Peter Minev is a Bulgarian tech entrepreneur who completed his Executive MBA at ESMT Berlin. He’s also the CEO and Co-Founder of Digital Legacy, a digital inheritance service. He discusses the profound impact his first job as a software engineer had on him, what motivated him to study his EMBA at ESMT Berlin, and how what he learned during his Executive MBA has helped him run his own business and transform into a technology leader.
Peter Minev was only 21 years old when he landed his first job as a software engineer. He’s especially grateful for that position. It made him realize how diverse a career in tech could be early on. Right away, he was “not only working on the software and technology part…[he] was participating in all the other domains of the company, like negotiations with the client, determining the sales and the pricing strategy.” (03:47)
Even though he might have felt overwhelmed with all that new information at the time, Peter describes that “working in these domains so early in [his] career was a really profound learning experience.” (04:02)
This first work experience was especially eye-opening for Peter because he grew up during the Soviet Union’s communist regime. It was his first time working for a private company fresh out of university. All of a sudden, he was “building products for [international clients], delivering value, participating in determining the marketing strategy [and] the sales negotiations.” (02:44)
Peter then moved into software management for larger companies, ultimately becoming passionate about building tech companies himself.
Peter admits that his decision to pursue an Executive MBA “came not so much from ambition, rather than a need.” (05:46) He realized that if he wanted to be a successful tech entrepreneur, he needed to build more than just technical skills.
When deciding where to study his EMBA, Peter had a few criteria in mind. Naturally, he wanted the institution to be “highly ranked in the global ranking of executive education.” (06:30) He was also looking for a diverse student body and professors with a high level of professional experience.
An EMBA program that focused on both business and technology was also important to Peter. When he came across ESMT Berlin, he was impressed that they “had the subjects of blockchain [and] the subjects of data science.” (06:42)
Peter decided that ESMT Berlin had everything he was looking for, which led him to choose the top-ranked school for his Executive MBA.
Peter learned a lot of invaluable lessons throughout his EMBA. Most importantly, ESMT Berlin helped him develop the key skills he needed to successfully develop and run his own technology businesses.
Ten years before studying his Executive MBA, Peter owned a tech company that he ended up selling. He explains that “[he] felt so insecure” (11:17) during the process and was left constantly second-guessing himself and his abilities.
After studying at ESMT Berlin, Peter feels extremely confident navigating the tech industry with his current business, Digital Legacy. He says “[he really feels] that [he’s] swimming in [his] own waters” (11:32) because of his EMBA.
To this day, Peter emphasizes that “[he applies] almost everything that [he] learned at ESMT during [his] daily work.” (11:00) That goes to show just how practical an EMBA can be for anyone who runs a tech business.
