov. We always support young entrepreneurs — integrating them into other events. For example, during Youth Day, a whole ‘Market of the Young’ was set up, where they could present their products to regional residents. Yes, we already know the winner, but the show series will continue to air on television. We believe the project will find a wide response among viewers and will have support and continuation next year,” said Svetlana Anufrieva, Minister of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod region.

      Nine young entrepreneurs from various municipalities in the region reached the final. Each worked on their business for three months under the watchful eyes of cameras, facing challenges, enhancing leadership qualities, and entrepreneurial skills. The final event took place in the format of a film premiere, where the winner was announced and finalists were awarded. Viewers will see how it all unfolded in the last episode of the reality show.

      “The victory in the show was helped by the audience vote. All of Arzamas supported me! Thanks to everyone. It’s very gratifying that participants of the ‘Youth Army’ gave their votes for me, and representatives of the Arzamas Volunteer Corps ‘Call of Arzamas’ came to support me at the final. None of this would have been possible without my wife, who learned about the contest and applied for me! It’s a special happiness when your family supports your endeavors,” shared the project winner.

      The main partner of the youth show was Sberbank.

      “Sberbank has been supporting ‘My Startup’ for the second year because it believes in the potential of young entrepreneurs. This season demonstrated how important such programs are for the development of regional small business. We not only support the project — we accompany participants within our ecosystem: from consultations and financial solutions to digital services and expert jury support,” said Natalia Demina, Manager of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of Sberbank.

      It is worth noting that each contestant in this year's reality show had mentors, many of whom are part of the business community "Delovaya Rossiya" ("Business Russia"). At the final event, Pavel Solodky, Chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod regional branch of "Delovaya Rossiya" and Business Ombudsman of the Nizhny Novgorod region, congratulated and awarded the participants.

      “I am glad that members of ‘Delovaya Rossiya’ — already established entrepreneurs with a reputation — found the time and opportunity to share their experience with contestants and become full-fledged mentors for their business projects. I know some have already proposed collaborations with their businesses, which is a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs,” he emphasized.

      All finalists of the project were also recognized in special nominations: “Youngest Startup” — Darya Kurmaeva with her jewelry brand made of real flowers; “Project’s Beauty” — engineer Anna Eliseeva with a design bureau project; “Phoenix of the Project” — Eldar Khomyakov with the “Children’s Sports Training Center” for ages 4 to 16; “Project Networker” — Maria Karpova with her dance and fitness studio; “Creative Nature of the Project” — Ekaterina Malova with the production of graduation albums in kindergartens and schools; “Most Promising Startup” — Natalya Barakhtina with the family cheese dairy; “Fire of the Project” — Anastasia Shikhova with the production of barbecue complexes and recreation zones; “Breakthrough of the Project” — Sergei Makhov with his carpentry workshop; “Discovery of the Project” — Anton Kokorev with the production of products from natural leather.

      Episodes of the project will be broadcast on “Russia 24” and “Nizhny Novgorod 24” channels throughout August. Extended episodes of the reality show can be viewed on the official social media group: https://vk.com/mystartup_nn.

      The organizer of the project is the youth center “Vysota” with the support of the Ministry of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod region.