The largest Bulgarian company for online games’ development with over 35 mln. registered users across the globe, USD 8 mln. expected in revenues for 2013 and lots of awards – these are only some of the assets of Hristo Tenchev. The more impressive thing is that we are talking on a young man of 26. Hristo admits that currently he lags behind a bit his coeval Mark Zuckerberg, but his successes are serious for Bulgaria’s scales. “I call it a caused luck, since one cannot sit at home, hoping for luck to find him. We should step outside, act and hope that it will be there, when you need it the most,” the young man comments the method for turning your hobby into occupation. He established his company as early as his high school years. He says he didn’t miss his chance and currently he leads a team of over 100 people, reaching markets in over 80 countries worldwide. Why exactly online games?

“I’ve played all kinds of computer games ever since my early childhood. This is one of my main hobbies, though I don’t have too much time now. I used to compete with my classmates and other students from abroad yet before the 12^th grade, making money this way. When you are seriously involved, you always see something you can do better. So I decided I could make a better game and I started to develop software. Just like a joke I improved a German game we used to play back then. I presented a Bulgarian version that was played with my classmates as a start. It turned out to be the first browser planned game in Bulgaria and soon it reached 10,000 players. People liked it and it was free. However, when gamers increased in number, we needed better servers, which cost serious money. Then I decided that the game would continue to be free, but more devoted gamers would have to pay for some extras. Thus some sort of business started to form. Afterwards I could afford to pay other people, more skillful in software development and my efforts could be concentrated on my favorite thing – conceptual thinking, the ideas for the games.”

Hristo and his colleagues have created over 10 games so far, translated in more than 30 languages. The Khans is the biggest one, re-creating Europe’s medieval history. The participants can select among 9 nations, as the access is still free. The game has attracted interest even in Japan. The company’s revenues come from the additional extras, paid for by the keenest gamers. Here is more from Hristo on the games:

“I do think that games teach children courage, at least. A game can be a strategy, or a logical one. We should always solve a problem in games, just like in life itself. I even see my life as a game. If you fulfill the task, you get the reward and pass on to another level of difficulty that requires more experience. I can’t fully agree with the claim on desocialization – you socialize with lots of people online, you just don’t see them. Of course, any excess is no good…”

West Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Brazil are the main markets that the Bulgarian online games have successfully covered. However, Hristo is keen to conquer the USA and Asia. He says on his breakthrough abroad:

“It was a risky decision. We had increased the team and the Bulgarian market was not big enough at that point. Then I decided to opt for a translation of the game, for finding an associate abroad. We failed the first time, in Romania. I don’t know what we did wrong, but now our games are played there too. The second time I decided to aim at something bigger – Poland and Germany. As early as the third month we made more money there than in Bulgaria and things started to expand…”

Hristo’s new adventure is to enter the team of Svetlin Nakov’s new Software University. The ambition of the duo now is to give chance to as many fans as possible, who want to develop their talent and skills in the IT sphere. Those are experts, who are sharply wanted both on the Bulgarian and foreign markets. Their more distant dream – to turn one day Bulgaria into Europe’s Silicon Valley, training experts for other countries too.

“That was my idea, 4-5 years old,” Hristo says. “I joined the project since I did want to get involved in the sphere. I was motivated by the fact that as a student at the Technical University I knew what I wanted as knowledge, but it never happened. Now, when I have a team of over 100 people and we need more experts, I still do not receive those. So, it was a natural move. I found a skillful person, such as Svetlin Nakov, who had proven his expertise in the creation of true IT experts. I do believe in his power and I think we can succeed wherever the state has failed.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev