Meet the Team: Momchil Vassilev
Meet Momchil Vassilev, our Managing Director who does not need an introduction.
Momchil has been at the helm of all our entrepreneurial activities since 2016, and has felt the pulse of our ever-evolving ecosystem, as well as continuously leading this change. To celebrate Endeavor Bulgaria turning 10, Momchil gave us his best Endeavor pitch, and some other goodies you might not know about him.
1. How would you explain your job to a 5-year-old?
What we do is try to make the world a better place. To do this, we help people with big dreams and ambitions become successful. Then, they start helping those around them.
2. You became Endeavor Bulgaria’s MD in December 2016. Eight years later, how has the notion of entrepreneurship changed in Bulgaria?
The main difference for me is that entrepreneurship has evolved from a lonely activity to a collective one. Now, there’s a collective effort to make success a widespread phenomenon. A successful entrepreneur now owes their success also to the people around them who helped with their development. Entrepreneurs are now more open to seeking help and offering help in return. Success is no longer a closed system.
3. Going back to 2016, what motivated you to join Endeavor? And eight years later, what keeps you going?
There were two key things that aligned with my values when I first learned about Endeavor.
On one hand, I was actively growing my own entrepreneurial pursuit, but it didn’t reach the scale or potential I believed it could, mostly because its development was heavily dependent on trial and error. When I spoke with Endeavor’s board, I realized how much I could have benefited from an organization like this. It could’ve helped me avoid mistakes or made navigating them easier, which would have led to a very different outcome. I realized that if I had faced this issue, others likely did too.
The second reason is more personal. I realized that what we do at Endeavor aligns well with my experience and values. One of my main strengths has always been my ability to find common ground with many people and build connections within my network. This is exactly what we do at Endeavor—connecting people with the right resources. I realized that this was what truly brought me satisfaction, and that the Managing Director position at Endeavor Bulgaria would allow me to continue in this pursuit.
Eight years later, it’s more or less the same. Maybe on a larger scale, but the driving forces remain unchanged. Additionally, Endeavor gives me the opportunity to meet interesting, intelligent people—often much more intelligent than myself—which is enriching.
4. You’ve given countless interviews—around 10 just last year. But what is something people might not know about you?
After so many interviews, I think there are things people don’t know that they probably shouldn’t! Joke aside, to share something personal, my childhood pride was winning the National Geography Olympiad. I’ve always loved geography. I’ve almost never won first place in anything, but I did win the “youngest contestant” prizes all the time, a sign of ambition or lack of patience probably!
5. Endeavor Bulgaria is turning 10 this year. What are some predictions you have for the next 10 years?
We’re about to experience an intense acceleration. Time itself will seem to speed up because of all the technological changes—the world is going through a transformation. Many of the paradigms we’ve known in business and in life will change substantially, and because of this speed, how quickly and effectively we adapt to these changes will be key to our success or survival.