He likes trips and meetings with new people. He is constantly looking for new opportunities and starts all his projects with huge enthusiasm. He says he believes in personal freedom and the right to determine your own way in life. He still refuses to put any labels on him, especially the one about the “successful young man”, although he has a very impressive CV for his 28 years. His name has long ago become popular in the media. Perhaps, the first time people started to talk about him in public was five years ago when the popular “Start Your Business” magazine selected him the best young entrepreneur in Great Britain.

© Photo: private archive

The young Bulgarian lived in the UK at that time and had had a company which consulted the British people when buying properties in Bulgaria.  Boyan commented on the recognition he received when he was 23 with a smile on his face: “If you are influenced by such things, this is great. You should print it on your T-shirt. However, in all honesty, this does not motivate me at all. Besides, I know that I had more failures than successes so far. This is why I would not like to remain passive. Yes, I already have 10-12 years of experience behind my back, but there is still a lot more to come. So, let us see what will happen in 20 years and then we will talk again.” He confesses that his first steps in business happened by chance and he did not pursue this at all cost. He sees opportunities to experiment in his business, to develop and reach what he has always been looking for-personal freedom. He made his first steps in business when he was 12 years old, when he sold the school newspaper in Leeds. However, he received his first detailed knowledge a bit later when he took part in the educational campaign, created under the program of the Young Enterprise organization. “This was the first time when I and my friends created a huge team. However, the campaign was not very successful,” recalls Boyan. The tutor who was helping them happened to like this young boy and helped him make the first real campaign. “I was dealing with marketing and was working with huge companies which offered products and services aimed at the teenagers,” says the young man. Later he gradated Business and Economy in the University College in London.

“I have been doing business for a very long time. At the beginning, I though that I liked only its financial side, but I soon realized this was not the case. Now, when I work in other fields, I see that I am interested in different things. The thing I like the most is the business idea itself, which has to be turned into something real and useful to people. Secondly, I enjoy the opportunity to gather people with different professions and different skills in one team.”

The young Bulgarian is working on various projects. His main business at present regards consultations in the product strategy field, marketing and communications for huge companies. Recently he started to work in the IT sector as well. He is proud that he organized a big international conference in Sofia, dedicated to foreign investments in the IT sector. Over 40 foreign investors who manage a portfolio worth over EUR 3 billion arrived for the conference. Besides, Boyan likes to experiment in different spheres including ones outside business. He hopes that he will be able to use the experience he gained over the years in the social sphere as well. He is also interested in educational issues and has organized with the help of an Australian friend a business course for IT experts at the Saint Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia.

“I do almost everything in Bulgaria with the help of friends, because I can not separate work from private life”, says Boyan. “I have a Belgian friend named Tim Goebel who has been living in Bulgaria for the past four years. He deals actively with music and organizes festivals and concerts. He manages “Oratnitsa” band and wanted to release their first album. He needed money and offered me to take part in the project and I agreed immediately, although I knew these guys vaguely. This is an incredible project and I am happy that we turned it into a reality. Music could provoke many warm feelings and positive emotions inside you.”

Boyan left to England with his parents at the age of six. After spending 18 years of his life there, he returned to Bulgaria in 2009. He was driven by his will for a change. The other reason which made him return home was his desire to publish his first two books entitled: “Small business guide” and “small book about reality”. The publishing company “Janet 45” supported his project.  “Publisher Manol Peykov met me with many interesting people. I also saw that Bulgaria had huge potential and that many interesting things happen here. So, I decided to stay”, says the young entrepreneur.

“The third book entitled “Two generations” which was recently released on the market was written on purpose”, says Boyan. “When I returned to Bulgaria, I saw the potential of this country. Meanwhile, I found out how difficult is to explain this to everyone who lives here. Thus, I came up with the idea to write this book. It took me almost one year to decide how I wanted to tell this story. In the beginning of 2012, I went to the seacoast and wrote it there. I am happy that it provoked such a huge public reaction and I hope this will continue in the future. I want to travel across the country and hold discussions on this topic.”

In his book “Two generations”, Boyan describes his vision about Bulgaria in the next forty years. He forecasts that many Bulgarian emigrants will return home in the next 15-20 years. In his view, no country provides opportunities for development. “We must create these chances ourselves”, says Boyan. In his view, people come across difficulties not only in Bulgaria, but in England and the entire world as well. Here is how he sees himself and Bulgaria in two generations' time: “Perhaps, I will be an old man. This is an easy answer. I hope that Bulgaria will start to use its potential. I think that we will need a very long time to head in a positive direction. I hope that in 40-50 years the country will gain momentum. This is a realistic, rather than negative view. Many things must be done here. We need to build a solid fundament of our country. After all, this could not be done in ten or fifty years. It will take many years to become a reality and I believe that it is worth it to invest this time, so things can happen the right way.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov