Business is a game playing for big stakes, and you're in competition with experts. And if you want to win you need to be the master of the game.

In 1995 I was young biochemist earning my PhD in the field of liposomal drugs. The Internet was a hobby for me and an opportunity to make extra money. At the time few people knew how to create web pages or even understood how the web worked, so I began to build websites in my spare time as a break from scientific research. I have always had a strong curiosity and desire to learn new things. My favorite phrase at that time was: “What I do, I do professionally.”

One day, I decided that I could no longer work in the laboratory due to slowness of the old scholars and work that went nowhere. A friend of mine was the owner of consulting company and gave me a chance. I immediately became the executive director and the circumstances forced me to learn everything in the field of business planning, crisis planning and legislation in copyright law, and more, within two weeks.

This was my first step into the area of business. From the quiet and safe scientific world to the maelstrom. And the cycle began to turn revealing facets of life. For me it was like a drug—I began to learn and to open new dimensions and possibilities.

In parallel, I worked as an advisor to various companies on the possibilities of the Internet, online presence, and wrote articles about new technologies. In 2007 I also began working in the investment market, developing business in Russia, helping to turn ideas into reality and build a profitable businesses. In 2010 I joined Almaz Capital team and gave start to a new, more international stage of life. At this point, I have a new postulate: “Business is a game playing for big stakes, and you're in competition with experts. And if you want to win you need to be the master of the game.”