"The leadership model for me has always been extremely simple and intuitive – be the leader you would like to have as a leader," says Daniel Petrov.
Photo: VSG Bulgaria
Tell us about your personal story and your professional path to your current position. What was your first job, and what did you learn from it? What are the important moments, challenges, successes, and mistakes from which you learned valuable lessons?
My first job was at a gas station, and it was what taught me some of the most important lessons that I still follow today. I realized how important it is for a person to work toward what brings him satisfaction, to set higher demands on himself than on others, and not to waste time in hesitation when he has clear goals and dreams. I also learned that perseverance is crucial. If you truly want to achieve something, you should not give up regardless of the difficulties along the way.
What do you devote the most time and attention to in your work today?
I spend most of my time with my team, with whom I like to get involved both in strategic decisions with long-term effects and in smaller cases and challenges. This allows me to have a much more realistic view and not lose touch with reality and what makes a company successful.
If you had to introduce the company in a few words, what would you say? What else would you like people to know about your company besides the products and services it creates?
VSG is a fintech software company with experience in developing corporate and highly regulated solutions for the financial sector. At the same time, we are a modern, open, and active company that has always integrated the latest technologies, approaches, and ways of software development, modernizing the industry with a forward-thinking mindset. If you are someone who seeks the truth, likes what they do, loves to learn and cultivate, loves difficult challenges, and hates boredom, you will fit in very well with the team. In the last two years, we have embarked on new challenges and our own projects outside the field of finance. This allows us to apply the experience gained in a completely different type of software.
What does it take to be successful in the company? What values, skills, and experience is the company looking for? What experience and skills do you think will be needed in the future, and do you advise them to be developed?
One of the surest factors for success is, first of all, to like what you do. When you are truly intrigued and motivated by your work, it is much easier to get through difficult moments and challenges along the way.
Diligence and perseverance are also extremely important, because building expertise requires time, work, and gaining real experience. An important role is also played by the opportunity to face challenging cases, as they help develop skills and professional growth.
Communication skills and the ability to collaborate are key because our work is always related to a team environment. At the same time, we value people who develop independence, take responsibility, and show initiative. It is these qualities that help not only for successful development in the company but also for adaptation to the future requirements and skills that the professional environment will require.
How do you choose and what do you value in your leadership team?
The leadership model for me has always been extremely simple and intuitive – be the leader you yourself would like to have as a leader. I believe that a good leader should be an engine and inspiration for the team, not just a person who distributes tasks.
That's why I appreciate people who are able to create a calm and supportive work environment, with as little stress as possible and with a high level of transparency and predictability. For me, it is important that leaders work to eliminate micromanagement and give teams freedom, trust, and clarity of goals.
When people feel relaxed, heard, and confident in the environment in which they work, they can focus their energy on what matters most – the work itself and achieving excellent results.
What lies ahead for the industry in which you work? What are the most important trends and challenges? How is your company preparing for the future?
The software industry is currently buzzing with AI excitement, but anyone who has actively integrated these new tools into their processes has already realized that they can be extremely useful for some activities and absolutely useless for others. In fact, this is also the key to successfully integrating so-called generative models – to optimize your processes around the benefits and efficiencies they provide. Our vision is that the industry will be further automated and optimized, making it more accessible to new markets and providing opportunities for resourceful companies.
Blitz with Daniel Petrov
What were your favorite childhood activities? What did you want to become, and how close is this to your current profession?
As a child, my dream was to become an astronaut, and I have never stopped being interested in astronomy, technology, and engineering.
What do you teach your children (or do you think it is important for young people to be taught)?
First of all are the moral values and the principles that they must build for themselves. This will lay the foundations for them to be good, successful, and useful for humanity. I also make an effort to instill in them self-initiative, responsibility, and self-confidence to cope on their own in any situation, no matter how complex and difficult it is. Everything else is a matter of study and effort, which you can always do.
If you could go back to the first day of your career, what advice would you give yourself?
I would advise myself to be more courageous. Certainly, looking back in time, I have had opportunities that I could have used, and I have missed them mostly out of worries and too much overthinking.
If you could change your profession in a day, what would you try?
Certainly an engineer again, but in the physical world – maybe a mechanical engineer or a technologist.
What's the hardest "No" you've ever said to yourself?
Maybe "no" to the pace I maintained for many years to preserve my health. For the past few years, I have been trying to balance work with rest in the right proportions.
When was the last time you asked someone for help, and for what?
Last time, I asked my father to help me with installing a heavy TV stand on a soundproof wall with drywall. It was a bit of a challenge.
If AI did your job, which would it do better and which wouldn't?
Certainly in analyzing and summarizing huge amounts of information. That's why we use AI in our A-Char system, which aggregates key information from 360-degree assessments or from open-ended surveys in large companies.
If you could invite three people from the past, present, or future to dinner, who would they be, and what would you ask them?
From the past – Vasil Levski, the culmination of struggle and sacrifice.
From the present – Elon Musk is, for me, the strongest living engine of human civilization at the moment.
From the future – my great-great-heir in at least 500 years, to make it interesting.
If you have to start all over again, with no title, no money, and no contacts, what's the first thing you're going to do?
Nothing different. That's exactly how I started.
Success for you is...?
Apart from the financial one – what you leave behind. If you have built value and added value to the world, then you are successful.
