Q1 Nikolay Shkilev, How did you develop a customer-centric approach in your business, and what role has it played in your success?
Nikolay Shkilev: We always try to make products that our clients need first of all. Just imagine, in the course of our in-depth analysis, we found that 97% of startups die in their first year of existence. When we began to carefully study the causes of most problems, we noticed that startups apply to hundreds of places, do not have marketing experience, do not know in which countries it is better to develop their business, do not calculate their conversion in advance and do not understand how to quickly reach key people and sign quickly big strategic partnerships.
That is why in the Zelwin ecosystem we have essentially made a one-stop solution for startups, so that they do not run to hundreds of places, do not spend money down the drain with incomprehensible results.
We immediately offer them a whole range of our products – from testing their ideas, creating an MVP, measuring conversions and the real needs of the market, helping with a marketing boost, with fundraising and launching on exchanges. All in one window.
More details here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jyrswxYi3wgg250EMobQjo0OhfFfyCBb/view?usp=sharing
Q2 How do you stay informed about industry trends and emerging technologies to maintain a competitive edge and drive innovation in your business?
Nikolay Shkilev: We receive over 150 requests from various projects per month and we understand their needs very well. Based on this, we constantly and flexibly adjust our strategy, using all our experience and resources.
At the same time, I am an advisor to many well-known projects, I regularly speak as a speaker around the world, which allows me to understand all emerging trends and demand.
Q3 Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your entrepreneurial journey that significantly influenced your business’s trajectory?
Nikolay Shkilev: I have been in business for 25 years and own many businesses. During this time, I have accumulated a very decent experience.
Over time, I realized that it doesn’t matter what kind of business you are in, the main thing is to build a clear structure, a competent and understandable business model, regularly analyze and measure, maintain quality, and then the chances of success increase rapidly.
Why did I decide to become an entrepreneur? Here I must say a big thank you to my parents, they explained to me in a very simple way that I work only with my hands or for wages – I will never be able to exceed my bar, I will always be limited. And, on the contrary, if I want to earn as much as I want, without the slightest restrictions, then only entrepreneurship can give me this. And already at the age of 19 I opened my first company, and at the age of 24 I earned my first million US dollars.
Q4 What strategies have you implemented to attract and retain a loyal customer base?
Nikolay Shkilev: To do this, you constantly have to come up with something new, make various drawings, discounts, introduce new products, use new sources of advertising, implement smart bots for social networks, offer services to old customers at better prices, etc.
Q5 How do you manage risk and uncertainty while pursuing new opportunities and business growth?
Nikolay Shkilev: This is the most difficult thing; we are constantly looking for optimal solutions and products. To be honest, we regularly make mistakes, change models, and do a lot of tests. But only those who do nothing do not make mistakes. Therefore, before offering anything to our customers, we first completely cut it off on ourselves, we fully bear the entire risk of all innovations.
Q6 Can you discuss a key lesson you learned from a challenge or setback, and how it has shaped your business strategy moving forward?
Nikolay Shkilev: For myself, I learned a key thing in business, that success is purely dependent on the number of attempts. Failures are an entrepreneur’s best friend; they allow you to soberly assess what went wrong and how to solve it. The main thing is not to stop – those who stop in improving their business, in innovation, lose their positions
Q7 How do you foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within your organization?
Nikolay Shkilev: At Zelwin, we have implemented an Ambassador Program, where each participant is trained by us, receives the latest news, life hacks, and we help our employees at all stages, incl. in negotiations with Clients so that they learn faster and feel that they always have the maximum support from the management of our company behind them. This helps them earn good money with us.
Q8 What is the most valuable piece of advice you have received as an entrepreneur, and how has it impacted your business?
Nikolay Shkilev: This was from my father:
«Nikolay, always keep your word!
And if you gave it, then fulfil all your obligations!
Always tell the truth, even if it is unpleasant for the Client, never lie!
And then you will get loyal Clients for life!”
BIOGRAPHY
Nikolay Shkilev, PhD
Co-Founder and CEO of ZELWIN
(MVP Labs, Launchpad for Pre-Sale/IDO, Marketing Hub, Fiat/Crypto Payment Gateway).
Founder of Private Business Club for VCs
Rated Top 3 in People of Blockchain.
Serial entrepreneur. A businessman with 20 years of experience of owning different types of businesses, ranging from Ecommerce, FMCG, Fintech, medicine and logistics to IT technologies. In parallel, he work as a mentor, advisor to help dozens of projects worldwide.
Nikolay Shkilev, PhD has many awards and titles in business:
– Self-Made award
– Best advisor award
– Super TOP award (Business FM)
His Holding received the “Enterprise of the Year” award.
Media about Nikolay (small part):
Hackernoon:
https://hackernoon.com/exclusive-interview-with-zelwin-ceo-nikolay-shkilev
Entrepreneur:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/356435
Road2Billionaire:
https://road2billionaire.com/2020/06/29/interview-with-nikolay-shkilev/
Business Insider:
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/vip-marketing-and-investment-support-firm-officially-launches-1030564948
Nikolay Shkilev. Social networks:
https://instagram.com/the_wall_street
(Verified. 650k+)
https://twitter.com/NikolayShkilev (Verified 20k+)
https://www.facebook.com/shkilev
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vipmentor (30k+)
Official website:
https://shkilev.com/
