In one of the issues of Invest Dala Podcast, the first podcast about the venture capital market of Kazakhstan in Kazakh, the guest was Mirat Akhmetsadykov– an entrepreneur with 20 years of experience, one of the founders of MOST Holding.

MOST is not just a business incubator, but an entire ecosystem for startups, including venture funds, accelerators, educational programs, and even its own neo-bank. In the podcast, Mirat talked about his path in entrepreneurship, how to develop startup culture in Kazakhstan and why the country needs to attract more talented people.

For most people, a job means a stable salary, a schedule, and a vacation once a year. In business, everything is different: there are no guarantees, but there is freedom and responsibility.

"I have never worked for hire, so the concepts of "salary" and "vacation" are alien to me. No one gave me a vacation, I didn't ask anyone for a salary. All my life I have relied only on my own strength and my own motivation."

According to Mirat, if a person wants to become an entrepreneur, he must be prepared for the fact that there will be no "safe zone" – only his personal motivation and willingness to solve complex tasks.

Many projects in Kazakhstan solve local problems, but this is not enough to grow into a billion-dollar company.

"Before launching a startup, ask yourself the question: does this problem exist only in Kazakhstan or all over the world? If it's global, your startup can grow into a billion-dollar company."

Large companies are built where there are large markets. Therefore, it is important for startups to think more broadly than the borders of one country, and immediately test hypotheses outside of Kazakhstan.

Companies usually expect a new employee to be quickly involved in the process and complete tasks from the very first days. MOST approach this differently: beginners are given a whole month to adapt, without deadlines and KPIs.

"When I hire a person, I say, 'We're starting, but you don't work for the first month.' People are surprised: "Why is that?". I'm explaining: "You came from a different company with a different mindset, so you won't have any tasks. I'll pay you a salary, but your only job is to read, communicate with the team, and delve into the culture. In a month, we'll decide together what goals to set for you."

This allows a person to gain a deeper understanding of the company, get to know the team, and not get stuck in old work habits. According to Mirat, this approach makes employees more engaged and motivated.

It is difficult for startups to obtain financing from traditional banks. For credit institutions, such companies look too risky, as they do not have collateral and stable cash flow.

"In Kazakhstan, banks don't give money to startups because they don't have collateral. No matter how much you work, you are still considered too risky a borrower. Banks operate with depositors' funds, so they cannot take such a step. We realized that startups have a lot of such problems, and we started issuing loans ourselves."

According to Mirat, in order for the startup ecosystem to grow, not only venture capital investments are needed, but also flexible financial instruments – short-term loans, strategic financing, smart investments. MOST is already testing new mechanisms to help startups not lose business shares, but raise money more efficiently.

In order for Kazakhstan to become a regional IT hub, it is important not only to develop local startups, but also to create conditions for the relocation of specialists from all over the world.

"In the United States, 56% of the companies on the Forbes list were founded by immigrants. This means that America does not just attract talent, but creates conditions for them. The main competition in the world is not for markets, but for people."

America wins the global competition for talent because it creates an environment where the best minds in the world want to work. Kazakhstan needs to do the same.

You can listen to the full version of the release with Mirat Akhmetsadykov via the link – Youtube, audio platforms.

Invest Dala Podcast is the first podcast about the venture capital market of Kazakhstan in the Kazakh language. Here we are honestly talking about startups, investments and the future of technology business in the country.