How an IT company finances a foundation with its profits

Is it possible for a charity to own a profitable software development company?

Well it is. The Bulgarian foundation ‘Give a Book’ owns 41% of the IT company Childish. It employs 30+ people and the company's focus is developing business and team-building web applications using the Python programming language.

The model in which an IT company finances a foundation with its profits is so impressive for Bulgaria that Childish won an award from the Forbes Business Awards 2022 in the "Socially Responsible Company" category.

Hear the story of this amazing woman, Blagovesta Pugyova, who is the founder of both the foundation (Give a Book) and the startup Childish.

Highlights

1:00 – where did you grow up and how has that changed your view of the world?
2:45 – as a kid what responsibilities did you have?
4:03 – as a kid, who did you want to be when you grew up?
5:24 – what was your early career path like?
7:07 – when did you realize that you should start ‘Give a Book’? (amazing story of how Blagovesta and volunteers visited an orphanage)
11:40 – what do volunteers like about being a part of this program?
13:50 – how many institutions were you able to bring Give a Book in?
14:28 – what are the demographics of your volunteers?
16:10 – how many people contact you outside of Bulgaria wanting a program like this?
17:10 – when did you get the idea of Childish and who are you primarily serving?
22:32 – when clients hear about Childish, what do they get excited about?
26:00 – what is the projected revenue and what strategies have you used to grow the company?
27:08 – how do you identify if a candidate is a good fit for the culture?
28:10 – what’s next for you personally?
29:16 – what is a book that has impacted how you think about running your business?


Make sure to stick around for the Innovators Can Laugh segment! You won’t want to miss Blagovesta’s hilarious answers!

Do you wish to connect with our special guest?
Visit Blagovesta website: https://www.childish.eu/en/

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Past Guests:
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Past guests on Innovators Can Laugh include Yannik Veys, Ovi Negrean, Arnaud Belinga, Csaba Zajdó, Dagobert Renouf, Andrei Zinkevich, Viktorija Cijunskyte, Lukas Kaminskis, Pija Indriunaite, Monika Paule, PhD, Vytautas Zabulis, Leon van der Laan, Ieva Vaitkevičiūtė.
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