In this edition of the “Behind the Success” series, we’re going to tell you a story about Georgi Markov—a young and ambitious man, living in the small Bulgarian town of Silistra, who managed to make his big dreams come true.
Georgi Markov is the kind of entrepreneur who can achieve success no matter his surroundings. He’s a magician at multitasking—being the co-founder and manager of a local online and printed news media, and the founder of FOODMARK, an exclusive food delivery service in his hometown.
Read on to find out more about his fascinating journey.
Introduction: How It All Started
Georgi has been an entrepreneur since he was a kid.
Yes, that’s not an overstatement. His father, being a business leader, strongly motivated Georgi to make a name for himself. It’s precisely his father who taught him the essentials of being an entrepreneur, from a psychological point of view.
Georgi is confident that entrepreneurs are not just people who have developed a business. Entrepreneurs have a mindset that sets them apart from the rest.
“It’s all about looking beyond the obvious and discovering new and unexplored lands,” says Georgi. “The most important thing I’ve learned is to never give up. You will always have ups and downs, but if you keep trying, sooner or later you will get where you want to be.”
His Student Years: Time for Honing Professional Skills
Since he was a student, Georgi has had a knack for web design and programming and has won plenty of competitions in this area.
While he was studying, together with some of his closest friends, they founded the informational website, “Silistra Portal,” intended to reflect local news and interesting facts. The next step was the creation of the weekly newspaper, “Silistra Press.”
These two ventures further sparked Georgi’s interest in digital marketing and advertising. He went through numerous courses to develop his expertise in the field.
After dedicating time and effort to numerous projects—mostly successful online stores—it was time for something even more significant and innovative—FOODMARK.
FOOD+MARKov=FOODMARK
Georgi Markov believes that success is not only about achieving goals but constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
So, he took the risk and stepped up his game with FOODMARK.
“I have always thought that my hometown needs an application for food delivery service. This would be extremely beneficial for everyone here,” shares Georgi. “We all know Takeaway, for example. But unfortunately, it’s only available in the biggest cities in Bulgaria,” continues Georgi. “It shouldn’t be like that. So, I decided to change things around.”
Georgi is happy that in addition to delicious restaurant food, his company also delivers smiles on the faces of people who have a reason to celebrate—because of a bouquet or a gift from a loved one.
Georgi and his loyal team were preparing for the launch of FOODMARK for around a year.
“All this work and dedication to the project certainly robbed me of my personal time, more or less. Together with the team of great employees I have, we work for hours every day, even around the clock, to reach the lounge.”
Then he adds, “In life, it’s like sports; you don’t always win, but even when you lose, you learn—remember that!”
“Using the platform, users see only the surface of what we have done, which is 5% of everything. The remaining 95% are processes, analyses, and optimizations, without which this venture would not have been successful.”
Georgi shares that certain people didn’t believe in his idea.
“At first, we had a fixed price for delivery. I heard a lot of daunting words, such as that this price tag would be the reason for the collapse of FOODMARK. However, it turns out that our premium service was appreciated by lots of people. It’s been quite popular since the very beginning!”
Now, there is no delivery price set, and after three years on the market, FOODMARK has over 6,000 registered users and reached over BGN 1 million in turnover.
Currently, the platform works with 27 restaurants out of a total of 29 available in Silistra, which is 95% market share. Since the beginning of 2024, FOODMARK has been in charge of the delivery service of two of the largest sites in the town.
About the future, Georgi shares that the FOODMARK app will be transformed into a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. “This will allow us to offer it to all other sites in Bulgaria through a subscription plan, based on their needs. We believe that in 99% of the catering establishments in the country processes are outdated. Everything is written on paper and there is no accountability for the business owners for past periods. We are confident that our software has been tested to cover all important details and those who use it will be able to rapidly grow their businesses.”
The Wrap-up
Despite facing challenges along the way, Georgi Markov remained steadfast in his vision. He works daily to make a positive impact on his community.
This way, Georgi has not only transformed the food delivery service in his hometown. He provided many young people with jobs, contributing to the development of the local economy. And last but not least, Georgi inspires others to follow their dreams and be brave.
