5-Minutes With: Nedelcho Spasov
5-Minutes With is an interview series where business leaders from Endeavor Bulgaria’s network share their personal experiences, advice, and lessons learned.
Meet Nedelcho Spassov, a seasoned entrepreneur and co-founder of Management Financial Group (MFG) — one of the largest non-banking financial institutions in the CEE region. With over 16 years of experience in microloans, digital finance, and credit services, Nedelcho has led MFG’s expansion across five countries, building services that reach thousands of clients underserved by traditional banks.
As an Honorary Board Member at Endeavor Bulgaria, Nedelcho brings a deep belief in the power of giving without expectation — and in this conversation, he shares why business and life are inseparable, why ethics matter more than ambition, and how true leadership starts with inner awareness. His message to founders? There’s no universal recipe — only the truth you discover through self-observation.
What inspired you to continue your involvement with Endeavor Bulgaria as an Honorary Board Member, and how do you see your role contributing to the network?
What I believe is Endeavor’s greatest strength is its commitment to paying it forward — doing things without expecting something in return. That’s been the organization’s message from the beginning, and I think it’s a powerful driver for making things happen. There’s a deep life philosophy behind this: when you give without expecting anything back, that becomes a truly transformative force. I believe that if each of us acted this way, we’d all be better off.
I see my role as helping people — especially those who may doubt whether this mindset really works — to internalize that truth more deeply. We know it in words, but not always in practice. We say the words, but we don’t truly grasp why it works. Too often, we start from “what’s in it for me,” and I want to challenge that.
To me, this role is about having conversations that help others live this philosophy more consciously — across all the “roles” we take on in life. The “me first” attitude isn’t the right one. We’re small compared to the universe, and when you truly understand that, everything changes. When one removes the ‘’me’’ totally, then there is the whole Universe.
What do you believe is the most critical factor in scaling a business sustainably?
Having the right moral and ethical compass in life. Business is just a small part of that, but the principles apply across the board. If you put yourself at the center of everything — instead of your team, your clients, your partners, your competitors — things can’t move forward.
Even competition should be seen as cooperation — a way to develop the market, not as “us versus them.” Everything should be done transparently, balancing the interests of everyone involved. That’s how you build something truly sustainable.
I don’t separate life from business. You can’t be one person from 9 to 5 and someone completely different after 5. It doesn’t work that way.
What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?
“You are the world and the world is you.” That’s been my guiding star. It’s not so much about what you’re up against — what matters is how you view what’s happening and the intention you bring into your actions. Are your intentions self-centered, or are you looking at the whole picture objectively, as a fact of life — a great opportunity or a great threat?
If you see the world as a threatening place, full of problems and challenges, that’s exactly what it will be. But if you see the events in your life as something to be addressed with your best energy, everything shifts.
What you see in the world is a reflection of yourself. Life is a flow — and when you live it that way, you’re more likely to have a meaningful, healthy, and sustainable way of being, in life and in business. My world is how I see it.
What’s one book, podcast, or resource you’re currently reading or listening to that you’d recommend to others?
It’s more about a mindset than a specific book. For me, it’s about being aware — constantly observing myself and where my mind goes when something happens. That’s how I understand how I perceive the world.
Self-knowledge — truly knowing your reactions and your patterns, not judging them or trying to suppress them — is the most important thing. When you understand yourself, you begin to understand the world.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
You are both the student and the teacher. No one else can tell you how you feel inside or how you should feel. When you observe yourself — when you practice this “art of living” I mentioned above — you begin to understand how you should respond, or whether you even need to respond at all.
There’s no recipe. We are all unique — our personalities, our individuality. If someone gives you a piece of advice, it’s already “dead,” because it’s not your truth. You have to discover that truth for yourself.
A person is a constantly living, evolving human being and so one has to observe oneself so to realize who he really is.