TSU Graduate Develops AI Service to Evaluate Business Niches
Tomsk State University graduate Georgy Shilnikov has developed an online service that uses AI to assess the attractiveness of niches for small businesses.
Shilnikov said market research costs at least 300,000 rubles (about $3,600) and takes four to six months, even though the necessary data is publicly available from sources including the Federal Tax Service registry, Rosstat statistics and Bank of Russia indicators. Processing that information, however, requires big-data skills.
The developer has assembled a database drawing on 13 open sources. The service currently offers free analytics covering 60 regions and five industries: restaurants, bars, beauty salons, fitness clubs and spas.
He said the service does not tell entrepreneurs whether they should start a business but instead shows how a particular niche compares with others.
The project is useful for entrepreneurs with budgets of 3 million to 15 million rubles (about $36,000 to $181,000), as well as business owners planning to expand into a new region, according to the press service of the University Consortium of Big Data Researchers.
