1. Vlad, tell us, how did your journey in entrepreneurship begin?

My entrepreneurial journey began in 2011, when I became interested in e-commerce and was trained by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Godski, who was involved in Amazon's expansion into Europe. This experience inspired me to create my own IT business. In 2014, I founded a marketplace development company, and by 2018 we had successfully entered international markets. This allowed me to build expertise in the technology business and lay the foundation for subsequent successful projects.

2. You founded the Galactik educational platform, where more than 5,000 students have already studied. What inspired you to create this project?

Initially, the platform was created for the internal tasks of the holding in the training of novice specialists. The IT industry was actively growing, and the execution of software development contracts required personnel that we trained ourselves. The platform was used as a training ground, a tool for assessing competencies, testing, etc. We trained programmers, project managers, designers, testers, and now data scientists and blockchain developers. We hire the best specialists for ourselves, but those who want to improve their knowledge also use the platform.

I also had experience teaching at a technical university in 2017. Then I realized that I needed a resource so that students could consolidate their knowledge, conduct discussions in the form of a forum for each course, and the modular approach became the main focus of my teaching experience. The speed of information appearance, its study and assimilation — we were able to take all this into account in the creation of Galactik.

3. What role did participation in Astana Hub play in the development of your business?

The Techpreneurs program helped us work with an experienced tracker, which accelerated the growth of this project. Also, the PR consultations of the staff of Astana University help to convey information to our students, and access to technology, networking and residency benefits have become important advantages.

4. Your fund shows a return of more than 100% per annum. How do you manage to achieve such results?

The basis of our investment strategy is to invest in undervalued companies and startups in the technology sector, as well as using top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether as reserves, which have grown by 100-200% per year over the past 5 years. Before starting an investment fund, I was involved in personal investments in businesses, startups, the stock market and the crypto market. Venture capital investments yielded the greatest return on capital, as the holding included IT development companies, a marketing agency, and a venture studio.

We used seed investment technology: we created mass startups in various industries — foodtech, fintech, edtech. The projects that grew the fastest received the most investments. For example, the FoodDelivery project has yielded a 20-fold return on invested capital in 3 years, when demand for food delivery applications increased dramatically during the pandemic. Thus, we understand trends, create a seed of projects, and when "black swans" like COVID-19 happen, the current project takes off.

5. You have also developed a solution for cross-border transfers. Tell us in more detail how this system works and who is it intended for?

In the spring of 2022, cross-border payments stopped working. Our partners from Kazakhstan ordered the development of a food delivery marketplace in the Almaty region, but payments to our company, which at that time was based in Russia, stopped. We couldn't get paid for our work, but we couldn't let our partner down. Therefore, it was decided to open a company in Kazakhstan to accept payments from counterparties in Central Asia. This is how the financial infrastructure appeared, which is now being improved, using the most advanced developments in the field of fintech and blockchain.

The geopolitical risks of 2022 triggered the creation of this project. We have developed a bridge between the traditional financial infrastructure and the decentralized one. The essence of the project is to help overcome sanctions barriers for cross—border transfers by using stablecoins that are not subject to the volatility of cryptocurrencies, as well as tokenization of real assets as collateral and collateral for lending. This project is aimed at international entrepreneurs who are faced with such a problem.

6. Over 20 years in business, you have implemented many successful projects. What has become a key success factor for you?

The ability to endure discomfort for a long time is what gives success. I train this skill during triathlon classes. You just have to wait out when your competitors give up, and that requires patience. Unexpected changes happen regularly in business, and the ability to adapt quickly is the second skill that helps you stay on the wave and not go down.

Continuous development, training, and observation are also key skills. The ability to systematize your knowledge and pass it on to others increases your expertise. Research, the desire to learn new things, is what drives me. And there must be a dream. Material resources motivate me for only 2-3 days, but the real motivation comes from within.

To go against the crowd, to be a black sheep. When everyone is twirling a finger at your temple, it means that you are on the right track.

7. What are your plans for the coming years?

This year, our fund is actively starting to attract investments through traditional financial instruments — the sale of shares and bonds to expand its international expansion into the MENA countries. In 2025, we plan to participate in GITEX technology exhibitions in Africa (Morocco) and Dubai. There will also be a roadshow for investors, where we will present the projects that we bring to these regions. The development of relations with companies in Saudi Arabia and the support of startups in this country in the e-commerce direction will be important steps. We are also localizing the Galactik project into Arabic.

This year, we plan to enter into a strategic partnership with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth Fund to jointly finance projects in the field of fintech, blockchain and artificial intelligence. We will continue to seed investments in fintech in Africa, where rapid economic growth is expected in the next 20 years. The largest amounts of capital will be created in Africa and Latin America, and that's where we're going. Our technological capabilities will be able to be realized in countries with growing economies and populations.

8. What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to repeat your success?

You decide for yourself whether you win or not. The main thing is not to give up, to patiently pursue your dream. Develop your presentation skills to skillfully engage others. It's hard to go alone, it's better to be in the company of like-minded people.

Having money speeds up the process, but it is not the basis for success. Money doesn't decide, people decide. There are situations when even money gets in the way, and you need to make a strong-willed decision, "shoot the lame horse" and move on. You are the foundation of success. It depends only on you whether it will be or not, and not on external factors. Learn to blame only your actions or inaction for success or failure. You are the universe, the power within you. And exercise — everything will be slower without it.