Business from generations for generations

Do you know what John Deerе, Fendi, Swarovski, Beretta, Prista Oil, Ficosota, Telelink and TED have in common? These are all successful family companies with an interesting story.

We are building a business running upward, faithful to its family values. Our calling is to give wings to the people around us. “Let us fly together to the inspired future and the new opportunities” is the message of the Family Business Association - Bulgaria. The organization unites Bulgarian families, entrepreneurs with good reputation, who manage companies with sustainable economic indicators and an annual turnover of more than BGN 5 million.

Youth and Experience

The Association was founded more than 10 yers ago. The members of the organization are more than 70 families, among them: the Malinov family (Nord Holding AD), the Kyurkchiev family (Ficosota Holding), the Rogachev family (Ataro Klima), the Miryanov family (Arteks Engineering AD), the Tsotsorkov family (Asarel Medet AD), Geergi Chopev (Sense Hotel), the Dinev family (St. Vlas), the Uzunov family (Interservice Uzunovi AD), the Linkin family (Profilink), the Vatev family (Tandem), Atanas Simeonov (VIP Security), Nikolay Pehlivanov (Green Life Group), prof. Nikolay Mihaylov (Trace Group Hold AD). The Bulgarian Association is part of the world organization of family businesses - Family Business Network International. It has structures in more than 60 countries around the world, and, for example, in the US, a member of the local association is the Rockefeller family, and in the Netherlands – the Heineken family. Each organization has a youth subdivision - Next Generation - and the President of the Bulgarian network of the new entrepreneur generation is Mr. Viktor Gugushev from the Gugushev and Partners Law Office.

Backbone of Economy

Family business is defined as the backbone of every economy. In it, each generation comes one after the other, and takes part in their own way. “When we thing about family business, we think about generations ahead, not just trimesters,” explains Mr. Gugushev. The more generations are engaged in a certain business, the more complicated the management is. This provokes the writing of family constitutions, and in the West, there are already consultants for their preparation. Clear rules ensure continuity and prevent possible conflicts of interest.

Plus - Minus

An advantage of family business is that you work with the members of your family and the relationships deepen, and sometimes, truth is born in conflict. A disadvantage is that on holidays, when everyone is taking their rest, the family continues to work, just because they are all together and may re-tailor the plans for the future. Young people, who are part of a family business, bear huge responsibility. They are guaranteed an easier and faster start, but expectations are also great. For Viktor Gugushev, joining the family business was more of a personal choice, than an obligation. During his studies in England, he worked for a law office in Downtown London in order to gain experience.

Ambitions

The strive of Mr. Gugushev as the President, and of Ivan Staykov as the Vice-President of Next Generation is to create a proper environment for personal development and self-improvement. Different traineeships and mentoring programs are being developed. Their biggest ambition is for Bulgaria to win the hosting of the world meeting of the NextGen Network and for young Bulgarian entrepreneurs to show the potential of Bulgaria before the world.

In Bulgaria, there is a well developed family business that operates on the global market. Although the main goal of the Family Business Association - Bulgaria is to develop continuity between generations, Mr. Gugushev recommends that everyone looks for what makes them truly happy. It is only then that they create something sustainable.