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Millionaire from the countryside Serikbay BISEKEEV: Kazakhs will calm down and understand that first impressions are made not only with an expensive car or watch, but also with one's brains
Millionaire from the countryside, the Kazakh Steve Jobs - people thus refer to the businessman from Kazakhstan, the president of "Arman" holding, Serikbay BISEKEEV. After graduating from school in Kamyshnoe village in Kostanai province, in 1988 our fellow countryman enrolled at the famous Kalinin Polytechnic in Leningrad. Six years later, he set up his first business selling cell phones in Russia. In 2012 Serikbay Bisekeev was named as the best entrepreneur in Russia. He now lives in Singapore. What is on the self-made man's agenda, how does a businessman struggle against poverty, what does he think about Kazakh pretentiousness, and what his dream is - our guest speaks about these topics in an exclusive interview with "Megalopolis".
10 percent of people are abnormal. 5% of them are in psychiatric hospitals, while the remaining five are on the loose in the form of businessmen.
- Serikbay, despite the abundance of different publications and training courses for people who want to become successful businessmen, not everyone succeeds. Is it like in the arts, where dancers and artists are born gifted?
- Yes, I believe entrepreneurs are born. These people a priori have sharpened, unconventional vision, and are ready to take risks - crazy, if you will. 90% of people living on the planet are normal, 10 per cent are abnormal. 5% of them are in psychiatric hospitals, and five are on the loose in the form of businessmen who are told not to do something, but who go and do it. Because they have a dream and know no limits.
- You are a self-made man. How did you get started, what have you been through and what have you achieved?
- I've been in business for almost 30 years - I started at the age of 16, unloading wagons in vegetable warehouses, worked on construction teams where for about two months we earned four thousand roubles. At that time a car cost exactly the same amount. Then there was the sale of cell phones, brokering, and shuttle trading.
I'm often told that when I started my business in Russia, it was easier - the cooperative movement was in its infancy, competition was low. For me personally, "easier" meant living in a city of five million inhabitants, a population with different ethnic roots from mine, where dozens of people were being killed each day and there were 10 times fewer entrepreneurs than racketeers. But there was no time to argue - it was necessary to survive.
- What's currently on the agenda of entrepreneur Serikbay Bisekeev?
- The world is changing rapidly, and we understand that, first of all, it is essential to be closer to financial institutions. Secondly, in the context of political and other sanctions, it is essential to diversify your business. Corporate raiding still exists in Russia, in Kazakhstan and in other regions. As such, we need to diversify our political and financial risks. Europe and America are stagnating, and at this stage we are interested in the high-growth, emerging markets of India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. These make up about 2 billion people.
– What do you intend to enter new areas with?
- As a rule, we enter any markets with our own products. Therefore, we will move in those directions in which we have already achieved tangible results. We produce telecommunications products, on the basis of which we promote systemic integration - other devices hooked to these media such as camcorders and access control. Then there are innovative solutions for the efficient production of electricity. The next step is renewable energy, for which there is a whole different future. In 10 years' time there will be no more power plants or refineries, and it is pointless to try and build them now. It is necessary to invest in renewable energy, which will replace the production of electricity and gasoline.
– And have you approached the authorities of Kazakhstan with these ideas?
- Everyone minds his own business; in my interviews, I propose various solutions. In Kazakhstan there are enough critics.
- Have you received offers to enter into Kazakhstan's political arena?
In 10 years' time there will be no more power plants or refineries, and it is pointless to try and build them now.
- On the Internet, some have written that I was offered the post of Prime Minister and Minister of Transport. What have I not been offered! (laughs) But I'm a businessman, and I value my time. If you've never worked for anyone else, like me, you are never going to do it. I want to spend as much time as I want with my children. I don't want to have to ask anyone for time off; I don't want to be told that I can do this, but I can't do that.
- At the Astana Economic Forum, the President of Kazakhstan said that the efforts of politicians today should be aimed towards the eradication of poverty, and proposed the creation of an appropriate "road map". You have spoken in the same way a number of times in your statements and projects.
- Poverty needs to be fought with knowledge. If each person were a professional in his field, then the country would have them in abundance.
I hold webinars on my site, and give lectures in different cities. I also record video clips with top entrepreneurs and experts, who answer questions from the audience. If through the dissemination of knowledge I am able to surmount the percentage ratio of rich and poor in Kazakhstan, then I'll be content.
- In your opinion, is it possible to repeat in Kazakhstan the economic miracle of Singapore?
- Singapore is an oriental country like Kazakhstan. There is also strong kinship and clan ties - their corruption was no different from our own. But although the education system was much worse than the post-Soviet one, after 48 years people have a better life than we do. Here there are clearly prescribed requirements for those who apply for key positions in state bodies and national companies. And each year an independent certification of employees is carried out, and the best brains are attracted to the management positions. In Kazakhstan, there are practically no opportunities to obtain a high post without protection. Leadership positions are held by people who have not worked a day in business, who have not built up a single corporation. How can individuals who have not achieved success in their own lives manage the country's largest corporations?
How can individuals who have not achieved success in their own lives manage the country's largest corporations?
Besides which, Singapore is no demagogy. Man and his needs - those are the most important things in this state. Here all the right conditions have been provided for obtaining a good education and career, for a person to provide himself and his family with a comfortable life. In addition there are no double standards: those who violate traffic regulations or commit murder are sent to jail.
- Which country are you officially a citizen of, and which country do you feel a citizen of?
- I have Russian citizenship, but I consider myself a citizen of the world. I enjoy myself wherever I am - in Europe, Russia or Kazakhstan. People tell me: you'll never be among your own in a foreign country. I don't need to be; I live comfortably among the intelligent, interesting people that I come across in any country.
- Where do you see yourself in the future?
- In the next 10 years - on planet Earth.
- Are there 24 hours or more in a typical day of yours?
- Biologically - yes, but I actually try to fit into 24 hours what 10 people usually do during the same time. It's a matter of planning your day and your life. Kazakhs plan 33 celebrations each month - weddings, births of children, and so on. there is a circulation of goods during these celebrations - you could probably even create a stock exchange... but there are other priorities in life.
- What do you think about Kazakh pretentiousness?
- It's a passing phase. Kazakhs will calm down and understand that first impressions are made not only with an expensive car or watch, but also with one's brains. I hope that this period in the life of Kazakhstan will soon be over. Personally, it does not matter whether I own a Vertu or a simple mobile phone - it's better to have a Smartphone that is 5 times cheaper but much more functional.
- What is your dream?
- My dream is that my children will become happy, independent professionals possessing of their own judgment, who are able to offer beneficial new ideas and solutions. I want to give my children a better education, and let them find their own way.
Folks often say to me: write a book about your life, about how you achieved success. But I'm still young, and the book of my life is still being written.
Source: megapolis.kz.
