Technologies, IT

💿Since 2005, I have been creating, managing, and scaling technology companies and platforms. I created the largest technology platforms in IT education, business education, and agro-industry. I developed and implemented software, ERP systems, and automated semiconductor equipment for companies in the US, Germany, France, England, and Taiwan.

• Details about Partnership
• About Technologies, IT
• About Current Business Interests
• Learn about mentorship, Advisory: Mentorship

Major tech businesses and projects in my professional background: GeekBrains, AGRO24, Biznes Molodost, Megaplan, iTec group, Mecasoft. More details about these businesses here: Businesses - IT Field.

Below are my thoughts, views, and descriptions regarding technologies and IT.

My Path in Technology

I truly got closer to technology when I started working as a programmer in a French company in 2004. Even as a child (from 1992), I had a computer (a 286 Pentium), and I loved everything related to it—games, networks, and creating various things. Later, this hobby transitioned into a professional sphere, where I worked as a programmer and eventually managed hundreds of projects.

💿Once in Minsk, I was stopped by a traffic officer. He looked around the car for a long time and said, “You look like some kind of spy.” At the time, I had a lot of wires and circuit boards in my car because I was testing navigation tracking systems for a major freight operator, a French company called Intercars, right in my car.

I began participating in large international projects (in 2004, at MecaSoft) in France, Austria, Germany, Taiwan, the US, and the UK. I worked with experienced professionals and quickly got into project management. Together, we conceived both equipment and different types of software. Many projects were related to the semiconductor industry. Equipment installation and robot management took place in various countries, including Silicon Valley (USA). I first arrived in Silicon Valley in 2007. We carried out many projects in the States, including in Portland, Oregon. I persuaded a senior project manager to go to California to see how things were arranged there.

At university, I fell in love with the database management systems course, particularly normalization. I still use those principles all the time. I can break down any business or process into details, describe it, normalize it. I can do this better than almost any systems analyst. No programmer would do it this way. Why? Because I approach it with business experience and knowledge, from a broad perspective and mindset. I understand what is needed. Imagine a good gardener who knows how to plant, but someone has to determine which plants are needed, for what purpose, and when to plant them. As an architect, you build it.

As a technological architect of businesses and products, I understand why people need these things and how to use them. I have implemented thousands of different systems, know a huge number of things, and can create what’s needed myself. It’s not hard for me to launch a website or set up an email marketing system with various touchpoints and triggers. I know how it works. Do I want to do it? Of course not. I don’t need to. I know how to set parameters, understand marketing, write texts, know how to interact with customers, and handle sales. I possess a huge number of these qualities. Some I do better, some worse. Many things I can’t do or can’t do very well. Then I know whom to involve to do it better.

Why Technology?

I like technology. I find it easy to understand, to dive in, and I see the scale. It’s full of huge possibilities. Why am I in the tech world, why am I in AI, and why in the Valley? Because I know the world is developing rapidly. For example, artificial intelligence is something different, like the advent of electricity, computers, or the internet. It’s big, it’s important, and we need to pay attention to it.

Technology is also important in my life. I interact with it. Large businesses without technology are unrealistic, or you simply don’t understand them. If you’re a leader and don’t understand technology, you should admit it. Most leaders know only abstractions and say, “The main thing is to manage the team, hire people.” But what if you can manage, understand finance, hire talent, and also know technology? What if you’re very strong in all these areas and can figure things out easily? For you, it’s natural, free, and easy. “No, that can’t be! It’s impossible!” But it’s possible.

Significance and Influence

💿When I did automation in my dad’s pharmacy, it was significant for me. It was my point of realization that as a programmer, you can act as a programmer, a business analyst, and a project manager.

Certainly, there have been many projects I can call significant in my life, as “significant” means they influenced me greatly. Did it influence me when I automated the entire accounting system at one of Europe’s largest transportation companies (Intercars) while I was still a student? Did it influence me that together with my director (Mecasoft, TMITech), standing at a train station in Paris at night, we came up with a new design system for robot operators (a large reticle storage for the semiconductor industry)? Did developing and implementing automation (a full ERP system) for a furniture company influence me? Did another 300 or 400 large-scale projects influence me? Of course! Each of them was meaningful in my life. I’m incredibly glad I managed to do so much myself.

Impact on Global IT

I don’t think I have contributed to global IT in the sense of creating projects that are central or unique on a world scale. There were projects in specific industries or at the national level, but not globally. That’s why it would be interesting to create something large-scale with global impact. That’s interesting.

Inspirational Ideas and Projects

Technology projects are not my source of inspiration. My sources of inspiration lie elsewhere. There are companies I like, for example, Apple, but that doesn’t mean they inspire me to take specific actions or steps. It’s important to me, but not a source of inspiration. In some part, of course, they are. I’ve drawn and continue to draw interesting solutions from interesting companies. But my inspiration in terms of working in the tech field, doing projects, multitasking, and my entire management system definitely doesn’t come from these companies’ inspiration. On the contrary, it’s an opportunity for me. I see that we can do even more and differently. I see that the world is structured in various ways, and it’s an illusion to think everyone knows how it’s arranged and what it really is.

