"Becoming an economist was a childhood dream. Why? Because economists know how to make a lot of money." This is how Elyor Bozorov begins his story. Bozorov was the founder of successful enterprises like Elmakon and olcha.uz in Uzbekistan, and now an IT entrepreneur in the United States.
It all started with the farm
My childhood coincided with the period of the collapse of the Soviet Union when finding normal consumer goods was also a thousand troubles. Our family moved from my hometown of Navoi to the capital, Tashkent, in search of a better life. I grew up under the supervision of my grandparents until I entered the fourth grade.
My grandfather, the owner of a large farm, taught me the secrets of agriculture and livestock. Although at that time I did not understand the essence, watching my grandfather's reasonable management in the supply chain, and how he led the workers, I increasingly formed entrepreneurial, leadership skills. It was then that I realized what I wanted to achieve in this life.
My parents wanted me to become a doctor, but my dream was to become an economist. The reason being: economists know how to earn money! Childhood adversities, the desire to help the family encouraged me to work on myself in all respects, be progressive in my studies and public affairs. Being an active student, I was repeatedly elected as “Minister of Education" and “President" at the school.
When I was in the fifth grade, my mother opened a children's clothing store. Helping her to run the store after school taught me practical knowledge about supply chains, margins, accounting, money circulation.
In the ninth grade, I was lucky enough to study for a year in the United States on an exchange program. With a grade point average of 3.7, I became a member of the American Club of Future Business Leaders and presented my business projects at national competitions. I was also awarded a special medal by the President Obama’s Administration for completing 200 hours of volunteer work. That year in America has installed in me the independence and interpersonal skills that are essential for an entrepreneur.
A ticket to a happy life
Studying at a prestigious university in Uzbekistan was considered as a luxury at that time. I couldn't pass the cost of education on to my parents, because living in the United States taught not only decision-making, but also financial independence. I was lucky to take part in the competition of the Ministry of Transportation in 2011 with my business project for the production of electric cars in Uzbekistan, and won a full four-year grant for any university.
At a time when higher education was a dream if you didn’t have the money, this achievement was my ticket to a happy life. This ticket allowed me to become a student at the Faculty of Economics and Finance at the University of Westminster, one of the country’s leading international higher education institutions.
The socks business. Next destination is Dubai
While studying at university, I started my business. After a three-month market analysis, I came to the conclusion that selling socks is profitable. By showing my business project to my uncle, who is one of the largest distributors of mobile phones in Uzbekistan, I was able to get 100 thousand dollars to get started. During my trip to China, I ordered 30 thousand dollars worth of socks and started a wholesale business. Within three years I opened eight stores, which brought the company an annual revenue of almost $2.5mn.
Right after graduating from university, I was invited to work for BM Electronics, a mobile phone and consumer electronics distribution company based in Dubai. It was a big step towards my goal of becoming a top-manager.
I was tasked with solving a supply chain problem that was considered a problem point during the first six months of my career at the company. By implementing a new ERP-system in warehouse operations, I managed to expedite the delivery service by 20% - from 15 days to a week.
Like Steve Jobs: “Everything was started from a small garage”
During my time in Dubai, I founded a new online trading business in Central Asian countries – BMBOX.com. This was my first online project that offered a delivery service for electronics and perfumes from Dubai within a week. The project quickly became popular in Uzbekistan due to the fact that in just three steps it was possible to purchase products from different countries.
Almost all new mobile phones were first sold on BMBOX.com and then on the open market. By 2016, the platform had sold almost 4,500 phones and perfumes worth $1.5mn.
At the end of 2015, I returned to Uzbekistan and headed the BM Electronics business development team. In those years, young people were inspired by Steve Jobs, and stories in the genre “everything was started from a small garage” were very popular. And I also came up with an idea to assemble a team in my own garage. With this team, we established cooperation with HTC and were able to increase sales of phones of this brand by 60 %.
Halal installments – in Elmakon
In 2017, Uzbekistan’s economy was reformed and began to open up. To take distribution activities to a new level, I founded the retail chain Elmakon. Elmakon allowed us to directly communicate with customers and gave us a more realistic picture of the market. In two years, I launched 11 stores in different regions of Uzbekistan reaching $2mn monthly sales. In essence, Elmakon was a great opportunity to understand every single aspect of the business, because it involved marketing through all channels, supplying on time, retailing, warehousing, recruiting on a big scale, managing big teams, teamwork, negotiating with partners, and vendors, accounting, forecasting and planning, and everything else.
