About the program participant
My name is Vladimir, and I am an entrepreneur currently living in the United States for about four years. My first exposure to America was through Ruslan Gafarov's program, which I discovered quite accidentally from my acquaintances in London while on a business trip. Other participants talked about a program that focused mainly on Silicon Valley, which intrigued me.
Since 2014, I have been running my own business primarily in outsourcing, providing unskilled linear staff such as packers, loaders, and suppliers. We are based in Ulyanovsk and are now the largest company in the city, with major clients like Legrand, Bridgestone, Schaeffler Group, and Aviastar. We also have a few major clients in Moscow. Formerly known as Stimul Job, we are now developing the VegaStaf brand.
The key decision to try myself in the US and move here was made thanks to this program. During the tour, I had no idea how startups were created, how to attract money, or what venture funds were. I only had a clear idea of classic business in Russia. I didn't understand what rounds were, who a venture investor was, a business angel, and so on. Therefore, the information that I received during the tour significantly changed my thinking about what business can be done differently. It is possible to launch startups, attract money, grow and develop in the US market and then further in other world markets.
Just before my departure to the US, we were developing the topic of microfinance. My company was called Grand Zaim, and it was 2017.
Once my old friend and I successfully implemented a project and sold it, which is now called an "Exit." In Russia, it was called Skidka Bum. We launched it in Ulyanovsk, expanded to several cities, sold a few franchises, and made some serious money.
Then I used that money to create OxBee, a children's program that currently operates in Russia. The program allows parents to block any of the child's gadgets on any platform - iOS, Android, Linux, Windows. If a child wants to use any application, watch cartoons, play tanks, or do something else, they must answer questions from the school curriculum. If they answer correctly, parents reward them with an hour of playing tanks. After an hour, their phone is locked again, and they must solve a new task. This way, the child develops motivation.