Influence of Technological Activity on Life

Technological activity definitely influenced my life, since I apply technology everywhere. It affected many decisions, my professional sphere, and my work.

My first job was related to software development. I had a business in software development. Then I managed a company that sells B2B software. Later, I was in companies where I applied technology to grow the business. By knowing technology and being able to automate processes, you boost business tremendously. You become a different kind of person. Those who don’t understand it can’t even be compared to you. You’re entirely different in terms of decision-making.

As they say: a programmer can become a teacher, but can a teacher become a programmer? Not so easily. I’m not comparing who’s worse or better, but the fact remains. If I understand database normalization, then I understand it. Can I figure out how to create Reels? Yes, I can. But can a person who knows how to create Reels at age 40 figure out database normalization? It’s very difficult, almost impossible, requiring a lot of work and passing through certain stages. But of course, it’s possible.

So it definitely influences life. Then I had another business related to IT, then a business in education, and now I’m focused on AI.

This gives completely different opportunities. When I interact in the market, I can easily hold a conversation with any CTO, since we have a common ground. I’m interested in that area. At the same time, I can easily switch and discuss family. I have many points of intersection, and that’s important. It affects everything. It doesn’t mean you can’t live without it. You can, and many do so successfully. But in my life, it was of fundamental importance.

Technological Future

The future in terms of technology is unknown. I think we are in a state of uncertainty, meaning anything can happen. I don’t think people reading this text now, in the first half of the 21st century, will see technology where people live on different planets or travel in spaceships. It’s unlikely.

With the development of technology, we will get completely new progress, new features and opportunities previously unavailable. This will pose complex choices and create many problems. People will have to change, seek values in other things, understand what’s truly important.

Many today rejoice that children spend time with computers or VR headsets. But for me, the key question is—where is the person in this world? What is the meaning of technology? How will I, as a person, behave toward other people? How will another person in a headset interact with those around them? I wouldn’t want everyone to wear headsets all the time.

Maybe they can be useful as a supplementary tool, but the question is—can we feel comfortable without them? I can sit quietly on a couch for 3.5 hours staring at a single point. But can I feel equally calm without a headset, headphones, or other devices? If yes, then great. No problem. What matters is what we feel inside ourselves at that moment. Are we using AI as an opportunity for life, growth, and creativity, or are we becoming its slaves, unable to do without it? Has it become our inner voice, our psychologist, or just a tool telling us what to do? There’s a big difference there.

Recently I heard someone say his daughter uses AI to ask for advice about problems with classmates. The issue isn’t that she asked AI, but what comes next? It’s just a small tool you can turn to, but you can also ask dad or mom, friends, a psychologist, or find answers in a book or from other people’s examples. Is she becoming a hostage to this technology? Is it completely absorbing her? Is she living under the illusion that her actions are correct? Does she understand what it really is?

If technology or AI becomes an addiction for a child or an adult, that’s a problem. If a person starts losing themselves without it, that’s also a problem. It doesn’t matter whether we took away their books, phone, or something else. What matters is feeling neutral, maintaining a state of observation. Sometimes feeling bad or good is natural and normal. But it shouldn’t turn into an addiction that leads to suicide, aggression, or egotism.

The market will develop very actively, and we’ll see a lot of new projects and amounts of money never seen or imagined before. If 15 years ago someone had said that companies with valuations over a trillion dollars would appear, no one would have believed it. But they exist. This is also partly why I’m so actively interested in technology.

IT Skills

Due to specialized education and career paths, I’ve always been closely connected to the IT sector. The skills acquired throughout my career enable me to create my own management methodologies for implementing projects of any complexity in IT and other businesses. I know how to create new products as well as manage existing ones:

• Designing and creating architectures for technology platforms of any complexity
• Developing page architecture, overall UX/UI, brand style, communication design, and other visual elements for various platforms
• Developing and implementing SaaS systems and refining their functionality for specific company tasks
• Introducing innovative IT solutions for team management in a business environment

My Own Technological Breakthrough

I don’t yet have a clear understanding of what technological breakthrough I want to achieve. In this area, I haven’t found answers yet. But it must be something entirely new. I can mention directions like interacting with a different volume of funds or establishing an educational community, but in the field of tech companies, I have no clarity yet.

Why no clarity? Because what will happen is an opportunity that doesn’t exist yet. This company or type of technology doesn’t exist yet. It will come.

Advisory and Investor Role

I act as an Advisory in companies. I help startups and established businesses solve strategic tasks in various IT fields. You can come to me for professional advice or to cover certain competencies. More about Mentorship.

I also act as an investor in some projects. I invest in a strictly limited number of projects, providing them with significant attention.

Major tech businesses and projects in my professional career: GeekBrains, AGRO24, Biznes Molodost, Megaplan, iTec group, Mecasoft. Detailed descriptions here:

Businesses – IT Sector