5-Minutes With: Deyan Vitanov
5-Minutes With is an interview series, where high-impact business leaders from Endeavor Bulgaria’s network share valuable advice, motivations, and lessons learned throughout their journey.
Meet Deyan Vitanov, a serial entrepreneur with a love for video games and building startups. From co-founding four companies to mentoring aspiring founders through Endeavor Bulgaria, Deyan’s journey is packed with lessons on leadership, perseverance, and balancing work with personal well-being.
Why did you decide to join the Endeavor Bulgaria network, and how has mentoring impacted your own growth?
I have been very fortunate to have incredible mentors that have made an outsized impact on my personal and professional growth. I decided to join the Endeavor Bulgaria network to pay it forward. And it’s been incredibly rewarding – I learn a tremendous amount from advising entrepreneurs pursuing their passions.
As a mentor, what’s one piece of advice you find yourself giving repeatedly?
Overall: take good care of yourself, both mentally and physically, by doing all the basics well: eating, sleeping, exercising, as well as meditating or something similar. A good analogy is that startups are like the Olympics of the business world. Athletes train constantly to be in top shape to perform at their best. In my view, founders should have a similar mindset and ethic.
Fundraising: make sure to run a tight process to increase your chances of success. This is such a common topic that I wrote a web book about it at https://www.lore.vc/
What’s one surprising skill or hobby you’ve picked up outside of your work career?
I am a lifelong electronic sports fan. For those unfamiliar: I am talking about video games played competitively often at tournaments with large prize pools. I continue to follow my favorite eSport franchise, StarCraft: Brood War, over 25 years after the game was released and I got my hands on it.
What’s one book, podcast, or resource you’re currently reading or listening to that you’d recommend to others?
Some book recommendations from the past quarter: John Dies at the End, Man’s Search for Meaning, The Stormlight Archive (e.g. The Way of Kings), Slow Horses, Xenos, The Silo trilogy, Total Recall, Tuesdays with Morrie, Powder Mage trilogy. In case it’s not obvious, I prefer to read non-business books because I believe one key to mental health is to take a break from the all-consuming startup grind.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Be really really specific about what you want to do (vague ideas are impossible to validate). Try to keep it simple (complex things are too hard to pull off early on). Identify key risks and attack them directly and relentlessly (don’t focus on non-risks or non-essentials). Keep at it!