“We invested $200,000 of our own money.” How a startup from Uzbekistan secured $12 million from a major bank
“We invested $200,000 of our own money.” How a startup from Uzbekistan secured $12 million from a major bank
Rustam Khamdamov, Vadim Zakharyan and Dzhakhongir Narzulloev from Tashkent were building their careers in a telecom company when they saw potential in creating an IT platform for retail stores. That moment led the colleagues to launch the startup BILLZ. Today, the company has 5,000 clients in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. And this year, BILLZ closed a deal with the Georgian bank TBC. For $12 million, the startup sold a controlling stake and transformed from a local player into part of a major banking ecosystem.
Rustam Khamdamov, Vadim Zakharyan and Dzhakhongir Narzulloev from Tashkent were building their careers in a telecom company when they saw potential in creating an IT platform for retail stores. That moment led the colleagues to launch the startup BILLZ. Today, the company has 5,000 clients in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. And this year, BILLZ closed a deal with the Georgian bank TBC. For $12 million, the startup sold a controlling stake and transformed from a local player into part of a major banking ecosystem.
As part of the “100 Startup Stories of Central Asia” project conducted jointly with Astana Hub, Digital Business spoke with Rustam Khamdamov about launching the product and the mistakes that cost the project dearly. The entrepreneur shared why the team spent nights in retail stores and what unique features customers appreciate most about BILLZ. We also discussed how a chance breakfast meeting led to a multimillion-dollar decision and why there was no hesitation about being acquired by a bank.
More details available at Digitalbusiness.kz
As part of the “100 Startup Stories of Central Asia” project conducted jointly with Astana Hub, Digital Business spoke with Rustam Khamdamov about launching the product and the mistakes that cost the project dearly. The entrepreneur shared why the team spent nights in retail stores and what unique features customers appreciate most about BILLZ. We also discussed how a chance breakfast meeting led to a multimillion-dollar decision and why there was no hesitation about being acquired by a bank.
More details available at Digitalbusiness.kz