Serial entrepreneur extraordinaire Vladimir Dimovski, as Courtney dubbed him in today’s entrepreneur story interview, is involved with four different companies – each one doing extraordinary things. 

What shaped Vladimir to be such a courageous, curious forward-thinker? Vladimir’s diverse interests began in childhood and led him to volunteer and work as a photojournalist before starting a catering company in Macedonia. Although he studied law, he worked in restaurants to support himself in the US and eventually opened his own restaurant in Florida. He later returned to Illinois to work in logistics and co-founded a logistics company where he is now the Director of Locations.

Being a person with such an open mindset, a diverse range of experiences, and pure intentions Vladimir certainly has insight that everyone can find value in.

What are three things every entrepreneur should know?

According to Vladimir, there are three important things that every entrepreneur should know. These are sales, networking, and constant learning. Vladimir believes that one should never stop learning and should always strive to acquire new knowledge, through reading, seeking out new experiences, and connecting with people. 

Networking is also critical for success because it allows one to build relationships and connect with others in their industry. This connects to Vladimir’s first point about learning because a strong network of people that are experts in their field offers a myriad of opportunities to learn from them.   

By networking, you can learn about industry trends, discover new business opportunities, and even grow your network of potential customers. These connections also provide you with mentorship and support – something every entrepreneur needs at one point or another.

Finally, sales is an essential skill that everyone should have, regardless of their job or role, because we all sell something every day, whether it’s a product, an idea, or a recommendation.

What problem does your business solve and who are its customers?

One of the companies Vladimir has co-founded is called Powertek and what it does is it V solves the problem of language learning through virtual reality (VR) with an AI learning system. The VR environment provides a more immersive and engaging experience for language learners to learn and practice a language faster than traditional methods. 

However, the company struggled to secure funding and clients to sustain the VR learning experience. Vladimir’s language school, Upper, offers a unique approach to language learning that is different from other language schools such as Duolingo and Verbling. The company is ideal for language learners who are seeking a more engaging and effective way to learn a language.

Anyone that learned a second language in school can attest to the fact that learning the alphabet, rules, and tones on paper only does so much. Many people learn more in one month in a foreign country than they did in all 12 years at school being “taught” a certain language. Practice and real-life experience offers a much more effective learning experience, which is what Powertek hopes to provide.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur and would you do it again?

Vladimir was inspired to become an entrepreneur due to a certain mindset that he encountered while in the United States in 2008. He noticed that people there were willing to take risks and leave their comfort zone in pursuit of their goals. This was different from the mindset he observed in Europe, where people tend to prioritize safety and having a stable salary. 

It makes sense that someone who highly values learning would see the value in actively exiting their comfort zone in order to learn, evolve, and pursue a life that is possibly scarier and riskier, but much more rewarding – at least for him. 

Even though Vladimir had to return to Europe because of his father’s illness, he would have still made the same decision to become an entrepreneur. However, he did mention that he wishes he had started earlier and had more time to build his business. No matter, Vladimir is incredibly fulfilled by and happy with his decision to become an entrepreneur and would 100% do it again.

If someone had given you a million dollars when you first started your business, what would you have spent it on?

Knowing what he knows now, if Vladimir had received a million dollar investment when he first started his business, he would have continued to work on his current projects but on a larger scale. 

Vladimir believes that it’s not always about making profits or growing a company, but also about helping people. Vladimir has a vision to build drones that can help firefighters by providing them with real-time situational awareness during wildfires. He would have used a portion of the million dollar investment to speed up the development of these drones.

He envisions them equipped with high-quality cameras and sensors that can fly over wildfire areas and provide firefighters with live video feeds of the fire’s progression, which can help them make better decisions in terms of planning their firefighting strategy. Additionally, they can be equipped with thermal imaging cameras to detect hot spots that may not be visible to the naked eye. 

Vladimir also plans to build drones that can drop fire retardants and water on the fire to help extinguish the flames, thus reducing the risk of the fire spreading. His ultimate goal is to use technology to assist firefighters in their efforts to save lives and protect property during wildfires.

What is your proudest accomplishment as an Entrepreneur?

Vladimir mentioned two accomplishments that stand out the most for him throughout his journey and across his 4 business ventures. 

The first one is starting Upper, his language learning company, which taught him a lot in the United States. Despite facing many challenges and tough competition, he managed to inherit the company and have it up and running with clients. He mentioned feeling like he owned the world when he achieved this with his wife. 

The second accomplishment is coming up with the idea for the drones to help firefighters. He had been dreaming about it for a long time and was ecstatic when he found an engineer who confirmed that his ideas were possible. Developing a product that doesn’t exist yet and hoping to release it by the end of the year makes him proud. He wants to ensure that the project is successful and actually able to help firefighters, and all those affected by them, rather than being wasted after spending so much time and effort on it.

What big goals are you looking to achieve this year?

The first goal that Vladimir is hoping to achieve in the future is related to the fire fighting drones we touched on above. He aims to scale up the production and improve its features to make the drones market-ready.

The second project is the development of an agricultural machinery safety app. This app is intended to ensure the safety of agriculture workers and likely involves features that monitor and enhance safety protocols. 

While progress is being made on both projects, there are still many challenges to overcome before either can be launched. We have no doubt Vladimir will overcome these challenges in no time!

Vladimir is living, breathing proof that not only can you be successful as an entrepreneur, but you can be successful with more than one business. Great news for everyone that loves learning and multi-tasking and struggles to stay inspired by the same task or subject matter!

Something we really loved about Vladimir’s mindset was his intention to help people with his projects, specifically the drone idea. Being someone that is motivated to succeed not just for themselves but to serve others as well is incredibly honourable. 

What is your motivation to be an entrepreneur? What have you learned along the way? What would you do differently? What are you proud of? We’d love to know! Connect with us today so that you can share your own entrepreneur story and insights.