Dawid Wiktor is CEO and founder of Media Scope Group. I caught up with Dawid over email recently to learn about his entrepreneurial journey and how he finds running an Estonian company with e-Residency.
What does your e-Residency company do in a nutshell?
Media Scope Group is a data-driven behavioural communications company dedicated to helping our clients better understand and reach their audience. Our firm combines advanced data analytics, behavioural psychology and modelling, psychographics and microtargeting solutions to run end-to-end behaviour change campaigns and provide consulting services.
We are primarily focused on the commercial, government, and social sectors, and also work with passionate people. For example, in Poland we launched a web portal Alternatywa to provide a publishing platform for engaged and entrepreneurial youth. We also work with independent teams to help them develop media or content production projects.
How did you hear about e-Residency and why did you apply?
I heard about the e-Residency program in 2015 from an article on the Guardian website.
I decided to apply because I liked the idea of the program and the possibilities offered by e-Residency. I wanted to be part of the digital society.
Besides, I have always been interested in Estonia and the Nordic countries.
What has e-Residency enabled you to do?
Above all, being an e-resident has made my life easier and more comfortable. After all, all you need is a laptop, smart card reader, and e-Residency digital ID card. E-Residency also allowed me to set up my company without incurring excessive costs, and managing business administration is very simple and convenient.
It has also allowed me plenty of time to focus primarily on my actual work as well as my education. I’m studying Management at the WSB University in Chorzów, a field that I think is really useful for anyone involved in business. Yes, I am a student and e-Residency makes the combination of work and education easy, and also allows me to enjoy my private and social life!
What have been the biggest challenges of running your business?
One of the biggest challenges used to be finding capital for my startup and covering the costs of my company (the use of science practically in communication and analysis requires a lot of research to develop methodologies). Luckily, our team managed to find a research sponsor who covered a significant portion of the research costs.
Currently, the biggest challenge is convincing potential customers that it is worth choosing behavioural communication, which differs from traditional communication in that it allows you to influence the behaviour of recipients by understanding what they want and how they think. For example, you can encourage someone to buy services/products, support a social organisation, and build deeper relationships with brand fans, current and potential customers. In addition, due to the fact that such communication is based on behavioural and predictive analyses, it is possible to make better data-driven decisions.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who are interested in e-Residency?
First of all, it is worth becoming an e-resident and being part of a program that is changing the world. E-Residency significantly simplifies life and gives many opportunities for your business regardless of location. If you have an idea and want to transform it into a business, prepare a strategy and business plan, develop the idea and then the project, then start the company at the right time. It’s easy to create a company in Estonia with e-Residency and due to a simple tax system based on dividends paid out rather than profits, you can check if your business concept actually works and you want to enter the market with it.
As a small business with a small budget, it’s always worth looking for savings where you don’t need expenses (e.g., instead of renting an office, you can work remotely from home). But if you employ a team, it’s important to remember to communicate and be transparent with each other and of course to have fun 🙂
Source: E-Residency