Leaders of the Tide: StartUp Conference 2025

On Wednesday, November 26, the Djerassi Theater Hall became the center of this year’s StartUp Conference, “Leaders of the Tide.” The event gathered famous figures from the entrepreneurial world who shared their successes and failures throughout their careers.

This year’s conference was divided into two main segments – keynote speeches and panel discussions. Unlike previous editions, interviews with the speakers were removed to shift the focus to the dynamic panels, a change that StartUp’s president, Ekaterina Valeva, said was made after feedback they received from last year’s conference.

Prior to the event, she shared that the main goal of this year's conference was “to motivate the students and for them to feel more connected to the speakers that are coming,” emphasizing the importance of relating to the speakers’ dreams, failures, and successes.

 

Introduction to the Conference

Before the keynote speeches of this year’s conference guests, the deputy mayor of Blagoevgrad, Boryana Shalyavska, praised the conference and its goal to motivate young entrepreneurs to be bold, experiment, and “the leaders of the tide.” She also expressed hope that Blagoevgrad would become home to these innovations and bold ideas:

“The decisions that you make tomorrow will be those that will shape not just your personal careers and lives, but the communities that you build and live in.”

  

 

Dimitar Dimitrov – Founder of Shelly Group

The first guest speaker of the event was Dimitar Dimitrov, the founder of Shelly Group – the second unicorn startup company founded in Bulgaria. Dimitrov reflected on his struggles as a young entrepreneur with no investors and no clients, and emphasized some key skills that entrepreneurship requires. He shared that what matters most in the entrepreneurial world is knowing how to survive and surrounding yourself with the right partners who would believe in your idea and work on it as hard as you. He also emphasized the importance of listening to your customers and gaining their trust. His last key rule for a successful business was that mistakes are inevitable, but what matters most is learning from them, working them out, and moving forward.

 

Ognyan Popov – Founder of Volt Premium Taxi

The second speaker, Ognyan Popov, founder of Volt Premium Taxi – an innovative Bulgarian taxi company, focused on the importance of taking bold steps and building businesses driven by passion instead of money. He shared with the audience that 15 years ago, he left a successful career in the Netherlands to pursue his own ideas here, in Bulgaria. He also highlighted that success is rarely about money, but rather about personal growth:

“And even now, when I am surrounded by 150 people, who have been successful, rarely are our conversations about money. All the conversations that we have are about how we became better people throughout that journey. 

 

Dr. Andrey Bachvarov – Founder of Anthill

Dr. Andrey Bachvarov, an AUBG alumnus and founder of Anthill – a software company that connects technology, AI and entrepreneurship - was the final keynote speaker. He discussed how AUBG helped him develop his entrepreneurial mindset and build a powerful social capital. He also emphasized the new reality we live in – agentic AI is reshaping the job market and students need to think critically and show leveraging skills in order to succeed. Dr. Bachvarov also highlighted the importance of embracing failure and real purpose on the path to success.

“To be able to get success out of something, you need good decisions. And a friend of mine told me that good decisions come from good experience. And that good experience comes from bad decisions,” shared Dr. Bachvarov. 

 

Panel Discussions

The second part of the conference included two panel discussions: the first one focused on highlighting the failures of the speakers, and each of them shared valuable advice with the audience through their personal stories. They offered advice on persistence after bankruptcy, authenticity, and hiring the right people. Dr. Bachvarov also shared advice on public speaking after recalling an embarrassing moment:

“When you are in a situation, when you are really, really squeezed, abandon everything scripted. Talk about things you believe. If there is nothing you can talk about, talk about values. That works. It always works.”

During the next panel segment, the hosts asked the speakers Yes/No questions related to personal well-being, customers’ trust, and AI. All three speakers agreed that having a co-founder is a great advantage for entrepreneurs, as well as having a valuable social network. They also focused on the growth of AI and the very real opportunity for it to replace many entry-level jobs in the next five years.

The last part of the panel gave the audience the opportunity to ask the speakers other questions. Students received practical advice on expanding a business internationally, acquiring first customers, and navigating quickly in the AI technological world.

 

At the end of the conference, the club’s president, Valeva, expressed gratitude towards the whole StartUp team and the audience for the support and trust that they have put into the club.

The conference host, Ivan Hristov, described the team dynamic as a small family: ”It reminds me of a basketball team because I have experience in basketball and we have very good chemistry.” He summed up the conference in three words: exceptional, innovative, and inspiring.

Audience members also shared their impressions of the event: “The people who came to speak gave really helpful insights for people who want to start something or are thinking about starting something,” shared Chris Serev, a freshman in AUBG.

Senior Nikolay Pugyov added a key takeaway from the conference: “Just do it. They mentioned it more than once. If you have an idea, if you want to do something, just dive into it.”

 

 

Edited by: Vasil Paskov and Toma Krumov