Today I will introduce you to a Dream Chaser that is also an entrepreneur. I met him a couple of years ago during an event in my home town. Since then we have been in touch and I am happy to say that he is one of the most interesting and inspiring people I have met.

Introduce yourself to the readers

First, I am a husband and a father of three children. I am a positive thinker who always finds a way to achieve my goals. For me, the glass is half full and I see Bulgaria as a wonderful place that needs our common help to become the best country to live in. 

Professionally I am one of the managers of the Bulgarian multi-time awarded IT company Bulbera. Together with the company we helped in many social projects which affected thousands of people. Our IT solutions are used all over Europe and the Americas.

How would you define your professional path? From the banking sector, through managing a yoga studio to creating an IT company. What was the common dream and goal that sustained your desire to grow?

Indeed, my professional path started in the international corporate and investment banking industry. After 12 years there my next challenge was to manage a yoga center. Yoga?!?!?! I know it sounds crazy. And many of my friends thought I had a burnout (laughing). But this was a big yoga center with tens of employees. So, it was a very nice SME with a niche product and clients. It was a good school on how to sell and manage a company. 

And then came the IT company. Just to mention that I am not a dev guy. I do not code. I am rather on the business development side. 8 years ago, I was invited to join this startup and grow it as a partner. Currently, it employs 30 people in 3 cities and has clients all over the world. But the most important is how it helped the society we live in. With the income generated, we sponsored educational projects, health ones, tree planting, cyber training, elderly care, and many more. Just to mention that in 2017 and 2022 we won the “Innovative Company” award in the “Social category”. We employ a few Bulgarians who returned from other countries. And also, are a “baby and mom-friendly company” where we never discriminate against mothers with kids. On the contrary, we are happy to help them as much as possible.

My drive is simple – make Bulgaria a better place. Personally, I believe that this can be achieved only by two simple steps: stop complaining and work united together. It is so simple 😊

What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned so far that you’d like to share with readers?

Probably three of them are on the top of the list. To never give up is the first one. There is always a way to achieve your targets and dreams. Sometimes you need to step back and try a different approach. But like bodybuilders say: “No pain, no gain!”

The second one is to try. And ask for help when needed. Without trying you will achieve nothing in life, neither professionally, nor personally. It is even said in the Bible: “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone who asks receives; who seeks finds; and to him that knocked it shall be opened.” Matej 7:7

And the third one is that every action or lack of action has a price. And I am not talking primarily about money here. If you are ready to pay the price – jump for it. If not – reconsider your behavior.

How important is it for people who follow their dreams to have a mentor? Why?

In life, we all tend to think that we have the biggest problems, the worst boss, and the oldest car. This is the negative side. On the positive side, we tend to see ourselves as the cleverest, most beautiful, best professional, and many other unreal things. To be successful we all need to have someone to compare to as a benchmark. That is why mentors are a must.

But there is a tricky point here – to use them as a benchmark, not to try to copy them. Every one of us has a unique professional and personal path. I personally use mentors to learn from them and to challenge my life so far and my ideas for the future in order to improve them. I never want to copy my mentor’s life.

Although hundreds of ideas have been given to deal with this, the fear of failure remains a major obstacle to people following their dreams. Do you have any practical advice on how we can deal with it?

Since I was a kid, I have had a motto about that: “What do you have to lose?” I ask it each time when I feel fear or am at a crossroads in life. And you know what – usually we have nothing to lose. Fear tells us that we can lose our money, home, family, social status, or even our life. But this is just the physiology of our brain which wants to keep its status without change. Evolution, baby 😊 So ask yourself next time what you have to lose. And you will see that you will lose nothing. It is again a question of the price that you are ready to pay. 

As I mentioned before, when I left the banking sector to go to the yoga center, people thought I was crazy. But this is their way of seeing the world. I never regretted jumping on that. The lessons learned were great. Both professionally and personally. But I paid the price. And lost some “friends”. But have won new ones.

How important are a person’s environment and surroundings as a factor in whether he will be able to achieve his dream?

Every one of us has the potential to become great. But it is easier not to (laughs). First, you need to decide what you want to achieve. And then surround yourself with like-minded people. It does not mean living next to a billionaire in order to become one. But to meet people that want to achieve similar goals as you.

There is an easy example to illustrate that: fitness clubs. Everyone there (with no exception) goes there because they want to take care of their bodies. Some want to be slimmer, others to gain muscles, and third, want a good summer body.

But ALL go because they want to take care of themselves. And that is the perfect place to be if your goal is to start taking care of yourself. Everyone is willing to assist you and to help you. Because once they were beginners as you are now.

Share something inspiring you wish to say but I forgot to ask you

I like people who want to fight for their ideas and to find solutions, not stoppers. And I am always open to helping and assisting such people and projects. Especially if they want to improve our social life. Everyone who knows me better can confirm that. So, I urge your readers to contact me if they have found something useful in this interview and need a friend to help them.