Maxim Pisegov is a technology entrepreneur whose career began with a passion for web development during his school years. Today, together with partner Paul Kukitz, they are launching a fintech startup in the USA - Avoloan credit card refinancing service. To do this, start-ups from Pavlodar have already attracted $500 thousand from private investors. 

We talked with Maxim and Paul about how their school years at the lyceum in Pavlodar influenced their formation, and why they chose the American market to launch their startup. In this interview, entrepreneurs share their experiences and plans, as well as give valuable advice to young startups.

― Maxim, Paul, tell us what became your main motivation to choose the path of technological entrepreneurship and start building startups? 

Paul: Probably, in my case, it was influenced by my parents, who have been engaged in entrepreneurship all their lives.

Maxim: Already in my school years, I began to be interested in technology. We had excellent economics lessons at the lyceum. They taught us the basics of entrepreneurship, participated in school fairs, where we sold our own goods and services. This is how we got our first entrepreneurial experience.  At the age of 16, I started making my first money by making custom websites. It was my first business. I have always been attracted to the idea of creating something new and useful, and technology startups provide unique opportunities to implement the most daring ideas. 

― Many people believe that the educational system of Kazakhstan, like other post-Soviet countries, does not contribute to the development of entrepreneurial thinking among schoolchildren. However, your experience seems to refute this opinion...

Maxim: We studied in Pavlodar at Lyceum No. 8, which is one of the best schools in Kazakhstan according to various ratings. Our director has gathered top teachers. The Lyceum has greatly influenced our entrepreneurial development.  Education in Pavlodar provided a good foundation for the future. We were taught not only from textbooks, but also instilled an interest in new technologies and innovations. We often participated in various competitions and Olympiads, learned how to solve complex problems, and work in a team. These skills proved to be extremely important in his later career. Studying at the University in Tomsk, including group project studies, also actively supported interest in entrepreneurship. Many university graduates are now successful startups. My school and university years laid the foundations for my entrepreneurial spirit. I constantly participated in various projects and computer science Olympiads, which helped me develop programming and project management skills. It was then that I realized that I wanted to create something of my own that could change people's lives for the better.

Paul: I completely agree with Maxim. At the Pavlodar Lyceum, we had a strong teaching staff in all disciplines, including computer science. I also went to several shifts of the Summer Computer School Camp, where they prepared for the Olympics. Thanks to this, he won prizes in computer science, mathematics and physics competitions. After school, I graduated from Novosibirsk State University (NSU). There I also got a good base for building a career. 

― Tell us about your first entrepreneurial experience.

Maxim: I got my first entrepreneurial experience when I started making websites at school. I made the first website for the lyceum. He looked modern and began to "sell" me. Soon I started receiving orders from various companies and earned my first thousand dollars. Already in my school years I learned a lot: how to find clients, manage projects, and fulfill obligations on time. This experience was invaluable and laid the foundation for my future in technology entrepreneurship. Every new project was a challenge for me. I studied web development on my own, communicated with clients, found out their needs and tried to offer the best solutions. In the process, I realized that not only technical skills are important for business success, but also the ability to communicate, negotiate, and build trusting relationships.

Paul: In 2015, I founded the WWDA agency. It was my first serious business. Together with the team, we have implemented more than 50 IT projects for large companies, including Unilever CIS, Shell, PepsiCo and others. One of the significant achievements was the complete transformation of the website of the SPSR-Express logistics company: we updated the interfaces and automated the processes of interaction with users. This experience has allowed me to develop the skills to manage several large projects at the same time.

― It is clear that your tandem began with a school friendship, but later you moved to different cities. How did you team up again to launch a startup?

Paul: Our paths crossed again when we realized that we had similar views on business and technology. We both aspired to financial independence and innovation. Our cooperation began with the discussion of ideas and the exchange of experience. Then we realized that we could create something meaningful together. At that time, we already had a certain amount of knowledge and experience behind us and were ready for large-scale projects.

― How did the idea of a loan refinancing startup come about?

Paul: Since 2015, we have been jointly engaged in outsourcing development. In 2017, we decided to create a startup that could solve the problem of refinancing consumer loans and credit cards. We have seen that many people, even in our environment, have difficulties in this matter. It is difficult for them to get approval for refinancing, or they do not know that this is possible at all and continue to pay high interest. This inspired us to create a service that could facilitate this process and make it more accessible and faster. That is, the idea was born out of the real needs of people. This problem is especially acute with credit cards. People do not understand that if you pay off the debt with minimum payments, it will take years, sometimes decades. They find themselves in a debt situation because they have not read or understood the terms of the credit card, and how it differs from a regular loan. So, we decided to create a product that will help reduce the debt burden. 

Maxim: We have spent a lot of time researching the market, studying customer needs and developing an effective solution. We created an MVP and tested the idea on the Russian market. The indicators were good. Some specialized media even marked us as a startup with high potential. But at that moment we had absolutely no experience and the necessary network to attract investors. It seemed to us that a cool idea and a good presentation would do their job themselves, and investors, after hearing and seeing our offer, would immediately want to invest their money. It turned out that everything was not so simple. It is important for an investor to see an already formed professional team with relevant experience, as well as to verify the leadership skills of the founders. And also, it would be nice if someone recommended you to him. Unfortunately, at that time we did not have all these components. Plus, family circumstances overlapped, which forced us to postpone work on the startup for a long time. But in parallel, each of us has implemented a number of other successful projects. For example, I led the implementation of Smart TV and Mobile on Channel One, Paul is the technical director in projects such as Restomania, RainerOne, Foodhub, Bursal.

