“Communication is a (super)power”: The head of Vivacom wants to connect everyone on Earth

Nikolay Andreev will be one of the INnovators at the Economic.bg business forum – ALL IN  - taking place on September 19. He will take part in the event’s second panel ‘INvestments in INnovations: The New Wave’. Nikolay Andreev has been the CEO of Vivacom since December 2021. Before that, he was the head of Nova Broadcasting Group. Prior to joining the media group, he was CFO at Devin. Andreev has held various professional financial positions at the international corporation Unilever in Bulgaria and Central and South-Eastern Europe.

Mr. Andreev, imagine that Elon Musk has achieved a big breakthrough for humankind, and you are going on a year-long trip to Mars. Which three celebrities (living or dead) would you like to accompany you?

First of all, Elon Musk himself. After all, if he sends us to Mars, he'll know how to get us back. The other one would be Isaac Asimov - he dreams of the stars and the development of humanity, so he can take us beyond Mars. The third would be Sun Tzu because we might have to strategize if we meet aliens.

You are entitled to spend one working day with a company executive (living or dead). Who would you choose and why?

It would definitely be Steve Jobs or Richard Branson. Both are visionaries who changed the world – Jobs elevated innovation, marketing and teamwork to almost a religion. And Branson is an example of an extremely successful entrepreneur, managing over 400 companies. There is definitely something to learn from both.

Imagine you are shipwrecked on a lonely island with all your basic human needs (food, water, shelter) met. What two things would you like to have with you and why?

Definitely a satellite phone so I can call and be picked up anytime. Second, an e-book to read in peace before I go home since I've been short on time lately.

If you could give just one book as a gift for the rest of your life, which one would it be?

Maybe A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh. It is a treasure of wisdom that can be read by young children, by grown children, by adults…well, by everyone. My favorite quote from it is: "When you don't know where you want to go, you always go somewhere else." Plus, everyone should learn that "every thing costs some other thing." Whether it's time, effort, sacrifice, money or whatever. A wonderful book for any age. But it would be a shame only to be able to give away one book. After all, Winnie the Pooh did say: “The more the better”. 

You are a time traveler. You have the option of moving forward into the future or going back into the past. Where would you like to go and why?

I want to go 100 years into the future. And then 200 years into the future. And then 1000 years into the future. It would be interesting to see how society will have developed, how technology will have developed, how people will communicate with each other, what discoveries there will be, what the future of the telecom sector holds and whether it will still be called that or it will have become simply ‘communication sector’ because it will connect people in a completely new way. It's wonderful just to think about this and the ideas that we could take and try to implement already today. 

You can get a superpower (any skill you can think of), but only for a day. What will you choose and why?

I like Charles Xavier (Professor X) from X-Men, played by Patrick Stewart, and also in his earlier rendition by James McAvoy. He can get in touch and communicate with anyone on planet Earth. Can you imagine how many conflicts could be stopped, how many problems could be solved, and how many people could be reassured if someone could connect with everyone? Communication is a huge power.

Can you identify the biggest threat or challenge for your company in the next five years?

The biggest challenge will be to stay on the crest of the wave in terms of innovation, new products, technological development and attracting great people to our team. And the biggest threat will be to fail in this challenge.

In which area Bulgaria has the greatest potential to become a leader in Europe?

The tech sphere. We have wonderful young people, we have visionaries, we have the infrastructure. All that is needed is more willingness from politicians to actually support the strategic direction in order to achieve sustainable results.

AI gets a lot of attention these days, but what is the most neglected issue about it?

Yes, there is already a lot of talk about AI applications and overall usage. And many models are used in many places in industries. But I don't think the ethical side of AI is being talked about enough.

What work task of yours would you never want to outsource to a robot?

I will never delegate communication with my team to a robot. The conversations, the discussions, even the heated arguments sometimes, these are priceless moments from which we all take a lot. I can't imagine this would be done by a robot.

Which is more important: talent or hard work?

I respect the old formula: 10% talent and 90% hard work. No matter how talented a person is, without hard and continuous work there is no way to achieve success. And vice versa - no matter how hard a person works, if there is no spark, if there is no inner inspiration, they will achieve only mediocre results.

Which is more important: education or experience?

Once again, the same formula applies: 10% education and 90% experience. Without the foundation of education, there can be no progress. But on this basis alone, without having any practical experience, not much can be achieved either.

What are the three things without which success is impossible? 

A drop of talent, a lot of daily work and a pinch of luck.

What fascinates you nowadays?

The fact that more and more people want to make an effort to live in a developed society. And the more such people there are, the better society can become.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

"There are no new problems, only new opportunities." Everything important is concentrated in this bit - not giving up, no despair, no stopping, the desire to achieve more and to gather like-minded people – everything that’s necessary for success.

What is the hardest lesson you’ve learned?

To not want everything here, now and immediately. The universe has its own rhythm, and one must learn to listen to it and comply with it. No matter how much you want something done right away, it has its own kind of "production time". Even some ideas need time to mature in people's heads and be perceived in the right way. Once you understand that, your success grows exponentially.

What’s the biggest challenge you've overcome?

Taking over a huge telecom company with the reputation of an outdated telephone exchange and in just a few years turning, together with my team, it into a modern company that sets the trends in the market.

When was the last time you said to yourself: “This was my best day at work”? What was the occasion?

I tell myself that every day. It's a great feeling for me to work with my team, to grow the company daily and to make our customers happier.

What is your biggest passion – something you are ALL IN?

Skiing.