How an IT company finances a foundation with its profits with Blagovesta Pugyova
Plus our fun lunch party at Sera Eden in Bucharest
Hello from your friend in Bucharest, Romania.
In this issue: my fun lunch event at Sera Eden, Bucharest, Childish founder Blagovesta Pugyova, SaaS deal of the week, and more!
Innovators In Bucharest
Recently Teodora Pantu and I co-hosted a fun lunch here in Bucharest inviting talent from the Startup/Marketing scene. It was great to introduce interesting people to others and help build connections. One of the things we asked everyone is - “what’s an interesting piece of content you read or watched recently that you’d like to share with others?”. Here are some of the recommendations for interesting books and films that people shared:
Oana Groza - 📚 Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson
Maria Patrascoiu - 📚 The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
Maria Rodideal - 🎥 The Best Offer - A master auctioneer becomes obsessed with an extremely reclusive heiress who collects fine art.
Elena Iordache Stoica – 🎥Life Itself - As a young NYC couple goes from college romance to marriage and then birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.
Emma Schwarcz - 📚 Copilul tau. Parintii tai. Tu - Ioana Chicet Macoveiciuc.
Ioana Marin - 📚 Community Index Magazine. 🎥 The Walk - In 1974, high-wire artist Philippe Petit recruits a team of people to help him realize his dream: to walk the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.
Irina Paraschiv - 📚 Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
If you’d like to attend one of our future events, let me know by going to your closest neighborhood park at midnight, click your heels, and sing the best version of an Ariana Grande song. (or you can just email me) 😆
Innovators Can Laugh
Is it possible for a charity to own a profitable software development company?
Well it is. The Bulgarian foundation ‘Give a Book’ owns 41% of the IT company Childish. It employs 30+ people and the company's focus is developing business and team-building web applications using the Python programming language.
The model in which an IT company finances a foundation with its profits is so impressive for Bulgaria that Childish won an award from the Forbes Business Awards 2022 in the "Socially Responsible Company" category.
Hear the story of this amazing woman, Blagovesta Pugyova, who is the founder of both the foundation (Give a Book) and the startup Childish.
Listen to the conversation on Apple, Spotify, and other players here.
Highlights
1:00 – where did you grow up and how has that changed your view of the world?
2:45 – as a kid what responsibilities did you have?
4:03 – as a kid, who did you want to be when you grew up?
5:24 – what was your early career path like?
7:07 – when did you realize that you should start ‘Give a Book’? (amazing story of how Blagovesta and volunteers visited an orphanage)
11:40 – what do volunteers like about being a part of this program?
13:50 – how many institutions were you able to bring Give a Book in?
14:28 – what are the demographics of your volunteers?
16:10 – how many people contact you outside of Bulgaria wanting a program like this?
17:10 – when did you get the idea of Childish and who are you primarily serving?
22:32 – when clients hear about Childish, what do they get excited about?
26:00 – what is the projected revenue and what strategies have you used to grow the company?
27:08 – how do you identify if a candidate is a good fit for the culture?
28:10 – what’s next for you personally?
29:16 – what is a book that has impacted how you think about running your business?
Popular YouTube Video
This clip with Marc Schillinger from eCollect is the most recent popular video on YouTube. Catch the podcast interview here.
SaaS Deal of the Week
Convert more customers with personal video and get a 20% discount on any plan when you try out Bonjoro’s video email tool. Bonjoro is my go-to app for relationship building. I send one to every guest on the show, partners that I work with, and reconnect with people I haven’t engaged with in a while. Higher open rates, booking rates, conversion rates….if you can’t meet in person, send a Bonjoro! 🐻
The End
I had a busy week as I recorded two podcast interviews, participated as a guest on two Marketing podcasts, had two GrowthMentor consultation calls around Partnerships, took my son to athletics and tennis, and take care of my nephew for a few days while my sister and brother-in-law went on vacation. Again.
Let’s go kick some *ss. Have a great weekend!
🤠 Eric Melchor