― If your business was so successful, what prompted you to return to the idea of a fintech startup?

Maxim: In 2021, I visited Salt Lake City, where I met American investors from the fintech sector. In a casual conversation, I said that I was interested in this topic, and we even once had a project that could solve the problem of refinancing loans remotely, without visiting banks. At the same time, the process is automated as much as possible. And from the moment of filling out the application to paying off the credit card debt, it takes only a few hours, not days, as it usually happens. Unexpectedly for me, experienced investors were sincerely interested in the idea of the project. I was inspired by this communication. Plus, I already noticed at that time that there is also a problem with high loan rates in the United States, and it is especially acute in the credit card market. As it turned out after a more detailed study of the issue, the average annual rate in the United States is more than 24%, and for some credit cards it reaches up to 30%, and even higher. And the average credit card debt in America is over $6,000. These facts have confirmed that launching in the American market is the right decision.  

― Why did you decide to start from the American market, and not from Kazakhstan, which is more native and understandable for you?

Paul: With a startup, it is better to immediately enter the global market, aiming at the "blue ocean" — a low-competitive niche. Otherwise, you can get stuck in the regional market, in the "red ocean", where competition is too high. Kazakhstan's market is small enough for a large-scale startup. We decided to try our hand at a large market right away, and only later enter smaller markets with already strong positions. This approach will allow not only to test the product, but also to adapt it for successful implementation in other countries, including Kazakhstan.

Maxim: We studied the market and realized that our idea has great potential in the USA. High interest rates on credit cards create a significant burden on borrowers, and we can offer them a solution to this problem. The American market is highly competitive, but it also means that there is a huge potential for growth. In addition, surprisingly, the US banking sector is not as technologically advanced as in Kazakhstan. The approval process for a credit card or loan is often only partially automated, takes several days and requires the borrower's personal presence at the bank. Kazakhstan is already one step ahead of the United States in this regard. Therefore, we believe that our product will find its audience.

― You have attracted $500 thousand of private investment. It's a decent amount ― how did you manage it?

Maksim: When we decided to restart the startup, Paul and I already had significant experience behind us, a professional team was formed and a network was established, which allowed us to directly contact potential investors and successfully present our project to them. Plus, we were recommended and invited to participate in the Starva accelerator program.vc in New York. We passed the pre-selection and received an invitation. However, the terms of the accelerator included the transfer of 4% of the company's share immediately and 10% of the option right to buy out according to the initial estimate within three years. Since these conditions seemed unprofitable to us, we decided to refuse to participate in the program, and instead undergo a three—month tracking and launch the product using our own resources and accumulated experience. They soaked up private investors and raised $500 thousand. 

― What goals do you set for yourself and your team today?

Paul: Our goal is to launch a single credit card refinancing product this year in New York and Florida. Our competitors in this market differ from us in that they offer loan refinancing as one of the products of a wide range. Accordingly, we have the opportunity, focusing on a narrow niche, to create the most user-friendly product in the format of a mobile application. We want to set up the process of issuing loans, to test the work of our unique scoring model, which uses an order of magnitude more indicators than the models of traditional US banks. With the help of artificial intelligence, we analyze credit history, consumer behavior and other information about a person from open sources. Based on the data obtained, we assign a score (score). This way we can quickly analyze a large array of data (including using AI). 

Maxim: Of course, in the future we plan to attract more investments and scale the project. At the beginning of the next 2025, we want to raise $2-3 million already. We plan to take out a syndicated loan, which will allow creditors to convert our debt to them into a share in the company. This money will allow us to seriously scale the startup. It is important not only to launch the product, but also to make sure that it works effectively and benefits users.

― How do your background and culture of Kazakhstan influence your approach to business?

Maxim: I think Kazakh culture shapes our approach to doing business in terms of openness and empathy. Paul and I have always tried to help people, and that's what our new project is about. The problem of debt is relevant not only in the USA, but also in Kazakhstan, and perhaps that is why we were attracted to this topic, and we want to offer the market the simplest solution to it. The Kazakh mentality has also instilled in us the values of honesty and transparency in business. We strive to make our service reliable and trustworthy by offering customers simple and understandable terms, as well as fair interest rates.

― What lessons have you learned from previous projects and do you know for sure that you are using this experience in building Avoloan?

Paul: The main lesson: the team is the foundation of any successful business. It is very important to find and motivate people who are close in spirit. Delegation of responsibility and employee training was also an important lesson. Learning to trust and delegate tasks to others is the key to scaling and success. Previously, we often faced the problem of micromanagement and the lack of motivation of the team. Now we understand that a successful project is based on trust and mutual understanding. We try to create such conditions so that each member of the team feels their importance and contribution to the common cause.

                                                                                      The interview was conducted by: Aliya Bek