The “cherry” of the Uzbek online business
In December 2017, I launched another online sales platform - olcha.uz (olcha – cherry). The goal was to become the cherry on the cake of an online business. Thanks to the comprehensive website and CRM system developed by our team, at a time when the delivery of goods throughout Uzbekistan usually took a week, we set up delivery within 3 days.
In 2020, due to the pandemic, online services have reached a new level, in particular, olcha.uz sold 20 thousand units of products worth $2.4mn through it. We have also been able to ensure timely and high-quality delivery of orders even under strict lockdown restrictions.
We have brought Huawei to second place in popularity
When Huawei started entering the Uzbek market, I received an offer from the company. My main task was to systematize the brand's online and retail sales. However after we started work, because of sanctions implemented by the US on Huawei, it could no longer use the Android system owned by Google. As a result, the company introduced its alternative operating system, HMS. Although the new operating system brought inconveniences to customers, we managed to increase sales of Huawei phones even more than expected (by 20%). By the end of 2019, we managed to make Huawei the most popular mobile phone after its competitor Samsung.
Huawei has played an invaluable role in shaping my vision for big business and in shaping my skills of doing business in a large system.
Pandemic. Break. Masters. Hello, USA!
The pandemic was a reset period in my life. I decided to take a small time-out from my career and go get my Master’s degree. Fortunately, I won a full scholarship to study at Lehigh University College of Business in the USA. The Lehigh MBA program allowed me to revise my practical experience from an academic point of view.
One of the most important aspects of the American education system is openness to discussion. Everyone can express their opinion on any issue. This is noticeable even in term papers: it is not the quantity that is important, but the ability to justify your opinion. It is also worth noting that in addition to the formal lesson processes, there is informal communication between professors and students, and mentors are glad to help. Another important aspect is the Alumni Network, which means that if you want to get a job at a company, you have the opportunity to find a graduate of the same university who works there and get some advice.
Dale Falсinelli, one of the university's leading professors, said: If you have the opportunity and the courage to build your own business, don't even think about working in someone else's company, those who could not start their own business will be gathered there. It was this conversation, and even more so the acquaintance with new views in the business world, that gave rise to the idea of opening my own business in the United States.
Steps towards logistics and the US banking system
I am currently engaged in two types of business in the USA. One is in an active state, and the other is in preparation.
Frontline Express is a logistics company. It is engaged in the express delivery of cars across the states. Even though it was founded only a year ago, about 20 employees work in this business, and sales have reached almost $1mn. We aim to triple this figure in 2024.
There is always a need for logistics services in the USA, it is interesting that migrants from the countries of the former Soviet Union have a significant place in this area. My project involves reducing intermediaries between the customer and machine suppliers in a fast and online form.
The second project is a new banking system for Muslims. In particular, an alternative to the credit system is trading through a halal installment. This system also offers a payment system based on Islamic finance by purchasing products on loan through its online platform. Although this service is new to the U.S. market, it is becoming increasingly popular in other countries.
How university experiences shape us as people
An educated person has always been superior to an ignorant one. And an entrepreneur should regularly work on himself and gain knowledge. He must value his time and be able to make the most of his opportunities. Whether it's university education, online courses, hands-on experience, or reading books, a person who knows a particular language can find the necessary knowledge with just a few actions. But from experience, I can say that university education only brings benefits. The university's role, especially in becoming a person and creating connections, is invaluable. The only goal in this should be knowledge, not a diploma. Otherwise, it is better to do something else, something more useful.
If we compare the business environment in Uzbekistan and the United States, they are a lake and an ocean in terms of scale of activity and capabilities. The common thing is that the law of the jungle applies in both ecosystems: only the strong survive.
Uzbekistan in my opinion is more progressive in some technical matters. Americans are quite conservative, especially about payment systems. And in Uzbekistan, one can observe more diversity in this regard.
The lack of familiarity, and the feeling of being an outsider can become a problem for an immigrant businessman who came to America. But the rule of law, and the breadth of opportunities is a huge achievement.
By: Saidaziz Azamov, Uzbekistan's Club
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