14.06.2021

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF THE ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FUTURE?

Entrepreneurs of the future should not have a big ego, they should be able to accept criticism constructively, make decisions quickly and be able to change these decisions even faster and adapt them so that they are more effective. These are some of the conclusions that brought together the top experts who participated in the discussion of the conference "Entrepreneurs of the Future". They were adamant that the idea, while important, was not the only fundamental part of creating and developing a successful start-up business.

"Investors are looking at the idea, but entrepreneurs must constantly change it until it is right," explained Angel Ivanov, co-founder of the popular gourmet burgers chain Skapto. According to the executive director of Bulpros Consulting Ivaylo Slavov, entrepreneurs should seek and accept constant feedback and criticism from their trusted people. "It is very important to have a mentor and a person whose criticism you can trust to get better," he said.

"In order to work with people, you have to put your ego in your back pocket and have a winning solution," commented Krum Alexiev, director of the Corporate Clients Department at UniCredit Bulbank. The expert from UniCredit Bulbank was also the first to give valuable advice on financing a start-up business.

"When the business starts and is in the start-up phase, in the idea phase and the product has to be validated, then the usual practice is for its owners to maintain it and provide it with capital. They invest in the idea and sustain it until it begins to generate cash flow that is large enough to service debt. This is the moment when the product has already been validated, there are end customers and the owners can turn to debt instruments to obtain financing for further business development, "he explained.

According to him, currently the environment in Bulgaria is extremely favorable for access to finance, adding that international financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provide great support to banking institutions for a resource that is then provided with warranty instruments without significant collateral.

However, Dr. Petar Duchev, chief physician and managing partner at the Petar Duchev Dental Clinic, was of a different opinion. According to him, securing financing continues to be a challenge for entrepreneurs, unless their business is related to the IT field. He himself gave the example that it took him 3 years to find funding for the expansion of the first clinic in the chain.

Another interesting point of view was given by the co-founder of Skapto. He defined entrepreneurship as a game of motivation, and according to him, financing with own funds has a significant role on motivation. "We have always relied on our own resources and I think that our motivation to develop is greater," he said.

The executive director of Bulpros Consulting Ivaylo Slavov revealed that in the beginning their company was financed with its own funds. "We have created an ecosystem, we have changed the environment of funding. 12 years ago you were only with relatives and friends, now there are more opportunities if you have ideas. The most critical are the venture capital funds - from angel investors, venture capital and bank capital, "said Slavov.

The participants in the discussion also commented on an interesting trend about the impact that COVID-19 has on the business sector. Krum Alexiev explained that the number of entrepreneurs who accept the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity has increased. He added that currently many young entrepreneurs decide to invest in starting their business with the argument: "when, if not now".

Ivaylo Slavov also shared his opinion. According to him, after the Covid crisis there is a shortage of original ideas. And on the topic of original ideas, everyone was adamant: young entrepreneurs must constantly adapt their project idea to meet the dynamic circumstances, markets and needs of customers. The four were also unanimous on what the entrepreneur of the future should be like: socially responsible, creative, modest and flexible. To be constantly educated and upgraded, to use the sea of ​​information to their advantage and to realize that failure is not a disgrace - these were some of the valuable advice that the participants gave from the stage of "Entrepreneurs of the Future".

The second part of the conference was just as interesting - including six fireside interviews between young entrepreneurs and proven experts from the entrepreneurial ecosystem in our country. The mentors who came on stage to share their invaluable experience were Genoveva Hristova, entrepreneur and managing partner in LIGNA GROUP, Viktor Manev, co-founder and partner in Impetus Capital, Dimitar Dimitrov - CEO of Alterco, manager of Cocoon Mediacal Snezhana and Daniel Laurer, managing partner at BrightCap Ventures.

In front of the audience in the hall of "Entrepreneurs of the Future", as well as in front of the viewers of the live broadcast on the channels of Investor Media PRO and Investor.bg, the six mentors met with the teams of six promising startups and talked to them about attracting investments, new markets, proper project marketing, creating a successful business strategy and many other topics.

You can see what they are in the recording of "Entrepreneurs of the Future" on the digital event platform Investor Media PRO, where the conference was broadcast live on June 10.