FAS - Founders Stories. Part 1
In 2019 I traveled to 18 countries building a global network for FAS along with learning different new tech, cultures, existing problems, and spotting out business opportunities. All the positive feedback made me realize that FAS will have an exciting journey ahead. Consulting business is about learning and sharing, helping others with their way to success. I studied various things from programming and trading to philosophy and Chinese believing that every knowledge is an essence from a very early age. I never changed my mind and quite determined that keeping your mind always open is crucial for starting a business and fundamental for being a CEO. That might be the reason why every day consulting inspires me as it's filled with new challenges and openings.
I'm originally from Russia but had been living in different places including China, South Korea, Thailand, and Argentina. I'm quite an active person on a professional and on a personal level as well (you can tell it from my hobbies: hiking and motocross). Spending holidays in mountains is just the way I like it to be. By the moment I started FAS I already had experience in several areas including venture capital, financial analytics, marketing, data science, and social impact within blockchain and fintech that helped me a lot in running a consulting firm. My journey to FAS began in China. I lived there for more than 3 years, and during that time, I started consulting blockchain and fintech companies from Europe, the US, and Russia on market specifics.
At that point (2018) the interest in blockchain was enormous or at least it felt that way as I was in the epicenter of it. Blockchain startups were appearing every day, the traditional sector started asking what is that "blockchain" and why does blockchain matter. Even during a time I was in United Nations working with the Southeast Asian Fintech segment, there were so many talks about blockchain.
In the traditional sector, things started evolving as well, and now adding "blockchain" word to your business could give you more esteem, even if you don't know how and where to apply it to. It didn't take long to realize that there is a gap in the market as there were not that many businesses and financial professionals with knowledge in the field. There was a constant miscommunication between the traditional sector and the blockchain field. You could feel how these worlds were separated. It was also clear that after the 2017/18 hype many companies will be in a state of uncertainty and survival.
I was lucky to find Sergey Ivanov at that time, my current co-founder, who was in the field from 2012 and went through many memorable moments. I pitched my idea of building a completely decentralized consulting ecosystem that can help SMBs to build their businesses in Blockchain and Fintech.
From the very beginning and till now we wanted FAS to be a fully-remote company as we understood that if we're to work with startups and SMBs, we can't charge them for any fancy office in Hong Kong, but for the main resource we provide - industry professionals and experts. FAS's core goal is to provide our clients with expertise in sustainable business strategy and growth and that is where we succeeded. We felt that many small companies are forced to hire full-time employees when they don't need them at that point due to a lack of other options. Despite having high hiring costs and employing one professional full-time with FAS they could now get a group of professionals with different skills to cover all their business needs with 0 hiring costs and now, without hundreds of interviews.
As mentioned in the beginning consulting is about learning and sharing, and needed to say that "giving" also has a place there. During and after United Nations, I was feeling the need to support startups. Building FAS was not only about consulting, it was about building a global network of professionals, companies, investors, and organizations that are so powerful together. We happily support our clients and network members by giving them access to this network.
Being active in the field is important for me, I participate in tech events and mentorship sessions to share my knowledge and experience in business strategy, market validation, smart budgeting as well as market insights including Asia and Latam. I was always determined that "give" should be an important part of FAS. Hence we contribute to the community by regularly organizing public events, publishing reports, our insights, collaborating with social impact organizations and NGOs as well as participating in mentorship sessions.
I believe startups are the main drivers of the industry, and our mission as FAS and my personal mission is to facilitate their growth. If you’re a startup looking for its way up feel free to reach out to me on Linkedin. I reply from a few minutes to a couple of days and always try to find a way to help.